Sent by Marco:

Just wanted to let you know that this Saturday at 11:30 AM at (Nino Cantu) Southwest Athletic Complex – Louisa Boren STEM K-8 Girls’ Varsity Soccer team will be playing for the K-8 championship against Catherine Blaine K-8.

The varsity team is STEM’s only girls’ soccer team and includes 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The team was created only a year ago and this year’s team has gone 5-1-1.

A big thanks to STEM teacher and coach Sonya Glaspy for leading them to the championship. And a big thanks to high school senior Finley Dresang for helping coach this season.

Go, Owls! Let’s bring the K-8 cup to West Seattle!

Here’s how their regular season went.

As we’ve been reporting, fall sports season is wrapping up for local high-school teams, with winter sports starting soon. Todat we have an update to share from the West Seattle High School girls’ swimming/diving coaching staff:

(Not pictured: Simone Dylla, Matty Ogle, Lucy Oprinski, Dacey Tanaka)

The West Seattle High School Girls Swimming and Diving team celebrated the end of an amazing season by participating in the Metro, District, and State swimming and diving championships.

At the Metro Championships, WSHS was represented by seniors Izzy Baber, Frances Bugala, Lilly DuPuis, Lucia Stemm-Calderon, juniors Anna Tova Baekkelund, Iris Christian, Keara Kinch, Sally Klem, Eden O’Donnell, Matty Ogle, Lisa Willis, sophomore Brin Darnell, and freshman Leia Al-Jawad. We’re happy to report eleven swimmers advanced to finals!

Though not at the Metro Championships this year, Simone Dylla, Alina Luff, Miya McGlamery, Lucy Oprinski, Autumn Schrader, Ella Stockfish, Dacey Tanaka, and Lucy Valentine were very important members of the team this season who made outstanding progress and contributions. We’re so proud of everything they accomplished.

Following the Metros meet, Baber, Baekkelund, Bugala, Christian, Klem, O’Donnell, and Ogle advanced to the District Championships where the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays reached finals. Individually, O’Donnell reached finals in the 200 freestyle.

The season culminated at the Washington Girls High School State Championships, where O’Donnell captured 7th place in the 200 freestyle and 4th place in the 500 freestyle. This builds on the success of the 2024 season that saw the 200 freestyle relay team of Eve Legge, Lucille Rysemus, Lucy Stahl, and Avery Zimmer selected for the state meet and placing 16th.

Over the course of the season, every WSHS swimmer posted at least one personal best time. Way to go, Wildcats!

The Chief Sealth International High School cross country teams are back from the state tournament in the Tri-Cities, and we’ve received this report with photos (thanks!):

The Chief Sealth boys and girls cross country teams competed at the WIAA State Championships in Pasco on Saturday, the final race in a strong season for the Sealth XC program.

The girls’ team placed 10th in the 2A race, their first top-10 finish since 1975. Senior Federica Dilley led the team with a 12th-place individual finish to earn All-State honors for the second consecutive year. Dilley was followed by teammates Casey Greger (Sr.) in 98th, Elena Phillips (So.) in 112th, Doe Doe (So.) in 123rd, Abby Peloza (So.) in 125th, Satomi Giedeman (Sr.) in 144th, and Elena Latterell (Sr.) in 159th.

(Members of Sealth XC’s girls team after placing 10th at the 2A State Championship)

(Senior Federica Dilley en route to a 12th-place finish in the 2A girls race)

On the boys’ side, the Seahawks placed 15th as a team, with Remy Wittman (Sr.) finishing in 33rd individually, followed by Forest Andrews-Wehling (Sr.) in 104th, Ziko Kraft (Fr.) in 109th, Cole Peloza (Sr.) in 119th, Theo Franzen (So.) in 141st, Juan Montealegre (Fr.) in 153rd, and Cian Casey (So.) in 157th.

(The Sealth XC boys warming-up prior to the 2A State Championship race)

(Senior Remy Wittman [black jersey] on his way to finishing 33rd in the 2A boys race)

The full 2A state results are here (girls) and here (boys).

Another high-school team is one win away from the state tournament! Last night in district competition, the Chief Sealth International High School girls’ soccer team defeated Nathan Hale HS, after winning their first game in the district tournament Saturday (WSB coverage here), so they’ll play for the district championship tomorrow (Thursday, November 6) night. The 6 pm game is against, and at, Cedarcrest HS in Duvall; the winner goes to the state tournament.

One more football score to report from this weekend – in last night’s game at Bishop Blanchet, West Seattle High School took the win, 31-17, and ran their record out to 8-1 heading into district playoffs next weekend. Though the date and time aren’t on the bracket page yet, WSHS is scheduled to play Kennewick, which will be the home team, suggesting it’ll be a road game for head coach Anthony Stordahl‘s Wildcats, and the winner goes to state.

10:48 AM: Tournament time for most fall high-school sports – and we have a reader report this morning that both Chief Sealth International High School cross country teams are off to state competition:

The Chief Sealth girls and boys cross country teams each placed 2nd overall in the 2A district championship meet today at Lake Sammamish! Here’s a picture of the girls team celebrating, They will be traveling to the state championship meet in Pasco next week. Several Chief Seatlh athletes finished in the top 14 individually as well, although I’m sorry I don’t have details on those kids names and places. It was a soggy mess, but the kids all ran their hearts out and did us proud!

The results of the meet races are here, and if you click through to each race, you’ll see individual runners and their schools.

2:34 PM: We’ve since received a photo of the boys and more info:

The CSIHS girls cross country team’s finish at Districts sends them to the State Championship for the second year in a row and just the third time in school history! The team was led by Federica Dilley (Sr.), Doe Doe (So.) and Elena Phillips (So.), who each finished in the top-14 to earn All-District honors.

The boys cross country team’s second place finish will send them to State for the first time since 1982! The team was led by All-District performances from Remy Wittman (Sr.), Forest Andrews Wehling (Sr.) and Cole Peloza (Sr.).

The CSIHS boys and girls cross country teams’ next race will be at the 2A State Championships on November 8th at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

WSHS senior LJ Moody (#3) catches a deep pass near the end zone on Senior Night vs O’Dea

Story and videos by Jason Grotelueschen
Photos by Oliver Hamlin
For West Seattle Blog

Seniors from the West Seattle High School football and cheer squads were honored Thursday night as the Wildcats took on O’Dea at West Seattle Stadium, in a special matchup of the season’s top two Metro League football teams.

After a hard-fought scoreless first quarter, followed by a very-not-scoreless second quarter (with 6 combined touchdowns!) made it 28-14 O’Dea at halftime, the Fighting Irish steadily pulled away in the second half and topped the Wildcats by a final score of 56-14, handing WSHS their first loss of the season.

WSHS came in undefeated at 6-0 and on top of the Metro League Sound Division football standings, while O’Dea (the defending 3A state champions, current top-ranked 3A team in WA, and tops in the Metro League Mountain Division) were 6-1 with their only defeat coming in a non-conference season-opening narrow loss to 4A powerhouse Graham-Kapowsin.

As we previewed yesterday, the Thursday game represented a change of plans due to the fact that both the schools’ opponents had to forfeit their respective games this week, opening the door for a last-minute opportunity to shuffle schedules and have WSHS and O’Dea square off in a marquee late-season contest (for WSHS, it’s their final game of the season before the playoffs).

It was Senior Night for both schools, and the game was moved from Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex to West Seattle Stadium (which is O’Dea’s home field). The rain held off and it was a nice night for football, with a good crowd on hand for both schools.

WSHS coach Anthony Stordahl (pictured below during Thursday’s game) told us that he couldn’t be prouder of how his team played against one of the best football programs in the state, under tough scheduling circumstances. “The kids on this team showed resilience and a lot of heart; we could have just taken a forfeit and moved on, but these kids love to compete.”

Now, Stordahl’s squad moves on to the playoffs, and after tonight’s area high school football action they’ll know who their next opponent will be.

Stordahl added that this game had extra-special significance for him personally, as he was able to share the field as a coach for the first time with Monte Kohler, who has coached O’Dea since the mid-1980s and last month reached 395 career wins to become the all-time winningest high school football coach in Washington state. Stordahl played for Kohler as part of O’Dea’s 1994 state championship team.

On Thursday night, the senior class was in the spotlight, and Stordahl told us that he’s “very thankful we got a chance to celebrate the seniors; they deserve a lot of credit in building the culture of this team.” He added that WSHS will be moving up next year to the Mountain Division of the Metro League, competing with programs like O’Dea and Seattle Prep, and that this is possible “because of the standard this senior class has set.”

An hour before the game, WSHS introduced and honored its senior football players and their families:

• Elena Allen (student manager)
• Esayas Brigham (#2)
• LJ Moody (#3)
• Breck Estep (#4)
• Miles Guidry  (#5)
• Sorin Smith (#6)
• Jonah Pelander (#7)
• Logan Imel (#8)
• Jackson Evans (#23)
• Scott Bremen (#34)
• Daniel Waters (#35)
• Ford Fitterer (#40)
• Jesse Hansen-Wilson (#43)
• Isaiah Hoskins (#53)
• Rafi Fein-Wallace (#54)
• Nolan Polaski (#56)
• Ari Fein-Wallace (#58)
• Jaykel Warwick (#75)
• Jack Freeborne (#71)
• Gabe Crawford (#79)

Here are photos of some of the football seniors and their families, including Rafi and Ari Fein-Wallace:

Sorin Smith:

Gabe Crawford:

Esayas Brigham:

Jack Freeborne:

And Ford Fitterer:

Here’s our full video of the ceremony:

• Amaya Stagi
• Sophie McNamara
• Ella McNamara
• Hannah Niguidula
• Reese Bailey
• Luka Jaramillo
• Sadie Stover
• Lilli Athan
• Nayeli Martinez
• Izzy Baber
• Annaleise Heinrichs
• KC Martinez
• AJ Nackviseth
• Ariana Trevino
• Izzy McKamey
• Alex Call Terrazas

WSHS cheer coach Nadine Nguyen told us that this senior class “has been the heart of our team, showing dedication, leadership and spirit every step of the way,” and that they truly have inspired the team with their hard work and unity, leaving a lasting legacy for the program.

Here are photos of some of the senior cheer members alongside their families, including Nayeli Martinez:

Ella McNamara (left) and sister Sophie:

Hannah Niguidula:

Ariana Trevino:

And Izzy McKamey:

Here’s our video of the cheer seniors (apologies for the audio quality; the organizers had to use a portable PA system and it was overpowered by the halftime crowd noise):

WSHS had also been planning to honor their senior band members on Thursday night, but the decision was made to recognize them at a future WSHS sporting event.

As for the big game itself, it began with a hard-fought scoreless first quarter, as both teams traded possessions but couldn’t convert points. WSHS missed a field goal with 8 minutes left in the 1st quarter, and the Wildcats played stout defense and recovered O’Dea fumbles on two consecutive possessions to stall drives by the Irish:

Early in the second quarter, O’Dea scored on a touchdown run, and with the extra point took a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes left in the quarter.

About 5 minutes later, the scoring flurry began as the two teams combined for 5 TDs in the last 7 minutes of the first half, starting with an O’Dea TD run to take a 14-0 lead with 6:24 left in the 2nd quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, WSHS senior LJ Moody (#3) took a long return to midfield to give the Wildcats great field position. Not long after, Moody struck again, hauling in a long pass from junior QB Desmond Parkinson (#12):

The Wildcats couldn’t convert in the red zone, and attempted a field goal, but it was blocked and returned by O’Dea all the way to the WSHS 20-yard-line. A couple of plays later, O’Dea scored on short run to extend their lead to 21-0 with just over 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

After the kickoff, WSHS put together a nice drive and then cashed in on long TD pass from Parkinson to junior Justice Nguyen (#1). The extra point was blocked, and the score was 21-6 with 1:36 left before half.

O’Dea took the kickoff and wasted no time, hitting a long TD pass to make it 28-6 with 1:25 left in the 2nd quarter.

WSHS then put together a quick drive (featuring several pass connections between Parkinson and Moody), capped off by going for it in the red zone on 4th down in the final seconds of the 1st half, as Parkinson and Nguyen connected on another TD pass:

Then the Wildcats pulled off a successful 2-point conversion on a pass to junior Aidan Croppi, to make the score 28-14 in favor of O’Dea at the halftime break.

O’Dea struck quickly in the opening minutes of the 2nd half, scoring on a TD run to take a 35-14 lead. This was followed by another TD with 8:20 left in the 3rd quarter to make it 42-14, which was the score after three quarters.

In the final quarter, the Irish defense continued to bottle up the Wildcat offense, and O’Dea added two more TDs to make the final score 56-14.

Up next for the Wildcat squad: Playoffs! Details and opponent are TBD; we will post game information as soon as it’s confirmed, dependent on tonight’s area high school football results.

PHOTOS BY OLIVER HAMLIN FOR WSB

As the regular fall-sports season approaches the end, it’s time to celebrate those for whom this is the final season – the seniors. Last night, Chief Sealth International High School‘s girls-soccer team paid tribute to the Class of 2026 – including team support (above) as well as players (below with head coach Mike Rillo) –

Leslie Nunez Castro:

Lucinda Leviton:

Kimberly Ramirez:

Harlee Wahl:

Mariah Rillo:

Nasra:

The match was at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex against Nathan Hale.

The Seahawks led 1-0 after Nunez Castro, #4, scored early in the second half on a shot outside the box that sailed over the keeper’s head.

Then Hale scored two goals in the final five minutes to get the win.

The team’s last regular-season match is tonight at Cleveland, 5 pm.

(Photo by Dave Estep)

When the West Seattle High School Wildcats take the field Thursday night for the game that includes the Senior Night celebration for football, cheer, and band, it won’t be at their home field, Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. And it won’t be against the originally scheduled opponent, either. They’re now scheduled to play O’Dea at West Seattle Stadium (4470 35th SW) at 7 pm Thursday. Thanks to parent Allison for circulating word of the changes – which also include plans for the football seniors to be recognized with a pre-game ceremony, at 6 pm, and the cheer and band seniors to be recognized at halftime. It’s not only WSHS’s senior night, it’s a “huge game” because it’s also a matchup of the top two teams in the Metro League – West Seattle is undefeated; O’Dea has only one loss, against a non-conference opponent, and this is scheduled as their Senior Night too (WS Stadium is their home field). Allison says they’re hoping to fill the stands for the Wildcats – you can buy your ticket with cash at the stadium or online in advance.

WSHS senior Adriana Havens

Story, photos, video by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

It was all about the seniors on Friday, as the West Seattle High School girls’ soccer team hosted Seattle Academy for a special match at Hiawatha Playfield.

The visiting team from Seattle Academy came out on top 3-0 in the match, which was the second-to-last regular-season home game of the year for WSHS. With the loss, the Wildcats now have a season record of 5-4-2.

WSHS usually plays home matches at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point, but as we had previewed here, program manager Sarah Heitman told us that they held this game at Hiawatha (right after school, next door), hoping for a big community turnout to help celebrate “senior night” as a tribute to the WSHS players who are graduating after this school year.

And what a turnout it was, with fans packed into the sideline area east of the field…

…with proud family members and fellow students holding signs honoring the soon-to-be-graduates:

In all, there are nine seniors on the WSHS girls’ soccer squad:

From left to right, that’s Claire Murray, Adriana Havens, Grace Reasoner, Lillian O’Claire, Grace Carroll, Layla Ho, Anna Sievertson, Kate Russell and Ellie Miller. 

To show love to the seniors, there were two ceremonies on Friday, one at halftime and one after the game.

During halftime, WSHS head coach Dan Carew read comments that each of the seniors had written about their favorite WSHS teacher or staff member who had a particularly profound impact on them:

 Here are the seniors with their favorite WSHS educators:

The honored staffers, from left to right in the back row of the photo above, are Chris Harris (chosen by senior Kate Russell), Jessica Mathews (Sievertson), Julia Harper (Ho), Tom Burggraff (Miller), Alex Cordero (O’Claire), Rachel Myers (Carroll), Mary Logel (Reasoner), Kyle Glover (Havens), and Mallory Neuman (Murray).

The second ceremony was after the match, and there wasn’t a dry eye on the field as Wildcat teammates gave heartfelt speeches in honor of each of the nine outgoing seniors.

Here’s our video of all of the student speeches (a bit over 20 minutes):

Here are some photos of the Wildcats in action during Friday’s game. 

Senior Layla Ho:

Senior Grace Reasoner:

Senior Ellie Miller:

Senior Adriana Havens:

Junior Ava Wheatley:

Sophomore Ella Curtis:

Sophomore Juliette Harding:

Sophomore Brooklyn Crowe:

Running off the field through a “tunnel of teammates” were seniors Claire Murray and Lillian O’Claire:

A corner kick by junior Izzy Waite:

Post-match “good game” exchanges:

And an enthusiastic tunnel of classmates:

The Wildcats’ next game is at home (Walt Hundley) on Tuesday (October 21) vs Lakeside at 4pm, followed by their regular-season finale on the road on Thursday (October 23) at Ingraham.

(WSB photo from September match)

The West Seattle High School girls’ soccer team (5-3-2) usually plays home matches at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point.

Tomorrow, their second-to-last regular-season home match of the year is set for Hiawatha Playfield, right next to the school. Program manager Sarah Heitman tells WSB they’re hoping for a big community turnout for this game, as they’re celebrating “senior night” – a tribute to the players who will graduate after this school year – right after the match.

Their opponent is Seattle Academy; match time is 4 pm Friday at 2700 California SW. The Wildcats hope to see you there!