Boys Basketball vs Sedro-Woolley 12-27-08

The 1st Annual Santa Slam boys basketball tournament (in abbreviated form) continued on Saturday, December 27th, with the Oak Harbor Wildcats facing off against Friday’s winners, the Sedro-Woolley Cubs.
Again, the Wildcat freshmen had an exciting game. The ‘Cats were in control throughout the first half, building a 23-12 halftime lead. In the 3rd, however, the Cubs came out on fire and went on a 20-6 streak to lead at the end of the 3rd 32-29. Oak Harbor was able to settle down in the final period. With Ed Denmon scoring all 5 of his points and Josiah Miller all 6 of his in the 4th period, the Wildcats were able to regain the lead and build a 10-point lead. The Cubs weren’t done yet, and with just a few minutes left chipped away at the OH lead, but the ‘Cats were able to hold on for a 47-41 win. Since Sedro beat Coupeville on Friday and OH beat Sedro on Saturday, if the Wildcats can get the win against Coupeville on December 31st (the final game of the tournament), they will be tournament champions! Matt Burgoyne led the Wildcat scoring with 20 points, 15 of them in the 1st half. Burgoyne scored in every quarter as did Kevawn Brooks with 10 total. Others scoring were Patrick Bell 2, Paul Johannsen 2, Denmon 5, Miller 6, and Elias Whitefoot 2.

An early 4-0 lead by the OH JV team gave hope, as Colby Anter scored twice in the 1st minute and added a pair of free throws later, but an 8-8 tied at the 3:30 mark in the 1st went on to be a 17-10 Sedro lead at the end of the 1st period. In the 2nd, both teams had problems getting the ball in the hoop. Sedro scored quickly, then the game went back and forth until around the 3:15 mark, when Sedro scored again. The Wildcats didn’t score until 2:55 in the 2nd. At half the score was 23-17, with OH scoring 7 in the 2nd and Sedro scoring only 6. Starting the 2nd half, The Wildcats showed some spark as Anter, Chance Gill and Nate Young all scored twice and the defense held the Cubs to 10 points. Both of Young’s scores came in the last two minutes of the 3rd, with the 2nd shot tying the game at 31. The Cubs scored once more, then Connor Paul tied the game at 33 with 21 seconds left. The tie continued to the 6:14 mark when Sedro scored two, followed 10 seconds later by a Steven Bratt score to tie the game again. At this point the Cubs went on a 10-1 to build a 45-36 lead with just over 2 minutes left in the game. From that point, the Cubs went into their “keep-away” offense, so the Wildcats were only able to score twice more as the game ended in a 49-41 Cub win. Colby Anter had 14 for the Wildcats, 10 in the 1st half and Nate Young scored 8. Steven Bratt and Chance Gill had 4 each, Josh Evans and Ryan Fakkema each hit a 3-pointer for their only score, Connor Paul and Blake Schulle had 2 each and David Tillotson hit one free throw. The JV boys did well at the FT line, hitting 5 of 7 attempts.

In the 1st period of the varsity game, the Wildcats started out fast, building a 5-0 lead in the 1st two minutes and led 7-4 until the 4:16 mark when Sedro hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. A score by Rashaad Smith and Denzel Hardin (with a great behind-the-back pass from Beaux Haley) gave the lead back to the Wildcats 11-7, but by the end of the period Sedro was able to tie the game at 12 each. In the 2nd, Zac Cole got a pair of scores early, but starting at the 6:05 point, the Cubs went on a 12-1 run lasting until the 2:50 mark when Haley put it in for two, but at the half, the Sedro-Woolley Cubs led 32-22. The 3rd period was slow, with each team scoring 11 points, 6 of the OH points coming off free throws. The 3rd ended with a 43-33 Cub lead. In the 4th, the Wildcats just couldn’t get the shots off, and it was halfway through the period before the ‘Cats got their first score. With 2:21 left in the game the Cubs held a 53-38 lead, but a 3-pointer by Bratt at the 2 minute mark closed it to 53-41, and ended the scoring for the game. Mike Washington, Jr. was the leader for the Wildcats, hitting for 13 points and going 7-for-9 from the line. Denzel Hardin had 5, Beaux Haley, Zac Cole, Jay Stout and Rashaad Smith each had 4, Aaron Boesch and Steven Bratt had 3 each and Jimmy Edens 1.

Next up for the Wildcats are games against Coupeville on New Years’ Eve, starting at 1pm with the freshman and JV games, then varsity at 3pm.

69 Photos of freshman, JV and Varsity action, including two photos of the Sedro varsity team with their trophy can be found by clicking HERE.

5 video clips of the JV and varsity games are HERE.

Santa Slam - Coupeville vs Sedro-Woolley

It was an interesting first day of the 1st annual Santa Slam at Oak Harbor High School for the boys. The two-day tournament originally was to feature Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Sedro-Woolley and Ferndale teams, but Ferndale was forced to drop out at the last moment, so events were revised, with the first day being just Sedro vs Coupeville at all 3 levels - freshman, JV and Varsity. Oak Harbor will play Sedro-Woolley on day 2, and the Oak Harbor-Coupeville contest will move to December 31st.

In the Freshman game, it was all Sedro from the start. With only 6 players total, the Coupeville boys ran out of gas, and Sedro ran to a large victory.
The JV game looked as if it would go the same way, with Sedro-Woolley jumping out to a 15-point lead. Coupeville was able to close the game to 5 at the half, and late in the game closed it even further to just 3 points, but Sedro was able to drain a couple of key free throws to preserve the win.
The varsity teams played a close game throughout. In the first period, Coupeville seemed in control, but Sedro stayed with them. Late in the game Coupeville had built a 6-point lead at one time, but at the end of regulation the game was tied. In the overtime period, with the score again tied, 70-70 and only 12 seconds left, Sedro called a timeout. It worked, as the Cubs were able to get a 3-point shot off and after bouncing around a bit, dropped in the net with just 2 seconds, and Coupeville just didn't have enough time to inbounds the ball and get their own shot off.

Lots of photos have been posted, some better than others. Enjoy!
47 Freshman photos are HERE.

70 JV photos are HERE

89 Varsity photos are HERE.

JV Wrestling results - @ Snohomish

13 JV matches were held before the varsity event last Tuesday, Dec 16th at Snohomish High School and the Wildcats won 6 of them.
At 103 lbs, Brandon Strickland beat Sweetz 12-0 for the major decision win.
Gabe Dye got 2 points for a reverse in the 3rd period to win against Kuhen 6-4.
Josh McVey was all over his opponent for a tech fall, 19-1
Nick Farrell was losing to Mike Lablanc 13-6 in the 2nd when he got the reverse and pinned LaBlanc in 3 minutes exactly.
Collin Higinbotham was also losing in the 3rd, 7-4, but wound up pinning Baier with just :45 left in the match.
The final winner, Kyle Magana, was down 5-3, but in the 3rd period scored an escape for 1 point, then a takedown for 2 points to win his match 6-5.

OHHS Boys Basketball vs Snohomish - Dec 17th

At home for the 2nd game in a row, the Wildcat boys basketball team hosted the Snohomish Panthers.
The freshman game wasn’t looking good at the end of the first period, as Snoho jumped out to an 11-5 lead, and maintained that 7-point advantage to the half. In the 3rd period, the Wildcats found some offense, spread among 5 different players, and closed the gap to four – 28-24 and the end of 3. In the final period, the boys stepped up the defense and held the Panthers to only 6 points, and Wildcats, behind seven 4th-period points by Kevawn Brooks, took the lead late in the game. The Panthers were then forced to foul, and Josiah Miller sank some free throws near the end to secure the 39-36 win. Brooks was tops in points with 15, Miller had 6, Matt Burgoyne, Ed Denmon and Michael Mack each had 5 and Elias Whitefoot had 3.
The JV team was also down early, scoring only 6 in the first to Snohomish’s 16, and the Panthers increased their lead to 32-13 at the half. In the 3rd, the JV boys closed the gap by holding Snohomish to just 6 points in each of the last two periods. We scored 14 in the 3rd to make the score 38-27, but couldn’t close much more as the game ended 44-35 in favor of Snohomish. Nate young and Stevie Bratt shared high-score honors with 11 each; Connor Paul had 5, Ryan Fakkema 3 and Colby Anter 2.
The varsity game started out with a bang. The Wildcats secured the opening tip and Jay Stout drove in for a quick two. Snoho put in a score and added a free throw to take a 3-2 lead with 6:43 in the 1st. Mike Washington answered by hitting a trey to put the Wildcats back on top 5-3 – a lead the Wildcats would hold until the last few minutes of the game. Beaux Haley had a couple of scores, and Washington hit another 3 to give the ‘Cats a 7-point lead, 18-11 with under 2 minutes in the first. Snohomish snuck in a layup with 2 seconds left but the Wildcats led at the end of the first 19-16. Scoring in the 2nd was back and forth, with the Panthers closing to within one before the Wildcats opened it back up to 4 to end the half 33-29. Halfway through the 3rd, Jimmy Edens hit a jumper from the foul line and Jay Stout also scored as Oak Harbor increased the lead to 42-32. A couple of steals and free throws later, Snohomish had lowered the Oak Harbor lead to 44-40 as the 3rd period ended. Snohomish got a quick score as the 4th period started, then Oak Harbor started playing the delay game, content to pass the ball back and forth, using up time. The Wildcats didn’t attempt a shot until 6:28 was left in the game. That shot didn’t go in, but 15 second later Washington scored to make it 46-42. The Wildcats stopped the next Snohomish possession, but a travel call gave it back to Snoho and they went on to score to make it a 2-point game once again. Aaron Boesch hit a jumper with 4:45 left to increase the lead back to 4, but a score and free throw by the Panthers closed it to just one point with 3:37 left. Now it was Snohomish’s turn to play ‘keep away’, which they did until 2:51 left, when they were fouled by a Wildcat player, and hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 48. Then, with just one minute left in the game, Snohomish stole the ball and ran the fast break for a score. With just 12 seconds left Coach Washington called a timeout to set up a play. The ball was inbounded, and with just a few seconds left, Jay Stout shot from the top of the key, missed, and Josh Fikse’s putback rolled off the rim, and the horn sounded before he could grab the ball and put it back up again, and the Wildcats lost to Snohomish by just 2 points, 50-48. Mike Washington scored 17 to lead the Wildcats, Jay Stout scored 12 and Beaux Haley 10. Josh Fikse, Rashaad Smith scored 3 each, and Aaron Boesch and Jimmy Edens had two each.
The Wildcat boys may be playing at home on Friday, weather permitting, then may travel to Lake Stevens on Saturday, again, depending on Mother Nature.

18 photos, of varsity only, are posted HERE.

3 video clips, including your block, Jimmy, are posted to the YouTube site.

Middle School Volleyball OHMS vs Anacortes 11 Dec

A late post, but back on Dec 11th, Anacortes came to OHMS. Results aren't available, but 36 photos are, including team pictures of the OHMS 8th grade team.

Middle School Basketball - NWMS @ OHMS Dec 17th

The first of 4 meetings of the Oak Harbor Middle School and North Whidbey Middle School basketball teams was on December 16th at OHMS.
The 7th grade teams kicked things off, and the game was all OHMS from the opening tip, and by the end of the first period it was 21-4 for Oak Harbor. NW got into the game in the 2nd period, tripling their score to 12, but OH scored 9 of their own to take a 30-12 lead into the locker room at the half. The Oak Harbor offensive onslaught continued in the 3rd, as the Panthers built a 55-15 lead. At the end of the 3rd, the scoreboard was reset, and in the 4th period each team scored 9 points to make the total score 64-24 for Oak Harbor. Leading the Panthers was Anthony Smith, who hit 7 in the final period to bring his total to 15. Also in double figures were Drew Washington with 14, Matt Zafra with 13 and an unidentified player, #15, with 10. Others scoring for the Panthers were Jay Angeles, Casiano Atienza and Andrae Gray. For the NW Cougars, Jahleel Vester lead the team with 15. Tom Horton added 5 and Antonio Unpingco had 4.
The result was reversed in the 8th grade game, with NW sprinting out to a 21-8 1st period lead behind the 15 points dropped in by Devon Loftin in the period. Things settled down in the 2nd as NW scored 11 to OH’s 9 and at halftime the score stood at 32-21 for NWMS. Oak Harbor Middle mounted a comeback in the 2nd half, but North Whidbey built too much of a lead in the first, and won the game 59-54. Loftin led all scoring with 30 points, 20 of them in the 1st half. Tyler Young was next with 8, then an unidentified player, #41, with 6. Allen Hills scored 5, Dayne Herron 4 and Jackson Knoll 2. For the Panthers it was Mark Fabro on top with 14, then Kiefer Hermann with 8, Conner Scott and Treton Cargill each had 5, Dallyn Schmidtlein 4 and #24 1.
This was the last game for both teams before breaking for Christmas.

53 photos from the 7th grade game are HERE
8th grade photos (58) are HERE.
Video highlights, one from each game, are posted HERE.

Boys Swimming 12-16-08

The boys swim team swam in a tri meet at Vanderzicht Pool against Snohomish and Glacier Peak High Schools on Tuesday, coming away with wins in both.
The boys won all but one event vs Glacier Peak, coming away with a 137-26 win.
Against Snohomish, last years' 4A State Champions, the Wildcats only won 5 of the 12 events, but our team's depth allowed them to take the meet by a 101-81 score.
Full results will be posted later this week.

Wrestling at Snohomish 12-16-08

The Wrestlers traveled to Snohomish for their first WESCO North dual meet of the season, and did not fare well against a stacked Panther team, as only 3 Oak Harbor wrestlers won their matches.
Connar Zimmerman won an 8-1 decision over Kalmey, Jarred Tyson won by Major Decision of Dellino 12-2, and Josh Barton pinned Mitchell in the first period. The Wildcats had to forfeit at 112 and 189, and senior Brian Howard defaulted his match due to injury.
JV results will be posted as soon as we can get them.
The wrestlers will be at Everett High School on Thursday, weather permitting.

Local girls in National Cross Country race

Adrianna Royal and Allison Duvenez both competed at USATF Junior Olympic Nationals for Cross Country in Richmond, Virginia today. Adrianna earned All American honors with her 25th place finish of 19.36 (PR for Adrianna.) Allison also had a strong race, finishing 29th out of 190 Intermediate (15/16 y/o) women. Both girls run for Federal Way Track Club.

Wrestling - Spud Walley Invite at Sedro-Wooley

Eleven varsity wrestlers went to Sedro-Woolley High School for the annual Spud Walley Invite, a wrestling tournament featuring some of the top wrestlers in the state.

Senior Brian Howard was first on the mat. There were 21 present to fill a 16-man bracket, and he was drawn to wrestle a winner-in pigtail bout. He wrestled South Kitsap's Thomas Decker, but could not pull out a win. His trip wasn't in vain, as he wrestled several other heavyweights who lost their pigtail matches.
At 119 lbs, Royce Cardwell lost his first bout by pin, but in the consolation bracket, scored a major decision, a pin, and another major decision to finish in 6th place.
Connar Zimmerman won his first match by major decision 11-2, but lost his 2nd bout to eventual champion Sam Bauer of Enumclaw. Now in the consolation bracket, Connar notched a technical fall 17-1, then a pin to get to the 5th place bout. He won that match by forfeit to capture 5th place.
In the 130 lb bracket, Colton Elliot faced off against Kelly Maughan of Auburn, and about a minute into the first round, while fending off a charge by Maughan, Colton caught his thumb on Maughan's shoulder, bending it back quite a bit. The match went on for a bit, but after a few more seconds, everyone could see that something was wrong. The match was stopped, and Colton was forced to withdraw from the tournament. The unofficial word is he broke the thumb and will be out until at least January. Our thoughts are with him.
Last year's 8th place finisher at the state tournament, John Tuttle, wrestled in the 152-lb bracket. He beat Craig Dyess of S. Kitsap in his first bout 12-7, the beat Enumclaw's Kario Wallin in a close 7-6 match before losing to John Thompson of Orting 12-1. Tuttle was to wrestle Justin Farnsworth of Kelso for 3rd place, but had to default due to injury and took 4th place.
At 160 lbs, Jared Tyson beat lee Amador of Mt. Si 12-2, but lost to eventual champ Conner Edler of Enumclaw by pin, then could not get a win in the consolation bracket.
The same thing happend to Zach Loescher at 171 lbs. He won the first match by pin in the first period over Shelby Williams of Mt. Si, but lost in the next round and was pinned in the consolation.
At 215 lbs, Chris Neumiller pinned Joe Janicki of Sedro-Woolley in 3:28 but lost his 2nd match. In the consolation bracket, Chris beat Cameron Gump by fall, then took just 33 seconds to pin Alex Rutledge of Edmonds. In the 5th place match, Chris was matched up against Janicki again and pinned him in just 1:47 for the win.
Corey Trimbur, Ben Page, and Jake Lundstrom were in the tournament but were eliminated after two matches.
The wrestlers are away all week, with meets at Snohomish on Tuesday and at Everett on Thursda, with a tournament at Squalicum in Bellingham on Saturday.

Boys AAU Basketball - 12-12 @ OHHS

There are 4 teams from Oak Harbor in the WESCO Youth Basketball League, a 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade team, and all four teams were scheduled to play two games each last Saturday, December 13th at OHHS, one round against Glacier Peak and a round against Snohomish.
The 5th and 7th grade teams started out, with the 5th grade team in the field house and the 7th grade team in the main gym at 1:30pm, and the 6th and 8th grade teams took over at 2:50pm. Unfortunately, none of the teams were very successful against their opponent, but there are some great photos posted.
The 2nd game, against Snohomish was at 4:10 for the 5th and 7th graders, 5:30pm for the 6th and 8th graders. The 7th grade team played well, but was behind by 10 at half, and couldn’t close the gap. The 8th grade team got a forfeit win, as the Snohomish 8th grade team didn’t show up, so the 6th grade team moved from the field house into the main gym for their game. It was all Oak Harbor almost from the beginning, as the Wildcats led 14-10 at the end of the 1st, then built an insurmountable 41-18 halftime lead.
With all the game photos are team photos of the 5th, 7th and 8th grade teams. The 6th grade game was going late, so no photo was taken. One will be taken at a later date.

5th grade photos are posted HERE
6th grade photos are HERE
7th grade photos
8th grade photos

Girls Basketball vs Cascade 12-12-08

Entering league play with a 1-1 record, the varsity girls basketball ball team took on the Cascade Bruins at home last Friday, December 12th, coming away with a win.
The freshman game started out slow, with the teams only able to score 4 points each in the first period. The 2nd period went better, with Kaileen Burleson leading the way, scoring 4 of the teams’ 10 2nd-period points, and leading the Wildcat freshman to a 14-11 halftime lead. The 3rd period was very slow, with only DJ scoring any points for Oak Harbor, and she scored only one basket and Cascade scoring only 5 to tie the game at 16 each at the end of the 3rd. Neither team took control of the game during the final period, but the Bruins were able to score 10 points to the Wildcat’s 7 to win the game 26-23. One big difference in the game was the Wildcat free throw shooting. As a team they took 14 shots from the line, making only 1. Leading the Wildcats in scoring for the 2nd game in a row was Kaitlynn Rossman with 6, then Burleson and DJ each with 4. Lia Pantoleon had 3 while Heavenly Cooper, Rayan Russell and Kristen Winston 2 each.
Jessica James went 7-12 from the free throw line, scoring a total of 13 points as the JV team blasted the Bruins 47-30. The game started close, and Cascade led 5-0 at one point, and the Wildcats did not score until Molly DeLeon hit halfway through the first to make it 5-2. Right after that, Janelle Yoshimoto got a steal and went the distance to make it 5-4 Cascade. The ‘Cats then scored twice more in the last 2 minutes to make it 11-9 for Cascade at the end of 1. The 2nd was back and forth, with 5 tie scores and neither team getting more than a 2-point lead. Cascade scored at the last second (because the ref missed a travel call, confirmed by looking at the tape), to take a 23-22 lead into the locker room. The Oak Harbor defense took control of the third period, allowing only a single point, while counting baskets by James, DeLeon and freshman Gloria Lonsdale. The Wildcats kept up the defensive pressure and opened up the offense, winning the final period 16-6 and the game 47-30. The JV scoring was spread around, with every girl getting points. James led the way with her 13, followed closely by Yoshi with 12 (11 of them in the 1st half). DeLeon had 7, Shantae young 6, Tatiana Cumming and Gloria Lonsdale 4 each, and Mariah Ferguson hit a free throw.
It was all Wildcats in the varsity game. The girls sprinted out to a 12-2 lead midway through the first period and never looked back. Nikki Mowbray got things started with a short jumper, and then a pair by Jen Jansen made it 6-0 less than 1-1/2 minutes into the game. The Wildcats continued to dominate in the first period, scoring 23 points against just 7 for Cascade. The Bruins got into the game in the 2nd, scoring 13 points, but Jessica Denmon had 8 by herself as the Wildcats increased their lead to 39-20 at the half. Cascade tried to make a comeback in the 3rd, scoring 21 points to the Wildcats’ 10, but the ‘Cats held on to start the 4th with a 49-41 lead. At this point, everyone in the gym could see that the Cascade team was falling apart, and the Wildcats took advantage of that by stepping up the defensive pressure. While it was 49-41 at the start of the 4th, with just 6:42 left it was 55-41, due to a quick flurry by Mowbray – she scored all 6 points to open the 4th. Jen Jansen added a pair later while Tiffany Earnhart and Cheyenne Tubo also scored as the Wildcats romped 67-47. While the ‘Cats scored 67 points, the team only made one 3-pointer, and scored 16 points from the free throw line. Mowbray and Denmon share the scoring honors with 17 each, while Jen Jansen was also in double figures with 13. Earnhart went 7-for-8 from the line and added a field goal on her way to 9 points. Clarissa Abadesco and Cori Henricksen had 4 each, Tubo 2, and Kathryn Fisken got her first point of the year, a free throw in the 1st period.
The girls have three games this coming week. They are at home Saturday, December 20th, their last game of the year, and are on the road Wednesday the 17th at Snohomish and Friday the 19th at Everett. That’s right – 3 games in 4 days. It’s a good thing Christmas break is coming up!

Photos from the games can be found HERE.

A few video highlight clips are HERE.

Timeout with - Mariah Ferguson - GBB

Mariah Rae Ferguson, “Fergy” to her friends, is a sophomore at OHHS playing post on the JV basketball team wearing #21. The 5’8½” A/B student was born in Anacortes and has lived her entire life in Oak Harbor. She is the daughter of Rick, who works construction, and Roni, who works at OHMS. She has two brother – Marc, who graduated in 2005 and John, a junior at OHHS.

Mariah is a good student, and her favorite classes are English classes as she enjoys writing. Her favorite teacher has been Mrs. Morgan-Mueller at Oak Harbor Middle School. When asked why, Mariah said “She’s the bomb!”

In addition to basketball, Mariah likes to run, especially distance running. When asked why basketball, she said it was the intensity of the game, especially at the post position, that appealed to her. She feels the best part of her game is her support of her team and teammates, but also knows she needs to play smarter. Her basketball goal this year is to improve her post play, while her classroom goal is to keep on track.

His most memorable sports moment to date happened in middle school. Back in 7th grade, when Mr. Ronning was coaching the team, he said something really funny (she can’t really say exactly what it was), and was so funny Mariah and half the team were cracking up and could hardly play basketball! She has a very memorable life moment, and that was just over a year ago, when she stepped on a scale and found she had accomplished something many adults have tried to do and failed at – she lost 75 pounds.

Fergy loves all sports, but if there’s a NBA game on TV, she’s watching it. She’ll also watch golf from time to time. She enjoys listening to indy/underground music, her favorite movie is Old School, and she often watches One Tree Hill on TV.

After high school, Mariah is thinking of getting into some sort of professional writing gig, or perhaps interior decorating. If she got her dream job, she would do it in Greece, as there are a lot of places there where you can just get away from it all and find peace and quiet.

Something you probably didn’t know about Nate: While she may seem like a funny goofball on the outside, she’s actually very serious when it comes to the things that count.

20 questions with Mariah:

Xbox, Playstation, or Wii – Wii
McDonald’s or Burger King – Mickey Ds
Comedy or Horror – Comedy
OHMS or NWMS – OHMS
Seahawks or Mariner – Mariners
Shop class or Art class – Art
iPhone or Blackberry – Blackberry
Coke or Pepsi – None – doesn’t drink soda
House or Lost – Lost
Army or Navy – Navy
Boating or Camping – Camping
Running or Swimming – Running
Ford, Honda, or VW – VW
MAC or PC/Windows – PC
Jumbo Buffet or Happy Dragon – Jumbo
Math or Science – Science
Walmart or Kmart – Walmart
Cats or Dogs – Dogs
Red or Blue – Blue
NY or LA - NY

Boys Basketball, 12-12 at Cascade

At Cascade High School in Everett, the Oak Harbor boys basketball team stayed with the Bruins for the 1st half, heading to the locker room down 23-20, but let the game get away in the 2nd half, as Cascade won 61-46.
Cascade's Chris McGrath scored over half of the team points himself with 31, and when a player is that hot, it's just hard to defend against.
Mike Washington, Jr. lead the Wildcat scoring with 17 points. Rashaad Smith had 7, Aaron Boesch and Jay Stout each had 5, Beaux Haley 4, Zac Cole 3, Denzel Hardin 2 and Blake Schulle 1. All 14 players got playing time in the loss.
The Everett Herald missed somebody's points, as the individual points add up to 44, but the team scored 46 points. Whoever had their points shorted or missed, we apologize, and if you'll drop a note, it will get fixed ASAP.
The boys team is at home next Tuesday, December 16th against Snohomish.

Boys Swimming 12-11 @ Lynnwood

In a tri-meet at Lynnwood Pool, the Oak Harbor Wildcats took on the Lynnwood and Meadowdale swim teams, coming out on top against both. In a tri meet, each team is allocated 2 lanes per event instead of the usual 3 lanes at dual events. The times vs Lynnwood are the same as the times against Meadowdale, as each race is only swum once. Only the scoring is calculated separately.
Lynnwood has an exceptionally small team, and had swimmers in only 5 of the 11 swimming events, no divers, and finished no higher than 3rd in any event. Oak Harbor's 200 medley relay "A" and "B" teams had a 1-2 finish, as Lynnwood's team was disqualified. The "A" team posted a time of 1:45.62 and the "B" team 2:30.04.
Since Lynnwood didn't have anyone in the 200 free or 200 IM, Oak Harbor was able to load up 3 lanes with swimmers. Tyler Schell won the 200 free outright in 1:57.89 with brother Devin almost 7 seconds behind in 2nd place overall, then Bryce Vagt. In the 200 IM, John Hu won in 2:02.94, followed by Anthony Yockey and Ben Cardinal.
In the 50 free, more than one heat was run, and Lynnwood and OH both had 3 swimmers in the race. Yale Rosen won in 24.72, then Chris Rankin and Matt Bolte. They Lynnwood swimmers finished 4th, 5th and 6th.
There was no diving competition at all at this meet.
Oak Harbor entered 2 into the 100 fly and Lynnwood 1. Price Hu won in 56.34 and Brandon Vagt timed 58.00 for 2nd.
The 100 free also had 3 swimmers from each team, with the same results as the 50 free: 1-2-3 for the Wildcats, 4-5-6 for the Royals. Tyler Schell won in 51.66, then Chris Rankin and Matt Bolte. Matt's time of 57.83 was 10 seconds faster than the fastest Lynnwood swimmer.
Two Oak Harbor swimmers were alone in the 500 free, with Price Hu and Yale Rosen competing. Price was in 1st place, Rosen 2nd.
Lynnwood's last event with swimmers was the 200 free relay. They had one team while Oak Harbor had 3 teams. Our "A" team was first, second and fourth.
Devin Schell won the 100 back in 1:06.11 with Bryce Vagt just .06 seconds behind in 2nd place. Ben Cardinal brought up the rear.
John Hu, Brandon Vagt, and Anthony Yockey swam in the 100 breast unopposed, with Hu turning in a 1:02.03.
Ending the scoring vs Lynnwood were two 400 free relay teams. The "A" team finished in 3:46.47 and the "B" tam in 4:05.22.
The team scores vs Lynnwood were 134 for Oak Harbor and 11 for Lynnwood.

The Wildcats didn't beat Meadowdale by as much, but still dominated. The Wildcats finished 1st in 7 of the 11 swimming events, and their depth scored extra points in most of the events.
The "A" 200 medley relay was 2nd to Meadowdale's "A" team, and the "B" relay was 4th. In the 200 freestyle, the two Schells and Vagt finished 1-2-4. John Hu also placed first in the 200 IM against Meadowdale, but Yale Rosen was 2nd in the 50 free, with Rankin and Bolte 3rd and 5th. Price Hu and Brandon Vagt were also 1-2 in the 100 fly.
In the 100 free, Tyler Schell won 1st against Meadowdale, Rankin was 3rd and Bolte 4th. Hu and Rosen finished 1-2 in the 500 free, even though Meadowdale had 3 swimmers entered.
Oak Harbor also did not win the 200 free relay, but finished in 2nd and 3rd. The "C" relay did not finish high enough to earn team points. The 'Cats also did not win the 100 backstroke, by Devin Schell came in 2nd, Bryce Vagt 3rd, and Ben Cardinal 4th.
John Hu won the final individual event of the day, the 100 breast, with Brandon Vagt in 3rd and Anthony Yockey in 4th.
The final event of the day, the 400 free relay was the only relay won by Oak Harbor vs Meadowdale, and they not only won, but the "B" relay also placed 2nd.
The swimmers get in the pool next here in Oak Harbor, with another tri meet against tough Snohomish and Glacier Peak teams. Come on down to the pool and cheer our boys on. It's free for both adults and students.

Wrestling vs Mountlake Terrace, 12-11-08

After losing both ends of a double-dual last week at Mariner HS, the Oak Harbor Wildcat wrestling team defeated Mountlake Terrace in convincing fashion 69-3

Since the Mountlake Terrace JV squad had only two wrestlers, there was a lot of purple vs gold JV matches. First up was Freshman Justin Everett, who pinned Rook in only 39 seconds. Souza wrestled Leonard and pinned him in 4:43. Rook wrestled twice in the JV match, his second against Oak Harbor’s Hunter Vail, who pinned Rook in 1:29. Collin Higinbotham wrestled Leonard and also got the pin. Purple/Gold action consisted of Josh Schrum pinning Ben Pralle, Ian Cardwell pinning Jaron Strickland, Zach VanPelt beating David Payne 8-2, and Matt Bistline pinning Nick Farrell. In the final JV match, two heavyweights battled each other. Alec Castillo and Phil Rodgers, both juniors and newcomers to wrestling went to the 2nd period before Castillo was able to record the pin.
The Hawks forfeited 4 weight classes to Oak Harbor, and out of the remaining 10 matches, won only 1. The domination started when freshman Brandon Stratton took to the mat against Khuu and scored a technical fall, 16-0, before the end of the 1st period. Ben Page pinned his opponent in 2:45. Tucker Lundstrom was in a close, low scoring match but won 9-3. John Tuttle started out slow, but defeated his opponent 15-2. Jarred Tyson and Zach Loescher both got pin in their matches – Zach in the 1st period. The lone Wildcat loss was Jake Lundstrom in a very close match vs Call. The match was slow early, but the action increased as both wrestlers scored a flurry of point late. Call prevented Jake from getting a last-second reverse and near-fall, ending the match 17-12 in favor of Call. It was an exciting match to watch. Wrestling in the 285 point weight class, Brian Howard pinned his opponent and showed his excitement afterward. Corey Trimbur won 19-12, and in the final match of the night, Royce Cardwell pinned Quinteiro in 3:45. Gathering 24 team points in forfeits for Oak Harbor were Colton Elliot, Chris Neumiller, Brandon Strickland and Connar Zimmerman.
The wrestlers will be in Sedro Woolley Saturday for the Spud Walley invite then at Everett HS on Dec 18th for their last dual meet before Christmas break.

37 pictures of the meet can be found by clicking HERE.

Boys Basketball 12-09 vs Burlington

At home for the first time this season, the Wildcats played against Burlington-Edison in front of a loud crowd in the OHHS gym on December 9th.
The freshman game was by far the most exciting. With less than 4 minutes to go in the game, Oak Harbor held a 44-40 lead, but a nice shot by the Tigers and some free throws saw the advantage turned to Burlington 45-44. Oak Harbor was able to hit a free throw of their own with 1:16 left to tie it at 45. The two teams went up and down the court for the next 67 seconds, with neither scoring. An Oak Harbor foul send the Tigers to the line for a 1-1, but the shooter missed the first one and after securing the ball, the Wildcats called timeout with just 9 seconds left. The ball was inbounded from mid-court, and as Kevawn Brooks was working his was inside under the basket, he was fouled, with just 1 second left, and the score still 45-45. Brooks then hit both ends of the 1-1, and time ran out before the Tigers could get a shot off. Brooks was the lead scorer with 16 points, 10 of them in the 2nd half. Edward Denmon hit for 9 and Josiah Miller for 8. Others scoring were Michael Mack, Patrick Bell, Ben Muyers, Matt Burgoyne and Elias Whitefoot.
The JV game started out looking good, especially on defense. Halfway through the first period it was 2-0 Oak Harbor, and the team built the lead to 8-3 with about a minute and a half to go, and finished the period leading 8-5. Burlington lit a fire under their offense in the 2nd period, scoring 18 points. Halfway through the 2nd period, the ‘Cats had not scored but by the end of the period added 7 points to their score. The half ended with the Wildcats down 23-15. However, the offense fell flat in the 3rd and the boys scored only 2 points against 9 for the Tigers. The 4th started with Burlington leading 32-17, and while the Wildcats were able to find the basket again, they couldn’t make up any ground, and finished the game on the short end of a 42-27 score.
Varsity was close for most of the game. The Wildcats started out down 4-0, but fought back to tie the game at 6 halfway through the first after a nice layin by Josh Fikse. Burlington got the lead back, building it to 13-6 with a minute and a half in the first, but two quick baskets by Rashaad Smith and Mike Washington brought Oak Harbor to within three, 13-10, at the end of the 1st period. The Wildcats continued to close the gap, and took a 1-poine lead, 14-13 on a bucket by Smith with 7:05 in the 2nd. That lead held for just under a minute when Burlington re-took the lead. Oak Harbor stayed within a point or two until, with 4 minutes left in the half, Smith hit a pair of free throws to take the lead again. Burlington didn’t let it last long, and went on to lead at the half 28-24.
In the 2nd half, the ‘Cats let Burlington build their lead to eight, 26-28 with just under 5 minutes in the 3rd, but again Oak Harbor clawed back. With just 1:33 left in the 3rd, Denzel Hardin got fouled on his shot for the ‘and one’, closing the score to 41-38, then Beaux Haley hit a 3 from right in front of his bench with just 30 seconds left, and the period ended in a 41-41 tie. Opening the fourth, Jay Stout hit a FT for a 42-41 lead, but the Tigers took advantage of several Oak Harbor passing errors to build a 55-43 lead with just over 3 minutes to play. The Wildcats didn’t give up, as Mike Washington hit a 3 and Smith adding two more to make it 55-48, but that’s as close as it would get as Burlington went on to win 64-55.

A total of 49 images of the Freshman, JV and Varsity games are posted HERE.

Zac Cole went down hard during a rebound attempt, and he asked that a clip of the fall be posted. You can see that clip, along with 5 others of the JV and Varsity games by clicking HERE.

Middle School Boys Basketball - NWMS - Dec 9th

North Whidbey Middle School hosted Anacortes for their first home game of the season last Tuesday, December 9th, with both the 7th and 8th grade teams in action.
First up was the 7th grade team. Of the ten players suited up, maybe one was over 5’7” tall, while Anacortes had a couple of players touching 6 feet. As a result, Anacortes took control of the game early. The Cougars got some points on the board, led by point guard Jahleel Vester with 11. Antonio Unpingco scored 2 in the 4th period, while Tom Horton also scored in the 4th period in addition to a free throw in the 2nd. In the end, Anacortes was just too much for the Cougars to handle, and the final score wound up 59-16.
The NWMS 8th grade team had some size, but so did Anacortes. For the whole game there were at least 2 6-footers on the court for the Seahawks, and because of that, they were able to snag more than their share of rebounds. The Cougars fought hard, but found themselves down 24-13 at halftime. Anacortes had a good team that played well, and the earned the 62-39 win. Unofficially, leading the Cougars in scoring was Devon Loftin with 18, followed by Tyler Young with 11.
50 images from the 7th grade game are posted HERE.

18 pictures from the 8th grade game are HERE.

Boys Swim - Dec 9th vs Jackson

The Oak Harbor Boys Swim team was in action Tuesday afternoon for their first home meet of the season against Jackson, and the Wildcats came away with a 123-50 win.
Continuing their winning streak, the 200 medley A relay team posted another top-notch performance, winning in 2:00.44. The B relay of Jacob Jepsen, Brandon Vagt, Matt Bolte and Chris Rankin finished 3rd by less than 2 seconds, and OH also swam a “C” relay team, made up of Anthony Yockey, Chris Cole, Jesus Alvarado and Jarrett Fryberger.
In the 200 freestyle, Oak Harbor picked up the first 3 places – Tyler Schell in first, his brother Devin 2nd and Bryce Vagt in 3rd.
Next was the 200IM, won by Jackson, but OH placed 2nd (Price Hu), 3rd (Brandon Vagt) and 5th (Ben Cardinal).
A total of 18 swimmers were entered in the 50 free, and the Wildcats picked up 3 of the 5 scoring spots, including 1st and 2nd. Jepsen won with a time of 27:45, with Yale Rosen was just .2 seconds behind. Michael McGinnis finished 4th in 29.91. Also completing the race for Oak Harbor were Cole, Alvarado and Fryberger.
Price Hu again was the only diver, scoring 104.65 points and earning 6 team points.
Only 3 swimmers entered the 100 fly, 2 of them Wildcats. Brandon Vagt won with a 1:05.87, almost 15 seconds behind the 2nd place finisher, who was only a half-second ahead of 3rd place Ben Cardinal.
John Hu won the 100 free with a time of 54.96, scoring 6 team points, while Rankin finished 3rd for 3 points and Matt Bolte 4th of 2 points.
The 400 freestyle was split between the two schools, with Oak Harbor getting 1st, 3rd and 5th places (T. Schell, Bryce Vagt and Yockey).
In the 200 free relay, Jackson entered 3 teams and Oak Harbor only 2, but the two teams picked up 1st and 3rd. The winning team consisted of J. Hu, Jepsen, Rosen and T. Schell while the 3rd place team was McGinnis, Rankin, Cardinal and Bolte.
Next was the 100 backstroke, and even though Oak Harbor only entered two swimmers, the placed 1-2 for 10 team points. J. Hu won with a time of 1:07.08 with Jepsen posting a 1:08.68.
Another specialty race, the 100 breast, was won by Yale Rosen in 1:16.07, and the Wildcats also picked up 2nd, with Yockey finishing in 1:24.51. McGinnis rounded out the scoring in that race with a 4th place finish. Alvarado and Cole both swam in the race but did not earn team points.
The final race of the day was the 400 free relay. The “A” team of T. Schell, P. Hu, and both Vagts finished first, while the “B” team of Cardinal, Bolte, Yockey and Rankin finished in 2nd.
The swimmers hit the pool again this Thursday at Lynnwood, and then return home on the 16th for a tri-meet against Snohomish and Glacier Peak.
Sorry, no photos this time.

Middle School Volleyball

The Oak Harbor Middle School Panthers traveled to play the North Whidbey Middle School Cougars in the 2nd of their two non-counting matches this year, and their 3rd meeting of the season overall.
It was more a scrimmage than a full match, as the only scores kept were on the scoreboard - there's no permanent record, and the players and coaches were self-officiating.
Only a 9 photos worth posting were taken, all of the NWMS 7th grade team. They can be found by clicking HERE.

Wrestling from Friday, December 5th

The Oak Harbor Wrestling team opened their season last Friday with a double-dual meet at Mariner High school, competing against Kamiak and host Mariner.
Unfortunately, the team didn’t do well. True, the team was missing to of the better wrestlers in John Tuttle and Connar Zimmerman, but it still was an ugly day of wrestling for Oak Harbor.
On the plus side, Colton Elliot at 130 pounds won both his matches, winning with a 12-4 Major Decision, and pinning his other opponent in just 17 seconds.
Other varsity winners were:
vs Mariner
103 Corey Trimbur – pin over Parker in 2:24
125 Royce Cardwell – tech fall over Koltsav 17-2
135 Brandon Stratton – pin over Johnson in 1:50
vs Kamiak
215 Chris Neumiller – won 11-6 over Lucy
285 Brian Howard pinned Clarkson in 1:54
Due to the injuries and low turnout numbers, out of 28 matches wrestled, the Wildcats were forced to forfeit 4 of them, and out of the 24 matches wrestled, 18 resulted in pins. It just was not a good day of wrestling for Oak Harbor.
On the JV side there was also little success and lots of pins.
JV winners against Kamiak were:
152 Nick Farrell pinned Hooper in the 1st period
215 Alec Castillo pinned Hatziliadis in the 1st
103 Corey Trimbur pinned Apollo in 15 seconds
135 Josh Barton pinned Day in 1:22
vs Mariner
135 Ian Cardwell pinned Auker in 4:25
152 Justin Everett pinned M. Oliferodsky in 1:19
160 Steve Souza win 14-3 over Ladsen
215 Castillo pinned Brunswick in 4:41
Next for the wrestlers is their home opener against Stanwood on Thursday, December 11th, then their first tournament on December 13th at Sedro-Woolley HS.

AAU Girls Basketball - 6th & 8th grade teams.

Saturday, December 5th was the final games of the 2008 SWISH season. The 5th/6th grade team played one game, while the 8th grade team played two.
The 5th/6th team was at Mt. Baker Middle School in Mt. Vernon against the RIS Insurance 'Mustangs', and the game did not go well. The 'Cats were coming off a big win last week, but just couldn't get the ball into the hoop, and lost the game. The team has only a few 6th graders, and at least one 4th grade girl, so should look good next year.
The 8th grade team played two games, against the Bellingham Flash, and against the Whatcom Magic. The Wildcat girls went on to win both games, finishing their season with a 7-1 (8-1 overall) record going into the end-of-season tournament.
23 photos from the 6th grade game, including some team photos, are HERE.

28 pics of the 8th grade team are HERE.

Girls Basketball vs Bellingham, December 6th

The OHHS Girls Basketball Team had their first home game of the season Saturday night, with all 3 teams in action.
After losing earlier in the week to Mountlake Terrace, the freshman team took out some of their frustration on the Red Raider, racing to a 10-0 first period lead and never looking back. Five different girls scored in the first period, and four other girls got on the board in the 2nd as they built a 17-9 halftime lead. Coming out of halftime, the Oak Harbor girls really started to play some basketball, scoring 22 points in the 3rd period and holding Bellingham to just 5. The onslaught continued to the end of the game which our girls on 46-17. Kaitlynn Rossman led the scoring with 11, followed by Erika Flores with 7. Rayan Russell and DJ each had 6 points, Lia Pantoleon 5, Kaileen Burleson, Heavenly Cooper and Kristen Winston each had 3, and Liz Hedderman scored 2. It was a great win for the freshman girls.
The JV squad won as well, but a very similar score. They sprinted out to an 11-2 first period lead, and continued the defensive pressure, letting the Bellingham team score only twice in the entire first half, while pouring in 23 points of their own for a 23-4 halftime lead. In the 3rd period, the Wildcat defense allowed Bellingham to score 3 points, one on a free throw while scoring another 10 to increase the lead to 38-7. In the final period, the Wildcats scored another 13 points, and allowed 11 as they cruised to a 51-18 win. They key to the game was the lightning-quick speed of Janelle Yoshimoto and Molly Deleon, who usually made first contact with the Bellingham ball handler, and as often as not got the steal. However, the girls only went 5 for 19 from the line, which is an area for improvement. The JV girls had 3 players in double figures – Shantae Young with 12, Molly Deleon with 11 and Mariah Ferguson with 10. Others scoring were Janelle Yoshimoto 9, Tatiana Cumming 3 and Jessica James 6. Four 3-pointers were recorded by 3 different girls.
The varsity game was not a blowout. In the first period, Cheyenne Tubo scored 5 points to help the Wildcats to a 12-10 first period lead, and Denmon added 8 points in the 2nd to give the ‘Cats a 25-21 halftime lead. In the 3rd period, even though Cori Henricksen got hot with her shooting with 6 points, the Oak Harbor defense started to break down, allowing Bellingham to score 24 points in the 3rd to take the lead 45-39 at the end of the 3rd. Late in the game the girls were able to close the gap, but just couldn’t get the shots in, and had to resort to fouling the Red Raiders to stop the clock, and wound up on the short end of a 54-49 score. Jessica Denmon led the Wildcat scoring with 18, followed by Nicole Mowbray with 13, including 3-for-3 from the line. Tubo had 5, Henricksen 6, Clarissa Abadesco 2, Jennifer Jansen 4, and Tiffany Earnhart 1. As a team, the girls went 4-for-6 from the free throw line and scored a total of 5 3-pointers, 4 of them by Denmon.
The girls get a week off from games, getting into action again next Friday, December 12th at home against Cascade to start their conference schedule.

Photos from the games can be found HERE.

A few video highlight clips are HERE.

Boys Basketball @ Glacier Peak, December 5th

The Oak Harbor High School boys basketball teams saw their first full-game action at the brand-new Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish on December 5th.
In the freshman game, it was a close thing. The first period went to the Grizzlies, as they built a 10-2 lead early, but the Wildcats were able to fight back and end the period down 11-7. The second period saw the freshman closing the gap, and even holding a 3 point lead with 35 seconds until halftime thanks partly to Matt Burgoyne, who made a field goal and went 3-3 from the line in 2nd. However, GP fought back and the half ended with the Wildcats down by one, 26-25. The 3rd period was all Oak Harbor, as the freshman boys scored 15 points and limited Glacier Peak to just 2. Kevawn Brooks hit a 3-pointer with 3:15 remaining to build the lead to 10, and Burgoyne had another 2 with a minute remaining and the 3rd period ended with a 40-28 Wildcat lead. The 4th period took forever. There were a lot of ball hit out of bounds, and it seemed the refs were blowing a whistle on every play. The Glacier Peak team started to gain ground, chipping away at the Oak Harbor lead, closing it to just 2 points with 2 minutes to go in the game, but consecutive scores by Burgoyne, Elias Whitefoot, Josiah Miller protected the Wildcat lead as they went on to win 51-47. Unofficially, Josiah Miller and Kevawn Brooks were the lead scorers, with 12 points each. Edward Denmon, Jr., added 11, Matt Burgoyne 10 and Elias Whitefoot 6.
The JV team played a great first half, but lost control of the game in the 4th period. At the end of the first, the team was down 11-7, with Colby Anter scoring 4 points, and at the half it was 22-14 in favor of Glacier Peak with Ryan Fakkema hitting four points of his own, but things didn’t look too bad. The Wildcats were consistent in the 3rd, scoring 9 and allowing 13, but the game still was not out of control. In the 4th, however, while the Wildcat defense held GP to their lowest point total for a period – 10, the guys just couldn’t get a shot to go through the rim, scoring only two points in the final 8 minutes. The final of the JV game was 45-25 in favor of Glacier Peak. Ryan Fakkema led the Wildcat scoring with 7. Others with points were Aaron Boesch 5, Trace Paul 4, Colby Anter 4, Connor Paul 3 and Nate Young 2.
The Varsity game was very close through the 1st period, which started out slow. Josh Fikse scored the first points of the season, almost 3 minutes into the game, then 3 free throws gave OH a 5-4 lead. Mike Washington hit a 3 with 2:53 left to build the OH lead to 3, and for the rest of the first period the two teams went back and forth, with Jimmy Edens sinking a free throw with less than 2 seconds to end the 1st with a 17-15 Wildcat lead. The 2nd period was not bad, defensively, for the Wildcats, as they allowed 19 points, but the offense could score only 7 of their own, and the half ended with Glacier Peak leading 34-24. Coming out for the 2nd half, Glacier Peak got hot. Every shot they made, even slop shots, seemed to go in as they scored 23 points in the 3rd to the Wildcats’ 8. The 4th period was a little better, with the Wildcats scoring 10 and limited GP to their lowest quarter score of the game – 14, but it wasn’t enough as Oak Harbor lost their opener 71-42. Mike Washington led all scoring with 23. Beaux Haley had 4, Jimmy Edens 3, Josh Fikse 2, Zac Cole 2, Brooks Waller 2, Rashaad Smith 2, and Aaron Boesch 2.
Next up for the Wildcat boys is the home opener, Tuesday, December 9th against Burlington-Edison. JV and freshmen start at 5:40, varsity at 7:30.
6 video clips - 3 each from the freshman and varsity games are posted HERE.

Timeout with...Nate Young - Boys basketball

Nathan Robert Young is a junior at OHHS, playing the wing position on the OHHS JV basketball team wearing #21. The 6’1” straight-A student was born in Coupeville on July 24th, and has lived in Oak Harbor his entire life. He is the son of Robert, an insurance agent, and Patty, a manager at Summer Hill. Nate has one sister, Morgan, who plays basketball and softball.

Nate is a strong student, and his favorite classes are those involving history, as he finds it interesting to learn how events in the past shape our lives today. Although he’s a history buff, his favorite teacher is Mr. Farmer, who makes class fun.

In addition to basketball, Nate will also be playing baseball this spring. When asked why he plays basketball, Nate came up with the definitive answer: “its fun”. He feels the best part of his game is his mid-range jumper, but also knows he needs to build his strength. His basketball goal this year is to work his was into a starting position on JV, and then to be a ‘floater’, which is a player that plays mostly JV, but suits up for varsity as well.

His most memorable sports moment to date happened several years ago. He was a member of a Babe Ruth baseball team that places 2nd in the state. Outside of sports, he says his most memorable moment was a trip he made with his family to the Bahamas.

When he’s not on the court, Nate is a typical teenager. He listens to music (no real preference, he’ll listen to anything), watches movies (Remember the Titans is one of his favorites), and sitting in front of the TV. According to dad, if Nate’s in front of the TV, the TV will be on ESPN for ‘Sportscenter’.

After high school, Nate plans to go to college and work for degree that can get him involved in sports marketing or perhaps be a sports agent. If he did land that dream job, his dream place to do it would be Hawaii.

Something you probably didn’t know about Nate: He is an accomplished hand percussionist – playing bongos and other similar instruments.

20 questions with Nate:

Xbox, Playstation, or Wii – Playstation
McDonald’s or Burger King – Mickey Ds
Comedy or Horror – Comedy
OHMS or NWMS – NWMS (but he went to the Christian School)
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 – Camping
Running or Swimming – Running
Ford, Honda, or VW – Ford
MAC or PC/Windows – PC
Jumbo Buffet or Happy Dragon – Jumbo
Math or Science – Math
Walmart or Kmart – Walmart
Cats or Dogs – Cats
Red or Blue – Blue
NY or LA - NY

Middle school boys basketball

The Oak Harbor Middle School 7th and 8th grade boys basketball teams were in action for the first time this season on December 4th at OHMS against Burlington-Edison.

The 7th grade roster has 10 boys, and they played a decent game. Although the final score was 52-39 in favor of Burlington, the boys didn’t play badly. In fact, for most of the first quarter, the scores were only 1 or 2 points apart. Unofficially, Drew Washington was the leading scorer with 22 points, while Andrae Gray, Anthony Smith Matthew Zafra and Bobby Grace also got on the board.
The 8th grade team was all Burlington. Again, while the Panthers made some mistakes, they didn’t play bad basketball, but Burlington was a team on a mission. Even their junk shots were going in. Burlington has a very good basketball team. On the plus side, the Panthers did put up 26 points, spread out among several players. The lead scorer was Mark Fabro with 11, followed by Trent Cargill and Bernard DeGuzman, both with 5.

Next up for the Panthers is a trip to Cascade MS in Sedro-Woolley, while Anacortes comes to North Whidbey on December 9th.

26 photos from the 7th grade game are HERE
21 photos from the 8th grade game are HERE

Wrestling preview

The Oak Harbor High School wrestling team kicks off their 2008-2009 season with a double-dual meet against Kamiak and host Mariner HS on Friday, December 5th.
The Wildcat’s head coach is Mike Crebbin, starting his 6th year at Oak Harbor, 4 of them as head coach. He’s originally from Klamath Fall, Oregon, and was the Oregon State Champ at 141 pounds in 1983. He also wrestled at the college level at Oregon State University. Although he’s only been at Oak Harbor for the last 6 years, he has over 12 years of coaching experience. Coach Crebbin is a math and science teacher at OHHS.
When asked why he likes coaching wrestling so much he said it “makes me feel good”. Coach Crebbin is not the sit back and watch type of coach. You’ll find him every practice in the mat room doing the same warmups as the rest of the team, and getting ‘hands-on’ when teaching aspects of the sport. His goal for the year is to have the team in the top 4 of WESCO, and to have fun.
He’s assisted by Joe Brannon, originally of Anchorage, Alaska. Joe wrestled on the varsity team all four years of high school, and has been coaching at the high school and middle school level for 11 years. In the summer, Joe can be found in Alaska managing a dinner train. His goal is to make sure this is a good year for the senior wrestlers.
Larry Falcon is back in Oak Harbor after spending some time on the other side of the mountains. He’s the head wrestling coach at North Whidbey Middle School and is a special education teacher there.
There are two volunteer coaches this year – John Garcia, and Miles Hartt. Miles is an OHHS graduate.
While this year’s varsity team is small in numbers, it’s large in experience, returning about a dozen seniors. The team performed well above expectations last year, especially beating Marysville on their home mat. The team will be led by Captains Chris Neumiller and John Tuttle, with additional leadership provided by sophomore Connar Zimmerman and junior Colton Elliot. There are some new faces on the mat that are expected to perform well, among them freshman Brandon Stratton and Coupeville’s Jesse Tucker.
The JV team will have Peter Esvelt as the primary coach this year. He’s originally from Snohomish where he wrestled for 4 years on the varsity team. He’s a history teacher at the OHHS North Campus and has been coaching for 11 years. He’s also the head freshman football coach for OHHS. JV in wrestling is not like other sports. In wrestling, it’s often not a full team, and seniors are often wrestling on the team, as placement is not by grade level, but by ability. If a freshman beats a senior in a ‘wrestle-off’, the freshman will take that seniors’ place on the varsity roster.
On the mat, he’s looking at some depth in the higher weight classes, but is not seeing a lot of wrestlers in the lighter weights on the JV squad. Even so, he wants other teams to know, after the JV match, that “they wrestled us”. He expects the JV wrestlers to put out 100% in each match, and a goal he has set for the team is for nobody to get pinned. He does have some strong incoming freshmen in Hunter Vail, Justin Everett, Tucker Lundstrom and Brandon Stratton, so there should be some good success on the mat.
The first home meet is next Thursday, December 11th, vs Mountlake Terrace. JV starts at 5:45, varsity at 7pm.

Boys Swimming - Dec 4th

The Oak Harbor boys swim team opened their regular season at home against Stanwood HS on December 4th at Vanderzicht Pool in Oak Harbor.

The meet started out with the 200 Medley Relay, which the team of John Hu, Yale Rose, Price Hu and Bryce Vagt won in a time of 1:59.62. OHHS had two other team entered in the race – the “B” team of Jacob Jepsen, Anthony Yockey, Chris Rankin, and an unknown swimmer that finished 3rd with a time of 2:04.74, and the “C” team of John Paculdino, Cory Blyther, Matt Bolte and Michael McGinnis.
Next in the list of events was the 200 free, won by Oak Harbor’s Tyler Schell with a state-qualifying time of 2:01.27. Oak Harbor also finished 3rd (Devin Schell) and 4th (Bryce Vagt) in the race.
In the 200IM, Stanwood got their first win, but OHHS picked up a 2nd place win by Jacob Jepsen, just 2 seconds behind the winner, a 3rd place by Brandon Vagt, and a 5th place by Michael McGinnis. Defending State Champ John Hu of Oak Harbor did not swim in this race.
The 50 free sprint race was next, with OH netting 3 of the 5 scoring places. Yale Rosen got first, Cory Blyther 3rd and Chris Rankin 4th.
After the 50 free, the swimmers took a short break for the diving competition. There wasn’t much competition, as the Wildcat’s Price Hu was the only diver. It was his first dive competition, and he did quite well.
Coming out of the break, the first swim was the 100 meter butterfly, won by John Hu in a time of 59.12. He was followed over 4 seconds later by his brother Price. Brandon Vagt also scored points, coming in 4th.
In the 100 free, Tyler Schell won, turning in a state-qualifying time of 55.99. Other Wildcat swimmers were Cory Blyther (3rd), Chris Rankin (4th), Anthony Yockey, and John Paculdino.
The distance race, at 400 meters was next. While Stanwood won the race, Oak Harbor nabbed 2nd through 4th. The Stanwood swimmer was good, turning in a time of 4:26, and the next swimmer, Bryce Vagt, touched the wall almost 20 seconds later. He was followed quickly by Devin Schell and Matt Bolte.
Next was the 200 free relay, with Oak Harbor getting the top two spots. The “A” team of John Hu, Jacob Jepsen, Yale Rosen and Tyler Schell swam the race in 1:47.08 and the “B” team of Cory Blyther, Matt Bolte, Chris Rankin and Devin Schell swam it in 1:57.40.
John Hu got yet another win in the 100 back with a state-qualifying 1:01.84. Jacob Jepsen and Michael McGinnis also scored points in the race, finishing 3rd and 4th, respectively.
The final individual race of the meet was the 100 breast, won by Yale Rose in 1:15.67. Anthony Yockey and Jesus Alvarado were in the race as well.
Finishing up the meet was the 400 meter relay. Stanwood got first, but OH got 2nd and 3rd.
Totaling up all the points, Oak Harbor came out on top 116-60 to push their overall record to 2-0.

Following up on Tuesday’s Meet at Lynden, here are the complete results:
200 Medley Relay “A” team: John and Price Hu, Jacob Jepsen and Bryce Vagt – 1st, “B” team: Yale Rosen, Brandon Vagt, Anthony Yockey and Cory Blyther – 2nd, “C” team: John Paculdino, Jesus Alvarado, Matt Bolte and Chris Rankin – 3rd.
200 free: Tyler Schell – 1st, B. Vagt – 2nd, Devin Schell – 3rd
200IM: John Hu – 1st, Price Hu – 2nd, Anthony Yockey – 3rd
50 free: Yale Rosen – 2nd, Cory Blyther – 3rd, Matt Bolte – 5th
100 fly: Price Hu – 1st, B. Vagt – 2nd, Jacob Jepsen – 3rd
100 free: Cory Blyther – 2nd, Chris Rankin – 3rd, Matt Bolte – 4th
500 free: Tyler Schell – 1st, B. Vagt – 2nd, Devin Schell – 3rd
200 free relay “A” team: J. Hu, Jepsen, Rankin, Alvarado – 1st, “B” team: Rosen, Schell, Paculdino, Schell – 3rd
100 back: John Hu – 1st, Jepsen – 2nd, Paculdino – 5th
100 breast: Vagt – 1st, Rosen – 2nd, Rankin – 4th
400 free relay “A” team: Schell, Yockey, P. Hu, D. Schell – 1st, “B” team: Vagt, Blyther, Bolte, Vagt – 2nd

Next up for the swimmers is another home meet, against WESCO South Jackson at Vanderzicht Pool on Tuesday, December 9th. Admission is FREE.

22 images from the meet have been posted HERE.

Girls Basketball - December 3rd

The three Oak Harbor High School girls basketball teams, Freshman, JV and Varsity, traveled to Mountlake Terrace HS for their season opener on Wednesday.
The Freshman team played hard, but wound up on the short end of a 38-17 score. Leading the Wildcats with 6 points was Rayan Russell, followed by Erika Flores with 4. Other Freshman girls scoring were Kaileen Burleson 2, Kaitlynn Rossman 2, Emily Hunt 1, and Dominique Jackson (DJ) with 2 – both free throws. Named Captains for that first game were Rossman and Flores. The team does need to improve on their free throws, as they went 3-13 from the line in that game.
The JV game started out slow…very slow. Mountlake Terrace scored two baskets early, and from there both teams ran up and down the court with little to show for their efforts, until, with 3:26 left in the 1st period, Janelle Yoshimoto scored the Wildcat’s first basket. That score got the girls out of their funk, and from there, the team went on a 16-0 run. The score at the end of the 1st period was 9-4, and the girls kept MLT from scoring again until 3:22 left in the half, which ended with an 18-6 Oak Harbor lead. Coming out for the 3rd period, the Wildcat scorefest continued as they built a 22-8 lead with 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd. At that point, Mountlake Terrace got back in the game and started some scoring of their own. While they did not close much of the gap, the MLT JV did keep even with the Wildcats, and the 3rd ended with a 28-14 Wildcat lead. In the 4th period, MLT started closing the gap, cutting the Wildcat lead to 7, but that’s as close as it would get, and the Wildcats went on to win 41-32. Top scorer on the JV squad was Mariah Ferguson with 14, then Janelle Yoshimoto (Yoshi) with 11. Also getting on the board were Molly Deleon 9, Tatiana Cumming 5, and Shantae Young 2. The team was 2-6 from the line, but Terrace was 0-12!
In the Varsity game, the Wildcats played a hard game. The two teams traded baskets in the first minute, but behind some sharp shooting by Jessica Denmon, the ‘Cats built a 19-7 lead by the end of the first period. Cori Henricksen added to the total with a pair of 3-pointers. The Wildcats fell flat in the 2nd period, scoring only 4 points – 2 by Henricksen in the first minute and a buzzer beater by Jen Jansen at the half. Even though the Wildcats didn’t score much, the defense was still there, allowing only 9 points by Mountlake Terrace.
The Wildcats started the 2nd half with a 25-16 lead, and pushed it to a 44-21 lead by the end of the 3rd. Denmon found her aim, while Jansen used her size inside and Clarissa Abadesco added some points as well. The defense was still on track, putting pressure on the Hawks. They allowed only 5 points in the 3rd, and got even tougher in the 4th, allowing only 3 Mountlake Terrace points while scoring 16. The Wildcats won the game going away, posting a 60-24 win. Denmon was the lead scorer with 24, Jen Jansen had 11 and Cori Henricksen had 10. Others scoring were Cheyenne Tubo 2, Nicole Mowbray 6, Clarissa Abadesco 5, and Tiffany Earnhart 2.

Next up for the girls basketball team is a home game against Bellingham on Saturday night, December 6th.

Images from the Freshman, JV and Varsity games can be found by clicking HERE.

3 clips from the Varsity game are posted here. JV clips coming soon.

Boys Swimming

The Oak Harbor boys swim team had the first event of the Winter sports season, a dual meet at the Lynden YMCA, and the Wildcats smoked the meet, winning 128-41.
The Wildcats won every event, and two swimmers turned in State-qualifying times. John Hu swam the 200IM in 1:19.15 while Tyler Schell completed the 500 free in 4:59.86.
Next up for the swimmers is a home meet vs Stanwood at Vanderzicht Pool on Thursday, Dec 4th.
Tonight is girls basketball at Mountlake Terrace.

Middle School volleyball - Dec 1st

The OHMS and NWMS played the 2nd of their two non-league contests on December 1st at North Whidbey Middle School. As they did last week, the two "B" squads, 7th and 8th grade, played each other at 3:45, then the two varsity teams played at 5pm.
In 7th grade varsity action, the two teams split the match, with North Whidbey winning two and Oak Harbor one.
The 8th grade match had the same result, but in the other direction. Oak Harbor won game 1 and 3, while North Whidbey won game 2.
Both North Whidbey and Oak Harbor are in action Dec 2nd, but are away, and both team meet one last time for a league match on December 16th.
28 7th grade photos are posted HERE.
29 8th grade photos are HERE.

Timeout with - Kathryn Fisken - Girls Basketball

With the Winter sports season right on top of us, it's time to resume Michelle Sandstrom's weekly varsity athlete profile.

Kathryn Fisken is a long time well known athlete around the city of Oak Harbor. As she continues to wrap up her senior year at age seventeen, successfully completing and receiving the Coaches Award in Cross Country, and now with Basketball in the works and track & field in the spring, it’s hard to imagine how she keeps her grades so high and still spends time with the family.
She’ll be starting this basketball season as a “three” which is a wing, or a “four” which is a forward, and I have no doubt number 20 will be up and down the court shooting all season.
When asking her about the new team this year she had nothing but a positive attitude. “I think that we are going to do so much better then last year. We were really close to going to state and this year I think we will. I also think that we are going to win more league games”. With the first game being on December 3rd, they have had time to prepare, however only time can tell the outcome. Seeming confident she also explains how close the girls are, how all the seniors have grown up playing the game since middle school and how everyone really bonded over camp this summer. Her personal goal consists of making this season the best ever and as a team go to State and finish within the top three at league, preferably number one.
Hoping for a great season, we moved on to her future and whether basketball has a place in it or not. After high school she plans on going to UW and becoming a doctor, and when asked about basketball, she explains its fun but not her favorite sport and she doesn’t see it as part of her college experience.
Kathryn has a great season ahead of her along with the other girls on the team and a promising future ahead. Who knows where being a doctor will take her, perhaps back to her roots in Hawaii or keep her here on rocky Whidbey Island, I’m sure we will be hearing great things.

AAU Girls Basketball - SWISH League

Both of the Oak Harbor Girls Basketball teams in the Skagit Whatcom Island Snohomish Hoops (SWISH) League were in action Saturday, November 29th at Mt. Baker Middle School in Mt. Vernon.
First up was the 5th/6th grade team. The girls are coached by Keely Smollack, an OHHS graduate and former OHHS basketball player. The team has struggled this season, and on Saturday faced the Regulators team from Bellingham. The Wildcats came into the game with a 0-6 record while the Regulators were 4-3.
The records didn’t mean much to the Wildcats, as they sprinted out to an early lead, and at the end of the 1st period were ahead 10-2. Much of the credit for the lead should go to the Wildcat post players. They were getting shots off that were going in, and were exceptional on rebounding – both offensive and defensive. By halftime the score was 14-4 for the Wildcats.
In the 2nd half, the Regulators mounted a comeback, getting some points on the board and keeping a lot of the Wildcat offense in check. At the end of 3 it was OH 18 Regulators 14. In the 4th the Wildcats scored once and the Regulators twice once to close the gap to 2 points with several minutes left in the game. The Regulators had several chances to score and tie the game, but the Wildcat defense held them off, and the Wildcats won their first game of the season 22-18.
The other Oak Harbor team is made up of 8th grade girls and is having a good year. The 4-1 Wildcats were matched up against the 2-4 Snohomish Rock. The first few minutes were fast, with the Wildcats scoring twice early, but that was all the Oak Harbor scoring for the first period, which ended in a 4-4 tie. The 2nd period was not much better; with the Wildcats scoring only a single free throw with just a few seconds left in the half, but only allowed a single field goal by Snohomish. It was a low-scoring 6-5 Snohomish lead at the half.
The Wildcats opened up in the 3rd period, getting the offense rolling. The first score of the 2nd half was by Ciera Wiser, who also scored the last field goal of the game, then Emilie Renninger scored to put the ‘Cats ahead for good 9-8. A pair of field goals by Melanie Martin and another by Renninger pushed the lead to 15-9. The Rock was able to score one more basket, but the Wildcats won going away, 20-11.

20 photos from the 5th/6th grade game are posted HERE.

17 images from the 8th grade team are HERE.

Girls Basketball preview

This year’s girls basketball team will have quite a few changes. Starting in the coaching area, while all 4 coaches from last year are returning, some responsibilities have been shifted. On the court, the team lost a lot of seniors from last year, but the coaches are confident about the girls who are filling those spots.
The freshman team is coached by Todd Showalter, in his 11th year of coaching, 7 of them at OHHS. He’s originally from Medical Lake, WA where he played some basketball, and now teaches 9th & 10th grade English at Oak Harbor High School. He enjoys coaching basketball as the format of the game gives a coach more options to be competitive and pull wins out of close games. Last year the freshman squad compiled a 16-4 record, and more importantly, none of the girls on the team were even close to having grade problems. In looking over his girls, he finds that they are fairly even in their skill level and desire, and there are no standout players this year. The team will be guard-heavy, and lacking in some height, but coach Showalter still expects the team to be competitive, not only on the court but in the classroom. His personal goal for the season is to relax and enjoy the game more by reducing the pressure he puts on himself.
The JV squad will be coached by last year’s varsity assistant, Bob Stremel, in his 5th year in Oak Harbor. Coach Stremel is originally from Hutchinson, Kansas and is retired. He’s been coaching for 40 years in a variety of sports, including baseball, softball and track in addition to basketball. Last year’s team had only 1 junior, so there are a lot of girls returning to the team experienced in working with each other. Coach will be leaning on his two guards, Molly Deleon and Janelle Yoshimoto to direct the offense and is counting on Jessica James and Ariel Brothers for good inside play. This year’s team features some new faces, Adrianna Royal; a sophomore transfer from Coupeville is expected to get a lot of playing time as are the two freshmen who went straight to JV.
Fred Burleson will be the varsity assistant this year after coaching JV for the last 6 years. Originally from Oklahoma City, the United States Marine Corps brought Coach Burleson to Oak Harbor where he settled. When not coaching, he can be found at the Living Faith Church on Midway where he is an associate Pastor. When asked why he coaches basketball, he said “Because I love the game”. He went on to add that he enjoys the teaching aspect of coaching, and likes to coach the girls as he feels they play a more fundamentally sound game. He expects the team will get to the district tournament, and is planning a good finish for the seniors by coaching them in the State Tournament in March. His personal goal is to improve his game planning.
Starting his 7th year as the OHHS head coach is Brett McLeod. He’s from Renton, WA where he attended Kentridge HS, but has been in Oak Harbor for 10 years, teaching history and coaching basketball and football. Like Coach Burleson, Coach McLeod has a genuine love for the sport and also enjoys the teaching aspect. When asked about highlights from last year, he said it was beating Marysville on their own court in the District Tournament last year, and the two teams are starting to form a rivalry. The team is returning 4 players from last year. Junior Jessica Denmon, a 3rd year starter will be launching her outside bombs, and Senior guard Cheyenne Tubo will be providing leadership both on and off the court. Moving up from JV, and expected to contribute a lot to the team are Senior Kathryn Fisken and Sophomore Clarissa Abadesco. Coach McLeod is pleased with the chemistry in the team, and fully expects to enjoy the journey as the team returns to the District Tournament.

Timeout with...Jesus Alvarado - Boys Swim

Jesus Alvarado, Jr., a senior, just started his first year on the Oak Harbor High School swim team. Born on May 29th, he has spent the last 3 years here in Oak Harbor, but has also lived in Japan, California, and Guam. He is the son of Jesus Alvarado, who is retired from the Navy and now works as a helicopter mechanic at NAS Whidbey, and Aileen Alvarado, who has gone back to school to be a dental hygienist. He has one brother, who is a sophomore at OHHS.

Jesus joined the swim team as a way to keep fit, and he has set several goals for himself for the year. First among them is to lower his times each meet, particularly in the breaststroke. He considers his strongest area his arms, but knows there are areas where he can improve. He wants to work most on getting more out of his leg work, especially since the breaststroke needs a strong kick.

In class, Jesus is a strong student. He’s in Mr. Turner’s AP Calculus class, which is his favorite this year, but overall, his favorite teacher was Mrs. Lujan, who is no longer at OHHS. He’s getting good grades in tough classes, which he will need, as his post-high school goal is to become an electronic engineer, specializing in nanotechnology. After completing his degree, he would like to return to Japan to practice his craft. He has some good memories of his time in Japan, especially when he was in the school band there.

When not studying or in the pool (which isn’t often), Jesus likes to watch movies, especially comedies. One of his favorites is “Kung Pow”, a martial arts spoof. He doesn’t watch much TV, and will listen to just about any kind of music except Country. You can also find him quite often in the company of his girlfriend, Beverly Gianino – they’ve been going out for nearly a year and a half.

Tyler King places in Nike BorderClash Cross Country race

Tyler King, a Coupeville HS sophomore who runs for the OHHS cross country team placed 31st on the 4,400 meter course in Beaverton, Oregon in 14:53. The race features top runners from Oregon and Washington, and the race was dominated by Washington runners, who took the top 14 places.
In other cross country news, the University of Washington girls Cross Country team won the NCAA championships last weekend.

All-WESCO teams

The Everett Herald just released their All-WESCO team, and many OHHS athletes are on the lists.
Cross Country - Tyler King and Allison Duvenez were first team, Josh Duhrkopf and Adrianna Royal 2nd team, and Cody Klauer was honorable mention.
Football - Greg Goebel made 1st team linebacker and Chris Neumiller 2nd team offensive line. Also on 2nd team offense were running back Donovan Hunt and kicker Kevin Flavin. 3 players were also on 2nd team defense - Yale Rosen on the line, Stephen Lewis at linebacker, and Clarence LaMont at defensive back.
Rashaad Smith, Bennett Richter and James Jordan were honorable mentions.
Girls Soccer - Carson McKole was names 1st team forward, while Claire Trepanier was an honorable mention defender.
Boys Tennis - Derek Thomas - 1st team singles
Volleyball - Jessica Muzzall was named as a 1st team hitter while teammate Jen Jansen was named to the 2nd team.
A complete listing for all fall sports can be found at the Herald's website.

Boys swimming preview

The Oak Harbor High School boys swim team has a new coach this year. Amy Nurvic, a Language Arts teacher at NWMS is the new head coach for the boys swim team. Originally from Lynnwood, Coach Nurvic graduated from Mariner HS where she swam for 3 years. She would have swum a 4th year, but spent a year studying in France. Her specialties were the Individual Medley and the Breaststroke.
She has been coaching almost continuously since high school in a variety of sports, and has a lot of swim experience. She was the coach at Mariner for 4 years, coached at the middle school level for 3 years, and has also coached Club/AAU swimming. She coaches swimming more than any other sport because "it's my favorite sport".
While this year's team is small in numbers, it's big on quality. Returning to lead the team both in the pool and in school are Bryce Vagt, and John Hu, who is returning to defend his 200 IM state championship placing from last year. John also had State experience last year in the 100 back (5th), and as a member of the 400 medley relay (14th).
The team makeup is unusual in that it's made up mostly of seniors and sophomores - there is only one junior and two freshmen on the team.
Both of the freshmen have a lot of swimming experience, swimming for the North Whidbey Aquatic Club. Coach Nurvic has been especially impressed by Jacob Jepson, saying "he's fast".
Other returners with State Meet experience are Price Hu, 21st in the 200IM, 18th in the 100 Fly, and a member of the 200 medley relay; Yale Rosen, 16th in the 100 breast and on the medley relay team; and Tyler Schell, the distance swimmer who finished 17th in the 500 free and 16th in the 100 breast.
Among Coach Nurvic's goals for the team this year, besides winning swim meets, is to build up the boys swim program at OHHS. She'd like to see more of her boys swimming for the AAU club in the off-season to improve the skills and abilities, and she wants to push the numbers as well.
Personally, she wants to reacquaint herself with the sport, being away from competitive swimming for a few years.
The first home meet for the Wildcat swimmers is next week, December 4th against Stanwood. Admission to all home swim meets is FREE.

Middle School Volleyball - OHMS vs NWMS

The North Whidbey Middle School Cougars traveled across town to play the Oak Harbor Middle School Panthers in the first of what will be 4 matches between the two teams.
The day started at 3:45pm with the 7th & 8th grade "B" squads playing on side-by-side courts. Since a lot of other middle school programs have dropped JV teams, this is one of the few chances for the girls to play another team.
Following the "B" squad action, the Varsity teams took the court. The 7th & 8th grade teams also played on side-by-side courts, but there were surprisingly few interruptions by balls going into the other court.
The OHMS 7th grade team is coached by Dan Pullen, a retired teacher who still subs quite a bit in the district, while the NWMS team is coached by Lindsey Brockett, an 8th grade English teacher at NWMS. Game one of the 7th grade match went to Oak Harbor 25-23, and the Panthers also won game 2 25-18 to win the match. Game 3 however, went to NWMS 25-21.
In 8th grade action, NWMS, coached by Sarah Stephenson, a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at NWMS won game 1 25-17, and seemed in control. However, the OHMS team, coached by OHHS head volleyball coach Kerri Molitor was not going down without a fight. In a very close game 2, the Panthers pulled out a 26-24 win to tie the match. Game 3 was close early, but OHMS made fewer unforced errors and won game 3 25-19.
The two teams play each other again on December 1st, 8th, and 16th all at NWMS as the gym there has more room for spectators.

8th grade varsity photos are posted HERE.

7th grade varsity photos are posted HERE.

Boys basketball preview

The Oak Harbor High School Boys Basketball team is led by 3rd-year coach Michael Washington. Coach Washington is originally from Eastman, Georgia, but now calls Oak Harbor home, thanks to the US Navy. He is still on active duty with the US Navy, and plans to retire in less than two years. He played 4 years of varsity basketball in high school, and has been coaching basketball for over 15 years in a variety of settings. When asked why basketball, coach had a simple answer “I love it!”.
While the varsity team had a disappointing last year, winning only 4 games, the coach is optimistic for this year’s team. He expects strong on-and-off court leadership from returning senior Jimmy Edens, backed up by 6 other seniors: Zac Cole, Beaux Haley, Brooks Waller, John Manni, Josh Fikse and Phil Nadeau. Moving up from last year’s freshman team, Sophomore Denzel Hardin is expected to be a factor on the team, as is freshman Michael Washington, Jr. at point guard.
Coach Washington has set several goals for this year’s team, first among them is to play as a team, and “be together”. When the game ends, he wants the team to be happy that the scoreboard is in favor of the Wildcats, and not be concerned with which players put the points on the board. On a personal level, Coach wants to improve his teaching of the fundamentals, with an emphasis on defense
When asked what some keys were to success this season, one of the first things Coach mentioned was fan support, especially from the students. They players all notice how full (or empty) the student section is, and the coach notices that the team tends to play better when supported by a ‘loud and proud’ student section.
Coaching the JV team this year, and it may possibly be his last year, is Jim Waller. Jim retired from teaching English at OHHS two years ago. He is an Oak Harbor native, and has coached basketball (and baseball) for 32 years, all in Oak Harbor. Coach Waller says he coaches basketball as it was a family thing – when he was in high school, his father was the basketball coach at OHHS.
As with the varsity team, the JV team did not see a lot of success on the court during games, but did meet with a lot of success at practice. Coach Waller says the thing he remembers best from last year is the improvements in both individual and team play the boys made during the course of the season. Coach says he has some good talent on the team, and they should do well this year.
As is typical with JV squads, while it’s nice to win games, the emphasis for the team is improvement and getting ready to play varsity. There are a lot of sophomores on this year’s JV team, with leadership provided by juniors Nate Young and Colby Anter.
The freshman squad again is headed by Justin Ronning, in his 2nd year with the team. Justin played 3 years of varsity basketball at Selkirk HS in Ione, WA, and has been coaching basketball for 12 years, 8 of them in Oak Harbor. Like Coach Washington, Coach Ronning also loves the game of basketball. He is the PE teacher at Crescent Harbor Elementary School.
Last year the freshman squad compiled a 17-3 record, and Coach expects this year’s squad to continue with that type of success. He is looking at Matt Burgoyne, Edward Denmon and Kevawn Brooks to lead the team on the court.
The prime goal for the freshman team this year is to get better – a little bit every day. The team has already impressed their coach with their work ethic and intensity, and they are working on becoming more disciplined, both on the court and in the classroom.
Coach Ronning is assisted this year by Jon Atkins from Sutter, CA. He is new to Oak Harbor, and jumped straight into coaching.

4A Football playoffs - Bothell loses!

Issaquah kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to beat Bothell!

Youth Wrestling @ Ferndale 11-22

21 wrestlers traveled to north for the Ferndale Folkstyle Tournament at Ferndale High School.
Out of the 21 boys, 4 were first-place finishers. 3 wrestlers finished in 2nd, and another 3 in third. 5 wrestlers had 4th-place finishes.
All-in-all a good day for the Wildcat wrestlers!
54 images have been posted. Find them by clicking HERE.

Cheer squad update

The OHHS Cheer Squad actually had a competition today, their first. It was a qualifier for state, with a minimum score of 195 needed to qualify.
Oak Harbor scored 239!

Great job to the girls and boys of the cheer squad! Keep up the good work!

OHHS Competition Cheer Schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Competition Cheer schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
While most people think of cheerleaders as being on the sidelines during sporting event, Competitive Cheer is a sport itself, and OHHS has one of the top squads in the state. The will be at 4 competitions this year, in the Large Co-Ed division
12/13 – Decatur Invitational @ Federal Way
12/20 - Spiritfest @ Oak Harbor
1/17 – Harbor Invitational @ Peninsula High School, Gig Harbor
1/24 – WIAA State @ Everett Event Center

OHHS Girls Basketball Schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Girls Basketball schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
Except for the Santa Slam Tournament, all games have a JV/Freshman start time of 5:40pm and Varsity at 7:30pm. Also note that there are several Saturday games this year.
12/3 @ Mountlake Terrace
12/6 Bellingham
12/12 Cascade
12/17 @ Snohomish
12/19 @ Everett
12/20 Lake Stevens
1/2 & 3 - 3rd Annual Santa Slam Tournament @ OHHS
1/6 Arlington
1/8 @ Stanwood
1/10 Monroe
1/14 Marysville
1/21 @ Cascade
1/23 Snohomish
1/28 Everett
1/30 @ Lake Stevens
2/4 @ Arlington
2/6 Stanwood - Senior Night
2/10 @ Monroe
2/12 @ Marysville
2/13 WESCO Tiebreaker, if needed
2/14-27 - District Tournament @ Marysville

OHHS Boys Basketball schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Boys Basketball schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.

With the exception of the Woodinville Jamboree and the Santa Slam Tournament, all games have a JV/Freshman start time of 5:40pm and Varsity tip-off at 7:30pm.

Also note that there are several Saturday games, and one Monday game.

11/29 @ Woodinville Jamboree
12/5 @ Glacier Peak
12/9 vs Burlington
12/12 @ Cascade
12/16 vs Snohomish
12/19 vs Everett
12/20 @ Lake Stevens
12/26 & 27 1st Annual Santa Slam Tournament @ OHHS
1/6 @ Arlington
1/8 vs Stanwood
1/10 @ Monroe
1/13 @ Marysville
1/20 vs Cascade
1/23 @ Snohomish
1/27 @ Everett
1/30 vs Lake Stevens
2/3 vs Arlington
2/6 @ Stanwood
2/9 vs Monroe
2/11 vs Marysville - Senior Night
2/12 WESCO Tiebreaker, if needed
12/13-28 - District Tournament @ Jackson & Marysville
3/4 - State Tournament @ Tacome Dome

OHHS Wrestling schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Wrestling schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
All dual meets have a JV start time of 5:45pm, with Varsity at 7pm. Tournaments start between 9 - 10 am.
12/5 @ Mariner vs Kamiak & Mariner
12/11 vs Mountlake Terrace @ OHHS
12/13 - Varsity @ Sedro Tournament, JV @ Snohomish Tournament
12/16 @ Snohomish
12/18 @ Everett
12/20 - Varsity @ Squalicum Tournament, JV @ Everett Tournament
1/3 - Varsity @ Eastmont Tournament, JV @ Arlington Tournament
1/7 vs Arlington @ OHHS
1/9 vs Stanwood @ OHHS
1/10 @ Everett Classic Tournament
1/13 vs Marysville @ OHHS
1/17 @ Kelso Tournament
1/22 @ Monroe
1/24 - Varsity @ Tahoma Tournament, JV @ Cavalero (Lake Stevens) Tourney
1/27 vs Cascade @ OHHS
1/29 vs Lake Stevens @ OHHS - Senior Night
2/6 & 7 - WESCO Tournament @ Marysville
2/14 - Regional Tournament @ TBD
2/20 & 21 - State Tournament @ Tacoma Dome

OHHS Boys Swim Schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Boys Swim schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
All home swim meets start at 2:45pm. Away meets have various start times, ranging from 2:45pm to 3:30pm. Saturday dive competitions start at 10am
12/2 @ Lynden YMCA vs Lynden
12/4 - Stanwood at Vanderzicht Pool
12/9 - Jackson at Vanderzicht Pool
12/11 @ Lynnwood Pool vs Meadowdale & Lynnwood
12/16 - Snohomish & Glacier Peak at Vanderzicht Pool
1/8 @ Everett vs Everett (Mill Creek or Forest Park Pool)
1/10 @ Marysville or Anacortes - Diving competition
1/13 @ Kamiak Pool vs Mariner & Jackson
1/15 @ Everett vs Cascade (Mill Creek or Forest Park Pool)
1/17 @ Kamiak Pool - Diving competition
1/20 - Burlington & Sedro @ Vanderzicht Pool
1/22 @ Lake Stevens Pool vs Lake Stevens
1/24 @ Marysville or Anacortes - Diving competition
1/27 @ Mt. Vernon vs Mt. Vernon
1/29 @ Marysville vs Marysville
2/5 - JV Championships @ Kamiak Pool

2/12 - 4A North Sectionals @ Marysville
2/13 - 4A North Dive prelims @ Marysville
2/14 - 4A North District Finals @ Marysville
2/20&21 - State @ Federal Way

Girls Swimming

Here are OH results from the State Swim meet last weekend in Federal Way. OHHS sent two swimmers, Freshman Ciara Hu and Sophomore Amanda Struebel (who is from Coupeville). Hu competed in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly while Streubel was in the 100 backstroke.

Ciara finished 18th overall in the 200 IM with a time of 2:16.50, and finished 21st in the butterfly event with a time of 1:02.66.

Amanda was had the 11th best time coming out of the prelims with a time of 1:02.01 and swam in the finals. Although her finals time was .3 seconds slower, she moved up a place to finish 10th overall.

Congratulations to both girls for their efforts, and congrats to all their teammates who supported them as they swam their way to state.