West Seattle, Washington
22 Saturday
(WSB photos)
The West Seattle High School girls-basketball team got another victory tonight as they start the new year ranked #1 by the Seattle Times.
#10 junior Jenna McPhee and #32 sophomore Meghan Fiso each brought in 16 points as the Wildcats defeated Franklin HS, 77-30.
Friday night, head coach Darnell Taylor‘s team is on the road at Garfield HS. They remain unbeaten in conference games.
(WSB photos)
Victory tonight for the Chief Sealth International High School girls’ basketball team, 58-45 in overtime over visiting Eastside Catholic.
#3 sophomore Celia LaGuardia was top scorer with 31 points; #11 senior Aundra Tuchscherer was next with 12.
#22 junior Camryn Thomas led in rebounds, with 14, and blocked three shots, too. Head coach Cartiea French-Toney‘s Seahawks will be on the road Friday night at Bishop Blanchet. Here’s how they’re doing overall so far this season.
Yes, winter’s only two weeks old, but it’s time to think spring – think baseball! We heard today from West Seattle Baseball, whose new president Zach Jones has announced that registration is under way, noting that the group does not have geographic boundaries. “Kids ages 4-16 from all around the area (West Seattle, Burien, White Center, South Park, etc.) are welcome to join!” he wants you to know. Other notes, for both returnees and new players:
You can now register for the 2018 season! Here are some details:
As you will see, we have a new website moving to Sports Illustrated Play this year. We brought over as much of your previous registration as we could, but it may have some gaps. You will need to create an account with SI Play (it only takes a minute).
As you register, please be careful to check names, dates and email addresses for accuracy.
This year we will also be asking for birth certificates for your players. It is not required to complete your registration, but we will need it uploaded before the season starts.
Register before February 1st and receive a $10 discount! Registration closes February 14th.
You can also register as a volunteer or as a coach in this process.
If you have any issues registering, please contact our website administrator by emailing webmaster@westseattlebaseball.com or click the handy help buttons on the website.
Have questions regarding age, bats and important dates? Please see the Letter from the President FAQ’s on the home page.
Here’s the direct link to the registration page.
The photo and report are from West Seattle High School boys-basketball head coach Keffrey Fazio, whose team is celebrating a tournament championship:
The West Seattle HS boys basketball team won the 2017 Sterling Holiday Basketball Tournament yesterday with a 56-40 win over the Squalicum Storm. The tournament was a three-day event, and all games were played at Kennedy HS [Burien].
Tuesday, December 26th, in the first round of the tourney, the Wildcats beat Lindbergh (Renton) 76-24. Junior forward Abdullahi Mohamed powered the Cats with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Wednesday, the second round game, the opponent was the Woodinville Falcons. WSHS came away with another win, 64-40. Senior guard Elijah Nnanabu and sophomore point guard Marcus Collins both scored double figures.
Thursday, the tournament final, as mentioned above, WSHS over Squalicum. Senior guard Simon Harris scored 13 points, and tournament MVP Elijah Nnanabu scored 15 points.
The Wildcats record now sits at 7-3 overall, and 3-2 in league play. Next game for WSHS is a home contest vs. Franklin (8-0) on Tuesday, January 2 at 7:30 pm.
Still slushy out there, so Seattle Parks has officially closed its athletic fields today. Otherwise, the only West Seattle facility on the Seattle Parks closure list today is Southwest Teen Life Center.
As promised – we have a followup today from the coaches of the youth cross-country team West Seattle Road Runners, who sent word Friday that four of their runners would competein the national championships Saturday. From James Powell, who was in Tallahassee with the runners:
West Seattle Road Runners, a USATF-sanctioned club that has developed from its earlier affiliation with High Voltage Track Club and High Point Community Center/Seattle Parks and Recreation, participated in the 2017 youth cross country season here in the Pacific Northwest.
The team had 48 athletes on its roster this season, 14 of these runners raced fast enough to advance to the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. The race this year was held in Tallahassee, Florida, and 4 of these runners made the trip.
The team was represented by three runners in the 7-8 year old girls division (Macy Powell, Cailin Ross, and Lincoln Sitzmann) and 1 runner in the 9-10 boys division (William Frederick).
In addition to their running gear, these runners apparently packed the Pacific Northwest weather with them and landed to weather very similar to what they had been training and racing in all season. Each of these runners ran beautifully executed races, resulting in some of the fastest times ever recorded for the program, including personal best performances. All 4 runners plan to return for the 2018 cross country season and, when asked, their biggest goal for next season is to have more teammates to train and race with. The 2018 National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships will be held in Reno, Nevada, and the West Seattle Road Runners are aiming to have record participation at the meet.
If anyone is interested in joining the team next season, or finding out more about the West Seattle Road Runners youth cross country team, please email the coaching staff at westseattleroadrunners@gmail.com.
Saturday will be a huge day for those four young West Seattleites! The photo and report are from Eric Linxweiler:
West Seattle has a new running program for youth started this past fall. After running cross country with Seattle Parks and Rec for the past few years, we decided this year to make a USA Track and Field youth club called West Seattle Road Runners. We started training in August, and in September moved to Lincoln Park for our 2-day-a-week running sessions. The kids ran over every square inch of that park!
This year, especially, all of the regional running teams are amazed at how fast we’ve grown, how our team supports each other, and yes – how fast our kids are (especially our 7&8 year old girls, who placed second in the Pacific Northwest).
All told, we’ve grown from 12 runners in 2014 to 48 this year, ranging in age from 5 to 14. It’s been fantastic to see them all grow and develop, all with the support of a vibrant West Seattle running community (including West Seattle Runner).
Through the season we had many teams qualify for Junior Olympic races and qualified a handful for Nationals. In the picture (above), we have Cailin Ross, Macy Powell, and Lincoln Sitzmann (front) and William Frederick (back). They will be representing West Seattle at the USATF Junior Olympics (Saturday) in Tallahassee, Florida.
Coaches were Brandee Paisano, James Powell, Ashlee Lymann, Derek Bair, and myself.
Eric (who reminds us he had local runners at the Junior Olympics in 2015, too) promises to let us know how it goes!
Second win of the season Wednesday night for the Chief Sealth International High School girls, 53-42 over visiting Nathan Hale HS. #11 Aundra Tuchscherer led the Seahawks with 19 points:
#2 Jasmine Smith was also in double digits for the Seahawks, with 13 points. Under new head coach Cartiea French-Toney, the Sealth girls are now 2-1 on the season.
Their next game is at Cleveland, 7 pm Friday.
Thanks to West Seattle High School boys-basketball head coach Keffrey Fazio for the report:
West Seattle boys basketball traveled to O’Dea high school last night. The Wildcats lost in overtime 57 to 55. Leading scorer for West Seattle was senior Anthony Giomi with 19 points. Wildcats are now 2-1 on the season.
Next up: Friday at Ingraham.
The Chief Sealth International High School boys-varsity team was back home tonight and added to the win column, 77-67 over visiting Nathan Hale HS. #0 Jauvan Gary-Jones led the scoring with 19 points; next was #2 Tyrell Moore (top photo) with 14, followed by #22 Elijah Jackson with 12.
The Seahawks held on for the win despite a Hale comeback in the fourth quarter; they’re 3-1 on the season so far.
Next game is at Cleveland on Friday night.
Thanks to the reader who shared the report and photos:
West Seattle High School’s 1st Team All-Metro Sound Division Football Selections
Senior Anthony Coats, senior Alex Pastrana, and junior Oliver Carlson have been selected to the First Team All-Metro Sound Division Football Team. Anthony (above right) was named 1st Team Quarterback, Alex (above center) was named 1st Team Offensive Guard and 2nd Team Defensive Tackle, and Oliver (above left) was named 1st Team Wide Receiver. Congratulations to these boys for their leadership and achievements on the field that have been recognized by the coaches throughout the league. It was a tough season for the young and inexperienced Wildcats but the team never quit, battled, and worked hard all season long for new coach Marcis Fennell.
The team also had its year end football banquet Friday night, which was an incredible event held at The Hall at Fauntleroy. During the celebration of the student athletes’ season Coach Fennell and the West Seattle Alumni Monogram Club surprised this year’s qualified lettermen with brand-new Letterman jackets, bringing back a tradition that has been absent for 20 years.
The boys were excited, stunned and extremely appreciative of this awesome gesture. You could see the pride these boys have in WSHS and could feel their excitement about representing their community in their new jackets.
It was a fun and rewarding evening for all involved that has set the standard moving forward for WS Football. A special thank you to Coach Marcis and all his assistant coaches for their hard work and dedication to WSHS. Go Westside!
Just in from Madison Middle School assistant soccer coach Paul Bennett:
Madison Middle School Girls Varsity won its game 5 to 1 this morning. They will be playing in the final game at Memorial Stadium at 3:30. It will be Madison Middle School vs Jane Addams Middle School. Both teams have gone undefeated this season. The winner will be the Seattle Middle School Champions.
Memorial Stadium is at Seattle Center downtown.
(Photos by Max Westerman for WSB)
West Seattle High School‘s #32 Meghan Fiso starred in Friday night’s 78-36 victory over Nathan Hale, which sent the Wildcats out to a 2-0 start, both wins by a margin of more than 40 points. Fiso racked up 30 points to lead the team.
#4 Kelsey Lenzie was next with 13 points, and #11 Jasmine Gayles with 10.
#20 Grace Sarver and #5 Rilcy Newsome contributed 8 points each. WSHS’s next two games are on the road (here’s the season schedule).
In boys-varsity basketball at West Seattle High School Friday night, the Wildcats scored a big win over the defending state champions, Nathan Hale, and are now off to a 2-0 start.
On the way to their 70-47 win, the West Seattle boys were led by #5 Abdullahi Mohamed and #2 Elijah Nnanabu, with 14 points each, followed by #23 Anthony Giomi and #24 Simon Harris with 10 each. (Full stats here.)
The Wildcats’ next three games are on the road (see the schedule here).
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
One year ago, the West Seattle High School girls-basketball team’s district-championship season began with a game against Bothell HS, as this season just did. Last year, Bothell took the win, but not this time. In Wednesday night’s game, the Wildcats were dominant right from the tipoff, scoring 17 unanswered points in the first four and a half minutes before the Cougars finally got on the boards with a basket. WSHS looked as good as they had, maybe better than, last season, with their starting stars back, including #11 Jasmine Gayles:
Gayles had the first four points of the night, on her way to the second-leading scoring total, 15, as well as numerous assists. Top scoring honors belonged to #20 Grace Sarver (top photo), with 18. #4 Kelsey Lenzie was in double digits too, at 11. And #10 Jenna McPhee had 8.
… as did #32 Meghan Fiso:
Smothering defense and aggressive pursuit of the ball – both via rebounds and forced turnovers – marked the West Seattle play, too, even once they’d built a big lead. The gap did allow reserves to get significant time, including #34 Anissa Babitu:
At the end of the first quarter, WSHS was already up 23-4; at halftime, it was 35-11.
The second half opened in showy style – starting with Lenzie sinking a three-pointer on an assist from Gayles; a few seconds later, Sarver netted two, soon followed by a Gayles basket, and a three for McPhee on a Sarver assist, all of this happening in the half’s first minute and a half. The Wildcats’ lead soon opened to forty points and then some. Everybody had a share of it; midway through the final quarter, Babitu had a three-pointer, and a few baskets later, the buzzer sounded with WSHS getting the 69-20 win. They’re home again Friday night, vs. Nathan Hale at 7 pm.
COACHING NOTE: The Wildcats were coached tonight by JV coach Mike Gutierrez, whose reminders about rebounding and other exhortations carried across the court:
He filled in for third-year head coach Darnell Taylor, who is suspended for the first two games of the year because of a rule violation toward the end of last year – one WSHS caught and reported itself – it played one game more than permitted, as explained in this Seattle Times report from last May.
More basketball home openers tonight. One went so fast, it was over before our photographer arrived. It took less than an hour for the Chief Sealth International High School boys to dispose of the Australian travel team that visited tonight, 81-45. That was just one night after they opened the season on the road, 84-72 over Mount Rainier High School (Des Moines) Tuesday. Next up for head coach Colin Slingsby‘s Seahawk boys: They play at Rainier Beach, 7:30 pm Saturday.
(WSB photos)
Between a slow start and a close call toward the end, the Chief Sealth International High School varsity girls played some exciting basketball on their way to a season-opening home win Tuesday night, 39-30 over Kennedy Catholic HS. It was a promising debut for new head coach Cartiea French-Toney.
The first quarter had Sealth down 6-1 at one point – but the Seahawks fought back, and by its end, they were up 10-7.
#2, senior Jasmine Smith, was top scorer. But Sealth’s defense against the Lancers was vital too. A dramatic double-teaming moment with two minutes left in the first half forced Kennedy to turn the ball over, and that was extra momentum propelling Sealth to a 19-13 halftime lead.
The second half was barely 30 seconds old when #1, senior Aundra Tuchscherer, got the first basket.
The lead kept growing, with a three-pointer by Smith just about a minute later giving the Seahawks a double-digit lead.
Kennedy wasn’t giving up, though, and with less than two minutes left in the game, pulled to within three points. Sealth’s resolve toughened and they piled on a few points in the next minute, then a few more, and the final score was 38-30.
Next scheduled game for the Sealth girls: 6 pm Saturday at Rainier Beach.
(WSB photos. WSHS #5 above, Abdullahi Mohamed)
High-school basketball season is on! At West Seattle High School tonight, the Wildcat boys faced visitors from Australia, the West Sydney Giants. The result: A 77-32 win for head coach Keffrey Fazio‘s varsity team.
(WSHS #15 above, Cass Elliott, and #3, Kendall Green)
Next on the schedule for the WSHS boys, a home game at 8:30 pm Friday against Nathan Hale HS, 0-1 after losing their season opener tonight to Puyallup..
Chief Sealth International High School hosted seven visiting schools today for its 17th annual boys-basketball Jamboree, three days before their season begins.
We stopped in for the final 10-minute mini-game of the afternoon, in which Sealth (in gray) beat Sultan, 18-9. The Seahawks are led again this year by head coach Colin Slingsby:
The other six schools in today’s Jamboree were Auburn Riverside, Eastside Catholic, Issaquah, Nathan Hale, Roosevelt, and Vashon. JV teams played in the Denny International Middle School gym next door. The Sealth varsity boys play their first game of the year Tuesday night at Mount Rainier HS in Des Moines, and their first home game is Wednesday, 7 pm, vs. a traveling team from Australia; see the full schedule here.
ALSO NEXT WEEK: Other local varsity teams’ home openers:
–Chief Sealth IHS girls, 7:30 pm Tuesday, hosting Kennedy Catholic HS
–West Seattle HS girls, 7:30 pm Wednesday, hosting Bothell HS
–West Seattle HS boys, 8:30 pm Friday, hosting Nathan Hale HS
(WSB photo)
The journey of a thousand laps begins with a single stride, you might say. So Michele Pettinger of P3 | Running was happy to draw a starter-sized group to the first-ever West Seattle edition of Track Friday, a movement meant to meld fitness and fundraising on the day after Thanksgiving, which has been growing nationwide since 2012. She organized it with the help of West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), and set up alongside the Hiawatha track this morning to see who would show up:
(This photo & next, courtesy of Michele Pettinger)
Some hardy, giving-minded runners did!
Michele hopes Track Friday will grow as a tradition here as well as elsewhere. Her chosen charity was for the fight against Parkinson’s Disease, which her mom is dealing with, but participants could pledge to any nonprofit they chose. So make a plan to be part of Track Friday next year – Friday, November 23, 2018.
(WSB photos/video)
Though the first-ever Amazon Turkey Trot wasn’t billed as a costume run, one participant wore one that was totally synched with the theme. This morning’s 5K was organized by Amazon employees to raise some pre-Thanksgiving cash for Northwest Harvest, which supplies many regional food banks and food-providing programs, and they held it at Lincoln Park after construction got in the way of their planned South Lake Union route.
Organizers told us about 300 people signed up for the early-morning run – our video shows the ones who showed up, as they left the starting line:
No timing chips – this was truly a fun run. And a kids’ dash started right after the adults got going:
Your next chances to run with a group in West Seattle include the Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Group Run (details here), Track Friday the next day (details here), and the West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) Christmas Light Run on December 16th (details here).
An addition to this year’s calendar of fundraising run/walks in West Seattle – the first-ever Amazon Turkey Trot is happening in Lincoln Park next Saturday, November 18th, 7:30 am. (It was moved from the originally planned South Lake Union location “due to heavy construction,” according to the event poster.)
It’s a fundraiser for Northwest Harvest, which works with food banks and other parters to fight hunger. Organizers stress that the Turkey Trot is a casual 5K, no timing chips, though they promise a clock at the finish line. There’ll be a “kids’ dash” for 10 and under, too.
Everyone’s welcome to participate, even if you aren’t connected to Amazon – scroll down this page to register.
P.S. We are also including this to the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, covering the season through New Year’s Day and launching shortly – if you have anything for the guide, please send us the info soon as you can – editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!
Two updates on local girls competing in high-schooldiving and swimming championships:
DIVERS: From Christine Leahy:
Lauren Canto, a senior at Bishop Blanchet and graduate of Holy Rosary School, placed 6th in the District 3A Diving Championship last Saturday and qualified, for the first time in her diving career, for the Washington State Interscholastic Div 3A Diving Championships Friday, Nov. 10th and Saturday, Nov. 11th, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Kate Leahy, a junior at Seattle Prep and graduate of Westside School, placed 12th in the District meet and scored a personal best score of 290 point. She’ll be at the meet this weekend cheering on her teammate, Lauren!
KENNEDY TEAM: From Brent Lindblom:
While Kennedy Catholic is not technically inside of the West Seattle boundaries, it does have a large West Seattle student presence.
Kennedy Catholic girls swim and dive team have advanced to the WIAA 4A Swimming and Diving Championships being held this Saturday at the King County Aquatics Center located at: 650 SW Campus Dr, Federal Way.
This is Coach Eric Kress and Assistant Coach Michelle Markle’s first year as the Lady Lancers swim coaches in the Girls NPSL 4A Cascade League, and leading them into their first WIAA 4A State Championship meet is a terrific accomplishment.
Below are the swimmers that advanced:
200 Medley Relay – Shayla Markle, Madelline Kalenius, Krista Markle, Anita Shield
Krista Markle – 50 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly
Bronte Shirley – Diving
Shayla Markle – 100 Butterfly, 100 Backstroke
Madelline Kalenius – 100 Breaststroke
400 Freestyle Relay – Krista Markle, Jacqueline Southwell, Anita Shields, Shayla MarkleSwimming Finals: Saturday, November 11th Finals Start: 2:30 PM
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