West Seattle, Washington
04 Thursday
Two updates from this past week’s West Seattle Girls Softball championships:
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S GAME: We stopped by Fairmount Playfield on Wednesday night after a tip that we’d find the 12U championship game there. Final score – (Vashon) Rockettes 13, (West Seattle) Flame Throwers 5. In our photo, that’s Kate from the Flame Throwers, at left, with Pippa from the Rockettes trying to evade the out.
MONDAY NIGHT – UMPIRES’ SURPRISE: The Monday night slate led to an interesting story from Kayleen Dunson, the West Seattleite who is this region’s Umpire In Chief:
The West Seattle Girls Softball fastpitch league is usually covered with just one umpire. Most of the players in the league range in ages from 10-15 and it is a true recreational level. This year, the league requested two umpires for the championship game – to give the girls the thrill of playing the game with two umpires. Seattle UIC Kayleen Dunson didn’t want to stop there. “I thought it would be awesome to give these young players the sense that they were in the big leagues – let’s give them 3-umpires, just like the college players.”
(Umpires with players – from left, Mike Katz, Kayleen Dunson, Shani Neamen)
Dunson lives in West Seattle and cut her teeth umpiring this local league. “These young women, their coaches, and their parents are models of great sportsmanship and a supportive enthusiastic community. I wanted to give all of them something to remember.”Dunson was assigned to work the game with another local West Seattle umpire, Shani Neamen, and so recruited yet another West Seattle umpire, Mike Katz, to join the crew. The all-local umpire team arrived on site and were treated like rock-stars; cheery hellos from the fans, giggles and whispers of “it’s my favorite umpire” from the players; and strong hearty handshakes from the coaches.
But there was only one team at the park – the other team had to forfeit, so there was no game to umpire. That didn’t stop the group from taking a team photo with the three umpires and breaking out into a raucous game of kickball.
“This is softball at its absolute best,” Dunson said. “And we will be back next year!”
Find out more about WSGS at westseattlegirlssoftball.com.
By Randall Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
West Seattle High School has announced that Darnell Taylor will succeed Sonya Elliott as head coach of its girls-varsity basketball team.
“Coach Taylor lives in the West Seattle community and wants to see our Girls Basketball program succeed at the highest level,” WSHS athletic director Trevor Leopold tells WSB. “He will demand a lot of the players, and, by doing so, will be able to build relationships, not only with the girls on the team but the community, as well.“
Taylor, 36, spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant at Liberty High School in Renton, helping head coach Carly Fromdahl guide the Patriots to a district championship. Despite the success, Taylor tells WSB that the commute from his West Seattle home to the east side of Renton was forcing him to consider taking a break from high-school coaching, as he had prior to last season to be able to help at home with the pending birth of his son DJ, now 3 years old (with his dad in the photo, above right).
More congratulations as the school year and sports seasons come to an end. Thanks to Ann Conway for the photos and report:
Congratulations to Holy Rosary School‘s 7th-grade boys’ CYO team (National League – predominantly 7th graders) who took first place. The game was played at Walt Hundley Playfield on Sunday the 8th. Go Gators!
During the game, the Holy Rosary Gator made an appearance and played a pivotal role while in deep centerfield.
P.S. Holy Rosary’s school year ends Friday after morning Mass; tomorrow is a short day, too.
More champions to congratulate! This time, from West Seattle Baseball. First, Pat Galvin shares the report and photo of the Performance Radiator U10 Mustang championship win:
Entering the championship game through the losers’ bracket by winning 5 games in a row, PR won the first game Saturday vs West Seattle Design Build 6-5. That forced a second game. PR was up in the second game, 12-8 in the bottom of the 6th inning; PR allowed WSDB to creep back into the game, making it exciting, but ultimately holding on for a 12-11 victory with the winning run in scoring position.
Front Row: Will Skibitzke, Matthew Hein, Jack Henzke, Marc Christianson Jr, Jason Mai
Middle Row: Adrian Shields Jr., John Langen, Patrick Galvin Jr. Jayven Pham, Brendan Johnson
Back Row: Adrian Shields, Pat Galvin (Manager), Derek Johnson
And from Erik Ricard:
Over in the 8U Pinto Division, Windermere outlasted Husky Deli to win 4-1. Both teams played near-flawless defense with spectacular plays in a game that was tied 0-0 after four innings.
Front Row: Sam Krische, Chase Valdez, Liam Baier, Ford Rains, Brady Murphy, Alex Calvano
Second Row: Quinn Bundy, Ezra Jones, Bridger Kyle, Ollie Ricard, Miguel Rosario-Contratto, Nathan Murphy
Back Row: Tony Rosario, Chad Bundy, Erik Ricard (manager), Dan Krische
One more round of good news on this sunny afternoon: Congratulations to Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s baseball team for winning the CYO championship!
The 7th / 8th grade boys win in convincing fashion over St. Al / John of Ballard/ Greenwood area to take the CYO American League crown. The win on Sunday makes 3 years in a row as CYO champions. Many of these boys will be moving on to high school next year, playing for WS, Vashon, O’Dea and Kennedy Catholic high schools next year; I’m sure we will be reading about their continued baseball achievements in years to come.
Back Row: Coach Peter, Nathan Smith, Luke Kramer, Jake Jonson, Aaron Barber, Ben Patacsil, Isaac Renz, Jaiden Harrington, Coach Jon
Front Row: Isaac Ajeto, Matthew Morin, Cristian Eastey, Kellen Carr, Wyatt Henry, Ryan Shimizu
Not Pictured: Chase Gaither, Caitlin Manning
Congratulations to the team, and thanks to Jon Morin (who is also proprietor of longtime WSB sponsor West Seattle Design Build) for the report and photo!
Congratulations to the teams who won the West Seattle Little League championships over the weekend!
The WSLL Majors’ champs are the Coyotes. Thanks to Kathleen Lonergan for sending the photo taken by Jim Burgess:
Back Row: Brendan Smolinski, Jack Velling, Spencer Burgess, Max Debiec
Front Row: Chase Eldridge, Will Cell, James Triol, Ciaran O’Rourke, Michael Bennett, Cole Kirkland, Trace Taft
Head coach Stan Debiec is in the back row on the right.
We covered a highlight of the Coyotes’ championship season back in March – when Max threw a perfect game. Kathleen says they ended with a 15-3 record, final score in the championship game 11-1 against the Cubs, and will represent West Seattle in the Tournament of Champions in Des Moines starting Friday.
The WSLL Minors’ champs are the Quakes:
They beat the Jays 9-5 on Sunday. Thanks to Kristen Joy for sharing the photo.
Back Row: Coach Otis Moore, Coach Sean Smith, Coach Brian Sherick
Middle Row: Andy Hoff, Robbie Foisey, Gabe Borges, Carter Joy, Colin Claxton, Joe Sherick
Front Row: Gage Smith, Aidan Brannon, Eamon Mohrbacher, Brock Moore, CJ Guzek, Myles Mutchler
(MORE INFO ADDED Sunday night – scroll down)
Start of the swim. pic.twitter.com/pzM6pe6GkS
— Andrew Malinak (@AndrewSwims) June 6, 2015
That’s how Andrew Malinak began his almost-19-mile swim from Tacoma to West Seattle today – something only one other person was known to have done before – and late this afternoon, he confirmed via Twitter, he made it! Here’s the MarineTraffic.com track of his escort boat:
We previewed his “Return of Bert Thomas” swim here earlier this week; Thomas swam the route southbound in 1956. Malinak says he hopes to emulate Thomas in one other feat later this year, swimming the Strait of Juan de Fuca, something he tried two years ago.
P.S. After arriving at Lincoln Park, Malinak told us via Twitter, the first thing he did was go “down the water slide at Colman Pool”!
P.P.S. If you’re a geek about details, as we are, check out the 24-page plan for today’s swim.
ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: Some followup info we’ve obtained from Malinak (who is 28, in case you were wondering): It took 8 hours and 42 minutes, 8:43 am to 5:25 pm. “The whole day went amazingly well: with an on-time departure (2 minutes early), an amazing crew, great weather with sun and lighter-than-forecast winds, a lack of curious orcas, and a route that matched perfectly with the predictions.” Before he tries swimming the Strait in mid-September, he plans to do something he says no one’s done yet – a solo swim around Bainbridge Island.
Just found out late tonight about another local athlete to congratulate: Three days after graduating from O’Dea High School, West Seattle resident Dylan Ledbetter won the state 3A championship in shot put today. He’ll be playing football this fall for Eastern Washington University. Thanks to Cami MacNamara for the report; the photo is by Dylan’s proud mom Cheryl Orint.
Thanks to Tom Warnke for the photo and report:
Congratulations to Seattle Lutheran High School sophomore Ally Warnke (Class of 2017) for finishing 17th this year at the Washington State Golf Championships in Richmond, Washington this week.
Two losses today in Lacey mean the West Seattle High School softball team’s trip to the state tournament is over; according to the WIAA bracket page, they lost their first game this morning to North Central (from Spokane) 5-1 and then lost this afternoon to Enumclaw, 19-2. Congratulations to the team on a great season that concluded with many honors and achievements, including a second-place finish in the Metro League.
Thanks to the tipster who sent the photo and word of another local athlete celebrating a big honor. From the West Seattle High School baseball team, with head coach Velko Vitalich, is junior infielder Morgan McCullough, the only local player named to The Seattle Times‘ regional spring-sports all-star teams, and the only player honored for two consecutive years. His batting average this season, The Times notes – an amazing .552. Congratulations!
Another big outdoor event coming up in our next few days of sunny, warm weather: Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) is presenting its annual Fly Fest and Guide Gourmet Cookoff on Saturday at Lincoln Park, 10 am-4 pm, with:
*Free fly-casting instruction all day long from EWA’s certified instructors
*Fly-fishing equipment available to test/demo all day long
*10:30 am and 2 pm seminars on local fly-fishing opportunities/techniques
*Noon-1 pm cookoff, with free food for the public: “Come and taste the best shore lunches our guides have to offer, which will be judged by a panel of local chefs and food lovers.”
EWA says you’ll find the event (bring the family!) at Picnic Shelter 5 in the upper north end of Lincoln Park, and signs will point you that way from the main parking lot.
We stopped by West Seattle High School this afternoon to catch a photo of the softball team and Coach Trevor Leopold as they left for Lacey, where they’ll open state tournament play at 9 am tomorrow, against North Central High School from Spokane. This is only the second time in WSHS history that the softball team has gone to state; earlier this week, the Metro League bestowed big honors on the coach and many of his players. They’ll play two games tomorrow, as the bracket shows. Best of luck!
(WSB photo: Coach Leopold and some of his players at SWAC last week)
As the West Seattle High School softball team looks ahead to its first state-tournament game on Friday, it’s celebrating a stack of Metro League honors! Just in from WSHS:
Metro Coach of the Year
Trevor Leopold1st Team All-Metro
Gabby Wenn – Pitcher
Annalisa Ursino – Outfield1st Team All-Division (Mountain)
Sam Hemmert – Catcher
Emma Atkinson – 1st Base
Lucy Mead – 2nd Base
Charli Elliott – Shortstop
Spritle Hirano – OutfieldHonorable Mention
Bryn Snodgrass – Outfield
Rachel DeVore – 3rd Base
Congratulations to all!
WEST SEATTLE BOOSTER CLUB FUNDRAISER FOR SOFTBALL TEAM: As was the case when the WSHS girls’ basketball team went to state, the softball team’s trip is expensive as well as exciting. The nonprofit West Seattle Booster Club is collecting donations to help them cover costs. From the letter they’re circulating in the community:
After taking second place in the Metro League Championship and making it through both Districts and Regionals, the team plays their first State Tournament game on Friday, May 29th at 9:00 am in Lacey, at the Regional Sports Complex.
They would love your support and to hear West Seattle fans loud and proud cheering them on. Additionally, since the team will be in Olympia May 28-30th for the tournament, they are seeking donations of any amount to assist with meals and lodging.
Donations are being accepted by us, the West Seattle Booster Club (WSBC). We are a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting ALL athletic programs at WSHS. Our goal is to further athletic programs and activities at the high school that the school budget cannot cover. We would love to have you join us in this particular case to help our girls with their amazing season.
Your tax-deductible donation, no matter the size, would be of great benefit to ease the financial burden on the school ,and on the girls and their families.
Easiest way to donate is online: westseattleboosterclub.org/donate
More state-championship news about local high-school athletes. First – from the update earlier this month on West Seattle High School track athletes who were headed for districts, WSHS athletic director Trevor Leopold has news of who qualified for state:
Cass Elliott (300 Meter Hurdles)
Chris Nunez (300 Meter Hurdles)
Chaaka Trahan (110 Meter Hurdles, Long Jump)
Natalie Fuller (Triple Jump)
Lexi Ioane (Shot Put)
Lani Taylor (100m, 200m, 400m)The State Track championships will be held at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma starting Thursday May 28th – 30th
Leopold coaches the softball team, which as we’ve been reporting, is also state-bound, and he shares an update on the schedule:
Their first game is against North Central High School out of Spokane on Friday, May 29th, at 9:00am. The games take place at the Regional Athletic Complex (in Lacey).
And congratulations to the Westside Ultimate Coed team, which won its first League Championship and sent us the photo and update:
West Seattle High School’s ultimate frisbee team, Westside Ultimate, in its 3rd year of existence, wins its Disc NW divisional League Championship. Westside finished the season undefeated with wins over Garfield, Chief Sealth, Bainbridge Island and others and entered the season-ending tournament as the number 1 seed. With a win over Bainbridge Island 2 weeks ago and wins over Aviation and Mercer Island in the final 4 last Saturday, Westside Ultimate takes its first championship after losing close games in the finals the last 2 years. Westside also graduates 4 seniors; Shadid Baker, Devon Dascher, Greg Rosas, and Daniel Thomas.
Championship game:
Westside 15 – Mercer Island 7Final 4:
Westside 13 – Aviation 4
(Any updates on other schools’ athletes/teams headed to state? editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!)
It’s been a while since our last update on West Seattle’s “Archer Addy,” who’s been notching archery achievements for a long time despite her young age. Erik and Tracy Nachtrieb shared this news:
11-year-old Addison “Archer Addy” Nachtrieb, a Schmitz Park Elementary student, won the NFAA 3D National Archery Championship and she was awarded the highest-scoring female of all age groups for the second year in a row. This year she also set the NFAA National scoring record for her age division, the last record being held for 10 years.
After 21 total hours of shooting over 3 days, in 90F+ weather, and after shooting a 6-hour Pro-AM the day before the three day National Tournament, Addy held it together over miles of rugged terrain and hills along the shooting course to only drop 7 points! Addy shot 1533 out of a perfect score of 1540! An amazing feat for an 11-year-old.
Addy has been shooting for 3 years and logs over 18,000 practice arrows a year. She recently placed 3rd in the World Archery Festival, 4th in the US Indoor National Championships, has had a book written about her first year in archery, and has recently been brought on as Pro Staff for ArcherZUpshot.
(WSB photo: From left, WSHS’s Charli Elliott and Annalisa Ursino, with Ballard’s Savannah Furia sliding into 2nd)
Next up for the West Seattle High School softball team: State tournament play in Lacey on Friday, after their fourth-place finish in the district tournament at Southwest Athletic Complex last night. In a rematch of the Metro League final a week earlier, Ballard HS went home with the win over the Wildcats, 7-1. WSHS put the ball in play against Ballard pitcher Sage Nicholson more than they had last time, but not enough to get on the scoreboard in a big way. Charli Elliott pitched, with WSHS’s Gabby Wenn still out with an injury; Elliott also got the RBI for the Wildcats’ lone run, which was scored by Lucy Mead. The state-tournament brackets aren’t out yet; we’ll update with the WSHS game time and opponent when they are.
It’s state-championship season for high-school athletes in several sports, including golf, with a West Seattle High School golfer headed to the Tri-Cities in a few days to compete. From Kristin Gibson:
West Seattle Wildcat Zach Gibson will compete in Boys 3A State Golf Championship May 26-28 at Canyon Lakes Golf Course in Kennewick, WA. Zach qualified last fall by placing 10th in the Metro District Championship. Good Luck, Zach!
Checking our archives, Zach went to the state championships last year, too.
(WSB photo: WSHS’s Spritle Hirano in the foreground)
8:16 PM: At the district softball tournament tonight at Southwest Athletic Complex in Westwood, West Seattle High School lost to Lake Washington HS, 3-2. But they’re already guaranteed a spot in the state tournament, and they’ll play again tomorrow at 5 pm, vs. the loser of Ballard vs. Bainbridge Island, who are playing right now. More to come.
EARLY FRIDAY: It’ll be a rematch – WSHS vs. Ballard for the second consecutive Friday night. Last week, it was for the Metro League championship; this time, for third place in the district tournament. More of Thursday’s game details, courtesy of our partners at The Seattle Times:
Pitcher Gabby Wenn, above, drove in both WSHS runs before having to leave the game with a hamstring injury. Below, that’s Annalisa Ursino scoring the second of those runs,
The Wildcats, coached by WSHS athletic director Trevor Leopold, are 21-5.
The photo is from West Seattle High School athletic director Trevor Leopold, who shares this report on a lunchtime event downtown today:
These West Seattle High School students were honored at The Washington Athletic Club by the 101 Club. From left to right are Carter Mensing, Annalisa Ursino, Charli Elliott, Isabella Burzynski, and Joey Kane. All the Metro League schools have students who were there and nominated. Charli Elliott was awarded a scholarship at the luncheon. She has a 4.0 GPA and 11 Varsity Letters. 4 Soccer, 4 Basketball, 3 Softball. She is attending Pacific University in Oregon in the fall and going to play basketball.
Congratulations to all!
(SIDE NOTE: Coach Leopold and athletes Elliott and Ursino take to the field at Southwest Athletic Complex with the rest of the WSHS softball team less than an hour from now – 5 pm – for a district-tournament game against Lake Washington HS.)
(Photo courtesy West Seattle YMCA)
Thanks to Joleen at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) for the photo from last night’s “superfan” fundraiser – that’s Tom Hutyler (radio sports anchor, voice of the Mariners at Safeco Field, and West Seattleite) with Steven Hauschka from the Seahawks and Zach Scott from Sounders FC. To raise money for its upcoming expansion, the Y sold a limited number of tickets to “superfans” to meet the players and bid on donated items including signed jerseys.
(WSB photos: WSHS’s Charli Elliott scoring the first run of the game)
At Southwest Athletic Complex, the West Seattle High School Wildcats softball team has just opened district tournament play with a victory over Bellevue HS, 7-2. Their next game is Thursday at 5 pm, same place they played today, Southwest Athletic Complex; the game to determine their opponent is just getting under way.
9:22 PM UPDATE: Lake Washington is who the Wildcats will play on Thursday – LWHS just beat Bishop Blanchet, 14-2. Meantime, we have a few more details and photos from the WSHS-Bellevue game.
Gabby Wenn again pitched a complete game for WSHS. It was a pitchers’ duel through four innings; then in #5, West Seattle scored 5 unanswered runs against Bellevue pitcher Dejah Rogers; the full WSHS order came to the plate before Bellevue could get three outs. After that, LWHS picked up two runs in the top of the sixth, but then the Wildcats added two more in the bottom, and that was it.
WSHS coached Trevor Leopold tells us his team is now guaranteed a spot in the state tournament in Lacey, . But first – they face the Kangs.
On a day that began with hundreds of people running to benefit West Seattle High School students … we have news about the students who run *for* WSHS. Thanks to Linda Rackner for the photo and report:
The following West Seattle High School track athletes are moving on to compete at the District level this week at Southwest Athletic Complex. They competed at Metros this last week.
GIRLS
Lani Taylor – 110 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters & 4×400 Relay
Lexi Ioane – Shot Put, Discus
Maggie Cooper – 300 M Hurdles, Pole Vault, 4x 400 Relay
Saoirse Cumming
Annie Means – 4×400 Relay
Gabrielle Rackner – 4×400 Relay
Riely McCullough – (alternate for 4 x 400 Relay)BOYS
Chris Nunez – (4×100 & 4×400 Relay)
Cass Elliott – (300 m Hurdles, 4×100 & 4×400 Relay)
Noah Evans – (4 x 400 Relay)
Chaaka Trahan – (110 m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, Long Jump)
John Ursino – (4×100 Relay)
Nuradine Abdi – (alternate 4 x 400 Relay)
Miles Hairston – (alternate for 4×400 Relay)
Linda Rackner
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