“A new season and a new beginning for the Bainbridge fastpitch softball team?Consider the following:* For the first time in memory, so many girls turned out that cuts were necessary, and both the varsity and JV squads have full complements of players;* First-year coach Bill Clement has eight solid years of fastpitch coaching experience, including two years leading the North Kitsap team;* The Spartans have experience and depth at pitching, especially in the person of newcomer Brooke Hilton, a junior immigrant from Utah, and* The team opened the season with not just a win but a domination – a 14-0 victory over Nathan Hale, called after five innings when the 10-run rule kicked in.”
“Flying Juniors, Lido 14s, 420s, Lasers, and C-Larks are the equipment – can you name the sport?Bainbridge Island Sailing Club members have to be able to handle all varieties of sailboats as they compete in regattas throughout the state, with the difference in the craft from race to race perhaps the team’s biggest challenge. Last year we won districts sailing Lido 14s in Port Hadlock. Then the team sailed 420s in national competition, said Coach John DeMeyer. Our boats on Bainbridge are Lasers, and they are small and fast, echoed co-captain Chris Utley. The other boats are bigger and harder to sail – we have to move farther, and it’s more awkward for us because we’re not used to them.Formed by DeMeyer at the urging of local kids, the club – co-sponsored by Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District – is in its fourth year at BHS.”
“If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf. – Bob HopeOn a balmy day, with the sun shining on the pristine clipped green of the course, it’s hard to think of golf as hard work. But the Spartan golf team is a serious crew, out to better last season’s almost unblemished record. And in a game where individual effort tallies for the team’s composite score, there is always something you can improve on, says BHS senior Ian Faddis. You can always play better.The girls’ varsity team went undefeated in league play last year, while the boys placed second in league with an 8-1 record, losing only to Bremerton in the last match of the season. The team boasted a 13-2 overall record. Now, with the spotlight on senior Nicole Hebner and junior Joe Lanza, the Spartans hope to contend for the league championship this year, says BHS Athletic Director Neal White.”
“Most high-school sports teams take a year or two – or a lot longer – to recover from the loss of a dozen or more key seniors on a state-championship squad.Not the Bainbridge High School boys’ lacrosse club, however. As they have every year for the last six seasons that they’ve entered the spring as defending champs, they simply pick the best of who they’ve got waiting for a chance and reload.So if Bainbridge wins a seventh straight title this year, don’t call it lucky seven. It’s pure skill and peerless program development.”
“The Bainbridge High School girls’ basketball team is in trouble as it heads into next week’s West Central District playoffs.Leading scorer and rebounder Kim Beemer is only playing at about 75 percent capacity after returning for the last three games of the Spartans’ regular season this week from a slow-healing ankle injury. Emily Pierce, second on the team in both categories, is suffering from a relapse of the same flu bug that’s bit her hard over the past three weeks.And Bainbridge, which closed its regular-season slate last weekend with a 15-6 overall record – and a 13-2 Olympic League mark – staggered to the finish line with a narrow win Saturday over North Kitsap.”
“For the second straight game, it was the same story for the Bainbridge High School boys’ basketball team.First half, terrific.Second half, THUD.The latter term could also be applied to the Spartans’ playoff hopes after their 62-42 thrashing at the hands of the Port Townsend Redskins Tuesday night for the team’s fourth Olympic League loss in its last five games.”
“At first glance, a studio artist, a Bible studies major and a future Marine Corps officer would seem to have little in common.But Matt Pedersen, Danny Pippinger and Chuck Gilmore share a deep bond, honed through countless hours on the mat and off as four-year members of Steve Hohl’s wrestling teams – and reinforced as volunteer assistant coaches on this year’s Spartan squad.”
“A summary does not a story make. That was the story of Saturday’s Island Invitational wrestling tournament, in which the Bainbridge High School contingent placed sixth in the eight-team field in its first meet at the school’s new gymnasium.Bainbridge scored 118.5 points in the tourney, well back of champion Gig Harbor at 205.5 points. North Mason (202), Mercer Island (161.5), Blanchet (149.5) and Forks (137) also finished ahead of the Spartans, who did get the better of Meadowdale (115) and Eastside Catholic (72).The latter was the summary.”
“Saturday was a landmark day for the new Bainbridge High School gymnasium.It was somewhat less so for the Spartan girls’ basketball team, the squad that inaugurated the new facility that night.It was a long day of official ceremonial duties for the team’s members, who were already far afield from their usual go-to-school, take-the-bus-or-take-it-easy Tuesday and Friday game routine.”
“Special to The ReviewMost Bainbridge High School students look forward to a little hard-earned rest and relaxation over their holiday break.Juniors Evan Galloway and Andy Reese anticipated just the opposite.On Dec. 19, the friends and teammates on the Spartan cross country and track teams completed Olympia’s Christmas Marathon – making them likely the youngest islanders to finish a 26-mile race.”
“The members of the Bainbridge High School girls’ basketball team stayed in the locker room for a long time following a flat, flattening 50-41 loss to Enumclaw Wednesday night.It’s not known just what was said, or whether tears were shed. What is known is that whatever was bothering them during the first-round game of the four-team White River tournament in Buckley was completely shed by the following night.”
“While other publications make their “best of the century” or “highlights of the millennium” lists, I’ll stick to the bright spots in Bainbridge sports in 1999. After all, what do I know about who led the Lincoln School stickball team in batting average in 1926, or which native tribe featured the best relay team in the 1302 cross-sound canoe race?And, some might extrapolate, what do I know about what went on in 1999?”
“On New Year’s Day, Len Beil and Donna Mass of Bainbridge Island will join about 260 other bicyclists at the head of Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses Parade.When they reach the end of the parade route, however, they’ll keep going – all the way around the world.”
