Northwest Conference (NWC) championship season is here, and the Borderites are already seeing their share of postseason drama.
Blaine cross-country showed out at the 1A District 1 Championships on October 31, with sophomore Emmanuel Rios-Martinez and junior Steven Phelps-McDonald qualifying for the 1A State Championships in Pasco on Saturday, November 8.
In volleyball, the Borderites battled hard for three games in the 1A District 1 tournament, but weren’t able to beat second-ranked Meridian and advance to the final for a chance to head to the state tournament.
Football played its last conference game against Meridian, losing 43-25 on October 30.
Girls soccer survived a close game against Meridian, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from junior forward Kate Koreski. The win put the Borderites one win away from clinching a state playoff berth. Blaine faces Nooksack Valley on Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m. in a winner-take-all final.
With the Halloween weather positively pouring on the Borderites at the Deming Log Show Grounds for the 1A District 1 Championships on October 31, Blaine finished third as a team in both the girls and boys varsity heats.
On the boys team, two Borderites qualified for the 1A state tournament, the first time a Blaine cross-country runner (let alone two) made it to state in six years, head coach Roberto Aguilera wrote on social media after the race.
Sophomore Emmanuel Rios-Martinez finished first overall for the Borderites with a time of 17:48.16, good for ninth place in the five-kilometer race. Close behind was junior Steven Phelps-McDonald, who placed 14th with a time of 18:32.16. Both will head to the state tournament for the first time in their young running careers.
“The ball will just keep on rolling from here on out thanks to these two,” Aguilera wrote on Instagram. “Very excited to see how many more athletes qualify each year! Very proud of these two!”
Phelps-McDonald and Rios-Martinez are the first cross-country athletes coached by Aguilera to qualify for state, a goal he has always set for his teams since taking over cross-country coaching duties in the fall of 2023.
Aguilera said the team set 11 personal records and two season-best times during the race, a show of how the team constantly improved as the grueling cross-country season wore on.
Rios-Martinez and Phelps-McDonald will now prepare for the 1A State Championship at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Saturday, November 8. Tickets for the event are $14.65 for adults, and $11.50 for students, seniors and military members, and can be purchased online at bit.ly/47Zh0Q4. A live stream of the event will be broadcast at bit.ly/4nLPjit.
Blaine volleyball had a tough task ahead prior to the first round of the 1A District 1 volleyball tournament. The Borderites, thanks to a four-seed in the tournament, needed to play the most games – and thus earn the most wins – to get through a gauntlet of a conference playoffs, and the team came just a game short of making it to the final round.
On November 1, the Borderites took care of Mt. Baker in a win-or-go-home opening round, winning in straight sets, 26-24, 25-20, 29-26.
In the uncomfortably close game, junior outside hitter Teia Dube led the Borderites with 13 kills and 20 digs, while senior Carly Saunders tallied eight kills and three blocks.
Blaine picked apart the Mountaineers from the service line, racking up 11 aces as a team, with senior Arianna Johnson collecting four.
Just a few hours after ending Mt. Baker’s season, the Borderites played three-seed Nooksack Valley, losing in straight sets, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21.
Up against a solid Nooksack Valley team that didn’t have to play just hours prior, the Borderites couldn’t keep up. Johnson led Blaine with seven kills and a team-high 13 digs, and Saunders had another solid performance with three aces and two blocks. Dube led the team with nine kills and senior Ainslee Ellis tallied 18 assists.
Just a few days after the double-header, Blaine faced off against Meridian in yet another win-or-go-home scenario, with the winner headed to the final round for a chance to win a place in the 1A State tournament.
Facing Meridian on its home court, the Borderites were pesky all night long, but couldn’t keep things together to upset the two-seed Trojans. The Borderites lost in straight sets, 25-19, 25-18, 25-13, its season coming to an official end on November 4.
In what would be their final game for Blaine volleyball, seniors Johnson, Saunders, Ellis, Paige Dominick and Hannah Phelps-McDonald got plenty of time on the court. In a show of appreciation from head coach KJ Assink, Phelps-McDonald was ceremonially subbed out for the match point, allowing a chance for the senior libero to take in her final moments of high school volleyball.
It was a hard-fought game that would serve as a microcosm of Blaine volleyball’s 2025 season that ended with a 5-10 NWC record: lots of grit and tenacity, but just not the results the Borderites wanted.
Dube earned yet another double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 19 digs. Phelps-McDonald tallied 17 digs, and Johnson racked up four kills and 11 digs. Ellis had 17 assists, and Saunders led both teams with four blocks.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
It was a slugfest of two powerful offenses in Blaine’s game against Meridian on October 30, but the Borderites fell 43-25 on the road.
Despite the Borderites opening the scoring with a 35-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Connor Brown to sophomore wide receiver Isaac Bouma, Blaine couldn’t keep up with the Trojans. Meridian put up 15 points in the third quarter, and the Borderites weren’t able to mount a late comeback.
Brown was just shy of 300 yards passing on the day, with three touchdown passes. Junior wide receiver Peyton Bouma led the team with eight receptions for 99 yards, and senior wide receiver Kai Kerwin led the team in receiving yards with 126 on six catches.
The loss dropped Blaine to a 2-7 overall record, with the Borderites going winless against its four 1A NWC opponents.
Blaine will have a chance to end its season on a high note with a final game on the road against Lakewood on Friday, November 7 at 7 p.m.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine girls soccer survived a high stakes battle against Meridian on November 5, winning 1-0 and advancing to the final round of the 1A District 1 tournament.
With the win, the Borderites will face Nooksack Valley on Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m. at Borderite Stadium. Win, and Blaine advances to its first state berth in years. Lose, and the season is over.
Blaine’s decisive goal came from junior Kate Koreski, who had been pressuring the Meridian back line all night long from the right forward position. About 20 minutes into the first half, Koreski scored from just a few yards away, colliding into the Meridian goalkeeper and watching her shot hit the back of the net from a pile-up on the turf.
It turned out to be all the offense Blaine needed, with their midfield and defense holding on for a dramatic win.
The Borderites had a few chances in the second half to double their lead and put the game out of reach, but shots from senior Sorjan Leischner, freshman Ruby Belarmino and Koreski all couldn’t find the back of the net. A few clutch saves from goalkeeper Marcella Bring and good stops by the Borderite defense sealed the win, and preserved the season for at least one more game.
Blaine defeated Nooksack Valley at home earlier in the regular season, winning 3-2 on September 23, but lost in the opening round of the playoffs to Nooksack Valley, 4-3, on November 1.
It's only fitting that these two teams that have won a game apiece in head-to-head matchups this season – and share an identical combined score of 6-6 – need to hash things out one more time in a third and final winner-take-all game.
This article was updated on Thursday, November 6 to reflect the score of the Blaine girls soccer game against Meridian on November 5.
