Notebook: Rogers moves from K-M to Decatur for girls hoops

Colby Rogers is switching divisions in the South Puget Sound League.

Rogers has resigned as head girls basketball coach at Decatur to assume the same position at Kent-Meridian. Both teams finished 9-7 in league games last season — Decatur in the SPSL South Division and Kent-Meridian in the SPSL North.

Rogers had been the Gators' head coach for the past two years after serving as an assistant the previous five. He also has been head boys track coach at Decatur for seven seasons and said he plans to be involved in the K-M track program to some degree. Roger Erickson, the Kent school's long-time cross country and track coach, is retiring. Rogers takes over the basketball program from Brenda Kuehlthau, who resigned after two seasons.

"I really like the way the Kent School District supports athletics as well as academics," he said. "The facilities at the school are great. There's a lot of athletic talent in that district."

Decatur finished last season 15-10 overall, reaching the West Central 4A Bi-District tournament, and 12-9 previous season.

Hennig gets Kentwood girls post

Keith Hennig has been named head girls basketball coach at Kentwood. He was boys coach at Desert Hot Springs High School in Southern California the past two seasons and was the assistant girls coach three the previous year. He also coached fastpitch softball and volleyball.

"He comes very highly recommended, both as a teacher and a coach," Kentwood athletic director Jo Anne Daughtry said.

Hennig is a 1995 graduate of R.A. Long in Longview and went on to play basketball at Lower Columbia Community College and Central Washington. He replaces Laura Fralich at Kentwood. Fralich resigned after one season in order to attend medical school. The Conquerors were 10-10 under her direction.

Notes

• Hazen has hired new head coaches for both the boys and girls basketball programs. Malcolm Mack takes the boys reins from Gary Schaplow, who resigned after two years. Mack was an assistant coach at Mariner of Mukilteo last season. Brian Hill, a former assistant at Centralia, is the new girls coach. He succeeds Jacquie Monks, who will be an assistant principal at Hazen this fall after five seasons.

• O'Dea has won the Metro League all-sports trophy for the 16th straight year and Seattle Prep has won the girls trophy for the third consecutive time. Points are awarded on a scoring system based on how teams finished in each sport.

• Kentwood also has new head coaches for girls soccer, cross country and boys swimming. Ed Kingston is the girls soccer coach. He has been head coach at Mount Baker the past three years and previously was an assistant at Washington High School of Tacoma for three seasons. He takes over for Lance Fishbach, who leaves to coach at Seattle Pacific. Michelle Fyfe (cross country) and Tricia Olson (boys swimming) were promoted from assistants to head coaches.

• Robi Thayer is the new head girls soccer coach at Kent-Meridian, replacing Rick Malloy. She was a standout player at Auburn, graduating in 1998, then went on to play at Texas-El Paso and Oregon.