West Seattle, Washington
27 Monday
ORIGINAL 3:21 PM REPORT: Thanks to Michael for sharing the photo of the Marlins. They’re the winners of the West Seattle Little League end-of-season tournament minor-league championship after beating the Nationals 13-4 on Saturday.
ADDED 6:05 PM: And congratulations to the Cubs, who won the WSLL EOS major-league championship this afternoon, per this report, winning 10-1 over the Cardinals.
For the second time in less than a year, a deadly heart attack has felled a youth-sports coach on the sidelines of a field in West Seattle. Last October, it was 38-year-old West Seattle Soccer Club coach Ed Kingston, at Riverview Playfield; last Thursday, KIRO TV reported today, 34-year-old baseball coach Ian Holding died on a field at the Southwest Athletic Complex. The KIRO report links to a memorial website for Coach Holding, which says family and friends are gathering tonight in Normandy Park to remember him. The tribute website says he was a coach for the 15U team of the Burien-based Washington Brewers, part of the Seattle Elite Baseball League, and that his 15- and 7-year-old sons were there when it happened. A memorial fund has been set up; donation information is here.
(Photo by Dave Howard, courtesy West Seattle Running Club)
Notice something suddenly more visible on the Alki Trail? The West Seattle Running Club has repainted its mileage markers. Club member Melissa Ransdell shares this report:
The mileage markers along the outside edge of the Alki Trail are now easier for runners, walkers and others to spot. Members of the West Seattle Running Club recently repainted them. Four miles of trail are accurately marked off in quarter mile increments beginning at the start of the paved trail on Alki Avenue, continuing north around Harbor Avenue, then heading east under the West Seattle Bridge. The four-mile mark is just before Chelan Café.
The markers were first installed in the late ’90s by West Seattle Running Club members, using an engineer’s wheel for accuracy, to make it easier to calculate distance and pace. City of Seattle provided permission and Salty’s funded the cost of the initial materials. Club members donate time and materials to keep them maintained.
Joggers and runners who are 40 years old and over and looking for year-round motivation and support are encouraged to check out West Seattle Running Club. Newcomers who can jog at least three miles at any pace are welcome. Meet members and learn more on Sunday mornings at 8:30 at the Statue of Liberty (the ¼ mile mark on the Alki Trail) or at www.westseattlerunningclub.org.
Even with summer still a few weeks away, it’s fall-registration season for West Seattle Soccer Club, and they’re asking everyone to register early – not just players, but also coaches and volunteers. Players who sign up by June 30th get “priority placement on their former teams,” per the WSSC announcement. Sign up online at westseattlesoccer.org. (And when you do, you get to buy the new WSSC scarf for $10 – more pics on the club’s Facebook page.)
Just announced by Greg Whittaker, proprietor of Mountain to Sound Outfitters and Alki Kayak Tours, a new venture right on the beach!
Mountain to Sound Outfitters has finalized a permit for Stand Up Paddleboard Rentals on Alki Beach with Seattle Parks and Recreation.
The concession will be located off of 55th Ave SW and Alki Avenue at the human-powered launch area of Alki Beach. This Saturday, Mountain to Sound Rentals will be open and renting Stand up Paddleboards (SUP) for the sunny weather and to start setting up the season’s program.
Mountain to Sound Rentals will also be providing sit-on-top kayaks, skates, and longboards as the season progresses.
Come by and check out the new expansion Saturday, and hop on a Stand Up Paddleboard, or just swing by and say hi.
(WSB photo from 2011 tournament)
With a week and a half to go till the second annual Chief Sealth Athletics Golf Tournament, organizers are ready to see the final spots fill up so it’s a full lineup when everybody tees up. June 1st is the day, Rainier Golf and Country Club the place. Sealth athletic director Sam Reed explains, “The goal of the Chief Sealth Athletics Golf Tournament is to become the prime method of fundraising for our student-athletes. The inaugural event in 2011 raised over $5,000 which went directly toward supporting athletic efforts including transportation, uniforms and equipment, and building quality lower level programs (JV and C-teams).” There are also some specific needs, from buying banners to celebrate past championships – previous banners were lost in the remodel – to funding a certified strength coach who can design programs to help the students best utilize Sealth’s state-of-the-art weight room. If you can swing it, it’s a great excuse to take that Friday afternoon off – and you can register online right now, with the fees including food and beverages as well as golf.
(Results link now added. Pre-race coverage here!)
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
The drizzle couldn’t stop the enthusiasm at the fourth annual West Seattle 5K (organized by the West Seattle High School PTSA, with co-sponsors including WSB), wrapping up soon with an awards ceremony. Check out the sea of green above, the color for this year’s official race T-shirt – and the intensity of the first seconds!
Here’s our video of all the runners and walkers as the WS5K began – 1,008 signed up, organizers say:
(Video by Tracy Record)
Kelly Spady (16:56) and Lana Lacey (18:14) were the top male and female finishers. (Added: Full results are now online here.) We caught up with Kelly, who works for West Seattle Runner (WS5K co-sponsor and WSB sponsor), right after the race:
(Photos by Patrick Sand from hereon out unless otherwise credited)
Here’s our video of Lana crossing the finish line:
From further down the course, a look over the crowd:
(Photo by Debra Salazar Herbst)
Then there are the always-fun scenes from the rest of the crowd – strollers, dogs, and more:
(Evening note – we have learned via e-mail, that’s Jennifer and her Briard – a “French herding breed,” she says – named Zorro, who “run together all year and are always happy to be able to race together in the West Seattle 5K.”)
The West Seattle High School Band performed, post-race:
5:25 PM NOTE: In case you missed it added in the story above, here again is the link to full race results.
The warmups are complete and we’re looking ahead to race time around 9:30 at Alki, for the fourth annual West Seattle 5K – but it’s been busy at and around the start/finish line for quite a while already.
From left, that’s Cathy, Denise, Lisa, and Cheryl from the West Seattle High School PTSA, which created and benefits from the WS 5K. WSHS principal Ruth Medsker was on hand early, greeting arriving runners/walkers:
WSB is proud to be a co-sponsor of the WS 5K, as we’ve been every year since its inception. Others sponsors include WSB sponsor West Seattle Runner, whose Tim and Lori McConnell are of course running this morning:
More coverage to come. Remember, Harbor and Alki are entirely closed from Don Armeni to 63rd till about 11 – then traffic is restricted to 56th, with 56th-63rd completely closed to traffic, 11 am-5 pm for Seattle Summer Streets – lots of activities this year.
The West Seattle High School baseball team fought to get to the state playoffs, but were shut out this morning in Bellevue in their first-round playoff game. Timberline won at Bannerwood Park, 5-0.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
We often hear from youth sports groups including soccer, softball, baseball, football, swimmers, skaters … but until a tip from Larry two nights ago, we hadn’t heard from or about the West Seattle Totems. They are a very successful youth-sports group in our area – with a waiting list, we’re told. The Totems’ sport is riflery; they practice at the West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club‘s Roger Dahl Shooting Range underneath West Seattle Stadium. We were invited to visit the Totems’ celebration last night of recent successes in statewide and other competition – note the medals and trophies – and took a group photo; speaking of photography, West Seattle photographer Machel Spence was there too – turns out she’s a Totem mom and helped round up information, including the fact that several of the team members will compete in the Air Rifle Nationals this year, and that West Seattle Totems shooters have achieved three national records!
An amazing season ended tonight for the Chief Sealth International High School boys’ soccer team – one in which they were ranked among the state’s top teams, ran up an incredible winning streak, and made it to the state playoffs. Shorewood, the state’s #1 team, edged the Seahawks 2-1 tonight at Shoreline Stadium.
At the end of the game, the team applauded and cheered those who had come to cheer for them. Toward the start, we photographed them in an on-the-road edition of the “Hawks Nest”:
The game was a draw through the first half, 0-0 at halftime – no scoring till the 49th minute, as our partners at the Seattle Times report. Led by Head Coach Ron Johnson, Sealth closes the season at 14-3-1; Shorewood is undefeated, with 20 wins.
In a comment on the WSB Facebook page, Sealth athletic director Sam Reed thanked the fans who made the trek to Shorewood, then writing, “So proud of our boys and especially the Seniors that worked so hard to build something special during their time as Seahawks.”
At Steve Cox Memorial Field in White Center tonight, West Seattle High School and Liberty HS faced off for a berth in the state tournament – and WSHS came out on top, 2-1.
Here’s the box score from our partners at the Seattle Times.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Wildcats play Timberline at 10 am at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue this Saturday.
Two postseason high-school baseball games today involving teams from West Seattle:
LUTHERAN TO STATE: Playing in Stanwood, Seattle Lutheran High School beat Concrete this afternoon and is now headed to the state regionals, playing in Anacortes next Saturday, according to the SLHS Twitter feed.
O’DEA BEATS WSHS: This one was played at midday at Steve Cox Memorial Field in White Center.
West Seattle High School lost 4-1; O’Dea goes on to state. WSHS has one more chance at a state berth, with a game on Tuesday.
WSHS BASEBALL: This afternoon at Steve Cox Memorial Field in White Center, the Wildcats beat top-ranked Seattle Prep, 7-4 – such a big win, our partners at the Seattle Times wrote this standalone story. WSHS plays O’Dea in a winner-to-state game at 11 tomorrow morning.
SEALTH SOFTBALL: They “settle for 4th in Metro,” as athletic director Sam Reed tweeted it, after a loss today.
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Blanchet defeated the Seahawk girls 11-3, but Sealth still moves on to district playoffs.
SEALTH BASEBALL: Their season ended with a 4-3 loss to O’Dea.
Reed says it’s the second year their season ended “one game away from State.”
WSHS SOFTBALL: They lost to Nathan Hale, 8-5.
The softball games were played at Lower Woodland Park in North Seattle.
SOFTBALL: In 3:30 pm games today, Sealth is scheduled to face Blanchet and West Seattle is scheduled to play Nathan Hale. In Thursday games, according to our partners at the Seattle Times, Sealth fell to Holy Names, 19-1, while West Seattle beat Seattle Prep, 9-6.
BASEBALL: West Seattle and Chief Sealth both had games at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. The Seahawks came away with a win:
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
They edged Ingraham, 3-2 (here are the stats); the Wildcats shut out Nathan Hale 10-0:
Both play again today – West Seattle vs. Prep (at 4 pm – just verified that with the school), and Sealth vs. O’Dea.
The Chief Sealth International High School boys-varsity soccer team is in the state tournament, after shutting out Bishop Blanchet in conference-tournament play at Interbay on Thursday, 3-0. That’s another shutout for keeper Kristian Nilssen; here’s the rest of the game summary from our partners at the Seattle Times.
9:49 AM UPDATE: According to Sealth athletic director Sam Reed, Sealth’s first state-tournament game will be on Tuesday – details TBA.
High-school spring sports are now into postseason play – and here’s some of what’s happened so far (thanks to our partners at the Seattle Times for some of the scores):
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
SOFTBALL: Chief Sealth and West Seattle both played on Wednesday in the Metro League tournament. Sealth won its game against Seattle Prep, 11-4 (photo above), while WSHS lost to Holy Names, 8-7. Both teams play again today – swapping opponents, essentially; their 3:30 pm games are Sealth vs. Holy Names and WSHS vs. Prep.
Meantime, at Interbay:
SOCCER: A hard-fought game on Wednesday between Chief Sealth’s standout team and Bainbridge Island, which just two weeks earlier had been the first team to beat the Seahawks all season.
It took extra time, but Bainbridge defeated Sealth again – this time 1-0. Sealth is scheduled for a game today against Bishop Blanchet.
BASEBALL: There’s a doubleheader at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center today – at 4 pm West Seattle vs. Nathan Hale, followed by Chief Sealth vs Ingraham at 7 pm. Meantime, Seattle Lutheran is scheduled to play Concrete this Saturday, after a big win on Tuesday:
The Saints shut out La Conner in that game, 10-0.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
It’s post-season time for high-school baseball – and both West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School played their first tournament games today, both here on the peninsula. One other thing they had in common: Both got shut out, Sealth losing to Bishop Blanchet 2-0 (photo below), WSHS losing to O’Dea 10-0 (photo above).
It’s a double-elimination tournament, though, so both will get another chance.
The sun dropped in for a while during this afternoon’s Carne Asada Bowl soccer game/cookout at Southwest Athletic Complex, with Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks beating the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (aka Seattle World School) Internationals – which means they get the trophy, with which we got head coach Ron Johnson to pose:
The Carne Asada Bowl is about more than soccer – Sealth athletic director Sam Reed described it in his announcement as “a way to unite two communities that share much in common – many of our past and current Chief Sealth players have transitioned into high school through the BOC – and celebrate soccer as a diverse, worldwide sport.” Celebrations, of course, mean food:
The feast was free, thanks to lots of help, including parents, other supporters, and faculty – like Sealth’s Delfino Muñoz, who cooked up the event’s namesake Carne Asada:
He was all smiles at the big turnout for today’s game – Sealth’s acclaimed band played too:
Next stop for the Metro Sound Division-winning home team, the playoffs – one more look at the field today:
We’ll have the postseason games in the calendar soon as they’re announced.
Chief Sealth International High School‘s spring-sports program now has two division champions!
SOCCER DIVISION CHAMPS: Tonight, the boys-varsity team clinched the Metro Sound Division title:
They shut out Nathan Hale 1-0 – with Kristian Nilssen on goal – at Southwest Athletic Complex tonight. (Stats here, from our partners at the Seattle Times.)
It was also seniors’ night; the graduating players were scheduled to be honored at game’s end – before the game, we caught up with students and parents who were putting together the postgame celebration (food, balloons, etc.):
From left, Noele, Tasha, Ryan, Claire, and “Coach Mom” Rosario.
SOFTBALL DIVISION CHAMPS: Even before tonight’s soccer victory, Sealth already had a division winner. Athletic director Sam Reed reports that the girls-varsity softball team concluded its regular season Monday by defeating Roosevelt, ending with a 15-5 record, the Sound Division title, and a look ahead to the playoffs starting next week.
Coming up this Saturday (May 5th), you’re invited to the Seattle Lutheran High School Football Team Fundraising Dinner for the 2012 season, 5 pm at the SLHS Gym (41st and Genesee). Per the announcement we received: “Guest speakers are both former UW Husky players: Nesby Glasgow, who also played for the Seahawks, and Deacon Demetrius Deke Devers. Emcee and hostess for the evening is Sonya Doswell. Bring a friend or two and enjoy an evening of fellowship and food while supporting the Seattle Lutheran High School Saints.” You can buy your ticket online – here’s the link.
(WSB video of the game’s first half, starting with player introductions; clip #2 here, conclusion here)
As noted here in recent weeks, the Chief Sealth International High School boys-varsity soccer team is having an outstanding year, currently ranked #4 in the state. Tonight, the #2 team, Bainbridge Island, crossed the Sound to visit Sealth, and the result was the Seahawks’ first loss of the year, 6-2. Sizable crowd for the evening game at Southwest Athletic Complex, and somebody even brought a vuvuzela!
(WSB photo from 2011 West Seattle 5K)
Run with your dog! Run with your kids! Your parents! (You can walk too, of course …) Three weeks from Sunday, the West Seattle 5K steps up to the starting line in Alki as the first half of an always-fun day, followed by car-free Seattle Summer Streets along a few blocks of beachfront Alki Avenue SW. WSB is proud to have co-sponsored the West Seattle 5K since its very first year, and it’s always cool to cover, too, especially if YOU are there. If you haven’t already registered, the earlybird rate expires next Thursday, so you might as well sign up now – then join the fun at 9 am Sunday, May 20th.
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