Spartans win one game, tie another to take first place.
By JOHN BECERRA, JR.
The Bainbridge boys soccer team is making its presence felt in the Metro League.
After defeating Seattle Prep 2-0 on Tuesday, the Spartans tied against undefeated Bishop Blanchet 2-2 Thursday afternoon in Seattle.
Blanchet took third place last year in the state tournament.
Sam Freedman scored the first goal of the game in the 25th minute, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Braves got on track, as Brent Lundgren tied it up with an assist from Griffin Booth at the 42nd minute.
Colin Gremse put one in at the 55th minute, but Abrehem Ayale scored 10 minutes later off an assist by Michael Hodges to keep the game tied to the end.
“It was quite a battle (Thursday),” head coach George Vukic said. “(It) set(s) up an even fiercer battle (on) Tuesday.”
Against the Panthers, the Spartans put their first goal up early on a shot by Sam Freedman in the fifth minute.
“It was a beautiful goal,” Vukic said.
Freedman almost had another one in the 11th minute with a defender on him off a nice pass by Kenji Queva, but his shot was wide.
He also came close a few minutes before halftime when he got a nice feed from Jimmy Baggett but the Seattle Prep goalkeeper barely got his hands on the ball to deflect it away.
“He could have had three (goals),” Vukic said. “He was tearing it up. He was the best player out on the field today.
Bainbridge kept the pressure on Prep for much of the second half, putting shots toward the net and making the Panther defenders work, but couldn’t get anything into the net.
Finally Colin Gremse – after pushing a shot that went just inches wide of the goal a few minutes earlier – scored in the 77th minute after getting one past the goalie with a defender right at his hip.
“That was a huge individual effort,” Vukic said of Gremse’s score.
Although Vukic was a bit concerned about the fitness level of the team after being on break and Prep playing games last week, he was still pleased on the physical play the Spartans brought to the field.
“(That’s) a big, strong team and it was a 1-0 game until the last five minutes, so I was telling the guys it’s the type of game that you could end up tying, or even losing,” he said. “But we were solid in the second half.”
Vukic remains confident in their play to take a top spot going into the Metro League playoffs in a few weeks.
“We can beat anybody in this league,” he said. “At this point, I feel like we’re the team to beat.
“Everybody’s playing, everybody’s contributing,” Vukic continued. “Everybody brings a different quality” to the team.
“Things are moving forward.”
Bainbridge (3-0-1, 6-0-3) hosts Bishop Blanchet next Tuesday in a fight for first place, then host Eastside Catholic next Thursday.
Both games are at 5:15 p.m.
BISC collects more records
Eleven members of the Bainbridge Island Swim Club traveled to Pleasanton, Calif. over spring break to compete in the Far Western Swim Meet. They competed against some of the top swimmers in the country, with 157 teams from all over the western United States and Canada.
Swimming in conditions they’re not used to (outside in the sun) was a great learning experience for all of them. Despite the unfamiliar conditions, the team made a very strong showing.
Alison Brooks led the charge finishing in the top eight in three of her events. She finished fourth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:14.75, eighth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:04.36 and third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:48.83.
Spencer Alpaugh finished third in the 1650 freestyle with a personal best tindividual medleye and new BISC club record of 18:15.37. He also finished fourth in the 1000 freestyle with a personal best time of 11:10.29.
Todd McCarthy finished eighth in the 100 butterfly, posting a personal best time of 1:02.91. He also finished third in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:08.59 and posted a personal best in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:30.60.
Andrew McCarthy finished fifth in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:30.35 and sixth in the 1000 freestyle with a personal best and new club record of 10:20.09.
CJ Waite finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:21.69. CJ also posted a personal best in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:21 even in spite of illness.
Kay Sterner posted a personal best in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 19:31.35 while Sam Alpaugh posted a personal best in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:15.15.
Cameo Hlebasko posted a personal best in the 200 back with a time of 2.19.96).
Kayla Estes was happy to qualify for the meet with a late season qualifying time in the 50 breastroke, matching her personal best time. Anna Peirano swam the 200 breastroke, 50 fly, 100 fly and 200 individual medley. As one of the youngest in her age group, she made a strong showing.
Jack Peirano swam more events than his BISC teammates, taking part in the 200 individual medley, the 100 butterfly, the 50 freestyle, the 50 breaststroke, the 100 individual medley, the 100 back and the 100 breaststroke, making a strong showing in spite of illness.
For a chance to see these swimmers and their teammates compete, come watch the annual Ferry Boat Sprints hosted by BISC on April 19th at the Bainbridge Aquatics Center.
– from information supplied by the BISC
Lacrossers stay unbeaten
Both Bainbridge lacrosse teams won this week, keeping their undefeated seasons intact.
The girls – ranked first in the state and 12th in the STX-Westside Lacrosse.com top 25 poll – defeated Seattle Prep 18-6 on Wednesday at home.
Lucy Schlesser led the way with six goals, giving her 30 on the season.
Natalie Evans and Sydney Whitaker also contributed with three goals apiece.
Evans also had an assist, two ground balls, two caused turnovers and a draw control.
Sally Baumgartner had two goals and three assists while Mariah Walk had two goals, three assists, five ground balls, six draw controls and one caused turnover.
The boys – ranked first in the state and 12th in the STX-Westside Lacrosse.com top 25 poll as well – blew out Lynnwood 20-2 on Monday.
The Spartans led 14-1 at the half with eight different players scoring goals while the defense, led by Dayton Gilbreath, forced numerous turnovers.
The Bainbridge defense has now allowed just seven goals all season against in-state opponents.
The boys lacrosse team is tied with Issaquah for first place.
They played Mercer Island yesterday and travel to Tahoma High School Saturday to play Maple Valley.
The girls lacrosse team is tied for first with Lakeside in the West Division.
They play at Holy Names next Wednesday.
Fastpitchers sweep Braves
The Bainbridge fastpitch team added another win to their tally, while the baseball team struggled in another blowout loss.
The Spartan girls defeated the Braves 10-6 Wednesday for their tenth straight.
Lindsay Willman got the start and went all seven innings for her third win of the year.
She gave up six runs on seven hits, but struck out six.
Chelsie Kakela led the way offensively with a 2 for 4 day, putting one over the fence and driving in five runs.
Haylee Baker went 3 for 5 on the day with a double, a triple and two runs scored.
Clara Dunn was 2 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scored while Caitlin McCormick went 3 for 5.
Bainbridge had 17 hits in the game.
Eden Smead was 2 for 3 for Blanchet with a double and three RBIs but took the loss in the circle.
The Bainbridge boys could only muster one run on two hits in their 11-1 loss to Blanchet in five innings.
Colby Morse went three innings and took the loss.
Erik Alfstad and Cameron Cutter both homered for the Braves.
Both teams traveled to Seattle Prep yesterday, then head to Nathan Hale Monday.
Tennis drops two matches
The Bainbridge tennis teams lost two matches this week.
Against Bishop Blanchet on Monday, the Spartans lost 7-4.
On the girls’ side, Grace Porter won her match against Rebekah Ellison 6-0, 6-4 while Hayley Trageser defeated Caskey Cunningham 6-2, 6-1.
The doubles team of Hannah Trageser and Ryan Biggers beat Olivia Levis and Erin Odland 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
On the boys’ side, Sam Clancey defeated Alex Shreeve 6-2, 7-5.
Against O’Dea/Holy Names, Bainbridge lost 8-3.
The boys’ side were the only ones to collect any wins, as Claney defeated Daniel DeRocco 6-3, 6-3 while Ryan Hunt and David Gruber defeated Anthony Hoang and Andrew Chen 6-2, 6-2 and Jonathan Potter and Euimin Jung defeated Paul Brune and David Livingston 6-4, 6-1.
Bainbridge heads to the Pepsi Invite in Yakima this weekend, then take on O’Dea/Holy Names at Lower Woodland in Seattle next Wednesday.
Their last home match is 3:30 p.m. on Friday against Seattle Prep at the Bainbridge Athletic Club.
