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WASHINGTON’S #1 WEEKLY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS SHOW JOINS KONG TV LINEUP
Now watch your favorite local high school athletes on “AAA Washington Varsity News” every Saturday morning on KONG TV 6/16.
Seattle, Wash. (June 17, 2010) – Washington’s most popular weekly high school sports show is taking the program to the next level after recently completing their first 40-week season on the air. “AAA Washington Varsity News” and King Broadcasting Corporation added the 30-minute high school sports magazine-style show to the KONG TV Saturday morning lineup for the 2010/2011 school year.
This must-see program for area high school sports fans will kickoff a second season beginning August 28, on KONG 6/16. The program, airing every Saturday morning during the school year, offers comprehensive TV coverage of Washington state high school athletics and celebrates the unique stories of the games, area schools and athletes.
“High school sports coverage is an essential element of our mission to be the leading source of local news and information in the Puget Sound region,” said Ray Heacox, president and general manager of King Broadcasting Corporation. “We have a rich and successful history with high school sports programming and are excited to have a new partner with the “AAA Washington Varsity News.” Former high school sports programs, “Sports Blitz” and “HS Game Time,” have been among our most popular local programs.”
“The opportunity to add comprehensive coverage of all 40 weeks of Washington’s high school sports season to our lineup is exciting. We especially like the breadth of coverage the show’s producers are able to deliver,” added Pat Costello, vice president and station manager. “In their initial season they covered traditional sports like football and basketball, but what really made the program stand out was their coverage of sports like women’s bowling, ultimate frisbee, rugby and an outstanding effort with lacrosse.”
“AAA Washington Varsity News” is produced by Seattle based Gametapes and sponsored by AAA Washington, the local American Automobile Association affiliate. The program will air every Saturday on KONG 6/16 and be available the following day on Comcast On Demand. In addition, the show’s web site, thevarsitynews.com, will offer viewers the chance to watch past episodes, specials, enter contests and follow the blog.
Hosted by Northwest high school sports authority, Gabriel Meyers, the “AAA Washington Varsity News” is a fast-moving, half-hour highlights show featuring clips from the best games, interviews with local experts like the Seattle Times’ Mason Kelley, behind-the-scenes features, game-day experiences and much more. The program will cover all three sports seasons of boys and girls high school athletics in Washington State.
“AAA Washington Varsity News” can be viewed on KONG 6/16, and on Comcast On Demand, Ch.1 for Comcast cable customers, under Local Sports from the main On Demand menu. Several weeks of archived shows will be available On Demand in case you miss an episode. Additional video and interactive features can be found at thevarsitynews.com, on Twitter at TheVarsityNews on Twitter and on Facebook, search TheVarsityNews-Washington.
About Gametapes
With production offices in the shadow of Seattle’s Qwest Field, Gametapes has been producing coverage of high school sports since 2004. Operating across the country and beyond, the company’s work ranges from high school games to world championships. Its production work includes more than 500 high school games for Comcast On Demand. From live high school games for FSN Northwest to highlight shows in Texas for FSN Southwest, Gametapes is the leader in high school sports television.
About AAA Washington
AAA Washington has been serving members and the traveling public since 1904. The organization provides a variety of exclusive benefits, including roadside assistance, discounts, maps and personalized trip planning, to its 990,000 members. In addition, its full-service travel and insurance agencies provide products and services for members and the public. Additional information is available through the company’s 26 offices in Washington and northern Idaho, at AAA.com, or by calling 1-800-562-2582.
May 29, 2010
Boys Division I – Washington State Lacrosse Championships
Deal’s OT winner gives Bellevue first boys lacrosse title in 19 years
SEATTLE – Senior Ryan Deal scored with 1:50 remaining in overtime to give Bellevue its first state lacrosse title in 19 years in an 8 – 7 win over Mercer Island, Saturday before 2,650 in attendance at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium. With the win, Bellevue handed the Islanders their first loss in 22 starts this season and their first victory over the Islanders since 2002.
Deal’s game winner came on a hitch that pulled Islander defender Trevor Reed off the play. “I ran a hitch and it made him fall for it,” said Deal after his first game-winning goal of the season. “It feels amazing, but we’re a family and without a 100 percent effort from the rest of the team, this was nothing.”
The sudden death period was set up as Wolverine’s midfielder Eric Omri beat Islanders goaltender Hap Giraud with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game at 7 and send the Boys Division I final into a 4-minute sudden-death overtime.
Omri’s goal 4 minutes earlier began Bellevue’s improbable run from a 2-goal deficit to snatch the state title.”I hit one and got and just kept shooting,” said Omri who had 3 goals and a ground ball in the game. “It was scary down two (goals). We’ve been there before and we knew we could run with them.”
As overtime began, Bellevue coach John Baumann signaled for an illegal string in the netting of the Islander Connor Beckwith’s stick giving the senior defender a 1-minute penalty. Despite the man advantage, the Wolverines were unable to score, but the penalty helped set the tone in the overtime period. “I thought (Beckwith’s webbing) was deep in the third quarter, but I new I couldn’t use it then,” said Baumann.
The Islanders struck first as Doug Mahony beat Wolverine goaltender Austin Boyd to give MI the 1 – 0 advantage. Deal and Omri responded with a goal apiece to to give the Wolverines an early 3 – 1 lead. Jonathan Wettack added another goal for MI two minutes later to briefly knot the game at 2 until Cole Nordstrom put Bellevue up by one with a shot at 1:45 remaining in the first.
In the second, Bellevue’s Brett Mennella struck first giving Bellevue a 4 – 2 lead, but the Islanders battled back with goals by Connor Bernal and Wettack to knot the game at 4 going into the intermission.
The Islanders outscored Bellevue 2 -0 in the third behind goals by Colton Knebel, before Bellevue’s Brett Mennella scored on a man-advantage situation in the fourth for the first of the Wolverines 3 goals to set up sudden death.
About High School Lacrosse in Washington State
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and in Washington State the sport has seen double-digit growth in six of the last eight years. In 2010, over 2,700 high school students representing 83 boys (www.WHSBLA.org) and 55 girls (www.WSLAX.org) varsity and jv teams in eastern and western Washington compete in a nine-week season March – May. The annual Boys and Girls Washington State High School Championships take place in late May.
For daily high school lacrosse results or to receive results through an RSS feed, please visit http://media.uslax-wa.org/
BOYS DIVISION I SCORING
Bellevue 3 1 0 3 1 – 8
Mercer Island 2 2 2 1 0 — 7
SCORING HIGHLIGHTS: Bellevue 8, Mercer Island 7 (OT) (Bellevue wins Division I state championship) (Eric Omri, B, 3 goals, 1 ground ball; Brett Mennella, B, 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 ground balls; Ryan Deal, B, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls; Cole Nordstrom, B, 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 ground balls; Andrew Gulrajani, B, 1 ground ball; Alex Mennella, B, 5 ground balls; Dan Ellis, B, 1 ground balls; James Seely, B, 1 ground balls; Sam Leggett, B, 1 ground ball; John Drayton, B, 1 ground balls; Clayton Federspeil, B, 1 ground ball; Austin Boyd, B, 9 saves; John Wettack, MI, 2 goals, 5 ground balls; Colton Knebel, MI, 2 goals; Connor Bernal, MI, 1 goal, 1 ground balls; Matt Shields, MI, 1 goal, 1 ground ball; Doug Mahony, MI, 1 goal, 1 ground ball; T. Claes Johnson, MI, 1 assist; Spencer Tierney, MI, 7 ground balls; Teddy Trimble, MI, 1 ground balls; Steven Taylor, MI, 2 ground balls; TJ Blackburn, MI, 1 ground ball; Connor Beckwith, MI, 3 ground balls; Trevor Reed, MI, 2 ground balls; Ryan Blumenstein, MI, 1 ground ball; Connor Rafety, MI, 1 ground ball; Hap Giraud, MI, 8 saves)
- # #
May 29, 2010
Boys Division II – Washington State Lacrosse Championships
Lynnwood downs San Juan for first state lacrosse title
SEATTLE — Alex Tindall scored 5 goals and Trey Knowles and Nick Peters each scored 4 to lead Lynnwood to its first Boys Division II Washington state lacrosse championship in a 16 – 7 win over San Juan, Saturday before 2,650 at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium. The championship was the first in two tries for Lynnwood.
A key contributor for Lynnwood was junior attackman Cameron Girgus who seemed to make the right passes all night. “Assists are how I do it. They’re more important than goals, said Girgus, who delivered 7 assists along with a goal and 7 ground balls. “I like to turn heads – make the defense ball-watch. Make connections.”
On defense, the Tigers held San Juan’s Ryan Guard, who averaged just over 4 goals a game as the league’s third leading goal scorer, to 1 goal and 3 assists. “A lot of this is team defense,” said Girgus. “We stepped up all week and worked on our defensive play.”
The state lacrosse championship appearance was the first for San Juan and only the third time in history that a high school team from the Friday Harbor community had advanced to a state title game in any sport. “I’m proud of my boys win or lose,” said San Juan coach Rob Cuomo. “This is an important accomplishment.”
Riding on the emotion that drove San Juan all season, the Dragons jumped out to an early 3 -1 lead. But after exchanging goals, Lynnwood’s Sam Girgus put a shot past Dragons goalkeeper Calen Mehrer for the first of 6 unanswered goals through the end of the second quarter as the Tigers took an 8 – 4 lead into the intermission.
“Lynnwood displayed great stick skills. They work well together,” said Cuomo. “Calen (Mehrer) just couldn’t face that many point blank shots,” he said. “Lynnwood played a really good lacrosse game and earned the state championship.”
At 11:53 of the third, Ausilo netted his third of the night for San Juan to narrow the gap to 3 goals, but that was as close as the Dragons would come as Lynnwood scored the next 8 of 9 goals to pull out to a 16 – 6 lead at the end of three.
San Juan’s Kyle Skoog netted the only goal in the fourth, his second of the night, to round out the scoring.
San Juan goalkeeper Calen Mehrer had just 3 saves in goal, as the Dragons closed out their season with a 14-3-0 record.
In other state championship action Saturday, senior Ryan Deal scored with 1:50 remaining in overtime to give Bellevue its first state lacrosse title in 19 years in an 8 – 7 win over Mercer Island at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium. With the win, Bellevue handed the Islanders their first loss in 22 starts this season their first victory over the Islanders since 2002.
BOYS DIVISION II SCORING
Lynnwood 5 3 8 0 — 16
San Juan 4 0 2 1 — 7
SCORING HIGHLIGHTS: Lynnwood 16, San Juan 7 (Lynnwood wins Division II state championship) (Alex Tindall, L, 5 goals, 1 assist, 7 ground balls; Trey Knowles, L, 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 ground balls; Nick Peters, L, 4 goals; Sam Girgus, L, 2 goals; Cameron Girgus, L, 1 goal, 7 assists, 7 ground balls; Devan Hardwick, L, 1 assist, 3 ground balls; John Williams, L, 1 assist, 8 ground balls; Justin Girgus, L, 2 ground balls; David Dekoekkoek, L, 4 saves; Michael Ausilo, SJ, 3 goals, 7 ground balls; Ryan Guard, SJ, 1 goal, 3 assists, 1 ground ball; Alex Michael, SJ, 1 goal, 3 ground balls; Kyle Skoog, SJ, 2 goals, 1 ground balls; Forest Dayton, SJ, 1 assist, 5 ground balls; Bradly Sundberg, SJ, 1 ground ball; Weston Hedin, SJ, 2 ground balls; Calen Mehrer, SJ, 3 saves)
Girls lacrosse state championships set for Saturday at Eastside Catholic School
Division I: Lakeside vs. Bainbridge, Division II Eastside Catholic vs. Kennedy
SAMMAMISH, Wash. – The 2010 Washington Girls High School State Championships get underway on Saturday as defending state champion Lakeside takes-on Bainbridge Island in the Division I title game and Eastside Catholic takes-on Kennedy in the Division II championship game at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish.
In a rematch of the 2009 double-overtime thriller won by Lakeside, the Lions are looking to repeat as Division I state champions while Bainbridge is looking to dethrone the four-time defending state champions. Lakeside was one of just two girls teams that finished the regular season undefeated.
The Lions are led by senior captain Sylvia Warren with 52 goals and 17 assists in the regular season and 6 goals and 4 assists in the post season. She is the fifth leading scorer in Division I play. Bainbridge finished the season 12-1 in second place. Their only loss came on March 16 in a season opening 20 – 10 road defeat by Lakeside. It was the only meeting by the two powerhouses this season. The Spartans are led by junior captain Jaclyn Biggers with 61 goals and 20 assists in the regular season and 8 goals and 5 assists in the post season. She is the third leading scorer in Girls Division I play.
On the road to the finals, Lakeside defeated Tacoma 20 – 5 in the quarterfinals and dropped Lake Sammamish 19 – 9 in the semifinals. The road for Bainbridge began with a 20 – 3 quarterfinal win over Bellevue and a 17 – 4 semifinal defeat of Snohomish.
The Division I title game gets underway at 2 p.m.
In the Division II game, Eastside Catholic will enjoy the home field advantage of Charlie Acosta field as the Crusaders face Kennedy for the first time in a state title match. The Crusaders, which finished the regular season tied for third place with a 9-2-0 record have won six straight.
They are led by the league’s leading scorer, senior Alex Foreman with 60 goals and 8 assists in the regular season and 2 goals and 4 assists in the post season. Kennedy, which finished 2nd in the regular season at 10-1-0 ahs won six straight. The Lancers are led by senior captain Natalie Merrill with 47 goals and 21 assists in the regular season and 9 post-season goals. She is the fourth leading scorer in Division II play.
On the road to the finals, Eastside Catholic defeated Lakeside 20 – 7 in the state quarterfinals and downed rival Issaquah 13 – 8 in the semifinals. Kennedy squeezed by Mercer Island 11 – 10 in the quarterfinals and dropped Overlake 14 – 11 in the semifinals. Eastside Catholic did not face each other in the regular season.
The Division II title game gets underway at 11 a.m. Both games are preceded by an exhibition Girls Under-11 youth game at 9 a.m.
The Washington Boys High School State Championships for Division I and II take place on Saturday, May 29 at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium. Boys state tournament play gets underway Friday.
Girls Division I State Tournament Bracket: http://www.sportability.com/spx/Leagues/Playoffs.asp?LgID=23023
Girls Division II State Tournament Bracket: http://www.sportability.com/spx/Leagues/Playoffs.asp?LgID=23024
Boys Division I State Tournament Bracket: http://www.sportability.com/spx/Leagues/Playoffs.asp?LgID=22716Boys Division II State Tournament Bracket: http://www.sportability.com/spx/Leagues/Playoffs.asp?LgID=22715
Quick Shots
The state championships include an appearance by the members of the 2010 class of the Washington State Lacrosse Hall of Fame. In addition, 63 student-athletes from around the state will be presented with first and second team All State awards.
About High School Lacrosse in Washington State
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and in Washington State the sport has seen double-digit growth in six of the last eight years. In 2010, over 2,700 high school students representing 83 boys (www.WHSBLA.org) and 55 girls (www.WSLAX.org) varsity and jv teams in eastern and western Washington compete in a nine-week season March – May. The annual Boys and Girls Washington State High School Championships take place in late May.
For daily high school lacrosse results or to receive results through an RSS feed, please visit http://media.uslax-wa.org/
WIAA radically changes state basketball tourneys
High school lacrosse denied its chance again; state javelin king signs with UCLA.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
By: Nathan Joyce
MaxPreps.com
Washington was the only state in the union to hold a 16-team, modified double-elimination state basketball tournament for every classification, but that is no longer.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s representative assembly voted to pare down the state tourneys. State tourneys will still include 16 teams, but the opening round will be a single-elimination game at regional sites. The final eight teams will advance to a double-elimination format.
Because of sagging attendance figures, the WIAA sought to cut down the state tourney. They will also save money on venue rent by holding two tournaments at the same site on the same weekend, March 3-5. The Class 4A and 3A tourneys will be at the Tacoma Dome. The Class 2A and 1A ones will be at the Yakima SunDome and Class 2B and 1B will be at the Spokane Arena.
2. WIAA votes down lacrosse: Lacrosse, which likes to bill itself as the fastest-growing sport in the nation, won’t be a sanctioned sport in Washington next year. For the third straight year, the representative assembly voted down an amendment that would add girls lacrosse. Boys lacrosse didn’t come up for a vote. Lacrosse is played as a club sport.
3. Javelin king signs with UCLA: Tahoma’s Derek Eager broke his state record in the javelin last week at the Pasco Invite, throwing 229 feet, 5 inches. This week he signed a letter of intent with UCLA for a full-ride scholarship. Eager is also the state leader in the discus (182-9) and is eighth in the shot put (53-5).
4. Chehalis player on homer binge: Robert Pehl of top-ranked West (Chehalis) hit a home run in five straight games. His final game of the streak was a three-homer game in a win against River Ridge.
Top five performers
Derek Callahan (Edmonds-Woodway baseball): The junior had a no-hitter and struck out 11 in a 6-0 win over Lynnwood.
Jason Monda (Capital baseball): The senior went 7 for 10 with three doubles, two triples and 13 RBI in two wins. He also pitched twice, going 1-0 with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Bailey Brewer (Sedro-Woolley softball): The senior was 8 for 11 with two doubles and a homer and seven RBI in three games. She also struck out 17 in one game.
Nick LaRoy (Kalama baseball): The Washington State recruit threw his sixth no-hitter and his first perfect game, fanning 20 of 21 he faced in a win against White Salmon.
Hailey Graham (West softball): Just a sophomore, she went 8 for 9 in two games and also struck out 10 in one of them.
Recruiting news
King’s Dionna Kirton signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Hartford (Conn.) University. … South Kitsap’s Molly Weder signed to play basketball at NAIA Montana Tech. … North Kitsap’s Daniel Jewett signed to play baseball at Truman State in Kirksville, Mo.
Nate’s notes
Count me as shocked that the WIAA changed the state basketball tournaments. They’ve been talking about if for years, and I was pretty sure it would always just be talk.
I understand why the move was made. The morning consolation games practically had tumbleweeds blowing through them. The chance to eliminate some of those games and combine venues to save some serious cash was too good to pass up.
But still, I’m a bit disappointed. It seemed the right thing to do to hold those consolation games and decide state trophies down to eighth place. Also, half the teams that actually earn a spot at state won’t feel the state experience.
As it is in all things, money is the bottom line.
Nathan Joyce has covered high school sports in Washington for 12 years. He works at the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.
Lacrosse doesn’t earn enough votes to be sanctioned
Posted by Mason Kelley
Seattle Times
seattletimes.com
News of the changes to the high-school basketball tournament took attention away from the defeat of amendments that would have sanctioned high-school and middle-school lacrosse.
Despite optimism around the lacrosse community, the WIAA Representative Assembly voted down the measures in lopsided votes.
In fact, the boys amendment didn’t even come to a vote. I suspect the girls issue had more of a chance because of Title IX, but even that only garnered eight favorable votes, while 44 people voted against it and one abstained.
The arguments in favor of the sport make sense. It’s a chance for more students to participate in an after-school activity and numbers seem to show that athletes who participate in lacrosse wouldn’t, say, run track or play softball. It has also grown in popularity with a strong infrastructure around club teams.
However, one of the biggest hurdles is the economic impact of adding a sport. Lacrosse supports say there will be little financial drag on athletic programs, but there is the issue of finding money to pay coaches and the schools would have to fund some of the expense when it comes to equipment.
So, any cost absorbed by adding lacrosse could cause a strain on athletic department budgets. Now, down the road, when the economy turns, I would not be surprised to see lacrosse become a sanctioned sport. However, the support just doesn’t seem to be there at this point.
“As educators, parents and supporters of high school sports in Washington state, we are disappointed in the WIAA for not recognizing the demand for lacrosse among students and the chance to provide girls and boys with participation opportunities,” said Gail Loveland, president of the Washington state chapter of US Lacrosse, through a press release. “With students from over 100 WIAA member schools now playing lacrosse, the sanctioning of lacrosse in Washington state is inevitable and a natural progression for the sport – double digit growth in six of the last eight years is too strong to ignore. We are looking forward to working with WIAA in future efforts to sanction the sport.”
