A few members of the Tahoma girls soccer team smiled and joked with one another as they left the district tournament victorious, taking third place overall and headed for state. But it was a subdued joy for a number of reasons. There was the frigid, 40-ish-degree game time temperature and the physically draining contest against Curtis, which followed an even more demanding 2-1 win against rival Thomas Jefferson that went to penalty kicks on Nov. 6. There was also a mental toll, as 47 of their athletic peers had been handed suspensions, including four of their own teammates, a few of whom were starters.

Tahoma soccer coach Jason Johnson said his team seemed to be waiting to take on some sort of adversity all year. It finally came while the ladies were playing the best soccer of the season. And, he says, they’ve handled it well.

“It’s not a negative,” Johnson said following the Bears 2-0 win. “They’re feeding off it; starting to rally off each other.”

As of Monday, 47 Tahoma High School student-athletes had been suspended from participating in any games or contests for being involved in a party that occurred the previous weekend.

Fourteen of those athletes were on the football team, who subsequently lost in district play to Camas, 47-18, ending the team’s season Friday.

Kevin Patterson, spokesperson for the Tahoma School District, said the King County Sheriff’s Office informed the school on Monday, Nov. 3 that some student-athletes were at a party on Oct. 31 where alcohol and/or drugs were involved. Authorities were unsure whether any athletes were consuming any alcohol or drugs, but according to the school’s athletic code, it didn’t matter.

Patterson said if student-athletes are just attending a party where alcohol and/or drugs are present, it’s a violation of the athletic code that every athlete must sign before participating in any sport.

The length of suspension from their sport varies based on the degree of violation. In this case, Patterson said most of the students will likely have to forfeit about 25 percent of their season. For football (a 10-game season), that means the suspended players will have to sit on the sidelines for 2.5 games. Because the season is now over for the football players, the suspension will carry on to other sports that they participate in or to the next football season.

The punishment will differ for the other athletes involved because their season may have more or fewer games.

The school has suspended four from girls’ soccer, two from boys’ soccer, twelve cheerleaders, two softball players, four wrestlers, seven baseball players, one golfer and one volleyball player.

Even though some of the students may not be playing their sport at the time of the suspension, they will still have to sit out for a period of time when their season rolls around.

Patterson also said that there may be some students suspended from school, not just athletics, in connection with this incident. But, students who only attended the party won’t be suspended, he said.

The school is investigating threats that have occurred over social media that were allegedly sent by students involved in the party. The threats, Patterson said, are directed toward whoever “turned them in.”

A letter explaining the investigation and suspensions was sent to all parents and families of Tahoma High School students Nov. 6.

“It is disappointing that these students made poor choices  affecting both themselves and their teammates,” Principal Terry Duty said in the letter. “Our student-athletes are well aware of the Tahoma School District Athletic Code and the consequences of these poor choices. We hope this will be a lifelong lesson for our entire school, both those who choose to attend the parties and those who elect to do the right thing and not attend. We have been overwhelmed with support from our school community and students who applaud the consequences for students who knowingly disregard the rules designed to protect them.”

The Bears are coming off successful regular seasons in multiple sports: advancing deep into districts in girls basketball, a fifth-place team finish in state wrestling, a softball team that finished undefeated and won the SPSL 4A North championship, track teams that both took third at the 4A state meet on Nov. 9 and the state bound soccer and volleyball teams.

Despite the distractions, Tahoma soccer swept through its bracket in the district tournament, finishing Curtis with goals by junior forward Mia Corbin and senior Cara Scammon, which were assisted by freshman Abby Despain and senior Rachel Duty, respectively.

The Bears lost 2-1 to Skyline in the first round of the state tournament Wednesday. The loss eliminated them from the field.

Johnson said he was confident about his group’s chances at state even after the “eventful week,” saying the girls have “the right mentality” and that there is an “urgency” and “amplified sense of pride” that he hasn’t seen in previous teams.

Volleyball

The Bears volleyball team continued the school’s success by taking fourth place at the district tournament last weekend. They will travel to the state competition at Saint Martin’s University Friday, Nov. 14. To start their state matches, they will play Snohomish at 5:15 p.m.

They started the district tournament last Friday strong with a win against Kentwood, 3-0. They continued their dominance by beating Timberline, 3-0. The win gave them their state tournament berth.

However, they weren’t done with district play yet. Bellarmine proved to be a challenge for the Bears and as a result, they lost 0-3 on Saturday. Bellarmine went on to win the championship, beating Emerald Ridge 3-1 later that day. Tahoma’s next game again Curtis was more evenly matched, but the Bears still came up short in a 2-3 defeat.

Swim and Dive

Nine swimmers and one diver from Tahoma are headed to the state tournament this weekend. The team as a whole was undefeated and placed first in the SPSL North division during the regular season. Coach Dave Wright says it was the first time in the history of the school that the team has won a championship.

Ashley Lewis, junior, will be the sole diver representing the Bears. Of the nine swimmers on their way to state, two of them will be competing in two events. Lindsey Hanger, sophomore, and Jessica Miller, senior, are both experienced state competitors. For Hanger it will be her second year swimming at state. Miller has competed at state the past three years, making this her fourth year in the competition.