West Seattle, Washington
26 Tuesday
Thanks to Michael Caufield for the photo and report:
The Hiawatha Community Center 13 Boys’ Competitive Basketball Team won the Seattle Park and Rec Championship on Sunday, Mar. 26th. Great season, great league with many well-played games throughout — appreciative thanks to the Seattle Parks staff for providing the venues and scheduling.
Pictured players from left to right: J.M. Finet, Lukas Gut, Derek Hissong, Jasper Levine, Owen Caufield, Michael Schwartz, Dylan Mastroianni, and Myles Vandervelde. Coaches: Steve Hissong and Michael Caufield.
Scroll through the WSB Sports archive to see the other local champs featured here over the weekend!
Avoiding rainouts has been tough so far this season – but the West Seattle High School Wildcats played the Roosevelt HS Rough Riders today and got the win. The photo and report are from Sheree Fantz-Gut:
It was a come-from-behind win with WS scoring 8 runs in the 6th to go ahead by 2. Final: WSHS 10, Roosevelt 9. Photo: Anthony Coats, starting pitcher, who threw an excellent game.
The game was played at Hiawatha, where WSHS is scheduled to play Highline HS at 4 pm Wednesday.
And MORE citywide champs! The photo and report are from Michelle Gaither:
The Southwest Community Center Boys’ Rec 13U team won the Seattle Parks and Rec Championship for 2017.
Congrats to Coach Joel and (L-R), Koelton, Isaac, Teagan, Anthony, Richard, Keller, Uiligi, Kobe, Syr, Quinn, Coach.
Wondering how to get involved in citywide youth sports? Go here.
Another local girls-basketball team is celebrating a citywide championship! The photo and report are from Rob:
I wanted to share the great news about our girls’ 12-year-old competitive-division team that plays out of Hiawatha Community Center. After an undefeated season, the girls had a dominating performance in a 39-25 defeat of Laurelhurst Community Center for the competitive-division championship today! Great job, girls!!
From left to right: Lauren Wright, Wynn Larsen, Simone Lieberman, Emily Larsen, Chloe Stephens, Nya Crump, Aimee Askay, Molly Hatfield, Carmen Cruz, Sam Seidl, Sylvie Gliko, Tohni Robinson, Coach Daimen Crump, Coach Rob Wright, Coach Kristi Crump.
Thanks to Nicole Sipila for the photo and report!
The High Point Community Center Girls Rec 12U team won the Seattle Parks and Rec Championship for 2017.
Many of these girls have been playing together since 2nd grade. They went undefeated in the regular season, with one loss in pre- season. Tonight they won an intense game against Laurelhurst Community Center.
Congrats to Coach Gaither and Coach Dabbs for leading these young ladies to an extra-special season. The parents are so grateful to these volunteer coaches.
In the photo: Top row – Coach Gaither, Hailey D, Lauren, Paloma H, Vivian G, Nora J, Coach Dabbs. Bottom row – Kailey B, Delaney S, Katie H, Hannilore P. (Not pictured, Lane N.)
(WSB photos)
Play ball! It’s the first weekend of spring and the start of the West Seattle Little League season at Bar-S Playfields (64th SW/Admiral Way). Long hours of hard work have fixed up the damage vandals did earlier this week, and now the focus is on baseball. The younger players are on the field today – we stopped by during Coach-Pitch (~6-7 year-olds) play between the Grays and the Bombers:
WSLL’s Kathy Powers tells WSB that the Rookies (~8) start at 3:45 pm, and play goes until 7:15 tonight, as it does on Sunday, with Minors (~9-10) at 8:15 and Majors (~11-12) at 1:45. Here’s the full Jamboree schedule.
Volunteers of all ages were out this evening at the West Seattle Little League‘s facilities on Alki Point’s Bar-S Playfields, working not only to repair damage done by vandals – as reported here earlier this week – but also to fix storm damage.
Many hands make light work, as they say, and that was certainly the case.
This required an extra round of teamwork, even before the players take the field this weekend. West Seattle Little League also had words of thanks for help from their counterparts at Southwest Little League, and for water, snacks, and assistance donated by Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor) proprietor Mark Bremen.
The nonprofit organization is also planning to boost security, with measures including cameras, and is crowdfunding to raise money for them – here’s where to donate if you’d like to help.
Continuing to count down to big springtime events … the ninth annual West Seattle 5K is now two months away, on Sunday, May 21st (9:20 am start). And if you think you’ll be walking/running in it … you really want to sign up right now, because the early-bird discount rate is available for just ten more days, through March 31st. You’ll be going “to the anchor and back” (Anchor/Luna Park, from and back to 61st/Alki) on behalf of educational programs at West Seattle High School. Youth and adult participants get a T-shirt – new logo this year (by Erik Bell) – and a reusable tote bag full of sponsor swag. Kids 6 and under run/walk for free. Sign up here, now.
Last weekend, a huge volunteer turnout worked at West Seattle Little League‘s home field, Bar-S Playfields on Alki Point, to get it ready for the start of the season next weekend.
They put in hundreds of volunteer hours, league spokesperson Kathy Powers says.
Then Monday, the league’s field maintenance director went to Bar-S – and discovered vandals had struck, in a big, heart-sickening way.
(Photos courtesy WSLL. We don’t show tags in their entirety, so the photo is cropped)
Buildings were broken into, and facilities were tagged.
Also, Powers says, “The infields, already in rough shape from all the rain, were trashed by a vehicle. Most frustrating was the damage done to the newly rebuilt pitchers’ mounds and batters’ boxes.”
They’re working to fix the damage – only part of which is shown in the photos – and you can help – in two ways.
For one, Powers says, “We hope the entire West Seattle community will join us in keeping watch and reporting behavior that tries to steal our kids’ opportunity to play baseball.” (Call 911 whenever, wherever you see a crime or possible crime in progress and it’s happening now, or has just happened.)
For two, you can join in one or both work parties planned to clean up and fix up at Bar-S:
*Thursday night (March 23), 5:30-7:30 pm
*Friday night (March 24), 5:30-7:30 pm
The fields and facilities are off SW Admiral Way a short distance west of 63rd SW [map].
P.S. Yes, the vandalism has been reported to police.
Chief Sealth International High School‘s varsity baseball team is 4-1 on the season so far after another win this afternoon – 5-3 over visiting Franklin HS. The Seahawks outhit the Quakers 11-2. Pitcher Albert Roque got the win, with three strikeouts in four innings. Hitting star of the day was Evan Moe, going 3-4 with a double and triple, scoring two runs. Next up for Sealth, a road game at Ingraham, 4 pm Wednesday. (Their full season schedule is here.)
Thanks to Mike Jensen for the photo and report:
Two Seattle Lutheran High School seniors participated in today’s Washington Interstate Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game at Mountlake Terrace High School. Josh Meyer (#9) and Roberto Duenaz (#6) helped the 2B all-stars beat the 1B all-stars 132-106. Meyer scored 13 and Duenaz added 10. The WIBCA game is comprised of top players from across the state picked by coaches. Congratulations to Josh and Roberto on the conclusion of their high-school basketball career.
They also helped their team make it into this year’s state tournament.
Story and photos by Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers
Football season is months away, but West Seattle High School‘s new head coach Marcis Fennell isn’t wasting a minute.
Wednesday, he found out he got the job. Today, he was on campus after school to meet with his players.
And that wasn’t a trip across town – that was a trip from out of state. Fennell is finishing up his Ph.D. studies (in sports leadership) at the University of Idaho, where he played football in the mid-’00s.
We got the chance to talk with Coach Fennell this afternoon in the WSHS Gym, after his introductory meeting with players.
He’s no stranger to Seattle, having been on the coaching staff at Garfield High School, and says it was always in his plan to head back west, so he applied for the WSHS job, which opened after Tom Burggraff announced his retirement from a long coaching career following the 2016 season. His wife has family and friends in the area, and they are looking forward to having their two young kids have same-age playmates around, so he’s excited about the move.
“I really see that West Seattle can be successful,” he told us. “The Metro League is a pretty flat ground – aside from Eastside Catholic and O’Dea. … I know (WSHS) is a good school and a good community.’
Since he just accepted the job, he hasn’t put together his staff yet, but hopes to do so within the next few weeks. He’s looking at a “college approach” and planning to focus himself on what he’s getting a doctorate in – leadership. “My goal is to cultivate young men,” he explained, while he’ll have his staff focus on the technical points of the sport itself.
Fennell is originally from Southern California, where he went to high school at Long Beach Polytechnic. After he played for the Idaho Vandals, an injury got in the way when he tried out for the NFL, he says. So he took his leadership aspirations, and his football skill, into coaching. And now, he’ll use all of that and then some as the Wildcats’ head coach: “We want to bring a sense of pride back to West Seattle.”
The school has a long, proud history as it celebrates its centennial year, and it’s had recent success in other sports – including this year’s boys and girls basketball teams both making it to state – so the tradition, and the will, are there. New WSHS athletic director Corey Sorenson is excited too.
“Full go,” said Coach Fennell. “That’s what I’m planning.”
But in the short run, he has to head back to Idaho to finish the work of becoming Dr. Fennell.
(WSHS #1 Nate Pryor at center of WSB February 2017 photo)
The season’s not quite over yet for West Seattle High School senior Nate Pryor, who led the team to their third-place finish in the state 3A basketball championships: As we reported last month, he’s on the All-State 3A team as 3A Player of the Year, and WSHS head coach Keffrey Fazio says Pryor will receive his award while playing in the All-State Senior All-Star Games this Saturday (March 18th). The games are presented by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association at Mountlake Terrace High School, where Pryor and the 3A All-Stars will play the 4A All-Stars at 6 pm Saturday.
Tough weather for baseball today – West Seattle High School‘s scheduled home opener was rained out. But you can see the Wildcats play Saturday in an all-weather stadium – Safeco Field – free! Once again this year, WSHS is part of the High School Baseball Classic at The Safe. At 4 pm Saturday (March 18th), they play Auburn Mountainview HS.
As part of the deal for a berth in the Classic, the team sells tickets for a Mariners game later in the season. This year, to work toward the 2018 Classic, they’re selling tickets for the Saturday, June 24th, game against the Houston Astros. If you’re interested in buying one or more tickets ($18 each), and/or if you have a question, e-mail WSHSMarinersTickets@gmail.com – here’s the official flyer (which points out that June 24th is Turn Back the Clock Night, going back 40 years to the M’s inaugural season in 1977!).
(UPDATED with change of location)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:10 PM TUESDAY: Play soccer on Sunday afternoon in West Seattle for fun, and for a good cause! We just got word of this all-ages fundraising “soccer carnival” tonight from co-organizer Savita Wilson, who explains:
My friend Allegra and I are hosting a soccer event on March 19 from 1-3 pm @ Delridge
PlayfieldPlayground.During the summer, we went to Costa Rica with a soccer organization called Woza. During our two weeks there, we worked closely with two partners: Ricardo and Roberto. Both of them have started their own organizations which helps to keep kids off the streets through soccer. Allegra and I are also members of the Student Leadership Board for Woza and we want to raise money in order to help Ricardo and Roberto reach out to more kids by being be able to rent field space, new equipment, more coaching staff, etc.
The activities that will be run at the event are a 3v3 tournament, a juggling challenge, a chip challenge, and a dribbling competition. Also, there is a pre-signup for the 3v3 tournament available which gets each team a few dollars off of their signup price. Our hope is that you are all willing to help us make this exciting event happen!
They are coordinating signups through this event page. Meanwhile, you can go here to find out more about Woza Soccer.
UPDATE, 8:31 PM WEDNESDAY: Savita just e-mailed to say that they’ve lost the use of Delridge for Sunday because of double-booking so they’re not sure that the event will be in West Seattle after all. We’ll update when they get word of a location.
SECOND UPDATE: The event will be in the Delridge Community Center Park/Playground area near the skate park. Bring cash!
(Photo courtesy The Westy)
Going to the Sounders FC match on Sunday (March 19th)? The Westy Sports and Spirits (WSB sponsor) is bringing back the Westside Sounders Shuttle, starting with Sunday’s home opener vs. NY. Here’s the announcement that shuttle tickets are on sale now at The Westy:
Since this is the Opening Ceremony coming off the Seattle Sounders FC MLS Championship, the shuttle will be departing 90 minutes (all other games, 60 minutes) before the scheduled game time.
Dates currently available for purchase: 3/19, 4/8, 4/29, 5/6, 5/20
Tickets are $25 each and include:
-Round-Trip transportation from The Westy
-One Beer/Wine/Well Cocktail
-20% off at The Westy on your Shuttle Game Day
-Plus other Bonus itemsPre-buy tickets for 4 Dates and save $20 – making it $20 per ticket.
Shuttle will operate for Sounder Weekend Home Games. Shuttle is all ages; however, the full benefit of the ticket package and The Westy are still 21+.
Buy your ticket(s) in person at The Westy, 7908 35th SW.
(Photos by Colleen Huynh)
Heard about the White Center Warriors? It’s a new wrestling club that just started twice-weekly practices in West Seattle, and Joey Richards e-mailed to share the news:
Our club welcomes warriors of all ages, male and female, experienced or not.
The purpose of the club is to help introduce the sport of wrestling to the community, as well as train our youth self-control, respect, and discipline.
There is a 2-week free trial; after that, there is a one time $35 club fee. We practice from 6-8 pm every Tuesday and Thursday at Chief Sealth International High School.
No advance signup is required – if you’re interested, just show up for practice. The school is at 2600 SW Thistle; the gym is on the southeast side of the campus, north of the parking lot.
It’s baseball season! Chief Sealth International High School played its home opener this afternoon vs. Mariner HS at Southwest Athletic Complex, and won, 4-2. Nik Turcinec got the win for the Seahawks, coached by Ernest Policarpio, pitching 7 innings with four strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run; hitting highlights included Evan Moe going 1 for 3 with a double. Kyler Gaither was hit by a pitch and credited with 3 RBIs. Sealth plays another home game at noon tomorrow (Saturday), vs. Eisenhower at SWAC (2801 SW Thistle).
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
FIRST REPORT, 3:01 PM: A fourth-quarter comeback just won the West Seattle High School boys third place at the state 3A basketball championships – they beat Lincoln 66-54, as head coach Keffrey Fazio‘s team battled back from a 14-point deficit at halftime. Photos and details to come!
ADDED 8:48 PM: The magnitude of the comeback had to have alleviated a little of the sting from the buzzer-basket loss the night before. Read More
This is how it ended – WSHS basket and lead, then Garfield's buzzer basket. pic.twitter.com/cqEwoNdUIy
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 4, 2017
10:48 PM FRIDAY: Unbelievable ending here at the Tacoma Dome minutes ago – a buzzer basket at game’s end got Garfield the win over West Seattle and the trip to tomorrow’s state-championship game against Nathan Hale. Final score, Garfield 44, West Seattle 43. The Wildcats will play Lincoln for third place tomorrow here at the T-Dome at 1 pm.
This was overall a low-scoring, relatively slow-moving game that neither team dominated, though West Seattle led for much of the last quarter. Both teams were cold-shooting in the first half, neither much above 1-of-4 field-goal success, but Garfield ramped it up with a 64% field-goal percentage in the second half. West Seattle #1, senior Nate Pryor, got his team the lead briefly with their last basket – as shown in our video – and was the game’s top scorer with 19 points.
More to come.
7 AM SATURDAY: The game tipped off at 9:19 pm. Garfield scored first; West Seattle got on the board with a foul shot by Pryor at just over a minute in.
First West Seattle basket was by #5 Abdullahi Mohamed.
9:04 PM: Just in from the Tacoma Dome – the West Seattle High School boys won their first game at the state 3A basketball tournament, 62-54 over Wilson HS (Tacoma), and that means they’re in the semifinals! Tomorrow (Friday) night at 9 pm, head coach Keffrey Fazio and the Wildcats will face the winner of the game that’s just about to start, Rainier Beach vs. Garfield.
P.S. Thanks to Tami Denton for score updates (added – and a photo) from the Dome! Our photographer took ill at the last minute so we couldn’t go to Tacoma tonight, but we will be there for tomorrow night’s big game.
10:59 PM UPDATE: Garfield beat Rainier Beach, 59-58, so that’s who West Seattle plays Friday night in the semifinals.
FIRST REPORT, 9:39 PM WEDNESDAY: That’s the Roger Dahl Rifle Training Range at West Seattle Stadium. Tomorrow (Thursday) at 9:30 am, the City Council’s Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries, and Waterfront Committee will consider renewing the West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club‘s long-running lease to operate it. (The photo is part of the item on the meeting agenda.)
The proposal is for a 12-year lease with an option for a five-year extension after that. The club would pay the city $1,000 a year, up from the $200 annual payment in the lease that’s expiring.
While the range is part of a Seattle Parks facility, the Sportsmen’s Club has been involved with it for more than 50 years, since it was built in 1961, and, as the proposed ordinance going before the council says, “through a series of agreements with Parks and Recreation, has continuously maintained the facility at its own cost and expense ever since.” The new release would continue that arrangement; the city says that before the club signed its most recent lease in 2003, “the Club repaired their firing line and put in new HVAC improvements.” The slide deck for tomorrow’s meeting also notes that the club provides a number of other public benefits, including “reduced-fee access for youth programs regarding safe and proper recreational use of firearms and archery tackle,” low-cost hunter-education programs for up to 120 students a year, and several types of “community outreach” regarding firearms safety.
Tomorrow’s 9:30 am meeting at City Hall starts with a public-comment period; if you can’t be there but are interested in this item or anything else on the agenda, the meeting will be live on Seattle Channel, cable 21 or online.
ADDED 2:28 PM THURSDAY: This passed unanimously at today’s committee vote, and a final vote will be on next Monday afternoon’s City Council agenda (2 pm March 6th).
(WSB photo from first quarter)
10:27 AM: We’re at the Tacoma Dome, where the West Seattle High School girls’ second trip to the 3A state basketball tournament in three years has just ended after the first game, with a 65-54 loss to Lincoln HS. Congratulations to the Wildcats on this year’s success, including the district-tournament championship. Full story and more photos later.
ADDED 3:46 PM: Story and photos:
With the Lady Abes, the Wildcat girls faced an opponent skilled at the kind of game they themselves had been playing recently – smothering defense, rebound domination.
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