Girls Basketball vs Jackson - 2-27-2009

The Wildcat girls basketball season came to an end Friday in the Marysville gym as they fell 51-46 to the Jackson Timberwolves.

The 1st quarter was tight, but OH was able to hold a 9-7 lead at the first buzzer, thanks to Jessica Denmon's 7 points. Denmon added 4 in the 2nd period, but the team only scored 6 while allowing 14, and giving Jackson a 21-15 halftime lead. Coming out of the half, OH scored 2 quick baskets to close the gap, and the two teams spent most of the rest of the game within 1-2 points of each other. Starting the 4th period, OH held a 1-point lead, 30-29, but late in the game, Jackson was able to hit a couple of key 3-pointers, and with the Wildcats down and the clock becoming an issue, the girls had to foul to stop the clock. Fortunately, Jackson only shot 9 of 20 from the line, giving OH many last chances, but some poor passes and shot attempts that didn't go in sank the remaining hopes for a win.

On the positive side, the team was 12 of 14 from the free throw line, including Jenson's 6-6 and Tubo's 4-4. Also, there are some talented sophomores and juniors that will be back next year, so the team should be competitive.

Denmon finished with 18 and Jansen with 14. Cheyenne Tubo had a field goal in addition to her 4 free throws for a total of 6 points in her final game. Cori Henricksen scored 4 along with Clarissa Abadesco to round out the Wildcat scoring.

Middle School Wrestling - NWMS vs Granite Falls and Sultan

North Whidbey Middle had their first home meet of the season Tuesday afternoon, hosting Granite Falls and Sultan Middle Schools, along with Oak Harbor Middle School in a double dual in the NWMS gym.

Results of the OHMS matches are not available, but the NWMS team remains undefeated, moving their team record to 4-0.

In the match vs Granite Falls, NW wrestlers won every match, starting with a pin by Emmett Basaca over Crawly in 38 seconds and finishing with a Cameron Bester pin on Jarman in just 24 seconds.

Here are the rest of the results:

100 Oblina earned a tech fall over Herd 20-5
105 Basaca, Pedro pinned Campbell with 1:06 left in the 3rd, leading 14-4 at the time
110 Faralan pinned Russell :22 left in the 1st. Russell took down Julian, who escaped and scored his own takedown before sticking Russell
125 Fakkema pinned Nash at the :47 3rd)
130 Pingol pinned Dbon in 1:13
137 Kurfis won by decision over Poyner 10-4 through a series of takedowns and escapes
145 Krueger pinned Wolman in 59 seconds
154 Alonzo beat Bamarol 10-0
164 Green, Raymond won over Russell 11-9 in overtime. Russell scored the 1st takedown, then Green escaped and scored his own takedown. Green won the 2nd round with 2 takedowns to take a 7-3 lead into the 3rd. At that point, Russell started getting aggressive and started getting takedowns on Raymond. Green got an escape on each, but Russell was able to tie the score 9-9 when time expired. In wrestling, the 1st OT period is one minute, and is sudden victory – first points scored win the match. Starting OT, the two wrestlers locked up, but Raymond was able to force his opponent to the mat then swing behind to gain control, the 2-point takedown, and the win.

The 2nd meet was vs Sultan, and again North Whidbey dominated, but not in a shutout. As in the 1st meet, the Sultan meet started and ended with pin, but both were not by Cougars. Antonio Unpingco was not doing badly, leading 3-2 at the end of the 1st, but in the 2nd his opponent was able to get a takedown and got Antonio on his back to get a pin with 38 seconds left in the 2nd. In the final match, Raymond Green pinned Wiediger with just 15 seconds left in the 1st period.

Other matches:

95 Craig pinned Cornell in 2:01
100 Obina lost to Doubek by pin with :56 left in the 1st
105 Basaca, Pedro beat Martinez 17-9
110 Faralan pinned Grant in 1:13
115 Clemena was pinned by Bostron at the 1:00 mark in the 2nd
120 Roeseler defeated McPicken 9-1
125 Pingol won by decision over Levi 15-13
130 Fakkema beat Leverett 6-0
145 Krueger was pinned by Confort with :27 left in the 2nd

OHMS and NWMS meet each other Thursday at 3:30 in the NWMS gym. Admission is free, so come see the future of Oak Harbor wrestling.

Wildcats Win!!!

The Wildcat girls are just one game away from a trip to the state tournament in Tacoma, a result of a 52-46 win over Edmonds-Woodway Wednesday night at Marysville-Pilchuck HS. The girls will face (again) Jackson in a loser-out, winner-to-state game Friday at 6pm in the Marysville gym.

OH jumped to a 17-10 1st period lead, but the offense quieted a bit in the 2nd period when only 8 points were scored, but the defense held EW to 9 points, and gave OH a 25-19 halftime lead.

With the exception of Jennifer Jansen, the entire team went cold in the 3rd. Jen scored all 8 of the teams’ point, and Edmonds crawled to within 3, and early in the 4th, for a short time, held a 1-point lead.

Both teams had a lot of offense going in the 4th, with Jansen scoring 7 of her game-high 25, and with time running out, EW was forced to start fouling to stop the clock, and OH was able to pull away with sharp shooting from the line. Jansen was 7 of 9 from the line and Kathryn Fisken 5 of 6 as the team overall went 21 of 25. EW also had a high percentage, but shot only 6 free throws all game.

In addition to Jansen's 25 points, Jessica Denmon hit for 14, Fisken for 5 (all free throws), and Clarissa Abadesco and Cheyenne Tubo scored 4 points each.

Come on down to MPHS on Friday for the rematch against Jackson and cheer our girls on to State!!!!

HERE are a few photos from the game.

Update on Nikki Mowbray

Nikki went down in the final minutes of Saturday's game vs Kamiak after taking an elbow to her jaw, causing it to dislocate.

The team went to visit her after practice Monday, and it appears she will recover fully. At the hospital, doctors were able to 'snap' the jaw back into place with no need for any procedure except anesthesia. Her mouth is still very sore, so she's not talking much, but seemed to enjoy the other girls' visit.

However, she is lost to the team for the rest of the season, and may miss a significant portion of softball as well.

Get well soon, Nikki!

GBB - NWMS vs Anacortes, 2-23-09

The NWMS 7th grade girls basketball team is very inexperienced this year. Out of 11 girls on the roster, only 2 have played any organized basketball before the season started. This team faced a good and experiences Anacortes team on Feb 23rd in the NWMS gym. Head Coach Sarah Stephenson said the girls “played with a lot of heart and worked hard”, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the Seahawks’ skill and experience. Anacortes jumped out to a 24-2 1st period lead, but then went into their sportsmanship mode. That same Anacortes team scored zero points in the 2nd, and only 2 each in the 3rd and 4th. While still playing basketball, Anacortes did a lot more passing, and their scores in the 2nd half came off rebounds. The final score was 28 for Anacortes and 7 for North Whidbey. Kiesha Loftin was the lead scorer with 5 points, and Cassidy Gurich had the other two. As the season progresses, the team will gain valuable experience, and Coach Stephenson wants to make sure they have fun.

In their first game of the year, on Feb 11th, the girls played Cascade MS, a similarly inexperienced team, and won in overtime.

The 8th grade team, made up of experienced girls had some problems in the first half, as most of the starters were benched for team discipline. As a result, many non-starters got to start and gained valuable playing time in the 1st half, which ended with NW in the lead 12-6. Anacortes closed a little in the 3rd, outscoring the Cougars 14-10, but Naomi Walker finally got warmed up and scored 12 4th-period points as NW cruised to the win. The scoreboard indicated a 43-26 win, but the books had 40-28 as the final.

According to the book Naomi finished with 21 points, followed by Jalani Bobo with 7. Emilie Renninger scored 6, and Marissa Lewis, Danielle Teasley and Cierra Wiser had 2 each.

The next game in town is the 1st of at least two meetings between OHMS and NWMS. This first game will be at OHMS on March 2nd. The 7th grade team starts around 3:30 while 8th grade starts around 5pm. Both games are free.

27 photos from the 7th grade Anacortes game are HERE.

28 photos from the 8th grade Anacortes game are HERE.

Middle school 3rd season schedules

A bit late, but here are the schedules for the 3rd middle school sports season. There are 2 sports, girls basketball and wrestling.

All meets feature both OHMS and NWMS in double duals, except the NWMS/OHMS dual meet on Feb 26th.

Feb 19 - at LaVenture
Feb 24 - at NWMS vs Sultan/Granite
Feb 26 - at NWMS vs OHMS
Mar 3 - at OHMS vs CMS/BE
Mar 5 - at NWMS vs SMS/PSMS
Mar 10 - at Langley
Mar 12 - at Post
Mar 17 - at NWMS vs BE
Mar 19 - at NWMS vs Con/Lang
Mar 21 - at Burlington – Finals

The girls basketball schedules are separate, with both 7th and 8th grade teams playing the same opponent on the same date. There is no JV girls basketball any more.

NWMS
Feb 11 - at NWMS vs Cascade
Feb 18 - Bye
Feb 23 - at NWMS vs Anacortes
Feb 25 - at Burlington
Mar 2 - at OHMS
Mar 4 - at Cascade
Mar 9 - Bye
Mar 11 - at Anacortes
Mar 16 - at NWMS vs BE
Mar 18 - at NWMS vs OHMS

OHMS
Feb 18 – Burlington @ OH
Feb 23 – at Cascade
Feb 25 – at Anacortes
Mar 2 – NW @ OH
Mar 11 – Cascade @ OH
Mar 16 – Anacortes @ OH
Mar 18 – OH @ NW

Swimming state tournament

At the state tournament for swimming at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, several Oak Harbor swimmers found success.

The 200 medley relay team of John Hu, Yale Rosen, Brandon Vagt and Tyler Schell finished in 10th place overall with a time of 1:43.17

Tyler Schell finished 12th overall in the 200 freestyle in 1:50.38

Both Hu brothers placed in the 200IM - John in 2nd, by .61 seconds, and Price in 16th.

The Hu brothers also competed against each other in the 100 butterfly, with John finishing 6th and Price 12th.

Tyler Schell swam the 500 free, finishing in 16th with a time of 4:58.92.

The 200 free relay finished 11th. That team was made up of Matt Bolte, Yale Rose, John Hu, and Tyler Schell.

Jacob Jepsen had a time of 59.24 in the 100 back, and his placing was not listed.

Yale Rosen finished 7th in the 100 breast, and it was a close finish as at least 4 swimmer touched the wall within half-second.

Congratulations to all the swimmers, whose hard work paid off. The team had a lot of success this year, and will be returning several talented, experienced swimmers next year.

Wrestling Mat Classic results from Saturday, 2-21-2009

In the 2nd day of wrestling at the 2009 Mat Classic in the Tacoma Dome, the Oak Harbor wrestlers still in on day 2 met with some moderate success.

Colton Elliot had a big win in his first match, defeating Nolan Richards from Skyline 14-0, but lost to #1 seed Adam Ferguson from South Kitsap 10-3, sending Colton into the match for 5th place. There he faced Steven Walkley from Lake Stevens. Colton, still nursing his broken thumb, battled, but Walkley was able to pin Colton in 4:02. Colton finished the tournament in 6th place, and will be back next year, healthy, in a quest for a State Championship.

Tina Alter, after winning both first day matches, did not fare as well on day 2. Her first match was against #1 seed Alyssa Calhoon from West Valley (Yakima), who earned a tech fall over Tina 17-0 with just 1 second left in the match. Calhoon went on to win the State Championship. In the Consolation Bracket, Tina met Teisha McCarthy from Washougal and was pinned in 2:54. The loss put Tina in the match for 5th place where she lost to #2 seed Lilia Gudzyuk of Auburn Riverside, giving Tina a 6th place finish. While some may see that as a disappointment, Tina greatly exceeded her goal, which was to just get TO the state tournament.

In a final note, Lauren Watts, former Oak Harbor resident, basketball player and NWMS student, also earned a 6th place finish at the state tournament

Girls basketball playoffs vs Kamiak @ Marysville 2-21-2009

In their 2nd game of the District tournament, there was a large contingent of Oak Harbor fans, both adult and student. It was a good turnout, but the girls basketball team ran up against a wall in the Kamiak Knights from Mukilteo.

The 1st period was low scoring, with each team hitting for only 8 points, but in the 2nd, Kamiak came out with a strong press, and the OH team had no counter for it. The Wildcats scored only 2 points against 15 for Kamiak, but had a hard time even getting shot off due to an excessive number of turnovers, and OH found themselves down big at halftime, 23-10. Kamiak was able to increase their lead to 15 points by the end of the 3rd. In the 4th the girls were finally able to find the basket on a consistent basis, but it was too little too late, as Kamiak went on to win 43-34 in Oak Harbor’s 3rd-worst offensive performance of the year.

They aren’t out of it yet, as they play Edmonds-Woodway Wednesday evening, and WHEN they win that, will play the winner of Wednesday’s Jackson-Marysville game for third place and the remaining spot in the state tournament.
Denmon scored 15 points, 9 of them in the 4th period, Jansen hit for 9, Mowbray 6, while Henricksen and Abadesco each scored 2.

On a scary note, the game was delayed for over 10 minutes when Junior Nicole Mowbray went down after an elbow to her face. Paramedics arrived and tended to her, and early reports indicate a dislocated or broken jaw. Everyone hopes Nikki is not seriously injured and will be back at practice on Monday.

19 photos from the warmups are now posted HERE.

Mat Classic results from Friday

OHHS has 3 wrestlers in Tacoma at the 2009 Mat Classic.

Tina Alter, in the 160lb weight class won both matches Friday to advance to the semifinals Saturday. In her first match she pinned Taelor Shepard of Rogers Puyallup in 3:14, then won a close 6-4 match over Drrue Partridge from Graham Kapowsin. Her first match Saturday is against #1 seed Alyssa Calhoon from West Valley of Yakima.

Junior Colton Elliot lost his first match, 9-0 to Trevor Mills from Todd Beamer HS, moving him to the consolation bracket. There, he beat Central Valley's Trevor Delmedico 11-5, then beat Nico Moreno from Moses Lake 14-10 to set up Saturday's match against Nolan Richards from Skyline.

Connar Zimmerman also lost his first match, to #1 seed Kyle Komata from Woodinville, but beat Isaac Gates from Wenatchee in the consolation. Connar then lost a close, heartbreaking 9-8 decision to Davis' Zach Nalley, eliminating him from the tournament.

Middle School Wrestling - OHMS and NWMS vs Mt. Baker and LaVenture at LaVenture

Both Oak Harbor and North Whidbey middle schools were in Mt. Vernon on Thursday the 19th for a double dual wrestling meet against Mt. Baker middle and host LaVenture.

OHMS has a rather small team this year, and has been further depleted by injuries, so only 5 wrestlers were able to take the mat. Middle schools, unlike the high schools, do not draw for the starting weight – they start with the lightest and end with the heaviest weight class. However, in the OHMS/Mt. Baker match, Jordan Green, at 164 lbs, went first as he would be wrestling twice. Green faced off against Singh, and was in control through the first round, leading 4-2. In the 2nd, Jordan made a single mistake, and Singh was able to take advantage of it and pinned Jordan halfway through the round.

Anthony Smith, at 95 lbs, dominated his opponent. He jumped to an 8-0 1st round lead, the finally got the pin with 7 seconds left in the 2nd.

AT 110 lbs, Jimmy Ullrich also won by pin in the 2nd round. He built an early 7-1 lead over DePiro, and earned 3 more in the 2nd before sticking his opponent with 33 seconds left.

Sam Schultz, at 137 lbs, held a tight 2-0 lead at the end of the first round, but in the 2nd, scored a quick 5 points with a reverse and near fall before finally pinning Arauz with 49 seconds left in the 2nd.

Mark Scarborough faced Zeveleta at 154 lbs and was quickly pinned.

Green’s 2nd match was against Minor, who was normally in the 175 lb class, so Jordan was giving up over 10 pounds to his opponent. Jordan scored a takedown, but then gave up 4 penalty points and an escape to Minor, ending the 1st round down 5-2. In the 2nd, Jordan allowed only 1 point, an escape, but could score only 3 points of his own. He almost got an escape near the end of the match, but fell 6-5 to Minor.

Since Oak Harbor has such a small team, the team scores are meaningless, but OH did win half the matches the wrestled, and all the wins were by fall.

OHMS’s 2nd match was against host LaVenture with a total of 6 matches, and the OH boys won 5 of them, all by pinfall.

Anthony Smith, the only winner to get to the 2nd round, pinned Morales just 23 seconds into the 2nd round.

Jimmy Ulrich wrestled twice in the meet – the first against Morales, which he lost 4-1, but he didn’t let it get him down, and pinned Santos in his 2nd match in just 31 seconds.

Sam Schultz’s pin took just 56 seconds.

Mark Scarborough, also with a 1st round pin, was down to just 17 seconds in the period before the ref slapped the mat.

Jordan Green recovered nicely from his two losses in the meet against Mt. Baker, pinning Prom in 42 seconds.

North Whidbey Middle School has a large team, with only 1 or 2 empty spots in the lineup. The Cougars started with LaVenture and wrestled a total of 13 matches.

First was Emmett Basaca at 85 lbs. He and Weymouth had an exciting, close match. The score was tied 4-4 at the end of the 1st and 7-7 at the end of the 2nd. With time running down and the score tied at 13, Emmett was able to make the escape and a 14-13 win.

At 90 lbs, Antonio Unpingco lost to Morales 6-0

100 pounder Pedro Basaca led 5-0 in the 1st round before pinning Bamba in just 45 seconds.

Kurtis Williams just didn’t have an answer for Garcia, losing 11-4.

Robert Clemena got even for him, scoring a pin over McKey in just 22 seconds.

Nick Roeseler continued the winning with a pin over Holt-Watson 34 seconds into the 2nd round.

Chris Pingol was all over Shanander, running up a 16-4 score.

Carl Krueger also had a quick pin, equaling Clemena’s 22 seconds for fasted pin in the meet.

Raymond Green pinned Prom in 2:06

Peter Case-Smith lost to Reyes 11-0

At 114 lbs, Stacy Jappert faced off against Janet Solano, and the two wrestlers seemed closely matched. Solano scored a takedown, but Stacy escaped, and also got a penalty point to tie the match 2-2 at the end of the 1st. Solano scored an escape in the 2nd for that period’s only scoring, then Stacy got his own escape point in the 3rd to end regulation 3-3. There was no scoring in the sudden victory overtime period, and in the 2nd OT, both grapplers were awarded a penalty point, but Solano was able to escape and win 5-4.

Julian Faralan wrestled twice – his first, against Narkewicz, went to the 3rd period, but Julian scored the pin. The 2nd match went much quicker, with Julian sticking Santos in 38 seconds.

Due to the large number of Cougar pins, and helped by 4 forfeits, NW beat LaVenture 61-9.

The final meet, and the one that went the longest, was NWMS vs Mt. Baker MS as both teams have a fairly full roster. Out of 17 weight classes, there were 2 double forfeits, and one individual forfeit by each team.

Emmett Basaca got things rolling again, using 42 seconds to pin his opponent.

Antonio Unpingco worked hard, but couldn’t hold off long enough and got pinned with 13 seconds left in the 1st.

Conner Craig worked hard, but lost 6-2.

Pedro Basaca worked his man, earning a pin with just 7 seconds left in the 2nd round.

Things weren’t going well for Kurtis Williams in the 1st round as he found himself on the short end of a 10-2 score. He made up for it in the 2nd, escaping and taking down his opponent before pinning him with 14 seconds left.

Robert Clemena likes the number ‘22’, as that’s how many seconds it took him to pin each opponent on Thursday.

Cody Fakkema tried to beat Robert’s pin time, but couldn’t quite make it, taking 36 seconds.

Nick Roeseler had a tough match against Saura. Both wrestlers had a takedown and escape in the 1st to start the 2nd tied 3-3. Nick escaped in the 2nd, but Saura took him back down so Nick escaped again, knotting the match again at 5-5. In the 3rd, Nick scored a 2-point near fall, but Saura reversed for two, and time expired with the score 7-7. In the 1-minute sudden victory overtime, Nick was able to score a takedown to win 9-7.

James Kurfis had a fairly easy time with Arauz, winning 9-1.

Carl Krueger and Kyle Hall also went to OT at 145 lbs, and in the 1st OT period, Carl was able to get the takedown for an 8-6 win.

7th grader Peter Case-Smith went to the 2nd period before being pinned by Zeveleta.

In yet another OT match, Jeremy Alonzo lost to Singh. Jeremy was down 4-2 starting the 3rd period, but scored a reverse in the 3rd to tie at 4 each. Neither wrestler could score in sudden victory, so the boys went to the 2nd OT. In the 2nd OT, two 30-seconds rounds are wrestled, no matter what scoring occurs. The wrestler who scored first in the match gets the first choice of position. Singh chose down, and was able to reverse and score a 3-point near fall in the first 30 seconds. In the 2nd, Jeremy chose down, but was able to get only a single escape point, losing 9-5.

Raymond Green avenged Jeremy’s loss with a 41 second pin over Minor.

James Engen continued with his own pin in 26 seconds over Miller.

The final match of the day, an exhibition, featured Cameron Bester against former NWMS student Sergio Guerrero. Most of the NW boys were cheering for Sergio when he was wrestling the other team. Sergio is a good wrestler, and wasted no time pinning Bester to end the days’ action.

While official results are not available, the team scores appear to be NWMS 55,
Mt. Baker 33.

OHMS photos are posted HERE.

NWMS photos are posted HERE.

Girls basketball - playoff at Jackson, 2-18-2009

The Oak Harbor varsity girls basketball team traveled to Mill Creek to face the WESCO South #1 and 10th-ranked Jackson Timberwolves in a first-round playoff game. Junior Jessica Denmon sparked the ‘Cats early, starting with a 6-0 lead and scoring 8 of 12 1st period points. The Wildcats let the Jackson offense into the game, but scored another 12 in the 2nd to lead 24-22 at halftime. Jackson’s offense really came alive in the 3rd period, putting OH in a deficit for the first time in the game when the Timberwolves took a 29-28 lead with 6:15 to go in the 3rd, and Jackson eventually built their lead to 43-35 at the end of the 3rd. Playing pressure defense, Oak Harbor fought back, with Nikki Mowbray bringing the Cats to within 2 with a steal and score at the 4:27 mark, then Jen Jansen tying the game 45-45 on a turnaround jumper. Jen scored seconds later on a nice pass from Cheyenne Tubo for the 47-45 lead. Jackson didn’t give up, and with 21 seconds remaining, took a 1-point lead. The Wildcats drove in and got the ball to Jansen just outside the key, but her shot (actually, it really, truly was a planned pass, she said!) went over the rim, where fortunately, Nikki was waiting. Nikki grabbed the ball and after a couple moves, shot it up and off the backboard and into the net. Jackson immediately called timeout with just 2.9 seconds left on the clock and OH with a 1-point, 52-51 lead. Jackson inbounded under the OH basket and were able to get a desperation shot off from halfcourt as the buzzer sounded, but the shot rolled around the rim and back out, leaving OH with the 52-51 win.

Jess was the leading scorer with 18, Jen had 17 and Nikki scored 13. Cori Henricksen and Kathryn Fisken rounded out the scoring with 2 each.

The girls next play Kamiak at Marysville HS on Saturday the 21st at 8pm. If the girls win the Kamiak game, they are guaranteed a spot in the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Come down to MPHS on Saturday, be loud and be proud.

YouTube clips, including a nice Tubo behind-the-back pass and Nikki's last shot will be up soon and can be found HERE.

Tina Alter - Girls wrestling Region I tournament, 2-14-2009

At Liberty High School in Issaquah, Senior Tina Alter defeated two other girls in the 160 lb weight class to take home the championship.

In her 2nd match, it wasn't even close as she beat Mt. Baker's Katie Weide 12-1 to earn a trip to the Mat Classic in Tacoma next weekend.

There's another name many OHHS seniors might be familiar with listed in the girls wrestling brackets - Lauren Watts, who now attends Burlington-Edison HS finished 2nd in her weight class and also earned a trip to the Dome.

Wrestling - Regional Tournament @ Snohomish, 2-14-09

7 Oak Harbor wrestlers started the 2-day tournament at Snohomish Friday evening, 2 are going to the Mat Classic next weekend at the Tacoma Dome, and one as an alternate. The Region I tournament featured teams from the combined WESCO and the South Puget Sound League (SPSL)

Royce Cardwell, 119 lbs - Royce first faced off against Cory Yeaple of Thomas Jefferson HS and earned a pin in 3:43, then was pinned by eventual champ Michael Turner from Auburn Riverside in 3:03. Royce then pinned Jose Cervantes of Lake Stevens in 2:06 to stay in the tournament. Saturday morning, Royce lost to Brandon Blevins of Marysville 10-6, but since he made it to the 2nd day, Royce, although not going to state, wrestled for 7th place. His opponent - Jarred Studly of Stanwood. Royce wrestled Studley twice in last week's district tournament, losing both matches. I don't know how he did it, but Royce dug in deep and won his match 8-6 to capture 7th place overall.

Connar Zimmerman, 125 lbs - Connar, who will be sorely missed next year, pinned Richard Bascom of Stanwood with just 12 seconds left to advance, then blanked Kentwood's Teddy Zografos 8-0 to stay in the winner's bracket. Saturday morning, Connar faced off against a very good #1 seed Sean Anderson of Lake Stevens, and couldn't make it work, falling 9-5. In the consolation bracket, Connar matched up against Jared Mead of Jackson HS, again, and in a very tight match that could have gone either way, won 4-3 to advance to the 3rd place match. He went up against Kelly Maughan from Auburn HS, the #2 seed. Although he lost 4-2, Connar finished in 4th place and earned a trip to the State Championship Tournament in the Tacoma Dome.

Colton Elliot, 130 lbs - Colton, sporting a sore elbow to go with his still-healing thumb, worked hard and earned a trip to the Dome. He pinned Kentridge's Billy Johnson in 3:28 in his first match, then lost to Tahoma's Jordan Higa 14-12 in an overtime match. In Friday's consolation match, he pinned Auburn's Zach Svendgard in 3:52 to keep himself alive. Colton started Saturday with yet another pin, sticking Arlington's Chris Berg in 2:12, then lost to Brian Donaldson of M-P which put him into the 5th place match. This was an important match, as unlike the higher places, only the winner went on to state, and Colton was paired with Jordan Higa again. Determined to go on, Colton, visibly hurting, defeated Higa 8-6 to move on to the Dome.

Brandon Stratton, 135 lbs - Brandon was Oak Harbor's only freshman at the regional tournament, and the only freshman in the 135 lb bracket. Brandon's first match was against Lake Stevens' Kyle Johson, who won by pin in 3:43, then lost to Michael Pewitt of Auburn 16-2. When asked what he learned from his experience, Brandon said "it takes more than just working hard at practice to make it through", and "it's what you do outside of practice that really counts", referring to not just working out, but keeping your body tuned by eating properly and being focused mentally.

John Tuttle, 140 lbs - John came into the tournament as the #1 seed and a first round bye. John said that being the #1 seed didn't put any additional pressure on him - "At this level, every wrestler is good so it does't matter what your seed is - you have to wrestle hard every match". In his first and only match on Friday, John earned a pin in 3:59 over AJ Schults of Auburn Riverside. John's first match on Saturday was against Snohomish's Luke Perry. Regulation time in that match ended in a 3-3 tie, and in the first, sudden victory overtime, neither wrestler scored. In the 2nd overtime period, Perry was able to make an escape to lead 4-3, and John was not able to get a takedown before time expired. John then faced off against Anthony Jacobson of Kamiak, and just couldn't get anything going, losing 7-2 and putting him into the 5th place match. In the winner-to-state match, John wrestled Kyle McIntosh of Thomas Jefferson, and again went to overtime. This match ended in the suddern victory period when McIntosh scored a takedown on Tuttle. John will still be at the Dome as an alternate next weekend.

Jared Tyson, 152 lbs - Jared won his first match in 1:27, pinning Sean Cavanagh from Kentlake, but lost 12-1 to Graham Davis from Auburn. Jared won his Friday consolation match 9-6 over Jeff Seid of Kentridge. On Saturday, Jared's first match was against Tahoma's Zach Schuessler, and Jared just didn't have the answers, going down 14-0 and moving to the 7th-8th place match. In that match he faced Stanwood's Drew Barquist who won 9-3.

Brian Howard, 215 lbs - Brian, still nursing a very sore shoulder, had a tough tournament. His first match was against Derrick Eager from Tahoma HS. During the match, both wrestlers were on their feet, and somehow got turned so that all 430+ pounds of both wrestlers would up on one awkwardly placed Eager leg, and it was too much to handle as Eager's leg was broken in two places along with some ligament damage. It was just one of those things that can happen in wrestling, but Brian felt bad about him. Since Eager was forced to default, Brian advanced to face Tannon Hillis of Marysville. Hillis was able to quickly get Brian onto his back, which normally Brian could have handled, but with his shoulder not working properly, he was not able to 'bridge', or bring his shoulder blades up off the mat without inordinate pain, and because of this Hillis was able to pin Howard in just 41 seconds. After meeting with the trainer, Brian was advised to not wrestle anymore, and he took that advice, injury defaulting to Brady Quinton of Arlington.

No photos, but some video highlight clips should be posted in the near future.

Girls Basketball @ Marysville - Feb 12, 2009

For their final regular season game of the year, and with a playoff spot guaranteed for the varsity team, the girls basketball squad traveled to Marysville-Pilchuck HS. With a win, the varsity team would get at least the #3 seed, and coupled with an Arlington loss would make OH the #2 seed and give the 'Cats a home playoff game. A loss would put OH at #4 and have them travel to the WESCO South #1 for their first playoff game.

According to Coach Showalter, the freshman girls played one of their best games of the year, but could not overcome the Tomahawks' strength, falling 40-31. Rayan Russell had quite the game, hitting for 12 points. Kristen Winston, in her final game as a Wildcat (she's moving) scored 6, DJ 5, Lia 4, and Erika and Kaileen 2 each. The girls need to work on their free throws for next year, as the team again did poorly from the line - 4-for-16 in this game.

JV got off to a good start, leading 7-2 at the end of the 1st, but MP went on an 11-4 streak in the 2nd to lead 13-11 at halftime. It didn't get better after halftime and the JV team lost their final game 35-27. Mariah Ferguson scored 10 for the team, Shantae 6, Molly 5, and Yoshi and Addy 3 each.

The varsity game was a nailbiter. OH fell behind early, 11-5, and even with 14 2nd-period points still trailed at halftime 22-19. MP maintained their lead, and with just a minute left in the 3rd had increased it to 30-25. In that final minute, OH scored over half of their 3rd-period points, and grabbed a 32-30 lead heading into the 4th. It was tight, and OH had several chances to score at the end, but MP held the girls off and earned the #3 seed with a 42-40 win. Jessica Denmon scored 14 and Jansen hit for 10, Cori had a good night with 7, Clarissa Abadesco 3, and Tubo, Fisken and Mowbray each finished with 2 points.

The girls go on to play at Henry M. Jackson HS in Mill Creek next Wednesday, Feb 18th, as they start the double-elimination WESCO tournament.

54 photos from the JV game are posted HERE.

Boys Basketball vs Marysville - Senior Night - 11 Feb 2009

It was a rough night with few bright spots in the OH gym for Senior Night, with one of the bright spots the JV team winning their game.

Over in the dome, the freshman boys let M-P get ahead early, and could not make up the difference. OH was down by only 1 at the first buzzer, but let Monroe get a 25-18 halftime lead, before finally falling 45-32. Edward Denmon was in double digits for the Wildcats, scoring 14, followed by Kevawn Brooks with 7, Matt Burgoyne with 6, Josiah Miller 4 and Elias Whitefoot 1.

Things were not looking good for the JV team in the 1st period, as the 'Cats scored only 2 points, on a FG by Trace Paul. Things got a little better in the 2nd, but the Tommies outscored OH 13-10 to lead 20-12 at the break. The 2nd half was all Wildcats. Behind 8 3rd-period points by Ryan Fakkema, the JV boys scored 20 to cut the M-P lead to just 3, and won the 4th period 14-9 to finish the season with a 46-44 win. Two Wildcats were in double figures - Nate Young and Fakkema, each with 10. Denzel Hardin was next with 9, then Trace Paul wiht 7, Blake Schulle with 4, and scoring 2 each were Josh Evans, Connor Paul and David Tillotson.

Starting the final varsity game of the season were: Beaux Haley, Josh Fikse, John Manni, Brooks Waller and Phil Nadeau. Jimmy and Zac were at the game but were unable to play.

It wasn't a pretty game, as MP outscored OH in every quarter except the 4th, when the game was no longer in doubt. Marysville, with the 60-45 win and a strong core of seniors, will be moving on to the playoffs while Oak Harbor will regroup and look towards next year. Mike Washington, Jr. led the team with 17, Jay Stout added 11, Josh Fikse 6, Beaux Haley 5, Colby Anter, Phil Nadeau and Rashaad Smith 2 each.

Photos of JV and Freshman action, along with some senior night moments, are available HERE.

Girls Basketball @ Monroe - Feb 10, 2009

The last two girls basketball games were both on the road, with Tuesday's game at Monroe HS.

It was a rough outing for the freshman girls as they were outscored 39-12. The first half did them in as they allowed 11 in the 1st and 12 in the 2nd while scoring a single free throw in each of the first two periods. The girls improved somewhat in the 2nd half, scoring 4 points in the 3rd and 6 in the 4th, but it wasn't nearly enough. Kristen Winston was the leading scorer with 4, Kaileen Burleson had 3, Heavenly Cooper and Rayan Russell 2 each, and JD scored only 1.

The JV girls were out to revenge a 49-42 loss to the Bearcats earlier in the season, and avenge it they did. In the 1st period the two teams played even, scoring 9 points each, but the 'Cats opened it up in the 2nd as Yoshi's 5 and Shantae's 6 points put OH ahead 22-16 at the half, and the girls came out on fire in the 3rd period, adding another 5 points to their lead. A strong defense held Monroe to single-digit scoring in each period as Oak Harbor won the game 41-27. Yoshi won the scoring battle with 19 while Shantae added 14. Addy, Molly, Kate and Mariah each scored 2 points.

Things weren't looking good for the Wildcats for most of the 1st half of the varsity game. The 1st quarter ended in an 11-all tie, but Monroe got some offense going along with a strong defense, and with under 2 minutes to go until halftime, Monroe led 26-13. Jen Jansen hit a couple of late baskets and the 'Cats scored 6 in the final two minutes to cut the Monroe lead to 7 at halftime. Halfway through the 3rd, Monroe still held a 37-31 lead, and with two and a half minutes to go led 40-33. At that point the OH defense came back to life and prevented Monroe from scoring for the remainder of the 3rd and allowed the offense to score 7 to tie the game 40-40 going into the final 8 minutes. Nikki Mowbray and Jessica Denmon combined for 11 4th-period points as OH battled their way to a 56-49 win and a guaranteed playoff spot. Jen Jansen scored a personal best 21 points in the Wildcat win, Denmon scored 16, Mowbray 10, Henricksen 3, and Abadesco, Fisken and Tubo 2 each.

Photos are posted HERE, mostly of JV and Freshman action.

Boys basketball vs Monroe - 2-9-2009

The fans that came for the boys basketball game in the OHHS gym against Monroe on Monday night got their money’s worth, as not one, but two games went into double overtime.

Josiah Miller knocked down 19 and Kevawn Brooks added 15, but it wasn’t enough as the Monroe freshman team was able to hold Matt Burgoyne to 3 points and Ed Denmon to 4, winning the close game 55-51. Rounding out the scoring, Elias Whitefoot had 8 and Paul Johannsen 2. Brooks had a good night from the line, shooting 6-for-8, but as a team the freshman only hit 18 of 35 free throw attempts.

Things were looking good in the JV game, as the boys grabbed a 10-6 1st period lead, and holding it to lead 20-17 at the half. The lead was increased to 31-25 at the end of the 3rd, but the ‘Cats could score only 6 points in the fourth, allowing Monroe to come back and tie the game at 37 at the end of regulation. In the first OT, Oak Harbor got a couple of quick scores. Blake Schulle hit first, then Oak Harbor stole the ball as the defense put pressure on Monroe and David Tillotson hit on the drive for two more. Monroe scored with 2:20 left in the 4 minute overtime, and again with just 3 seconds left. Monroe fouled the Wildcats as they were driving up the court, stopping the clock with 1.2 seconds, but the free throw was missed, ending the 1st overtime 41-41. In the 2nd overtime, Monroe scored first with 1:45 left, then Trace Paul put back a rebound with 25 seconds left. Monroe got a shot off with just 3 seconds left that bounced off the rim, but the Bearcats were able to grab the rebound and a desperation throw from just outside the key rolled into the net as the buzzer sounded. The final score – Monroe 45, Oak Harbor 43. Denzel Hardin led the scoring with 14, including going 8-10 from the line, and Trace Paul added 8. Josh Evans scored 5, Connor Paul, David Tillotson and Blake Schulle 4 each, and Nate Young and Justin Counts 2 each. The JV boys were missing two key players for that game – Ryan Fakkema was ill and Michael Harrison was out for team issues.

The varsity boys also held the lead at the end of the 1st, 17-10, but let up on the offense a little in the 2nd, scoring only 7, but still taking a 24-20 led into the locker room at the half. The cold shooting continued in the 3rd, with the Wildcats scoring 8 to the Bearcats’ 15, leaving Monroe ahead by 3 heading into the final period 35-32. In the 4th, Jay Stout and Mike Washington, Jr combined for 11 points, and the game was tied at 45 with just 45 seconds left in the game. Monroe scored 2 with 20 seconds left, then Washington drove in for two to tie it again with 12 seconds. The ‘Cats had one more chance to win in regulation, as they had the ball OOB under the Monroe basket with just 3 seconds. The play worked to perfection, as Jay Stout got open just inside the 3-point line and got off a good, aimed shot, but it bounced off the rim as the horn sounded. In overtime, Steven Bratt scored first, but Monroe quickly responded. Monroe then hit a FT the take a 1-point lead with 1:25 remaining, but 11 seconds later Stout sank both of his FTs to give the lead back to OH. Monroe had their chance to win at the line with free throws, but the Monroe player made only 1, knotting the score at 51. Neither team could score again as time ran out on the 1st OT period. In the 2nd OT, Washington scored the first points, but Monroe came back with a pair of free throws, then added a 3-pointer to take a 56-53 lead. Rashaad Smith sank two FTs with 1:15 left to make it 56-55 for Monroe, but Monroe hit two more free throws to bring their lead back to 3. With just 19 seconds left, Washington was fouled on a drive to the basket, and the basket was good, cutting the Bearcat lead down to 1. On the ensuring free throw, Mike missed – his only miss of the night – and Monroe was able to secure the rebound and scored twice more on free throws, ending with a 2OT win, 61-57. Washington was the top OH scorer with 20, followed by Stout with 17. Beaux Haley finished with 8, Smith and Colby Anter 4 each, Steven Bratt and Josh Fikse 2 each. Phil Nadeau was out for team discipline, and Jimmy Edens is still out with a broken hand.

The boys play their final game of the season tonight vs. Marysville. It's senior night so come out and help recognize the seniors and their parents, all of whom put a lot of time and hard work into the basketball program.

Photos are HERE...finally!

Wrestling - District Tournament - Feb 6 & 7, 2009 @ MPHS

Oak Harbor sent 26 wrestlers to the WESCO District tournament at Marysville-Pilchuck HS on Feb 6th & 7th, 10 completed in the 2nd day of competition, and 7 are moving on to the regional tournament next weekend at Snohomish HS.

103 – Junior Brandon Strickland lost by pin to eventual #5 placer Sonny Bates Mundell, and in the consolation bracket lost a heartbreaking 10-8 overtime match to Mariner’s Parker to end his postseason. Sophomore Corey Trimbur, in his first year of HS wrestling, won his first match Friday, beating Rezikov of MP by pin with just 25 seconds remaining in the match, but was then pinned by eventual 3rd place finisher Krafft of Kamiak. In Saturday’s consolation bout, Corey made a small mistake early, and his opponent took advantage of it and got the pin in less than a minute. Corey was upbeat about the whole experience, knowing it’s more than likely he’ll stay in the 103 lb class for his final two years of wrestling, and can only get better with more experience.

112 – Freshman Ben Pralle was the only Oak Harbor representative in this weight class, and in his first year ever of wrestling, didn’t advance past the first day. Ben’s first match was against senior Joey Duran of Stanwood, the 2nd place finisher, and in the consolation bracket lost to 5th place finisher John Kim of Mariner. Ben improved a lot as the season progressed, and is expected to wrestle well next year.

119 – Freshman Josh Schrum’s first match was a loss against Lake Steven’s Cervantes, the 5th place finisher, but in the consolation bracket won by pin over Lanquin of Edmonds. In his 3rd match of the day, Josh fell to Kamiak’s Nelson. Senior Royce Cardwell won his first two matches of the day, pinning Lanquin in just 43 seconds, then pinning Graika of Kamiak in one minute exactly. Then, Royce went up against Jarred Studley of Stanwood. Royce lost the first meeting 11-4, at a dual meet on Jan 21st, and lost this bout by pin in 2:29. On Saturday, Royce wrestled 4 times, winning 3. His first was a dominating win over Venskus of Mariner 19-3, then pinned Floresca of Shorewood in 4:12 and beat Kalmey of Snohomish 10-4. The last win put Royce into the 3rd-place match, against Studley. Royce wrestled well, but still couldn’t beat Studley and finished the tournament in 4th place and earning a trip to Snohomish next weekend.

125 – Zack Van Pelt, a freshman, was Oak Harbor’s #2 man at 125 lbs, but couldn’t advance past day 1, getting pinned twice. Sophomore Connar Zimmerman, who is moving this summer and won’t be with the team next year, did well. He won his first match by tech fall, 16-1, over Nijem of Jackson HS, pinned Lake Steven’s Johnson in 2:48 and Stanwood’s Bascom in 5:12. On the 2nd day of the tournament, Zimmerman’s first match was a tough one, against Kamiak’s Kusilek. It was close, but in the end it was Kusilek 3-2. Now in the consolation bracket, Connar beat Strickland of Kamiak 11-5, then beat Jackson’s Mead 5-3 to take 3rd place and a trip to Snohomish next week. Kusilek ended the tournament in 2nd, and they’ll probably wrestle each other again sometime next weekend.

130 – Josh Barton lost his first match 10-0, but beat Powell of Kamiak 8-2 before losing to Sanchez of Jackson 5-0 to end his tournament. Colton Elliot, back after a long break due to a broken thumb worked his way up the winners’ bracket by pinning Powell in 3:56 and beating DeWeese of Edmonds 15-9. On day 2 of wrestling, Colton faced of against Sam Ottow of Snohomish, seeded #1 in the tournament, and with his thumb visibly bothering him lost a 16-3 decision. In the consolation bracket, Colton beat Boyd from Mariner 11-4, and in the 3rd place match, decided to injury default and rest his thumb rather than risk injury. Colton finished 4th and will go to Snohomish next weekend.

135 – Freshman David Payne gained some valuable experience, but didn’t advance past the first day. Another freshman, Brandon Stratton, went all the way, finishing 7th overall. Although Stratton lost his first match 11-0 to Reim of Mariner (who finished 4th), he worked his way through the consolation bracket to place. He pinned Shorewood’s Dean in 2:12 on day 1, and on day 2 beat Snohomish’s Mitchell in a VERY close 4-3 match before losing to Shorewood’s Berenson 13-9. That loss put Brandon into the 7th-8th place match, where he promised he would not lose, and he didn’t, pinning Stanwood’s Wiganosky in 4:29. That win ensured he would get the final spot at next week’s regional tournament instead of going as an alternate.

140 – Josh McVey was eliminated on day 1, but John Tuttle went all the way, emerging as the WESCO district champion. John had a bye in the 1st round on Friday, pinned Kuehn of Snohomish in 3:30 then dominated Pennington of Lake Stevens 12-2. On day two John won a hard-fought 10-6 over Arlington’s Shortt, sending John to the championship match. In the finals, Tuttle beat Jacobson from Kamiak 12-8 for a spot at the top of the podium.

145 – Oak Harbor had 2 seniors in this weight class. Matt Bistline did not advance past day 1, and Ben Page lost a close 7-6 match to move to the consolation bracket, where he beat Ben Bowen of Jackson 11-5 and pinned Barnett of Arlington in just 20 seconds to advance to day 2. On Saturday, Ben made a couple of mistakes and couldn’t recover, winding up being pinned by DiMaggio of Monroe, the 4th place finisher.

152 – Both OH wrestlers advanced to the 2nd day of competition. Freshman Justin Everett had a 1st round bye, but was tech’d by Mariner’s Coffman 15-0 in the 2nd. In the consolation bracket, Justin pinned Hartlove in 2:44 to advance to day 2. Saturday’s match was against Barquist of Stanwood, and Justin, although working hard to avoid the pin, but couldn’t hold out long enough against 5th place finisher Barquist of Stanwood. Although he didn’t place, Justin gained some valuable experience and should place next year. The other entry, senior Jarred Tyson, spent all of day 1 in the winner’s bracket, pinning Jo Nelson of Mariner in 1:50, pinning Jackson’s Tisdale in 2:35, and beating Stanwood’s Barquist 10-4. On Saturday, Jarred lost his first match against Morrill of Snohomish, but in his first consolation match pinned Arlington’s McPherson in just 41 seconds, advancing him to the 3rd place match. There, Jarred faced off against E-W’s McAllister and was beaten 8-2. With the 4th place finish, Jarred goes to the regional meet in Snohomish next weekend.

160 – Freshman Nick Farrell and senior Kyle Magana were the Oak Harbor entries at 160 lbs, but neither advanced to Saturday’s matches.

171 – Zach Loescher won his first match, pinning Sam Koenig from Edmonds with just 6 seconds left in the match, but was pinned in turn by Smith of Shorewood. Freshman Hunter Vail was the other Wildcat entry, and lost his 1st round bout by a close 9-8 score. In the consolation bracket, Loescher and Vail had the misfortune of going up against each other, and Loescher was the victor, 8-3, eliminating Vail. Loescher was eliminated in the next round, losing 13-6 to Irving of Arlington. Both men will be back next year with this experience to build on.

189 – Alec Castillo lost his first bout, but beat Schrank from Arlington in the consolation bracket by pin in just 16 seconds before losing to Marks from Cascade to end his tournament. Jake Lundstrom, the other 189 pounder, was not able to win either of his two matches.

215 – There were two seniors in this weight bracket for Oak Harbor – Jarred Green (JT), and Brian Howard. JT didn’t advance past the first day, but Brian placed 6th overall for a trip to Snohomish next weekend. Brian won his first match with a quick 45-second pin over Theo Hatziliadis of Kamiak, then pinned Cascade’s Reining in 3:53 before losing to Edmonds-Woodway’s Rutledge 9-5. On day 2, Brian worked hard and was able to pin Jake Reinhard from Snohomish in 3:58, then pinned Brunswick of Mariner in 2:21. Brian then wrestled for a spot in the 3rd place bout, but lost 15-8 to Kroshko of Mariner, moving him to the 5th place bout. In that final bout, Brian’s shoulder was causing him quite a pit of pain, and he wound up getting pinned by Monroe’s Ingersoll. But, he moves on and will be wrestling next weekend in Snohomish.

285 – Finally, to Phil Rodgers, Oak Harbor’s lone entry in the heavyweight bracket. Unfortunately, Phil went up against Lake Steven’s Zach Teuber, who pinned Phil just a week earlier in the dual meet, and this match didn’t end differently. In the consolation bracket, Phil got a well-deserved pin over Ademichael of E-W, in 1:36, but was then pinned by Mariner’s Bakeberg.

Photos from the tournament are posted HERE.

Girls basketball vs Stanwood - 2-6-09 - Senior Night

It was senior night on Friday, Feb 6th at OHHS, and the seniors went out with a bang in their game against Stanwood. Before the varsity game, seniors Cheyenne Tubo, Cori Henricksen, Kathryn Fisken, Jennifer Jansen, and Justine Bortolameotti were recognized, along with their parents, for their contributions to the Oak Harbor girls basketball program.

Over in the field house, the girls were able to open up a small lead in the 1st period, 9-4, but allowed the Spartans to score 12 in the 2nd period as Stanwood led at the half 16-13. Neither team could score much in the 2nd half, but Stanwood did add 2 points to their lead and won the game 27-22. Lia Pantoleon led the Wildcats with 8, DJ had 7, Rayan Russell 5 and Emily Hunt 2.

Stanwood was all over the JV team, draining six 3-pointers as they rang up a 65-39 win. Normally hot Molly DeLeon was cold for her 2nd game in a row, scoring only 4 points, and even carefully planned shot were bouncing off the rim while Stanwood’s sloppy, desperation shots seemed to drop in every time. Mariah Ferguson scored a respectable 12 points, Yoshi 8, Shantae Young 7, Tatiana Cumming 5, Molly 4, Kate Rossman 2 and Jessica James 1.

The score was reversed in the varsity game. Oak Harbor opened with a 6-0 run and finished the first period leading 13-7. Stanwood played even in the 2nd, scoring 14 to Oak Harbor’s 18, but after halftime, the ‘Cats turned up the heat on defense, allowing only 6 points, and scoring 15, many off of steals and forced turnovers. The girls padded their lead in the final 8 minutes, winning the game 63-39. Four of the five seniors scored, and Justine should have gotten at least a couple of foul shots, but the ref’s didn’t blow the whistle on her drive. Jessica Denmon was sharp, hitting 3 treys and ending with 26 points. Jansen was also in double figures with 12. Cori scored 6, Nikki 5, and Cheyenne, Kathryn and Clarissa each scored 4.

The girls have two games left as they fight for a playoff spot, both away. Tuesday they’ll be at Monroe and Thursday at Marysville. The girls beat both teams earlier this season, but in tough games in the OHHS gym.

They boys two games as well, both at home. They play Monroe on Monday, and Wednesday is Senior Night against Marysville.

52 photos are posted HERE.

OH wrestlers ranked in WESCO

On the Washington Wrestling Report website, several Oak Harbor wrestlers earned top 10 rankings in the combined WESCO (North & South).

Wt. Rank
103 6 - Corey Trimbur - up one
9 - Brandon Strickland - first time on list

119 3 – Royce Cardwell – down one

125 3 – Connar Zimmerman

130 4 – Colton Elliot

135 10 – Brandon Stratton – down one

140 3 – John Tuttle

145 7 – Ben Page – first time on list

152 7 – Jarred Tyson – up one

171 7 – Zach Loescher

215 8 – Brian Howard – first time on list

In addition, Connar Zimmerman is ranked 11th in the state in 4A at 125, John Tuttle 5th at 140.

Good job to the wrestlers and good luck this weekend at districts!

Girls Basketball @ Arlington, 2-4-09

The Wildcat girls were in Arlington for the second of their two meetings, and things did not go well for any of the teams.

Over in the aux. gym, the freshmen played a pretty tight game. They got down early, 11-2, when Lia Pantoleon scored twice in the final 2 minutes to make it 11-6 at the end of the first. In the 2nd, Arlington scored 13 points, as did the Wildcats, but 11 of the ‘Cat points were by Erika Flores, who was on a roll, ending the half with Arlington leading 24-19. Oak Harbor closed the gap by 1 in the 3rd, with Kristen Winston scoring 4 of the team’s 8 points, but the Eagles still led 31-27. In the 4th the Wildcats just couldn’t seem to get an offensive rebound, and Arlington was able to outscore OH 12-10 to win the game 43-37. Even in the loss, Coach Showalter said it was one of the girls’ better games. Flores led the scoring with her 11 points; Lia totaled 8, Kristen 7, Rayan Russell 6, DJ 3 and Heavenly Cooper 2.

In the JV game, the girls played a flat game and never got any rhythm going and Molly DeLeon was held to just one free throw as the JV team fell to the Eagles 46-31. Mariah Ferguson had a good game with 15 points and Yoshi hit for 7. Addy Royal scored 5 and Shantae Young 3. It was not one of the JV girls’ best outings.

Jessica Denmon and Nikki Mowbray were both not feeling well during the day, and it showed on the court. The two girls, normally the team’s leading scorers, tallied only 5 and 6 points respectively. Also, Head Coach McLeod was not at the game due to the technical fouls received at Lake Stevens on Friday. With Coach Burleson stepping in, it was a low-scoring, but exciting, back-and-forth game. The ‘Cats were down early, but Jen Jansen hit for 4 to keep even with the Eagles. At the end of the 1st, the ‘Cats were down by one, 9-8, but in the 2nd, Cheyenne Tubo got hot, scoring 8 points to give OH a 22-20 halftime lead. Tubo scored an additional 5 points in the 3rd to keep things close, but Arlington was able to make up the difference and tie the game at 32. The game stayed close for most of the 4th, but the Wildcats went cold on offense, scoring only 7 points while allowing 16, giving Arlington a 48-39 win. Tubo led the scoring with 14, and Jen Jansen had 10. Nikki finished with 6, Denmon 5, and Clarissa Abadesco and Kathryn Fisken scored 2 each.

No photos from the games, as the gym in Arlington is extremely poorly lit, but a few video clips are posted HERE.

Boys Basketball vs Arlington, 2-3-09

In another disappointing night, all 3 boys basketball teams lost their games to Arlington.

The freshman team was the closest, falling 42-35, but even they trailed the entire game. Down by 5 at the end of the 1st period, 13-7, the Wildcats could score only 2 points over the next 8 minutes to trail 20-9 at the half, and the boys could not get back into the game. Kevawn Brooks led Oak Harbor with 10, Matt Burgoyne scored 8, Josiah Miller 7, Corey Houck 3, Paul Johanssen and Ed Denmon 2 each, and Ben Muyers hit one free throw.

Scoring was spread around in the JV game, with 8 different players getting points, but the Eagles overpowered our boys 53-40. Blake Schulle, Denzel Hardin and David Tillotson tied for scoring honors with 7 each, while Ryan Fakkema and Nate Young were just 1 point behind with 6, and Trace Paul and Justin Counts scored 2 each.

The start of the varsity game looked good for Oak Harbor, as they jumped to an early 5-0 lead, but Arlington quickly closed the gap and took over the lead, but not for long, as the 1st period ended in Oak Harbor’s favor, 13-12. The lead changed hands several times in the 2nd period, with Arlington taking a 29-26 lead into halftime.

Things were going well for Oak Harbor, until they were hit by the 3rd period curse. Arlington scored 16 points – about average for the game so far, but the Wildcats could manage only a single field goal by Phil Nadeau, leaving the Eagles with a 45-28 lead after the 3rd. Oak Harbor picked things back up in the 4th, but could only play even with Arlington until the final buzzer. Arlington 61, Oak Harbor 43.

The boys are away at Stanwood on Friday, at home on Monday against Monroe, then have their final game next Wednesday, Feb 11th against Maryville. It's senior night, so come show your support to all the seniors.

Game photos and ‘faces in the crowd’ pictures are posted HERE.

Timeout with...Anthony Yockey, boys swimming

Anthony Joseph Yockey is a senior at OHHS and a member of the swim team. The 5’7” freestyle/breast specialist was born in San Diego, CA on November 2nd and has lived in Oak Harbor for the past 2 years. In addition to OH and San Diego, Anthony also lived in Guam, Hawaii, Idaho and Florida. He is the son of Joe, a Navy EOD Specialist and Verna, a nurse, and has 2 younger sisters. One of the sisters, McKenna, is also a swimmer for OHHS.

Anthony’s favorite class this year is Chemistry, as he enjoys science, and his favorite teacher has been Mr. Allen, because “he’s funny.”

When asked why swimming and not basketball or wrestling, Anthony said it’s because not only is swimming an individual sport, it requires little coordination! He says one of his strengths is his start, but also acknowledges that he needs to work on the mental aspect of swimming, getting focused and ready to race. His goal this year is to get to the state meet, and he is well on his way, as the team had an outstanding season this year.

When not in the pool, Anthony likes football, but hasn’t played since 10th grade due to an injury, and he likes snowboarding in the winter and sailing in the summer. On his iPod you can normally find a lot of rock music, leaning towards the heavy metal side. One if his favorite movies is ‘Tommy Boy”, and he’s a news junkie, watching a lot of TV news.

Anthony is seriously considering entering the US Navy after graduation. If he could have his choice of orders, he said he’d like to go to Africa, as he’s always wanted to go there.

Something you probably didn’t know about Anthony: He is awesome at handstands!

21 questions with Anthony:

Xbox, Playstation, or Wii – Xbox
McDonald’s or Burger King – BK
Comedy or Horror – Comedy
OHMS or NWMS – OHMS
Seahawks or Mariner – Seahawks
Shop class or Art class – Shop
iPhone or Blackberry –iPhone
Coke or Pepsi – Coke
House or Lost – Lost
Army or Navy – Navy
Boating or Camping – Boating
Running or Swimming – Swimming
Ford, Honda, or VW – VW
MAC or PC/Windows – PC
Jumbo Buffet or Happy Dragon – Happy Dragon
Math or Science – Science
Walmart or Kmart – Kmart
Cats or Dogs – Dogs
Red or Blue – Blue
NY or LA – LA
Purple or Gold - Purple

Boys Basketball Varsity team photos

In the below link are photos of each of the varsity players, several team photos, and photos of the seniors together.

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/Highschoolwinter2008/BBB0202Varsitypics1