Standout performances, state runs and successful seasons — especially at Juanita — marked the spring season in Kirkland.

Whether it was Lake Washington’s Chris Viltz putting up ridiculous numbers at the plate or Juanita’s Robby Ryan doing the same from the mound, it was a good year for Kirkland baseball.

Both teams finished near the top of the league and are stocked with young talent.

The aforementioned Viltz tied the Kang’s home run record (5) in early April before a suspension ended his season.

Ryan also made his mark early, sending the Garfield Bulldogs away — tail between their legs, so to speak — in a mid-March no-hitter. The sophomore struck out 15 batters and walked one in seven innings. Ryan pitched at a high level throughout the season, although he did battle control problems down the stretch, walking 20 batters in his final 17 and 2/3 innings. The overall numbers — 7-1 record, 1.23 earned run average, 70 strikeouts in 51 and 1/3 innings pitched — still look very good, especially for a sophomore.

One Rebel, however, stood above the rest: Senior third baseman Joell Reyes was named by KingCo 4A coaches as the league player of the year. The senior was a rock on defense at the hot corner for Juanita and raked from the plate as well. Reyes batted .567 with 22 RBIs, 10 doubles and a homer.

On the smaller diamond, both the Lake Washington and Juanita softball teams finished near the top of the KingCo.

Late-inning heroics were commonplace down the stretch for both teams. Whether scoring three runs in the top of the seventh against Roosevelt, two in the bottom of the ninth against Woodinville or a run in the seventh to take out Redmond, the Rebels showed they could deliver in the clutch. Juanita also played the role of underdog well, taking down a then-undefeated Woodinville on April 28.

Lake Washington’s Alexandra Jennings had one of the performances of the season May 1 against Inglemoor, going 4-4 and barely missing the cycle. She hit a single, double and two triples, scored three runs, knocked in two RBIs and notched a steal.

On the track, Lake Washington set the bar high early in the season with a dominating performance against Franklin at Woodinville. Nine different Kangs won a total of 11 different events at the meet — and that was just the boys team.

At Juanita, senior sprinter Trevor Roush put in his best performances when it counted. He ran a season-best time of 49.82 seconds in the finals of the 400-meter dash at the state meet, finishing third. It was his third trip (1600-meter relay first time, 400 meter second and third times) and highest finish at state.

The Kangs also sent three girl to the state meet, including Brieccia Lewis, who won the 100-meter hurdles at bi-districts.

The Juanita soccer team met its season-long goal of leaving the KingCo 4A in style. In its last season before moving down to the 3A level, the Rebels won the KingCo championship and played in the state tournament. League MVP Tyler Bjork led the charge with an astounding 16 goals and 12 assists, despite dealing with near-constant man marking. Bjork’s hat trick against Eastlake in the KingCo championship game was a highlight for the Rebels — and for Bjork, who was mobbed and carried by fans after the game.

Bjork, a senior, is off to play for Western Washington University next year, but don’t expect much of a drop-off from the Rebels in 2009. Sophomore Garrett Lee is another dominant player in the making. Expect this team to make noise next season in 3A.

What about Lake Washington? Under a new coach the Kangs struggled at the start, losing four of six to start. After some adjustments to fix the offense, the team finished 6-2-1 and won a KingCo tournament game.

The golf and tennis teams didn’t dominate, but were highlighted by solid individual performances.

At Juanita, junior tennis player James Russell finished second at the boys state tournament. Russell followed up his undefeated regular season in the fall with a great state run this spring.

At districts, Lake Washington girls tennis player Ashley Russell placed fourth in singles and paired with Amanda Juarez to place fourth in doubles.

While no golfers made it to state, the future looks good for both Lake Washington and Juanita. Lake Washington sophomore Jordan Kaindl finished three spots out of an alternate for state. Teammates Kellan Jones and Stephanie Schoeppel also placed well at districts and both will be back next year.

The Juanita duo of Rebekah Chaney and Caitlin Terashima competed at districts and will be back next year as well.