At Thursday evening’s Pee Wee Football conditioning camp, the older “A” and “B” team squads are making a thunderous noise, pumping out jumping jacks in unison while spelling “Bainbridge” at the top of their lungs.
Across the Strawberry Hill Park field, a small group of younger players are working on the same calisthenics, but the jumping and clapping and shouting sounds more like a rain shower than thunder.
The season continues for both the boys and girls Spartan basketball teams as each team clinched district tournament berths through Metro League tourney play this past week.
The Spartan girls cinched their spot Wednesday night with a 63-60 victory at Chief Sealth in the second round of the Metro League tournament.
In last Friday’s rematch of their last Metro League meet, the Spartan gymnasts added eight points to their team score against Ingraham and Nathan Hale, broke a few records, added a competition first and took one step closer to their goal for the season.
After a somewhat relaxed holiday, head coach Cindy Guy had the team working hard over the past few weeks.
Bainbridge High School senior Spencer Evans is a bit of a throwback to the athletes of yesteryear – the players who take the challenge of any sport that’s offered, and strive to be more than just a participant.
The three-sport letterman – excelling at three different sports through his or her high school career – is a virtual unknown in high schools anymore.
Chalk one up for avoidance.
An earlier-than-usual Homecoming game – so scheduled to dodge powerhouse O’Dea in October – brought out a robust crowd expecting big things from the BHS gridders Friday.
The Spartans took full advantage on the field, riding a balanced running game and big-play defense to down the Renton Indians 21-0 at Spartan Stadium.
Spencer Evans led the way, rushing for 68 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. On defense, the senior accounted for two of the Spartans’ five interceptions.
“I think we have a phenomenal secondary,” said Evans, who also credited the coaching staff for having the Spartans well-prepared.
“I don’t think their quarterback was the best, but they had some great athletes on that team,” he said. “I think we just shut them down and outsmarted them, and just played better football.”
Their first step was rocky. Their second one was covered in mud.
But the Bainbridge Island Little League All-Stars braved the conditions to win their first two games at the 11-12 district tournament at Snider Park .
Bainbridge defeated Gig Harbor American 9-4 on Friday, then shut out South Kitsap Western 6-0 on Sunday in miserable conditions.
The Eber family’s New Year’s resolution will be more ambitious than most next year.
On Jan. 1, 2003, Paula Holmes-Eber; husband Lorenz Eber, an engineer with the city; and daughters Anya and Yvonne will embark on a world-wide biking adventure to raise money to treat asthma.
The family will spend 20 months travelling through 25 countries on a pair of tandem bicycles.
The payoff: Corporate sponsors have pledged a total of $5 million to the World Bike For Breath Foundation, which Holmes-Eber founded last year.
Fourteen players from the boys’ U-15 select soccer team Arsenal will head to Europe next month to compete in two prestigious tournaments.
They’ll be the first Bainbridge Island team to go to Europe and participate at this level of play.
“In Europe, soccer is the sport,” Arsenal coach Rupert Jungnitz said. “We have a very talented group of young individuals, and after a few years of playing together on the same team, I think this will be a great opportunity for these boys to experience a whole new level of competition.”
The Bainbridge Babe Ruth baseball team began and ended the District 4/8 tournament by playing the team from South Kitsap.
But the matchup that gave Bainbridge a 16-2 six-inning victory on Friday turned into a 6-4 loss on Monday in a third-place game at Poulsbo’s Snider Park. In between, Bainbridge dropped a 6-1 decision to Olympic of Port Angeles.
“We dodged a bullet, partner,” said Meadowmeer head pro Tom Mueller to his assistant, Drew Azure, as Wing Point pro Dave Tunkkari and playing partner Joe Lanza narrowly missed birdie putts on Wing Point’s 12th hole in Sunday’s 11th annual Fred Schaffer Helpline House Memorial Golf Tournament.
Arsenal tunes up for trip to Europe
BIYSC Arsenal won two games and tied a third during round-robin play in the BU-15 division of last weekend’s Baker Blast Tournament, but a 2-0 loss to Snohomish United 87 dropped the team out of contention for the tournament title.
Chris Charles will go for a perfect 10 on the Fourth of July.
The 1995 BHS grad has won the Grand Old Fourth 5K run for nine years in a row, starting with his first venture as a sophomore in 1993. And most of the time he’s never been pressed. His time of 15 minutes, 17 seconds in 2000 stands as the course record.
“I pretty much PR’d (established a personal record) every year except last year,” he said. “Sometimes after the first mile I’d hear footsteps, but they’d be mine.”
After he gathered his winning team for a photo session for their parents, coach Don French asked his players who was the number one team in the league.
“MARLINS!” was the response.
And who was the number one team in the tournament they had just won?
“MARLINS!”
They were right on both counts.
