Girls Basketball 2010-01-29 vs Lake Stevens

Unfortunately it was a triple loss Friday night for the Wildcat girls, but two of the three games were close, exciting games.

Taru Ahonen put up 5 points in the first quarter which the freshman team finished leading 8-7. Lake Stevens came back in the 2nd to take a 2-point, 20-18 lead at halftime. OH closed the game in the 3rd to tie the game at 28, holding Lake Stevens to just a single field goal. The other 6 points all came off of free throws. In the 4th, the OH defense stuttered, allowing 17 points by the Vikings. OH tried late to close the gap but came up short in a 45-39 loss. The freshman team continues to spread the ball around, with 7 players scoring points. Morgan Young led the team with 11, Ahonen finished with 9, Joem Evangelista and Ciera Wiser 6 each, Jalani Bobo 3, Emily Saar and Danielle Teasley 2 each.

The JV game was hard to watch. Tatiana Cumming hit a 3-pointer just over a minute into the game, giving OH a 3-2 lead, but it was the last points OH would score until the 6:45 mark in the 3rd period when Dominique Jackson grabbed a rebound and put it back for 2 points. The final was LS 72, OH 19. Cumming scored 7 of the 19 points, DJ finished with 4, Lia Pantoleon and Erika Flores 3 each and Kelsey Rankin 2.

Oak Harbor found themselves in an early 8-16 hole, but fought back. The Wildcats started the 2nd half with a 9-0 run, holding LS scoreless for half the period and building a 29-24 lead. Lake wasn't out yet, and came back to tie the game at 34 at the end of the 3rd. In the final period, the OH offense cooled off and Lake Stevens held Jessica Denmon scoreless. The Vikings helped their cause by sinking 6 free throws in the 4th while OH went 0-for-4. In the end, it was Lake Stevens 49, OH 42. Nikki Mowbray finished with 14, including going 5-for-6 from the line, Denmon had 13, Clarissa Abadesco 6, Janelle Yoshimoto 5 and Emilie Renninger 3.

Just 20 photos, mostly of freshman action, are posted HERE.

A video clip can be found HERE.

Wrestling 1-28-2010 at Lake Stevens

Oak Harbor was in Lake Steven Thursday night for their final wrestling meet of the season, against the Vikings, and Lake Stevens showed why they are the #1 ranked team in the state.

Due to a series of issues, OH brought only 15 wrestlers to the meet, 4 of them JV.

In the JV matches, only Josh Crebbin and Kelly Turner came out winners. Crebbin got a pin in 1:44 and Turner needed 1:56 for his pin. Ver Starr got pinned but separated a rib during the match, directly leading to the loss. He should be OK, but he was on the mat for a bit before he could get up.

Corey Trimbur started things off in varsity, taking on JoMae Alewine, one of the top female wrestlers in the state. Corey had the lead 2-0 starting the 2^nd period with the wrestlers in the neutral position. Alewine was able to get Corey in a headlock and took him to the mat and nearly got a pin before Trimbur was able to reverse and get back on top. Now down 5-4 to start the 3^rd, Corey was unable to get JoMae turned onto her back, so opted for the takedown and escape strategy in order to get points. He let her up, giving her a 6-4 lead, and then took her down to tie the score. He let her up again with less than a minute to go, and with just 10 seconds left in the match Corey was able to get the takedown and win 8-7.

That was to be the only OH win for a while. 3 pins and two forfeits later the team score stood at LS 15, OH 3.

At 145 lbs it was Colton Elliot vs Andrew King. In current WESCO rankings, Elliot was ranked #1 and King #2. The match lived up to expectations. Colton got a takedown late in the 1^st round but King was able to reverse to tie it up. In the 2^nd, King was able to reverse on Elliot for two more points, but that was all the scoring for that period. In the 3^rd, Colton started in the down position and was able to escape, but King successfully avoided a takedown to win 4-3.

Brandon Stratton moved up to 152 lbs and after a flurry of 1^st round points was able to pin Olliges halfway through the 2^nd period.

Steven Souza got the final OH victory of the night, pinning McEntire with 28 seconds left to go in the match.

In the end, the team score was Lake Stevens 55, OH 15.

70 photos are posted HERE.

A video highlight clips is HERE.

GBB 2010-01-27 at Everett

In Everett Wednesday night, the girls basketball team was in "The Pit", the Seagull's underground gym for their 2nd game of the season.

The freshmen got off to a slow start, ending the first period tied 7-7. They woke up in the 2nd, outscoring Everett 14-5 to take a 21-12 lead. The tough wildcat defense continued in the 3rd as the girls held Everett scoreless, increasing the lead to 34-12. In the final period, OH allowed 20 points, all by one girl. The Everett player hit five 3-pointers and added 5 free throws but it wasn't enough as OH scored 16 to win 50-32. Morgan Young scored 15 to lead the team, while Ciera Wiser and exchange student Bet Riba scored 10 each. Marissa Lewis and Jalani Bobo added 6 each and Taru Ahonen scored 3.

As exciting as the freshman game must have been, the JV game was deathly dull for the most part. OH was down early 6-2 but tied the game 6-6 at the end of the first. Everett took another 4-point lead but OH went on an 8-0 run as the half ended with a 14-10 OHHS lead. In the 3rd, Everett was held to just 5 points while OH scored 9, all by Tatiana Cumming. Things were reversed in the 4th period as Cumming sank a single free throw to account for ALL of the Wildcat scoring in the 4th. Everett scored nine, 7 off of free throws to send the game into OT tied at 24. Because the game was already running late, the clock was set at 2:00 for the extra period. Cumming scored just 12 seconds into OT and Lia Pantoleon sank a free throw with 8 seconds left as OH won a very low scoring game, 27-24.

The varsity game started out with OH building a 9-2 lead halfway through the first period behind 5 points by Janelle Yoshimoto. That score held until there was 1:13 left, when Everett scored 6 straight to close the score to 9-8 at the end of the first period. Everett built a small 21-19 lead at halftime. The 3rd period was a display of bad basketball - by both teams. Neither team scored until there was just 2:34 left in the 3rd, when Everett scored, then OH scored 10 seconds later. Everett played tough defense and was able increase their lead to 31-24 by the end of the period. OH played even with the Seagulls in the final period, but couldn't cut into the lead as Everett won 41-34. Nikki Mowbray led the team with 13 points. Clarissa Abadesco scored 9, Jessica Denmon was held to just 5 and Yoshi also finished with 5 points.

39 pics, mostly from between game, are posted HERE.

Video highlights are HERE.

BBB 2010-01-26 vs Everett

The Everett Seagulls were in Oak Harbor Tuesday night for the second meeting of the season.

In the dome, the freshman team led 13-11 at the end of the first period but Everett scored 22 points in the 2nd to take a 33-30 lead into the half. Oak Harbor made up the difference in the 3rd and tied the game at 46. Fouling proved to be the difference in the game as Everett scored 18 points in the final period, 10 of them off free throws, while OH netted only 8. The final score was 64-54 in favor of Everett. Kiefer Hermann led the freshman team with 16 points, half of them off free throws and Anfernee Angkaw added 12 points, 5 off free throws. London Cook and Trenton Cargill scored 8 each, Isaiah Trower 4, Dayne Herron 3, Michael LaBelle 2 and Jackson Knoll 1.

JV was evenly played in the first half, with OH leading 9-7 in the first and 20-17 at halftime. In the 3rd, however, OH was outscored 14-7 and Everett took a 31-27 lead. The Seagulls added another 18 in the final period to win 49-33. Brooks led the scoring with 12 points and Corey Houck added 9. David Tillotson scored 5, Matt Burgoyne 4, Paul Johannsen 2 and Connor Paul 1.

The varsity game was a back-and-forth, closely contested game for 32 minutes. OH was down 2 after 1 period, 13-15 and was down by 1, 22-21 at halftime. The Wildcats recovered, helped by 6 Denzel Hardin points led 38-34 at the start of the final period. OH maintained a the lead for most of the period, but Everett came back to take a 1-point lead then Stevie Bratt sank a free throw to tie the game and it went to overtime tied at 53. Oak Harbor owned the extra period, outscoring Everett 11-3 to win 64-56.

92 photos of freshman, JV and Varsity action are posted HERE.

A video highlight clip is posted HERE.

Swimming 1-21-2010 at Lake Stevens

The Wildcat men's swim team went to Lake Stevens Thursday afternoon and extended their undefeated record by beating the Viking 95-75. The two schools shared top spots in all the events except for one. In the 100 yard backstroke, Wildcats Jacob Jepsen, Ben Cardinal and Bret Vagt finished 1-2-3 for the only sweep of the day.

Here are the complete results.

200 medley relay
1. Lake Stevens 1:45.27
2. OH - Jacob Jepsen, Yale Rosen, Price Hu, and and unknown swimmer 1:45.56
3. LS 2:00.77
4. OH - Ben Cardinal, Cole Weinstein, Brett Vagt, Tyler Buchanan 2:03.86
5. OH - Bon Jarik Bainco, Matt Barrailler, John Kaltenbach, Judd Ford 2:06.08
6. LS 2:17.30

200 free
1. Josh Jepsen 1:55.57
2. Devin Schell 1:58.31
3. LS 2:05.86
4. Bon Jarik Bainco 2:14.09
5. LS 2:22.74
6. LS 2:30.93
X LS 2:17.48
X David Kusnick 2:22.26
X Matt Barrailler 2:34.31

200 IM
1. Price Hu 2:04.21
2. Jacob Jepsen 2:08.76
3. LS 2:22.26
4. John Kaltenbach 2:31.66
5. LS 2:34.20
6. LS 2:52.89

50 free
1. LS 23.79
2. LS 24.22
3. Matt Bolte 24.34
4. Yale Rosen 24.35
5. Ben Cardinal 25.81
6. LS 26.63
X LS 25.30
X Bailey Rivers 27.43
X LS 28.06
X Judd Ford 28.56
X LS 29.36
X Tucker Lundstrom 29.54
X LS 29.56
X Raymond Green 29.59
X LS 29.77
X Jaxon Wolfe 29.86
X LS 31.29
X Adam Smith 31.40
X LS 31.73
X LS 32.06
X Logan Faught 32.22
X LS 32.81
X Matt Reith 33.54
X Stacy Jappert 45.74

100 Fly
1. LS 53.44
2. Price Hu 53.87
3. Matt Bolte 1:01.73
4. LS 1:05.63
5. Brett Vagt 1:10.01
6. LS 1:22.79

100 Freestyle
1. Josh Jepsen 53.56
2. LS 56.39
3. LS 59.95
4. John Kaltenbach 1:01.25
5. LS 1:01.74
6. David Kusnick 1:04.41
X LS 59.65
X LS 1:01.26
X LS 1:04.27
X LS 1:05.21
X LS 1:05.37
X LS 1:09.13
X Keaton Dieter 1:10.27
X LS 1:10.49
X Flint Snyder 1:10.55
X Tucker Lundstrom 1:10.98
X Logan Faught 1:12.53
X LS 1:14.80
X LS 1:17.08

500 Free
1. Cole Weinstein 5:29.63
2. Devin Schell 5:37.86
3. LS 6:21.12
4. LS 6:38.20
5. Corey Butler 7:09.75
6. LS 7:24.19

200 Free Relay
1. LS 1:34.10
2. OH - Jacob Jepsen, Josh Jepsen, Yale Rosen and the unknown swimmer 1:36.28
3. LS 1:48.84
4. OH - Ben Cardinal, Devin Schell, David Kusnick, Tyler Buchanan 1:50.18
5. LS 1:56.83
6. OH - Judd Ford, Tucker Lundstrom, Keaton Dieter, Corey Butler 1:59.37
X LS 2:03.32
X LS 2:08.87
X OH - Matt Reith, Steven Martinez, Adam Smith, Logan Faught 2:11.58
X OH - Raymond Green, Bailey Rivers, Flint Snyder, Stacy Jappert 2:26.67

100 Backstroke
1. Jacob Jepsen 59.86
2. Ben Cardinal 1:06.38
3. Brett Vagt 1:10.18
4. LS 1:14.12
5. LS 1:23.23
6. LS 1:23.82
X Jaxon Wolfe 1:21.43
X Flint Snyder 1:26.50
X Tyler Buchanan 1:33.11
X Bailey Rivers 1:36.05
X Steven Martinez 1:49.61

100 Breaststroke
1. Yale Rosen 1:07.78
2. LS 1:08.68
3. 1:09.01
4. Bon Jarik Bainco 1:13.50
5. Cole Weinstein 1:13.58
6. LS 1:15.12
X Matt Barrailler 1:21.94
X LS 1:25.08
X LS 1:30.60
X Keaton Dieter 1:32.77
X Adam Smith 1:35.29
X LS 1:55.80

400 Free Relay
1. OH - Devin Schell, Price Hu, John Kaltenbach, Josh Jepsen
2. LS - 3:56.96
3. LS 4:17.17
4. OH - Bret Vagt, David Kusnick, Corey Butler, Cole Weinstein 4:18.20
5. OH - Judd Ford, Tyler Buchanan, Matt Barrailler, Bon Jarik Bianco 4:28.59
6. LS 4:38.44

The boys swim next vs Mt. Vernon at home Wednesday at 6pm then are at Kamiak Friday afternoon.

Boys Basketball 1-22-2010

Friday night the Wildcat boys basketball team had their first home game of the 2^nd half of the season, hosting the Snohomish Panthers.

The freshman team got a nice win. The Panthers were able to keep scoring leader Dayne Herron in check, but Kiefer Hermann stepped up in the first period with 7 points and Isaiah Trower in the 2^nd with 8 to lead the ‘Cats to a 45-31 win. Hermann finished with 17 and Trower 10, while London Cook scored 7, Herron 4, Chris Hailer 3, and Trenton Cargill and Michael LaBelle 2 each.

In their first meeting at Snohomish on Dec 15^th, the JV had problems on offense, scoring just 32 points to the Panthers’ 42. Things worked out differently on Friday. Spreading the ball around, 5 different players scored in the first period as the Wildcats built a 14-9 lead and increased it to 27-18 at halftime, partly thanks to Kevawn Brooks’ 5-6 performance at the free throw line. Oak Harbor went cold in the 3^rd period, scoring only 9 points but hanging on to a 36-34 lead. Snohomish closed the gap in the 4^th and scored late to tie the game at 53. OH wasn’t able to get another shot in the hoop so the game went to overtime. OT was back and forth until junior David Tillotson was fouled while driving into the basket with just 5 seconds left. He hit the shot and added the ‘and one’ to put OH ahead 65-62 and the final Snohomish shot didn’t go in. Four Wildcats finished in double figures: Brooks led the team with 20 points, Matt Burgoyne and Tillotson both had 12 and Connor Paul had 10. Also scoring were Edward Denmon with 6 and Corey Houck with 5.

Varsity lost a close 53-48 game at Snohomish in December and wanted to avoid a repeat. Snohomish started out strong, building an 18-10 lead but OH was able to close the gap to 26-22 by halftime. The 3^rd period was Oak Harbor’s undoing, though. Snohomish poured in 20 point while the Wildcats managed only 4, leaving Snohomish ahead 46-26 at the end of three periods. Oak Harbor came back in the 4^th behind 11 points by Mike Washington, Jr. and 6 more by Denzel Hardin, but it was a case of too little, too late as Snohomish won 59-47. Washington finished with 24 points, Hardin with 8, Trace Paul 6, Jay Stout 5 and Rashaad Smith 4. Snohomishs’ top scorer, Ortiz, who didn’t play in the team’s first meeting netted 26.

The boys play at home next Tuesday against Everett are at Lake Stevens on Friday the 29th.

25 photos of the varsity team and team members are HERE.

Video clips are HERE.

Wrestling 2010-01-21 Monroe

Monroe was at OHHS Thursday night for the final home meet of the 2009-2010 wrestling season.

JV started off poorly, losing the first two matched by pinfall and the next three by decision.

Jeremy Alonzo stopped the losing streak by winning a close-fought 10-7 decision over Still. Kelly Turner also won, pinning Hansen in 1:13.

Oak Harbor lost the next two matches by pin and then Josh Crebbin hit the mat for his 2^nd match of the night. He got in trouble early and was down 2-10 but was able to work his way out and pinned Sherris with just 30 seconds left in the match.

Between the JV and varsity matches time was taken to recognize all the seniors and their parents for their dedication and sacrifices.

In varsity, Justin Everett went first at 152 pounds and had problems getting off his back, losing to Foster 0-9.

Steven Souza was next at 160 lbs and pinned T. Hansen in 3:32.

Zach Loescher had the most interesting bout of the night against Elledge. Both wrestlers were on their feet for the entire first period, working hard and looking for an opening. The ref didn’t see it that way and called both wrestlers for stalling twice. Zach worked his way to a 5-3 lead, during which time both Zach was hit once more for stalling and Elledge twice more. In the 3^rd, just as it appeared that Zach was getting a takedown, the official blew his whistle and called a stall on both wrestlers. Since it was Elledge’s 5^th stall call, he was disqualified, giving Loescher the win and the Wildcats 6 team points.

The Wildcats got another win when Hunter Vail, down 1-4 at the time, was able to pin Heideman halfway through the 2^nd period.

At 215 pounds, Javon Payne, new to the varsity squad, fought hard against Ingersoll, but got pinned as did Jeremy Foster against Martin.

Dropping back to the little guys, Corey Trimbur had little trouble racking up 20 points in his 20-3 tech fall over Callahan, extending the team lead to 23-15.

Monroe closed to 23-21 after OH had to forfeit at 112 lbs then took the lead 39-23 when Ben Pralle and Ryuta Meany both got pinned and OH forfeited 130 lbs to the Bearcats.

With 3 matches to go and down by 16, OH still had the chance to win the meet.

Senior Josh Barton, at 135 pounds took on Johnson. Barton started out on the short end of a 6-2 score, but earned 4 points in the 2^nd round to tie it up. The close match was delayed several times due to a lot of bleeding by Johnson, and at the beginning of the 3^rd Josh scored 2 points to go ahead 8-6, but Johnson was able to get a reverse on Josh and earned back points to win 11-8.

Oak Harbor finished the meet with two pins to make the score a respectable 43-35. Colton Elliot needed 2:32 to pin Curnutt and Josh Stratton needed only 1:29 to pin Detweiler.

This was the final home meet for the Wildcats. The wrestlers finish their league season with a trip to Cascade on Tuesday the 25th and to top-ranked Lake Stevens on Thursday the 28th. The Wildcats start the post-season on Feb 5th with the divisional meet at Marysvlle-Pilchuck HS on Friday and Saturday.

Video highlights from the JV and Varsity matches are HERE.

94 photos are HERE.

Girls basketball 1-20-2010 vs Cascade

The second half of the season started yesterday in the OHHS gym as the girls basketball team hosted the Cascade Bruins.

Nine different Wildcats scored points in the dome as Oak Harbor demolished the Bruins in freshman action. The score was 19-2 at the first break, and the OH defense held Cascade to just 10 points total in the 52-10 win. Cascade shot only one free throw, which missed. OH shot a total of 28 free throws, but only 11 went in. Leading the scoring was Morgan Young with 19. Taru Ahonen scored 8, Jalani Bobo and Joem Evangelista 6 each, Ciera Wiser 5, Marissa Lewis 4, Paula Gass 2, and Bet Riba and Emily Saar 1 each.

Things weren't as pleasant for Wildcat fans in the main gym for the JV game. OH spotted Cascade an early 11-1 lead, and didn't score a field goal until the 1:45 mark when Rayan Russel nailed a 3-pointer. At that, it was only 11-7 at the end of the first quarter. Cascade's lead grew to 9 at halftime as OH hit only a single field goal and two free throws in the second. The Wildcats came back strong after halftime, scoring 11 points and closing the gap to just two points, 20-22, with 2:00 to go in the 3rd, but a series of OH turnovers allowed Cascade to open their lead to 29-22 at the start of the 4th. OH continued to have problems protecting the ball and Cascade went on to win 41-31. DJ Jackson lead the team with 10 points and Kelsey Rankin added 5 more - all free throws. Kate Rossman scored 4, Lia Pantoleon and Rayan Russell 3 each, and Tatiana Cumming, Erika Flores and Kaileen Burleson 2 each. This was the first game this year Coach B was able to play with a full roster, as the team had been hammered by injuries and losses to the varsity team.

The varsity game started out much like the JV game, with Cascade leading 11-2 halfway through the 1st period and continued to lead at halftime, 22-15. The Wildcats got fired up in the 3rd, outscoring Cascade 14-6. A nice shot by Clarissa Abadesco tied the game at 25 with 1:30 left in the 3rd and a pair of free throws 20 seconds later by Jessica Denmon gave OH their first lead of the game. Cascade was able to tie the game at 33 with 3:31 left in the game, but the Wildcats took back the lead with 3:10 remaining and prevented the Bruins from scoring again to secure a 37-33 win. Denmon led all scorers with 17 and Mowbray scored 12. Also scoring points were Abadesco with 6 and Jessica James with 2.

36 photos of the seniors and their friends, along with some of the band, are posted HERE.

A video clip with 6 highlights is posted HERE.

Next up for the girls is a trip to Snohomish on Friday and to Everett on Wednesday the 27th. They are next at home on Friday the 29th against Lake Stevens.

Youth wresting 1-16 and 1-17

OHHS was the scene of lots of wrestling over the weekend. Saturday saw the annual Wildcat Classic tournament while Sunday was a Western Washington Kids Wrestling League novice-only tournament.

There was some tough wrestling on Saturday. The Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club entered 25 wrestlers and less than half came away with some hardware. There was only 1 first-place finisher, 3 second-place finishers and 6 third place finishers. There were some very good young wrestlers on the mats and many exciting matches.

Sunday's league-only novice tournament was for 1st and 2nd year wrestlers only. The Wildcat entered 20 wrestlers and 5 emerged as champions. 3 others finished in second place and 7 in third place. 75% of the wrestlers earned a medal by the end of the day. Great job Wildcats!

A big shout-out to the tournament organizers who ensured the tournament ran smoothly, and another shout to the JV wrestlers who gave up their weekend to man the score tables at the 8 mats.

Full results are in the message board section of the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club website.

65 photos from Saturday's action are posted HERE.

Catching up with MS boys basketball - revised

Both OHMS and NWMS had home games last week with mixed results.

Tuesday the 12th of January saw Mt. Baker Middle School at North Whidbey Middle School. The 7th grade had little problems with their opponent, winning 39-20. Jones led the team with 19 points while 5 other Cougars also got on the board. The 8th grade had some problems on offense, scoring only 19 points to Mt. Baker's 44 points. Blake Budzisz led NW scoring with 8 points.

28 photos from the 7th grade game are posted HERE.

13 photos from the 8th grade game are HERE.

On Thursday it was LaVenture at OHMS. The 7th grade Panthers played some decent ball, but were on the short end of a 38-28 score. J. DeGuzman and B. Mertins both finished with double-digit scoring. The 8th grade game was close, but LaVenture again prevailed 54-49. Coach Collins said that B. Grace, A. Krantz, Z. Gibbs and G. Gorening all had noteworthy performances.

31 OHMS 7th grade photos are posted HERE.

31 OHMS 8th grade photos are HERE.

Boys Basketball 1-14-2010 Monroe

Looking for their 2^nd win in a row, the OHHS varsity boys basketball team went into action Thursday night at home against Monroe.

Over in the dome, the freshman team did not have a good first quarter against the Bearcats, scoring only 8 points to Monroe’s 23. After that initial stumble, the frosh team didn’t play badly, but could not gain any ground, and was on the low end of a 56-37 score. The boys are doing a great job spreading the ball around, as 7 different players scored points, but a 3-of-14 showing at the free throw line didn’t help things much. Dayne Herron was on top with 13 points, followed by Kiefer Hermann with 7. Chris Hailer scored 6, London Cook 4, Noel Cheeseboro 3, and Isaiah Trower and Anfernee Angkaw scored 2 each.

The JV team was missing 3 starters – Ed Denmon, Matt Burgoyne and David Tillotson, so pulled up Michael LaBelle from the freshman team for the game. The team played even with Monroe in the first, which ended in a 6-6 tie. Monroe went on a 6-0 run to start the 2^nd, but with 30 seconds left until halftime OH took a 1-point, 15-14 lead. Monroe was able to score once more in the final half-minute and led 16-15 at the half. Things fell apart a little in the 3^rd, as the Wildcats were outscored 19-15. The two teams played the 4^th period to a 9-9 tie, leaving Monroe on top 44-39. Only 4 Wildcats were able to get on the board in this game. Kevawn Brooks was the leader with 14 with Trace Paul close behind with 12. Corey Houck scored 2 in each period for an 8-point total and Connor Paul finished with 5 points. The team shot a respectable 9-of-12 from the free throw line but didn’t score any 3-pointers while Monroe dropped 3.

In the varsity game, Oak Harbor jumped to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a couple of nice shots by Rashaad Smith and Jay Stout. Monroe came back and at the end of the first the game was tied 12-12. The Wildcats opened a small lead by halftime, 28-24, but the 3^rd period was all Oak Harbor. 5-8 junior guard Jay Stout scored 12 of his game-high 27 points in that one period, many on steals or breakaway layups and Mike Washington, Jr. added 8 more as OH went on a 22-5 tear to take a 50-29 lead at the end of the 3^rd. Monroe tried to get back in the game, scoring 15 points in the 4^th but OH didn’t stop playing and won 63-44. In addition to Stout’s 27 points, Washington scored 18, Colby Anter 8, Rashaad Smith and Aaron Boesch 4 each and Ryan Fakkema 2.

A total of 95 photos from the freshman, JV and varsity games are posted HERE, along with some ‘faces in the crowd’ photos.

A single video clip with 7 highlights is posted HERE.

Boys Swimming 1-13-2010 vs Cascade

The OHHS boys swim team used both power and depth to blow Cascade out of the water last Wednesday at Vanderzicht Memorial Pool in Oak Harbor. The Wildcats won 9 of the 12 events and claimed at least two of the top 3 spots in all but 1 race.

Here are the full results

200 meter medley relay
1. OHHS - Jacob Jepsen, Yale Rosen, Brandon Vagt, Josh Jepson 1:58.43
2. CHS
3. OHHS - Cole Weinstein, Keaton Dieter, Brett Vagt, David Kusnick 2:27.78
4. CHS
5. OHHS - Jaxon Wolfe, Adam Smith, Matt Barrailler, Tucker Lundstrom 2:46.67
6. OHHS - Bailey Rivers, Anthony Lauersdorf, Steven Martinez, Raymond Green 3:07.59

200 freestyle
1. Devin Schell 2:11.48
2. Matt Bolte 2:11.53
3. CHS
4. John Kaltenbach 2:34.57
5. CHS

200 individual medley
1. Josh Jepsen 2:26.13
2. Cole Weinstein 2:38.17
3. Brett Vagt 2:47.50
4. CHS
5. CHS

50 free
1. CHS 26.69
2. Yale Rosen 26.72
3. Jacob Jepsen 27.09
4. CHS
5. CHS
6. David Kusnick 31.63
Tyler Buchanan 31.19
Judd Ford 32.48
Jaxon Wolfe 33.52
Tucker Lundstrom 34.21
Keaton Dieter 35.47
Raymond Green 35.58
Jonas Burke 36.37
Adam Smith 36.67
Anthony Lauersdorf 40.27
Bailey Rivers 40.36
Stacey Jappert 50.60

1 meter diving
1. Price Hu 120.85
2. Matt Reith 120.55
3. CHS

100 butterfly
1. Price Hu 1:01.59
2. Brandon Vagt 1:03.50
3. CHS
4. Cole Weinstein 1:14.84

100 freestyle
1. CHS 57.96
2. Matt Bolte 58.65
3. CHS
4. Ben Cardinal 1:05.55
5. CHS
6. Corey Butler 1:16.28
Judd Ford 1:16.41
Tucker Lundstrom 1:17.77
Flint Snyder 1:26.35
Tyler Long 1:30.50
Bailey Rivers 1:30.57
Steven Martinez 1:32.87

400 free
1. Devin Schell 4:48.93
2. CHS
3. John Kaltenbach 5:29.63
4. CHS
5. CHS

200 free relay
1. OHHS - Matt Bolte, Yale Rosen, Jacob Jepsen, Price Hu 1:49.33
2. CHS
3. OHHS - Corey Butler, Tyler Buchanan, Judd Ford, Devin Schell 2:10.02
4. OHHS - David Kusnick, Tucker Lundstrom, Adam Smith, Keaton Dieter 2:15.61
5. CHS
6. OHHS - Bailey Rivers, Flint Snyder, Anthony Lauersdorf, Tyler Long 2:33.73

100 backstroke
1. Ben Cardinal 1:12.65
2. CHS
3. Brett Vagt 1:18.85
4. Jaxon Wolfe 1:30.46
5. CHS
Tyler Buchanan 1:37.93
Flint Snyder 1:38.34
Raymond Green 1:52.94
Jonas Burke 1:56.54

100 breaststroke
1. CHS
2. Yale Rosen 1:14.88
3. Brandon Vagt 1:18.46
4. CHS
5. David Kusnick 1:36.52
Matt Barrailler 1:28.35
Steven Martinez 1:46.31
Keaton Dieter 1:46.31
Adam Smith 1:50.91

400 free relay
1. OHHS - Price Hu, Matt Bolte, Jacob Jepsen, Josh Jepsen 3:59.86
2. CHS
3. OHHS - Corey Butler, Tyler Buchanan, Judd Ford, John Kaltenbach 5:06.25
4. CHS
5. OHHS - Raymond Green, Tyler Long, Jonas Burke, Logan Faught

47 photos, mostly of diving, breaststroke and butterfly events, are posted HERE.

New WESCO divisions

Oak Harbor will be moving to 3A next year and as a result will face many new opponents as WESCO league officials have reconfigured the league into a North, South, and now separate 3A divisions.

WESCO North will be Arlington, Lake Stevens, Marysville-Pilchuck, Monroe, Snohomish and Stanwood.

The South will have Cascade, Edmonds-Woodway, Jackson, Kamiak and Mariner.

WESCO 3A will be OH, Everett, Glacier Peak, Lynnwood, Meadowdale, Shorecrest and Shorewood.

The new alignment will apply to the following team sports: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball and Wrestling.

The current North/South alignment will continue for the individual sports: Cross Country, Track, Golf and Swimming

While the new alignment will increase travel times, it moves OH from being one of the smallest 4A school into one of the largest 3A schools.

Boys Basketball 1-12-2010

The Wildcat varsity boys basketball team won their first league game of the year with an impressive 58-44 win over Marysville-Pilchuck.

The evening started in the dome with the Freshman team having a hard time in the 1st period. MP jumped to a 23-8 lead, and although OH played even the rest of the game, they couldn't overcome the early hole and fell 56-37. Free throws didn't help the team either, as the boys were 3 of 14 from the line. Leading the frosh team was Dayne Herron with 13 points. Kiefer Hermann added 7, Chris Hailer 6, London Cook 4, Noel Cheeseboro 3, and Anfernee Angkaw and Isaiah Trower scored 2 each.

In the main gym, the JV game was a close, well-played, exciting game. Behind six 1st period points by David Tillotson, the Wildcats led 13-7 at the first break. The team let up a little in the 2nd, allowing MP to get back in the game, but OH still led 21-20 at the half. MP scored 15 points in the 3rd against OH's 11 points, building a 35-32 lead at the end of the 3rd. Kevawn Brooks, who had only 4 points through 3 periods exploded for 10 points in the 4th. Tillotson added 5 more as OH was able to overcome and defeat the Tomahawks 53-49. Brooks finished with 14 points and Tillotson 13. Ed Denmon was also in double figures with 11. Also getting in the scorebook were Matt Burgoyne and Connor Paul with 6 each and Corey Houck with 3.

It was another exciting game when the two varsity teams came out. Oak Harbor did a good job of spreading the ball around. 8 players scored points and nobody scored more that 5 in any quarter. The Wildcats were down by 1 at the first buzzer, 11-10, but opened up for 17 points in the 2nd to take a 27-18 lead at halftime. In the 3rd, OH led by 20 points, 42-22 at one point, but MP crawled back into the game, closing the gap to 4 at one point in the 4th. The Wildcats then dug in and held off the late MP charge to win 58-44. Rashaad Smith led the Wildats with 12 points, two of them on a great one-handed putback. Mike Washington, Jr. scored 10, Colby Anter 9, Stevie Bratt 8, Jay Stout 7, Ryan Fakkema 6, Denzel Hardin and Aaron Boesch 3 each.

Video highlights are HERE.

Wrestling 2010-01-12 @ Marysville

Forfeits again hurt the varsity Wildcat wrestlers as OH gave up 18 points to MP by not filling all the weight classes.

Oak Harbor did secure 3 wins on the night. Brandon Stratton continues to impress, pinning McChesney in 4:23. Top-10 ranked Colton Elliot shut out Bengen 13-0, and Zach Loescher, in a good fit at 171 lbs, continued his win streak by pinning Swanson in 4:47.

JV results are not available.

Girls basketball 1-11-2010 at Marysville

The girls had a rough time in Marysville Monday against the Tomahawks, losing two of the three games.

The Freshman team, playing at Cedarcrest Middle School had an easy time for most of the game. The girls opened a 8-2 first period lead behind 6 points by Jalani Bobo, and in the 2nd and 3rd periods exploded for 14 points in each, leading 36-13 to start the 4th. MP mounted a mini-comeback in the final period, outscoring the Wildcats 15-6, but it was too little, too late as the freshmen cruised to a 42-28 win. Leading the team was Ciera Wiser with 12 points. Bobo finished with 8, Taru Ahonen 7, Emily Saar and Marissa Lewis 4 each, Morgan Young 3 and Paula Gass 2.

JV, still missing some key players, played hard, but it wasn't enough. The Wildcats trailed 24-15 at the half and wound up losing 36-26. Lia Pantoleon led the team with 9 points, all on 3-pointers. Tatiana Cumming scored 6, Kelsey Rankin 4, Regina Carter 3, while Kate Rossman and Erika Flores had 2 each.

For 3 quarters the varsity game was exciting. Oak Harbor trailed by just 2 points, 18-16 at the end of the first and by 1 point, 28-27 at halftime. MP opened up a 6-point lead to end the 3rd after holding OH to just 7 points, and held the Cats to just 3 points in the 4th on the way to a 52-37 win. Only 3 Wildcats scored any points. Clarissa Abadesco sank a single free throw, Nicki Mowbray had 11 and Jessica Denmon scored a game-high 25.

No photos, but a video highlight clip is posted HERE.

Wrestling 2010-01-08 at Stanwood

At Stanwood for a rare Friday night wrestling meet, the Oak Harbor varsity Wildcats had some great individual performances, but couldn’t muster enough team points to overcome the Spartans, falling 38-30.

The evening’s event started with the JV matches. Stanwood has a very large team so every eligible wrestler got to hit the mat for some live wrestling.

David Payne went first at 140 lbs vs Kelly. He had some troubles early but with just a few seconds left in the match scored a takedown to close the score to 8-9, but he was unable to turn his opponent and earn near-fall points before time expired.

Next was sophomore Jennifer Fremd in her first year of high school wrestling. At 145 lbs she is giving up a lot of muscle mass to the boys, but still works hard to hold off getting pinned. In her match against Stone, she didn’t get pinned until late in the 2nd period.

At 160 lbs Ver Starr led Lewis 8-4 when 36 seconds into the 3rd round he got the pin.

Corey Shannon also pinned his opponent, Jewell, taking 5:10 to get him down.

Javon Payne had the quickest win of the JV match, sticking Brandt in just 1:06.

In the only other non-pin match, James Engen, who weighs in at about 190 pounds took on Stanwood’s heavyweight girl, Laura Charboneau. James had little problems getting takedown points but couldn’t get her turned for the pin. He had a scare thrown into him late when Charboneau took advantage of a slip and had James on his back. It was near the line and James was able to escape and get back to his feet. He wound up winning the match 17-9.

In the final JV match, Jordan Green pinned Candia in 3:25.

Varsity action started with the 285 lb weight class. Senior Phil Rodgers is still out with an injury so Matt Wilson filled in to take on Hatley, one of WESCO’s top wrestlers. Hatley showed his power by pinning Wilson in 40 seconds. It not to be the only quick pin of the night and wasn’t even the quickest pin of the night!

103 lbs was a double forfeit as Corey Trimbur again moved up to 112 lbs to get a match. He faced off against Casey Mather, who was a good wrestler. Corey had no problems taking her down to the mat but couldn’t get the leverage for the pin. He won by tech fall, 17-1.

Ben Pralle was next at 119 lbs taking on Tcheng. Ben kept his opponent on the bottom for most of the match, winning 13-8 and putting the Wildcat team in the lead 8-6.

The lead didn’t last long as Ryuta Mean got pinned and the Wildcats had to forfeit 130 lbs to Stanwood.

Next up was Josh Crebbin who was wrestling well but fell into a trap and had a quick pin called on him in the 3rd period.

At 140 lbs, sophomore Brandon Stratton took on Wade Weinert. Brandon went up 4-0 early, but a penalty point, escape and takedown by Weinert tied the score at 4 at the end of the first period. Brandon had to take some injury time after the buzzer due to some cramping in his legs. Even though he went back to the mat, it was easy to see that he was hampered by the pain. Weinert took advantage of this and won the match 9-6.

Colton Elliot’s 145 lb match saw the fastest pin of the day. It took Colton just 32 seconds to put Pelham on his back for 6 team points. Colton is currently ranked #1 at 140 lbs in WESCO, #6 in 4A and #7 in state.

Next was Steven Souza at 152 lbs against Bennet. Steven worked hard but with just 31 seconds left in the match was pinned.

Stanwood’s Eidsness, one of WESCO’s top 160 lbs wrestlers won a tech fall over Justin Everett, who again put on a clinic on proper bridging technique.

The 160 lb match would be Stanwood’s last win of the night, but it was enough to secure the win.

Zach Loescher, now down to 171 lbs beat Aufai 11-2, allowing the two points off of escapes.

Hunter Vail showed off some of his wrestling skills by pinning King in just 45 seconds.

Finally Drew Culver used 3:15 to pin Randall.

The wrestlers next travel to Marysville on Jan 12th, then have a home meet against Cascade on Tuesday the 19th.

The day after the Stanwood meet, the team traveled to Everett for the annual Everett Classic tournament. Stratton overcame his Friday loss to take 1st place in the tournament at 145 lbs. He won his first 3 bouts by pin and won the championship match by a score of 24-8. Colton Elliot started the day seeded first at 140 pounds and finished the day as tournament champ. On the way he recorded two pins, won his semifinal by a close 8-6 score and won first place with a 7-4 match score.

Also placing in the tournament were Corey Trimbur, 3rd at 103 lbs and Hunter Vail, 4th at 189 lbs.

44 images from the meet are posted HERE.

Video is HERE.

BBB 2010-01-05 vs Arlington

The OHHS boys basketball team started the new year with a game at home against Arlington.

In the dome, the Freshman team had a hard time, losing 55-33. Dayne Herron led the team in scoring with 10 points. Michael LaBelle and Ian Kolste scored 5 each, Anthony Stewart and Jackson Knoll 4 each, Chris Hailer and Kiefer Hermann 2 each. Taite Hausemann scored 1 point. On the plus side, Knoll and Kolste were both perfect from the free throw line, with Knoll hitting 4-4 and Kolste 5-5.

Arlington led throughout the JV game, but it wasn’t a blowout. The boys were slow to get started, getting on the board with a free throw with 3 minutes left in the 1st period and didn’t score a field goal until the 2:38 mark. Even though, it was only 7-5 for Arlington at the end of the first. The second period was a different story with Arlington building a 12-point lead and going into the half ahead 26-14. The Wildcats were able to cut into the lead in the 2nd half, but not enough as the Eagles won 44-36. Kevawn Brooks was the scoring leader with 13 and Trace Paul added 7. Corey Houck scored 5, Connor Paul 4 and David Tillotson 3 while Matt Burgoyne and Cameron Faulkner had 2 each.

The Wildcats played a decent first quarter, leading 8-4 halfway through the period. Arlington came back to take a 1-point, 11-10 lead at the buzzer. As the teams got warm, scoring increased. OH hit for 13 points in the 2nd but allowed the Eagles to score 20, including a pair of 3-pointers and Arlington led 31-23 at halftime. The two teams played even in the 3rd as Arlington took a 43-36 lead into the 4th. The final period was marked by a lot of free throws, with the two teams taking a total of 13 trips to the line. Oak Harbor was able to cut the Arlington lead to just 5 points, 47-42, halfway through the period but Arlington was sharp at the line at the end of the game and won 60-50. Mike Washington, Jr. scored 22 to lead the Cats, Aaron Boesch and Colby Anter had 7 each, Jay Stout 6, and Connor Paul, Rashaad Smith and Ryan Fakkema scored 2 each.

A single video clips with 5 highlights is posted HERE

85 photos are posted HERE.

GBB 2010-01-07 Stanwood

In their first home game of 2010 the OH girls basketball team took on the Stanwood Spartans.

Over in the dome, the freshman team had no problems handling their opponent. At the end of the 1^st it was all OH, literally, as the girls led 12-0. The onslaught continued as the Cats built a 25-9 halftime lead. Things slowed down a little in the 2^nd half but OH won both of the final two periods to win 42-18. Two players were in double figures – Ciera Wiser with 12 and Taru Ahonen with 10. Also scoring were Jalani Bobo with 7, Marissa Lewis 6, Joem Evangelista 4 and Morgan Young 3. The girls did have trouble at the free throw line, sinking only 8 shots of the 22 attempted.

Things didn’t go as well for the JV team. OH led 7-4 at the end of the 1^st period, but gave up the lead near the end of the 2^nd and Stanwood led 15-13 at halftime. In the 2^nd half the Stanwood offense took off, scoring 16 and 18 in the final two periods while OH just couldn’t find the basket. After leading by only 2 at halftime, the Spartans won the game by 19, 49-30. No Wildcat scored in double figures. Lia Pantoleon led the team with 8, Tatiana Cumming scored 6, Kelsey Rankin 5, Kate Rossmand and Rayan Russell 4 each and Erika Flores 3. The JV girls continue to struggle at the free throw line, going 5-11.

The varsity game was very close right up to the end. The Spartans led by 1 at the end of the first but the Wildcats went into the locker room at halftime leading by 2 points, 20-18. Jessica Denmon, who had been quiet in the first half, scored 6 of her 16 points in the 3^rd period as OH held a slim 31-30 lead to start the 4^th period. Denmon hit another 7 points and Nicki Mowbray scored 7 of her 15 in the final period as the Wildcats pulled away to win 49-41. Stanwood stayed in the game behind seven 3-point scores and a perfect 6-6 from the line.

OH dropped in three 3-pointers and was 12 of 19 from the line. Denmon led the scoring with Mowbray just 1 point behind with 15. Janelle Yoshimoto, back from a long injury recovery, scored 8, Jessica James and Emilie Renninger had 3 each and Clarissa Abadesco 2.

40 Photos of JV and Varsity action are HERE.

A 1:53 video clip from the game is posted HERE.

Wrestling 2010-01-06 @ Arlington

On Wednesday, January 6th the Wresting team headed to Arlington for their first dual meet of the new year.

There were a total of 8 JV matches with OH winning half. Of the 8 matches, only one went the distance, with Shannon beating Adams 21-7. Other winners were Turner over Holglum in 4:32, Javon Payne over Canaria in 1:29, and Green over Melhan in just 37 seconds.

Varsity bouts started at 145 pounds with Brandon Stratton taking on Badgley. It wasn’t much of a contest as Stratton won 15-6, giving the Wildcats an early 4-0 lead.
Ducken and Everett both got pinned in the next two matches, putting Arlington up 12-4, but Zach Loescher closed it a little with a tight 6-2 win over Love.

OH lost the next match by pin and Arlington led 18-7 until Drew Culver used only 1:12 to pin Canaria to make it 18-13 for Arlington.

Not to be outdone, Arlington recorded a pin of their own at 285 pounds to re-open the lead to 11, 24-13.

Dropping to the lightweights, there was a double forfeit at 103 pounds as Corey Trimbur elected to move up to 112 pounds and it was a good move as he pinned Rand in just 1:23.
Oak Harbor got another pin when Ben Pralle, at 119 lbs, needed even less time, 1:11, to pin Davis and gave OH their first (and as it turned out, only) lead of the night, 25-24.

Next up was Meany against a very good Amundson. Meany wrestled well, but Amundson was able to record a pin in 4:44.

OH had to forfeit at 130 lbs, increasing Arlington’s lead to 36-25. Oak Harbor still had a chance, as if the Wildcats recorded two pins in the final two matches, they could win by one point, and even a tech fall by one of the wrestlers would result in a tie.

First up in the final two matches was freshman Josh Crebbin against senior Nava. Josh wrestled hard and took the match into the 3rd period, but Nava was able to get Crebbin on his back for a pin with 51 seconds left in the match.

In the final match of the night, Colton Elliot at 140 pounds also went into the 3rd period against Berg, but Colton got the pin with 38 seconds left.

Arlington would up with 42 points to Oak Harbor’s 31.

Next up for the wrestlers is a trip to Stanwood for a rare Friday night match. JV starts at 5:45 and varsity at 7pm.

One video clip, featuring 6 wrestlers, is HERE.

46 photos of JV and Varsity action are posted HERE.

Youth wrestling - 1/2/10 at Burlington

The Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club wasted no time getting right back into wrestling in the new year with a trip to Burlington on January 2nd for a tournament.

Results aren't available yet, but should be posted at the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club site in the near future.


45 photos of various wrestlers are posted HERE.

Girls Basketball 12-30 and 30, 2009 - Santa Slam Tournament

The Oak Harbor girls basketball teams hosted their 4th annual Santa Slam tournament at OHHS on December 30th and 31st. The tournament featured Anacortes, Eatonville, Kentridge and Archbishop Murphy in addition to OHHS.

On Dec 30th the freshman team took on a good Murphy team. ABM opened a 17-6 1st period lead, but OH fought hard, closing to within 3 points, 21-18 at halftime. Murphy took control in the 2nd half, adding 5 points to their lead to win 43-35. The girls spread the ball around, with 7 players getting points. Leading the Cats was Bet Riba with 8, followed by Taru Ahonen with 7. Ciera Wiser hit 6, Jalani Bobo 5, Joem Evangelista 4, Morgan young 3 and Marissa Lewis 2. Riba and Ahonen are both exchange students - Bet from Spain and Taru from Finland. It's the first home game that either of the girls were high scorers.

In JV action on the first day, the OH girls played Anacortes. The game started a bit slow, with OH holding a 6-2 lead midway through the first period and holding on to lead 8-4 at the first horn. The Anacortes defense got tough in the 2nd period, holding OH to just 3 points. Lia Pantoleon scored early and hit for one free throw with 1:47 left in the half. The OH defense did a good job, but Anacortes was able to take a 13-11 lead into the locker room at the half. The Wildcat offense had more trouble in the 3rd. They Kelsey Rankin scored less than 30 seconds into the 3rd period, but the Wildcats would not score again until the 3:22 mark. They scored 3 times late but still trailed by 1 at the horn. The game was tied 4 different times in the 4th, but a shot by Erika Flores with just 12 seconds left won the game for OH 29-27. Lia Pantoleon was the top scorer for the Wildcat JV with 11 points, Rankin scored 10, DJ Jackson 4, Flores 2 and Heavenly Cooper 2. The team is still struggling at the line, earning just 2 points on 11 attempts.

The varsity team opened the tournament against Eatonville, a Nisqually League 2A team with a strong girls basketball program. Oak Harbor started the game on a tear, holding Eatonville scoreless for almost half of the first period and led 15-2 at end of the first. OH opened the lead to 19-2 with just under 2 minutes into the second period, but that's when Eatonville woke up and started to play offensive basketball. They went on a 12-5 run to trail by 10, 24-14 at the half. In the 3rd, Eatonville continued to pick away at the OH lead and took it away with 3:24 left in the 3rd in the middle of a 16-2 run and led 40-35 at the end of the 3rd. Eatonville's lead was a big as 9 in the 4th but never lower than 4 as OH lost 58-47. Even though she fouled out with 3 minutes left in the game, Jessica Denmon was the high scorer with 16. Nicki Mowbray scored 13, Shantae Young 7, Emilie Renninger 5, Naomi Walker 4 and Clarissa Abadesco 2.

On day 2 the freshman team took on Anacortes, handling them easily. The Wildcats led 8-3 at the first buzzer and 15-9 at the half. The defense held Anacortes to just 4 points in each of the final two periods and won 31-17 to take 3rd place. Ciera Wiser took scoring honors with 10, Marissa Lewis and Jalani Bobo scored 5 each, Morgan Young and Taru Ahonen 4 each and Joem Evangelista 3.

Since the varsity team was in the consolation bracket, they played before the JV team on day 2, taking on Kentridge from the South Puget Sound League. The girls were not about to make the same mistake they made against Eatonville. They opened up a 19-8 first period lead behind 15 points by Jessica Denmon and led 40-16 at the half. Both teams were a bit flat in the 3rd, but Oh was able to increase their lead to 16 points and cruised home in the 4th to win 57-26 and earn 3rd place. Denmon was dialed in for the game, scoring 37 points, just 3 points shy of the school records and placing her on the top 10 list for single game scoring. Nicki Mowbray scored 8, Jessica James and Naomi Walker 4 each, and Clarissa Abadesco and Shantae Young 2 each.

The JV championship game features the Wildcats against Eatonville. OH spotted Eatonville a 5-0 lead, but a 3-pointer by Erika Flores with a minute to go in the first gave OH a 9-8 lead. The 2nd period was slow with little scoring, ending in a 14-14 score. The 3rd was a little better, but OH still had problems getting well-shot balls to go through the hoop and trailed 21-19 to start the 4th. There was no scoring for the first two minutes, when Eatonville sank one to lead 23-19, and the next basket was another Eatonville shot with 3:48 left. OH didn't get any 4th-period points until Lia Pantoleon scored with 2:22 left. Lia hit for 3 just 30 seconds later then hit a free throw with 48 seconds left to cut the Eatonville lead to just two, 27-25. Eatonville scored with 10 seconds left then Heavenly Cooper scored with 1.2 seconds left, but it just wasn't enough time to steal the inbounds pass and score. 29-27 was the final with the JV girls taking home 2nd place in the tournament.

The girls jump back into league play with a trip to Arlington on January 5th and are at home on Thursday the 7th against Stanwood.

93 photos from the tournament are posted HERE. All of the action photos are of the freshman games, and there are team photos of each of the 3 teams and individual photos of most of the players. There were a few missing and they will be added as the season progresses.

A single, 3-minute clip of highlights from both days is posted HERE.

Catching up with boys AAU basketball

The last boys AAU games were played at OHHS just before the Christmas break, and it wasn't a good day for OH basketball.

Of the 8 games played, the Wildcat boys were able to win only 1 when the 7th grade team beat Arlington 51-36. The 6th grade game against Arlington was close, with OH on the short end of a 37-32 score. None of the other games were very close.

The 8th grade team had a big loss when one of the starters went down in the first game with a broken ankle and will be out for the rest of the season.

For these games, in addition to still photos, there are also a number of video clips posted.

Video clips are HERE. Instead of posting each highlight separately, each team has a combined clip.

5th grade photos are posted HERE. There's just 9 photos, including a couple of team photos.

6th grade photos are posted HERE. This group has just two team photos this time.

7th grade photos are posted HERE. 36 photos total, including team photos.

Sorry, no photos of the 8th grade team at all this time.

The teams play next on January 9th with games at Monroe and at Kamiak. They are next a home on Jan 30th with games against King's and Marysville. The first games kick off at 1:30 pm and are free to watch.