January

Spartan wrestling team places second in Island Invitational…Meadowmeer assistant pro Drew Azure sets new course record of 64…Boys swim team wins Olympic League Championship but members don’t follow through on pre-season pledge to “smash guitars”…Freshman diver Xander Burmer sets new school record with 206.15 points.

February

Boys swim team edges Lakes to win district swimming championship…Gymnastics team places second in Metro League championships to qualify for district as a team…Chilly Hilly draws more than 3,000 cyclists…Girls basketball team ties for Olympic League championship with 15-1 mark…Boys basketball team qualifies for district tournament, but loses to Franklin Pierce 58-56 on basket with two seconds left.

Gymnasts Stephanie Hylen and Jessica Borgen advance to state championships…Wrestler Mike Roe places sixth in state championships in 145-pound weight division…Teammate Brandon Nall (140) also qualifies for state…Boys swim team places 11th at state meet…Jeff Christensen sets school record 53.29 in 100 fly to place sixth, also places seventh in 50 free…Xander Burmer takes seventh in diving with 317.80.

Girls basketball team comes from 12 points down in final five minutes to defeat White River 58-54 and claim district title…Team wins opening round game in state tournament 50-41 over Rainier Beach in “rockem-sockem-knockem down” game briefly halted by major earthquake.

March

Girls basketball team loses next two state tournament games to eventual runner-up Blanchet (61-40) and fourth place Meadowdale (43-34) and is eliminated…Senior Emily Pierce scores 14 points against Meadowdale to finish the season with 379 points, ninth highest total in Spartan history, and moves into tenth on all-time list with 749 points…Freshman Alice Russell blocks 49 shots to smash Kim Beemer’s single-season record of 35…Hoopfest raises more than $7,000 for BEST…Eleven ropeskippers qualify for national championships.

April

Lynwood 10K enjoys outstanding weather and attracts 133 entrants…Annual jamboree kicks off Little League season as no one realizes it will last far longer than ever before…Toe Jam Hill Half Marathon and Island 10K attract field of 176…Clearing for new Sands Road ballfields begins; completion date of fall 2002 is initial estimate.

May

Girls’ track team wins first-ever district championship…Brooke Hilton throws no-hitter for fastpitch softball team, which advances to the state tournament…Girls track team scores 14 points at Star Track as Becca Ivey places second in 800 meters and 4×400 meter relay finishes third in school-record 4:05.77.

Girls water polo team places sixth in state tournament… Boys golfer Joe Lanza wins district title, places second in state tournament in sudden-death playoff…Girls golfer Katja Trygg places ninth in state tournament…Trygg and teammate Angela Asher-Jacobson place sixth in state tournament, highest-ever finish for girls team.

Boys soccer and baseball teams advance to state tournament, but lose in first round… Girls tennis team wins district title, boys place second…Tennis players Elliot Beam, Jessica Antilla and Kristen Carmel advance to state tournament but lose in consolation rounds…Boys lacrosse team loses 16-15 to Mercer Island in state championship to place second and end seven-year state title winning streak…Lacrosse star Peter Bonoff is one of three state players named to Prep All-American team…Girls lacrosse team loses 7-6 to Holy Names in semi-finals of state tournament.

Swimmer Barby Cahill wins gold medal in 50 backstroke and several other medals in US Masters National Championships…David Stern is 6th in 100 backstroke and 7th in 50 backstroke in same meet.

June

Diamondbacks defeat Dodgers 9-7 to win Little League Majors tournament championship…CFA Mortgage defeats Pace 7-3 to win island Babe Ruth tournament championship…Girls U-14 Island Magic soccer team qualifies for WSYSA Premier 2 League…Boys U-14 BIYSC Arsenal team qualifies for WSYSA Premier 1 League…

Nineteenth annual Bainbridge Classic horse show draws more than 160 entrants…Girls U-17 Tenacious soccer team qualifies for WSYSA Classic League…Lindsay Newlon is named Lacrosse All-American…Becca Ivey breaks school record in 800 meters, running 2:14.9 in Oregon-Washington Meet of Champions.

July

Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars place second in state tournament…Girls 9-10 softball team wins district title, then goes on to place third in state tournament to mark highest-ever finish by an island softball team…Little League 11-12 All-Stars win district tournament by defeating Gig Harbor Americans 5-2…Summer all-comers track meets begin seventh season.

Sarah Weigle is named first-team on prep water polo All-American team…Wing Point wins Fred Schaffer Helpline House Memorial Golf Tournament, defeating Meadowmeer in 36-hole match…Chris Charles clocks 15:57 to win Grand Old Fourth 5K for the ninth time in a row..

Erica Dewitt, Kelsey Laughlin and Betsy Tawresey win 18-over double-dutch ropeskipping national championship at Disney Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla… Stephanie Ager Kirz and Howard Kirz complete 4,000-mile bike ride across the US…Bainbridge 11-12 All-Stars beat Mill Creek 5-1 to win state championship as Robbie Stevenson pitches a three-hitter and strikes out 12.

August

Bainbridge qualifies for Little League World Series as Northwest District champions with 5-4 win against Oregon; several hundred local fans watching on large-screen TV at BHS go bonkers as Robbie Stevenson strikes out final batter… Bainbridge team wins first game in Little League World Series, defeating Davenport, Iowa on Coby Gibler’s home run in top of the seventh…Bainbridge loses next game 2-0 to eventual tournament runners-up Apopka, Fla…Team loses final pool-play game 5-0 to New York-based Rolando Paulino Little League and is eliminated; Danny Almonte, who pitched a perfect game for the New Yorkers, played center field.

Barby Cahill (100 back, 200 back) and Sarah Bullock (1500 free) take silver medals at US Masters Long Course Championships at King County Aquatic Center…Team San Carlos (Lee Jorgenson, Terry Fuerst, Randy Hawkins, Bruce Hebner) shoots low gross 57 at Bainbridge Island Scramble, which raises $7,000 for BI Chamber of Commerce…Helen Silver places 14th in 100 meter backstroke and Emily Silver is 22nd in 50 meter free at Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships.

September

Spartan athletic teams open competition as 13th member of formerly all-Seattle Metro League…Football team wins first-ever Metro League game, defeating Ballard 32-7…Events of Sept. 11 force postponement of athletic events…Town and Country-sponsored Bainbridge Island team exceeds 1,000 entrants for Race for the Cure as Kay Jensen spearheads recruiting effort.

October

James Toepel is lone Bainbridge qualifier for next spring’s state golf tournament as he shoots 73 at Wing Point to tie for fifth in district competition…Girls golf team places third in Metro League tournament as Katja Trygg, Tiffany Johnson and Malerie Romero qualify for district competition next spring…Volleyball team finishes undefeated in Metro League “B” Division, places fourth in Metro League tournament.

Girls cross country team places third in Metro championships, fifth at district…Football team nearly ends O’Dea’s 70-game Metro winning streak in 12-7 rain-swept loss…Frosh football team ends season with 5-2 mark…new Rotary skatepark opens at Strawberry Hill…Girls JV soccer team ends season at 10-1-1, best in Metro League.

November

Sophomore Rachel Belt and freshman Jordan Droppert compete in state cross country championships in Pasco…Boys water polo team places seventh in state tournament…Gridders qualify for state playoffs for first time since 1995 with 21-6 win against West Seattle at Memorial Stadium…Girls swim team wins District 2 swim championship, beating Bellevue by seven points… Football team loses first-round game in state playoffs 26-0 to West Valley of Yakima.

Girls swim team places second to Bellevue in state championship by five points…Emily Silver swims 23.44 in 50 free and 50.62 in 100 free to win both events with automatic All-American times…Helen Silver wins 100 backstroke in 56.63, also automatic All-American…4×100 relay wins in school record 3:35.12.

Boys basketball team wins first game under new coach Scott Orness by defeating North Kitsap 61-49…Girls basketball team opens Metro League competition against West Seattle by scoring school record 36 points in first quarter and tying school record by holding Indians scoreless en route to final score of 87-22; the win marks the 400th victory for the girls’ program…Jayson Gore is appointed new Spartan baseball coach.

December

Gymnastics team scores school record 170.95 points in winning three-way meet against Shorewood and Shorecrest…In that meet, Dana Cuykendall breaks 15-year-old school record by scoring 9.25 points in the vault…Wrestling team opens Metro League competition with successive shutouts against Ballard and Rainier Beach…new Don Nakata Pool opens amid glowing reviews…Alice Russell pours in career-high 27 points as girls basketball team wins final game of 2001 by thumping Ingraham 55-25. Six of the island’s 12 select soccer teams finish in the upper half of their respective divisions…Boys “C” basketball team wins six of its first seven games.

And Fellowship of the Ring ends with orcs ahead on points, but Hobbit assistant coach Bilbo Baggins exudes confidence that his team will emerge as Middle Earth League champs despite mysterious disappearance of head coach Gandalf. “It ain’t over till the elf lady sings,” he says. “Besides, we really put it to Hogwarts Academy in the Box Office Bowl, even with Harry Potter picking up big yardage. That’s gotta give our guys confidence for those tough away games at Isengard and Mordor.”