Issaquah, Skyline runners power into cross country districts
October 23, 2012
Several area runners are heading to districts after strong finishes at the Oct. 18 KingCo 4A cross country league championships.
The race to stay alive in the post season took place at West Seattle’s Lincoln Park, where 154 varsity runners vied for the top 40 finishes in the girls and boys races as only the top eight teams and top 40 individuals would qualify for the bi-district meet.
Making the cut were the Issaquah Eagles girls team, which finished in fourth place overall. Also qualifying were the Skyline Spartans boys team in sixth place and the girls team in seventh place.
Working to earn Issaquah that fourth-place finish was Cayla Seligman, who finished the 5,000 meter race in 19 minutes, 8.3 seconds to take seventh; Ellie Clawson came in 13th at 19:19.5; and Ellie Hendrickson was the 21st to cross the finish line at 19:46.6.
Issaquah cross country team qualifies for first state meet in 13 years
November 1, 2011
Some people maintain 13 is an unlucky number. However, they would have trouble convincing this fall’s Issaquah High School girls cross country team of that fact.
By placing fourth Oct. 29 at the Wes-King Bi-District 4A meet at West Seattle’s Lincoln Park, the Eagles qualified for a state meet for the first time in 13 years.
To put it into a different perspective, some current members of the team were just 2 years old when the Eagles last sent a girls team to the state championship meet.
Issaquah will race in the Class 4A state meet Nov. 5 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Cross country teams tune up for league championship meets
October 18, 2011
Issaquah School District teams wrapped up their regular seasons last week in a final tuneup for the Oct. 20 KingCo Conference Championship meets.
The Issaquah and Skyline high school teams will enter the KingCo 4A meet at Seattle’s Lincoln Park. The boys varsity race starts at 2:45 p.m. and the girls varsity race is set for 3:15 p.m. The top eight teams and 40 individuals advance to a bi-district meet Oct. 29 at Lincoln Park.
Liberty High School competes in the KingCo 3A meet at Lake Sammamish State Park. The girls varsity race begins at 2:45 p.m. and the boys varsity race starts at 3:15 p.m. The top four teams and 20 individuals advance to the Sea-King District 2 meet Oct. 27 at Lake Sammamish State Park.
Eastlake girls glide to easy victory over Skyline
October 4, 2011
Keegan Symmes, Skyline High School junior, approaches the finish line in 15:41, well before the rest of the field Sept. 28 during the Spartans’ cross country meet against Eastlake at Klahanie Park. By Christopher Huber
Skyline High School junior cross country runner Keegan Symmes continued his dominance in the KingCo Conference 4A Sept. 28 at Klahanie Park.
Against Eastlake and Inglemoor, he finished in 15 minutes, 41 seconds. Symmes finished 46 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Michael Flindt, of Eastlake.
With Symmes leading the pack, Skyline eked out a win with 31 points to Eastlake’s 32. Inglemoor took third with 62.
“I just ran with the team,” Symmes said after the race.
Symmes and his coach, Brendan Hyland, said most runners took it a little easier at Klahanie, as both Eastlake and Skyline were preparing for the Oct. 1 Tomahawk Twilight Invitational in Marysville. Still, Symmes’ time was near the course record.
“It’s coming together,” he said. “The season hasn’t been as fast as I’d like, but hopefully I’ll get better later.”
Symmes ended up having a busy weekend. At the Tomahawk Twilight Invitational, on the Cedarcrest Golf Course, he finished first in the 3.1-mile race in 15:54. Then, on Oct. 2, Symmes finished second in the 10K race at the Issaquah Rotary Run. He completed the race in 33:27.
Issaquah girls cross country continues strong start
September 27, 2011
The Issaquah High School girls cross country team improved their record to 4-0 when they defeated Woodinville and Roosevelt Sept. 21 in a KingCo Conference 4A meet at Redmond’s Marymoor Park.
Issaquah had a first-place total of 26 points. Woodinville was second with 45 and Roosevelt was third with 60. Ellie Clawson was Issaquah’s top runner, taking second on the 3.1-mile course in 20:02. Ellie Hendrickson and Abby Wilson captured the fourth and fifth places for Issaquah. Rachel Osgood, Emily Winterstein and Cayla Seligman went seven, eighth and nine, respectively.
The Eagles are off to their best start since 2005.
In the boys meet, Roosevelt took first place with 19 points. Issaquah was second with 43 and Woodinville was third with 75. Tom Howe was Issaquah’s top runner, taking second in 17:21.
Both Skyline teams defeated Newport Sept. 21 at Klahanie Park. The Skyline boys won 21-45 and the girls won 26-33.
In the boys race, Skyline’s Keegan Symmes finished first in 15:41. Teammates Kevin Tidball and Joey Nakao took second and third.
In the girls race, Samantha Krahling was Skyline’s top runner, taking second in 20:25.
Issaquah girls nip Skyline in cross country meet
September 20, 2011
The Issaquah High School girls cross country team, sparked by freshmen Ellie Clawson and Ellie Hendrickson, beat Skyline for the first time in six years Sept. 14 in a KingCo Conference 4A meet at Issaquah.
Issaquah edged Skyline, 27-28, in the three-team meet. Bothell was a distance third with 83 points.
Clawson finished first in the 3-mile race in 19 minutes, 22 seconds. Hendrickson was third in 19:56. Three other Eagles cracked the top 10. Senior Rachel Osgood was sixth, and freshmen Abby Wilson and Emily Winterstein were eighth and ninth, respectively.
Sam Krahling was Skyline’s top finisher, placing third.
In the boys meet, Skyline clearly dominated Issaquah and Bothell. The Spartans, placing seven runners among the top 10 finishers, finished first with 18 points. Issaquah was second with 57 and Bothell came in third with 68.
Keegan Symmes, of Skyline, finished first in the 3-mile race in 16:14. Teammate Kevin Tidball was second in 16:31. Grant Uselman was fourth and was followed by Brandon Long, Joey Nakao, and Joseph DeMatteo, who went fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Jay Bowlby was ninth for Skyline.
Tom Howe was Issaquah’s top placer, taking eighth. Aidan Heninger, of Issaquah, was 10th.
On Sept. 17, the Skyline teams competed at the Sundodger Invitational, hosted by the University of Washington. The boys finished eighth and the girls were fourth.
Issaquah High School girls nip Skyline team in cross country
September 15, 2011
NEW — 12:15 p.m. Sept. 15, 2011
The Issaquah High School girls cross country team, sparked by freshmen Ellie Clawson and Ellie Hendrickson, beat Skyline for the first time in six years Wednesday in a 4A KingCo Conference meet at Issaquah.
Issaquah edged Skyline 27-28 in the three-team meet. Bothell was a distance third with 83 points.
Clawson finished first in the 3-mile race in 19 minutes, 22 seconds. Hendrickson was third in 19:56. Three other Eagles cracked the top 10. Senior Rachel Osgood was sixth, and freshmen Abby Wilson and Emily Winterstein were eighth and ninth respectively.
Sam Krahling was Skyline’s top finisher, placing third.
Liberty runners earn first place at state park
September 13, 2011
Tyler Westenbroek and Amy Broska, both of Liberty High School, finished first in their respective age divisions Sept. 6 at the 3A/2A KingCo Conference Cross Country Jamboree at Lake Sammamish State Park.
Westenbroek won the senior boys 2-mile race with a time of 9 minutes, 56 seconds. Teammate Nick Knoblich was second in 10:13.
Hiron Redmon, of Liberty, finished second in the junior boys 2-mile race in 10:23, and Aaron Bowe, of Liberty, was second in the sophomore boys 2-mile race in 10:25.
Broska, who helped Liberty win the Sea-King District title last year, won the sophomore girls 2-mile race in 12:02. Teammate Megan Larson was second in 12:06. Megan Chucka, of Liberty, was second in the junior girls 2-mile race in 12:09.
Allie Wood, Rachel Shaw and Michaela Chucka, all of Liberty, went three, four and five respectively.
Sarah Bliesner, of Liberty, was third in the freshman girls 2-mile race.
In the 4A KingCo Jamboree on Sept. 8 at Seattle’s Jackson Park, Issaquah freshman Ellie Clawson took third in 19:32. In fact, Issaquah’s top four placers were all freshmen. Ellie Hendrickson was next for Issaquah, taking 14th.
In the boys race, Skyline’s Keegan Symmes finished third in 16:22.
Issaquah High School tennis team nets home opener
September 9, 2011
NEW — 2 p.m. Sept. 9, 2011
The Issaquah High School boys tennis team finally got a chance to play a match on the school grounds Thursday and the Eagles flew by visiting Garfield 6-1. Because of construction last year, the Eagles played all their home matches and Tibbetts Valley Park.
Issaquah won three of four singles and swept the doubles en route to its victory. Evan Cheung, of Issaquah, won the No. 1 singles match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Jared Storz. John Brendel and Matt Gorn, of Issaquah, teamed to take the No. 1 doubles match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Andrew Schwartz and Jacob Wall.
In other 4A KingCo Conference action, Skyline fell to Roosevelt 4-3. Roosevelt won all the singles. Brayden Hansen and Alex Wu, of Skyline, took the No. 1 doubles with a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Mitchell Overton and Daniel Yang.
High-energy Lindsey Nicholson was Skyline’s game-changer
June 21, 2011
When Skyline High School girls basketball players would come to pre-game warm-ups, they would find the colorful artwork of senior guard Lindsey Nicholson covering the whiteboard.
Skyline High School senior Lindsey Nicholson stood out as a leader on the basketball court and the softball field. She plans to play softball at Boise State University. By Christopher Huber
She often drew pet animals for each player. The silly antics were meant to keep the mood light among the team members before game time, head coach Greg Bruns said, but Nicholson got down to business when necessary.
“She always had the mentality of team before herself, which is hard to find, at least among high school athletes,” longtime teammate and senior Michelle Bretl said. “She was never really about the recognition.”
Nicholson graduated from Skyline on June 10 having participated in all 12 sports seasons of her high school career. She excelled in softball from an early age — and was named the 2011 KingCo 4A softball MVP — but also ran cross country and became a leading force on the basketball court.
