If there was ever a doubt, it was erased in 2008.

Issaquah and Sammamish schools proved yet again they contain some of the top high school athletes in the state — if not the best. Skyline, Eastlake and Issaquah produced four state championship teams, and three state runner-ups over the last year. With the addition of Eastside Catholic to the Plateau, 2009 will no doubt contain more top-notch performances. Listed below are the top 10 moments from Eastlake, Issaquah and Skyline.

EASTLAKE

Fastpitch softball: The Eastlake fastpitch softball team claimed the program’s first ever state championship in May, knocking off defending 4A champion Shadle Park of Spokane, 4-1. The senior-laden Wolves broke Shadle Park’s 35-game win streak, ending their season at an impressive 26-4.

Cross country: The Eastlake girls cross country team knocked a three-time defending champion off its pedestal and claimed the program’s first state championship, edging Gig Harbor 96-97 in Pasco. Chelsea Orr had the Wolves’ highest finish in 20th place. Only 28 seconds separated the Wolves’ fifth and first place runners, lifting them to the team win.

Girls swimming: Behind freshman Katie Kinnear, the Eastlake girls swim team nabbed 12th place at the class 4A state meet. Kinnear earned her first state title in the 100 butterfly, finishing in a time of 54.73 seconds. She took third in the 50 freestyle in 23.89 seconds.

Boys soccer: It started out ugly, but turned into a strong finish for the Eastlake boys soccer team. The Wolves lost two winner-to-state district games, before battling back to beat Evergreen of Vancouver in a loser-out, winner-to-state game. Eastlake rattled off two straight state tournament wins in Pasco and Spokane, before narrowly losing to Bellarmine Prep 3-2 in a shootout. The Wolves bounced back to beat Todd Beamer, 2-1, for a third-place state finish.

Girls basketball: For the second straight year, the Eastlake girls finished one win away from the class 4A state tournament. The Wolves stayed with Ballard, a top-10 ranked team, but eventually fell 56-48. They went on to win one more district game, before being eliminated by Redmond and finishing with a 16-8 record.

Boys golf: Kevin Penner, a UNLV recruit, finished in a tie for third in the class 4A state tournament at Burlington’s Avalon Golf course with a 73-75-148. Penner won the state title as a sophomore, and will compete for the title again this spring — his senior year.

Girls soccer: The Eastlake girls soccer team finished with an impressive 15-3 record, but fell short of repeating as 4A state champions with a first-round state loss to Bellarmine Prep. The Wolves were led by Emily Hurd’s 19 goals and 12 assists.

Football: Competing in arguably the toughest division in the state, the KingCo Crest, the Eastlake football team fought its way to a third place finish. The Wolves fought their way into the state tournament, before falling to second-ranked Olympia 42-21 on the road. Eastlake ended the year 6-4.

Boys track: Dan Sloat finished fourth in the class 4A meet in the 800 meters in 1 minute, 54.42 seconds. He was just two-tenths away from first.

Boys swimming: Michael King swam to a fourth place finish in the 50 freestyle in 22.15 seconds. He helped the Wolves finish in 28th place.

ISSAQUAH

Football: Issaquah led nationally-ranked rival Skyline in the fourth quarter of the class 4A championship, but was unable to hang on in a 20-15 loss. The Eagles lost to the Spartans 38-0 in their first meeting and stumbled with a 21-0 loss to Woodinville before entering the playoffs. Issaquah, which ended its season 11-3, battled back to take four straight playoff games grab the school’s second-ever state championship appearance.

Girls track: Just two points separated the Issaquah girls track and field team from a state championship last spring. The Eagles scored 49 points, finishing behind Eastmont’s 51. Issaquah’s 1,600 relay team of Kim Varney, Bonnie Young, Ikeda Haida and Kaley Allison won the state title in 4 minutes, .02 seconds. The 400 and 800 relays finished third and fourth, respectively. Johanna Carr was second in the 100 win 12.10 seconds.

Gymnastics: Issaquah was narrowly edged by rival Newport, missing a 3A state championship by one place. The Eagles earned 176.4 points, behind the Knight’s 177.425. Olivia Goree led the way with a seventh place finish in all-around. She was second in the beam, sixth on floor and 10th on bars. Kara Chin was 10th in all-around, taking eighth in the vault.

Baseball: Backs against the wall, the Issaquah baseball team came from a third-place finish in the KingCo 3A to winning the KingCo tourney. The Eagles rode the momentum to Safeco Field and a second straight appearance in the 3A state tournament. Issaquah dropped an opening game to Kennewick, but battled back to beat Meadowdale 7-2 for third place.

Girls golf: Brittany Tallman battled through wrist pain to finish third place in the 3A state golf tournament last spring. Tallman shot a 74-79-153 at Bellingham’s Shuksan Golf Course. She finished five strokes behind the leader, for what would have been her third state title.

Fastpitch: They went a perfect 16-0 in league play and went undefeated through the district tournament, but the Issaquah fastpitch team ran into a juggernaut at the state tournament. The Eagles drew eventual state champion Kennedy in the first round, losing 5-2. Issaquah battled back to beat Auburn Riverside, but lost in the next round to league rival Newport. Issaquah ended the year at 22-2.

Volleyball: Issaquah reached its goal of returning to the state tournament after a one-year hiatus, but the trip was a short-lived one. The Eagles lost a hard-fought 3-2 match to Kentwood in the state opener, then fell 3-0 to Edmonds-Woodway. Issaquah ended the year at 12-7.

Girls soccer: A run at a third straight state soccer championship and the fourth in the last five years, came to an end in the first round of this year’s state tournament for Issaquah. The Eagles battled their way into the state tournament beating Heritage in Vancouver in a loser-out, winner-to-state game. Issaquah stumbled at home, however, falling 2-1 to Tahoma after a shootout. The Eagles ended their season at 12-4-3.

Girls basketball: Issaquah dominated opponents in the regular season, but came up short in the postseason. The Eagles entered the league and district tournament with an 18-1 record, but lost three of six games, including their final two in the Sea-King tournament. Issaquah ended the year 22-4, and two wins away from the state tournament.

Boys swimming: Brant Kersten swam to a fifth place finish in the 500 freestyle, helping the Eagles to 14th place overall at the class 3A state swim meet. He finished the race in 4 minutes, 48.26 seconds — just a tenth of a second off the fourth place swimmer.

SKYLINE

Football: For the second year in a row, the Skyline football team captured a state championship, and completed a perfect 14-0 season. The Spartans, who moved to class 4A after winning the 3A title in 2007, defeated rival Issaquah 20-15. Head coach Mat Taylor took over after Steve Gervais departed for the University of Washington to become a running backs coach. Skyline ended the season ranked No. 5 in the USA Today “Super 25” poll.

Girls soccer: With most of the attention focused on Skyline’s undefeated football program, the girls soccer team rose up and captured a class 4A championship of their own — the program’s first ever. The Spartans defeated KingCo rival Woodinville 2-0 in the championship match on goals from Alisha Connors and Coral Anderson. Jill Stika recorded the shutout. Skyline finished its season 15-2-2.

Girls swimming: Junior Andie Taylor won her fifth state title, claiming the 200 IM in a new state-record time of 1 minute, 58.23 seconds. She beat a record of 1:58.59 she set a week earlier at the district meet. Taylor also took second in the 100 freestyle in a time of 49.97. The Spartans finished in seventh place, the highest in program history.

Girls track: The Skyline girls track and field team nabbed fourth place at the 3A state meet, behind their 400 meter relay championship team. The group, composed of Kiara Williams, Shealee O’Donnell, Kaylyn Berry and Rachael Butenko won in 48.38 seconds. O’Donnell took second and third in the 200 and 100, respectively.

Boys track: The Skyline boys track and field team finished in a tie for sixth place at the class 3A state meet, behind four third-place finishers. Simon Sorrensen took third in the 1,600, Andrew Gray nabbed third in the 110 high hurdles, Kasen Williams was third in the high jump and AJ Francis was third in the javelin.

Boys cross country: Skyline boys cross country team ran itself to a fifth place finish at the class 4A state meet. Simon Sorrensen took fifth overall, while Kyle Branch was 17th.

Boys soccer: They might have finished in the middle of the KingCo 3A pack, but the Skyline boys soccer team narrowly missed a trip to state. The Spartans knocked off Newport and Sammamish in the KingCo 3A tournament, and lost a 1-0 winner-to-state matchup with Bainbridge. Skyline finished the year 11-5-3.

Wrestling: Anthony DeMatteo quietly entered the Mat Classic as sophomore, but left with a bang. The 171-pounder lost only one match before beating Everett’s Alec Bird in a 4-2 decision for third place.

Baseball: Skyline was ranked in the top 10 most of the season, and entered the KingCo tournament as the No. 1 seed with a 15-5 record. The Spartans stumbled, however, losing a close 3-2 game to Liberty in the first round. Skyline battled back to beat Newport, but lost to Liberty again, ending the season with a 16-7 record.

Boys tennis: Nick Kamisar grabbed a fifth-place finish in the 3A state tournament after winning his first three matches. He dropped the next two, but was the only player to take a set from eventual state champion Davis Mangham of Lakeside.