Next Saturday (December 7), girls from high schools around the city will spend the day playing flag football downtown. Among them will be West Seattle High School‘s new team.

Parent club manager Pamela Quadros sent that photo with word that the team had made history two weeks ago with WSHS’s first-ever girls’ flag-football practice. She says students Thea and Maggie Harnish and Charlee Cummings founded the team, and that they’re getting support from organizations including the Seahawks. They also express thanks to coach Kris Smith, WSHS athletic director Corey Sorenson, and Underdog for running the girls’ flag-football league (which also includes Chief Sealth International High School – here’s the full schedule for next week and beyond).

As we’ve been reporting, West Seattle High School‘s volleyball team is at the state tournament for the first time in a half-century. Saturday was their second day of play in Yakima, concluding late at night with a loss – first match of the day, the Wildcats shut out Stanwood, 3-0 (25-23, 31-29, 25-14); then in the second, they lost to Seattle Prep, 3-1 (21-25, 27-25, 25-9, 25-19). That sent them to the consolation bracket, with little time to rest – they’ll play Liberty at 10 am today (Saturday), and if they win, they play for 5th place at 2 pm. It’s been a huge season for head coach Scott Behrbaum and his team, taking the district championship along the way. We’ll have another update after today’s game(s).

West Seattle High School volleyball head coach Scott Behrbaum shared that video shown at WSHS on Wednesday as his team prepared to head east today for the start of the state 3A tournament in Yakima tomorrow. After winning the district championship, the Wildcats’ next challenge is a 1:30 pm Friday match against either Stanwood or Lakes, depending on which of those teams wins its opening match hours earlier. However their first contest turns out, they’ll have a second match Friday evening. This is WSHS’s first trip to the state tournament in a half-century; you can follow their progress via the tournament bracket here.

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Special to West Seattle Blog

Tonight’s Class 3A District 2 volleyball championship game at Lakeside School featured a matchup for the ages. The West Seattle High School volleyball team came into the game determined to win the program’s first-ever district championship. Their opponents, Renton’s Liberty High School Patriots, were riding high after pulling off an improbable upset in their semi-final game against the #1 seeded Seattle Prep team earlier in the day.

The Wildcats broke the WSHS district championship drought, making history by defeating Liberty 3-0. The girls played in their signature loose and joyful style, and the outcome of the match was never seriously in doubt. The team has had its ups and downs this season, but as head coach Scott Behrbaum said, “What matters most is to be playing well when it counts, and we are doing that.”

The Wildcats played smothering defense, with several dramatic blocks and clutch digs.

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Westside’s district championship win likely will lead to a more favorable seed at next week’s 3A State Tournament in Yakima. The tournament matches will take place on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23.

SEALTH’S SEASON ENDS AT STATE

Meanwhile, the #10 seed Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks volleyball team wrapped up its season on Saturday afternoon by defeating Toppenish to capture 7th place in the Class 2A State Tournament at the Yakima Sun Dome. The match was a nailbiter, with Sealth winning 3-2. Sealth played catch-up all match, losing the first and third sets. They squeaked out the win in a match where every set was decided by 3 or fewer points. The final-set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, and 15-12.

Thanks to West Seattle High School head volleyball coach Scott Behrbaum for the update! His team won its district semifinal match this morning and will play for the district championship tonight. “West Seattle defeated Bellevue in 3 sets in the District 2 volleyball tournament. We face Liberty HS at 5:15. Liberty defeated Seattle Prep this morning as well, 3-0.” They’re playing at Lakeside School if you want to head there to cheer them on; here’s the bracket, and here’s ticket info. (The team is already guaranteed a berth in the state tournament, as noted here Thursday night.)

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Special to West Seattle Blog

Thursday night at the Highline High gym, the West Seattle High School volleyball team punched their ticket to this year’s state tournament, beating the Roosevelt Rough Riders 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the district tournament.

Despite having to play short-handed due to injuries and illness, West Seattle kept getting stronger as the match went on.

They dropped the first set by a score of 25-22, in a contest that featured long rallies and hard-fought points. Between sets, head coach Scott Behrbaum told the team to relax, play freely, and have fun. The Wildcats made small adjustments in their attack and defense and came back to win three straight sets, capping it off with a 25-11 victory in the final set.

An enthusiastic crowd of WSHS Wildcats supporters who traveled to Burien witnessed the team advance to the state tournament for the second year in a row. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a program that hadn’t previously qualified for the state tourney since the 1970s. They will be facing Bellevue in the semifinals of the district tournament at Lakeside School on Saturday at 9:00 am. The outcome of the rest of the district tournament matches will factor into the seeding for next week’s state tournament in Yakima.

Another local high-school team that made it to state is celebrating its success – thanks to the reader who sent this report on the Chief Sealth International High School cross country girls’ results:

Congratulations to Chief Sealth IHS junior Federica Dilley on finishing 7th at the 2A State Cross Country Championship on Saturday in Pasco! Dilley covered the 5k course in a time of 18:59 and led the Seahawks to an 11th-place team finish.

(Pictured: CSIHS junior Federica Dilley (red) receiving her award after earning first team All-State)

(Pictured: The CSIHS girls’ XC team after placing 11th at the 2A State Championship)

Full results from the 2024 WIAA Cross Country State Championships are available here.

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Special to West Seattle Blog

The West Seattle High School Wildcats volleyball team faced a strong Seattle Prep squad in last night’s Metro League championship game in the Chief Sealth International High School gym. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the Wildcats’ night. Prep’s power and shot placement propelled them to a 3-0 win over West Seattle.

In their semifinal match earlier in the day, West Seattle cruised past the Bishop Blanchet Bears, never trailing in any set on their way to a 3-0 win. The team played cohesively against a talented Blanchet team, with Janie McCanna and Sadie Miller notching an impressive number of kills. The individual set scores were 25-12, 25-19, and 25-8.

Next week, West Seattle (15-4) will head to the 3A District Tournament as the #2 Metro seed. Head coach Scott Behrbaum expressed satisfaction with the team’s successful season and is gearing up for the team to take the next step forward. “We’re proud of being the best public school in the Metro League and we’re going into Districts with a clean slate, knowing that we can compete with anyone.”

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Special to West Seattle Blog

For the first time since 1974, the Chief Sealth Seahawks have won the Class 2A District 2 volleyball championship. In a thrilling championship match, the Seahawks defeated the Nathan Hale Raiders, 3-0.

The first two sets of the match at Foster HS in Tukwila were both nailbiters, as the lead seesawed. Sealth pulled out wins in both by scores of 25-23 and 25-18.

Nathan Hale started the third set determined to extend the match, charging out to an early 8-point lead. But the Sealth girls hung tough and, on the verge of defeat, they reeled off seven straight points to win the deciding game by a score to 25-23.

After the match, an elated Chief Sealth head coach Lorraine Toilolo referred to the sweetness of breaking Sealth’s 50-year drought since their last District Championship. “It’s been a long time coming. We’ve worked hard and we’re headed to the State Tournament!” The Class 2A State Tournament will be held at the Yakima Valley SunDome next Friday and Saturday (November 15-16).

The state cross country championships are happening today in Pasco. We’ve already reported on runners from our area’s two biggest high schools who qualified – and there’s one more group of West Seattle runners participating, proud parent Beth Martin points out:

O’Dea High School cross country is also at state, qualifying as a team for the first time in 25 years. Five of the seven running today live in West Seattle: Ryan Berta, Maddox Fox, Maks Karman, Isaac Lewis, and Will Martin.

Good luck to all!

At Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex tonight, coach Anthony Stordahl and the West Seattle High School Wildcats ended the football season with a win, 23-20 over Ballard. WSHS ended the season with a winning record – 6-5.

Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

History was made tonight as the Chief Sealth International High School girls’ soccer team qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history.

The Seahawks won their WIAA playoff game against the Lindbergh Eagles at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex in dramatic fashion, on penalty kicks after the two teams played to a hard-fought 2-2 draw at the end of regulation plus a scoreless extra period. 

Next up for the 2A Metro League champions from Sealth, who are now 11-3-4 for the season, is a tough road match against the Cedarcrest High School Red Wolves at their home turf in Duvall on Saturday November 8th at 1 pm.  This is the final game of districts, and both teams have already qualified for the state tournament which runs November 12-23 at Mt. Tahoma High School.  

Proud coach Michael Rillo (at center in the photo below), in his 6th year at Sealth, was emotional after the game and said the team “played their hearts out” to reach “something this school has never achieved.” 

The match on Wednesday night was a back-and-forth contest, with Sealth striking first about 10 minutes into the first half on a goal by sophomore Leslie Nunez Castro.

Lindbergh answered with a goal 27 minutes into the half, then Sealth senior Emma Haynes knocked in a goal of her own in the final minutes of the half, and the Seahawks led 2-1 at halftime. 

Lindbergh tied the game 2-2 on a goal 25 minutes into the second half, and the score remained 2-2 at the end of regulation. 

The teams battled in the overtime period and the score remained 2-2. The match then went to penalty kicks:

Each team then made all 5 initial kicks, so the PKs continued with each team making every shot until Sealth sophomore goalie Davis Mapes stopped Lindbergh’s 12th kick, and then the Seahawks’ Nunez Castro knocked in her kick to win the game.

More photos below:

(#23 Olivia LaForest boots a shot on goal)

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Special to West Seattle Blog

Tonight, the Chief Sealth International High School girls’ soccer team took on the Sultan Turks in Division 2A postseason play.

It was a cold, crisp night at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. For the first half,
the Sealth girls dominated the time of possession and fired off several promising shots on goal. The Sultan goalie stood strong until, with under 5 minutes to play in the half, freshman Olivia LaForest rocketed a shot off the goalie and then punched in the rebound. The Sealth Seahawks led 1-0 at half-time. The home team pulled away in the second half as Sultan could not keep pace with the athleticism and superior footwork of the Seahawks.

(Head coach Mike Rillo with three-goal Riley Yip)

Senior Riley Yip repeatedly broke through the Sultan defense on the way to scoring 3 unanswered goals. Final score: Sealth 4-0 over Sultan. Sealth’s next game is at (updated) 5 pm on Wednesday night at NCSWAC against Lindbergh. The winner of Wednesday night’s game is guaranteed a slot in the State tournament.

Cross country continues to be a success story in fall sports for both of our area’s largest high schools. Today we have updates from Chief Sealth International High School:

Congratulations to Chief Sealth International High School’s girls’ cross country team for winning the 2A Sea-King District Championship this week at Lower Woodland! Runners Federica Dilley, Doe Doe, Elena Latterell, and Casey Greger also earned all-district honors in the race. The win advances the team to the WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco on November 9th! It will mark the first return to State for the Chief Sealth girls XC team since their 1975 state championship-winning run.

(Pictured: Chief Sealth’s girls state XC qualifiers Federica Dilley, Doe Doe, Elena Latterell, Casey Greger, Paige Dempsey, Satomi Giedeman and Abby Peloza with Coaches Miguel Bautista and Charlie McDonald)

Additional congratulations to the Chief Sealth boys XC team, who finished fourth in the race (one spot out of team-qualifying) and had three runners advance to State as individuals: Remy Wittman (all-district), Cole Peloza, and Forest Andrews-Wehling. They will be the first boys XC runners from Chief Sealth to compete at State since 1987.

(Pictured: Chief Sealth’s boys state XC qualifiers Forest Andrews-Wehling, Remy Wittman and Cole Peloza)

See the full district championship race results here.

Thanks to Barry White for the report and photos from a historic achievement for West Seattle High School‘s cross country runners:

It was a great day at the Sea-King 3A District Championships on Thursday for the West Seattle HS XC runners and Head Coach Shelley Neal. This was the first time in program history that a full boys’ and girls’ team qualified for Districts at the same time.

Congrats to Aran Connolly, Lukas Doig, Clara Peak, and Daisy Pierson, who qualified individually for the WIAA State XC Championship next weekend in Pasco. Doig, Peak, and Pierson all ran PRs on the tough Lower Woodland course. The boys’ and girls; teams both finished 10th overall.

Our two Unified team runners, Elliott Weinmann and Garrison Etheridge, also qualified for State. They and their running partners Liam Baier and Ryan Wade will compete in the first-ever State Unified XC race in Pasco on 11/9 at 2:00 PM.