By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror

The fall sports season was a good one at Thomas Jefferson High School. The Raiders finished at or near the top of the standings in several South Puget Sound League North Division sports.

And the hard work has paid off for seven student-athletes. Raider seniors Brian Brown, Sara Byrne, Mallory Murray, Amy Pate, Kendall Swynenburg, Bryant Cameron and Courtney Tappon were honored at a letter of intent signing ceremony at the school Wednesday night.

“They have all been great contributors to TJ athletics,” said Jefferson athletic director Mike Grady. “It’s nice to be able to recognize them.”

The largest group of college signees came from the Jefferson girls soccer team. Byrne, Murray, Pate and Swynenburg all inked with four-year colleges after snaring a pair of SPSL division titles during their TJ careers. The trio of Murray, Pate and Swynenburg will play at Central Washington University in the fall and Byrne will take to the field at Eastern Washington.

Pate led the Raiders in scoring in the fall with eight goals and Byrne, Murray and Swynenburg all scored five goals apiece. Jefferson finished 8-1-5 in the SPSL North last season and were knocked out of the West Central District Tournament by Beamer.

Both Brown and Tappon are set to play golf at Green River Community College. Both qualified for the Class 4A state championships last fall. Brown finished 15th at the SPSL Medalist Tournament and Tappon ended up in a tie for seventh on the girls’ side.

Cameron will head to Eastern Washington University to play football. The 6-4, 205-pound wide receiver caught 118 passes in his TJ career for 1,758 yards and 20 touchdowns. Cameron was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection as both a receiver and defensive back his senior year.

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com