Lindgren, Sandberg, Roberts, Young make initial list as USA Today looks to crown best Washington high school athlete

USA Today

There’s obviously a high bar to pass to be considered among the state of Washington’s best high school athletes when names like John Stockton, Mark Rypien and Drew Bledsoe don’t make the cut.

Still, Gerry Lindgren, Ryne Sandberg and wrestlers Libby Roberts and Dalton Young seem like no-brainers. The quartet was among 15 athletes to make an initial poll list as USA Today looks to crown its best five high school athletes in each state. The final results will be revealed Saturday.

Lindgren, a cross country great from Rogers High School, set eight world prep records, including a 5,000-meter mark that stood for 40 years and a 2-mile mark that lasted 49. After graduation, he became the first American to defeat the Russians in a distance race in 1964, winning the 10,000 meters in a U.S.-Russia dual meet in Los Angeles. From there, he was off to Washington State, where he won 11 straight NCAA titles.

Sandberg was a three-sport star at North Central, setting a Greater Spokane League passing record in football and earning him Parade All-American honors; he was a two-time all-city player in basketball; and a two-time all-league baseball player who hit .417. Sandberg, who played 16 years in the majors, entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Roberts, the University High School star who never lost to an in-state wrestling opponent, won four straight WIAA Mat Classic championships. In 2025, she became just the fifth female wrestler to sweep all four titles. She currently wrestles for Grand Valley State University.

Young, a 2017 Lakeside High grad who wrestled at Stanford, became the first wrestler in state history to go undefeated in high school, completing a 170-0 career with four state championships. He also lettered in golf.

Among the other Washington athletes to make the USA Today list include Corbin Carroll (Lakeside-Seattle), Jamal Crawford (Rainier Beach), Emeka Egbuka (Steilacoom), Alexa Efraimson (Camas), WSU Hall of Famer Mel Hein (Fairhaven), Tim Lincecum (Liberty-Renton), Michael Porter Jr. (Nathan Hale), Ahmad Rashad (Tahoma), Brandon Roy (Garfield), Hope Solo (Richland) and Marvin Williams (Bremerton).

The list of Idaho’s best includes Sandpoint’s Jerry Kramer and Moscow’s Andrea Lloyd and Doug Reisenberg. Meanwhile, Joslyn and Tres Tinkle – the kids of former Ferris High standout Wayne Tinkle – join Ryan Leaf in USA Today’s preliminary list of best Montana prep athletes.

To find all of the athlete profiles from each state, go to usatoday.com/sports/high-school. Vote here for Washington, here for Idaho and here for Montana.

The Spokesman-Review contributed to this report.