It’s a huge summer for West Seattle Little League, with, as previously noted here, teams in the state championship tournaments, and one of those tournaments happening right here at the WSLL’s home fields, Bar-S on Alki Point. Updates on all of the above:

(Photo courtesy WSLL)
9-10 ALL-STARS’ FUNDRAISER: This team is raising money for its travel expenses to get to the state tournament in Richland this weekend, and you have one more chance to buy raffle tickets (and/or make donations), 4-6 pm tomorrow (Thursday) at Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) and Admiral Safeway. Some of the items being raffled are listed here.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP WITH THE TOURNAMENT: Current and past WSLL families are being asked to volunteer to help the league with various things during the week of the tournament at Bar-S, July 12th-19th – find out more here about how to get involved.

VISITORS’ GUIDE TO BAR-S: Going to the games during the 11-12 state tournament? Parking, shuttle, and other information that will be helpful whether you’re coming from West Seattle – or from outside the metro area – is in the “Visitors’ Guide to Bar-S“; see it here. At the Bar-S tournament, the WSLL team‘s first game is Saturday at 1 pm vs. Camas (here’s the full bracket/schedule).

Meet another set of district-champion West Seattle Little Leaguers – the Majors, who will take their District 7 title into state play on their home field, Bar-S, where their division’s tournament will be played starting Saturday. We mentioned their win briefly in this story over the weekend; now, thanks to Porter Hammer, we have the victory photo, and the roster:

Manager – Jason Woodward
Coaches – Stan Debiec, Jon Muench
Players – Max Debiec, Konrad Gerhardt, Ulee Hammer, Will Holmes, Paul Johnson, Henry Muench, Justin Murphy, Walker Nelson, Isaac Patchen, Jackson Sullivan, Jack Summers, Kenji Suzuki, Jarek Woodward

The tournament starts Saturday (July 12th) and runs through the following Saturday (July 19th): here’s the bracket/schedule, and you’ll see that the West Seattle team is scheduled to play its first game at 1 pm Saturday vs. the champs of District 4 in southwestern Washington.

Thanks to Refawne Acarregui for the victory photo of the West Seattle Little League 9/10 All-Stars, the latest WSLL team to become District 7 champions, with a Saturday win over Seattle Central. The team managed by Isaiah Brent heads to Richland for the state tournament, opening play next Saturday afternoon – here’s the bracket.

The WSLL Intermediate All-Stars also won their district championship and start state tournament play in Snohomish today vs. Camas. WSLL all-star rosters are here.

And WSLL’s district champs in the Majors will be on the field when the organization hosts that state tournament at Bar-S on Alki Point starting next Saturday (July 12th).

(Photo by Rob Castillo)
July is not only the month for All-Stars to shine in the Major League Baseball world, it’s also time for youth baseball All-Stars too – and we have news of a West Seattle Baseball team on the way to the Pinto World Series. Leah shared the announcement:

Heat Advisory Warning – The West Seattle Baseball 8U All-Stars are on fire!

Congratulations to the West Seattle Super 8’s All Star team for winning the 8U PONY Regional Tournament at the Pee Wee Fields over the weekend. The championship results in the chance for these kids to go show their stuff at the Pinto World Series in San Jose on July 17-20. This is the third 8U Regional Championship that West Seattle has won since the tournament started in 2009, but the first time it has been sanctioned by PONY and resulted in a trip to the World Series.

The team will be doing a fundraiser to help cover some of their travel expenses. Look for more information to come on that. Congratulations, boys!

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Here’s the GoFundMe site where you can chip in to help.

That’s a quick promo for a CBS TV show that airs nationally this Saturday (June 21st) – featuring a West Seattle Soccer Club team, the GU13 WS Valkyries. Their proud coach Stefan Persson, who’s also on the WSSC board, explains:

We had the great privilege of being selected to participate in a CBS Game Changers episode featuring Seattle Reign FC and U.S. Women’s National Team player Megan Rapinoe. The filming of the episode took place at Madison Middle School and at Memorial Stadium.

What started as a day of practice for the girls, culminated in them being surprised by Megan at Memorial Stadium, where they got to meet her and then practice and play soccer. It was a fantastic day, with one of our most prominent female professional athletes giving back to kids, creating a wonderful connection between our local community and Seattle Reign FC.

CBS Game Changers is a nationally televised show featuring youth sports, focusing on sportsmanship and passion for the game.

The show airs at different times on different CBS stations around the country; we found it on the official schedule for KIRO (Channel 7) at 3:30 pm this Saturday.

Thanks to proud mom Regina Arceo-Schulz for sharing big news about her sons’ latest rowing achievement:

The Schulz brothers, Spencer (18) and J.T. (16), both from West Seattle, won the 2014 US Youth National Men’s Lightweight Doubles in Lake Natoma, California last Sunday, June 15.

Congratulations! You can see the full results here.

Go play! Family Friendly Tennis has hit the court in West Seattle, thanks to the United States Tennis Association, which has joined the WSB sponsor team to get the word out.

Solstice Park, across from north end Lincoln Park, is one of three locations in Seattle where Family Friendly Tennis is getting under way.

Family Friendly Tennis is a program designed for the entire family to enjoy the sport of tennis together. The program takes place in a high-energy, music-filled environment that provides families with a fun setting in which to learn foundational tennis skills from USTA-trained instructors. When families arrive at the designated location, a greeter will send each parent and child to the tennis court that matches his or her age and skill level and guarantees the most fun. At the end of the session, families play a friendly match on the same court together to show off their improved skills. No tennis experience is necessary; children (ages 10 and under) will be fitted with appropriately sized racquets.

“The USTA/PNW is excited to add Seattle to our roster of communities offering fun and affordable tennis programs this summer,” says Matthew Warren, USTA/PNW executive director. “We’re happy to expand our partnerships with local parks and recreation departments to provide healthy activities and make tennis more accessible to all ages.”

It’s for adults and kids 6+ of any skill level, beginners to experienced players, and you can come for one session or for all of them – there’s no minimum obligation – Wednesday nights 6-7:30 pm through August 13th, Saturday mornings 9-10:30 am through August 16th. Pricing and other info is on this one-sheet; registration info can be found here. And when it’s time to go play, Solstice Park is at Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Webster (map).

We thank USTA Family Friendly Tennis for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; see our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

Right about now, the second and final day of the first-ever West Seattle Cup is wrapping up. Thanks to Steph for sharing this photo, which she captioned: “Seattle Sounder Zach Scott with superfan Zach Arthur. A tale of two Zachs.” He also visited the WS Cup on Saturday, as did Micheal Azira (seen in our Saturday story). If you have a photo to share from this weekend’s event – a celebration of soccer and community – we’d love to include it: editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks! Just as we finished writing this, we note that organizer Terry Kegel posted the “final score” on Facebook:

485 conversations for understanding and 453 goals scored together! A huge thank you to all the players, families, captains, volunteers and sponsors who made this amazing and memorable weekend possible!

Almost five months after Alki Elementary teacher Terry Kegel announced the plan for the West Seattle Cup – a communitywide celebration of soccer at the same time as the global attention for the World Cup – it’s days away! His latest update (including the video above):

The West Seattle Cup is finally here this weekend! In addition to the 420 child and parent participants, we are hoping to get as many fans there as possible. Games are played 8:45 am to 6:15 pm and there will be a special midday ceremony 11:45 am-12:15 pm on both days. We also need a few more volunteers to sign up. The event is all about community-building, so let’s get everyone out there to celebrate soccer, culture, and community!

List of teams and schedule information – here
Sign up to volunteer – here
Make a monetary donation to support purchase of uniforms – here
Facebook page for the most up-to-date information – here

The games are at High Point’s Walt Hundley Playfield – 34th/Myrtle.

Congratulations to the West Seattle Girls’ Softball 15U champs, the Cheetahs, who won the division championship last night at Fairmount Playfield, 8-6 over the Tamales. Above, Cheetahs catcher Caitlin crossing home plate; below, that’s Tamales player Sofia (left) waiting to high-five Jaeley as she comes in.

Cheetahs pitcher Kaley:

And Tamales pitcher Erin:

The WSGS league includes some Vashon Island players, and we’re told a group came over from Vashon to see the game. While the WSGS season, which starts in April, is ending this month, registration will start up again early next year for girls 8 through 15 – keep an eye on WestSeattleGirlsSoftball.com. (Thanks to Juan Hernandez for the tip about the big game!)

Beautiful day for baseball! At Riverview, four Pee Wee teams from West Seattle Baseball took the field for their championship games this morning. Before the games in the Pinto and Mustang divisions, the pomp, circumstance, and photos. We don’t know the results yet, but the contenders in the Mustang (9-10) division were, above, the West Seattle Design Build team and, below, the Menashe and Sons Jewelers team (both businesses are also WSB sponsors):

In the Pinto (7-8 division), it was Alki Lumber and another Menashe-sponsored team:

Warmups and introductions, of course:

And a ceremonial first pitch for the Pinto game by King County Councilmember Joe McDermott:

CM McDermott had skin in the game, so to speak – his brother-in-law Nathan Thomas is a Pinto coach, and explained, “The kids have been playing since March and these 4 teams have come from a field of 20 in a double elimination tournament over the past 2 weeks.” We hope to get the scores later so we can add them here. In the meantime, congrats to all four teams; you can find out more about the organization at westseattlebaseball.com.

2:40 PM: Thanks for the reports in the comment section below, and congratulations to the championship-winning Alki Lumber and West Seattle Design Build teams!

Two notes tonight from the West Seattle Soccer Club

FALL REGISTRATION OPEN: Spring season’s not over yet – the final games are next weekend – but it’s already time for WSSC to sign up players for fall. Registration is open until the end of June, but don’t wait too long – last fall, WSSC board member Tim McMonigle tells WSB, the league had almost 2,000 players! Details are on the WSSC website.

WSSC BOARD MEMBERS HONORED: Dennis Lapchis, also from the WSSC board, shares the news:

Two of our West Seattle Soccer Club Board Members have received state honors for their service to the kids of our community. Bill Fry received the Washington Youth Soccer “Administrator of the Year” Award and Clydene Evans-Wenzel received the Washington Youth Soccer “Volunteer of the Year” Award. The Of The Year Awards are Washington Youth Soccer’s annual awards to recognize outstanding members of our soccer community. … We couldn’t be more proud of these two outstanding soccer promoters, who have worked collectively for close to 30 years serving our local community and helping our kids have fun, stay healthy, and participate in one of the greatest sports in the world! Congrats to Bill and Clydene!

(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.

Read More

(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
======

#1 – Joe Creighton, 34, 16:43

#2 – Kyle Smits, 35, 17:12

#3 – John O’Hearn, 52, 17:48

Female
=======

#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.