Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The West Seattle High School softball team’s season ended Wednesday evening with a 17-1 loss to Garfield High School in a District 2 tournament game at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex.

The #9 seed Wildcats made a deep run in the tournament, but faced a talented Garfield team that was seeded #5.

Garfield pitcher Sammy Breckenridge dominated West Seattle, allowing no hits until the final inning, when Kaila Ignacio (photo above) broke the no-hitter with a solo home run. It was a welcome bright spot that showed the grit of a team that has shown the ability to bounce back all season.

After the game, Coach Kyler Tsukada said that the team had overcome a lot of adversity this season. West Seattle has played with a small roster of 9-10 players all year and Coach Kyler has emphasized avoiding injury and having fun. The Wildcats have a young team, with only one graduating senior. “I’m excited to keep this core group together and we’re looking forward to seeing how the incoming 8th graders will fit into next year’s team,” said Coach Kyler.

(Stella Elley sliding home)

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Monday night at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (NCSWAC), the #9 seed West Seattle High School softball team defeated #8 seed Sammamish High School 17-5 in the first round of the District 2 championship tournament.

The West Seattle Wildcats appear to be hitting their stride just as the postseason heats up. West Seattle jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the inning, Sammamish had the tying runs on base, but Wildcats catcher Marina Strange ended the threat with a bullet throw to catch a runner stealing second.

West Seattle broke the game open in the second inning, scoring 8 runs to take an 11-1 lead. Julia Herron topped off the hitting spree with an RBI triple. Facing elimination from the tournament, Sammamish put together a rally of their own, closing the score to 11-5 in the third inning. But West Seattle kept finding the gaps in the Sammamish defense on the way to scoring 6 runs in the fifth inning. Hits by Daeja Piggee (photo below), Kaila Ignacio, and Julia Herron highlighted the inning. Kaila (photo above) pitched a brilliant two innings of relief, notching several strikeouts and shutting down the Sammamish offense.

Up next for the Wildcats on Tuesday at 4 pm at NCSWAC is a rematch with the top-seeded Ballard Bears, to whom they recently lost, 11-6, in the Metro League tournament. Win or lose, they will still have at least one more game to play in the District tournament as they continue their quest to make this year’s State tournament in Lacey.

It’s a big spring for sports success at local schools! Two days ago, Chief Sealth International High School‘s baseball team qualified for the state 2A tournament. Tonight, West Seattle High School locked in a berth at the state 3A tournament. The Wildcats did it by beating Eastside Catholic 8-2 at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center, and that’s where they’ll play Ballard for the Metro League title at 4 pm Saturday (May 17). WSHS is the defending state champion.

UPDATED TUESDAY WITH PHOTOS, SUMMARY COURTESY CSIHS BASEBALL

ORIGINAL SATURDAY REPORT: As mentioned here earlier, the Chief Sealth IHS Seahawks were due to play in the 2A district semifinals this morning at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center. They emerged victorious, 11-1, over Sultan, and will play for the district championship at 7 pm Friday (May 16) vs. Nathan Hale, also at Steve Cox. And because they made it to the district championship game, they’re guaranteed a berth in the state tournament.

ADDED TUESDAY: Sent by Sealth athletic director/baseball head coach Ernest Policarpio:

Teo Perala (photo above) drove in four runs on two hits to lead Chief Sealth past Sultan 11-1 on Saturday. In the fifth inning, Perala hit a grand slam to left field in the fifth inning, part of a seven-run fifth inning for the Seahawks.

Seth Clark (photo above) led things off on the mound for Chief Sealth, giving up only four hits and one run over six innings, striking out four and walking none.

West Seattle High School‘s softball team is headed to the district tournament after finishing the Metro League tournament in sixth place. That’s where the Wildcats wound up after a win and a loss at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex on Friday, beating Seattle Prep 14-7 in the afternoon, then losing 6-5 to Holy Names in the evening. Their first district game will also be at NCSWAC (2801 SW Thistle), 4 pm Monday (May 12). … Also Friday night at NCSWAC, WSHS baseball scored a win, 1-0 over Bishop Blanchet. Their next Metro tournament game is 4 pm Monday at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center (1321 SW 102nd), vs. Eastside Catholic. … And Steve Cox is where the Chief Sealth International High School baseball team plays Sultan at 10 am today in the 2A district semifinals.

Thanks to Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Ernest Policarpio for the report and photo:

Congratulations to the Chief Sealth 2025 Washington Athletic Club /101 Club award winners:

Winners were Micah Policarpio, Jay Johnson, and Xavier Nguyen; Riley Yup, Hannah Mueller, and Allison Ohta

The WAC & 101 Club Awards honor 3 boys and 3 girls from each school who have athletic & academic achievements.

If you play pickleball, the West Seattle Booster Club has an invitation for you!

Who will be crowned the pickleball champions of WSHS?

We are excited to invite you to participate in the WS Booster Club’s inaugural Paddle Battle Pickleball Tournament, benefiting student-athletes at WSHS. Please sign up and bring your family, neighbors and friends to join us for this fun community event benefiting WSHS.

Learn more and REGISTER NOW:

The tournament is set for all day June 1 on the courts west of Southwest Pool.

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Last night at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (NCSWAC), the West Seattle High School softball team took on top-ranked Ballard High School in the Metro 3A League tournament. Ballard lived up to its ranking, quickly going on a scoring spree that was topped off by a 2-run home run that cleared the fence. The Beavers led by a score of 10-0 after 3 innings,

But the Wildcats, whose team motto “Boogie with a Suitcase” captures their irrepressible spirit, never gave up. Coach Kyler Tsukada urged the girls to keep their energy up, forget about the score, and just work on getting one run at a time. The Wildcats broke through with 3 runs in the fifth inning, powered by a triple from Molly Lefkowitz.

The girls kept it going in the 7th inning, putting together a fierce rally, including a double by Julia Herron. But the Wildcats came up short, losing by a score of 11-6.

Pitcher Daeja Piggee went the distance for the Wildcats, bouncing back after being hit by a fastball pitch to the ankle.

After the game, Coach Kyler praised the team for their competitive drive and for showing that they can hang with any team they come up against. The team’s next game is on Friday at 1:30 pm versus Seattle Prep at NCSWAC.

(Photos by Will Pyfer)

It’s a winning season for one of our area’s newest high-school sports! We first mentioned West Seattle Water Polo – open to players from other schools too, not just WSHS – when players came to a meeting to ask then-School Board director Leslie Harris for district acceptance. This is now the team’s second season! Here’s the update we received, including two ways to support them – as a spectator and/or donor:

WSHS Girls Water Polo is having a winning season with a league record of 5-1, logging wins again Ingraham, Roosevelt, Shorecrest and Newport and is on pace to qualify for the Division 2 State Championship Tournament in Puyallup the third weekend in May. Sadly, the team had their first loss of the season in a heartbreakingly close 8-9 game against Mercer Island on Friday, April 25th at Medgar Evers Pool.

The team will host its first home game in West Seattle versus Bellevue at Colman Pool on (updated) May 9th at 6:20 pm. Bellevue will bring both varsity and JV teams, so there will be water polo to watch from 6:20-8 pm. This Friday, the varsity team will host Roosevelt at Medgar Evers at 8:50 pm and then on Saturday the JV squad will head down to Tacoma for a full-day tournament at Silas High School.

Earlier this year, the girls held a successful Tread-a-Thon fundraiser (thanks to all our supporters) and jumped right in to a busy season, consisting of 14 games, 3 one-day tournaments, and at least 1 multi-day tournament.

The team has set up an ongoing online auction with the goal of making the team more affordable. Supporters can join the auction to bid on gift cards donated by local businesses at: paybee.io/@wswaterpolo@3

With an 11-1 rout of Rainier Beach at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex on Friday night, the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks became the Metro League’s 2A and Valley Division champs. CSIHS athletic director Ernest Policarpio forwarded info with photos, including the seniors who were celebrated at the game:

(L-R, seniors Luis Toledo Walls, Micah Policarpio, Marko Woelfle, Peter Sketchley, Teo Perala, Brady Murphy, Seth Clark, Rocco Batterson-Ecton)

Two big scoring bursts for the Seahawks: In the bottom of the second, Chief Sealth racked up five runs on three hits. Then they scored another five runs on six hits in the bottom of the third. Senior Teo Perala had three of those runs, four RBI total in the game:

Eleven hits and nine walks factored into the Sealth win, as well as starter Sam Popelka‘s six strikeouts plus four relievers’ strong performances. The Seahawks are now 13-7.

For the second time in less than a month, the West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School boys’ soccer teams faced off last night, this time at Walt Hundley Playfield. And again last night, the Wildcats won. Final score was WSHS 3, CSIHS 2 (last month, West Seattle won 2-0). It was also Senior Night for graduating WSHS seniors:

(L-R: Hollis Johnson, Finn White, Cole Heinrichs., Collin Temme, Jacob Stevens, Kingston Darocy, Arjun Rajaratnam, Pa Njie. Photo by Brandon Faloona)

You can see photographer Brandon Faloona‘s game gallery here. WSHS is now 9-3, #2 in the Metro League, while Sealth is 5-9. The Wildcats have a 4 pm Monday game against Seattle Academy at Delridge Playfield; the Seahawks’ next local game is on Friday, 4:30 pm vs. Cleveland at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex.

(Photo by Oliver Hamlin)

By Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Clear skies and warm breezes made it a perfect Friday night for baseball, as rivals West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School suited up to take the field at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. The weather fostered a festive atmosphere in the stands as well. At one point, the fans broke out into a singalong with the Zac Brown Band’s breezy single “Knee Deep” between innings.

(Photo by Tracy Burrows: Above, CSIHS #2, Julian Reinhardt)

On the field, it was a tale of two contests – a slugfest for the first three innings and a pitcher’s duel for the final three and a half, with West Seattle coming away with the win by a score of 7-6.

(Photo by Oliver Hamlin)

The Wildcats got things going in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs off Sealth’s starting pitcher, Teo Perala.

(Photo by Oliver Hamlin)

The big blow was a towering double by Lincoln Scott (#44 below), who advanced to third on the throw to home plate.

(Photo by Tracy Burrows)

Sealth tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the second with timely hitting and smart baserunning, scoring a run on a West Seattle wild pitch. Sealth went ahead 6-3 in the top of the third, powered by a Perala double. West Seattle wasted no time in answering back, tying the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the inning, helped by three walks and a hit batter by the Sealth pitchers.

(Photo by Tracy Burrows)

The rest of the night belonged to West Seattle’s pitcher Oliver Heltzel (above), who held the Seahawks scoreless for the last four innings, notching 5 strikeouts and forcing many ground ball outs. Sealth kept the game close with some stellar defense but gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth through a combination of a walk, stolen base, fielder’s choice, and wild pitch. Sealth’s Sam Popelka (#7) pitched 3+ innings in relief

WHAT’S NEXT: Both games are back at NCSWAC next Wednesday (April 23), against different opponents – Sealth vs. Roosevelt at 4 pm, WSIHS vs. Nathan Hale at 7 pm.

That photo wrapped up a celebration today at West Seattle High School – and at the heart of it is what’s directly over the athletes, school staffers, and sports mascots who gathered for the group shot: A newly unveiled banner in honor of national recognition for WSHS’s Unified Sports program:

As shown in the close-up photo, it now hangs in the WSHS gym next to a banner recognizing the program’s achievements in recent years. Special Olympics of Washington explains it in this excerpt from their announcement of today’s banner unveiling:

For its work in empowering students to be agents of change in their school and community, West Seattle High School (received) a Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools National Banner …

West Seattle is one of two schools in Washington to achieve National Banner status in 2025 and is the first school in the Seattle school district to receive this recognition. To add even more kudos, West Seattle also made the ESPN Honor Roll, which is a national list of schools recognized by ESPN and Special Olympics for their efforts in creating inclusive environments for students with and without intellectual disabilities. Only one high school is selected from each state and West Seattle was recognized for Washington.

A Unified Champion Schools National Banner is a major achievement for the entire school for meeting 10 standards of excellence. These national standards revolve around inclusion, advocacy and respect; they include implementing sustainable programs around Special Olympics Unified Sports (where students with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete as teammates), inclusive youth leadership and engagement throughout the whole school.

We were invited to cover the student-organized all-school spring pep assembly this morning during which the banner was unveiled following cheers led by former Seahawks player turned Special Olympics ambassador Ray Roberts:

As shown in the clip, WSHS’s Unified Sports coordinator Rachel Myers was honored too. We also recorded a longer version starting with students talking about the program before the assembly heard from Special Olympics of Washington president/CEO Mary Do, who reminded the school community, “You made this happen” (she speaks starting 5:20 into the clip):

The National Banner status was first announced last fall, at which time the school noted the banner itself would arrive in spring.

(WSB photos by Jason Grotelueschen)

Our area’s two biggest high schools faced off in a boys-soccer match on Friday – Chief Sealth International High School vs. West Seattle High School at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex.

The Wildcats got out to an early 1-0 lead, and the Seahawks never caught up.

Final score was WSHS 2, Chief Sealth 0.

Both teams have matches on Monday afternoon – WSHS (2-3) vs. Seattle Academy, 4 pm at Walt Hundley Playfield; CSIHS (1-4) vs. Evergreen, 4:30 pm at NCSWAC.