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COMMUNITY
August 14, 2013
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Community, public safety connect at Sammamish Commons By Neil Pierson
As part of the National Night Out event that takes place in cities across the country, the city of Sammamish hosted its Safe and Sound Sammamish festival Aug. 6. The three-hour event at the Sammamish Commons attracted hundreds of guests, who were able to interact with a wide variety of public service entities. Officials from Eastside Fire & Rescue, the Sammamish Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service, among other agencies, were on hand to interact with the crowd and give children an up-close look at their equipment. There was also plenty of family-friendly entertainment. Radio Disney AM 1250 of Seattle sent its road crew to provide arts and crafts, games and
stage performances, including a dance number with the Eastlake High School cheerleaders. Comedic magician Louie Foxx also put on an entertaining show for visitors. Foxx has appeared on several noteworthy television shows, including “America’s Got Talent” and “Evening Magazine.” He holds two Guinness World Records, one for bouncing a soap bubble on his finger 107 times. National Night Out is a program started in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch. On the first Tuesday of August, people across the country partner with police and “send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back,” the NATW website states. More than 37 million people in 15,000 communities and all 50 states took part in National Night Out last year.
Sais Singh of Republic Services helps 9-year-old Allyson Jones view the cab of a recycling truck.
Vismaya Hegde, 4, spends some quality time with Tessa, an Irish Wolfhound, at the Canine Behavior Center tent. Firefighter Jenny Oltmann of Eastside Fire and Rescue points out the features of a fire truck to 4-year-old Ryan Gorby.
Photos by Neil Pierson
Seattle-based magician Louis Foxx, who holds two Guinness World Records, clowns around with the crowd.
J.C. McIntosh of the U.S. Forest Service passes out stickers to children at the Safe and Sound Sammamish event. Andy Weekley of the King County Sheriff’s Office swift water rescue team converses with visitors at the Safe and Sound Sammamish event.
Eastlake High School cheerleaders watch the act of magician Louis Foxx.
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SportS
August 14, 2013
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Wang brothers have serious skills on the golf course By Neil Pierson
Anyone who has followed the Eastlake High School golf program over the past four years is plenty familiar with Li Wang, a three-time Class 4A state runner-up who will play for Yale University this fall. What might be less familiar to Eastlake fans is the fact that Li’s younger brother, Victor, is a rising star in his own right. Victor recently won two Washington Junior Golf Association tournaments, and has his sights set on many of the same goals Li has already accomplished. Victor captured a WJGA district title July 23 at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle. In two ninehole rounds, he shot 34 and 39 to win by three strokes. He followed that up with a 36-hole victory at the WJGA state championship, held July 31 to Aug. 2 at Meadow Park Golf Course in Tacoma and The Home Course in neighboring DuPont. At the latter tourney, Victor outmatched 29 other boys in the 8-11 age division. He shot 34 and 39 in a pair of nine-hole rounds, and followed it up with a 79 over 18 holes to beat Spokane’s Nate Plaster by five strokes. Victor said the two events tested his skills. Broadmoor’s greens challenged him even though he
Photo by Neil Pierson
Victor Wang and older brother Li Wang have an affinity for golf. The Sammamish residents have dominated their competition lately, with Victor winning two junior titles this summer and Li headed for Yale University following a successful career at Eastlake High School. believes his putting is the strongest part of his game. “The greens were fast, pretty firm, and it was pretty long considering my age,” he said. “I had to reach a lot of the par fours with woods … and it was plenty tough.”
It was a performance Li Wang had to be pleased with. Li was a four-time WJGA state champion, and his outstanding prep career at Eastlake earned him multiple scholarship offers from Pacific-12 Conference universities. “But in the end, my family has
always put education first, and I looked into Harvard and Yale for the education side of it,” Li said. The Yale campus impressed Li, he said, and the “down to earth” nature of Bulldogs coach Colin Sheehan sold him on his destination.
“It’s just a fun fact, but Yale actually has the most (golf) national championships out of any school,” Li said. “Golf is a part of their tradition.” Li has been transitioning between junior and amateur golf events, which has resulted in a relatively light summer schedule. However, he made good on one of his few competitions, winning the Seattle Amateur Championship on July 3. He shot 5-under par over three rounds. The victory helped him get back on track after the disappointment he felt from his final high-school tournament. Although Eastlake won the team championship, Li couldn’t sustain his hot start and finished second in the individual standings for the third straight season. “I was tied for the lead after the first round, but I felt like I should’ve had a five-shot lead,” he said. “And then the second round, I didn’t play well there, so I felt like I had the tournament and I threw it away this year.” Another consolation for Li is the influence he’s had on Victor. They’re both members at Sahalee Country Club, and play together often. Victor, who will enter sixth grade this year at Redmond Middle School, thinks he’s inherited Li’s competitiveness and sweet swing. See GOLF, Page 13
Fighting spirit leads Eastlake to World Series berth By Neil Pierson
After a thrilling semifinal victory that came in its last at-bat, the Northwest Regional championship game turned out to be rather anticlimactic for the Eastlake Little League all-stars. Eastlake needed a sixth-inning rally to defeat Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Aug. 8, but things weren’t so hair-raising in the Aug. 10 title game. Eastlake scored six times in the first inning and walloped Big Sky Little League, of Billings, Mont., 13-1, in four innings at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, Calif. Not content with earning the program’s first regional berth, the Eastlake players are heading to the Little League World Series this week in South Williamsport, Pa. They’ll open the double-elimination tourney Aug. 15 with a noon start against Universal Little League, of Corpus Christi, Texas. The World Series, which includes eight U.S. teams and eight
Little League support The Eastlake all-stars are the 10th team from Washington - and the first since 2010 - to earn a spot at the Little League World Series. The team is looking to raise money to cover travel expenses for family members. They’re accepting donations online at www.gofundme/ Eastlake12u. international teams, concludes Aug. 25 with a nationally-televised title game at Howard J. Lamade Stadium. Reached by phone from Pennsylvania on Aug. 12, manager Rob Chandler said the Eastlake players were being treated well in preparation for the biggest event of their lives. “It’s probably the nicest baseball facility I’ve seen in my life, bar none,” he said. Eastlake very nearly didn’t
get to the World Series. In the semifinals, they trailed Idaho 4-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, even though starting pitcher Jacob Dahlstrom held the opposition hitless. Idaho scored all of its runs in the second inning when Dahlstrom struggled with his control, using a hit batter, a walk, two errors and two wild pitches to grab a 4-1 lead. Jack Matheson’s double in the fourth helped Eastlake draw within 4-2, and Dalton Chandler’s RBI double made it 4-3 in the fifth. That set the stage for Austin Oh’s heroics in the sixth. The second baseman, who had missed the district and state tournaments with a broken arm, singled to center and tied the score. With Bryce Delay at the plate, a wild pitch scored Jack Titus with the winning run. “I think that’s their fifth game of coming from behind to win,” Rob Chandler said. “They just continue and continue to deliver when the game is on the line.” That propelled Eastlake
into the championship game, and they made quick work of Montana, a team they’d handled easily during pool play. Oh starred again, clearing the bases with a first-inning triple and later adding a two-run double. Dahlstrom’s 278-foot homer gave Eastlake an 11-1 lead in the third, which helped end the game early on the 10-run mercy rule. Rob Chandler said it was nice to see Oh get a chance to not only play, but showcase his talent. “He’s always been a very good player for us, but it was just unfortunate that he broke his arm,” Chandler said. “He’s back at full speed now and we’re happy to have him.” Matheson handcuffed Montana, allowing four hits, two walks and one unearned run. He struck out seven hitters. Although it wasn’t as important as the semifinal comeback, Eastlake also staged an impressive
rally in its pool-play finale Aug. 6 against Lake Oswego, Ore. Oregon led the entire game, and was on the brink of victory with a 5-3 edge entering the sixth inning. The first two batters recorded outs, but then Eastlake came alive. Dylan Matsuoka drew a walk, and Delay singled. Jack Carper then doubled to score pinch runner Jack Rud, and Dalton Chandler walked to load the bases. Will Armbruester’s single to center tied the score, 5-5, and brought up the power-hitting Dahlstrom, who crushed a grand slam. Matheson retired Lake Oswego in order in the bottom of the frame to complete the 9-5 win. Rob Chandler had his staff on 20-pitch limits for much of regionals, but with the importance of the games magnified at the World Series, he might change tactics. “It’s a double-elimination tournament, so we have to go full guns blazing right out of the gate,” he said.