Former Spartan helps Eastern win national title
January 11, 2011
Tyler Washburn, a former Skyline High School football standout, started at middle linebacker for Eastern Washington University on Jan. 7 and helped the Eagles defeat Delaware 20-19 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title game in Frisco, Texas.
Washburn was one of the key defensive players in Eastern Washington’s run to the title. He scored a key touchdown on a fumble recovery Dec. 17 to help Eastern Washington defeat Villanova 41-31 in a semifinal at Cheney.
The former Spartan had 10 tackles Dec. 11, when the Eagles defeated North Dakota State 38-31 in overtime in the quarterfinals.
Senior tight end Jason Harris, and freshmen Jase Butorac and Evan Day are other former Spartans on the Eastern roster. Read more
Issaquah girls basketball team wins home opener
January 6, 2011
NEW — 12:45 p.m. Jan. 6, 2011
The Issaquah High School girls basketball team had to feel good Wednesday when the Eagles finally got the opportunity to play on their home court. The Eagles were feeling even better after the 4A KingCo Conference game as they defeated Garfield 64-57.
Prior to Wednesday night, Issaquah had played all its games this season on the road. In fact, with reconstruction going on the campus last year, this was the first home game at Issaquah for the girls’ team in almost two years.
Senior point guard Blaire Brady led Issaquah with 20 points. Senior forward Maddey Pflaumer contributed 19 points and junior forward Sabrina Norton added 14 points.
With the victory, Issaquah went to 3-0 in league play and took over first place in the Crest Division. The Eagles, 5-3 overall, play at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Skyline, and then host Eastlake at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Issaquah grapplers showing promise
December 14, 2010
Max Tickman (right), an Issaquah High School junior, keeps Skyline junior Jo Tono from getting out of a hold during the third period of their 112-pound match Dec. 8, won by Tickman 10-1. By Greg Farrar
Issaquah High School wrestling coach Kirk Hyatt has a young squad this season, but despite their inexperience, the Eagles are off to a good start in 4A KingCo Conference competition.
Issaquah won a pair of league matches last week. The Eagles defeated rival Skyline, 32-28, Dec. 8 and edged Redmond Dec. 9. The match with Redmond ended 39-39, but the Eagles won the tie-breaker to earn the victory.
“We’ve got a young crew this year. We missed three days because of snow and that didn’t help our skill level at all, or help our conditioning,” Hyatt said.
But he said he saw a lot of promise from some wrestler in the two league matches.
Against Skyline, Caleb Pearson, a 125-pounder, and Almen Thorpe, a 140-pounder, each had pins. Pearson, who had two older brothers who wrestled at Issaquah, pinned Jerred Kiss. Thorpe, currently wrestling at 140 but who will later move down to 135, pinned Christian Caldwell. Read more
Issaquah girls overcome Woodinville in league opener
December 9, 2010
NEW — 2:45 p.m. Dec. 9, 2010
The veteran Issaquah High School girls basketball team, which has seven seniors on it, seemed to have some uncharacteristic jitters in the Eagles’ Wednesday 4A KingCo Conference opener at Woodinville. Issaquah had 10 turnovers in the first quarter and fell behind by as many as 14 points in the first half.
But the Eagles regained their composure in the second half and rallied for 70-56 victory.
Leading the way for Issaquah was newcomer Sabrina Norton, a 5-foot-10 junior. Norton, a transfer from Santa Monica, Calif., scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in her Issaquah debut.
Issaquah trailed 21-7 early in the second quarter but cut its deficit to five points by halftime after Taryn Holmes connected on a pair of 3-pointers.
Issaquah went on a 8-2 run early in the third quarter to surge ahead. The Eagles led by 11 at the end of the third period and never looked back.
Powered by gravity, steered by fun
July 20, 2010
More than 50 special-needs children suit up for 13th annual Rotary challenge race
By Greg Farrar Mary Hartung (left), co-driver, waves at the crowds and Caitlin Gaylord, driver, prepares to pilot their gravity car
By Greg Farrar Mary Hartung (left), co-driver, waves at the crowds and Caitlin Gaylord, driver, prepares to pilot their gravity car
On July 17, Second Avenue Southeast was transformed into a racetrack as soapbox cars full of grinning children whooshed down the hill in lieu of the usual streams of weekend traffic.
The road was closed off for the 13th annual Issaquah Rotary Challenge Gravity Car Race.
More than 50 special-needs children of all ages came to participate in the race as co-drivers. Each was accompanied by a driver, one- or two-dozen children ages 11-13 who were trained to operate the cars earlier in the day. Read more
Patriots sending six to state tourney, Skyline grappler wins regional title
February 16, 2010
Brandon Studer, of Liberty, shown beating Tyler Volk of Issaquah Jan. 28, captured the 171-pound Class 3A Region I Tournament title Feb. 13 with two pins and a 7-0 decision in his three matches. By Greg Farrar
Liberty High School’s wrestling team will send six competitors, including three regional champions, to the Mat Classic XXII state tournament Feb. 19-20 in the Tacoma Dome.
The six Patriots qualified for the state tournament after strong performances at the Class 3A Region I Tournament Feb. 13 at Liberty.
Wright Noel won the 140-pound regional title with a 6-1 decision against Eastside Catholic’s Jake Cowin. Noel began the tournament with two easy wins. He defeated Rico Munoz, of Chief Sealth, 18-1 in the first round and downed David Kahn, of Ingraham, 16-1 in the semifinals.
Hamilton Noel took the 145-pound class with a victory against Ingraham’s Michael Tran, who had to forfeit the final because of an injury. Hamilton dominated Weber Coryell, of Bainbridge, 15-0 in the first round and pinned Michael Przystupa, of Juanita, in 4:37 in the semifinals.
Brandon Studer captured the 171-pound title with a 7-0 decision against Juanita’s Logan McCallum. Studer pinned his first two opponents en route to the finals. He pinned Zachary Broten, of West Seattle, in 37 seconds in the opening round, and pinned Cole Johnson, of Mercer Island, in 2:14 in the semifinals. Read more
Patriots finish in third place in conference tourney
February 9, 2010
Wright Noel (right), Liberty senior, and Mount Si senior Trey Botten upend each other during their 140-pound KingCo 3A championship bout Feb. 6, won by Noel 14-2. By Tim Pfarr
The Liberty High School Patriots finished third in the 3A KingCo Conference Tournament Feb. 6 with a score of 148 points. In first and second place were Mercer Island and Bellevue, with scores of 202 and 157, respectively.
Four Liberty wrestlers won first place in their weight classes. Wright Noel took first in the 140-pound weight class; Hamilton Noel took first in the 145-pound weight class; Jay Chakravarty took first in the 160-pound weight class; and Brandon Studer took first in the 215-pound weight class.
Danny Velasquez took second in the 112-pound weight class; Nick Bezanson took third in the 189-pound weight class; Chris Harlin took third in the 215-pound weight class; and Jake Tierney took fourth in the 152-pound weight class. Read more
Liberty takes KingCo Crest title with wins over Issaquah, Skyline
February 2, 2010
Hamilton Noel, of Liberty (top), grimaces while pushing Issaquah’s Sean Novak down to the mat during their 145-pound bout, which Noel won by a pin. By Greg Farrar
Liberty, Issaquah and Skyline high school wrestling teams finished off the regular season Jan. 28 in a dual meet that featured the three schools as well as Mount Si.
Liberty defeated Issaquah 41-30, and also defeated Skyline 46-26. With these victories, the Patriots finished their regular season undefeated and took the 3A/4A KingCo Crest title.
“These guys have worked hard for it,” Liberty head coach Manny Brown said about Liberty’s seniors and their quest to win the division. “They’ve put the time in the last four years.”
Also at the meet, Skyline and Issaquah defeated Mount Si by scores of 45-33 and 48-33, respectively.
The match between Issaquah and Liberty kept those in attendance on the edges of their seats, as the Patriots had not beaten Issaquah in several years. Brown also used to be an assistant coach at Issaquah. Read more
Extra studying pays off on the mat
January 26, 2010
Brandon Pearson, Issaquah senior, gets Carl Sangalang, of Newport, close to a pin Jan. 21 during their 140-pound match. Pearson won, 14-4. He also won his weight class Jan. 23 at the Renton Invitational. By Greg Farrar
Issaquah High School wrestling coach Kirk Hyatt wanted to make sure his team hit the books harder than the mats last week. So, Hyatt shortened practices to give his team extra time to study for final exams.
The time off actually benefited the team. Issaquah defeated Newport 44-28 Jan. 21 in a KingCo Conference match, and then placed second in the Jan. 23 Renton Invitational.
While Hyatt didn’t know how his wrestlers did on their final exams, he felt the team definitely made the grade on the mat.
Hyatt said he was especially pleased with the Eagles’ performance at the Renton Invitational. Issaquah went to the event with just 12 wrestlers and 10 of them placed. Jordan Tanner, a 135-pounder, and Brandon Pearson, a 140-pounder, both won their weight classes.
“It was the most fun tournament we’ve had in a long while,” Hyatt said. “The guys we took to the tournament made very few mistakes. It’s always a pleasure to watch guys do well with things you have taught them.”
Hyatt said just a couple of minor errors prevented some other Eagles from reaching the championship round.
“It was just a fun day,” he said. “We finished second against teams that brought full squads. It showed that our kids really wanted to perform well.”
Tanner captured his second title of the season. Earlier this winter, he took first at the Everett Invitational.
“He has been wrestling real well. He has been training hard. He is setting his sights on the KingCo tournament now,” Hyatt said. “At Renton, he beat a real good kid, who had lost just twice this season.”
Pearson, on the junior varsity squad, was a bit of a surprise at Renton. David White, Issaquah’s varsity 140-pounder, lost in the semifinals; otherwise, the Eagles would have had two wrestlers battling for the title.
“Brandon decided he would beat the guy who David lost to,” Hyatt said. “Brandon didn’t make too many mistakes, built up a five-point lead and kept on attacking to win the final.”
Tyler Volk, a 171-pounder, placed second, and six other Issaquah wrestlers had third places. Max Tickman (103), Ty Morton (112), Almen Thorpe (125), Sean Novak (135) and Alex Stevens (189) had third places. Taylor Evans (152) placed fifth.
“Our kids beat some wrestlers from some real tough squads. I was hoping we would finish among the top five going into the tournament. To get second was really great. It was nice leaving the tournament with some hardware,” Hyatt said of the trophy. “Our kids walked out of the tournament feeling pretty well about things.”
Kentridge, which brought a full squad, finished first in the tournament. By finishing second, Issaquah beat out such perennial powers as Auburn Riverside and Kelso.
Against Newport in a match that was held at Beaver Lake Middle School, the Eagles had pins from Tickman, Evans and Volk.
Tickman pinned Matthew Droker-Rapass in 3:45. Evans pinned Thom Mirante in 1:14, and Volk pinned Taylor Jorgesen in 1:20.
Thorpe, Tanner, Pearson and Stevens all won their matches.
“Newport is always one of the better teams with tough kids,” Hyatt said. “Our guys had to do certain things well for the dual meet to turn out the way it did.”
Issaquah also opened the week Jan. 18 with a 76-6 victory against Garfield. Morton had a pin, Evans and Garret Becker (160) scored major decisions, and Stevens had a technical fall.
Issaquah concludes its regular-season dual competition Jan. 28 at Liberty. The Eagles will wrestle the host Patriots and Mount Si.
“That will be a tough test,” Hyatt said. “Liberty has a full squad, but we’re going to give it a battle. Our team hasn’t peaked yet, but we’re starting to roll.”
After this week, Issaquah prepares for the 4A KingCo Tournament, Feb. 5-6 at Juanita High School.
How well Issaquah does at the KingCo tournament, time will tell. However, when it comes to academics, Hyatt’s teams have usually made their mark. He has coached seven state academic champions during his time as Issaquah head coach.
“Grades are important,” Hyatt said. “We’ve had a lot of smart guys on our teams. The nice thing about smart guys is they listen to you.”
Spartans win twice
Skyline won two matches Jan. 21 at Beaver Lake Middle School.
The Spartans defeated Newport 44-27 and Eastlake 48-30. Danny Christianson (152), Ryan Adamson (189) and Anthony DeMatteo (285) had pins for Skyline against Newport. DeMatteo, usually a 215-pounder, wrestled up a weight in the match.
Patriots overwhelm Sammamish
Liberty walloped Sammamish 74-6 Jan. 19 in a KingCo match. Dan Velasquez (119), Wright Noel (145), Jay Chakravarty (160), Brandon Studer (171) and Nick Bezanson (189) had pins for Liberty.
Bob Taylor: 392-6434, ext. 236, or bobtaylor@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
