SPORTS

by Neil MacDonald

Burden, Waters capture regional wrestling titles
Blaine’s Zac Waters won the 275 and Steve Burden took the 152-pound championships at the 2A Region I wrestling tournament on Feb. 10 at Mountlake Terrace High School.

Waters, Burden and fellow Borderite Joe Button, who finished second at 140, qualified for the state championships, a.k.a. Mat Classic XIII, on February 16-17 at the Tacoma Dome.

Waters won the 275 crown with a 10-7 victory over Sultan’s Allen Root in the big boy’s final. Waters opened with a pin over Vashon’s Alex Chamberlin in 1:34 and followed with a 10-0 decision over Vashon’s Nick Berry in round two to reach the final.

Burden took the 152 title with a 6-4 overtime decision from Orting’s David Barber. Burden shackled Port Townsend’s Zach Dean to the mat in 1:43 in the opening round and took a 15-0 technical fall from Vashon’s Josh Gardner in round two to get to the final.

Button edged Steilacoom’s Jerod Gillette 5-4 in the first round and decisioned Sultan’s Travis Fortier 5-1 in the second round, but was edged 4-3 by Orting’s Chase Reed in the 140-pound championship match.

Tyler Glahn, Blaine’s other entrant at Regionals, pinned Klahowya’s Matt Adams in 3.55 to win a first round bout in the 125-pound class. Glahn came within a point of going into the finals, losing a 9-8 decision in the second round to Vashon’s Aaron Correll. Relegated to the loser’s bracket, Glahn scored a fall in 4:27 over Lakewood’s Jeff Brown to move into a battle for third place with Nooksack’s Craig Jackson, who won a close 7-5 decision over Glahn.

Mt. Baker won the tournament with 193 points. Blaine scored 75.5 to finish seventh.

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Lady Bs beat Lynden for three in a row
Basketball coach Pat Green’s Lady Borderites became Gang Green to their recent opposition as they swept over Granite Falls 52-36 in the Tiger’s den on Feb. 6, sank Lakewood 53-43 on Feb. 9 and upset Lynden Christian 52-45 on Feb. 10 at home.

The wins insured Blaine third or fourth place in the North Cascade Conference and a berth in the cross-over playoffs with either the fifth or sixth place finisher in the Nisqually League.

The sweetest success of the sweep for the unranked Borderites (9-6, NCC) was the win over second-place LC (12-3, NCC), who came into the game tied with Ephrata for fifth spot in the state.

The LC battle was no easy win. A 13-7 Blaine lead dissolved as LC scored five points in the last 28 seconds to end Q1 in a 13-all tie. The Lyncs led 25-22 at the half. But the Lady B’s, with Linsey Taylor playing doyenne of defense, slowed LC’s offense to 10-point third and fourth Q’s.

Meanwhile, Blaine outscored LC by four in Q3 to go into Q4 with a thin as anorexia 36-35 lead. The Lady B’s then held the Lyncs scoreless for eight straight Q4 possessions and went on to out-point LC 16-10 in the quarter.

Jessica Summers paced the Lady B’s with 17 points. Kristina Francis added 12 and Krista Walter, 10.

Summers also led the Lady B’s in the G-Falls fray, tallying 18 points and 11 rebounds. Anna Sticklin was also in double figures, popping in 11 points.

On guard all evening, Blaine’s ministry of defense kept the Tigers at bay in Q2 and Q3, holding GF to 12 points in the middle quarters. This streak of stinginess was accompanied by a glut of greed by the Lady B offense that produced 30 points in the same 16 minutes.

Summers’ double-double performance against G-Falls served as a near-perfect template for her against Lakewood as she once again got 18 points while improving her rebounding total to 12.

Sticklin was second again in Lady B points, matching her G-Falls total of 11. Nine were of the ICBM variety as she hit three treys. Sticklin also collected seven of Blaine’s 17 assists. Becky Riddle added nine points and picked off some crucial rebounds in Q4 when the game was still in doubt. Blaine led 15-8, 28-25 and 40-36 at the Qs.

Lakewood out-shot Blaine, taking 62 attempts to the Lady B’s 49, but Blaine’s D didn’t give the Cougars many good looks. LW hoop hunters were limited to 16 successes for a 26 percent proficiency rating. In contrast, the Lady B’s averaged 43 percent (21/49).

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Blaine hosts crucial playoffs
Blaine boys and girls basketball teams will play host to a couple of crucial games in the crossover playoffs between Northwest District-1 (North Cascades Conference) and West Central District-3 (Nisqually League) this weekend at the Big Orange.

Both Borderite squads are vying for third and fourth spots in their respective NCC leagues. Third plays sixth and fifth meets sixth.

The boys game is Feb. 16 and the girls tilt is Feb. 17. Both are tentatively slated for 7 p.m., but the start time of either could change depending on who represents Nisqually. To verify the time, call Blaine’s high school office at 332-6045.

Ticket prices for the crossover playoffs are $6 for adults and $4 for students. Normal passes (e.g., ASB cards) are not valid for playoff games.

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Neil's Notes
Bianchi Runner-Up
Blaine’s Scott Bianchi was runner-up in high school boys tennis singles, dropping a 6-2, 7-5 decision to Squalicum’s Eric Nyberg in a junior tournament at the Bellingham Tennis Club in early February.

Top USA Nine to Compete Top quality world fastpitch goes again this summer a few blocks north of Blaine. The eighth Canada Cup International Women’s Fastpitch Tournament is slated for June 30-July 8 at Softball City in Surrey, B.C. The tourney has the five top teams in the world – No. 1 United States, No. 2 Australia, No. 3 Japan, No. 4 China and No. 5 Canada – tentatively entered. The United States team is the defending 2000 Olympic gold medalist.

For ticket info, check out www.canadacup.com or call 604-536-9287.
Chess, Everyone

Blaine finished seventh over-all in the Northwest Chess League, missing a chance to move on to the State High School Team Championships on February 23-24.

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Boys win 2 of 3 to qualify
Blaine went 2 for 3 in a busy week of North Cascades Conference boys basketball action, defeating Granite Falls 64-52 at the Big Orange on Feb. 6 and topping Lakewood 64-60 in the Cougars’ den on Feb. 9 before dropping a 76-53 road decision to Lynden Christian on Feb. 10.

The Borderites (12-7 overall, 9-6 NCC) clinched a spot in the Nisqually League cross-over playoffs with their two victories.

Unable to penetrate down low and force LC fouls, Blaine got only five free throw attempts all evening and didn’t sink their first until early in Q4. LC consequently outscored the B’s 19-2 from the foul-line.

The LC trio of Paul Hafford, 25 points, Grant Dykstra, 19, and Todd Burgers, 16, led the Lyncs attack. Hafford and Dykstra added 11 rebounds each as LC out-rebounded Blaine 41-29. Point-wise, Blaine’s Andrew Martin got 18 and Charlie Franklin, 14.

The Borderites led 16-15 after Q1, but were out-gunned 23-9 in Q2 as LC ran up a 38-25 half-time lead. Blaine came within six points of the Lyncs twice in Q3, but ended Q3 trailing 52-42. Q4 was all LC’s as the State’s third-ranked Lyncs outscored the tenth-ranked Borderites 24-11.

Blaine went on a basket binge in the first half of the G-Falls game, racking up a 42-30 lead by break time. D dominated the second half as the B’s and T’s matched point production figures with 22 each.

A trio of Borderites - Cory Crews, L.J. Cunningham and Franklin - netted 13 points each. Blaine out-rebounded G-Falls 30-23, Kekoa Davidson getting eight and Franklin, seven. The Double B’s demonstrated complete outside shooting superiority, sinking eight treys.

With final position in the NCC all-important, a win over Lakewood was deemed crucial. Third and fourth spots get home floor advantage and games against Nisqually’s sixth and fifth place finishers respectively.
Blaine took a 15-13 Q1 lead, settled for a 28-28 halftime deadlock and went into a 41-35 Q3 lead before all semblance of defense dissolved as the Borderites and Cougars combined for 48 points in Q4. The Cougs got the best of this six-a-minute scoring rate, edging the Double B’s 25-23.
Martin led Blaine with 18 points and eight rebounds. Keith Williams got 16 more points and had six assists.