The Issaquah Press
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LEAP OF FAITH
Sports
Wednesday September 26, 2012
s F ish J ournal Return of the nerka — it’s starting
Skyline grad wins silver at London Paralympics By Lillian O’Rorke ltucker@ sammamishreview.com
In 2002, Jeff Skiba, then a senior at Skyline High School, won the 3A state high jump championship. But it wasn’t just his 6-foot, 10-inch jump that was impressive — Skiba had one of his legs amputated as an infant. Jeff Skiba He never let that slow him down and a decade later he’s still at it. On Sept. 8, this time on the world stage, Skiba thrust himself 2.04 meters, or 6 feet and 8.3 inches, to clear the bar and win the silver medal at the London Paralympics. “The stands were packed,” said Skiba, who also competed in the men’s javelin throw at the games and finished in eighth place Sept. 2 with a distance of 49.09 meters (161 feet). “It was just incredible.” This was not Skiba’s first trip to the Paralympics. He first competed in the 2004 games in Athens, where he also won silver in the high jump. In 2008, he traveled to Beijing. While it was a bad year for the financial sector, it was a great year for Skiba. He won the gold medal for the high jump By Randy Richardson
See SILVER,
Liberty tennis falls to Lake Washington The Liberty High School boys tennis team was blanked 7-0 by a solid Lake Washington team in a Sept. 20 3A/2A KingCo Conference match. The Patriots came into the match with a 1-1 conference record after they defeated Juanita on Sept. 18. Liberty coach Mike Salokas said Lake Washington was the stronger team that day, but he’s optimistic about the future of his young squad. “We have a solid, kind of young team,” he said. “I think the future looks very bright for Liberty High School. We have some learning to do, we have somewhat of a bumpy road ahead but again, I’m optimistic about the future.”
Jeff Skiba, of Issaquah, clears the high jump bar at 6 feet, 8.3 inches Sept. 8 during the Page B5 2012 London Paralympics.
PASSING THE ENDURANCE TEST Garrett Heitman, of Seattle, leans against his muddy mountain bike Sept. 22 after winning the first-ever Tiger Mountain Enduro. Heitman was first overall and first in the Pro Male division with an accumulated time of 32 minutes, 47.9 seconds over the three stages of the race. The Sept. 22 race, attracting 150 bikers and organized by the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, was a fundraiser for building and maintaining bike trails on Tiger and was the first-ever race on the mountain to be sanctioned by the state Department of Natural Resources.
Hat trick in eight Rachel Shim not only earned a hat trick Sept. 18 in Skyline High School’s soccer match against Newport, but did so in the game’s first eight minutes. The Skyline Spartan’s first goal came in the second minute, when Shim headed a corner kick by Lauren Carson, a sophomore midfielder for the team. Shim then made an unassisted goal with a shot from the middle of the box in the fifth minute. Three minutes later, the senior forward had her hat trick when she headed yet another corner kick — this time from fellow team captain Lianna Simms. Goalkeepers Sydney Martinez and Emily Baril combined for Skyline’s shutout and the Spartans won, 3-0.
By Greg Farrar
SLIDESHOW Find more photos from the Evergreen Enduro Race at www.issaquahpress.com.
Oncorhynchus nerka, our kokanee salmon in Lake Sammamish, is a threatened native species with greatly reduced numbers spawning in streams feeding the lake. Most of their historical spawning areas are now denied by barriers or degraded Dallas Cross as a result of land development. Until recently, Lake Sammamish kokanee have not been included with other salmon species in conservation measures and have been low in profile for public concern. For the past several years, an effort of the environmentally concerned and governmental communities adjacent to Lake Sammamish have participated in defining the problem, setting goals and taking action to address the threatened loss of the kokanee. Most visible in these efforts are the members of the Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group, which includes watershed residents, the Snoqualmie Tribe, King County and the cities around the lake, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Trout Unlimited, Save Lake Sammamish and the Friends of Pine Lake. The goal of consensus is to restore the kokanee population in Lake Sammamish to a level that can successfully continue through natural reproduction and again provide sufficient numbers for fishing. Immediate goals of the Kokanee Work Group encompass two approaches — supplementation of native kokanee populations in the lake and restoration of spawning habitat. There are some current actions and planned actions that may offer hope for our historically signature fish of Lake Sammamish and its watershed creeks. Supplementing the kokanee population — an interim fix The Issaquah Salmon See NERKA, Page B5
Spartans thrash Roughriders, 57-14, to remain unbeaten Skyline High School opened its league campaign on the road as it bludgeoned the Roosevelt Roughriders, 57-14, in KingCo 4A gridiron action at Memorial Stadium Sept. 21, to move its overall record to 4-0. Spartans quarterback Max Browne spearheaded the lopsided Skyline conquest as he threw for well over 300 yards and a trio of touchdown strikes to seal the Roughriders’ fate. The outcome of the contest was never in doubt as Skyline’s offensive machine sprinted out to a 43-7 halftime advantage, bolstered not only via the stalwart passing arm of Browne but also a reliable ground attack. Cedric Cooper and Jack Valencia culminated long drives in the evening as they scampered and plunged in from 13 yards and 1 yard out, respectively, for a pair of touchdowns on the
Newport rolls past No. 8 Issaquah, 40-21
F ootball R oundup ground. Skyline maintained its 40-point margin of victory in this one-sided tilt with Roosevelt, as in its previous three outings, the last of which was a 71-15 pummeling of Coeur d’Alene High School in Idaho Sept. 15. Most of the games have been decided by intermission. By Jim Nicholson
Turnovers, injuries plague Patriots in loss to Juanita
Elliott Welnak (74), Skyline High School junior defensive lineman, is cheered by teammates as he runs his fumble recovery back for a touchdown Sept. 21 against Roosevelt at Memorial Stadium.
The Liberty High School football team fell to Juanita, 28-21, on Sept. 21 when the Patriots traveled to Kirkland to take on the Rebels. At halftime, the score was tied at 14, but the Patriots took a hit when three key starters — including quarterback Robbie Thomas — were knocked out of the game
with injuries. Those injuries, combined with several turnovers, were too much to overcome, Liberty coach Steve Valach said. “It was a tough loss,” he said. “We had five turnovers and clearly it’s tough to win when you do that. I think that was a major fac-
tor in the game.” Tynan Gilmore had two receiving touchdowns in the first half for the Patriots. Liberty sophomore Russell Boston had a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Liberty heads out on the road again next week when the team takes on Lake Washington on Sept. 28.
After losing in six consecutive seasons to neighboring Issaquah, the Newport High School Knights took advantage of a strong running game and five Issaquah turnovers to roll to a 40-21 victory in the KingCo 4A Crest Division opener for both teams. After getting trounced by the Eagles by an average of 25 points the past six seasons, the Knights built a 21-7 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes, and then exploited three secondhalf turnovers by Issaquah while controlling the ball and dominating the clock. Time of possession in the second half: Newport 17:46, Issaquah 6:14. Issaquah fumbled the ball away on the game’s first drive on a fourth-and-one attempt from its own 33. Four plays later, Newport’s
Conner Baumann scored his first of two touchdowns on a 10-yard run. Issaquah responded two plays later with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Jack Neary to Reed Peterson, but Dotson scored on a 30yard dash up the middle to put Newport up 14-7. Six minutes later, the Knights were up 21-7 after a 16yard scoring run on thirdand-11 by Eric Rodan. Conference rushing leader Jack Gellatly (17 carries, 139 yards) scored from a yard out in the final 15 seconds of the second quarter to cut Newport’s lead to 21-14. But the Knights drove 80 yards on 16 plays to open the second half with a 3-yard touchdown run by Paul Well. The Eagles play Roosevelt at home at 7 p.m. Sept. 28. — Issaquah High School brief by Terry Wood, special to The Seattle Times