THE ISSAQUAHPRESS
SPORTS
Page B4
Wednesday December 12, 2012
Issaquah girls bolt out to a 5-0 start By John Leggett ip-sports@isspress.com The Issaquah High School girls basketball squad has compiled a 5-0 overall record in its first five contests and is the frontrunner in the Crown Division of the KingCo 4A. In a sport that customarily requires possessing several inordinately tall girls on your roster, the Eagles don’t have a starter who is even 5 feet, 11 inches. So how have they accomplished the unblemished record so far? Those who are wise to what’s what on the KingCo 4A girls basketball scene suspect that it is because, for the 15th season in a row, veteran coach Kathy Gibson is the master architect of the girls basketball program at IHS, and she knows how to build winners. Last year’s version of the purple and gold girl hoopsters, despite the same dearth of any substantial height, missed the state tournament by one victory. “Oh, believe me, size matters in basketball,” Gibson said, “but over the years at Issaquah, we have developed a reputation for
Skyline wrestlers win plateau face-off
UP NEXT
By Lillian O’Rorke ltucker@ sammamishreview.com
4Skyline at Issaquah 46:30 p.m. Dec. 14
In a match Dec. 6 where there were just as many pins as decision wins and even more forfeits, the Skyline High School Spartans beat the Eastlake Wolves, 40-30.
compensating for our lack of the giants that schools like Inglemoor almost always have, with our athleticism, aggressiveness and hustle. Also, by making sure that we knock down our open looks when the potential uncontested shots present themselves.” Thus far, the Issaquah team has been steamrolling its competition. It beat Juanita in the season opener at the Eagles Nest, 63-56; topped EdmondsWoodway, 62-55, on the road; and blew away both Roosevelt and Garfield in the 2012-13 season’s two initial Crown Division meetings — 44-26 against the Roughriders and 54-31 against the Bulldogs. The Eagles flew deep behind enemy lines Dec. 7, when they took the long bus ride to Garfield High School, then emerged with their mission accomplished as they kept a short leash See EAGLES,
UP NEXT 4Skyline wrestling team v. Roosevelt and Woodinville 46 p.m. Dec. 13 4Redmond High School
PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR
Above, Mackenzie Wieburg, Issaquah High School junior guard, is triple-teamed on an offensive rebound attempt by (from left) Mykesha Hall, Aiden Maloney-Bertelli and Cierra Levias, of Garfield, during the fourth quarter Dec. 7 game against the Bulldogs. Below left, Jozie Crisafulli, Issaquah junior forward, is double-fouled taking a shot during the first quarter by Garfield’s Aireonna Davis (right) and Cierra Levias. Below right, Aimee Brakken (12), Issaquah High School senior guard, tries to put up two of her 12 points against Garfield junior center Page B5 Aiden Aaloney-Bertelli during the first quarter.
“We brought some intensity. Eastlake stepped up,” Skyline coach Gus Kiss said. “Our kids still had to step up and we did.” The Spartans gave up 24 points in forfeits at 170, 180 and the top two heavyweights, but received one forfeit at 106. Skyline racked up three pins, all within the first period of the match. In the 113 weight class, Nathan Swanson won in 1 minute, 32 seconds. At 120, Kody Nguyen pinned his opponent in 31 seconds. As the night’s event started at the 132-pound weight class, Justin Manipis, at 126, was the final Spartan to grapple. Skyline was leading 34-30 but a major decision, technical fall or pin by Eastlake could change that. “I knew I needed to go out there and secure a win,” Manipis said. “So, I just went out there and wrestled. I didn’t really think about it. Everything flowed and everything fell into place.” Manipis pinned his opponent in 1:02. Skyline secured several other wins that night, including a major decision See WRESTLING, Page B5
Juanita too physical for Liberty By Christina Corrales-Toy newcastle@isspress.com
BY GREG FARRAR
Skyline junior Matt Haynie wins the 500-yard freestyle race Dec. 4 at Redmond Pool with a time of 5 minutes, 35.54 seconds.
Skyline falls to Redmond, Eastlake in season opener By Lillian O’Rorke ltucker@ sammamishreview.com With more than a dozen of its 63 competitors missing, the Skyline High School boys swim team took to the pool Dec. 4 for its season opener dual meet, eventually losing 96-87 to Redmond and 101-84.5 to Eastlake. “The boys still did really, really well. We are really pleased with them,” Skyline coach Susan Simpkins said. Athletes must have at least 10 practices before they can compete. “I think when we get all our kids qualified to swim, after the 10-practice thing, we
will have a well-rounded team.” This year, she added, the team’s leadership in terms of experience comes from a strong group of juniors: Paul Jett, Matt Haynie and Nick D’Alo. Those three, along with several others, helped the Skyline Spartans grab several victories. After starting out headto-head with Redmond and Eastlake in the 100 free, Jett pulled ahead for the win. His time of 52.45 also bought him a ticket for districts. By the time freshman Nick Nava dove in the water for the second leg of See SWIMMING, Page B5
For the first time this season, the Liberty High School gymnasium was buzzing with excitement, filled with an energetic student section ready to cheer on its girls basketball team in the Dec. 7 home opener against the Juanita Rebels. But nerves, and the enthusiasm that comes with the first home game of the season, may have gotten the best of the Patriots, who fell to Juanita, 5237, Liberty coach Randy Leifer said. “I think part of it was nerves. You know we’re a pretty young team and it was our first home game, so they were excited,” he said. The Patriots put themselves in a hole early, with poor shooting to begin the first half, sending the team into halftime down 23-13 to the Rebels. But an energized Patriots team emerged for the second half, going on a run in which Liberty outscored Juanita, 14-10, in the third quarter. With six minutes left in the game, Liberty had cut the deficit to just four points, with the Rebels leading, 36-32. But the
short comeback was not enough to turn things around against the physical Juanita squad. “We couldn’t make a basket early in the game, and then we settled in and shot a little bit better, and we got back in it and it looked like we were going to have a shot, and then we just missed a couple of opportunities,” Leifer said. He gave a lot of credit to Juanita, a team that he said is probably among the best in the league. “I think they are one of the top one or two teams in the league,” he said. “They’re a tough matchup for us, because they are physically so strong inside and their guards are so good.” After witnessing the game, this week’s practice will be devoted to cleaning up shooting mistakes and playing a more physical brand of basketball, Leifer said. “I thought we played hard, but we didn’t shoot the ball very well, and we made too many mistakes, and they really hurt us on the boards,” he said. Liberty has a relatively young team this year, with only one senior, Delane Agnew, who led the team in scoring with 10 points during the Juanita game.
The Patriots return three all-league performers in Agnew, point guard Sierra Carlson and forward Ashlan Applegate, who all made honorable mention last year. While the season is still in its infancy, Leifer said he has already seen good things from Agnew, Applegate and Carlson, as well as post Rebekah Campbell and sophomore Cherelle Demps. “I think we’re a very deep team,” Leifer said. “We’re fairly athletic and we just need to shoot the ball better.” But he said the team will need to step it up, in order to be considered among the best in the conference. “I think we’ve got a lot of even players and we need to have a few people step up, but I’m not sure which one of those that’s going to be yet,” he said. “We’re going to have to play better if we want to be in that top group.” Boys fall to Juanita, too It was a Dec. 7 doubleheader at Liberty High School, as the boys also took on Juanita shortly after the girls’ game. But the result was the same, with the Patriots falling to the Rebels, 76-
BY CHRISTINA CORRALES-TOY
Delane Agnew, Liberty High School’s senior forward, is fouled from behind by Juanita’s Tayler Lloyd during their Dec. 7 game. Juanita beat Liberty, 52-37.
61, beginning conference play with a loss.