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December 5, 2012
community
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Who turned on the lights?
The Blackwell Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade choir sings some Christmas, Hanukkah and winter songs in a packed Sammamish City Hall council chambers Nov. 28 for the annual holiday lighting ceremony.
Wyatt Kaely, 1, sits under the Christmas tree as his brother Liam looks up toward the top at all the lights and ornaments.
Andra Sipos, Anya Bullen (back row from left), Hannah Olynyk and Heather Maletta (front row) wear reindeer antlers, Santa cap and snowflake accessories as they sing.
Emily Taylor, a Blackwell Elementary fourth-grader, sports a lit Rudolph the Reindeer nose as she sings.
The city of Sammamish Christmas tree is lit after a countdown from 10 to zero in the City Hall lobby.
Rowena McClary, 4, wears bobblehead Rudolph antlers as she makes a luminaria candle bag at the Relay for Life craft table set up by the Sammamish Youth Board and student relay teams from Eastlake High and Inglewood Junior High schools. The Hanukkah menorah blazes to life to mark the festival of lights, which begins at sundown Dec. 8 for the Jewish faith.
Photos by Greg Farrar Diana Danforth, of Sammamish, holds her son Jacob, 2, as he reaches for a holiday cookie at the refreshment table.
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December 5, 2012
sports
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Spartans cap off perfect season as state champs By Lillian O’Rorke
Jubilant only begins to describe Skyline and its fans Dec. 1 at the Tacoma Dome, where the Spartans grabbed their fifth state title in eight years. Skyline beat Bellarmine Prep 49-24 to win the 4A football state championship. “This is the most special…I’ve grown up with all these guys,” said Max Browne, who completed 21 of 28 passing attempts for 384 yards and four touchdowns. “Nic Sblendorio has been my best friend, Andrew Giese, Matt Sinatro, Peyton Pelluer - all those guys. This is what we dreamed of when we were 5 years old. We worked. We worked hard, and it’s awesome to sit here and know that we got the state title our senior year and are going out the right way.” Within Skyline’s first drive of the night, Browne became the state record holder in career passing. By the time Browne had thrown his last pass as a high school quarterback, he had broken Brian Lindgren’s (DeSales) 14-year-old record of 12,575 passing yards. Browne now holds the record at 12,951. “That is the type of record you can’t win unless you play a
lot of games and you can’t play a lot of games unless you’ve got a great team. I’ve got to credit my line and my receivers for getting that record. That’s a huge accomplishment for them,” said Browne. “My four years here at Skyline has been more than I ever expected, to suit up for 56 games at Skyline, 14 all four years.” The Spartan defense also shined in the championship game, consistently shutting down the Bellarmine Prep Lions’ drives and forcing punts. While the Lions had possession of the ball for more than two-thirds of the first quarter, Skyline had possession of the scoreboard, leading 14-3. “We knew they were Photo by Greg Farrar going to try to establish Matt Sinatro, Skyline High School senior wide receiver, stretches the football over the goal line on a a line of scrimmage, and 23-yard pass play from quarterback Max Browne, giving the Spartans the lead 90 seconds into the game. our kids really owned the line of scrimmage. That best. It continues to get better scored again late in the third Bellarmines Prep’s ball for a was one of our strengths and we every year.” quarter after Browne shook off a 48-yard return. really shut them down that way,” Sinatro scored the first touchdefender to fire the ball at Sinatro “They prepare us week in and said Skyline Coach Mat Taylor. down of the night on a 23-yard for 55-yard touchdown. Earlier See FOOTBALL, Page 15 “I feel awesome. This is the very pass from Browne. The senior in the third, Sinatro intercepted
Eastlake wrestling wins on the mat, loses meet By Lillian O’Rorke
Forfeits had Eastlake pinned before its Nov. 29 season opener even started. On the mat, the Eastlake Wolves out-grappled the Roosevelt Roughriders 30-25 with five pins, all within three minutes each. But once the 24 points-worth of forfeits were added in, the score tipped to 49-30 in Roosevelt’s favor. Unlike last year, the Wolves have a full roster. However, athletes without the required 12 practices under their belts cannot compete. With four spots vacant, it was up to the remaining 10 varsity wrestlers. It took Ryan Wasserman one minute and five seconds to make the Wolves the first on the board. The Eastlake junior was quick with his takedown and finished the first match of the evening by pinning Roosevelt’s Quillan Robinson. Next up was senior Eric Harper. The Eastlake captain shot in for the takedown, nearing Alex Benson’s back closer and closer to the mat for a two-point near fall. Harper let
Benson go and immediately struck for another takedown, this time straddling his opponent for a 1:44 pin. “I just wanted to keep wrestling and just make sure I get the win,” said Harper. “I was having trouble turning him at first so I just wanted to make sure I could get up and secure the win.” A senior at Eastlake this year, Harper returns for his final season as the 2012 KingCo champ and said he hopes to cap it off with the 4A 170-pound state title. Winning the Mat Classic has been Harper’s dream since he started wrestling in second grade. He’s made it to the state tournament twice, where he took sixth both as a sophomore and a junior. Eastlake’s three other wins against Roosevelt came from pins. At 220, Brandon Kaufman overpowered his opponent in 1:24; Mark Smith scored six points for the Wolves when he pinned his guy in 2:52, and James Jensen marked his first varsity wrestling match with a 2:51 fall. “I wanted to work hard,” said Jensen. “I’ve got good coaches and good teachers.”
Ryan Wasserman takes control of his opponent in the 160-pound match. Jensen, a sophomore, is one of the 20 younger athletes on the team, and that’s a good thing. Last year, the Wolves struggled with only 11 wrestlers; this year that number is up to 32. With interest up, said Coach Dexter
Beckstead, the team is turning a corner. “When I came on board last year, I was the fourth coach in five years, so it kind of washes things out,” he said. “You can’t have any continuity when you
Photo by Lillia O’Rorke
have four coaches in five years.” Beckstead started coaching in 1972 and does not intend to quit anytime soon. “There is a lot of stuff that we See WRESTLE, Page 16