West Seattle, Washington
28 Tuesday
It’s snow-sports season in the mountains – which can bring a lot of fun, but also danger in some circumstances. Mountain to Sound Outfitters (WSB sponsor) is offering a free, potentially life-saving event tomorrow night – here’s the announcement:
We’re co-hosting a free 90-minute Avalanche Awareness Course on December 13th at 6 pm with NWAC!
The NWAC (Northwest Avalanche Center) – AIARE Avalanche Awareness Course utilizes interactive presentation materials and local case histories and encourages questions from the audience.
The course is expected to:
-Introduce and explain to students where and why avalanches occur.
-Describe who gets caught and why.
-Provide a basic approach to staying safe in the backcountry.This course targets the young and unaware backcountry traveler, and introduces the recognition of avalanche danger and how to reduce the risk.
Student Learning Outcomes
-Learn to access local avalanche bulletins and weather reports.
-Recognize basic signs of avalanche danger.
-Learn to avoid avalanche danger.
-Understand the need for companion rescue techniques and equipment.This event is free but registration is required. Please use the tickets link to register.
Mountain to Sound Outfitters is in The Triangle, at 3602 SW Alaska.
Chief Sealth International High School hosted a big wrestling tournament this past weekend – and emerged as champions. The report and photos are from CSIHS athletic director Ernest Policarpio:
The Chief Sealth Wrestling Program started of the year with a Bang, winning the 30+-team tournament “Return of the Seahawk” last Saturday by 40 points vs Ballard HS.
Here are the place winners for Chief Sealth:
Chief Sealth Boys
113lb 9th Brandon Tran Co-3rd Place
126lb 9th Xander Gomez 2nd Place
132lb 12th Cody Stout Co-3rd Place
144lb 11th Xavier Nguyen, Champion
150lb 10th Xavier Stout 2nd Place
157lb 11th Jay Johnson 2nd Place
(Micah Policarpio)
165lb 11th Micah Policarpio Champion (He also recorded his 100th career win – Overall career record 101-15)
175lb 11th Alex Varenhorst Co-3rd Place
175lb 12th Prince Maota Co-3rd Place
190lb 9th Eli Policarpio Co-3rd Place
220lb 12th Nigel Wiggins Co-3rd Place
285lb 10th Shane Allen Tino Co-3rd PlaceGirls Wrestling
110lb 10th Tara Kankesh Co-3rd Place
120lb 10th Petra Sheppard Co-3rd Place
(Jennie Brown)
130lb 12th Jennie Brown Champion
(Alyssa Reyes)
135lb Alyssa Reyes Champion
140lb Lucy Self 2nd Place
170lb 9th Shawn Hudson Co-3rd Place
190lb 12th Elyse Leger 2nd Place
235lb Triana Tuia Co-3rd PlaceWest Seattle HS also had place winners.
West Seattle Wrestling
126lb Sam Fordham Co-3rd Place
132lb Jackson Prater Thaden Co-3rd Place
150lb Karim Johnson Co-3rd Place
175lb Caeden Calderwood Co 3rd Place
Again this year, the West Seattle High School cheer team is headed for state competition. Head coach Nadine Nguyen sent the photo and report:
West Seattle High School Cheerleaders are headed to the Washington State Cheer Championship! They earned their spot by competing this past weekend in the Traditional Co-Ed Tumbling Division at Auburn Mount View High School, taking first place for their division. Last year, they placed 2nd in the State. This year the team is competing under the direction of Coach Nadine Nguyen (her 6th year leading the program) and Coach Walker Layne (1st year with the program). This year’s cheer state championships are set for February 2-3, 2024 at Battle Ground High School in southwest Washington.
West Seattle Little League has opened registration for next year’s baseball, softball, and Challenger programs – here’s the announcement we received to share with you:
West Seattle Little League Spring 2024 registration is now open for all youth ages 4-14.
Each year, we want to make sure all kids have the opportunity to write the next chapter in the Little League story, regardless of their situation. Thanks to the generous support of T-Mobile, financially challenged families in our community can apply for the T-Mobile Little League Call-Up Grant, which helps cover registration fees associated with West Seattle Little League for the upcoming season! Little League and T-Mobile share the belief that every kid should have the chance to play ball.
The WSLL baseball and softball spring season will run from March – June and features fun activities like the jamboree, sandlot days, and end-of-the-year bash. Interested to know more details? Check out westseattlelittleleague.com to find information about boundaries and divisions of play.
We look forward to seeing you on the field!
High-school basketball season has just begun. But no game tonight for the West Seattle High School boys’ team – they’re at Easy Street Records (4559 California SW) for the Slam Dunk Social benefit event. It’s on until 9 pm with food, fun, and a silent auction. Meet the coaches, too:
From left in our photo are Rick Ticeson, Jeff Auter, head coach Dan Kriley, Jeff Dabbs, and Nick Crespinel. Supporters raise money for expenses that the basic sports budgets just don’t cover – and that’s what tonight’s event is all about. A silent auction is part of it too, including a highlight item – a Pearl Jam Christmas record autographed by Eddie Vedder! Meantime, the boys are 1-1 on the season so far – next game Tuesday night, varsity at 7:30 pm, at home vs. Garfield.
So many holiday events in West Seattle this weekend – but a few non-holiday events too! Like this one for kids:
It’s happening 9 am-noon Saturday (December 2) in the gym at Lafayette Elementary (2645 California SW). The Burien Elks – whose wide service area includes West Seattle – will be holding a “hoop shoot” contest. The Elks’ Missy Wheat says it’s part of a national competition for kids 8 through 13. The top scorers on Saturday will move on to district competition, followed by state and nationals. There’s a chance to win scholarships through the Elks National Foundation. No preregistration required – just show up Saturday morning! If you have questions, squareknot85@gmail.com is how to reach local tournament director Mark Komac.
(WSB photo)
What a team! From left are Seattle Storm entertainment emcee Shellie Hart, forwqrd Jordan Horston, and mascot Doppler, with Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Brent Jones, during a visit this afternoon to Highland Park Elementary. There, in partnership with WaFd Bank, the Storm donated $5,000 to HPES’s PE program, led by educator Chellie LaFayette. In Q&A, player Horston – named this year to the WNBA’s All-Rookie Team – was asked why she felt it’s important for kids to work out; she replied that not only do you feel good about exercising, it’s a good way to release energy and aggression you might feel. She played just about “every sport” possible as a kid, and currently, besides basketball, also runs, does yoga, and hikes. And she stressed that academic achievement is important even if you want a future in sports – for college, for example, a good academic record can vault you over other contenders for a spot in a program. The Storm visitors also told the students they were all invited to come see a Storm game next spring.
Another West Seattle Thanksgiving tradition started the day on Alki – Tim McConnell of West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) sent the report and photos from this year’s Gobble Gobble Group Run:
Had a great turnout of runners and walkers for this morning’s blustery group run. They brought around 25 pounds of food to donate for the West Seattle Food Bank and then headed down Alki for a few miles.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Lori and I would like to say thank you to everyone who supports West Seattle Runner; we are so lucky to have such a great group of runners/walkers who value what small business does for the community.
Tim and Lori
Owners
West Seattle Runner
Thanks to Amy for the report:
I wanted to give a shout out to the Louisa Boren STEM K-8 Middle School Ultimate Frisbee team, who won their championship game (Saturday)! The team worked together, practiced hard, built strong bonds and friendships, and had a lot of fun in the process. Congratulations to all the middle schoolers on the team and their awesome coaches! Well done, Owls!!!
The season that took the West Seattle High School volleyball team all the way to the state tournament ended there tonight. The Wildcats lost two matches, one in the morning against Shorewood High School (3-0) and one in the evening against Peninsula High School (3-2). The scoreboard shows the last one was a heartbreaker – first WSHS was down 2-0, then took the next two sets to tie at 2-2, but lost the fifth and final set by the barest of margins. Head coach Scott Behrbaum‘s team took second place in the Metro League and third in the district tournament on the way to the state 3A championships in Yakima.
Received from Joel:
Just wanted to let West Seattleites know that a disgruntled neighbor threw garbage, including glass bottles, into the Delridge skatepark this evening. He was upset about the refuse being left behind on a daily basis.
I cleaned up what glass I could, and notified the police, but I’m sure there are small shards left that could hurt someone if they were to fall.
We suggested also calling the Seattle Parks after-hours maintenance number (206-684-7250).
Thanks to “Coach Steve” Fredrickson for the report and photos:
Congratulations to the Delridge “Da Pickles,” who won 1st place in Saturday’s City Wide Volleyball Jamboree 12-13 age group, and the Delridge “Devils,” who won 2nd place in the 10-11 group … making this coach extremely proud!!
The Jamboree was held at Rainier Community Center and was a double-elimination tourney where each team played just one set – very similar to pre-pandemic Jamborees.
The 12-13 team finished first in the league with a 4-1 record – the one loss was due to a forfeit because of Club tryouts. At the Jamboree they beat Ravenna and Loyal Heights, then again played Ravenna in the championship match…losing their only set but then won the second to bring home the Gold.
The 10-11 team finished third in the league with a 3-2 record. At the Jamboree they started off with a tough loss to Green Lake but then rallied back to beat Ballard and Green Lake in the losers bracket, only to fall to High Point in the Final, bringing home the Silver.
West Seattle was definitely well represented with Delridge and High Point taking three of the four medal awards!
Congratulations to two West Seattle-residing Kennedy Catholic High School students who have just won state 4A swimming championships! The report is from Casie:
West Seattle residents Kaitlyn Vu (top left) and Lucy LaBella (bottom right) are state champions! Sophomore Kaitlyn and freshman Lucy won the 4×100 Free relay for Kennedy Catholic High School at the WIAA 4A state championship this weekend. Kaitlyn was also the 100 Breaststroke state champion. Kennedy placed third as a team.
Full results from the championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way are here.
(Photo courtesy WSHS Volleyball)
That’s the West Seattle High School volleyball team, photographed today in the gym at Lake Washington High School, where they finished district-tournament play, starting with a 3-0 loss to the host team in the semifinals this morning, coming back with a 3-0 victory over Renton’s Liberty High School this afternoon. That won them third place in the district, following their second-place Metro League finish, and next they’re off to the state tournament. That’s happening in Yakima next Friday and Saturday. The Wildcats, under head coach Scott Behrbaum, are 16-6 on the year so far.
9:49 PM: Five nights after taking second place in the Metro League championships, the West Seattle High School volleyball team scored a shutout win in their first district-tournament match tonight. Playing at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, the Wildcats beat Bellevue 3-0. Lake Washington is also where WSHS will face the host team at 9 am Saturday (November 11th) in the district semifinals. If we’re reading the bracket correctly, tonight’s victory has already guaranteed them a berth at the state tournament.
9:58 PM: Head coach Scott Behrbaum confirms his team has earned a trip to state – that’ll be November 17-18 in Yakima.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Last night’s Metro League volleyball championship match was closer than the final score – Seattle Prep over West Seattle High School, three sets to none – would suggest.
During the faceoff in the Chief Sealth IHS gym, the first two sets’ scores were close – 25-23 and 26-24.
The third set was almost seesaw until a 10-10 tie – and Prep started pulling away after that, taking the set 25-16.
Next up for the Wildcats and head coach Scott Behrbaum, a district-tournament game at 7:30 pm Thursday (November 9) vs. either Bellevue HS or Eastside Catholic (who they beat 3-0 earlier on Saturday to get to the Metro final). They’ll be playing at Lake Washington High School (12033 NE 80th, [corrected] Kirkland).
A strong season for West Seattle High School ended tonight in Tacoma. WSHS played a postseason game at Mount Tahoma High School, with a state-tournament berth at stake, but lost 53-14. Head coach Anthony Stordahl‘s team finished the year 6-3.
We mentioned in today’s preview list that West Seattle High School would play Eastside Catholic in the Metro League volleyball semifinals this morning. The Wildcats won the match, 3-0, and that means they will play for the league championship tonight – 7:15 pm in the Chief Sealth IHS gym (2600 SW Thistle). If you want to go cheer them on, ticket info is here.
Four years ago, we told you about the search for a swim coach at Chief Sealth International High School. Stephanie Hunt read about it here, got the job, and less than three years later was honored as Metro League Coach of the Year. Now she’s sent this announcement about the search for a new boys’ swim coach:
CSIHS is looking for a Swim Coach who is available early mornings and Friday afternoons to lead our Boys Swim Team this school year. Red Cross lifeguard certification is required. Our current coach is stepping back to focus on coaching diving for the Metro League. For additional information or to apply, please contact Athletic Director Ernest Policarpio at edpolicarpio@seattleschools.org.
The West Seattle High School Wildcats are one win away from the state football playoffs after a postseason victory tonight over Rainier Beach. WSHS emerged victorious at Memorial Stadium downtown, 22-20. Next, they play at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma at 7 pm Saturday (November 4). Winner of that game goes to state.
A new development late today in the city’s plan to set up six pickleball courts on what used to be tennis courts in Lincoln Park. Previously, Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold had asked Seattle Parks Superintendent AP Diaz last Friday to host a community meeting about the plan, which has drawn opposition from people worried the noise will harm birds and. other wildlife. Early this afternoon, Councilmember Herbold told us she had not yet heard back from Diaz. Then late this afternoon, Parks sent an email to people who had contacted the department about the plan – sent to both supporters and opponents, judging by those who received it and forwarded it to us. Here’s what it says:
Dear community members,
Over the past few weeks, we have heard from many community members about resurfacing the court in Lincoln Park to enable pickleball play. Some comments expressed concern about noise, lack of a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) analysis, assertions of tree removal and disruption to wildlife, while other comments expressed support for the project and excitement for adding more recreational opportunities in West Seattle.
Please be assured that Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is working hard to cultivate a park system that balances our varying points of view, which includes our mission to build healthy people, a thriving environment and vibrant community throughout the entire Seattle city park system.
At this time, we can respond to some of these concerns:
–SPR reiterates there is no tree removal being done to support this project. Consistent with other court resurfacing projects, SPR is not conducting a SEPA analysis as the existing court is being repurposed with already defined recreational uses.
–SPR will not pursue lighting at this time.
–We will be pausing project construction for two weeks to talk with experts on Seattle’s bird populations on how we can properly study the potential impact pickleball noise may have on wildlife. We welcome this dialogue and will share our plans more widely after that discussion as we strive to find a collective and beneficial approach to the stewardship and management of our parkland.
Thank you for your commitments to our park system. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about this project:
https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/projects/lincoln-park-tennis-court-conversion.
We also noticed earlier this afternoon that the Parks webpage had been updated, timestamped yesterday, with the schematic plan shown above, mapping the planned courts’ location in the park and the route construction trucks would take to get there.
BACKSTORY: We’ve been reporting on all this since August, when a reader tipped us that the then-imminent (currently on hold until next year) resurfacing of Solstice Park‘s tennis courts would include restriping three for pickleball. Parks then announced a change of plan in September, dropping the Solstice restriping plan and pursuing the Lincoln Park plan. Wildlife advocates subsequently launched a petition drive and opposition campaign. Parks, meantime, launched work at the site more than a week ago, putting up signage and fencing, but with today’s announcement, that’s apparently on hold.
This Saturday, youth interested in lacrosse can try it free! Here’s the announcement explaining how:
The West Seattle Youth Lacrosse Club coaches will be hosting a FREE all-ages, all-experience lacrosse session for boys & girls on Saturday, November 4th from 9 to 10:30 am at Walt Hundley Playfield in West Seattle. RSVP via the link below, and please share this opportunity with anyone in your circle who might be interested in an introduction to the sport. Whether you’re a returning player, or you’ve never picked up a lacrosse stick before, we’d love to have you attend! RSVP: forms.gle/HvQbXJsperNLhkyC7
Hallo-weekend began with almost 300 mostly costumed people running 5K through Lincoln Park for the West Seattle Monster Dash. Cheering them on – the mascot monster:
Reasons to cheer included not only the costumes but also the cause: The Monster Dash is a fundraiser for South Seattle College Cooperative Preschools, which serve hundreds of local families at five West Seattle/White Center locations. But it’s also just plain fun.
Here are the results. The 5K was followed by two short fun runs just for kids.
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