Skyline boys top Redmond, move into first place
January 27, 2011
NEW — 10 a.m. Jan. 27, 2011
The Skyline High School boys basketball team battled back from an early deficit Tuesday and defeated host Redmond 49-42 in a 4A KingCo Conference game.
With the victory, Skyline took over first place in the Crest Division standings with a 7-3 league record.
Redmond, which had moved into first place last week, dropped to second place with a 7-4 record. The Mustangs held a 13-8 first-quarter lead, but Skyline rallied in the second period to lead 20-19 at halftime.
Skyline’s Kasen Williams scored a game-high 16 points. Max Browne, Lucas Shannon and Teran Togia each had 10 points for the Spartans. Jason Harrington topped Redmond with 12 points.
Eagles swim past Ballard
January 25, 2011
Brian Ruggles won two events in state-qualifying times and anchored a winning relay that had a state-qualifying time Jan. 20 as the Issaquah High School boys swimming team trounced Ballard 123-57 in a 4A KingCo Conference meet.
Ruggles won the 50 freestyle in 22.66 seconds. He captured the 100 freestyle in 49.55 to beat out teammate Willy Matsuda, who was second in a state-qualifying time of 50.23.
Both Ruggles and Matsuda were on Issaquah’s winning 200 freestyle relay team, which took first place in a time of 1:32.81. Gentry Gevers and Skyler Kersten were other members of the relay team.
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
Grapplers stay fresh at Brian Hill memorial tournament
January 4, 2011
The Skyline Spartans wrestling team stayed fresh over the winter break by taking third place in the 2010 Brian Hill Invitational Wrestling Tournament Dec. 30 at Eastside Catholic High School.
Two Spartans finished second in their respective weight categories and others on the Skyline Green and Skyline Silver squads pulled their weight, too.
O’Dea took the team title with 178 points, but Skyline Green placed third (131) and Eastlake placed fourth (113). The Eastside Catholic Crusaders tied for eighth with Kennedy with 87.5 points. Skyline Silver placed 14th of 18 teams, scoring 54 points.
Eastlake’s Cole Neves’ second-round victory was among the highlights for Sammamish wrestlers. His most notable win was a 39-second pin of Bishop Blanchet’s Zach Weber.
“I’ve got it down to muscle memory,” Neves said after the speedy match. “It all comes natural.”
He ultimately earned the top spot of the 145-pounders when he pinned Lake Washington’s Joel Gonzales in 2:30 in the final round. Read more
Spartans wrestle win from Eastlake
December 21, 2010
Ian Crouch, of Skyline High School (right), has Eastlake’s Zach Levice in trouble throughout their 152-pound bout Dec. 16, eventually earning a pin and helping the Spartans to their 46-25 win. By Christopher Huber
The Skyline High School wrestling team had a successful home debut Dec. 16, when the Spartans defeated rival Eastlake 46-25 in a 4A KingCo Conference match.
The dual match was the first for the Spartans in their new gymnasium.
In one of the closest battles of the night, Eastlake sophomore Sabrina Hanlin gave Joseph DeMatteo, of Skyline, a run for his money in the 103-pound match.
Hanlin, Eastlake’s lone female grappler, made DeMatteo work for the win. DeMatteo went up 2-0 in the first round, but Hanlin managed seven points in the second to DeMatteo’s two. DeMatteo went 4-0 in the third round and held on for the 8-7 win.
Other key wins for Skyline included the 119-pound, 152-pound, 160-pound and 189-pound bouts, in each of which a Spartan pinned a Wolf.
“We’re young, but some kids stepped up pretty well,” Skyline coach Gus Kiss said after the match.
Skyline’s Tristan Steciw (119) pinned Eastlake’s Austin Faccone in 1 minute, 51 seconds; Ian Crouch (152) took 4:53 to win, but he went up 15-6 and eventually pinned Eastlake’s Zach Levice. In the 160-pound bout, Jordan McCaslin, of Skyline, pinned Ryan Green in 1:22. Sean McAlhaney, of Skyline (189), pinned Eastlake’s Cameron Coyer in 4:09 after battling back from a 6-5 deficit in the first.
Issaquah High School swimmers clinch events
December 17, 2010
NEW — 2 p.m. Dec. 17, 2010
The Issaquah High School boys swimming team picked up two 4A KingCo Conference victories Thursday when the Eagles defeated Skyline and Bothell in Julius Boehm Pool.
Issaquah defeated Skyline 103-73 and beat Bothell 135-39.
Willy Matsuda, Skyler Kersten and Brian Ruggles each won two individual events for Issaquah.
Matsuda won the 100-yard butterfly with a state-qualifying time of 54.85 seconds. He captured the 200 freestyle in 1:54.33. Matsuda also swam on Issaquah’s winning 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.
Liberty swimmers sprint past Lake Washington team
December 15, 2010
NEW — 3 p.m. Dec. 15, 2010
Logan Briggs and Kevin Hays each won two individual races and swam on two winning relays as the Liberty High School boys swimming team cruised by Lake Washington 130-49 Tuesday in a 3A/2A KingCo Conference meet at Julius Boehm Pool.
Briggs captured the 100-yard butterfly in 56.68 seconds and took the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.83. He swam on the Patriots’ winning 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay.
Hays won the 200 freestyle in 2:03.51 and the 500 freestyle in 5:38.30. He also swam on the Patriots’ winning 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay.
Connor Biehl, of Liberty, won the 200 individual medley. He also swam on all three winning relays.
Raymond Ha and Luke Duschl won individual events and swam on winning relays, too.
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.
Skyline High School soccer coach honored
December 7, 2010
Skyline High School girls soccer coach Don Braman has been selected as the Washington large school coach of the year for 2010 by the National Soccer Coaches Association.
The nominees will be honored at the annual National Soccer Coaches convention Jan. 12-16 in Baltimore.
Braman led the Spartans to the 4A KingCo Conference title and a third place at the state tournament. The Spartans were ranked No. 1 in the nation entering the semifinals. Read more
