Out of Write Field

It was a clear afternoon before snow blanketed the baseball diamond at South Kitsap and several members of the school’s 1983 state championship took advantage of the opportunity to toss the ball around the field — and reminisce.

That group, along with five other former Wolves, was inducted into the latest Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame class last weekend.

It was a nice recognition for a group of deserving recipients.

June (Fike) Griebel still holds the school record in the javelin. Jim Cutchall, a heavyweight, was the Wolves’ first state champion wrestler, and also was talented enough to earn a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma.

Both of those accomplishments occurred in 1976, which leads into my only concern about the class.

What took so long?

“I was surprised because it’s been such as a while ago,” Griebel told the Kitsap Sun when she received a call informing her of the honor.

She is not the only one.

Timeliness should be an important consideration. Some probably recognize Jason Ellison, a former major-league outfielder for five teams, including Seattle, who graduated 15 years ago. And others might know 1984 South graduate David Rill from his time as a linebacker at the University of Washington or for his work at Rill Chapel’s Life Tribute Center.

But the other members, such as Cutchall, Griebel and Denise Posey, a 1994 South graduate, are more obscure. After all, Cutchall remained in Oklahoma after his wrestling career with the Sooners ended.

This is not professional sports, where athletes have a cult-like following from their adoring fans. And even in those sports, athletes often are elected to their hall of fame within a decade of retirement.

Contrast that to hall of fames in smaller areas, such as this one, where the inductees often were stars at local high schools. Parents generally follow those teams as long as their children are involved in the program.

That means timeliness should be an even more important consideration when considering high-school athletes. Names such as Jake Beitinger, Aaron Cunningham, Stephanie Davison, Renard Williams and other legends of the last decade should be candidates in the near future. After that, South’s 2009 boys state soccer champions would make a lot of sense.

Those are names that many will remember — at least for now.

I do not profess to always being right, but I told anyone who would listen after last season that South Kitsap’s girls basketball team could return to the state tournament again in 2012.

Even with the graduation of starters Kelsey Callaghan, Dana Goularte and Angela Romonsky.

The Wolves continued to show this week my confidence was not misplaced with a 51-26 win Friday night against Central Kitsap. That followed Wednesday’s 36-33 win at Bellarmine Prep. South (9-2 overall, 5-0 4A Narrows) handed both their first league losses.

The Wolves again were led by seniors Jackie Steiger and Taylor Sunkel. The duo combined for 27 points against the Cougars.

There still is plenty of games remaining — South plays both Bellarmine and Central again — but the Wolves are proving that they could be at least as good as last season’s team that won 20 games for the first time in a decade and reached the second round of the state tournament.

This will mark the fourth consecutive year South Kitsap’s boys basketball team will participate in the Bellevue College Holiday Classic. After speaking with coach John Callaghan, here is an outline of the schedule. The Wolves (4-2) open at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against Bear Creek, a private school in Redmond that competes in the Class 2B Sea-Tac League.

That should be a mismatch, but the Grizzlies have a 7-0 record this season and have dominated just about every opponent they have faced. With the exception of a 47-37 win Dec. 6 against Seattle Christian, Bear Creek has defeated each of its opponents by at least 24 points. The winner of that contest plays at 5:15 p.m. Thursday against Inglemoor (1-6) or Renton (2-4). The loser also plays one of those teams at 1:45 p.m. Thursday. South, which had a 1-2 record last year in Bellevue, will finish the tournament Friday.

If the Wolves win their first two games, they will play that evening against Juanita, Monroe, Nathan Hale or Oak Harbor.

Outfielder Aaron Cunningham, a 2004 South Kitsap High School graduate, has been traded to Cleveland, according to a tweet by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. The Indians will be Cunningham’s fifth organization since he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2005 draft by the Chicago White Sox out of Everett Community College.

He later was traded to Arizona, Oakland, where he made his major-league debut in 2008, and then San Diego. He has a .231 batting average in parts of four seasons with the Athletics and Padres.

It is difficult to imagine a better scenario to close out the regular season when South Kitsap hosts Central Kitsap at 7 p.m. Friday.

Well, perhaps it might be more compelling if this game settled the winner of Class 4A Narrows League.

That won’t be the case the case, but there are several other elements that make this game interesting. This not only is a historical rivalry that dates back to 1925, but it also has been one of the most competitive series in the state. Since 1949, the Cougars and Wolves are 22-22-1 in head-to-head meetings.

South (5-3 overall, 3-3 league) and CK (4-4, 3-3) this time will be playing for the right for 4A Narrows’ fourth — and final — spot in the state play-in game. The loser settles for a meaningless crossover game next week against a 3A Narrows opponent.

The counterargument usually would be that the winner would just get blown out by a perennial powerhouse, such as Skyline, the following week. It won’t be quite that difficult, though.

If the Wolves win Friday, they play the loser of the 4A Wesco championship game between undefeated Lake Stevens and Edmonds-Woodway. That likely will be the latter.

The Warriors, who enter Friday’s game with a 5-3 record, have a unique history. But little of it involves a tradition of excellence on the gridiron. When former rival high schools Edmonds and Woodway merged in 1990, they had six state-playoff appearances combined in their history. In more than 20 years since then, Edmonds-Woodway has advanced to state four times.

Long-time South fans might dismiss that as a consequence of playing in a league with such state powers as Cascade and Snohomish. But that no longer is the case. Legendary coaches Terry Ennis and Dick Armstrong left their respective schools long ago. And both schools lost a substantial portion of their student bodies as newer campuses opened in the area. Entering Friday, they have a combined 3-13 record.

Ascending to the top of 4A Wesco just is not what it used to be.

That does not mean it will not be a challenge – playing on the road nearly always is – but it is difficult to imagine an easier scenario for a fourth-place team to get into state.

But for South, that first means beating the Cougars. Three of the last six meetings between the schools have been decided by 10 points or less.

While both teams share identical league records, the Wolves have scored 10 more points and have allowed 22 fewer in 4A Narrows.

Not a substantial difference, but South should be considered a slight favorite at Joe Knowles Field in a game that again could come down to the fourth quarter.

And be just as intriguing as a rivalry should be.

South Kitsap’s girls soccer team seemed on the verge of following its same maddening theme from last year.

Plenty of opportunities – few tangible results.

But junior Becca Schoales found senior Kailey Lyman on a cross in the 48th minute to guide the Wolves to a 1-0 win Tuesday night against Stadium at Joe Knowles Field.

“It was just a really nice cross and one of our girls (Claire Posadas) missed it,” Lyman said. “It was just right to my feet. A corner shot is really difficult for any keeper.”

It marked the first win for South (2-0-0 overall, 1-0-0 league) in the three-year tenure of coach Julie Cain against the Tigers. The Wolves’ last win in the series, 5-3, came on Oct. 23, 2008. Stadium (1-1-0, 0-1-0) tied the previous three meetings.

“That was a really big game to win because this is a really good team,” Lyman said. “Since they lost to us, that’s going to help us continue on and hopefully get first.”

South also tied three other times in Class 4A Narrows League play last year, which helped knock the Wolves down to a third-place finish despite only allowing nine goals, which was the fewest in the league along with Bellarmine Prep.

Stadium, which finished second in the league a year ago behind Bellarmine, did not make senior goalkeeper Bri Smallige’s second straight shutout easy. The Tigers had shots in the 32nd and 65th minutes hit off the crossbar.

“This was our first test,” said Cain, whose team won its season opener, 11-0, against Lincoln on Thursday. “It almost felt like our first game in a lot of ways.”

Lyman and freshman midfielder Hailey Parker had shots in the first 20 minutes, but Cain did not feel her team played well.

“I thought we played a little nervous in the first half,” she said. “I didn’t think we possessed it all that well.”

There were exceptions.

“Kailey Lyman played all four positions for us in the midfield and I thought she possessed it very well for us,” Cain said.

She felt her team performed better in the second half even though Smallige saved a shot in the 64th before another attempt hit the crossbar a minute later.

But Cain said some of that was a result of the Tigers adding pressure as they tried to close their deficit.

“Delaney (Digiovanni) ran our back line well,” said Cain, referring to South’s junior defender. “I think she really was composed, especially in the second half when they were attacking. They were putting another player up.”

Both Cain and Lyman agreed the Wolves still need plenty of improvement despite the outcome.

“We have a lot of freshmen,” Lyman said. “Once we get our rhythm, we’re going to be really good.”

Despite the close score, Cain still was able to use 20 players.

“We’re still working out the kinks and who plays where,” she said. “I’ve got more thoughts on where people should go. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Tuesday
At South Kitsap 1, Stadium 0
First half-None.
Second half-1, South Kitsap, Kailey Lyman (Becca Schoales), 48th minute.

Thursday
At South Kitsap 11, Lincoln 0
First half-1, South Kitsap, Brita Oleson (Rachel Prince), 2nd minute; 2, South Kitsap, Becca Schoales (Kailey Lyman), 13th; 3, South Kitsap, Prince (Delaney Digiovanni), 15th; 4, South Kitsap, Schoales (Hailey Parker), 20th.
Second half-5, South Kitsap, Claire Posadas, 41st; 6, South Kitsap, Schoales, 43rd; 7, South Kitsap, Schoales (Lyman), 45th; 8, South Kitsap, Adri Jackson, 64th; 9, South Kitsap, Hayley Romo (Amy Bakalarski), 68th; 10, South Kitsap, Jackson (Parker), 71st; 11, South Kitsap, Bakalarski (Posadas), 78th.

In the last 10 years, a lot of memories have faded.

But this day never will.

I awoke on Sept. 11, 2001, in my apartment in Pullman. My plans for the day: A little bit of a class and a lot of celebrating my final birthday in college.

I hadn’t even made it to my first class when I heard about the crippling of the Twin Towers by a group of terrorists that had hijacked four planes. Right here, in the land of the brave.

Biology lab would wait. I raced to the newsroom.

As editor of Washington State University’s student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, I knew that my staff would look to me for guidance in how we would go about covering the unfathomable tragedy unfolding on the East Coast.

But how would we cover it? How would we localize the news from a tiny college town thousands of miles away?

Outside my office, campus shut down. Students grieved in the streets, on the lawns, in their doom rooms.

And, not surprisingly, the reporters poured into the newsroom without a single word from me or the other managing editors. They knew this was news. They knew this day was life-changing.

We decided that the front page would bear the image of two women in the streets of Manhattan, holding onto each other, screaming. TERROR screamed from above the fold in thick black keystrokes. We featured other coverage from The Associated Press — and then we went looking for our own stories. For the stories of Washington State University.

The reporters put aside their own problems, their own feelings, their own fears, to put out the newspaper. One staff member’s mother was a flight attendant for United Airlines — one of the attacked airlines — and it took hours for her to reach her. Still, she dug her heels in and got to work.

The news staff was given the topic of how the campus was reacting to the news. It quickly became apparent that there were so many reactions and so many personal reflections from students and staff that the story became two, and then three.

And in a solitary corner of the room, one reporter spoke quietly into the phone, choking back tears as she listened to a student explain how he was on his way to the student recreation center that afternoon to rehabilitate injuries suffered in a horrific car accident over the summer.

A group of white students appeared, knocked him down and kicked him — because he was Middle Eastern.

Other students on campus expressed fear that they may be targeted based on ethnicity. Back in the newsroom, staffers worried about flying to a student journalism conference in New Orleans six weeks later. Some students spent the afternoon trying in vain to reach loved ones in New York.

But they refused to let their fears rule them. The students of Washington State came together as a university.

When I reflect on Sept. 11, 2001, my personal experience centers around the togetherness of our newsroom — the calm, quiet collaboration. That unity was present on a much larger and more significant scale as broadcast images showed people heroically tending to those injured in the chaos. But on that day, we were unified in the only way we knew how.

It is a moment that in the midst of the chaos, I remain proud of, 10 years later.

Eastern Washington University defensive tackle Renard Williams was on the 20-player watch list for the Buchanan Award, which is given by The Sports Network to the top defensive player in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.

A two-time first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection, Williams, who graduated in 2007 from South Kitsap, had 54 tackles with 6 1/2 sacks and four forced fumbles as a junior to help the Eagles to their first national championship.

“Renard has gifts that I’ve never seen at this level,” Eastern coach Beau Baldwin said in a news release.

The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Williams was joined by teammate Matt Johnson, a safety, on the watch list.

The entire news release is available here.

With the exception of the staggering game times at the Emerald City Kickoff Classic, this probably is the only time I recall a kickoff that was before 7 or 7:30 p.m. South Kitsap opens its season at 2 p.m. Sept. 2 against Vancouver College High School at O’Hagan Field in British Columbia. All other game times are 7 p.m.

Here is the schedule:
Sept. 2 at Vancouver College
Sept. 9 Tahoma
Sept. 16 at Olympia
Sept. 23 Shelton
Sept. 30 at Gig Harbor
Oct. 7 Bellarmine Prep
Oct. 14 Mount Tahoma
Oct. 21 at Stadium
Oct. 28 Central Kitsap

The discussion never centered around advancing to the West Central/Southwest Bi-District track and field meet.

For South Kitsap senior Isaiah Davis, talk surrounded who might be his primary challenger for the Class 4A state high-jump title.

But that ended Friday afternoon when Davis was unable to clear the 6-foot pole in the 4A Narrows League track and field championships at Joe Knowles Field.

His season was over – in that event.

“It’s not the finish I would like, but it’s over now,” Davis said. “It just wasn’t meant to be. I try and not beat myself up over it because I have three other events.”

South coach Joanne Warren said Davis has been battling a virus.

“He’s been sick and it looks like his balance – he wasn’t in the right place at the right time,” she said. “He hit it with his shoulder, which he never does.”

It was not all negative for Davis, though. Two days earlier, he won the long jump with a leap of 22 feet – 2 inches ahead of Gig Harbor’s Brandon Gagliardi.

“Now he can really focus on the long jump,” Warren said. “It really has been a secondary thing for him.”

Junior Kelsie Forcier had perhaps the most dominant performance for the Wolves. On Wednesday, she defended her Narrows title in the shot put with a throw of 34-11.

“It was really rainy,” Forcier said. “Everything was really slick, but I did my best.”

The second day of the league meet came even easier to her. Forcier’s top throw of 121 feet in the discus was more than 15 inches better than her nearest competitor.

“I did a lot better warming up than I usually do,” Forcier said.

The top four placers in each event advance to districts next week at Mount Tahoma.

“I’m just stoked to go onto districts and see what I can do there,” Forcier said. “It gives you a sense that you’re one of the best.”

She said she plans to work on her technique before districts. Forcier said she benefits from competing in districts and at state in 2010.

“Last year I was terrified,” she said. “I’m calm now.”

Davis and Forcier will be joined by 10 teammates Friday and Saturday at districts at Mount Tahoma. Two others finished second, including seniors Ashlee Becker (9-06) in the pole vault and Bethany Sanchez in the long jump (17-05 ½).

Class 4A Narrows League meet
Top four placers advance to West Central/Southwest Bi-District track and field meet
Girls
200-1, Sarah Hartwell (BP) 25.37; 2, Brenna Thompson (SHE) 26.26; 3, Amanda Wilson (SK) 26.4; 4, Alexis Fesenbek (OLY). 400-1, Hannah Derby (BP) 59.8; 2, Thompson (SHE) 59.84; 3, Maria Abando (STA) 1:00.48; 4, Katherine Frame (GH) 1:00.85. 800-1, Kelly Williams (GH) 2:19.07; 2, Daryl Phill (BP) 2:19.11; 3, Derby (BP) 2:19.83; 4, Maegan Tracy (STA) 2:24.18. 1,600-1, Maureen Tremblay (GH) 5:12.24; 2, Williams (GH) 5:13.09; 3, Casey Lyons (STA) 5:13.22; 4, Phill (BP) 5:14.24. 3,200-1, Tremblay (GH) 11:24.74; 2, Lyons (STA) 11:29.14; 3, Jessica Peterson (SK) 11:32.19; 4, Jordan Thurston (BP) 11:32.19. 100 hurdles-1, Dallas Edge (GH) 16.37; 2, Suzanna Barnett (STA) 16.89; 3, Sarah Lacey (SK) 17.19; 4, Monika Fairley (OLY) 17.51. 300 hurdles-1, Samantha Dowling (BP) 46.05; 2, Edge (GH) 46.46; 3, Lacey (SK) 47.42; 4, Michaela Rubenstein (CK) 47.95. 400 relay-1, Central Kitsap 50.23; 2, South Kitsap 50.84; 3, Olympia 51.01; 4, Stadium 51.2. 800 relay-1, Central Kitsap 1:43.84; 2, Bellarmine Prep 1:45.03; 3, Shelton 1:46.21; 4, Stadium 1:46.95. 1,600 relay-1, Bellarmine Prep 3:56.64; 2, Gig Harbor 3:59.46; 3, Stadium 4:00.13; 4, South Kitsap 4:03.05. High jump-1, Courtney Jost (GH) 5-02; 2, Tayler Fettig (OLY) 5-02; 3, Molly Peters (OLY) 5-0; 4, Naphtali Ward (GH) 4-08. Pole vault-1, Annie Fitchet (SHE) 10-07; 2, Ashlee Becker (SK) 9-06; 3, Andrea Clarke (OLY) 8-06; 4, Thunder Braun (CK) 8-06. Long jump-1, Jost (GH) 17-05 ½; 2, Bethany Sanchez (SK) 17-05 ½; 3, Holly Trunk (GH) 16-03 ½; 4, Larisa Robic (BP) 16-02 ½. Triple jump-1, Jost (GH) 34-10; 2, Hayley Vivian (GH) 33-05; 3, Elle Walters (STA) 33-0; 4, Chelsi Swanson (SK) 32-09 ½. Shot put-1, Kelsie Forcier (SK) 34-11; 2, Tina Atonio (STA) 34-00 ¾; 3, Karen Bulger (OLY) 33-06 ¾; 4, Shelby Jackson (SK) 32-11 ½. Discus-1, Forcier (SK) 121-0; 2, Hannah Fabert (GH) 105-04; 3, Briana Carlin (BP) 103-08; 4, Alaura Jones (SHE) 102-0.
Boys
100-1, Michael Rector (BP) 11.0; 2, Justin Browne (GH) 11.33; 3, Dominic Boddie (SK) 11.39; 4, Darrius Leaphart (MT) 11.62. 200-1, Rector (BP) 21.8; 2, Nick Lanier (GH) 22.89; 3, Austin Roth (OLY) 23.02; 4, Tyler Kahl (CK) 23.08. 400-1, Michael Thomas (CK) 50.65; 2, Ryan Adams (SHE) 51.3; 3, Derek Titus (BP) 51.32; 4, Sean Dennis (GH) 51.41. 800-Will Drinkwater (GH) 1:58.52; 2, Zackery Weber (CK) 2:00.6; 3, Wes Jones (MT) 2:01.07; 4, Brendan Franz (BP) 2:01.46. 1,600-1, Nate Brennand (OLY) 4:17.54; 2, Drinkwater (GH) 4:18.93; 3, Casey Peloquin (GH) 4:20.66; 4, Wolfgang Beck (GH) 4:22.46. 3,200-1, Brennand (OLY) 9:32.97; 2, Peloquin (GH) 9:38.57; 3, Beck (GH) 9:40.04; 4, Matt Baer (BP) 9:48.35. 110 hurdles-1, Rondie Pate (MT) 15.84; 2, Kainen Bell (STA) 16.61; 3, Bryan Larson (GH) 16.68; 4, Deandre Baines (MT) 16.76. 300 hurdles-1, Titus (BP) 40.3; 2, Bell (STA) 40.92; 3, Brian Wambaa (MT) 41.24; 4, Aaron Cheng (BP) 41.45. 400 relay-1, Bellarmine Prep 43.32; 2, Gig Harbor 43.35; 3, South Kitsap 43.7; 4, Olympia 45.09. 1,600 relay-1, Central Kitsap 3:23.23; 2, Bellarmine Prep 3:25.95; 3, South Kitsap 3:26.26; 4, Mount Tahoma 3:27.29. High jump-1, Josh Traylor (MT) 6-08; 2, Pate (MT) 6-04; 3, Jack Schorno (OLY) 6-02; 4, Tre’ Fisher (SHE) 6-02. Long jump-1, Isaiah Davis (SK) 22-0; 2, Brandon Gagliardi (GH) 21-09 ½; 3, Justin Browne (GH) 21-08 ¼; 4, Pate (MT) 21-00 ¾. Triple jump-1, Roman Hurst (SHE) 43-08; 2, Hunter Trunk (GH) 43-05 ½; 3, Traylor (MT) 43-01 ½; 3, Justin Browne (GH) 43-01 ½. Shot put-1, Cody Tarver (SHE) 48-06 ¼; 2, Phoung Truong (MT) 48-05 ¼; 3, Tyler Ambrose (GH) 48-02; 4, Samuel Hacker (GH) 45-03. Discus-1, Truong (MT) 149-0; 2, Chris Garnatz (BP) 145-03; 3, Griffin Boudia (OLY) 142-07; 4, Steven Pavlik (SK) 139-05. Javelin-1, Quinn Hale (BP) 205-02; 2, Jon Ownby (SHE) 169-08; 3, Jeff Cox (CK) 169-0; 4, Shaq Blair (CK) 160-02.