West Seattle, Washington
03 Wednesday
Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the photo and report on West Seattle High School‘s varsity baseball game on Wednesday:
It was a rough afternoon for the Wildcats. The Crusaders of Eastside Catholic jumped out to an early lead and the Wildcats just could not recover. There were a few highlights in the game, but the key was when sophomore Andrew Burggraff [photo above] came in to pitch midway through the 3rd inning. He pitched the rest of the game, giving up only one hit and not letting in a run. In the end, West Seattle lost 13-2 in five innings.
Next game is against Ballard on Friday at Hiawatha, at 3:30 pm.
Hard-fought win for the West Seattle High School baseball team on Monday, in a road game against Nathan Hale. Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the report:
West Seattle jumped on Hale quickly in the first inning when senior Buick McNamara hit a shot to center field to score Jack Page and Jamie Maples.
Jamie started on the mound for West Seattle and threw four scoreless innings. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 5th that Hale mounted their comeback and tied up the game. In the bottom of the 6th, Hale took the lead by one and then it was up to the West Side offense to produce at least one run to tie things up. Morgan McCullough led off the top of the 7th and reached on a single to right field. Jack Page was next to the plate and laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt which moved Morgan all the way to third. Jamie came up next and singled, which scored Morgan to tie up the game. West Seattle was able to hold off Hale in the bottom of the 7th to send the game into extra innings.
Top of the 8th, Buick was able to get on base due to an error by Hale’s 2nd baseman. Then with a clutch hit, freshman Alex Pastrana doubled to left field to send Buick home. West Seattle now led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the 8th. To close the game out, West Seattle brought in Morgan to close out the game. He faced three batters and recorded all three outs, two by way of strikeout.
In the end, West Seattle topped Nathan Hale 4-3 in eight tight innings. It was a great battle to the very end, and the boys never gave up.
WSHS is back home Wednesday at 3:30 pm on the field at Hiawatha, facing Eastside Catholic.
(Photo courtesy Betty Bennett)
Meet Max Debiec. He’s 12 years old, a sixth-grader at Holy Rosary – and he just pitched a perfect game!
Max’s achievement happened on the opening day of West Seattle Little League‘s 2015 season – yesterday at Bar-S Fields on Alki Point – as Max’s team, the Coyotes, beat the Orioles, 6-0.
We talked today with the Coyotes’ manager, who also happens to be Max’s dad, Stan Debiec.
It was a six-inning game, Stan explained, with Max throwing 79 pitches and striking out 15 batters. As per the definition of “perfect game,” nobody got on base; three balls made it (briefly) into play – a dribbler back to Max, a grounder to second, and a shallow fly ball caught around second base. Around the fourth inning, Stan said, he started to think Max was onto something.
Unlike the big leagues, he said, the completion of Max’s perfect game didn’t lead to a big show on the field – Stan is teaching the players how to win and lose with dignity. But everyone is certainly proud of him – we’ve received more than a few notes today making sure we’d heard about it so we could share the news with the wider West Seattle communty.
If you want to cheer on Max and his teammates – and the rest of the West Seattle Little League – games are scheduled on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and listed on the WSLL website.
Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the report and photos from Saturday’s High School Baseball Classic game at Safeco Field, with West Seattle HS coming home with a win:
The High School Baseball Classic has been running for 9 years and West Seattle High School has been fortunate enough to have participated in every one.
Sponsored by the Seattle Mariners and Safeco Field, this event gives local high schools the opportunity to please on the “Big Stage.” For most of these boys, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to sit in the dugout, practice and play where of some of their idols do. They are treated like a major league team, with their names being called by the announcer, plays being replayed on the “JumboTron” in center field and even the field crew coming out to drag the field during the 4th inning to make sure they played on the best conditions possible. All in all, the experience is one I know the boys from both teams with forever treasure.
Yesterday, West Seattle High School hosted Sedro Woolley High School. It was a brisk sunny afternoon and a wonderful day for baseball.
Sophomore Carson Wright (above) started on the mound for West Seattle and got things underway. He pitched three great innings of baseball, only giving up one run.
(Above, Jack Page sliding into 3rd; below, Morgan McCullough at bat)
West Seattle came out strong and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. Coach Velko Vitalich made many substitutions during the game, allowing several of the boys a chance to play.
(Jamie Maples scoring the 6th run of the game in the bottom of the 6th)
In the end West Seattle won, 6-1. The next game is Monday against Nathan Hale at Meadowbrook at 3:30 pm.
As they look ahead to today’s High School Baseball Classic game at Safeco Field, the West Seattle High School baseball team is celebrating a win. Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the report on Friday’s game:
Under beautiful skies at Hiawatha Field, the West Seattle Wildcats hosted the Cleveland Eagles Friday afternoon. West Seattle started Junior Jamie Maples on the mound. He pitched two full innings, striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced. Freshman Cameron Paskett and Senior Daniel Kemp came in to pitch the rest of the game holding the Cleveland batters to just 2 hits and 5 runs.
Junior Morgan McCullough started the West Seattle bats will a Home Run blast to center field. He would continue to pile up the hits with another Home Run in the 2nd, a triple and a double. Jamie Maples and Sophomore Jack Page each had three hits. As a team, West Seattle had a total of 18 hits, producing 15 runs, 9 of which were earned.
In the end, West Seattle won in 5 innings, 15-5. Next game is this afternoon at Safeco Field at 12:30. Come on out to cheer on the boys at this free event. The next conference game is scheduled for Monday, vs. Nathan Hale at Meadowbrook, at 3:30.
Thanks to Howard Chilcott for this report on the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks‘ first week of baseball:
Our Seahawks are off to a nice start to their Metro schedule, posting a 2 win/1 loss record over week 1. That includes strong wins over Ingraham and Franklin and a heartbreaker yesterday vs. Lakeside. Highlights have included strong pitching, increasingly solid defense, and big hits as the team is developing nicely early in the season.
The schedule includes a rematch with Lakeside away on Friday, then Ballard on Monday, 4 pm at SWAC! Also, please join us in supporting the boys at their Annual Spaghetti Dinner & Auction Saturday 4/4 at the School Galleria, 6 pm.
(Sealth is at 2600 SW Thistle.)
(WSB photo from February 2015: Coach Elliott helps cut down net after Metro League title win)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s the epitome of “going out on top.”
After a history-making season in which her team made it to the state tournament and won the Metro League championship, West Seattle High School girls’ basketball head coach Sonya Elliott is leaving.
Elliott, a longtime West Seattle resident, was honored as Metro League Coach of the Year twice, in 2013 as well as this year, a showstopping season that concluded March 7th (WSB coverage here) – a season that, as she remarked at the WSHS pep rally before the team’s first state game, had the whole school (and community!) cheering for girls’ basketball.
She shared the news with WSB via e-mail late last night and said her players already know: “I won’t be coaching at West Seattle next year. It was a really tough decision, because as you know there are some amazing girls on the team and we have all worked hard over the last 5 years to build the program, but it was time.”
2014-2015 was Coach Elliott’s fifth season leading the team. We first checked in with her during the first season – noting that she took over after a season in which the WSHS girls had won a total of three games, and that she brought in new initiatives including a holistic focus on academics as well as basketball fundamentals.
That first 2010 story featured an inspirational guest Elliott brought in to talk with her team; she continued that initiative up through this year, too. Elliott herself proved an inspirational figure beyond her basketball-coaching skills, with a story she turned into a book titled “Back on the Court,” telling how she came back from a life-threatening and heartbreaking tragedy.
We have a followup question out about what’s next for her, and we’re also asking WSHS what’s next for the team; we’ll add updates as we get them.
(2014 photo by Greg Slader)
See a baseball game free at Safeco Field this Saturday – while cheering for local players! West Seattle High School assistant baseball coach Bryan Tupper shares the reminder:
Come out and support West Seattle High School Baseball at Safeco Field. WSHS continues the annual tradition of playing in the High School Baseball Classic for the 9th year in a row! This year, they take on Sedro Woolley from the Northwest Conference. Admission is free and concession stands will be open.
The game is at 12:30 pm Saturday (March 28th).
Thanks to Caryn Johnson for this report on today’s West Seattle High School varsity baseball game on a showery afternoon at Hiawatha:
Sophomore Carson Wright started on the mound and pitched 5 2/3 innings. He pitched well against a big-hitting O’Dea team. Giving up 11 hits, but only giving up 6 runs (4 earned). He struck out 3, hit one, and didn’t walk any. Freshman Anthony Coats came into pitch in the 5th inning and pitched the remaining of the game not giving up a hit.
Jamie Maples led the team on the offensive side of the ball with 4 hits and 2 RBI’s. Morgan McCullough also had a good outing with 3 hits and 1 RBI. As a team they had 9 hits.
Defense had their first test of the season against the big bats of O’Dea. Everyone on the field got into the action and recorded outs. The highlight on the defensive side was a 6-4-3 double play in the top of the 7th inning by Morgan McCullough, Jack Page and Alex Pastrana. This closed out the top of the 7th and gave West Seattle one more shot to score some runs. In the end they fell a little short, losing to O’Dea, 6-4.
WSHS is on the road for its next game, Wednesday against Cleveland at Rainier Beach HS.
Congratulations to The Storm, the basketball team from Hiawatha Community Center that won the 13-year-old Girls Competitive Division Championship on Sunday! Mike Jensen shares the photo, reporting, “They played another team from Hiawatha in the championship game (Sunday) afternoon and won a close one, 22-17 … to cap off an undefeated season.” Left to right in the photo are Cami, Ruby, Hannah, Jackie, Madi, Nina, Jaeley, Maddie, Mikayla.
Know a 7-to-11-year-old interested in rugby? A local coach just arranged to form a “West Seattle practice squad” for the Seattle Vikings Youth Rugby Club, and is hoping to add more participants. They’ve just started practicing, 4:30-6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in West Seattle. Coach Skylar Pond notes: “No experience necessary, low cost, (players will) learn safe ‘Seahawks’ tackling technique.” They’re planning “either tackle or two-hand-touch matches every weekend from the end of March through the end of May” – more info in this flyer. You can reach Coach Pond at skylarponddc@gmail.com or 206-552-5750.
Thanks to Coach Rob Wright for sharing news of these girls’ awesome accomplishment:
I wanted to let you know about a great girls’ basketball team that just wrapped up their season.
Our 10-year-old-girls team based out of Hiawatha Community Center had a dominating season, going undefeated in the regular season and a top seed in the playoffs. The girls lost in the city championship today against a much-larger Rainier Beach team that played a great game. We’re very proud of their efforts this season, especially considering a number of the girls have never played basketball before. Quite an accomplishment to reach the city finals out of nineteen teams in our division across the city. Great job, girls! The future of girls’ basketball in West Seattle is really looking great!
From left to right:
Zoey Adams
Wynn Larsen
Hannah Bonsack
Brooke Swanson
Emily Larsen
Josaphine Contreras
Kaylei Campbell
Lauren Wright
Chloe Stephens
Angelina Smith (not pictured)
Coaches Rob Wright & Jeff Larsen
The West Seattle High School baseball team won its first conference game of the season on Friday in a big shutout, 12-0 over Rainier Beach. Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the photo and report:
Jamie Maples #6 pitched the entire game. He struck out 12 and only gave up 1 hit. The West Seattle defense was able to keep Rainier Beach off the bases for the most part, only allowing one runner to reach as far as 2nd base. Lots of offense for the game by West Seattle. In the 2nd inning, they sent 11 batters to the plate.
Next game is Monday against O’Dea, at Hiawatha at 3:30.
Also coming up, the team’s game vs. Sedro Woolley at Safeco Field, one week from today, 12:30 pm on March 28th, admission free! To qualify for the High School Baseball Classic at Safeco again NEXT year, as well as to raise money for the Wildcats’ team, boosters are selling tickets for a Mariners game THIS season – 7:10 pm Monday, June 22nd, vs. Kansas City. You can buy one or more $12 tickets by e-mailing wshsmarinerstickets@gmail.com. (You’ll get a reply with info on what to do from there.)
(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
Crosstown rivals faced off today as high-school boys’ soccer got going, with Chief Sealth International High School (in red) and West Seattle High School (in white) facing off at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point.
The game, played in intermittent rainshowers, ended in a 1-1 tie. Sealth’s goal was by Abdiaziz Hursane, WSHS’s goal by Carter Mensing.
Next up: The Wildcats play Nathan Hale at Adams, 3:30 pm Thursday; the Seahawks host Cleveland at home, 4 pm Friday.
It’s time for high-school soccer to resume, with the boys’ spring season starting (girls play in fall). The varsity teams from Chief Sealth International High School and West Seattle High School have a match scheduled for Tuesday (March 17th), 3:30 pm at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point.
It’s also time to sign up for Sealth’s popular summer Soccer Skills Camp for girls and boys going into grades 3 through 9 this fall, all skill levels. The camp is under the direction of CSIHS’s award-winning head soccer coach Ron Johnson and will be led by current and past Sealth boys and girls soccer players. The camp is not until July 27-31, but spots fill fast. Here’s the flyer/application form.
Know a middle- or high-school student who loves to play basketball? The Junior Class at West Seattle High School is hosting another 206 Bangout tournament, and inviting girls and boys in 6th through 12th grades from all over the area. Two more weeks for players to register, and they’re looking for referees too. Class of 2016 event coordinator Jaimie Bell says the tournament is three weeks from today, with the signup deadline a few days earlier:
The West Seattle High School Junior class is hosting a 3 x 3 Basketball tournament “206 BANG OUT” on Saturday, April 4th. This event is for 6th – 12th grade kids, with open divisions for all skill levels, from 9-3 pm in the WSHS Gym. Cost is $20 dollars per team. A team of 4, with 1 sub and 3 players.
To sign up, please contact: 206bangoutrsvp@gmail.com or pick up a registration packet outside the Activity Center inside WSHS. Entry deadline is April 1st.
We are also looking for experienced people who would like to help with refereeing at this event.
Bring your friends, bring your family, and take it to the hoops!
Big congratulations are in order for local contenders who just scored big in a regional competition.
Coach Sonia Sillan from Straight Blast Gym of Seattle (WSB sponsor) shares the photos and the news:
On Saturday, March 7th, Straight Blast Gym of Seattle took a small team of 12 kids and 5 adults to a local Brazilian Jiujitsu competition, The Revolution, in Tacoma. 17 competitors finished out the day with 18 medals!
Every competitor from the SBG Seattle team has been training hard for this competition and it showed – every single individual from kids to adults put their best effort forth when it was required. In the end, that is all that counts.
We couldn’t be prouder of every person who stepped out on the mats.
To find out more about the results (and see more photos), check out this post on the SBG website. SBG (which is at 5050 Delridge Way SW) has a web special for kids’ martial arts right now, by the way – check it out here.
Belated congratulations to the West Seattle High School Unified Basketball Team! While covering the WSHS girls’ state-tournament run last week, we learned that the Unified Team had already been to state and finished at #2. (If you haven’t heard of Unified Sports – explained here – it’s a Special Olympics-led program; teams include players with and without intellectual disabilities.) West Seattle Coach Billy Edwards shared the top photo from the team’s win at districts; he tells WSB, “The team was 11-0 and District champs going into the state tournament. The team was short handed going into the state tournament due to illness and travel. The team still fought hard and earned 2nd place in state.”
The junior/preps West Coast Conference championships of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association have wrapped up at the West Seattle High School gym, after a day and a half of games.
Seattle Adaptive Sports, which hosted the tournament, explains that WSHS is one of the few places in the region with two accessible courts in one place, and that’s why they play here, even though the group isn’t based here. Teams participating this weekend were from Seattle, Spokane, Portland, Berkeley, Phoenix, and San Diego, according to the tournament bracket.
(We don’t have the final score on today’s game but will add it when we do.) The national tournament is next up for the victorious athletes, in mid-April in Louisville, Kentucky. Then the next season starts up again late in the year.
(Added 2:34 pm: Photo texted from Spokane)
1:34 PM: It’s halftime in Spokane at the boys’ 1B basketball tournament, and Seattle Lutheran is up by one over Shorewood Christian, 30-29. That’s a turnaround from the end of the 1st, when the Lions were up 16-10 over the Saints. Thanks to the folks who are over there with the teams and texting updates!
2:02 PM UPDATE: Three quarters now in the books and SLHS maintains a one-point lead over SCHS, 45-44.
2:24 PM UPDATE: Final score 61-53, Seattle Lutheran over Shorewood Christian. Saints get third place at state, Lions get fifth.
(UPDATED SATURDAY NIGHT with photos)
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
SATURDAY NIGHT TOPLINE: The West Seattle High School girls left the Tacoma Dome this morning with the trophy for finishing #6 in state, after a 41-40 loss to Arlington. Below, we’ve added more photos and notes to our as-it-happened report from courtside:
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(Video: WSHS pep band with pregame fight song)
8:00 AM: We are back at the Tacoma Dome one last time this morning as the West Seattle High School Wildcats cap off a great season with one last game, tipping off seconds ago to play Arlington for fourth place. We’ll post periodic updates as the game proceeds.
(WSHS’s Emily Fiso)
8:06 AM: After an Emily Fiso three-pointer, it’s 7-5, WSHS in the lead, midway through the first quarter.
8:13 AM: First quarter over – WSHS is leading 14-13.
8:21 AM: Almost midway through the second quarter, Arlington is ahead 18-14.
(WSHS’s Lani Taylor in the foreground, Lexi Ioane in the background)
8:32 AM: And it’s halftime, with WSHS leading 21-18. The bands and cheer squads perform briefly during the 10-minute halftimes; WSHS’s band is playing Adele’s “We Could Have Had It All,” while the Arlington cheer squad stands by on the court waiting for its turn. (2 minutes later) Halftime scoring sheets are in. Fiso accounts for 11 of WSHS’s 21 points, including three 3-pointers.
(WSHS’s Ioane, Charli Elliott, Lydia Giomi)
Rebounds are an even match – 16 for the Wildcats, 17 for the Eagles.
8:51 AM: 3 minutes left in the third quarter, and WSHS retains the lead, 25-21.
8:58 AM: This is it – last quarter of the last game of the season for WSHS, win or lose. They’re going into the fourth quarter ahead 26-24.
(WSHS’s Annalisa Ursino)
9:10 AM: Less than 3 minutes to go and it’s 38 Arlington, 33 West Seattle. The Eagles have been more prolific with the three-pointers.
(Head coach Sonya Elliott talks to her team during the final time out)
9:24 AM: All over. They got to within one – and time ran out.
(Instagram video of the last WSHS basket, scored by Giomi)
Final score, Arlington 41, West Seattle 40. They finish as #6 at state. WSHS band is playing the fight song as the girls leave the court.
9:31 AM: Final stats – Fiso top scorer for WSHS with 16, then Lydia Giomi with 12, Lexi Ioane with 8. Top in rebounds: Giomi 13, Charli Elliott 9.
EVENING POSTGAME NOTES: The Wildcats were the dominant rebounders for most of the game (41 total, six more than Arlington) but conversion was a challenge, making 26 percent of their field-goal attempts; they were cooler from the foul line today than during their Friday victory, 40 percent. The WSHS defense was ferocious and forced outside shots, but as seemed to be too often the case during the postseason, their opponents had more than one good outside shooter, and so they got around the blocked interior – Arlington and WSHS had almost-identical success rates on the threes, 37 percent for the Eagles and 36 percent for the Wildcats, but the difference was in the number of attempts – 24 by Arlington, 11 by West Seattle.
WHAT’S NEXT: The squad that went to state includes four seniors (Elliott, Fiso, Ursino, and Rachel Devore), so this was their swan song. Returnees Giomi, Ioane, Taylor, and healing-from-an-injury Gabby Sarver are juniors; Izzy Turk‘s a sophomore; Kathryn Anawalt, Rosa Grossi, and Rilcy Newsome are freshmen. Next season – which they will start as defending Metro League champions – is just nine months away.
9:12 PM: Final score’s just in from Spokane – Lummi Nation 66, Seattle Lutheran 47, in the boys’ 1B state basketball tournament. SLHS plays for 3rd place tomorrow at 1 pm; their opponent will be whoever comes up on the short end of the next game, which is Shorewood Christian (from just east of Arbor Heights) vs. Neah Bay. We’ll update when the score’s in on that; you can watch for live updates here.
10:35 PM: And the last game of the night is over – Shorewood Christian also losing its semifinal game, 67-44, to Neah Bay. So tomorrow, it’s Seattle Lutheran vs. Shorewood Christian for third place.
12:20 PM TOPLINE: West Seattle High School wins, 54-45 over Prairie. The girls will play Arlington for state 4th place tomorrow morning, again here at the Tacoma Dome, 8 am. Here’s our Instagram clip of this game’s final seconds:
Top scorers: Emily Fiso 14, Charli Elliott 13, Lydia Giomi 12.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand. Above, Elliott & Giomi; below, Fiso)
Below, here’s how it unfolded:
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10:58 AM: We’re at the Tacoma Dome again this morning, and the West Seattle High School Wildcats have just started their second game in the state 3A girls-basketball championship tournament. After Thursday’s loss, they’re in the round contending for 4th place – this game against Prairie (from southwestern Washington) is a must-win. We’ll be updating as it goes.
11:04 AM UPDATE: Three minutes into the first quarter, it’s Prairie 7, WSHS 6. First Wildcat basket was a three-pointer by Emily Fiso.
11:12 AM UPDATE: End of the first quarter, Prairie 18, WSHS 13. It’s early, but WSHS looks a lot sharper today, though Prairie has a tough smothering defense as did Lynnwood yesterday. The Wildcats are doing better on the boards.
11:18 AM UPDATE: Thanks in large part to hot three-point shooting, Prairie maintains the lead, 21-15 with 4:42 left in the half.
11:27 AM UPDATE: Halftime. Prairie 23, WSHS 22 after an at-the-buzzer basket by the Falcons. (Added: Quick clip of the cheerleaders/band at halftime, via Instagram – go here.)
2nd half starts with Charli Elliott basket, 24-23 WSHS pic.twitter.com/bMxBoTELTm
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 6, 2015
11:40 AM UPDATE: With 5:46 to go in the third quarter, suddenly WSHS is up 29-23 including two baskets by Elliott in the first few minutes (see tweeted photo above from the start of the second half).
11:49 AM UPDATE: WSHS still in the lead, 33-29, with three minutes left in the third quarter.
11:54 AM UPDATE: After three quarters, West Seattle is in the lead, 39-35.
12:02 PM UPDATE: WSHS still leading 43-41 with 4:21 to go in the game.
12:10 PM UPDATE: Under 2 minutes to go, and WSHS is ahead 49-43.
12:17 PM UPDATE: Final score – Wildcats win! 54-45
8:10 PM: Over the next hour or so, we’re adding photos, interspersed above, plus some additional game notes/photos below.
Lexi Ioane, above, pulled in 10 rebounds, second only to Giomi’s 14. The Wildcats dominated in rebounding, 61 total, with the Falcons mustering only 35. And their defense was back in the groove.
The main reason Prairie stayed in range until the fourth quarter was three-point shooting, 33 points in all from threes, more than double WSHS’s 15 points from outside (Fiso accounted for four of those five successful distance shots). WSHS, meantime, converted well from the free-throw line – 17 points to just 2 from the line for Prairie. A few more scenes from the game:
(Above, Lani Taylor; below, Annalisa Ursino)
Tomorrow, the team’s spectacular season ends, win or lose. We’ll be in Tacoma again to cover that final game.
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