SPORTS

by Neil MacDonald

Borderites place well at state
Becky Riddle and Andrew Martin paced Blaine’s individual efforts and the Borderites 4x400 relay team Blaine’ ingroup activities at the 2A State Track and Field Championships at Cheney on May 25-26.
Riddle, the Lady B’s qualifier in two events, took sixth in the discus and seventh in the shot. Riddle sent the saucer for an aerial excursion of 116'8" and put the shot across 35'1" of Cheney real estate.
Martin put in the Borderites’ highest individual performance, crossing the bar in the high jump 6'2" above ground zero, for a fifth place finish. Martin and Mt. Baker rival Mike Rawlins experienced a kind of reverse déjà vu in the high jump. The pair matched elevations of 6'2" in bi-district at Silverdale on May 19, but Martin cleared the bar on an earlier jump, edging Rawlins out for first place. At State, the dueling duo once again tied at 6'2", but this time Rawlins went over on an earlier jump and took the higher placing.
Martin, the only Borderite boy qualifying for two events at State, sent the javelin a distance of 163'9" for 13th place.
The boys’ relay team of Ryan Lopez, Cory Crews, Nathan Haslip and Steve Burden came fifth in the 4x400 final, covering the cinders in 3:29.66. The Borderite foursome placed third in their qualifying heat with a time of 3:28.62.
Nick McGee came seventh in the shot put with a throw of 49'1" for the boy Borderites. Haslip finished fifth in his heat and 11th overall in the boys’ 110m hurdles with a time of 16.90. Crews completed the boys’ 300m hurdles in 43.40 for 14th place.
Grace Coulter covered the 3200m in 11:59.22 to end eighth and Heidi Harmening matched her 9'0" Bi-D vault at State to finish 11th in the pole for the Lady B’s.
Overall, Blaine boys scored 10 points and Blaine girls tallied six as the long-range effects of I-and-I (injury-and-illness) continued to affect Mike Grambo’s Borderite track team.
Soph sprint speedster Matt Timothy missed the latter half of the season with a hip injury. Distance diva Coulter, who missed much of the year with mono, was able to return to active competition, but there wasn’t sufficient time for Grace, who was second in the 3200m at State in 2000, to return to past form.
Things might ameliorate by 2001. Of the Borderites who went to State this year, McGee, Crews and Riddle are juniors, Coulter and Lopez are sophomores.

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Three Bs on all-conference team
Three Borderites – Craig Anderson, Josh McDonald and Grant Sanders – were named May 29 to the 2001 North Cascades All-Conference baseball teams.
Anderson, a junior, hit .458 with 16 RBIs and a home run and was selected for the All-Conference first team second base.
“Anderson was obviously a key player for us, “ said Blaine’s head baseball coach Gary Clausen. “He started at short for us and moved to second after a leg injury. He’s one of those kids a coach loves to have. Tough mentally. Able to fight through injuries.”
McDonald, a senior, batted .360, drove in seven runs and got a total of 10 stolen bases. He was named NCC All-C second team catcher.
“McDonald had a very good year,” Clausen noted. “He has excellent speed and usually batted leadoff for us. We moved him around during the year.”
A versatile athlete, McDonald started at first base for the Borderites and finished the season behind the plate.
Sanders, a sophomore, hit .359, collected 10 RBIs and a home run and was selected for the All-C second team outfield.
“Sanders had a slow start at the plate,” Clausen said. “He really came on at mid-season and was one of our top hitters during the last half of the season. He is a very, very good defensive outfielder. He gets a good read on the ball and has decent speed.”
As Clausen spoke of Blaine’s three All-Conference players, a smile stirred his voice.
The source of Gary’s grin was Borderite Pride and, perhaps, the fact two of the three All-Conference Borderites will be back in 2002. .

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Neil's Notes
Borderite Scott Bianchi was eliminated from the boy’s 2A State Tennis Championships at Yakima Tennis Center after losing a 4-6, 1-6 quarter final round to Riverside’s Moritz Rohloff and a 6-0, 6-1 consolation round decision to Vashon’s Zach Mann on May 25.
Third Open Win
Blaine’s Jeff Coston shot 73-68-68 – 209 to win $7,000 and the 75th Washington Open Invitational at Oakbrook on May 23. The victory marked the third time in the past six years that Coston, a teaching pro at Semiahmoo, has won the Open.
All-American Grad
Blaine graduate and Pacific Lutheran University senior Leslie Seelye gained All-American ranking as she finished fifth in the women’s hammer throw on May 24 at the NCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships in Decatur, IL.
Seelye’s heave of 158' 2" was 11 inches short of third place.
Post 86 Splits
Blaine’s Post 86 edged Sehome 8-7 at Sehome on May 24 after losing a 7-5 decision to Nooksack at the Pipe on May 23 in Junior Legion baseball action.

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Birch Bay Golf Club league tees off
Birch Bay Golf Club’s Jean Hampton saw a need and decided to fill it. “I wanted a golf league and they didn’t have one,” said pro-shop employee Hampton, who works in the pro shop .
Course owner Jim Trull has been working to make the course and attached restaurant the perfect destination for socializing in Birch Bay, and sees the league as a step toward that goal. “It’s a short course but a difficult course, a strategic course. It’s also a gorgeous course” he said of the public course, across from the beach on Birch Bay Drive.
The new league kicked off May 23. Regular meetings of the social league will be 5:30 p.m. Fridays. The first meeting will be June 1. Contact the golf club at 371-7033..

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