Sportswriter of the Year

S E C T I O N B Contact Sports Reporter Marques Hunter at 853-9246 or [email protected] fax: 851-3939

British soccer camp/2B A&E/4B Religion/5B Records/6-7B Business/8B Aug. 12, 2009

SUMMER CAMP PHOTOS ARE ONLINEVisit www.gateline.com and click on “Photo Gallery” to view art of local summer camps in Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula.SPORTS LIVING

ROCK CONCERT AND DANCE CONTESTThe Fabulous Farelanes will play Rock n’ Roll from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Season’s By the Bay on Pioneer Avenue. For more information call Linda Gair at 253-858-9170.

OLALLA BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL COMING ON SATURDAYThe festival will celebrate a day of music, food and fun from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Olalla Little League Field on Olalla Valley Road. For more information, call 253-857-5650 or visit www.olallabluegrass.org

to do:A peek at what’s happening in and around the peninsulas this week.

Narrows Baseball Club brings rivals together

The Narrows Baseball Club achieves what most pro-grams aren’t able to do. It brings area talent, who

may otherwise dislike each other, onto one team.

It’s always a rivalry when Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools play each other, or when either faces a Narrows League

team like South Kitsap, no mat-ter which sport.

If it wasn’t for the Narrows 18-and-under baseball team, they may go on in life with the belief that play-ers on other teams are their arch nemesis.

It’s like root-ing against your favorite NFL team.

If you don’t like the Pittsburgh Steelers, chances are, you’re not going to like Ben Roethlisberger.

I can’t stand the Dallas Cow-boys. Therefore, I can’t stand Tony Romo or any other player associ-ated with the organization.

Tides and Seahawks fans cheer for their team to win. It makes complete sense.

But what about the players? From high school athletes to

pros, they respect each other to a certain degree. They say they wish other players the best, but deep down, if it has league impli-cations, they hope other teams lose.

“We talk about school ball and what would happen if we played,” said outfielder Spencer Manjar-rez, a Narrows Baseball Club member who plays high school ball at Gig Harbor. “It’s always good to see those guys, because you don’t after the summer.”

And after facing off against each other in a close loss, they say, “good game.”

But what they’re really saying is, “I’m gonna get you next time.”

When the Major League All-Star Game rolls around each year, we get to see some of the greatest players from some of the greatest rivalries on the same team. We see the Yankees’ Derek Jeter next to the Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia, or the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols be-side the Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano.

The parallel here is how the 18-and-under Narrows Baseball Club can bring teams from the Narrows League together as one unit.

If you were to see these players during the baseball season in the

huddle up6

Marques Hunter

Please see Rivals, page 2B

A college baseball network

The Narrows Baseball Club recently came off its most successful season since the Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Acad-emy program was created six years ago.

The academy’s team capped the season by winning the Lee Johnson Invitational in Kirkland and the Triple Play Championship last week in Puyallup, bringing the team’s record to 41-17.

The club, located in a warehouse filled with batting cages and other equipment off Burnham Drive, continues to attract talented players from parts of the Kitsap, Gig Harbor and Key peninsulas.

Seven graduated last spring and will move on to play either NCAA Division I or junior college baseball.

Another seven are scheduled to partici-pate in the Baseball Northwest Champion-ships in Portland, Ore. That tournament, which begins today and goes through Sun-day, represents 800 of the Pacific North-west’s top players.

Aside from winning games, Fuller has helped the club’s players in the recruiting process. A handful who are preparing for their junior or senior years attribute their networking with college scouts to Fuller and the academy.

One of them is Gig Harbor senior Scott Schultz, who gave a verbal commitment to play at former national champion Oregon State University last week.

Schultz showed why he has Division I talent when he threw a perfect game with 10 strikeouts in just 72 pitches during the Lee Johnson Invitational.

“We’re getting a lot of interest from these Northwest schools,” said Fuller, who added that Rice and Stanford are looking at Gig Harbor High School junior pitcher Mike McCall.

McCall finished the season with a perfect 10-0 record as a 16-year-old.

Fuller himself played in the major leagues. He was part of the Cincinnati Reds’ organization for about eight years. Parents have essentially called him a player agent for some of the area’s high school prospects who may otherwise be overlooked.

“He’s on the phone daily, contacting coaches and scouts, letting them know about his players and where they can be seen,” said Sam Guinn, mother of Narrows catcher Parker Guinn, who finished this season with a .330 batting average and 13 doubles.

“We, as parents, don’t have the contacts or the knowledge of how to get these kids the right exposure,” she said. “It’s great we

Photo courtesy of Sam Guinn

The Narrows Baseball Club’s 18-and-under team had its best season, finishing 41-17 overall, including a pair of tournament wins. Front row, from left to right: Quinn Batt, Parker Guinn, Carl Beck, Scott Schultz and Evan Burke; second row: Coach Eric Bloyd, coach Ryan Emmett, Ian Krein, Michael McCall, Ryan Skoubo, Matt Brown, David Bigelow, Chris Burke, Jake Hobein, Darrell Newman, Jordan Halstead, Kyle Knowles, Spencer Manjarrez, head coach Jon Fuller and coach Dave Hammrich. Not pictured: Ghryn Hobson, Charlie Hough and Chet Thompson.

Gig Harbor High School senior Scott Schultz threw a perfect game for the 18-and-under Narrows Baseball Club team during the Lee Johnson Invitational last week. He verbally committed to Oregon State University on an athletic scholarship and expects to sign a National Letter of Intent in November.

Gateway photo/Marques Hunter

Peninsula junior Wes Wynn is pinned during a mock wrestling match at the Seahawks camp that featured “Mean” Gene Mills as the lead clinician.

Peninsula wrestling camp provides pin techniquesNotables work with high school athletes

MARQUES HUNTERof the Gateway

At last year’s Class 3A Mat Clas-sic state wrestling tournament at the Tacoma Dome, four Peninsula High School wrestlers were pinned in the first round.

It was a sign that this year’s tal-ent might need a lesson.

Scott Valley, the parent of an in-coming freshman, organized some notable clinicians for a camp last week to help wrestlers with their pin technique.

One of the clinicians was Gene Mills, a two-time NCAA champion at Syracuse University known by many as Mean Gene.

“They probably learned a 100

different ways to pin a guy from different positions,” Mills said. “I think it’ll make a huge impact for the team next year.”

While Mills dished out a handful of techniques to Peninsula wres-tlers, a host of other schools at-tended, as well. Wilson senior Keith Mattsen (135 pounds) and Tacoma Baptist senior Stephen Talen (152) said the camp gave them more ideas to pin their opponents.

Participants received useful instruction from three veteran wrestlers throughout the week. Peninsula’s Jake Boley said the camp was worth way more than the $75 each person paid for the week-long event.

Mills showed off his patented half-nelson series that helped him set the NCAA record for most pins. He recorded 886 pins and 1,356 career victories.

Mills’ motto, “Pin to win,” was evident.

“The thing I tried to reiterate is to pin their opponent from every-where,” Mills said. “Don’t try and get a takedown for two points. Take them to their back and pin them.”

Since 1979, Mills has traveled around the country to teach col-lege, high school and younger wrestlers the ways of pinning. He said he tries to give back what the

sport gave him.“It’s very rewarding,” Mills said.

“I’ve made an impact on all of them.”

Mills, who lives in Syracuse, N.Y., visited Peninsula High School for the first time. He was there for two days and said the camp went well.

“It was a great experience for all of them,” he said.

Other instructors included Brad Swartz, an NCAA All-American at Oregon State University, and Brian Higa, a two-time Pac-10 champion at Washington State University.

Peninsula assistant coach Billy Niuamoa said the camp had a positive impact on the Seahawks’ wrestling program.

“He (Mills) taught the aggressive part of the sport,” Niuamoa said. “The moves weren’t too compli-cated. It helped the team out ex-tremely.”

“They probably learned a 100 different ways to pin a guy from different

positions.”

“Mean” Gene Mills, former two-time NCAA champion

Summer club helps players connect with college scoutsMARQUES HUNTER

of the Gateway

Narrows Baseball Club Head Coach Jon Full-er’s motto is simple: Get players noticed on

college scouting radar. This year, Pacific Northwest college scouts turned their heads a little more toward the 18-and-under select baseball team based in Gig Harbor.

Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Academy Highlights

18-and-under statistics

Hitting Chris Burke — .437 average, 23 doubles, 7

home runs, 51 RBIs, 28 stolen bases Matt Brown — 13 doubles, 6 HRs, 50 RBIs,

45 SB Chet Thompson — .381 average Spencer Manjarrez — 13 doubles, 43 RBIs,

14 SB Parker Guinn — .330, 13 doubles, 42 walks,

19 SBs, .458 on-base percentage Jake Dewhirst — .313, 8 doubles, 18 RBIs in

15 games Carl Beck — .313, 26 RBIs, 12 SBs

Pitching Scott Schultz — 12-3, 1.15 ERA, 132 strike-

outs, three shutouts, including a perfect game David Bigelow — 10 shutout innings in one

tournament Jake Hohbein — 9-7, 2.90 ERA, 71 Ks Mike McCall — 10-0, 1.34 ERA, two shutouts Kyle Knowles — 8-2, 2.38 ERA

Players heading to collegeMatt Brown (Peninsula High School):

Central Arizona CCChris Burke (PHS): Central Arizona CCChet Thompson (Gig Harbor High School):

University of PortlandGhryn Hobson (South Kitsap High School):

Olympic CCKyle Knowles (PHS): Pierce CCJake Hohbein (PHS): Pierce CCDarrell Newman (Klahowya High School):

Big Bend CCPhoto courtesy of Sam GuinnPlease see Network, page 2B

Arts & Entertainment 7BBusiness 10BClassifieds 7-8CLegal Notices 8C

Obituaries 9BOpinion 14-15ARecords 8-9BReal Estate 1-6C

Religion 5BSchools 10-11ASports 1-3BWeather & Tides 8B

Call 253.851.9921 to subscribe

$25 per year in Pierce and Kitsap Counties

KeyPen Parks hosts dog day afternoon at Volunteer ParkEaster egg hunt for canines first of its kind/13A

Students of Distinction program highlights high school seniorsCommunity banquet scheduled for May 27/4A

FAITH DIRECTORY: Find out what’s going on at churches in the Gig Harbor area/SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE

CAC wants tolls to holdCitizens, state at odds over 2010 rate increase

PAIGE RICHMONDof the Gateway

Despite a contrary opinion from the state’s Transportation Commission, the Narrows Bridge Citizen Advisory Com-mittee is remaining faithful to its previ-ous recommendation regarding toll rates. At a public meet-ing Thursday, the CAC voted 6-2 that tolls remain at $2.75 for Good to Go! customers and $4 for cash until July 1, 2010.

“It’s doable and workable to keep the tolls the same,” CAC member Becky Morgan said at Thursday’s meet-ing.

The CAC gave the same recom-mendation in December during the regular toll-setting process. When the Trans-portation Com-mission — the state-appointed board that sets toll rates — reviewed bridge traffic and revenue data earlier this year, they were faced with a different scenario than the CAC: Nearly every month since November 2008, fewer cars crossed the bridge than the state Department of Transportation had predicted.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST


Key Peninsula Historical museum opens baseball exhibit

Baseball brought a special kind of camaraderie to communi-ties like Vaughn, Longbranch, Lakebay, Home and Gig Harbor. The game tied each community together like leather threading from a baseball mitt.

There was a love for the sport, an intimate attraction of family entertainment that took place during the 1920s, through World War II in into the post-war era.

Baseball on the peninsula created a deep tradition, especially during summer Sundays. Families and friends all shared the ex-perience by lining their cars near the fields and having picnics.

With no TV and limited recreational opportunities, baseball was a common thread. It acted as a social magnetism for the community for decades.

“The whole town came to watch baseball,” said Joyce Nie-man, 79, a Key Peninsula resident who is the president of the historical society. “We were raised with it. It was what you did

on Sunday.”Like family barbecues and park walks are popular today, it

was baseball on the Key Peninsula during the warmer months of the year. On holiday weekends, teams even played double-headers.

There wasn’t a bigger attraction: From wooden grandstands, teams of nine would compete on the dirt diamond surfaces. It was considered the local hangout.

When it was time to travel to Bainbridge Island or elsewhere to play, they hitched rides in the back of teammates’ trucks.

And when the war came in 1941 — and men were deployed — women became more active on the fields. They played what’s called, “workup.”

Essentially, they worked up through each position until it was

Arusted metal catcher’s mask sits alongside a heavily padded glove in a glass case. A cotton-grey uniform with Vaughn in red stitching hangs between pictures of men and women playing baseball from the early to mid-1900s. Memories of baseball and its cultural significance on the Key Peninsula have a clearer meaning now that the Key Peninsula Historical Society has opened an exhibit that features newspaper

clippings, artifacts and other pieces of memorabilia, connecting America’s pastime to the rural peninsula.

Peninsula HS boys soccer team ties Franklin Pierce Cardinals 1-1Seahawks let late lead slip away/1B

APRIL 8, 2009 VO L U M E L X X X V I , N U M B E R 1 4 4 S E C T I O N S , 42 PAG ES S E RV I N G G I G H A R B O R A N D T H E K E Y P E N I N S U L A G I G H A R B O R , WA S H I N GTO N $1.00

Gateway photo/Lee Giles III

Russel White of Raft Island poses at the Key Peninsula Historical Society with baseball

artifacts from Vaughn High school, from which he graduated in 1945. White was invited to spring training for the Chicago Cubs farm organization, the Visalia Cubs, in the mid-1940s.

Please see Baseball, page 8A

Upcoming meetings

The Citizen Advisory Committee will present its rec-ommendation to the state Transportation Commission on April 22.

If the commission decides to raise toll rates, two public meetings will be held in Gig Harbor, on May 11 and May 26.

Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/operations/tolling for more information.

Pope to receive gift from the harborKnights of Columbus to present painting on Easter Sunday

SUSAN SCHELLof the Gateway

If everything goes according to plan, a copy of the painting “Our Lady of the Harbor” that has been hanging at the Ebb Tide Gallery in Gig Harbor will be in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI on Eas-ter Sunday.

Several members of the Knights of Columbus in Gig Harbor had the repro-duction made from an original icon that hangs on the wall at St. Nicholas Church. The original was painted by Franciscan Sister Marie Fitzpatrick.

The Knights had planned to present it to the pope during the Christmas holi-day season, but the plan fell through.

Knights member Michael Mueller will take the icon to the Vatican. Muel-

Please see Gift, page 9A

Please see Tolls, page 9A

GIG HARBOR SEVEN-DAY FORECAST

BOATING FORECAST

TIDE INFORMATION TODAY

SUN AND MOON

WEATHER TRIVIATM

Full Last New First

Apr 9 Apr 17 Apr 24 May 1

TODAY

53°

43°Mostly cloudy, cooler; a

shower in the p.m.

THURSDAY

53°

39°Mostly cloudy, chance of a

little rain

FRIDAY

53°

39°Mostly cloudy with a

shower possible

SATURDAY

53°

42°Mostly cloudy with a couple

of showers

SUNDAY

56°

42°Periods of rain

MONDAY

55°

38°Rain

TUESDAY

50°

38°A thick cloud cover with

showers

Wednesday . 6:35 a.m. ... 7:50 p.m.Thursday ..... 6:33 a.m. ... 7:51 p.m.Friday .......... 6:31 a.m. ... 7:52 p.m.Saturday ...... 6:30 a.m. ... 7:54 p.m.Sunday ........ 6:28 a.m. ... 7:55 p.m.

Sunrise Sunset

Moon Phases

Gig Harbor

Wednesday . 7:23 p.m. ... 5:48 a.m.Thursday ..... 8:38 p.m. ... 6:08 a.m.Friday .......... 9:51 p.m. ... 6:30 a.m.Saturday .... 11:02 p.m. ... 6:56 a.m.Sunday ............... none ... 7:28 a.m.

Moonrise Moonset

Wednesday: Cooler with considerablecloudiness; a passing afternoonshower. Wind southwest 8-16 knots.Wave heights 1-3 feet. Visibility under2 miles at times. Thursday: Mostlycloudy, chance of a little rain. Windwest-southwest 4-8 knots. Waveheights 2 feet or less.

Key PeninsulaWednesday: Mostly cloudy with ashower in the afternoon. Wind fromthe southwest at 8-16 knots. Waveheights 2 feet or less. Visibility under 2miles at times. Thursday: Rathercloudy, chance of a little rain. Windwest-southwest at 6-12 knots. Waveheights 2 feet or less.

Gig Harbor 4:57 a.m. 12.2' 11:29 a.m. 0.9'5:43 p.m. 11.0' 11:29 p.m. 3.2'

Tacoma Narrows 5:07 a.m. 12.9' 11:30 a.m. 0.9'5:53 p.m. 11.7' 11:30 p.m. 3.3'

Port Orchard 4:48 a.m. 12.1' 11:20 a.m. 0.9'5:34 p.m. 10.9' 11:20 p.m. 3.2'

Dupont Wharf 5:20 a.m. 13.9' 11:56 a.m. 0.9'6:06 p.m. 12.6' 11:56 p.m. 3.3'

Wauna, Carr Inlet 5:10 a.m. 13.5' 11:51 a.m. 0.9'5:56 p.m. 12.2' 11:51 p.m. 3.2'

Vaughn, Case Inlet 5:30 a.m. 14.6' 12:04 p.m. 1.0'6:16 p.m. 13.2' none

Tacoma, Sitcum Waterway 4:43 a.m. 12.1' 11:12 a.m. 0.9'5:29 p.m. 10.9' 11:12 p.m. 3.2'

Arletta, Hale Passage 5:10 a.m. 13.7' 11:47 a.m. 0.9'5:56 p.m. 12.4' 11:47 p.m. 3.3'

Location High Tide Ht Low Tide Ht

Increased solar radiationwarms the soil

Q:

A:

Flowers can sprout evenwhen the air is still cold,why?

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2009

REGIONAL WEATHER TODAY

Shown is today’s weather.Temperatures are today’s highs

and tonight’s lows.

Vancouver52/43 Bellingham

51/41

Port Angeles49/38

Aberdeen49/42

Olympia55/38

Portland57/44

Astoria53/42

Tacoma53/42

Yakima63/37

Walla Walla65/45

Lewiston65/42

Spokane58/37

Colville64/36

Wenatchee63/41

Omak63/39

Seattle54/42

WEATHER REPORT

their turn to bat.When men returned from the

war, the cycle repeated itself. At least four local players had serious talent.

Russel WhiteKP resident Russel White, who

turns 83 later this month, played center field but nearly found his way into the big leagues as a pitcher. He graduated from Vaughn High School in 1945. Shortly after-ward, he traveled to California to play for the Visalia Cubs, a farm club for the Chicago Cubs, during spring training,

Later, he visited Iola, Kan., and got more experience in hopes of being called up to play profes-sional baseball.

White, who was being consid-ered for his pitching, had an ar-ray of pitches, like a knuckle ball, dropper and fastball.

Although he fell short of his dream, White enjoyed playing for about five different teams around the Gig Harbor and Key peninsu-las.

“People asked me what I was doing playing in those leagues,” White said. “In fact, on the train ride home, a fellow asked to see if I wanted to stop in Denver to play with his team. I had to get home.”

Later, the St. Louis Cardinals

contacted him and were interested in having him come to spring training.

“I wanted to go pro,” White said. “I was very disappointed I didn’t get to do what I wanted to do.”

The Tacoma Pierce County Old-Timers Baseball-Softball As-sociation announced that White will be inducted into the 2009 Hall of Fame on Sunday, May 3, at the Tacoma Elks Club.

Another notable award-winner is Roy Anderson, who will receive the Marv Scott Coaches Award.

The Peninsula High School turf field is named after Anderson and his long-standing career as coach on the Key Peninsula.

Baseball on the KP, then and now

The makeup of the fields and rules were far more basic than those of today. There weren’t walls to hit it over for a home run. Bat-ters had to smash the ball so far they could round the bases fast enough before being tagged out at home.

Some of the fields had trees, so if you hit the green monsters, it was considered a ground-rule double.

Raffle drawings took place after games and fundraisers were held at areas like Horsehead Bay to help pay for bats, balls and other equipment. Now, vendors sell pop-corn, peanuts and other delectable

treats to raise money.Teams were sponsored by local

businesses to help fund the costs of uniforms and other baseball attire. Now, families register their kids with additional costs forwarded to fund existing non-profit organiza-tions and softball teams.

The rise and fall of KP baseball

The town team with the most victories at the end of the summer was considered the champion.

Every once in a while, traveling teams — as well as military teams like the Fort Lewis Army ball club — would come to play on the pen-insula.

With the bases loaded, the Har-lem Clowns would hit a ball and all the base runners would run in silly directions — completely against traditional base running.

But as the years went by, town competition began to fade. The dispersing of players from the war partially caused a decline in par-

ticipation.That didn’t mean baseball com-

pletely went away.

The direction of baseball on the KP

Baseball on the peninsula now has turned more youth- and church-oriented.

The Peninsula Athletic Associa-tion was installed in the late 1950s. In the ’60s and ’70s, softball rose up to take its course at Volunteer Park.

Little League baseball is another vehicle that has carried baseball into the new millennium.

Key Peninsula Little League teams travel to Port Orchard and play at Art Mikelson Field dur-ing the postseason, and they play their regular season games at Vol-unteer Park. The KPLL was formed in 1989.

Each year, they are among thou-sands of teams worldwide who are eligible to advance to district, state and regional competition, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Little League World Series, which is held each year in Williamsport, Penn.

The demand of baseball has in-creased so much that newer fields are being constructed. Sehmel Homestead Park will be used for Little League baseball, and ad-ditional property in Gig Harbor North may help answer the issue of capacity, too.

Baseball: Community supported old teamsf rom page 1A

“We were raised with (baseball). It was what

you did on Sunday.”

Joyce Nieman, President of KPHS

Gig Harbor’s 400-yard freestyle relay team wins a gold at state championships


FEDERAL WAY — Winning has never been an issue for the Gig Harbor Tides boys swimming and diving program. Capturing a Class 4A event championship, well, that’s a different story.

It had been a decade since John Lyssand claimed a gold medal in the 500-yard freestyle in 2000.

That all changed when Tides se-nior Spencer Neff touched the wall for the last time of his high school career during the final event of the state swimming and diving cham-pionships on Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center.

Gig Harbor’s 400 freestyle relay team, which consisted of seniors Neff and Tyler Kaslik and juniors Will Frame and Dakota Moist, won the state title and set a school record with an All-America con-sideration time of 3 minutes, 13.40 seconds.

It was an improvement of nearly three seconds after they earned the No. 1 seed in Friday’s prelimi-nary competition. During the fi-

nals, they stormed back to beat the Stadium Tigers by more than two seconds (3:15.47).

Each member of the Gig Harbor relay team recorded lifetime-best splits. Neff and Kaslik, who weren’t quite able to win individual state titles in the 50, 100, 200 or 500 free events because of stiff competi-tion, weren’t going to be denied a championship before they gradu-ate.

Stadium’s anchor Andrew Lack-man had the lead going into the final leg, but Neff caught him with less than 50 yards remaining and clicked on the afterburners.

Immediately afterward, Neff pumped his fist, exuberant from his team’s performance.

“Ever since last year, we (200 free, 400 free relay teams) came in first (at prelims) and got out-touched (in the finals),” Neff said. “We wanted to prove it wasn’t a fluke we got first for two years in a row, and that we had the depth and talent to do it.”

Stadium’s D’voreaux Cann’s opening leg was spectacular. Kaslik knew Cann was a faster swimmer, but if he hung in there, his team-mates could back him up.

“It’s been four long years,” Kaslik said. “It feels really good to get this one. It’s all just amazing.”

Frame, who had never com-peted in a state finals race, gained considerable ground against Sta-dium’s Logan Rysemus during the

second leg of the race.“I watched the Stadium guy go

in,” Frame said. “I knew I had to go fast. I just did my best.”

Frame said winning a state championship is unreal.

“I knew we could do it, but I didn’t think we’d go 3:13,” Frame said. “It meant a lot to me to be a part of this relay. I felt it was our last race for Spencer and Tyler. They just wanted to leave it all in the pool.”

Moist, who also played catch-up to Stadium’s Nico Desteunder on the third leg, was coming off a lifetime-best swim in the 100 back-stroke — 53.39, a school record — two events earlier.

Neff whispered something to Moist before he launched off the block.

“Spencer just said, ‘Catch him. Catch him,’ ” Moist said.

He added the relay team set the goal of winning the state champi-onship early in the season.

BRIAN MCLEANof the Gateway

TACOMA — Davey Browne was disappointed.

Moments after the Gig Harbor senior secured a fourth-place medal at the Mat Classic XXII state wrestling tournament on Saturday, he was frustrated with the events that led to a 4-1 defeat at the Tacoma Dome.

Browne, who competed in the Class 4A 152-pound bracket at the Tacoma Dome, led senior Ethan Cobb of Mountain View 1-0 with less than a minute to go, and both wrestlers were desperately trying for a match-deciding two-point takedown.

With 13 seconds left, the com-petitors collided and Cobb took Browne to his back, earning both the takedown and two points for a near fall as the match came to an end.

It also marked the end of both wrestlers’ high school careers.

“That was depressing,” Browne said. “I was getting shots, but I wasn’t executing, not doing what I was supposed to do.”

Browne was one of two Gig Har-bor wrestlers at the two-day Mat Classic. The other was junior Jake Baker, who faced a tough draw in the 215-pound bracket and was eliminated Friday night after he went 1-2.

In the first round, Baker faced

top-ranked Konner Knudtsen, a senior from Tahoma, but he lost a 21-5 technical fall. Baker battled back for a 7-2 consolation-round victory against senior Tyler Black of Redmond, but his season came to an end just one match shy of earning a medal when he lost a 10-1 decision to Chris Young, a senior


Scoreboard/2B A&E/4B Religion/5B Records/6-7B Business/8B Feb. 24, 2010

TIDES BOYS HOOPS EARNS WIN IN CONSOLATION ROUNDGig Harbor beats Olympia on Friday, could play in a winner-to-state elimination game on Saturday/3BSPORTS LIVING

TOASTMASTERS WILL HOST ITS MONTHLY MEETING AT ROUNDTABLE PIZZA IN GIG HARBORLearn how to become a better public speaker during a regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. March 1 at the Olympic Plaza. Call 252-326-4485 for more information.

TWO WATERS ARTS ALLIANCE TO HOST ANNUAL SPRING FLING MARCH 6The Two Waters Arts Alliance will host its annual spring fling celebration of the arts at 7 p.m. March 6 at the Key Peninsula Civic Center, located at 17010 S. Vaughn Road. The event will feature arts, catered food and music by Jazz Musette. Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members.


A salute to local boys swimming programs

If you watched the Gig Harbor or Peninsula high school swimming and div-ing programs last weekend

at the state championships, you saw remarkable performances.

Covering local athletes who win state championships is pretty sweet, although it rarely

happens.Going into

Saturday’s swimming finals at the King County Aquatic Cen-ter, I’d cov-ered just one athlete who won a state title, and that was when Gig Harbor cross country runner Alyssa Andrews ran

away with an individual title at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Peninsula’s Lance Wilhelm won a 3A state singles title last spring, but I didn’t get to wit-ness it because the state tennis tournament was in the Tri-Cit-ies area during the same week-end as the state track and field meet, and we had more athletes to cover in track.

That being said, the Gig Har-bor and Peninsula swimming programs put on a great show on Saturday.

Peninsula’s Aki McFarlane did something no other local swimmer has done in a very long time. He won two individ-ual state championships, taking both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke.

Seahawks head coach Craig Brown has been at Peninsula for 31 years, but it was the first time any of his boys won a pair of gold medals.

Both races were absolutely amazing, but the 100 back was breathtaking.

McFarlane trailed halfway through the race, and I stood up from my chair because my adrenaline was pumping.

The last 25 yards were neck-and-neck.

If it wasn’t for his last-second backward lunge to touch the wall, McFarlane might not have beaten Seattle Prep’s Michael Rochford, who finished 0.06 seconds behind him.

McFarlane was one of two

huddle up6

Marques Hunter

Please see Salute, page 2B

Photo galleries onlineTwo photo galleries are online with images of Peninsula and Gig Harbor high school wres-tlers at the Mat Classic XXII state tournament. To view the images or two purchase reprints, visit www.gateline.com and click on the “Photo Gallery” button.

HOW THEY FAREDThe Gig Harbor Tides sent two

wrestlers to the Class 4A por-tion of the Mat Classic XXII state tournament. Here’s how they fared:

Davey Browne — The 152-pound senior finished fourth after he dropped a 4-1 decision to Mountain View’s Ethan Cobb on Saturday afternoon. He finished 3-2, and one of those losses came against eventual state champion Ryan Zumwalt of University (Spokane).

Jake Baker — The junior had to battle his way through the 215-pound consolation bracket after a first-round loss to Tahoma’s Konner Knudtsen, who wound up placing second. Baker won his first consolation match but was eliminated following a second loss Friday night.

Gateway photo/Brian McLean

Gig Harbor senior Davey Browne (152 pounds) wrestles University’s Ryan Zumalt in the Class 4A Mat Classic state semifinal round on Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. Browne finished 3-2 during the two-day tournament and placed fourth.

Browne places fourth at state wrestling tournamentGH senior reaches semifinal, wins three matches at Dome

Please see Wrestling, page 2B

Saving the best for last


The Gig Harbor Tides’ 400-yard freestyle relay team raises their medals from the Class 4A state swimming and diving cham-pionships. The Tides won the state championship in the event with an All-America consideration time of 3 minutes, 13.40 seconds. From left to right, Gig Harbor’s Will Frame, Tyler Kaslik, Dakota Moist and Spencer Neff also set a school record. It’s been 10 years since Gig Harbor had won a state title in any particular boys swimming event.

TIDES STATE RESULTS 400-yard freestyle relay — Seniors Spencer Neff and Tyler

Kaslik and juniors Will Frame and Dakota Moist won the state championship in 3 minutes, 13.40 seconds. Their performance was a school record, and will be considered for All-America status.

200 free relay — Junior Devon McMenimen Frame, Kaslik and Neff won a silver medal with a personal-best time of 1:29.06.

100 free — Kaslik won a bronze medal for his third-place performance of a lifetime-best 48.02.

500 free — Neff placed fourth with an All-America consid-eration time of 4:37.90.

50 free — Kaslik placed fourth with a personal-best 21.93.

200 free — Neff placed fourth with a personal best, All-American consideration time of 1:42.79.

100 backstroke — Moist placed fifth and set a school record with a personal-best time of 53.39.

200 individual medley — Moist placed eighth in 2:00.13.

200 medley relay — Senior Brian Collins, Moist, McMenimen and Frame placed 14th in 1:43.54.

Please see Relay, page 2B


FEDERAL WAY — Days before Peninsula senior Aki McFarlane’s record-breaking, gold-medal per-formances in the pool, he dreamt

about warming up at the King County Aquatic Center, the home of the Class 2A/3A state swimming and diving championships.

McFarlane’s dream was a pre-cursor to his dazzling display of speed and strength during the 50-

yard freestyle and 100 backstroke events. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound swimmer captured state champi-onships in both events, and he re-corded lifetime-best, All-America consideration times.

Ranked No. 1 after preliminary heats on Friday with a time of 21.60 seconds in the 50 free, McFarlane re-broke his school record (21.36) and edged Mount Rainier senior Matt Jude by 0.11 seconds for the title on Saturday.

It was only part one of McFarlane’s re-markable per-formance. Later on, he earned his second state championship in the 100 back, beating Seattle

Prep junior Michael Rochford by 0.06 seconds with a time of 52.20.

“I feel so good,” a smiling McFar-

lane said after the medal presenta-tion. “I’ve always wanted a state championship. I’ve never been this happy in my entire life.”

Peninsula head coach Craig Brown said no Seahawks boys swimmer had ever won a pair of individual championships in the same meet during his 31-year ten-ure.

McFarlane’s decision in Sep-

McFarlane captures two state titlesSeahawks finish sixth; 200 medley relay team takes silver

McFarlane

Please see Peninsula, page 2B

from Auburn. Knudtsen finished as the state

runner-up and Young placed fifth. Browne had nothing but success

on the first day of the tournament. He cruised to a 6-1 first-round win over senior John Linari of Kamiak, and he beat Dustin Ward, a senior from Arlington, 9-2.

That set up a semifinal show-down with senior Ryan Zumwalt of University, a three-time state placer who was the top-ranked wrestler in the division. Zumwalt prevailed, 14-6, and he went on to win the state championship with a second-round pin.

“The whole season, he was ranked 11th,” Gig Harbor coach Charles Biggs said. “He didn’t get any credit. Even after he got to the semifinals, they said after he loses to Zumwalt, he’ll double out.”

Browne, who plans to continue his wrestling career and study engineering next fall at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hobo-ken, N.J., said that wasn’t going to

happen.“It would be pretty embar-

rassing to be one of those kids to lose and just walk away,” he said.

He didn’t. Ranked sixth going into the

weekend by washingtonwrestlin-greport.com, Browne faced No. 4 Kevin McCanta, a senior from Newport (Bellevue) with a trip to the third- and fourth-place match on the line. Browne overpowered McCanta and pinned him in 2:47.

Cobb, who finished seventh at state in the same division last year, was a familiar opponent. Browne pinned him to win the regional title on Feb. 13 at Central Kitsap High School in Silverdale.

Scoreless through two periods on Saturday, Browne took a 1-0 lead between the second and third rounds when he chose the bottom position and Cobb asked to have both wrestlers stand up. In wres-tling terms, Browne was awarded the point for an escape.

Browne continued to be the ag-gressor throughout the final round, dropping down for Cobb’s legs in an attempt to put him on his back.

“That made it so he couldn’t go on the offensive,” Browne said.

As time wound down, the strat-egy backfired. All four of Cobb’s points came in the final 13 sec-onds.

“He’s never stopped yet,” Biggs said. “I wouldn’t expect any less of him.

“He got a little too overex-tended.”

Browne said it was an emotional day, and he didn’t want his career to end without feeling as though he earned it.

“It was my last match,” he said. “I didn’t want it to end that way.”

3A swimmers to win dual state championships. The other was Ethan Hallowell of Eastside Catholic, who did it in the 100 free and 200 free events.

After an exciting 3A meet, Gig Harbor saved the best for last in the 400 free relay event.

At the beginning of the season, I thought senior Spencer Neff could win a gold medal, but the competition in the 200 free and 500 free was downright fierce this year.

Going into the state prelims, the times had pointed toward Gig Harbor winning potentially two relay state championships. But after they placed second in the 200 free relay — the same sit-uation played out last year when the Tides had both No. 1 seeds and placed second — doubt be-gan to creep into my mind.

I didn’t want to see the Tides place second two years in a row in both freestyle relay events. Second place is a great finish, but there’s no question another silver medal would’ve been a huge disappointment.

What’s interesting to see is

how individual swimmers and relay teams sandbag during the prelims, only to shatter their per-formance from the day before.

It made me wonder if Gig Harbor had the ability to make another surge during the finals.

They did, and it was one of the best races I’ve ever seen.

The Tides trailed for the entire race until Neff caught Stadium’s anchor swimmer before the turn for the last 50 yards.

When I saw Neff take the lead, I thought it was a done deal. To see the Tides set a school record was pure icing on the cake.

Looking at their competition in the 400 free relay, it was a perfect opportunity to capture a championship. Stadium was the Tides’ biggest threat, but Gig Harbor had beaten the Tigers during the regular season and at the West Central District meet.

Watching both programs swim exceptionally well validates this area’s skill in the water.

The Seahawks and Tides boys teams were very solid this year, and I’m happy to see them earn three state championships, be-cause they’ve worked so hard for them.

tember to compete in the 100 back proved to be a perfect game-plan. In his final stroke before he touched the wall, McFarlane per-formed a backward lunge that may have been the deciding factor. He said his extended underwater kick toward the beginning of the race allowed him to conserve more en-ergy in the last 50 yards.

The Seahawks’ second-place finish to open the meet in the 200 medley relay helped them to a sixth-place team finish with 145 points. Mercer Island ran away with the competition in their sixth consecutive team championship, scoring 396 points.

In the 100 butterfly, Peninsula se-niors Michael Lee and Justin Henry combined to score 30 points. Lee finished third with a lifetime-best

52.36, and Henry recorded a per-sonal-best 53.48 to place fifth.

“I broke my old record, and (I got) a personal best,” Lee said.

Henry was ready to give it his all. He was seeded seventh after the prelims and jumped ahead two places.

“I was real excited,” Henry said about his finish. “The last three strokes, I swallowed a bunch of water, but I kept going.”

The success of the medley relay allowed athletes like Peninsula se-nior Tim Allen experience the in-tensity of gunning for a state cham-pionship. Allen, who anchored the relay’s final 50 yards, said he was nervous before the race.

“But after they started playing the music, I got really pumped and ready to go,” he said. “We didn’t break the school record, but it was nice getting second.”

f rom page 1B


Peninsula senior Justin Henry competes in the 100-yard butterfly during the state championship competition. Henry placed fifth in a lifetime-best 52.36 seconds. Henry also was a member of the 200 medley relay that earned a silver medal to open the state competition at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Peninsula: Core group makes big impact at state competition

HOW THEY FAREDThe Peninsula Seahawks sent five wrestlers to the Class 3A portion of the Mat Classic XXII state tournament. Here’s how they fared:

Chase Oswalt — A senior, Oswalt earned a fifth-place medal after he went 3-2 and edged senior Gino Clement of O’Dea 4-3 on Saturday.

Michael Sly — The junior finished seventh in the 171-pound bracket after he posted a 3-2 mark. Sly, ranked 12th going into the weekend, twice beat No. 4 Dillon Thomas, a sophomore from Union — once in a 6-5 opening-round decision, then in a 3-2 decision for seventh and eighth places.

Tyler Allen — A sophomore who made his first state appearance, he went 1-2 in the 135-pound bracket, falling one win shy of Saturday’s medal round. Allen’s win came against O’Dea sophomore Dominic Nicacio in an 8-4 decision.

Austin Wright — The senior state returner at 112 pounds went 0-2 on Friday. He was pinned in the opening round by junior Jaren Novakovich of East Valley (Spokane) in 3:41, and he lost a 10-5 decision to sopho-more Jeren Hufford of Yelm. Hufford finished fifth and Novakovich wound up sixth.

Wes Wynn — A junior who competed in the 125-pound bracket, Wynn went 0-2. He dropped his opening-round match in a 15-3 decision to Wyatt Maguire, a senior from Mount Spokane who went on to place sixth. Wynn also faced sophomore Brandon Rosario of Chief Sealth but fell, 12-8.

“I think we were a lot closer this year,” Moist said about the relay team. “Our state group, I felt we were a lot more focused.”

The Tides’ 200 free relay team also had the No. 1 going into the fi-nals, but Shorewood (1:28.25) out-touched Gig Harbor by more than half a second (1:29.06).

Tides head coach Mike Kelly said they were a little down after that, but they showed what kind of champions they are to recover and win in the 400 free relay.

“I knew looking at the other teams, the only people who were going to stop them were them-selves,” Kelly said. “When it came down to it, I had nothing but the utmost confidence they would win that relay.”

Shorewood won the team title by 15 points (194), but Gig Harbor proved it was the wildcard team and finished second (179). It had been 10 years since the Gig Harbor boys placed second as a team.


Gig Harbor’s Davey Browne wrestles Ethan Cobb for third place in the 152-pound weight class during the Class 4A Mat Classic XXII state tournament.

f rom page 1A

Wrestling: Browne looks toward future

f rom page 1B

Salute: Swims were amazingRelay: Tides regroup in final event

f rom page 1B


Gig Harbor junior Dakota Moist competes in the 200-yard individual medley during the Class 4A state swimming and diving finals on Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Moist earned an eighth-place medal with a finish of 2 minutes, 0.13 seconds.

SEAHAWKS STATE RESULTS 100-yard backstroke — Senior Aki McFarlane won the gold medal

with a personal-best, All-America consideration time of 52.20 seconds. He broke his previous school record, which he set earlier this month at the West Central District meet.

50 freestyle — McFarlane won the gold medal and set a school record with a lifetime-best, All-America consideration time of 21.36.

200 medley relay — McFarlane, Michael Lee, Justin Henry and Tim Allen opened up the state finals with a silver medal in 1:40.74.

100 butterfly — Lee placed third with a personal-best 52.36. He broke his previous school record, which he set at the district meet.

100 fly — Henry landed fifth with a lifetime-best 53.48.

400 free relay — Henry, Kilbourn, Lee and McFarlane placed sixth with a personal-best 3:19.30.

200 individual medley — Lee placed ninth after he won the consola-tion race in 1:59.17.

200 free relay — Cody Kilbourn, Matt Burkey, Allen and Henry placed 14th in 1:36.24.


Scoreboard/2B Sports calendar/2B A&E/4B Religion/5B Records/6-7B Business/8B Feb. 10, 2010

TIDES GIRLS HOOPS TEAM WINS ON SENIOR NIGHTGig Harbor enters the Narrows League tournament after beating Shelton on Friday night/3BSPORTS LIVING

PENINSULA TO COMPETE AT CLASS 3A WEST CENTRAL DISTRICT SWIM AND DIVE MEETThe Seahawks will compete at Hazen High School in Renton at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the 3A West Central District championship.

START VALENTINES DAY AT THE NEW CUSHMAN TRAILThe community is invited to the “You Knock My Socks Off” 4-mile run and kids’ dash at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the new Cushman Trail. Proceeds will benefit the Gig Harbor-Key Peninsula Community Gardens and FISH Food Bank. To register, visit www.route16runwalk.com.


Defender could make an immediate positive impact for Pac-10 squad


July will be a month of transition for Gig Harbor Tides senior soccer player Josie Graybeal. The defender’s future as an NCAA Division I student-athlete un-folded between her sophomore and junior years

at Gig Harbor High. She verbally committed to attend Arizona State University on a full athletic scholarship that summer, and she signed her National Letter of Intent last Wednesday.

“When I signed, it was a done deal,” Graybeal said.

She is scheduled to leave for Tempe, Ariz., a month after she graduates for the Sun Devils’ mandatory fitness camp. She ex-pects to play the left outside back position.

While the summer two years ago turned out to be the time when she determined her college future, Graybeal said she played in two showcase tournaments — the Texas Shootout and San Diego Surf Cup — as a member of an Under-18 Washington Premier Club team based in Puyallup.

Graybeal said there were a number of college coaches who were lined up along the sidelines, eyeing the pool of Division I talent from around the country.

It was the most pressure-induced of her soccer career.“I thought I was going to puke,” Graybeal said.Graybeal received countless letters of interest from schools across the

nation. Her family visited a number of them during that same summer.

Other notables


AUBURN — The Class 3A South Puget Sound League has recent high school wrestling history on its side: Three of the league’s teams placed in the top 10 at last year’s Mat Classic state tournament.

The Peninsula Seahawks tried to make their move last Friday and Saturday, and they finished fifth at the district tournament at Auburn Mountainview High School.

Peninsula, which scored 184 points, will send seven wrestlers and three alternates to this week-end’s regional tournament, where

the top four in each weight class will qualify for the Mat Classic on Feb. 19-20.

Enumclaw, which has won the past two state championships, placed first with 388.5 points, and White River finished second (350.5).

Peninsula senior Austin Wright (112 pounds) and junior Michael Sly (171) were runners-up after they advanced to the finals.

Both were guaranteed a re-gional berth after they won their first three matches on Saturday. Neither had never been to the dis-trict finals.

“I’m used to losing the second

or third match and taking third,” Sly said. “It’s nice going straight in and knowing, no matter what, I’m able to go on. The pressure was off.”

In the district championship, which gave the winner a higher seed to regionals, Sly lost to Enum-claw’s Colton Malek in a 10-5 deci-sion. Malek is ranked 11th in state, according to washingtonwrestlin-greport.com.

Sly pinned White River’s Noah Geehan, who previously beat the No.-2 ranked opponent in the league, Lucas Huyber, 24 seconds into the into the third round.

In the 112 division, Wright pinned Auburn Mountainview’s Brandon Perry with 36 seconds remaining in the second round to ensure a regional seed.

Wright said he’d never advanced to the district championship. Just

last week, he lost to Perry during a dual meet.

Peninsula advances seven to regional wrestling competitionTwo reach finals; Gig Harbor’s Browne wins 152-pound division


Peninsula sophomore David Shohradov (103 pounds) wrestles during the Class 3A district tournament at Auburn Mountainview High School last Saturday. Shohradov placed fourth and will advance to the regional tournament this week-end at Mount Rainier High School.

Regional scheduleThe Gig Harbor Tides will com-

pete in the Class 4A Region 3 tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday at Central Kitsap High School in Silverdale. Finals will be about 5:30 p.m. The top four in each weight class will advance to the Mat Classic state tournament Feb. 19-20 at the Tacoma Dome.

Meanwhile, the Peninsula Seahawks will compete in the 3A Region 2 tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines. The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the Mat Classic.

Please see Wrestling, page 2B

The Graybeal file High school: Gig Harbor Sport: Soccer Position: Defender Committed to: Arizona State

University in Tempe, Ariz. Potential major: Business and

marketing

JR GrosshansHigh school: PENINSULASport: FOOTBALLCollege: CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY in Ellensburg.Summary: Grosshans signed his NLI last week. He hopes to redshirt his freshman year and become the Wildcats’ starting quarterback. Grosshans led Peninsula to back-to-back Class 3A state preliminary round games and helped the Seahawks finish 14-2 in the South Puget Sound League the past two seasons. As a senior, he passed for 1,057 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. His biggest game came against Gig Harbor in the 31st annual Fish Bowl when he went 16-for-21 for 205 yards with four

touchdowns and no interceptions during the 38-7 win.

Conner PeloquinHigh school: GIG HARBORSport: CROSS COUNTRY AND TRACK AND FIELD (long distance)College: BRINGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY in Provo, Utah.Summary: Although he’s not Mormon, Peloquin thought Bringham Young University was the best fit for him. He signed a National Letter of Intent last Wednesday.

“I looked at all my pros and cons from both schools,” Peloquin said about choosing between BYU and the University of Portland. The combination of a solid aca-

demic program and a full scholarship made BYU his choice. “They really embraced me and made me feel welcomed,” Peloquin said

about his visit to the school’s campus. Peloquin came on strong during his junior and senior years as a Tides

cross country and distance runner. Last fall, he placed second behind Central Kitsap’s Shane Moskowitz in the Class 4A state cross country championships. Peloquin’s time of 15 minutes, 22 seconds was his best performance at the state meet. During the track season last spring, Peloquin finished second in the state in the 3,200 meters (9:05.37), again behind Moskowitz.

Mickelle OslinHigh school: GIG HARBORSport: FASTPITCHCollege: TOWSON UNIVERSITY in Towson, Md.Summary: When Oslin visited an exposure tourna-ment while she played for the Washington Sidewinders Gold Club, she was spotted by Towson head coach Lisa Costello. Costello ended up offering her an athletic schol-arship, and Oslin inked her NLI during the early signing period last November.

“When I visited the campus, I really liked the overall feel of the environment,” Olsin said.

“I knew my family would support me, no matter what. But them liking where I wanted to go was a big part.”

Oslin has been playing softball for nearly a decade and batted better than .650 as a junior. She earned All-Narrows League honors three consecutive years and helped the Tides advance to the district tournament during her freshman year.

Scott SchultzHigh school: GIG HARBORSport: BASEBALLCollege: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY in Corvallis, Ore.Summary: Schultz, who signed his NLI last November, liked the fact that the Beavers won back-to-back NCAA national championships. The 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher said his conversations with Oregon State coaches during his visit were major factors in his decision.“At first, I was looking at WSU at the start of the summer,” Schultz said.

“They were the only one chasing, but toward the end of summer ball, OSU began looking more and more.” Schultz finished his junior year at Gig Harbor with a 1.15 earned-run average in 30 1/3 innings. He struck out 44 batters and was named the team’s Cy Young and Most Valuable Player, and he won the all-Narrows League First Team pitcher’s award.

Taylor IndahlHigh school: GIG HARBORSport: SWIMMINGCollege: WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY in Pullman.Summary: Indahl chose Washington State over Boise State and signed her NLI in November.“It was something in my gut that WSU would be a better fit for me,” Indahl said. “I honestly could not figure out for the life of me which one was better.”After careful deliberation, plus the fact that her father graduated from WSU, the Cougars came out on top.Last fall, Indahl placed seventh in the 200-yard individual medley at the Class 4A state championships in 2:09.05.

She finished sixth in the state in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.54. Indahl also was a member of the 400 freestyle relay team that finished seventh in the state (3:42.63).

Spencer NeffHigh school: GIG HARBORSport: SWIMMINGCollege: GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY in Washington D.C.Summary: Neff always wanted to use swimming as a tool to get into a prestigious school. And he’ll join one of his best friends, Gig Harbor High graduate Mitchell Reed, who already is a student at GWU.“I’m very excited because I love the big city,” Neff said. “It’s nice having everything out of the way, so I don’t have to stress out about it.”Neff placed second in the 500 free during last year’s 4A

state swimming championships with an All-America consideration time of 4:39.61. He also finished third in the state in the 200 free (1:43.25).In two state relays, Neff anchored the Tides’ 200 free relay team that placed second (1:28.95) and 400 free relay that also landed second (3:14.04).

Ahandful of Gig Harbor and Peninsula high school athletes signed National Letters of In-tent to attend colleges around the country last Wednesday. And there are still some, like Pen-

insula senior cross country runner Chris Borg, who have not made a decision but have been offered athletic schol-arships. Here’s a breakdown of who’s going where:

Josie Graybeal to play soccer at Arizona State

LOCAL ATHLETES ARE COLLEGE-BOUND

Gig Harbor’s David Bigelow is slated to play baseball for the University of Washington.

Peninsula cross country runner Chris Borg said he’s deciding between the University of Portland and Gonzaga University in Spokane. He expects to make a decision by next week.

Gig Harbor wrestler David Browne, currently ranked 12th in the state at 152 pounds, may continue wrestling in college, but he hasn’t said where.

Gig Harbor football player Barrett Schmidtke, a quarterback, may attend a junior college in California.

Peninsula football player Darrian Creamer, a running back and linebacker, will play football at Central Washington.

Peninsula football player Christian Doucett, a defensive end, will attend Eastern Oregon University on an athletic scholarship.

Please see Soccer, page 2B


Gig Harbor senior soccer player Josie Graybeal dribbles the ball during practice last fall. Graybeal signed a National Letter of Intent last Wednesday to play soc-cer at Arizona State University.

KICK OFF VALENTINE’S DAY WITH THE “YOU KNOCK MY SOCKS OFF” FOUR MILE RUN AND KID’S DASH AT 8:30 A.M. SUNDAY AT THE NEW CUSHMAN TRAIL. PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE GIG HARBOR-KEY PENINSULA COMMUNITY GARDENS AND FISH FOOD BANK. TO REGISTER ON LINE VISIT WWW.ROUTE16RUNWALK.COM/93540.HTML.

BASKETBALLClass 4A

BoysNarrows League standings

Through Friday Bridge Division

Team League Overall y-Lincoln 12-3 13-7x-Wilson 10-5 14-6x-Gig Harbor 9-6 14-6x-Foss 9-6 13-7South Kitsap 4-11 7-13Shelton 1-14 2-18

Bay DivisionTeam League Overall z-Bellarmine Prep 11-3 14-6x-Mount Tahoma 8-6 12-7x-Olympia 8-6 12-8x-Central Kitsap 6-8 9-11Stadium 2-12 2-18x — clinched league tournament seedy — clinched district tournament seedz — clinched division title

FridayNarrows League

at Shelton High SchoolGig Harbor 54, Shelton 24

Gig Harbor 10 14 15 15 — 54Shelton 8 4 5 7 — 24GH: Castle 5, Rothenberg 0, Gagliardi 12, Bigelow 8, Steingraber 2, Repar 8, Williams 7, King 0, Medak 6, Piercy 2, Seferian-Jenkins 4, Guinn 0.S: Fisher 2, Moore 3, Decon 0, Francis 0, Dunnington 7, Blakely 4, Vernie 2, Carlson 2, Patterson 4.

Wednesday

Narrows Leagueat Gig Harbor High School

South Kitsap 55, Gig Harbor 40South Kitsap 10 10 15 20 — 55Gig Harbor 9 11 4 16 — 40SK: Pickard 8; Davis 4; Burden 8; Martinez 7; Brown; Doubble; Osinski 5; LeDeaux 21;

Powell; Blas 2.GH: Medak 9; Castle; Rothenberg 3; Gagliardi 2; Bigelow 2; Steingraber 1; Repar 2; Williams; King; Guinn; Seferian-Jenkins 21.

Girls

Narrows League standingsThrough FridayBridge Division

Team League Overallz-South Kitsap 12-3 15-5x-Wilson 8-7 11-9x-Gig Harbor 8-7 11-9x-Lincoln 5-10 7-12Shelton 4-11 4-16Foss 1-14 4-15

Bay DivisionTeam League Overallz-Bellarmine Prep 13-1 14-6y-Mount Tahoma 12-2 17-3x-Olympia 9-5 12-8x-Central Kitsap 8-6 12-8Stadium 0-14 2-18x — clinched league tournament seedy — clinched district tournament seedz — clinched division title

SaturdayNarrows League

Gig Harbor 59, Foss 43at Gig Harbor high School

Shelton 13 9 12 9 — 43Gig Harbor 20 14 9 16 — 59S: Lund 10; Pietroski 2; Gangwer 9; Nahley 10; Robbins; Gustafson 4; Ramsey 6; M. Gaa; S. Gaa 2.GH: Dewalt 13; Buzar 4; Geddy 2; Fawcett 16; Davis 3; Smith 5; DePaul; Mikami 1;

Knecht 2; Langworthy 13.

ThursdayNarrows League

South Kitsap 55, Gig Harbor 44at South Kitsap High School

Gig Harbor 11 8 12 13 — 44 South Kitsap 16 9 13 17 — 55GH: Dewalt 9, Buzar, Fawcett 15, Davis 9, Smith 5, Knecth, Mikami, Langworthy 6.SK: Callahan 7, Stoner, Steiger 6, Romonsky 21, Stewart 3, Bowe 4, Goularte 7, Werder 7.

Class 3ABoys

SPSL/Western Cascade standingsThrough FridaySPSL Division

Team League OverallEnumclaw 14-0 18-0Franklin Pierce 11-3 12-6Lakes 11-3 15-3Clover Park 9-5 11-7Auburn Mtnview 6-9 7-12Bonney Lake 6-9 8-11White River 5-9 5-13Sumner 2-12 3-15Peninsula 0-14 0-18

WCC DivisionTeam League Overall Capital 7-0 17-1Timberline 4-3 10-8Yelm 3-4 5-13North Thurston 0-7 5-13

ResultsSaturday

South Puget Sound LeagueClover Park 75, Peninsula 56

at Peninsula High SchoolClover Park 23 27 16 9 — 75Peninsula 12 18 11 15 —56CP: Burge 6, Neal 9, M. Brown 2, Dante Mickens 12, Pritchard 6, Fillmore 0, Crawford 0, Ling 6, I. Brown 6, Marcus Sheppard 16, Greg Faumuina 10, Harmon 2.P: Lacey 0, Reyes 0, Menkens 6, Connor Horkan 11, Grosshans 0, Holbein 0, Olson 4, Davis 2, Gilman 2, Darrian Creamer 23, Dickenson 4, Filkins 4.

Class 3AGirls

SPSL/Western Cascade standingsThrough FridaySPSL Division

Team League OverallWhite River 12-2 15-3Bonney Lake 12-3 15-4Sumner 10-4 12-6Aub. Mtnview 10-5 12-7Lakes 9-5 13-6Peninsula 6-8 6-11Enumclaw 2-12 2-16Franklin Pierce 2-12 4-14 Clover Park 1-13 2-16

WCC DivisionTeam League Overall

Capital 6-1 13-4Yelm 4-3 13-5Timberline 3-4 10-7North Thurston 1-6 4-14

ResultsJan. 26

South Puget Sound LeaguePeninsula 62, Clover Park 43at Clover Park High School

Peninsula 10 18 9 25 — 62Clover Park 8 13 9 13 — 43P: Jordan 2, Steele 2, O’Brien 4, Lundquist 4, Tyler Stoltz 11, Kayla Erickson 16, Jordan Stewart 25.CP: Fortson 6, Brownlee 5, Brown 7, Pritchard 9, Monique Greene 16.

SWIMMINGClass 4A

BoysWest Central District championships

at Rogers High SchoolSaturday

Team scores: Gig Harbor 211.5; Todd Beamer 164.5; Wilson 148; Central Kitsap 125; Stadium 125; South Kitsap 112; Curtis 99; Decatur 75; Kentridge 55; Kentlake 45; Auburn Riverside 35; Rogers 35; Tahoma 26; Puyallup 20; Kentwood 18; Emerald Ridge 18; Olympia 13; Mount Tahoma 13; Lincoln 13; Thomas Jefferson 12; Shelton 12; Auburn 11; Kent Meridian 7; Henry Foss 2.

Event winners200 medley relay: Wilson (Woods, Hill, Viehmann, Kaija) 1:40.72; Central Kitsap (Soria, Weiner, Torres, Hirata) 1:41.16; 200 free: D’Voreaux Cann (STA) 1:44.00; Spencer Neff (GH) 1:44.25; Brendon Weiner (CK) 1:47.31.200 IM: Shane Clare (TB) 1:58.85; Brandon Dravis (SK) 2:02.84; Dakota Moist (GH) 2:03.82.50 free: Tyler Kaslik (GH) 21.86; Bart Wanot (TB) 21.86; Zach Kaija (WIL) 22.27.100 fly: D’Voreaux Cann (STA) 51.40; Brendon Weiner (CK) 55.07.100 free: Tyler Kaslik (GH) 48.05; Taylor Rousel (SK) 49.28; Will Frame (GH) 49.46.500 free: Spencer Neff (GH) 4:54.51; Evan Indahl (GH) 4:56.41; Andrew Lackman (STA) 5:00.86200 free relay: Gig Harbor (Kaslik, McMenimen, Frame, Neff) 1:29.92; Central Kitsap (Soria, Weiner, Torres, Hirata) 1:32.27.100 back: Bart Wanot (TB) 52.53; Dakota Moist (GH) 54.81; Jason Soria (CK) 55:58.100 breast: Zach Kaija (WIL) 1:00.61; Drew Viehmann (WIL) 1:00.77; Jeremy Torres (CK) 1:01.98.400 free relay: Gig Harbor (Kaslik, Moist, McMenimen, Neff) 3:17.74; Stadium (Cann, Desteunder, Rysemus, Lackman) 3:20.11; Todd Beamer (Clare, McKenzie, Chase, Wanot) 3:21.11.

Oddly enough, ASU wasn’t even on the list.

“I had never thought to go there,” she said.

Coincidentally, her Washington Premier Club coach had close ties with the ASU women’s soccer program, because his daughter was an athlete at the school.

After some networking, ASU

head coach Kevin Boyd at-tended one of the showcase tournaments and liked what he saw in Gray-beal.

Career pathGraybeal has been playing soc-

cer since she was 4. She’s been a member of three different club

teams, including Harbor FC. Yet she said it was while she

played for Westsound FC when she developed a strong sense of identity on the field with the help of coach Tim Reynolds.

Graybeal has competed for the Washington Olympic Develop-ment Program ’92 for the past four years, and she earned a spot on the Region IV ODP team in both 2007 and ’09. The past two years, she has been named a first-team All-Narrows League selection, and she also was a first team All-Area pick and all-state honorable mention last fall.

Graybeal was the Gig Harbor Tides’ leading goal scorer and team captain in 2007-08, and she helped the Tides advance to the Class 4A West Central Dis-trict tournament the past two years.

Since she was in eighth grade, Graybeal has trained year-round. She said her ultimate goal is to play for the U21 national team and to be drafted by the Women’s Professional Soccer League.

College transitionGraybeal knows when she

steps onto the field at ASU, she better be ready.

“I need to get bigger, faster and stronger,” she said. “I will be turn-ing 18, and girls will be 22.”

Graybeal hopes to improve on her tactical game, which includes passing and heading, and to maintain a strong work ethic and passion for the game.

ASU advanced to the NCAA tournament last fall for the first time since 2003. The Sun Devils finished 9-7-4 overall (2-6-1 Pac-10) and finished eighth in the conference.

“I knew I could beat him, Wright said. “Going to the finals proves how much better I’ve got.”

Wright was pinned by Auburn Mountainview’s Matt Anderson in the first round of the district championship match. Anderson is ranked third in the state.

Peninsula senior Chase Oswalt (160) was one win away from qualifying for regionals last year. Early on, he beat Enumclaw’s Marcus Madden 14-3, and he later stopped Auburn Mountainview’s Patrick Peterson to finish third.

“This was my last chance,” Os-walt said about going to regionals and potentially state. “I just wres-tled a lot smarter and calmer.”

Tides advance sixGig Harbor senior Davey Browne

won the 152-pound sub-regional championship and helped the Tides finish fifth on Saturday at Foss High School.

Browne, ranked 12th in the state, pinned Central Kitsap’s Ty-ler Kahl with 58 seconds left in the third round to take the title. Kahl pinned fifth-ranked Damian She-han of Shelton to advance to the sub-regional finals.

“I didn’t get a chance to wrestle (Ryan) Zumalt this year,” Browne

said of University Prep’s top-ranked wrestler in his division. “I really need to win regionals to be prepared for state.”

Gig Harbor scored 133.5 points during the two-day tournament. South Kitsap beat Central Kitsap by 100 points to win the sub-re-gional championship. Foss edged Gig Harbor by 1.5 points for third.

The top five wrestlers from each weight class earned a regional bid. The Tides also will send two alter-nates.

Gig Harbor seniors Jake Baker (215) and Grant Hillard (145) and sophomore Kyle Iverson (119) all advanced to the finals and placed second.

Iverson beat Foss’ Sandy Dittell in a 7-4 decision to guarantee a spot at the regional tournament.

The match was tied 4-4 at the end of the first round. With sec-onds winding down in the second, Iverson slammed Dittell for a two-point takedown and earned an ad-ditional point with a near fall, and he held on for the victory.

“That really built my confi-dence,” Iverson said about the move. “It ensured that I’m going to regionals.”

In the finals, Iverson lost to South Kitsap’s Terrill Wilson — ranked ninth in state — in a 15-6 decision.

At 215, Baker won three straight matches to advance to the finals before he lost to Wilson’s David Stenger 12-11.

Gig Harbor senior Grant Hillard

(145) placed second after a 9-8 loss to South Kitsap senior Taylor Lyman.

Hillard pinned Shelton’s Colby Barber with 1:04 remaining in the

opening round to guarantee a spot in the regional tournament.

“I really wanted to get first or second,” Hillard said. “I’m hoping to make it to state.”

Regional qualifiersPeninsula

Top four advance David Shohradov — Sophomore, 103 pounds, fourth Austin Wright — Senior, 112, second Casey Larson — Freshman, 119, fifth (alternate) Wes Wynn — Junior, 125, fourth Stephen Lacheney — Senior, 130, fifth (alternate) Tyler Allen — Sophomore, 135, fourth Chase Oswalt — Senior, 160, third Michael Sly — Junior, 171, second Darric Reichert — Senior, 189, fourth Connor Knecht — Senior, 215, fifth (alternate)

Gig HarborTop five advance

Kyle Iverson — Sophomore, 119, second Jacob Spadoni — Sophomore, 130, fourth Ben Small — Sophomore, 140, fourth Grant Hillard — Senior, 145, second David Browne — Senior, 152, first Ryan Olson — Junior, 160, sixth (alternate) Jon Fick — Junior, 189, sixth (alternate) Jake Baker — Jr, 215, second

Wrestling: Regional qualifiers tangle for state bidsf rom page 1A


Gig Harbor senior Davey Browne (152 pounds) pins his opponent during the Class 4A sub-regional tournament on Saturday at Foss High School. Browne won his weight class and will be ranked as one of the top seeds on Saturday as he leads the Tides into the regional tournament at Central Kitsap High School.

prep calendarFor the week of Wednesday, Feb. 10, through Tuesday, Feb. 16

WED THU FRI SAT MON TUE

BOYS GH VS. OLYMPIA, 8 P.M. AT STADIUM HIGH BASKETBALL GH VS. WINNER OF CENTRAL KITSAP-FOSS (WITH LOSS ON FRIDAY) 4 P.M. AT STADIUM GH VS. LOSER OF MOUNT TAHOMA-WILSON (WITH WIN ` ON FRIDAY), 6 P.M. AT STADIUM

GIRLS GH VS. OLYMPIA, 8 P.M. AT STADIUM HIGH BASKETBALL GH VS. WINNER OF LINCOLN-CENTRAL KITSAP (WITH LOSS ON THURSDAY), 10 A.M. GH VS. LOSER OF WILSON-MOUNT TAHOMA (WITH WIN ON THURSDAY), NOON AT STADIUM

WRESTLING GIG HARBOR AT REGIONAL TOURNAMENT, 10 A.M. AT CENTRAL KITSAP HIGH PENINSULA AT REGIONAL TOURNAMENT, 10 A.M. AT AUBURN HIGH

scoreboard

f rom page 1A

Soccer: Graybeal excited to compete

Graybeal

GIG HARBOR NATIONAL LINEUPPLAYER NAME NUMBER POSITIONAlex Dworsky 7 2BWill Foley 27 CMatt Henckel 26 PCasey Gearhart 24 SSMike Knudson 21 LFMatt Ogard 6 3BAlex Pullin 4 RFGrant Sutton 11 1BSam Campidilli 12 1BJeremy Schnurman 18 2BBen Weymiller 9 CFNeal Hassan 21 RF

KEY PENINSULA LINEUPPLAYER NAME NUMBER POSITIONSeth Courtney 12 OFDamien LeGrange 7 OFZach Lacheney 11 P, 3B, OFMason Laird 9 P, CDamien Hampten 6 P, IF, OFAustin Keough 4 PTyler Durnin 14 3B, PRobert Kvinsland 2 C, P, 2BHayden Skidmore 5 P, C, SSJulian Archuleta 13 P, C, CFRiley Vanoverbeke 3 1B, OF


Tides-Seahawks girls summer hoops tourney/2B Terry Troxell remembered/2B A&E/4B Cooking corner/6B Business/10B June 24, 2009

LOCAL GOLFER FINISHES 53RD AT U.S. OPENKyle Stanley looks to turn pro later this summer/2B SPORTS LIVING

KEY PENINSULA HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO DISCUSS HERITAGE ROAD SIGNSA meeting will take place at noon Saturday in the VFW room of the Key Peninsula Civic Center in Vaughn. For more information, call 253-884-3702 or 253-884-3272.

FREE NATURAL YARD CARE WORKSHOPA free natural care and garden pest management workshop, hosted by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and the Pierce Conversation District, will take place tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Key Center Fire Station, 8911 Key Peninsula Highway N. For more information, call Geoff Rinehart at 253-798-4587.


Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula Little Leaguers take their shot at district title

GIG HARBOR AMERICAN LINEUPPLAYER NAME NUMBER POSITION Alex Berman 33 3B, PAlex Morford 24 P, OF Austin Kilcup 12 3B, P Blake Fulton 25 OF, 2B Chad Ditter 15 OF, 1BChristian Lewis 7 2B, Henry Cheney 23 C, PJairus Richards 17 OF, 3BJaxson Schneider 20 OF, SSMarque Kriebel 2 SS, C Patrick Spieker 19 OFRyan Campbell 10 OF, 2B Tyler Bickert 5 1B, C


The ting of a bat, the pop of a glove and the commotion of players and coaches are the noises that sig-nify preparation for the Little

League District 2 baseball tournament.School is over for children on the Gig

Harbor and Key Peninsulas. And another thing that will soon come to a conclusion is the baseball career of 12-year-olds in the Little League Majors Division.

But not before they get one last chance to qualify for a state or regional tour-nament. Or even the ultimate opportunity: The Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.

The Gig Harbor American and Gig Harbor Na-tional all-stars will join the Key Peninsula all-stars next month in Port Orchard for the district tourna-ment.

But for now, they’ll practice nearly every day for about two hours — sometimes twice a day — in order to maximize their repetitions.

KEY PENINSULAKey Peninsula Manager John Kvinsland doesn’t have to go

far to practice with his kids. He simply goes to his backyard, where he built a Little League-sized baseball field, complete with a fence.

All he’d need to do would be to install some lights and let the corn grow a little more, and he may begin to see famous base-ball players walk out onto the outfield, as in “Field of Dreams.”

For now, Key Peninsula is poised to make a deep run in the district tournament. They finished 2-2 last year, and Kvinsland believes this team is bigger and stronger.

“We have the ability to hit it out of the park between our three and seven batters,” Kvinsland said. “The op-portunity can present itself at anytime.”

Shortstop and pitcher Hayden Skidmore, 12, wants to go further this year — badly.

“This year’s team, we have stronger hitters and more expe-rienced players,” Skidmore said. “Hopefully we can beat the other teams.”

Catcher Robert Kvinsland thinks his team can give perennial favorites South Kitsap Western and Bainbridge Island a run for their money.

“I think we’re going to go pretty far this year,” said Kvinsland, who is heading into his fourth year of district competition.

Mason Laird, one of the team’s best hitters, said playing in the district tournament is a big deal.

It’s also a time to have fun.“You get to be with your friends and have a good time,”

Laird said. “It’s pretty cool.”

GIG HARBOR NATIONALBen Weymiller’s size doesn’t fit the charge he can put into a

ball. Last week during Gig Harbor National batting practice, Wey-

miller nearly put a ball into a neighbor’s yard in left field at Gig Harbor’s Kenneth Leo Marvin Veterans Memorial Park.

He hopes to continue his long-ball efforts when Gig Harbor National plays Gig Harbor American in the first round of the dis-trict tournament.

“I’m really excited,” Weymiller said. “I’m counting the days, marking them off the calendar. It seems like it’s coming too slow.”

The Nationals went 1-2 last year, and because it’s his last year, Weymiller said it’s important that his team has a better outing.

“It’s a great experience,” he said about competing as an all-star. “I’ll never be on this size field or with these guys again. I think we have the potential to go further and do better.”

In his second year with the team, Grant Sutton said he’s ex-cited to go out and have a good time.

“It’s awesome going out and representing Gig Harbor,” Sutton said.

GIG HARBOR AMERICANGig Harbor American Mark Kreibel summed it up when he

talked about playing in the District 2 Majors Tournament.“Play through the game and never expect to win,” said Kreibel,

the team’s utility player.Kreibel believes the key to winning will be to make the routine

plays. Last year, Gig Harbor American twice has the lead late in games but surrendered it both times because of errors.

“I really want to do better because it’s my last year of majors,” Kreibel said. “I want this to be as fun and competitive as pos-sible.”

Alex Berman, who was the starting pitcher for the Gig Harbor Majors Division city champion Red Sox, hopes his team does well.

“I wanted to be on the team really bad,” Berman said. “It’s fun to be with all the good players on the team. It makes you better, actually.”

Shortstop Chad Ditter, 12, knows the Americans can’t just walk on the field and expect to win.

“We have to try and win,” Ditter said. “Winning the first few games is really important. We didn’t do that last year, and we had to battle the hard way.”

Gig Harbor American Manager Dave Kilcup said he doesn’t have any superstars on the team. Instead, he said he has a very solid group of kids.

“We have a little more seasoned guys,” Kilcup said. “We’ve got great versatility. I’ve got more pitchers and catchers than I think I’ve ever had on an all-star team.”

In Little League baseball, the team that commits fewer errors usually wins. Kilcup preaches that they don’t have to make the great play; they just have to make the consistent play, particu-larly in the infield.

As for the tournament-opener against Gig Harbor National, both coaches were bummed about the unlucky draw.

“One of us will come away a winner, and the other will come away with playing baseball every day,” Kilcup said.

DISTRICT 2 LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENTGig Harbor American will play Gig Harbor

National at 2:30 p.m. July 5 in the first round of the Majors tournament at Art Mikelson Field in Port Orchard. Key Peninsula will face North Kitsap American at 5 p.m. July 5. For other game times, visit www.gigharborlittleleague.com or www.eteamz.com/keypeninsulalittleleague.

Matt Henckel is Gig Harbor National’s left-handed ace.

Marque Kriebel is a shortstop for Gig Harbor American.

LITTLE LEAGUE

Mason Laird is a catcher for the Key Peninsula all-stars.

have a coach that truly takes an interest in our kids and does ev-erything he can to help these kids make their dreams come true.”

The U18 team played about 60 games during the summer and traveled around the state.

Peninsula High graduate Chris Burke said if it weren’t for Fuller, Central Arizona Community Col-lege — one of the premier junior college baseball programs in the country — wouldn’t have noticed him.

“That’s huge for me,” Burke said. “I don’t have the size to

be seen. It’s great he can make calls for people like me who are above-average players. It gives us a chance.”

Fuller said when the program started, the goal was to get the best players from the area to play college baseball.

Just not from the other side of the bridge.

“We don’t try and pursue guys from Tacoma,” Fuller said. “We’re looking for the best kids from the Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula and Kitsap County at a young level. There’s enough talent up here to build a really good program.”

The Narrows Club is pulling players from as far away as Olym-pic High in Silverdale. This year, the 18U team featured a handful of players who were playing one or two years ahead of their class.

“It’s probably been the best (year), just because we were young,” Fuller said. “Some years, we’ve had a lot of kids who are all 18, but this year, it was a nice mix.”

Fuller said next year bodes well, considering many of the players will return.

Another player who may benefit from Fuller’s network-ing help is Gig Harbor High School junior outfielder Spencer

Manjarrez, who is preparing to take an unofficial visit to Oregon State.

Manjarrez said he’s received more looks from summer ball than from his high school perfor-mances.

“I made some really good friends and got college looks,” Manjarrez said. “It was a success-ful season.”

British soccer camp comes to the KeyYouths learn, have fun with world’s most popular sport


A small group of youths received a European lesson on how to play soccer on the Key Peninsula.

Challenger Sports, one of the leading soccer camps in the United States, Canada and Aus-tralia, visited Volunteer Park last week to provide lessons on the most popular game in the world.

The European instructors in-cluded Scottish ball player Gary Wright, who was the camp coor-dinator.

The camp, which provides in-struction to thousands of clubs nationwide, spent a week working with about 10 kids.

Key Peninsula Middle School student Jessalyn Wood said she enjoyed the small group because she got a little more instruction from Wright.

“I thought it was fun,” Wood said. “It was a good experience.”

Caitlyn Parks, 12, said the camp was more about having fun than being serious.

“It was cool,” Parks said. “I had never been coached by a (Scot).”

It was some of the kids’ first ex-perience with soccer. Wright said the goal was to get the kids in-terested in the sport and to have fun.

“If they enjoy it the first time, hopefully they want to keep it going,” Wright said. “We try and teach techniques, but in a fun way.”

One of the drills was to see how many times the kids could bounce the ball on their knee, foot or head without letting it touch the ground.

Parks won each time with a high of four touches.

Wright, who played for the Uni-versity of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, said he’d like to make the camp bigger next year. He had just finished conducting a camp in Port Orchard, where he said there were about 100 kids.

Toward the end of the camp on Friday, the group split into teams for a friendly scrimmage. One team chose to be Scotland and the other Mexico.

Wright said it was a good week for the first-time event, getting the younger kids out there and learn-ing at the same time.

“It has the potential to be big-ger,” Wright said. “Hopefully they enjoyed it, and they’ll tell their friends, so we can bring out two coaches next time.”

About 800 certified British soccer coaches are picked by Challenger’s UK-based staff. The camp was formed in 1985 and is a division of All American Indoor Sports, Inc.

The camp expanded through-out the United States, and in 1997, the company acquired the operations of British Soccer and

prepared to work with youths na-tionwide.

While most soccer camps have more of an American feel, Chal-lenger has an international flavor, mixing in their teachings.

Reach sports reporter Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Fall ball at GH Baseball Sports Academy next month

The Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Academy is accepting reg-istrations for fall ball.

The season begins Sept. 8 and runs through to Oct. 17. There will be six weeks of workouts twice a week.

Players will be instructed on hitting, fielding, base running and game situations. The fall program also includes speed and agility training.

The age range is 9-18 and the cost is $295. Players can register at the GHBSA, located in the North Harbor Business Park on Burnham Drive.

They will practice at the acad-emy and during weekends at Peninsula High School.

For more information, call 253-851-6265 or e-mail [email protected].

Peninsula Baseball Club to hold tryouts for 2010

The Peninsula Baseball Club will hold open tryouts for the 2010 season from 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 15 at Peninsula High School.

The club is looking for boys who will be 15 or 16 years old.

For more information, visit www.eteamz.com/peninsula baseballclub, or call 253-691-6401 or 253-255-4952.

Learn the fundamentals of indoor soccer

Key Peninsula Parks will offer an indoor soccer program de-signed for youths.

Ages: 4-9 Location: Key Peninsula

Middle School gym Day/date: Saturdays from

Aug. 26 through Oct. 14Session one: Ages 8-9 from 9-

9:50 a.m.Session two: Ages 6-7 from 10

to 10:50 a.m.Session three: Age 5 from 11 to

11:50 a.m.Session four: Age 4 from noon

to 12:50 p.m. Fee: $49 Min/Max: Ten to 25 per age

group

Soccer challenge for boys and girls 14 and under

A soccer challenge event for boys and girls 14 and under will be held Oct. 3.

Each participant will receive one throw-in, one kick for dis-tance, one dribbling trial and two goal shots as part of the competi-tion.

The event will run regardless of weather conditions. Participants will need to bring a copy of their birth certificate.

Time: See indoor soccer times from above.

Fee: Free

Kitsap Stingers 14U looking for players to fill positions

The 14-and-under Kitsap Stingers are looking for players to fill positions.

The tryout times and dates are from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 21; from 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 22 and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 28.

The Stingers have a college-level pitching and batting coach.

For more information, call head coach Bill Brasch at 360-340-6269 or e-mail [email protected].

Adult co-ed fall kickball league coming to the KP

A kickball league that follows basic softball rules will be held this fall at Volunteer Park on the Key Peninsula.

The season will consist of a practice game, eight double headers and a single-elimination league tournament.

Games will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays from Sept. 27 through Nov. 15. The fee is $180.


Key Peninsula Middle School students Caitlyn Parks, left, and Jessalyn Wood contend for the ball during a scrimmage at a British soccer camp last week at Volunteer Park on the Key Peninsula.

springtime, you’d notice different uniforms and a different mental-ity toward each other. But during the summer, they all put on the white with the black pin stripes and call each other teammates.

I think it’s great. It rids the top layer of disgust one has for a league rival and allows them to actually get to know each other.

Gig Harbor junior catcher Parker Guinn said you don’t really know other players until you’re with them.

“Once you start playing them, you realize they are really good guys, and you end up being really good friends,” Guinn said.

It’s an opportunity to learn from each other, too.

Since the team was relatively young this year, many of the de-parting 18-year-olds were able to pass down some good advice to

the younger players.Taking talent from schools on

the Gig Harbor, Kitsap and Key peninsulas and forming one team is a good way to mesh the area’s talent. It surprises me, though, to see how many of the area’s tal-ented players gravitate to this club.

It goes to show the quality of coaching and the work they do to connect high school ballplayers with colleges.

The Narrows Club erases ste-reotypes of teams disliking each other and pursues talent, period. They may be rivals during the regular season, but they are on the same team during the sum-mer.

There’s no player hating when it comes to getting your educa-tion — and perhaps a scholarship to pay for it.

Reach sports reporter Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246.

Baseball Northwest Championships

Olympia HS: Quinn Batt, seniorGHHS: David Bigelow, seniorGHHS: Scott Schultz, seniorGHHS: Parker Guinn, juniorGHHS: Spencer Manjarrez, juniorGHHS: Mike McCall, juniorSKHS: D’aundray VanSlyke, junior

f rom page 1B

Network: Coaches help with recruitingSports briefs/camps


Skate campTaylor Jeuris rides down a half-pipe at the Gig Harbor Skate Park last week dur-ing a skateboarding camp. The camp was geared for people of all ages. 30 kids attended last week ages 6-14. For more photos of the event, visit www.gateline.com and click on “Photo Gallery.”

Rivals: Club joins kids from many high schools

f rom page 1B

Photo courtesy of Sam Guinn

Jake Hohbein, a Peninsula High School graduate and current Pierce College baseball player, pitches during a summer game for the Narrows Baseball Club.

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