In the past year, area athletes have shone at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

Some won titles, some came up just short, some set records, some came close, and some found themselves on a bigger stage than they had ever been on. Sedro-Woolley’s Cody Pohren factored into three of the Skagit Valley Herald’s top10 sports stories all by himself.

The No. 1 story of 2008 has been a constant at or near the top of this list for the entire decade, but this time reached the top for a slightly different reason.

1. Sedro-Woolley’s wrestling streak comes to an end (Feb. 17)

The sign that your program is strong is when not winning a state championship is as newsworthy as winning one.

After claiming a state-record six consecutive Class 3A state wrestling team titles, the Cubs finished fourth. Enumclaw claimed the title. While the Cubs had strength at the top, depth was their Achilles’ heel — only five Sedro-Woolley wrestlers placed at the tournament.

Still, Sedro-Woolley crowned two champions. Senior Kevin O’Neil, after three straight second-place finishes, finally conquered the Tacoma Dome on a Saturday night to win a title. Sophomore Derek Garcia moved halfway to his goal of becoming one of the state’s few four-time champions, winning his second in as many tries.

2. Burlington-Edison girls claim track supremacy (May 24)

The Tigers showed strength as individuals, relay teams and as a whole in winning the school’s first Class 2A state track and field title.

Danielle Nordlund leapt 17 feet, 2 1⁄4 inches to win the girls’ long jump after finishing second a year earlier. The Tigers 400-meter relay team, this time comprised of Nordlund, Sarah Berentson, Michelle Kennedy and Chelsea Genther, won its second straight state championship. The Tigers just missed out on two other titles, with second-place finishes from Genther in the 100 dash and from the 800 relay team.

3. Burlington-Edison boys’ hoops an unkind rim away from state title (March 8)

The Burlington-Edison boys’ basketball team came up a last-second three-pointer away from a Class 2A state basketball crown. After an epic struggle with Ephrata in the championship game that saw Burlington-Edison rally from 11 points down, Ephrata came away with a 58-56 victory. Jake Anderson’s fall-away 3-pointer in the final seconds drew iron, as did Kolby Arendse’s desperation putback at the very end.

The Tigers finished the season 24-3, led by Anderson, Arendse and a trio of sophomores who are now embarking on an attempt to return to the title game.

4. Kendrick pitches for World Series champs

Mount Vernon graduate Kyle Kendrick completed his first full season in the major leagues, helping the Philadelphia Phillies to their second World Series championship in club history.

Kendrick was a starting pitcher most of the year, compiling an 11-9 record with a 5.49 earned-run average in 31 starts.

He was the odd man out as the Phillies’ postseason rotation shrunk from five starters to four. He was not on the roster for any of the three postseason series.

5. Mount Vernon Babe Ruth team reaches World Series. (Aug. 17-20)

The Mount Vernon Babe Ruth League baseball team went as far as it could, all the way to Quincy, Mass., for the Babe Ruth World Series.

The Bulldogs had embarked on a three-year plan to reach that point, getting a little farther each time. As 12-year-olds, they got to the state tournament. In 2007, they won the state tournament and reached regionals.

In 2008, as 14-year-olds, the Bulldogs won state and regional tournaments before going 1-3 in pool play at the World Series.

6. Pohren runs over Mount Vernon (Oct. 24)

Nobody on hand knew the Skagit County single-game rushing record when Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon got together for a key Northwest Conference football game, with a playoff berth essentially on the line. So nobody knew that Pohren finished the game three yards shy of the mark.

Pohren had an amazing 344 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, helping the Cubs win 49-29. Pohren’s total was second only to Mount Vernon’s Kurt Van Selus, who gained 347 yards in 2000 against Lynden.

Sedro-Woolley had 543 yards rushing in the game.

7. La Conner volleyball team returns to state finals (Nov. 14)

For the fifth consecutive year, the La Conner volleyball team reached a state championship game. For the third time in the five years, the Braves were unable to get past Colfax, which won the Class 2B title match in three games.

This season, the Braves went undefeated until the state title match, and placed four players on the Northwest 2B League’s first team.

8. Lobbestael plays QB for Cougs (Sept. 20)

Oak Harbor’s Marshall Lobbestael wasn’t supposed get behind center as a redshirt freshman at a Pac-10 school, but ended up starting several games for the woeful Washington State football team.

Lobbestael started out third on the Cougars’ depth chart, but injuries to starter Gary Rogers and backup Kevin Lopina forced Lobbestael into a game against Portland State. Lobbestael promptly threw two touchdown passes and went on to start or appear in four more games before being knocked out for the season with a knee injury.

Lobbestael finished the year as the Cougars’ highest rated quarterback (103.07), had four of the team’s six touchdown passes and averaged a team-best 114.2 yards passing per game.

9. Sedro-Woolley football team returns to playoffs (Nov. 7)

After struggling for several years, the Cubs made an about-face and won six of their final nine games under first-year football coach Bryan Alexander.

The Cubs’ season ended at the hands of eventual Class 3A state champion Bellevue. Sedro-Woolley was the only team to score more than seven points against the Wolverines in the playoffs, losing 42-10.

Led by the backfield duo of Derek Garica and Cody Pohren, who combined for about 2,000 yards on the ground, the Cubs fashioned a 6-6 record.

10. Barnes becomes second local to win Dirt Cup (June 21)

For just the second time in the 37-year history of the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, the top prize stayed in the state of Washington, as Everett’s Jayme Barnes won Skagit Speedway’s premier event.

Barnes led the final 28 laps of the 40-lap final race to claim the $25,000 first prize.

The only other area driver to win was Bob Burrow in 1992.