SPORTS
By Neil's Notes

Dickie�s bat paces Blaine
Blaine opened the 2003 baseball season with three non-conference tilts against a triad of 3A schools, losing 11-1 to Lynden at the Pipe on March 22, 7-5 to Sehome at Joe Martin Stadium on March 21 and 11-1 to Burlington-Edison at the Pipe on March 18.

The Borderites were out-hit 5-3 by the Lions. Laird Dickie went 2-for-3 and Jordan Snow was 1-for-1 with a double for Blaine.

�Our pitching was okay (against Lynden), but we didn�t swing the bat too well and we just broke down defensively,� coach Gary Clausen explained.

Dickie led Borderite batters with two RBIs and a bases-loaded double in the 7-5 rain-shortened loss to Sehome. The third Blaine runner was thrown out at the plate on Dickie�s double.

The Storm defense � outfielder, cutoff man and catcher � had to execute two quick, near perfect throws and a tag to get the out, which they did. Good play, Sehome. Well-called gamble, Blaine.

The Storm had surged into a 4-0 lead in the first and were ahead 7-2 before Blaine came back with a three-run fourth to make the score respectable.

�We had that bad first inning,� Clausen explained. �We played well after that, and we thought we had a chance to win it, but conditions were just too wet to finish the game.�

Burlington-Edison dominated the Borderites March 18 opener, tallying 11 runs on 15 hits, scoring in every inning but the second and coming within a bat swing of no-hitting the Double Bs.

Dickie�s fifth-inning RBI single, which came with Bryan Galbraith and Grant Sanders aboard on walks, broke up the Tigers� potential no-hitter and shutout.

Neil's Notes
Jam Session Soccer
Blaine kicked off the boys 2003 soccer season hosting a 10-team jamboree on March 17 at Pipeline Fields and playing 20-minute mini-games against Bellingham JVs and Sehome JVs. Both short-game encounters ended in a 0-0 outcome. Junior midfielder Chris Crane and junior defender Brendan Mulholland showed well for the Borderites.

Jam Session Fastpitch
Blaine�s Lady Bs played three-inning games against Meridian and Sehome on March 22 at the Pipe in the annual fastpitch opening day jam session. First sacker Kaylyn Bird got three RBIs for Blaine. Krista Walter limited Meridian to a single run and Sirita Lawson threw a �win� for the Lady Bs over Sehome.

Hoop Classic
It came down to the first ever overtime tilt in Boys & Girls Basketball Classic history as the West edged the East 89-86 in the boys game on March 21 in Lynden.
The West was represented by seniors from Bellingham, Ferndale, Lummi, Lynden, Meridian and Squalicum, while the East was composed of seniors from Blaine, Lynden Christian, Meridian, Mt. Baker and Nooksack Valley.
NV�s Jason Heutink scored a game-high 25 points for the East. Blaine�s Grant Sanders scored five points and Borderite Jon Freeman got two.
In the girls� game, the East, represented by seniors from Bellingham, Ferndale, Sehome and Squalicum, defeated the West, comprised of seniors from Blaine, Lynden Christian, Meridian and Nooksack Valley, 56-51. Blaine�s defensive specialist Linsey Taylor got a couple of points for the West.

Blaine 4th Graders Win
Blaine defeated Lummi 17-13 to win the Navy Division of the Boys and Girls Club�s fourth grade basketball title on March 4. The team, coached by Sheldon Miller, includes Sean Allen, Todd Bird, Dustin Dhanani, Derek Dobbs, Luke Feenstra, Kristian Freeman, Caleb Hudson, Vance Martinez, Cass McKay and Andrew Miller.

Ridnour Pac-10 POY
The 2002-03 basketball season ended March 21 in Nashville for Blaine grad and Oregon guard Luke Ridnour as the Ducks were edged 60-58 by the Utah Utes in their NCCA Midwest Regional.
Ridnour, the Pacific-10 Conference�s Player of the Year and all-Pac-10 first team nominee, led the Pac-10 in assists with a 6.5 per game assist average and in scoring with a 20 ppg average.
Ridnour helped UO to the school�s first Pac-10 tournament win as the Webfoot five edged Arizona State 83-82, UCLA 75-74 and Southern Cal 74-66 on March 13, 14 and 15 in Los Angeles. Ridnour got the winner with three seconds left in the ASU game and collected 57 points and 27 assists in the three UO victories.

Northwest Heat Fundraiser
Blaine�s Jessica Summers will play basketball for Northwest Heat this spring and summer. Fans and friends wishing to help defray Summers� expenses can purchase an advertisement in the Northwest Heat�s team brochure, which is distributed at each of the team�s games. All proceeds from the ads go to covering tourney fees and expenses.
The team practices in Ferndale and Marysville and plays in �Viewing Tournaments� in cities ranging from Santa Barbara, Oregon City, Everett, Yakima, Seattle to Victoria, B.C. It is composed of players from Blaine to Seattle.
For more information and to help out, call Karen or Todd Kean at 371-3148.

Gold for Price
Nine Blaine Barracuda wrestlers won gold in the Ferndale Mat Classic Freestyle tournament on March 22 � 23. Ten other �Cudas placed in the top three in their divisions. Nine golds and 19 total medalists are Barracuda records.
The Cuda champs included, Judtin Belding, (B-60), Luke Christianson, (M-75), Caleb Johnson, (M-103), Jacob Humphrey, (N-75), Josh Jones, (N-85), Jeremy Holdaas, (N-100) Derik Stremler, (S-130), Matt Carr, (C-275) and Bayartsengel Khishigdorj (J-160).
Jesse Kilthau (SB-95), Niko Rehon (SB-120), Nick Jordan (C-130) and Calvin Moore (C-145) placed second and Josh Fakkema (PW-50), Justin Dhillon (M-60), Tyson Foster (SB-85), Jake Jones (SB-100), Sam Abrams (C-140) and Richie Tewes (J-145) were third for Blaine.
Blaine wrestler of the Sons of Thunder won the 87-pound midget class at the Ferndale Mat Classic tournament.

Blaine golf boys team third in quad meet
Blaine boys tallied a team score of 234 to place third in a quad golf meet won by South Whidbey with a 206 at Useless Bay on March 20.
Meridian edged into second with 231, three strokes ahead of the Borderites. Lakewood was fourth with 242.
SW�s Jeff Strong and Meridian�s Evan Needham shared low medalist honors, both shooting 37.
The Brothers Farmer � Kevin and Justin � shot 44s to pace the Borderites. Doug Goldsby shot 47; Jacob Hillard, 49; C. J. Stauffer, 50; and Travis Black, 52.
Blaine�s Lady B team shot 401 to finish third in a North Cascades Conference girls nine-hole tri-meet at Lake Padden on March 20 against Mt. Baker, who won with a 308 team total, and Meridian, who were second with 321. The Lady Trojans Sarah Nelson was low medalist with a 55.
Tegan Bukowski led Blaine with a 61. Nicole Bailey carded 81; Lori Robertson, 83; Milagro Ayala, 87; and Esther Gorsuch, 89 for the Lady Bs.
The Blaine girls shot 275 to 3A Burlington-Edison�s 210 in a non-conference practice round at Loomis Trail on March 18. Bukowski carded 63; Jessica Carrington, 70; Bailey, 70; and Ayala, 72.

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