(Photos by Cliff DesPeaux for WSB)
Families, friends, and staff gathered last night to celebrate Chief Sealth International High School‘s winter sports season. Along with our photos, the story is best told by the season recap shared with the Sealth community the night before by Athletic Director Sam Reed:

On November 15 of this Fall, 153 Chief Sealth International student-athletes turned out for the first day of the Winter sports season, ready to represent our community in gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, and both boys and girls basketball. (Thursday night) we will gather to celebrate their accomplishments, along with those of both cheer and mock trial, at our annual Winter sports banquet. … All participating student-athletes, parents and supporters are invited to attend, eat dinner and hear from our coaches.

The recap continues, with more photos, after the jump:

All of our Winter sports have much to be proud of. From individual honors to incredible team accomplishments, the Chief Sealth Seahawks represented themselves well in the Metro League and at the District and State levels. The highest honor this year belongs to our boys’ basketball team, who stormed into the State Tournament and earned an opportunity to play in the Tacoma Dome for the first time since the 2001 season. The senior-led team [below] produced wins over both Foss and Lincoln before losing a nail biter, 49-48 to Bellevue High school in the State Quarterfinals.

Throughout a season that saw Head Coach Colin Slingsby rack up 21 wins …

… the boys were helped along by the outstanding support of the band, led by Marcus Pimpleton, the cheerleaders, coached by Keiosha Williams, an energetic and loud ‘Hawk’s Nest’ and a large contingent of family, community members and staff. Off the court, a number of positive media stories, including Seattle Times features on seniors Tre’Von Lane and D’Nique Harris Welch, brought welcome recognition to the school and the individuals alike. Senior Keon Lewis capped off an impressive season, earning State player of the week honors as well as 2nd team all-tournament team for his performances at the State Tournament.

Coming off of a very successful season last year, Head Wrestling Coach Dave Rosario was optimistic about his squad this season as well. And while the overall results weren’t what he would have wished for, a number of individual performers finished racked up a handful of honors, including Brandon Rosario (Metro League Champion), Nahdi Kedir, Antonio Russell and Hila Gross (State Participants).

Next, our swim team, led by energetic new coach Maari Olson, reached their highest level in recent years, with multiple swimmers earning a spot in District competition. Sophomore Kelsey Hastings led the charge, including finishing an impressive 2nd place finish in the 50-meter freestyle in the Metro League meet.

Former Chief Sealth graduate and player Katie Maris, who was named head coach just five weeks prior to the season, did an excellent job leading a growing girls basketball program. While the team will lose a number of seniors, including captain Natalie Mackey, a solid core of young players earned valuable varsity minutes and are poised to compete for the division title next season. Finally, led by coach Echo Balliett-Legge, our group of gymnasts showed dedication and perseverance in a difficult sport. Led by Seniors Ally Stariha and Dong Dinh, a group of young athletes should enter next season with a great deal of experience.

This banquet is also to honor the contributions of the cheerleaders and the members of mock trial. Senior cheer captains Allie Bunch, Ebony Beauchamp and Yesenia Barajas have arguably given more hours to this school than any of their fellow classmates, while also setting an amazingly high standard in the classroom. Finally, teacher Pam Mushen recently finished leading a group of fifteen students who competed in the state mock trial competition, primarily against schools who run the group as a year-round class. Despite the lack of similar practice time, these Seahawks took home awards for outstanding attorney (Molly Freed) and outstanding witness (Jacob Cargal-Bley, Zair Blue and Lee Barrientos).

Throughout the night, awards awaited their recipients…

All in all, this winter proved once again how outstanding our student athletes are, both in the classroom and in the athletic arena. It continues to be a privilege to oversee and lead these young men and women, and I feel very thankful to have such outstanding support from the Chief Sealth administration, staff, families and the community at large.

And there was an award for “Mr. Reed” himself – many wanted to have a look:

Congratulations to the winter athletes, and good luck to the girls and boys of spring!