The Hazen boys swim and dive team won the Seamount League meet Feb. 3-4, edging Kennedy Catholic by five points.
The Highlanders scored 355 points to the Lancers’ 350. Lindbergh finished third at 243. Renton came in fourth, with 90 points. Highline took fifth with 80 points and Evergreen finished sixth with 18 points.
Liberty’s Logan Briggs was the only double-event winner and the Patriots took third at the KingCo boys swimming championships Feb. 3-4.
Briggs won the 200 free and the 100 back. He broke a meet record in the 100 back, with a time of 54.07 seconds (old record was 54.40). Junior Raymond Ha also came away with a win in the 100 back.
Steve Sholdra can’t stop. Whether it’s another board to join, another scholarship to earn, or another few seconds to shave off his swim times, Sholdra isn’t afraid to take on a new challenge.
“All the pressure, all the opportunities, it’s a really strong part of my childhood,” Sholdra said. “Having to balance out and schedule my time so closely will really help in college.”
Washington soccer coaches selected Liberty senior Cassidy Nangle as the 3A soccer MVP. Nangle also made the all-state first team as announced Monday.
Renton girls basketball coach Tim White saw this coming. He knew this team would have just the right mix to be something special. So far, he’s been right.
The Indians are off to a perfect 8-0 start in the Seamount and stand at 9-4 overall, even with a challenging non-league schedule.
The Lindbergh girls team is well on its way to a winning season for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.
“When we play together on the court, we can play with anybody,” said coach Allen Dodson. “We’re not just trying to stay in games anymore. We’re trying to win games.”
With less than a month to go until play basketball games start in early February, here’s a look at how Renton’s teams stand.
It didn’t take long for Hazen’s Airashay Rogers to assert herself to coach Jeff Bernhardt. During the second summer-league game before her freshman year, Roger sat Bernhardt down and asked him a simple question.
“She said, ‘Coach, why am I not starting?’” Bernhardt recalled. “This is the second day I’ve ever been in a gym with her, everyone’s got to pay their dues. But she was ready to go.”
A late run by Port Angeles pushed the Roughriders ahead of the Renton girls basketball team 44-42 Wednesday night.
The Liberty boys swim and dive team edged Hazen 97-86 Tuesday.
The Patriots controlled the top of the events, while Hazen’s superior depth kept the meet close.
A year ago, Hazen wrestling coach Rory Magana’s father Rodney sat on the sideline and watched as the Highlanders faced off in a double dual. This year the same event will be held at Hazen, but the seat will be empty.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2010, Rodney passed away at 55 years old June 18, 2011. It’s because of that loss that Magana has turned the double dual match into the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Night at Hazen Jan. 13.
Roughly half-way through the boys swim and dive season, several Renton athletes are already serving notice they’ll be forces in the postseason.
Renton’s Steve Sholdra has the top 2A state time in the 500- and 200-yard freestyle events, as well as the 200 individual medley. He also has 2A’s second-best time in the 100 free.
The Liberty girls basketball team got off to a quick start and never looked back, beating Hazen 66-39 Thursday night.
The Patriots (7-0 overall, 4-0 KingCo 3A/2A) got off to a 15-1 start and led 23-5 at the end of the first quarter. Hazen (3-4, 2-2 Seamount) trailed by as many as 29 in the third quarter before and 8-0 run got them a little closer. The teams were even, at 24-24 in the second half.
The one thing that the Renton Results Boot Camp isn’t: boring.
Fitness expert Luka Hocevar makes sure of that. Hocevar runs the boot camp at Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance, located at 1222 Bronson Way North in Renton.
With one of the Seamount’s best players and plenty of depth, first-year Lindbergh boys basketball coach Robert Graham is confident and ready to roll.
“We’re not going to lose to many basketball games,” Graham said. “The main thing is that these are good kids, that’s why I really think this team is going to go a long ways.”
If there’s one thing Liberty boys basketball coach Joe Fithian knows for sure about his Patriots, it’s that they will play hard on defense.
“They’re gritty,” Fithian said. “We don’t give anybody a steady diet of anything and the guys are all really in tune to what we’re trying to do.”
For Lindbergh girls basketball coach Allen Dodson, it’s simple. He wants to get back to the Old Lindbergh. By that he means he wants the Eagles to again be a yearly league and playoff contender. By that he means the team that went 39-10 from 2006 to 2008.
Since then the team has struggled much of the time. The Eagles have gone 2-14 and 9-10 past two years. But through that 9-10 record the progress was already visible. Lindbergh won five straight games during a late-season run to get in playoff position.
Things are different for this year’s Liberty girls basketball team, but the Patriots have still been able to pull out close wins while trying to find the right chemistry.
“Everybody is still trying to figure out their roles,” said Liberty coach Randy Leifer. “We’re considerably shorter this year and a little quicker.”
With four seniors who provided the bulk of production and played the bulk of the minutes for the Hazen boys basketball team now gone, you should expect to see a different team this season.
One thing you shouldn’t expect to see: A sudden drop in production.
The Hazen boys basketball team led from start to finish and beat Lindbergh 66-56 Wednesday night.
The Highlanders (2-1 overall, 1-0 Seamount) led 22-10 after the first quarter and 36-25 at the half. Lindbergh (2-1, 0-1) trailed by as many as 17 in the second half, then got as close as seven with late runs.
