Community Newspaper for Blaine, Birch Bay and Semiahmoo, Washington

Neil's Notes

Riddle sets record

SPORTS
By Neil Macdonald

Blaine wins NCC District baseball championship
Blaine defeated Granite Falls on May 8 and May 11 at Mt. Vernon’s Sherman Anderson Field by identical scores of 7-1 to sweep the best-of-three NCC District championship series 2-0 and win the NCC/District title.
The Borderites are slated for a first-round loser-out regional playoff at 11 a.m. on May 18 at Bellingham’s Joe Martin Field against the No. 3 seed from the Nisqually League’s West Central District 3. The winner plays at 6 p.m. on May 18 in another loser-out contest, the winner of this one going to State, May 24-25 in Yakima.
Laird Dickie struck out 10, walked none and scattered four hits to top the Tigers in the May 8 opener. Grant Sanders went six innings, let up one hit and one run, struck out six and walked four to take the May 11 game. Craig Anderson played closer for Sanders, striking out the G-F side in the seventh.
Blaine scored all seven of their runs on May 8 in the second inning. Dickie walked, and Chris Kleman and Kyle Dhanani singled to load the bases and set the stage for Blaine’s offensive outburst. Bryan Galbraith walked to force home the B’s first run. Neal Teutsch’s line drive single to left brought in Kleman and Dhanani. Anderson walked to reload the bases. Sanders and Kyle Green followed with a two-run single each and it was 7-0, Blaine.
G-Falls scored their only run in the third; a catcher’s interference call on a 6-3 fielder’s choice made it of the unearned variety.
Blaine distributed their seven runs on May 11, getting three in the first, two in the third and two more in the fourth. Dickie, playing first in this one, went 2-for-2, driving in four runs on a pair of two-run singles.
The Borderites reached the District championship series with G Falls, defeating Meridian 12-6 and Lynden Christian 5-1 on May 6 at Mt. Vernon.
Kleman pitched 4 2/3rds innings in the opener, improving his record to 4-0 with the help of Galbraith, who went 2 1/3 innings in relief. The Kleman-Galbraith combination scattered 10 hits and survived six Borderite errors in getting the win.
Kleman went 3-for-3 with a RBI and Anderson, 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBIs.
The 5-1 win over LC saw Sanders and Anderson combining to throw a two-hitter. The Lyncs’ only run was unearned. The game was a classic pitching duel until Blaine’s Ryan Pike’s two-run single broke a 1-1 deadlock in the sixth. Loser Mark Holleman pitched well, letting up 4 hits and striking out 7 Borderites..

Riddle sets records in shot
Becky Riddle paced the girls and Nik McGee the boys, at the NCC track and field championships at Lynden Christian High School on May 10.
Riddle broke a NCC meet and Borderite school record in winning the shot put with a throw of 40'9". She won the discus with a toss of 130'9" to be Blaine’s only two-event winner. Riddle’s shot put throw eclipsed the meet’s girls record of 39'11" and the Blaine school record of 40'7" for girls in the shot.
Nik McGee won the boys shot with a throw of 56'3.5" and was fifth in the discus with a distance of 130'0." Cory Crews was second in the 300m hurdles in 41.09 and sixth in the 110m hurdles in 16.94. The boys 1600m relay team was second in 3:32.06. Dan Marchio was third in the 800m in 2:02.83.
South Whidbey won both the boys NCC title with 160 points and the girls title with 159 points. Blaine boys finished fifth with 64 points and the Lady B’s were seventh with 50.5 points. The top eight competitors in each event go to District at Sultan on May 17.losing 1-6, 4-6 to a South Whidbey duo on May 11. Other Blaine results:
Girls: 4th – Grace Coulter (3200m, 11:59.62), 4x200m relay (1:53.47). 5th – Ainsley Nix (1600m, 5:40.54), Shela Robertson (high jump, 4'8"), Kimberly Harmening (pole, 7'6"). 6th – Jessica Summers (discus, 84'0"), Kimberly Harmening (javelin, 84'2"), 4x100m relay (54.45). 8th – Jessica Carrington (javelin, 79'7"), Andrea Harmening (pole, 7'0")
Boys: 4th – Rhyan Lopez (100m, 11.66), Brian McCall (pole, 10-6), boys 4x100 relay (45.50). 5th – Kit Schumann (pole, 10-6). 6th – Danny Le (300m hurdles, 44.08). 7th – Geoffrey Faulkner (long jump, 18-4). 8th – Dan Balmer (1600m, 5:17.59)..

Neil's Notes
Lawrenson wins Sub-District
Blaine senior Kate Lawrenson won the 2A sub-district singles championship at Langley on May 9 to qualify for the 2A district finals at Federal Way on May 16.
Lawrenson had a bye in the first round, then defeated South Whidbey’s Molly Fox 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 and SW’s Jamie McFarland 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-final and finals for her Sub-D win.
Lady B twosome Linsey Taylor and Jessica Freeman finished third at Sub-D. The Blaine twosome lost their first match on May 9, but rallied to defeat Lakewood’s Gillis-Tangen tandem 6-1, 6-2 and the Cougars’ combo of Viskaya-Haugen 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Taylor and Freeman were eliminated from District contention on May 10, losing 1-6, 4-6 to a South Whidbey duo.

Farmer, Goldsby qualify for State
Borderite Kevin Farmer shot 76 to place second, two points back of Mt. Baker winner Chance Lau at the District 1 2A golf finals on May 7 at Bellingham G&CC.
Blaine’s Doug Goldsby carded 85 to finish sixth and join Farmer as a Borderite representative at State on May 20-21 at Black Rock Creek GC in Sunnyside.
The top eight seeds at District advance to State. Borderite Adam Dolan shot an 85 to be designated an alternate for state championship play. Blaine finished a close second in the team standings at District.
Jeni Armstrong carded the lowest score for Blaine, but did not make the cut for State, shooting 128 at the 2A District I girls’ golf championship at Homestead G&CC on May 9.

Nunez Wins at State Freestyle
Blaine Barracuda Chris Nunez won the midget 120 lb. wrestling championship at the Washington State Freestyle Championships at Spokane on May 10-11.
Four other ’Cudas picked up medals. Willie McClean was second in the novice 140. Darrell Price Jr., in the novice 105 lb., and Tanner Foster, in the bantam 65 lb., placed third. Andrew Price was sixth in the midget 75 lb.