Today (12/1): Tumwater plays for the state title
There isn’t a whole lot more that I can say about today’s 2A state football championship game between Tumwater and Lynden, so I’ll just give you some links…
The Lynden connection for QB Jayden Croft – The Olympian
Mrs. A’s brownies – The Olympian
Feature on OLB David Durden – The Olympian
Feature on Jamie Bryant and the “bouquet toss” – The News-Tribune
Lynden, Tumwater to meet for 2A state title – Bellingham Herald
Feature on Lynden’s senior class – Bellingham Herald
That should provide you with plenty of reading material for this morning before the game.
Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM at the Tacoma Dome and if you are unable to make it to Tacoma, you can watch the game live on the WIAA Network.
I will add that I have been really impressed by Tumwater’s run to the final. I have only been able to see them play once this season, against Shelton on opening day, their only loss of the season falling to the Highclimbers 42-21. To be honest, my broadcast partner and I didn’t come away from that game particularly impressed by the T-Birds. They looked flustered, confused, young and inexperienced. But there were definitely flashes of brilliance and I think that Sid Otton’s superior coaching took over and made this team come together after that loss. It all came to a head against Capital and after that huge win, they have never looked back.
But, after watching them run all over Capital, I expect Lynden to capture the title with relative ease. My prediction: Lynden 35, Tumwater 21.
Friday scoreboard: Oly tops Cougs, Navigators sweep
Boy’s basketball
Olympia 69, Capital 49
Northwest Christian 53, Orting 51
Centralia 60, North Thurston 34
Black Hills vs. Skyline – No report
Girl’s basketball
Northwest Christian 59, Orting 21
Mark Morris 83, Tumwater 40
RA Long 48, Capital 29
River Ridge vs. Auburn-Mountainview – No report
Tumwater Pioneers release roster for debut game against Kitsap
(Press release from the Tumwater Pioneers)
TUMWATER, WA – The Tumwater Pioneers make their PASL debut on Saturday, December 1st when they travel to Bremerton to take on the Kitsap Pumas at the Olympic Soccer and Sports Center. Today, the Pioneers are proud to announce the “Pioneer 17”, the founding roster that earned the opportunity in preseason to represent the Pioneers in their debut match against the Pumas. The “Pioneer 17” is a mix of experienced veterans and younger players with a heavy Evergreen State College flavor.
Ten of the “Pioneer 17” are former or current Evergreen Geoducks. Head coach and goalkeeper Matt Stalnik followed his career at Evergreen with indoor stints with the Denver Dynamite and Wenatchee Fire. The Soldotna, Alaska native took a season off last year to work in the oil fields of Alaska but returned to Olympia this season to lead the Pioneers.
Former Geoducks include defender Chris Pugh and midfielder Matt Herrera, both graduates of North Thurston High School in Lacey. Pugh earned All-Cascade Conference second team honors in 2002 and Herrera is currently the head coach of his alma mater Rams boy’s soccer team. Forward Corey Johnson was a tw0 time all-conference honoree who, along with defender Carl Determeyer, wrapped up their careers at Evergreen in 2011. And defender Kyle Foster was an All-Cascade Conference first teamer in 2009.
Four members of the 2012 Evergreen squad that finished second in the Cascade Conference will also represent the Pioneers on the initial roster. Goalkeeper Mauricio Sanchez was a second team all-conference honoree for the Geoducks. The junior from Wenatchee made 42 saves in nine games and posted a 7-2 record. Midfielder George Bundy was also named to the conference second team in his senior season. The Enumclaw native played in 18 games with three assists. He is joined by Kevin Flavin, a senior who scored five goals with five assists in 2012 and fellow senior Kyle Wiese.
A handful of non-Evergreen players make up the rest of the “Pioneer 17” including assistant head coach and defender Kevin Creeley. The Olympia High School graduate is one of the most experienced indoor players on the team and has spent time with the Tacoma Stars. Auburn-Riverside alum Mike Rancipher Jr. is also an experienced indoor player and a solid preseason has earned him a spot in the lineup.
Midfielder Ivan Gonzalez joins the Pioneers after wrapping up his junior season at Saint Martin’s. The Salem, Oregon native started 16 games for the Saints and tallied two assists. He is joined by a former Saint, Pasco’s Sergio Lopez, who will play forward for the Pioneers.
South Puget Sound Community College is represented by 18 year-old freshman defender Riley Hoiem and former Clipper and Olympia native Logan Smith, a 22 year-old midfielder.
And rounding out the roster, a player that has been playing soccer longer than any of the rest of the roster has been alive, 42 year-old Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz is a versatile presence for the Pioneers and will play midfield, defense and serve as emergency goalkeeper.
The “Pioneer 17” make their debut on Saturday night when they travel to Bremerton to take on the Kitsap Pumas. First kick at Olympic Soccer and Sports Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Updates from the game can be found on the Tumwater Pioneers Twitter page, @TumwaterPios.
Disclosure: Oly Sports manages the media relations for the Pioneers.
Today (11/30): Spaghetti Bowl hoops, Wolves host Skyline; Navs, Hawks, T-Birds in action
Boy’s basketball
Capital @ Olympia – Olympia HS – 7:00 PM
Black Hills vs. Skyline – Black Hills HS – 7:00 PM
Northwest Christian vs. Orting – Northwest Christian HS – 7:00 PM
Girl’s basketball
Northwest Christian vs. Orting – Northwest Christian HS – 5:45 PM
River Ridge vs. Auburn-Mountainview – River Ridge HS – 7:30 PM
Tumwater vs. Mark Morris – Tumwater HS – 7:30 PM
Thursday scoreboard: Saints rally but come up short; Hawks win a pair
Men’s basketball
Central Washington 81, Saint Martin’s 75 – Recap from SMUSaints.com
Women’s basketball
Simon Fraser 82, Saint Martin’s 45 – Recap from SMUSaints.com
Boy’s basketball
River Ridge 57, Washington 45
Women’s basketball
River Ridge 76, Steilacoom 10
Pe Ell 56, Northwest Christian 18
Tonight (11/29): Saints host McLaughlin, Central
Counting basketball in November? It’s true. The Saint Martin’s men’s basketball kicks off the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season when they take on Central Washington tonight at Marcus Pavilion.
Saint Martin’s hasn’t hit the court since November 20th when they knocked off Northwest Christian 74-66 at home. Roger O’Neill scored 19 points including 13 points in the second half. Evan Coulter added 18 points, 14 of which came in the first half. The Saints shot 55.1% from the floor and will have to continue to shoot the rock well against the Wildcats.
Central Washington comes into the game at 4-1 and are coming off a 92-74 win over Walla Walla on Monday. Their only loss came to Azusa Pacific in overtime in their opener. The Wildcats did drop an exhibition game to Idaho, 92-75.
The Titans Wildcats feature seven Tacoma Community College transfers including preseason all-conference picks Mark McLaughlin and Jordan Coby. McLaughlin comes to Central after leading the NWAACC with 27.6 points per game and pulling down 8.1 boards per game.
McLaughlin’s journey has been fascinating. He originally committed to Washington State before his senior season at Inglemoor High School. He broke his commitment and signed with Nevada and then left Inglemoor for a New Hampshire prep school. When head coach Mark Fox left Nevada, McLaughlin was allowed to break his commitment and ended up signing with Baylor but left the school before the season and transferred to Seattle U. He played just 17 games for the Redhawks and ended up in Tacoma for the 2010-2011 season. He played a full season and was named MVP of the west region and committed to the University of Washington but McLaughlin again suddenly broke his commitment and enrolled at Central where he leads the team and the GNAC with 25 points per game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM and if you can’t make it to the Pavilion, you can listen to me call the game on the live webcast on SMUSaints.com.
Wednesday scoreboard: Cougars, Bears, Wolves post non-league wins
Boy’s basketball
Capital 60, North Thurston 50
Shelton 41, Black Hills 35
Women’s basketball
Shoreline 70, SPSCC 41 – Box score
Girl’s basketball
Olympia 43, Lincoln 41
Black Hills 67, Shelton 14
River Ridge vs. Steilacoom – No report
Today (11/28): SPSCC women home opener; Rams battle Cougars
Women’s basketball
SPSCC vs. Shoreline – SPSCC – 6:00 PM
Girl’s basketball
River Ridge vs. Steilacoom – River Ridge HS – 7:00 PM
Boy’s basketball
North Thurston @ Capital – Capital HS – 7:00 PM
Saints, Geoducks looking for new volleyball coaches
Saint Martin’s announced today that Phil Ibarra has stepped down as head volleyball coach. Ibarra spent eight seasons at the helm and posted a 28-169 record. Ibarra’s best stretch at SMU came over the last two seasons. In 2011 the Saints posted a 7-18 overall mark, the most wins since the school joined the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and this season the Saints went 6-18. But over his tenure, Saint Martin’s finished last in the GNAC five times.
Earlier this month, Evergreen announced that Greg Spector resigned after two winless seasons as head volleyball coach. Spector went 0-46 in his time as a Geoduck.
College volleyball in Olympia has been dreadful for a very long time. Since 2001, Evergreen and Saint Martin’s are a combined 96-455. Saint Martin’s holds a slight edge in winning percentage during that time period at .206 (52-252) while Evergreen sits at .178 (44-203).
Meanwhile, since 2001, the eight Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater high schools have combined to go to the state tournament 39 times with two state championships and two second place finishes. Not sure if that means anything or not but I thought I would throw it out there.
Fink, Maroons and the early days of Olympia baseball
Emmett O’Connell takes an interesting look at minor league baseball in Olympia between the years of 1903-1910 today on his blog Olympia Time.
When the Olympia Maroons opened in a exhibition on April 19, 1903 against the Tacoma Athletes, an amateur team, Olympia won 4-1. Six hundred Olympians support the Maroons with “lusty yells.”
The board of directors meetings for the Olympia Maroons are public in 1903 and covered like local government meetings. For example, a decision to charge admission is discussed in a regular news column. It’ll cost 25 cents to get into the park, and additional 25 cents to get into the grandstands. Ladies get into the grandstands for free.
Lusty yells! Lusty yells!
Oly Sports 