The boys lacrosse team has high standards.
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s season-opening 7-1 win against visiting Lakeside, “ugly” was one of the first words from co-captain Adam Smith to describe his term’s performance.
“We were rusty and had a lot of butterflies,” he said. “Our attack seemed like we lost our chi. We didn’t flow and we didn’t move.”
What’s likely to be one of the best track meets at Spartan Stadium in recent memory is slated for May 2 as the BHS girls have a late season matchup with Rainier Beach (last year’s state 3A champ) and Holy Names (3A champs the three years prior to that).
The Spartans are no slouches themselves, having won their first-ever district title last spring. They return this year with most of the athletes who made it happen.
The boys’ meet that day isn’t bad either, with last year’s state runner-up O’Dea and Beach’s outstanding sprint crew.
After losing five seniors – most of the group that competed in last May’s Interscholastic National Team Racing Championships in Massachusetts – to graduation, sailing coach Susan Kaseler acknowledges that “as a whole, this is a fairly inexperienced team.
The Spartan baseball team’s road to the state tournament now runs along I-90, according to new coach Jayson Gore.
While the Metro League typically has a place or two in the 16-team bracket, the real baseball power in District 2 lies east of Lake Washington, especially in Issaquah.
After the Spartan tennis team dominated the Olympic League, amassing a 40-2 record in their last three years and losing only to Port Angeles, the netters find themselves in the middle of the pack as they open their first Metro League season.
Though the boys lacrosse team saw its seven-year state title streak abruptly halted last year by a 16-15 loss to Mercer Island, “revenge” isn’t necessarily the defining word as this year’s team prepares for Sunday’s opening Jamboree.
The Bainbridge water polo team – a.k.a. Team Ray – opens its season tomorrow with a decidedly new look, as 12 of last year’s 15 varsity players are gone. That number includes the top eight goal scorers from the team that compiled a 10-10 record and placed sixth in the state tournament.
Sitting in the home team dugout behind third base, fastpitch coach Steve Nelson surveyed the scene in front of him with satisfaction.
“I’m really pleased with the support from the administration to upgrade the field and make it on a par with the other facilities here,” he said.
A new chain-link fence encloses the playing field. Piping overhead provides a framework to cover the dugouts. The backstop rises more than 10 additional feet into the air, and soon a 45-degree angle piece extending out over home plate will be installed.
In past years, it’s been almost a slam dunk for the boys soccer team to make the state playoffs – and almost as great a certainty that they wouldn’t go beyond the first round.
This year – the Spartans’ first in Metro, which co-captain Adam Brenneman terms “the best league in the state” – the reverse is likely to be true: Just making the playoffs will be a formidable task, but once there the chances of advancing at least to the second round appear favorable.
In one respect, David and Sachiko Williams of Renton were like many of the more than 3,000 cyclists who enjoyed sunny but cold weather in Sunday’s 30th Chilly Hilly – they hadn’t ridden in months.
In another respect, they were unique – they were on the same bike as their two children, six-year-old Ken and five-year-old Emi. The parents rode a standard tandem, while the youngsters were on a two-seater Adams Manufacturing Co. Trail-a-Bike, which attached to the rear seat post of the tandem.
For Ken, this is becoming standard procedure; he’s completed three Chilly Hillys. “My favorite part was the downhills,” he said.
As Blanchet’s Michelle Augustavo lined up to take two nail-in-the-coffin free throws in Tuesday’s season-ending basketball game – with less than one second showing on the clock – Spartan senior guard Fab Rezayat had a vision.
“The last four years flashed in front of me,” she said. “It was really sad. I didn’t want things to end, especially not like that.”
The gymnastics team concluded what coach Cindy Guy called “a wonderful year” as Dana Cuykendall placed sixth in beam with a score of 9.3 and teammate Brooke Nall had a 9.1 for eighth in Saturday’s finals at the 3A WIAA State Gymnastics Championships at the Tacoma Dome.
The girls basketball team ended its season with a 54-49 loss to Blanchet in
the District 2 Tournament on Tuesday. The Spartans led by 12 points midway
through the third quarter, but pressure defense and a barrage of three-point
shots allowed the Braves to close the gap and open a five-point lead of their
own with two minutes left. The Spartans got to within one, but Blanchet sank
four late free throws to secure the win.
Christine Schwager scored 11 points to lead Bainbridge scoring, while Alice
Russell and Fab Rezayat both added 10. It was the final game for seniors
Courtney Kimball, Natalie Berry, Schwager and Rezayat.
The team finished the season with a 13-11 record.
A complete game story will appear in Saturday’s Review.
