We’re excited to announce that Laura Eichert from Lake Stevens and Tre Haines from Arlington were selected as 2025-26 KRKO Russell & Hill High School Female and Male Athletes of the Year!
Eichert was a 6-foot outside hitter, and she gathered accolades throughout her high school career. She won back-to-back Gatorade State Volleyball Player of the Year (2024, 2025) awards following standout junior and senior seasons. She was AVCA and UA Next All-American, 2025 Washington 4A State Player of the Year and 2025 Washington 4A State Tournament MVP. She led the Vikings to the 4A state title and registered 44 kills and 13 digs in the five-set victory over Curtis, 3-2.
Eichert’s stellar prep career includes being named three-time Wesco 4A Player of the Year, putting down 600 or more kills in each of her last three prep seasons, ranking 16th nationally with 746 kills (.343) as a junior and finishing her senior campaign with 633 kills while hitting .422 to go along with 260 digs and 72 service aces. She amassed 2,351 kills (.336), 996 digs, 250 aces and 207 blocks during her prep career. Also during her tenure, she helped Lake Stevens to three straight top-four finishes at state: second as a freshman and fourth as both a sophomore and junior.
Her mother, Lynne, was a former college player and is on the Vikings coaching staff, and her sister, Katelyn, is currently playing at Westminster University and was influential in Laura’s volleyball development. Laura also carried a 3.9 GPA, and she is currently playing at the University of Oregon.
Haines was a four-time state wrestling champion, the 28th in Washington state history and just the third in Snohomish County history (Michael Soler and Burke Barnes, both from Lake Stevens). He won two titles in Class 3A (2023 at 138 lbs, 2024 at 157 lbs) and two in Class 4A (2025 at 157 lbs, 2026 at 165 lbs). He defeated Auburn’s Bryce Rowland in a 9-3 decision for the Boys 4A 165 lbs championship and joined the list of four-time winners. There was never a chance to rest for Haines as he consistently placed in the top four at various national tournaments, including the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals and the USAW Junior Greco Roman Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota in July.
While wrestling was his most important sport in high school, Haines’ first sport was football, and he excelled on the gridiron as well. During his tenure, the Eagles took multiple trips to the postseason, including the quarterfinals during his junior year. Haines was named first-team All-Wesco linebacker his senior year.
While originally committing to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Haines is now wrestling at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Both Eichert and Haines will be honored at the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame 2026 Induction Banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Dinner tickets are $125 per person or $1,100 for a table (10 people). Tickets can be purchased at snocosports.org/banquet.