West Seattle, Washington
29 Wednesday
For most Seattle Public Schools students, the first day of school is less than four weeks away. If you have a West Seattle High School student interested in sports, the Athletics Department sends word that signups are already under way. This flyer has details of what’s being offered this fall and what isn’t. It also includes the fall sports’ game/match/meet schedules, if you’re interested in marking your calendar:
For players and families, you can go here to register online. If you have a football player in the family, head coach Jeff Scott sent us this sport-specific announcement:
Team meeting – August 18th at 4 pm at West Seattle high School
First day of Practice – August 19th at 9 am
My registration before first day of practice – www.WestSeattleFootball.com
Question? Contact Coach Scott at 206-696-5333 or email Westseattlefootball@gmail.com
Football will be the first sport to open the fall season, with the first game September 3rd.
(WSB photo, July 24)
Weekend before last, we covered two recordsetting swims between Bremerton and Alki Point. The first one was a solo swim by Melissa Kegler, who became the first swimmer to make a roundtrip on the route that’s known as the Amy Hiland Swim (for the first person on record to do it). Since then, she has written the story of what it was like – everything from seal sightings to challenging currents to what she called the “most terrifying moment” of her long history of marathon swims, as well as what it meant to be cheered on by not only the escort boat crew but also passing ferries. You can read her story here (photos too).
The weekend’s second big open-water swim between Bremerton and Alki Point was a relay – but as the final swimmer approached shore at midday today, everybody jumped in to be part of the big finish.
Guila Muir, who organized the swim and a team of her fellow over-60 swimmers calling themselves Silver Seals of the Salish Sea, was first out to applaud them all (above right). More than a dozen well-wishers were on the beach at Alki Point for the grand finish.
This was the first time the 10.4-mile Bremerton-to-Alki route, known as the Amy Hiland Swim for the first person on record to complete it (in 1959), had been done as a relay, and the first by elder swimmers. Organizer Muir was all smiles, as her years-long dream came true:
As previewed Friday, she was joined by West Seattleites Scott Lautman and Greg Rolnick, as well as Rachel Price, Zena Courtney, and Michael Palmer. Their relay went faster than expected, and the swimmers arrived before 11 am, 4:24:33 after they began. This marked a big weekend for the sport espoused by the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association; on Saturday, we covered Melissa Kegler becoming the first to do the Amy Hiland Swim as a roundtrip
(WSB photos)
12:23 PM: If you were anywhere near Alki Point around quarter till 11 this morning, you might have heard cheering. It was for Melissa Kegler, the marathon swimmer who’s attempting to become the first to do a “double lap of the Amy Hiland Swim” right now. That means she’s swimming roundtrip between Bremerton and Alki, The rules permitted her to get out of the water for a few minutes at the halfway mark.
A small group of supporters including fellow members of the Notorious Alki Swimmers were there to cheer her on. The Amy Hiland Swim, named for the first person known to complete it (in 1959), is 10.4 miles – so Kegler is aiming for almost 21 miles of swimming today; she started at 6:17 am. The Northwest Open Water Swimming Association tells us she’s “an accomplished marathon swimmer who has completed the ‘Triple Crown’ of marathon swims: the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, and around Manhattan Island. She’s a regular at Alki Beach and has been training at Alki since 2014.” Today’s water temperature is in the mid-50s.
You can track Kegler’s progress here. This is the first of two big swims between Bremerton and Alki this weekend; as we reported Friday, six swimmers over 60 will swim the route as a relay tomorrow.
ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: NOWSA reports Kegler finished the 20.8-mile swim in 10:35:13.
Meet the Silver Seals of the Salish Sea, a group of swimmers whose members have all been on the planet for at least 60 years. This Sunday, six of them – including two West Seattleites – hope to become the first swimmers to swim a relay from Bremerton to Alki Point. One of the swimmers, Guila Muir, says, “We’ll set two records, because no one has ever swum this as a relay, much less swimmers over 60.” She will swim with West Seattleites Scott Lautman and Greg Rolnick, as well as Rachel Price, Zena Courtney, and Michael Palmer. They’re expecting to start from Bremerton around 6:30 am and hope to arrive off Alki Point in the 12:30-1:30 pm vicinity. As it’s a relay, they’ll each swim for half an hour, with each swimmer doing that at least twice. “The distance each swimmer covers during that time will vary, according to currents and their swim speed. Those lucky enough to be swimming in Rich Passage may have the time of their lives, swimming with a super-fast current. That will feel like flying,” Muir says.
She says the Silver Seals are “an ad-hoc team that I put together because swimming this with over-60’s has been my dream for two years.” They’re all veteran open-water swimmers who swim in Puget Sound and/or Lake Washington year-round; Muir herself is also an “ice swimmer.” (She says the Puget Sound temperature on Sunday will be a comparatively bathtubby 57 degrees.)
Side note: The Northwest Open Water Swimming Association tells us a solo swimmer is planning to take on the Bremerton/Alki route Saturday – Melissa Kegler of Sammamish “will be swimming a double lap of the Amy Hiland Swim (Bremerton to Alki and back to Bremerton). She will be starting in Bremerton around 6 AM, and is expected to make the turn at the Alki Lighthouse sometime around 11 AM – 12 PM.” (Kegler and Muir were featured here in 2019.)
You can track both swims – once they begin and the tracking boat is sending a signal – here.
Thanks to Meg Bell with West Seattle Little League for another All-Star district-championship report – first the 12s, then the 11s, now the 10s:
Last night at Pacwest, WSLL 10s took District 7 with a 15-0 win over Renton All-Star Minors. Ian Busby pitched a no-hitter. All players up and down the lineup contributed with their bats and the defense was stellar, with a phenomenal (acrobatic) catch by Will Dunnigan. The WSLL 10s go into State undefeated. The 10s State tournament will be held in Centralia, starting July 24th at 10 am against District 12. The West Seattle Little League swept District 7 with wins by 10s, 11s, and 12s.
WSLL 10s: Joshua Blau, Brooks Kalivoda, Will Dunnigan, Hudson Kirkland, Ari Straus, Thomas Marshall, Benny Guajardo, Lex Townsend, Griffin Reed, Harry King, Ian Busby, Rowan Borg, William Kraynek. Managers JJ Guajardo, Chris Kraynek, Sam Reed, and David Blau.
P.S. Reminder that WSLL is hosting sandlot-style informal baseball for any and all 8-to-12-year-olds tonight, as featured in our daily preview – just show up at Bar-S at 5:30 pm!
We take a quick break from an afternoon full of transportation information for big news from Meg Bell of West Seattle Little League:
Last night at Bar-S Fields, the West Seattle Little League 11s All-Stars won the District 7 Championship. They defeated Rainier District All-Stars 20-11.
While the score looks like a decisive victory, the two teams ended the 6th inning in a tie, 8-8. Tied 11-11 in the top of the 9th inning, WSLL tallied 9 runs to take the lead and held the Rainier District scoreless in the bottom half. It was a true team effort with 24 hits, including a home run by Madis Meyer and excellent pitching by Ayla Moore, Charlie Aykens, and Cruz Palepoi.
The 11s team: Alex Datz, Ayla Moore, Grady Scheff, Parker Manderino, Madis Meyer, Vinny Cramer-Nilson, Charlie Aykens, Jameson Kirkland, Jason Klein, Lily Frazzini, Cruz Holmes, Cruz Palepoi, and Ezra Dykgraaf, with coaches Otis Moore, Nick Datz, and Nick Meyer.
The WSLL All-Stars will represent District 7 at the Washington State 11s All-Star Tournament. The tournament begins July 24th in Woodinville. The 11s join the West Seattle 12s All-Stars, who will also represent District 7 at their state tournament in Redmond starting Saturday, July 17th. On Thursday, July 15th, the West Seattle Little League 10s team plays for the district title at the Pacwest Fields.
The return of youth sports this season has had winning results for West Seattle Little League – they’re sending a team to the state championships! Thanks to Meg Bell for the photo and Knathan Ryan for the report:
West Seattle Little League 12s won the District 7 Championship last night, July 1, defeating the South Highline Nationals by a score of 11-6 at Bar S Fields.
Timely hitting, great defense, and consistent pitching were the factors for this team throughout the tournament and led to their ultimate win. Otis Schlede and Asher Straus hit a grand slam and solo home runs, respectively, to lead the offensive onslaught in the championship game. The Westside All-Stars went undefeated in the tournament. The team now advances to the Washington State Little League All-Star Tournament held in Redmond, which begins on July 17.
Congrats, West Seattle All Stars! Here’s the lineup of the team: Alex O’Donnell, Asher Straus, Otis Schlede, Aiden Peters, Waylon Ryan, Owen Fahy, Kye Ritzman, Jaxton Dailey, Sam Kraynek, Liam Bell, Cole Williamson, Mateo Garcia, Ben Grimes, and Brady Stenberg, with coaches Mike Fahy, Matt Schlede, and Knathan Ryan.
WSLL is hosting the district’s 9/10/11 All-Star tournament starting July 10th.
(WSB photo, last week – Lowman Beach tennis court and swing set)
About 50 people showed up online Tuesday evening for the third meeting about a possible racket-sport court for Lowman Beach Park once the current one is removed along with the failing seawall nearby. Here’s what it boiled down to: Seattle Parks says it’s open to the idea of a pickleball court in currently open space on the south side of the park, but not another tennis court. And Parks doesn’t have money for any added features, so if a pickleball court is proposed and approved, the estimated $450,000 cost would have to be covered by a community fundraising campaign. A community group, the Seattle Sports Complex Foundation, got a grant to cover the cost of the process up to this point, working with HBB Landscape Architecture on concepts, but as was made clear last night, this meeting marked the end of that process. Furthermore, Kliment said Parks’ approval wasn’t guaranteed if this community group or someone else decided to pursue the pickleball option – just that Parks isn’t opposed to it, as long as it wouldn’t require removal of the park’s popular swing set, but Parks is opposed to a new tennis court. So now the ball is in community advocates’ court, so to speak. As for how much longer the current court will be available, the removal project (also grant-funded) is out to bid right now and expected to start later this summer. As explained in a separate series of public meetings, it will result in beach restoration and Pelly Creek daylighting.
P.S. Parks says it’ll post video of last night’s meeting on this page soon – we’ll add that link here when it’s available.
A big bike ride in and near West Seattle, White Center, and beyond is set for Sunday (June 27th), and Cascade Bicycle Club spokesperson Paul Tolmé emailed us to be sure you know:
Cascade Bicycle Club’s Ride for Major Taylor will take place this Sunday in West Seattle. We would like to alert residents that there will be bicycles on the roads (and many youth bicyclists) and we ask for drivers to be alert and aware of our youth bicyclists. Cascade and its Major Taylor Project would also like to thank West Seattle residents for being courteous to our riders.
And due to the forecast heat, we’d also like to let residents know that we encourage them to come out and cheer on our riders — and maybe offer willing riders a spray from the garden hose to cool off :)
Above is the 26-mile route map (see the route’s turn-by-turn description on the second page here); below, the 65-mile route (or here, with turn-by-turn on the second page).
Both start from the bicycle playground at White Center’s Dick Thurnau Park. Registration is closed, as they maxed out at 500 riders. P.S. The ride is a benefit for the Major Taylor Project; read about its namesake, a superstar runner and rider in the 19th/20th centuries, here.
(2012 Lowman Beach aerial photo – pre-Murray CSO Project – by Long Bach Nguyen
Last weekend we published the announcement of a third public meeting about what might happen at Lowman Beach Park once the crumbling seawall and neighboring tennis court are removed. The announcement said only that “two concepts” would be discussed. Today Seattle Parks revealed those two concepts are: Pickleball court, or no replacement. But Parks also says more tennis courts in the area will be opened to the public. From the announcement:
Two public meetings have been held and three concepts were reviewed. After reviewing the work from the community and the design team, SPR recommends either adding a pickleball court (and saving the swings) or allowing for no additional change than the beach restoration project. SPR does not support the tennis-court concept.
SPR’s recommendation takes into account the park location, its unique characteristics, proximity to other tennis courts, and future maintenance impacts. In addition, SPR reviewed the images from the public meetings, phone calls, emails, and the extensive community outreach to inform this decision. The decision also supports SPR’s Strategic Plan, as the Healthy Environment section calls out preserving a healthy ocean and marine environment that contribute to the health of the Seattle and Pacific ecosystem and a balance between active and passive recreation.
SPR did hear from the community about the importance of racket courts and has worked out an agreement with Seattle Public Schools to open the six courts at the Southwest Athletic Complex [WSB photo above]. The courts are free for drop-in unless reserved … Information about court reservations can be found here.
(We don’t see the SWAC courts listed there yet; we’ll check with Parks tomorrow.) Back to Lowman Beach – the meeting is online at 6:30 pm next Tuesday (June 29th); register here to participate. If the pickleball concept is pursued, funds have to be raised to build it, as Parks has no funding allocated beyond the beach restoration following the seawall/tennis-court removal.
(WCN/WSB photo from June 2019)
If you’ve gone to a Highline Bears baseball game at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center, you know it’s a fun time, more up-close-and-personal (and affordable) than a major-league matchup. The Bears have to play mostly on the road this year because of the pandemic but they’re taking the opportunity in the meantime to get ready for a re-branding: They’re looking for a new name, and accepting suggestions through the Fourth of July. The full story’s on our partner site White Center Now.
Go Time Athletics, an indoor sports center in Georgetown, is expanding to West Seattle. The new facility at 4835 West Marginal Way has an open house next Friday (June 25th). From the announcement we received:
Come celebrate the Grand Opening of our new space in West Seattle, and enjoy our Open House on Friday, June 25th. We are incredibly pleased to announce our new indoor volleyball facility and toddler sports center, at 4835 West Marginal Way SW.
Go Time Athletics has expanded into the West Seattle area with their new flagship facility designers to service all of the West Seattle youth athletes. A full volleyball court, turfed area (coming in September), weight-room area, and more are available to train and develop athletes in multiple sports.
For those athletes playing baseball and softball, an indoor turfed area with batting cages is being built out and will be completed in September 2021. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling will also be offered soon.
Join us for a great opportunity to try out our gym for free. Bring your friends and family, and meet our head Volleyball Coach Joe Baleto along with our instructors.
Open House schedule is as follows:
10:00 am-1:00 pm – Toddler Time at Go Time Athletics West Seattle
Toddler Time – Bring your toddler to try out our new play space, and check out our sports offerings, including volleyball, basketball, soccer, bowling, corn hole, hopscotch, ring toss, obstacle course play, jumping on a trampoline, circle time, and more.
6:00 pm-9:00 pm – Open Volleyball Play at Go Time Athletics West Seattle
Open Volleyball Play – Join us for an evening of pick-up volleyball on our newly installed competition volleyball court! Bring your friends and play around for a bit. We’re offering summer camps, personal training sessions, clinics, coed leagues and open gym times.
More info about the company, and registration links, can be found on the Go Time Athletics website.
The boys’ soccer teams at Chief Sealth International High School and West Seattle High School have both done well this pandemic-abbreviated season. So a lot was on the line in their rematch at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex today, one week after Sealth defeated West Seattle 3-2. But today – the Wildcats took the win, 1-0
Another note – as the last home game of the year for the Seahawks, this was Senior Night for Sealth.
(Both schools’ graduations are this Saturday, at Memorial Stadium downtown.)
Thanks to Laura James for the report and photo:
After dominating the Metro League for the past two months, the incredible Chief Sealth girls’ wrestling team put an exclamation point at the end of their season with a resounding team win at the Metro championship tournament last weekend! We also honored our awesome seniors from the girls’ and boys’ teams: Hazel Dahlquist, Mariajose Estrada, Michael Laudermilk, Erick Mejia, Owen Murray, MarÃa Pérez, Khalia Tenari, Renaeh Ureste, and Dominic Novito (who joined us this season from West Seattle High School).
Next up: the boys’ Metro tournament on Friday at Ingraham High School. Both teams are led by Head Coach Maurice Dolberry and Assistant Coaches Daron Camacho, Sergio Lopez, and Joey Richards.
Two big events this week at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle): The Metro League track and field championships are planned at the stadium Wednesday and Friday afternoons/evenings (June 9th and 11th). 16 schools are scheduled to participate; the schedule for Wednesday’s events is here. (Thanks to meets announcer David Feinberg for the tip.)
Three local high-school varsity teams scored basketball victories Friday night:
West Seattle with a 52-51 victory over O’Dea HS! Isaiah Watts with the game winning 3! #WestSeattle #BleedBlue #GoWildcats #noplacelikewestseattle @westseattleblog @AthleticsMetro @donaldwatts24 pic.twitter.com/i7MTQ7IdAz
— WSHS Athletics (@WSHSAthletics1) May 8, 2021
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL: The tweet above includes the late-in-the-game winning three-pointer in the Wildcat boys’ 52-51 victory over previously undefeated O’Dea. The team, coached by Dan Kriley, played at home; they’re on the road against Cleveland next Friday night. (Last night’s scheduled girls’ game vs. Holy Names was postponed.)
CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL: Both varsity teams beat Cleveland last night. 66-57 was the final score for the boys, coached by Colin Slingsby; 40-24 was the final score for the Seahawk girls, coached by Mario Martinez. The girls are scheduled to play at Nathan Hale on Wednesday; the boys’ next scheduled game is at Franklin next Friday.
(Image courtesy WSHS)
More high-school-football honors – West Seattle High School finished the abbreviated season 3-1, and postseason honorees in the Metro League Valley Division include head coach Jeffery Scott and a long list of his players. Here’s the list we received of the Wildcats’ honorees:
2021 METRO VALLEY ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Offensive MVP: Jimmy Fomby (senior)
Defensive MVP: Reuben Leiataua (junior)
Coach of the Year: Jeffery ScottFIRST TEAM
RB: Jasper Mors (senior)
Wide Receiver, Defensive Back: Jimmy Fomby (senior)
Tight End, Linebacker: Jaxton Helmstetler (junior)
Offensive Line: Reuben Leiataua (junior)
Offensive Line: Dominic Novito (senior)
Defensive Tackle: Reuben Leiataua (junior)SECOND TEAM
QB: Axel Johnson (sophomore)
RB: Quinn O’Neill (junior)
Wide Receiver: Connor Berry (senior)
Offensive Line: Sebastian Chik (junior)
Offensive Line: Chris Manion (junior)
Defensive Back: Roman Centioli (sophomore)
Linebacker: Connor Berry (senior)
Defensive End: Ben Lapchis (senior)
Defensive End: Dominic Novito (senior)
Defensive Tackle: Chris Manion (junior)
Defensive Tackle: Sean Satia (junior)
Kicker: JP Dufour (senior)
Punter: Bo Gionet (freshman)HONORABLE MENTION
Wide Receiver: Christian Halter (senior)
Tight End: Mark Ursino (junior)
Defensive Back: Julian Tooman (sophomore)
Defensive Back: Rune Hendershot (sophomore)
Linebacker: Casey Maxwell (junior)
(WSB photo from March, when CSIHS defeated WSHS in the annual Huling Bowl)
Under first-year head coach Daron Camacho, the just-concluded football season was a big success for Chief Sealth International High School, finishing 5-2, and now there’s word of postseason honors for some members of the team. Check out the Metro Sound Division all-league team list:
The Seahawks’ honorees are:
2021 METRO SOUND ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
LEAGUE MVP: Zack Cunningham – #3, Chief Sealth senior
LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Uiligi Vasega – #60, Chief Sealth senior1ST TEAM
QB, Teagan Gaither, #5, senior
WR & SAFETY, Quinn Killham, #4, senior
DL, Ja’Hiem Scott, #12, senior2ND TEAM
OL, Emmanuel Magdeleno Deluna, #59, senior
OL, Jameil Quilantang, #70, senior
MLB, Mason Vaughn-Thomas, #7, junior
OLB, Grayson Leui-Steele, #33, sophomore
DL, Ethan Heathershaw, #41, junior (also Honorable Mention as TE)HONORABLE MENTION
WR, Demiko Bousley, #8, sophomore
DL, Randy Johnson, #79, senior
DL, Tre’Shawn Vinson, #55, senior
Thanks to Andrew for the photo and report from Friday evening: “Hard-fought 12-8 victory for West Seattle over Kennedy, at North SeaTac Park. Way to go, Wildcats!” Here’s a bit more about local high-school lacrosse; the WS team’s schedule is here.
High-school baseball season is in full swing! Thanks to Sean for this recap from a big cross-peninsula game on Thursday (and to the Chief Sealth IHS parent who sent the photo):
After a year of no high school baseball, the Chief Sealth Seahawks and West Seattle Wildcats renewed their rivalry on April 29th. Chief Sealth came away victorious with an 11-2 win before an enthusiastic crowd at Hiawatha Playfield.
Chief Sealth was spurred on by a 7-run first inning. Ryan Moore was on the bump for Sealth and went 6 innings, yielding 2 runs, 5 hits, 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Miles Gosztola was stellar in relief for West Seattle with 5 innings pitched and 12 strikeouts.
Chief Sealth had 10 hits to West Seattle’s 6. Coleman Ransom and Teagan Gaither had multiple hits for Sealth, and Jaxton Helmstetler had multiple hits for WS. Both Matthew Henning for WS and Marcel Jones for Sealth hit home runs. It was a great day for baseball. The two teams will renew their rivalry with a doubleheader at SWAC on May 24th.
Baseball is one of the high-school sports that are proceeding with condensed seasons.
As Seattle Public Schools‘ high-school students get ready for part-time in-person learning starting Monday, a delayed major-sport season is winding down. Both West Seattle HS and Chief Sealth IHS won their football games this week – West Seattle over Nathan Hale last night, 24-0, while Sealth beat Ingraham on Thursday, 23-22. The Seahawks are 5-2, the Wildcats 3-1. Another major sport season is around the corner – the delayed basketball season starts week after next, for girls as well as boys.
Thanks to James for the tip. The University of Washington beach-volleyball team is playing at Alki today, Saturday, and Sunday. From the announcement:
Washington Beach Volleyball gets to compete in the sands of Seattle for the first time in over two years this weekend, making up for lost time with a total of seven matches over three days at Alki Beach this Friday through Sunday, April 16-18. The first two days will make up one tournament, the Husky Invitational, featuring UW, 15th-ranked Hawaii, Oregon, and Portland. Then Sunday will be three more dual matches separate from the tourney, with UW, Hawaii and 9th-ranked Arizona all playing each other once.
It’s the first home matches for UW since March of 2019. It’s also the last week of the regular season as the Pac-12 Championships are next up for the Dawgs starting on April 29.
Though past visits have drawn crowds, this time they’re asking you to stay away:
Fans are respectfully requested not to attend the weekend’s matches at Alki Beach. Due to Covid-19 protocols and the openness of the area, crowds cannot be controlled nor can seats be assigned.
Going into the weekend, the Huskies are 1-7. Their appearances at Alki date back to 2016.
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