Liberty High School cross country girls race to No. 5 spot
November 6, 2012
Liberty High School runners Megan Chucka (left) and Allie Wood run in tandem at the state cross-country championships held at the Sun Willows Golf Course on Nov. 3. By Mike Smith
To call the Liberty High School girls cross-country season a success would be an understatement.
The team, led by coach Mike Smith, brought home plenty of hardware this year, winning the KingCo 3A title for the first time in school history and capturing its third consecutive Sea-King District title.
Heading into the state championships, the team was ranked fourth in the state, its highest ranking ever.
At the Nov. 3 championships in Pasco, the Patriots placed fifth in what was the team’s best state finish ever.
But it was a bittersweet moment for the close-knit team, after star runner Megan Chucka suffered an asthma reaction during the race, preventing her from finishing in the individual top 10, as she had hoped, Smith said.
Still, the resilient Chucka, a senior, finished the race and even ran her best time at state with a time of 19 minutes, 56 seconds.
“You know, things can happen, you can get the flu, you can have an asthma attack and you can’t predict that,” Smith said. “Still, this is the very beginning of what I think is going to be a very long career for Megan.”
Liberty Patriots cross country team punches ticket to Pasco
October 30, 2012
After claiming the KingCo 3A and the Sea-King District cross country meets in the past two weeks, the Liberty High School girls cross country team has punched its ticket to the state tournament next weekend in Pasco for an unprecedented third year in a row.
Participating in the tough Sea-King District tournament on the 3.1-mile Lower Woodland Park course in Seattle on Oct. 25, the Patriots ended up on top of the heap with 65 points.
The admirable effort was spearheaded by a tandem of Liberty seniors in Megan Chucka, who crossed the finish line a mere 15 seconds off the pace to take second, with a time of 18 minutes, 45 seconds, and fellow upperclassman Allie Wood, who snapped the twine in seventh place with a time of 19:26.
Liberty High School girls win KingCo 3A cross country title
October 23, 2012
Megan Chucka, Allie Wood and Sarah Bliesner (from left), Liberty High School runners, recover their breath after finishing second, fourth and eighth to help the Patriots win the school’s first-ever team girls KingCo 3A Cross Country Championship Oct. 19 at Lake Sammamish State Park.By Greg Farrar
When a key contributor from last year’s Liberty High School girls cross country team went down with an injury before the season, head coach Mike Smith was understandably crushed.
Dispatchers demonstrate poise under pressure amid shootout
September 18, 2012
Dominique Hill, Felicia Moore and Janelle Knight (from left) were on duty as Issaquah Police Department communications specialists when gunman Ronald W. Ficker set off across downtown Issaquah on Sept. 24, 2011. By Greg Farrar
The callers punching 911 into cellphones on Sept. 24, 2011, a bright Saturday darkened as a gunman stalked across downtown Issaquah, heard a calm voice amid the chaos.
In the hours after the gunman set across from a downtown intersection to Clark Elementary School, communications specialists at the Issaquah Police Department fielded a tsunami of calls.
In the tumult, a trio of dispatchers — including a recent addition to the team — attempted to assuage panicked citizens and advise the officers at the scene.
The voices citizens and officers heard on the line came from Dominique Hill, Janelle Knight and Felicia Moore.
Jurors rule in favor of police officers involved in deadly shootout
May 29, 2012
Issaquah police officer Brian Horn indicates locations on a map for a King County inquest jury May 22, as District Court Judge David Steiner observes. By Greg Farrar
Jurors deliberated only 19 minutes before determining Issaquah police officers faced a life-threatening scenario and properly used lethal force to stop a rifle-toting man on the Clark Elementary School campus last year.
Witnesses at police inquest describe chaotic scenes from school shootout
May 29, 2012
Just after 11 a.m. Sept. 24, as Ronald W. Ficker meandered from a downtown Issaquah intersection to Clark Elementary School, Leslie Olerich stared down the barrel of Ficker’s rifle.
“He looked right at us, looked down the barrel and he smiled,” Olerich said May 21 at a court hearing about the incident.
Issaquah police fatally shot Ficker, 51, after the rural Maple Valley man abandoned a rental car at a downtown intersection and, carrying rifles and ammunition, set off in the direction of school campuses and, along the way, brandished firearms to passers-by.
Witnesses at police inquest describe strange scenes from school shootout
May 22, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. May 22, 2012
Just after 11 on a September morning, as Ronald W. Ficker meandered on a fateful trek from a downtown Issaquah intersection to Clark Elementary School, Leslie Olerich stared down the barrel of Ficker’s rifle.
“He looked right at us, looked down the barrel and he smiled,” Olerich said Monday at a court hearing about the Sept. 24 incident.
Issaquah police fatally shot Ficker, 51, after the rural Maple Valley man abandoned a rental car at a downtown intersection and, carrying rifles and ammunition, set off in the direction of school campuses and, along the way, brandished firearms to passers-by.
Olerich testified Monday at a King County-led inquest into the actions of police officers involved in the shootout — Laura Asbell, Brian Horn, Christian Muñoz and Jesse Petersen.
Kasen Williams leads parade of 2011 best efforts from individuals, teams
December 27, 2011
Peyton Pelluer (right), Skyline High School junior linebacker, and teammate Nic Sblendorio (9), junior defensive back, combine to throw Woodinville senior running back Devin McKee to the turf during the 4A state semifinal game Nov. 26. By Greg Farrar
It was a year of state titles for Skyline High School, and the end of a career for a Spartan who always seemed to be in championship form.
When he graduated last spring, Skyline’s Kasen Williams left a legacy that might never be duplicated in the Issaquah School District. He was definitely the most dominant figure in the local sports scene in 2011.
Issaquah, Liberty runners place in top 10 at state
November 8, 2011
Sarah Bleisner (520), Liberty High School freshman, comes in just ahead of sophomore teammate Megan Larson, helping the Patriots to an eighth-place finish at the 3A state cross country championship Nov. 5 in Pasco. By Don Borin/www.donborin.con
Talented and young, the Issaquah and Liberty high school girls cross country teams showed great promise for the future when they finished among the top 10 teams at the state championships Nov. 5 in Pasco.
Issaquah, in the state meet for the first time in 13 years, finished 10th among the Class 4A teams.
Liberty, in the state meet for the second straight year, finished eighth among the Class 3A teams.
Issaquah, which had five freshmen on its team, finished the 4A meet with 274 points. The Eagles had the second-highest finish for a KingCo Conference 4A team. Redmond was third with 100 points. Tahoma won the state title with 88 points and Bellarmine Prep came in second with 99 points.
“We finished just about where I thought we should have been,” Issaquah coach Gwen Robertson said. “I was hoping for a top 10 finish and that’s where we were. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. The weather was perfect. The girls all performed very well.”
Liberty cross country team dashes to district championship
November 1, 2011
Liberty High School's varsity girls cross country team (left) came in second to Mercer Island (right) Oct. 21 at KingCo, but paid back the Islanders Oct. 27 by winning to become Sea-King District 3A cross country champions. File
The girls from Liberty High School repeated as Sea-King District 3A cross country champions Oct. 27 at Lake Sammamish State Park.
The Patriots avenged a defeat to Mercer Island at the previous week’s KingCo Conference championship meet, beating the runner-up Islanders by six points.
