West Seattle, Washington
14 Thursday
Congratulations to West Seattle High School athletic director Trevor Leopold for a big honor in his role as the school’s fastpitch (softball) coach – he has been chosen Metro League Coach of the Year. The Wildcats finished the season high atop the conference (here are the standings as published at SeattleTimes.com). WSHS players receiving all-league honors were pitcher Gabby Wenn and shortstop Annalisa Ursino; all-division honors, catcher Sam Hummert and infielder Emma Atkinson, with honorable mention to infielder Tina Lozeau. Congratulations to all!
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(Photo courtesy West Seattle Totems)
More success for the West Seattle Totems, whose coach Joe Matter shares another of his periodic updates, with news of state and national championships:
The West Seattle Totems, the Junior Olympic Rifle Club located at the West Seattle Stadium, just finished its best season to date.
In the Washington State Indoor Championships, the Thunderbird Squad (Owen Yeasting, Casey Iwamoto, Corinne Blair and Alec Patajo) won the state team Championship. Alec won the individual state title.
In the Washington State Outdoor Championships, the Thunderbird Squad (Owen, Casey, and Corinne) won the state team title. The Chiefs squad (Katelynn Brown, Jack Ellis, and Emma Carey) finished as the 2nd place team. Alec won the Outdoor 3-Position state title. Owen won the Outdoor Prone state title. Alec won the overall Aggregate Title. Corinne won the Indoor&Outdoor Women’s Aggregate. Emma won the Outdoor Women’s Aggregate.
In the National Indoor Championships, the Totems brought home 44 national awards.
(Pitcher Ben Wexler gave up only 2 runs, throwing all 11 innings)
At Mount Vernon this morning, the West Seattle High School Wildcats played what became their last game of the season, losing 2-1 to Shelton HS in 11 innings. The photos and summary are by Greg Slader (thank you!):
(Jimmy Mai‘s 7th-inning single brought in the Wildcats’ lone run)
The Wildcats fell behind early 0-1 in round one of Regionals against Shelton. Their pitching and defense kept the game at 0-1 until the seventh inning, when returning WSHS player Jimmy Mai produced a pinch-hit single and came around to score on a sac fly. Game tied 1-1 and would stay that way thru 10 innings before Shelton won with a sac fly of their own in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Congratulations to head coach Velko Vitalich, assistant coaches Scott Meaker, Bryan Tupper, and Kerry Tupper, and all the players, families, and other supporters on another season of making it to state.
(UPDATED late afternoon with results link)
9:30 AM: The race is on! At 9:20, more than 830 runners and walkers started heading eastward on the West Seattle 5K course, the kickoff to a day of fun on (and in!) Alki Avenue SW, to be followed by the Summer Streets festival until 5 pm.
We’ll be updating WS5K coverage with (more) photos, video, and race winners once they’re in.
9:53 AM: First three finishers among males and females:
Male
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#1 – Joe Creighton, 34, 16:43
#2 – Kyle Smits, 35, 17:12
#3 – John O’Hearn, 52, 17:48
Female
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#1 – Kylen Fountain, 25, 20:09
#2 – Angela Wecker, 29, 20:49
#3 – Alisha Winger, 34, 21:36
West Seattle High School principal Ruth Medsker was the official race starter:
That’s her with race emcee Eric Radovich. The WSHS PTSA presents the WS5K every year, to raise money for student needs beyond what basic budgets cover.
11:02 AM: More race scenes – top female finisher Kylen Fountain with her aunt Karen Berge, who ran today too:
You might know Karen for her community involvement – West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network, West Seattle Be Prepared, among other things – and you’ll see her tabling at today’s Summer Streets, too. Meantime – good thing the race didn’t have the “no shirt, no shoes, no …” rule:
That’s Beach Drive resident Bob Divers with no place for the bib or chip. By the way, if you haven’t even come to watch the WS5K, let alone run in it, it’s fun on the sidelines too:
In addition to more photos, we recorded our traditional everybody-leaving-the-finish-line video and will add that when it’s ready. (Added: Here it is!)
4:23 PM UPDATE: The full list of results is live online – find it here.
Thanks to Joe Puckett for the report on today’s Seattle Lutheran game:
In a game that determined the seedings for next week’s regional 2B baseball tournament, the Seattle Lutheran Saints lost to the LaConner Braves by a final score of 6 to 1. As the winner, LaConner will be the number 1 seed from the District 1/2 group and Seattle Lutheran will be the number 2 seed. Sealu will play on Saturday, May 24 in Adna and must win a double-header to move on to the 4-team state final on May 31.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
The West Seattle High School Wildcats finish the Metro League baseball tournament at #2, after tonight’s loss to O’Dea at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. The summary, and the next two photos, are courtesy of Greg Slader:
Pitcher Larry Jensen (above) dazzled the Irish hitters with a combination of sliders and knuckleballs to keep them off balance.
Cameron Slader‘s two-run home run (above) gave the Wildcats a brief 2-1 lead through three innings. But O’Dea’s strong bats and speedy runners kept pressing, as they would eventually top West Seattle 7-3 for the Metro League title.
It’s not over for West Seattle, as they head to
Centraliafor the South Regional in the state tournament on May 24th. Game time will be announced next Monday.
Here’s the state-tournament bracket (no team names yet); the finals are in Pasco.
UPDATE: WSHS will play Shelton HS this Saturday (May 24th) at 10 am in Mount Vernon.
Thanks to Joe Puckett for the summary of this afternoon’s Seattle Lutheran High School baseball victory:
Seattle Lutheran High School won their first baseball playoff game today at Delridge Playfield against the Concrete Lions by a score of 4 to 1. Four different Sealu players had RBI’s in a well-played game. Cody Jones pitched a complete game for Sealu, giving up only 4 hits while striking out 15 Concrete batters. Seattle Lutheran will play again on Saturday at Stanwood against an opponent still to be determined.
(WSB photo: Sealth sophomore David Johnson)
Tough loss tonight for Chief Sealth International High School, playing Bainbridge in the Metro League playoffs at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. The Seahawks played hard, holding the lead at times, but fell short, losing 10-7.
Quick break for a fun clip – Kaycie shared it, explaining:
Our son, Henry, who plays T-Ball for the West Seattle Little League “Wild Things,” was the Steal-A-Base Kid at the Mariners game Sunday (Mother’s Day), which also happened to be Little League Day at the Stadium. He got some help from Mariners player James Jones! Thought I’d send along the video that was posted on Mariners.com and MLB.com. WSLL was well represented! Lots of cheering and fun all around!
(Pitcher Kevin Cuddy)
West Seattle High School is the first varsity-baseball team from the Metro League to secure a berth in the state tournament, with a 13-8 victory tonight over Bainbridge at Steve Cox Memorial Field in White Center. Our first two photos and the following summary are courtesy of Greg Slader:
(Graham French hitting a double for insurance runs in the 6th inning)
West Seattle shocked #8-ranked Bainbridge, as the back-and-forth game resulted in a 13-8 win for the Wildcats. Both pitchers seemed to give up runs in every inning as the score was tied 3-3 and 5-5. Bainbridge led 8-5 in the sixth inning; then West Seattle batted around for eight runs, shocking the overconfident Islanders. Kevin Cuddy came on to pitch the sixth inning with bases loaded and then held on for the final six outs, as the Islanders could not muster a comeback. Graham French ignited the offense with a home run, two-RBI double and another RBI single as Bainbridge seemed to have no answer for his big bat. West Seattle is the first team to punch their ticket to the State Tournament. Before that, they have the Metro title game on Thursday night.
The Wildcats, coached by Velko Vitalich, will play that game at Cox Field at 7 pm Thursday vs. either O’Dea or Seattle Prep.
(WSB photo – celebrating a rally)
Meantime, Bainbridge’s loss today means they’ll play Chief Sealth International High School tomorrow night.
Maybe you’ve heard about the Seattle South King Sluggers, a team of blind and visually impaired athletes who play “beep baseball” here in West Seattle, but you’ve never gone to one of their games. You’re now officially invited to a special matchup later this month:
The Seattle Police Dept. team will don darkened shades to compete in a game designed for blind athletes against the Seattle South King Sluggers. SPD players will have to listen for the ball and listen for which base to run.
The public is invited to attend the Sluggers vs. the Seattle SPD match Saturday, May 31, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Walt Hundley Playfield #2, 6920 34th Ave. SW, Seattle. Food, drinks, and t-shirts will be on sale.
Officer Chris Gregorio met the Sluggers and said, “I loved the idea of a beep baseball match because these guys were not ‘poor me.’ The trash talk began with the handshake.”
“The Sluggers motto is ‘beating challenges.’ We showcase what people who are blind can accomplish. This sport is highly competitive. The men and women on our team plan to compete in the Beep Baseball World Series in Minnesota this August,” said Sluggers Manager, Kevin Daniel.
Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) will sponsor this event to raise awareness about the sport and encourage people dealing with vision loss to get active.
“As a state organization of the blind, we voted to sponsor this event because we want to empower and engage people experiencing vision loss and their families,” Cindy Van Winkle, WCB President.
“Too often stories focus on what sighted people do for this faceless category called ‘the blind.’ We want to change the dialog. Come see what we can and are doing to make life better for others,” said Gaylen Floy, president of South King Council of the Blind, the chapter that sponsors the Sluggers.
Here’s a Seattle Times story from last year about the Sluggers.
Last night’s victory for the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks varsity-baseball team keeps them going in the Metro League tournament. They defeated Nathan Hale HS, 4-3. Coach Ernest Policarpio says this morning they’re awaiting word on who they play next – the game is at 7 pm Wednesday, and will be against whomever loses this afternoon’s game between West Seattle HS and Bainbridge (4 pm, at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center, venue for all games in this tournament).
Thanks to Lex for the photo and report:
Did you know that West Seattle High School has an Ultimate Frisbee team? I wanted to let you know that the varsity team just finished 2nd place in the B Division at playoffs (Saturday). In 1st was Ladies and Gentlemen (Juanita & Lake Washington High School).
It’s been a big year for the WSHS team, which last month placed third in its division at the annual Spring Reign competition (belated thanks to Alanah for that news, which we failed to report at the time). The spring high-school-based coed league is run through DiscNW.
(Sealth senior Izac Bauer sliding toward third)
In the second of two playoff games involving local varsity-baseball teams Saturday, Chief Sealth International High School lost to Seattle Prep, 12-0.
(Sealth junior Garret Smith about to put out Prep’s Will Hall)
Earlier in the day, as reported here, WSHS defeated Lakeside.
NEXT GAME: Sealth plays Nathan Hale tomorrow, 7 pm, also at Steve Cox Field in White Center.
The West Seattle High School varsity-baseball team opened this year’s playoff run with a 3-1 win over Lakeside today. Greg Slader shares the photos and summary:
Catcher Graham French (photo below) led the offense with RBI doubles in the first and third inning to give the Wildcats the lead.
His clutch hits scoring two runs would be plenty for pitcher Ben Wexler (photo above), who threw a complete game and only gave up one run, in the top of the seventh, when West Seattle already had a 3-0 lead.
Next game is Tuesday 4 pm vs the winner of Bainbridge vs Ingraham. All Metro playoff games are at Steve Cox Field in White Center.
That’s where Chief Sealth IHS is playing Seattle Prep right now; we’ll have a report on that game later.
UPDATE: Bainbridge will be the opponent on Tuesday.
That’s the varsity-soccer team picture shared by West Seattle High School soccer parents including Tim McMonigle and our season-long anonymous contributor, after the playoff game today at Bishop Blanchet. Final score: Blanchet 3, WSHS 1. Tim reports:
WSHS was ahead 1-0 at half, then Blanchet score shortly after halftime to tie. Then they scored two more goals in the last 10 minutes of the game to win and advance in the playoffs.
The future looks bright for WSHS, in that only four seniors are leaving the team, with the majority of the starters this year being freshmen and sophomores. This is the first time in five years WSHS has made the playoffs, with hopefully many more years to come.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 5:18 PM: Just in from Southwest Athletic Complex, in postseason high-school soccer, it was Seattle Prep 4, Chief Sealth International High School 1.
The Seahawks now play a just-for-fun game against the World School in the annual “Carne Asada Bowl,” followed by a cookout featuring the namesake dish. Photos later.
9 PM: Photos added – above, from the game with Prep; below, we didn’t catch the carne asada itself but did catch the World School claiming the Carne Asada Cup after winning that game:
Tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 pm at Bishop Blanchet, it’s the first playoff game for West Seattle High School‘s boys-varsity soccer team in years, according to a proud parent who sent us the update (along with other reports during the season): “It has been a hard up-and-down season for the Wildcats,” reports our correspondent, “but with great coaches and faith, in the end they pulled it off and made it to the playoffs.” Season highlights include the team’s youth – 7 freshmen on the varsity squad, five of them starters including their goalie; their first victory over crosstown rivals Chief Sealth International High School in years; “Alizar Gilay leading the team with 6 goals …” Even the defense scored goals – our correspondent mentions Cole Nofsinger and Brian McMonigle, and, we’re told, “to top it off, goalie Akili Kasim scored the winning goal last week – an 80-yard goal.” (The photo above shows teammates congratulating him.)
(Larry Jensen on the mound; photo by Greg Slader)
With a 5-3 extra-innings win over Bishop Blanchet on Tuesday, the West Seattle High School Wildcats varsity-baseball team is off to the postseason, reports Greg Slader:
The Wildcats offense was ready to go, but fell behind 0-3 in the first three innings as the Blanchet Braves took the early lead. Pitcher Larry Jensen toughened up and shut them down that rest of the way. Larry threw 113 pitches through eight innings, holding Blanchet to just those three runs as the defense made play after play. Meanwhile the offense heated up and the team keep adding runs until it was tied at the end of seven innings. In the top of the eighth with two base runners in scoring position, Spencer Elder (photo below) tripled down the line and West Seattle went on to win 5-3!
West Seattle Wildcats finish the season 10-4 in league play and will face the #4 seed in the Metro playoffs. Next game is Saturday, 10 am @ Steve Cox Field in White Center, The opponent will be decided (today) as Prep, Blanchet & Lakeside face a three-way tie for the final two spots in Metro.
In the mood for good news tonight? West Seattleite Heather P. Olson just e-mailed to say that the documentary she’s co-producing, “Gold Balls,” has passed its Kickstarter crowdfunding goal. As reported here last week, it’s about the “ultra-senior” tennis circuit. See the trailer in our previous story.
At Southwest Athletic Complex on Friday afternoon, the West Seattle High School varsity-baseball team completed a two-game sweep of Chief Sealth International High School with a 6-3 win, two days after an 8-3 victory. Greg Slader, who shared the photos, says WSHS “scored two runs in the first inning and kept adding runs almost every inning. Top of the batting order Cameron Slader and Morgan McCullough (top photo) had consecutive hits in the first and third inning to score four of West Seattle’s Six runs.
Jake Magera (above) pitched six innings. More game stats here. Next, Sealth travels to Bainbridge for a Monday afternoon game; WSHS plays Bishop Blanchet at Green Lake/Lower Woodlawn next Tuesday.
Shutouts for both West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School in their varsity-baseball games on Wednesday. First, the Wildcats:
Greg Slader shares the photo of Joe Mitchell, who he reports had three hits during a lopsided game against Franklin (the score is listed in The Times as 17-0): “Everyone got a chance to play as the rain was unable to spoil West Seattle’s game vs. the Quakers. Friday’s game is at Franklin before next week’s big games against Chief Sealth.”
Speaking of whom – the Seahawks hosted Rainier Beach, winning 10-0. Those two teams also have a rematch on Friday, 3:30 pm at Rainier Beach.
Good fan turnout for Tuesday afternoon’s Chief Sealth International High School–West Seattle High School soccer rematch. Sealth’s Devin Offord had a cheering section (above) and scored the first of Sealth’s four goals, helping the Seahawks to a final score of 4-1 over the Wildcats.
Last time the two teams met, one month ago, WSHS won, 2-1.
Other scoring in Tuesday’s match at Southwest Athletic Complex: Alazar Gilay had WSHS’s lone goal; Luis Medina had two for Sealth, and the final one was by Yael Pina (who assisted on two of the three other Sealth goals).
Both are on the road for their next games: Sealth plays at Franklin, 3:30 pm Thursday; WSHS plays Cleveland, same time/day, at Van Asselt Playfield.
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