Conference playoffs kicked off this past week, with baseball, soccer and girls golf battling local Northwest Conference rivals for a few precious spots in the upcoming state playoffs. Track and field also competed in its final regular season meet before its playoffs kick off this week.
Three Borderites are state-bound, with two more qualifying as alternates after a successful 36 holes at the 1A District Championships at North Bellingham Golf Course this week.
Marcella Bring, Sydney Arus and Hannah Phelps-McDonald qualified for a spot in the 1A State Championships after placing third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the two-day tournament.
Thora Engen and Olivia Tanjuaquio placed sixth and seventh, respectively, and will also travel to Liberty Lake for the 1A Girls State Tournament that tees off May 19.
Bring, Phelps-Mcdonald and Engen qualified for last year’s state tournament, and will look for even more success this time around.
At North Bellingham Golf Course, Bring led the Borderites with a two-round score of 193, behind Meridian’s Kali Tan (first place, 160) and Dallas Reinke (second place, 189).
All told, the Borderites grabbed five of the top seven spots, with all five players who qualified for a state spot shooting a score of 204 or less, easily securing Blaine’s district championship banner.
The Borderites split the first two games of the 1A District Tournament in a Saturday double-header, and remained alive in the bracket with just one win to go in order to qualify for the 1A State Tournament.
Blaine started out the district tournament with a gutsy 1-0 win against Overlake/Bear Creek, thanks to a dominating pitching performance from Ashton Vezzetti.
Junior middle infielder Aaron Garza hit an RBI single in the first inning that scored a sprinting George Streeter, giving the Borderites a slim, one-run lead.
Vezzetti wouldn’t need any more run support, twirling a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out eight batters en route to one of the most clutch performances of his high school career.
A few hours later against Cedar Park Christian, one of the tournament favorites, the Borderites fell 4-2.
Blaine pitcher Josh Cochran held his own on the mound, striking out seven batters over five innings while allowing just one hit. But the junior issued six walks that came back to bite.
The loss dropped Blaine into the losers’ bracket, where the team is scheduled to play against King’s at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at Sehome High School.
A win for the Borderites against King’s, and the team will qualify for the state tournament.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Boys soccer held its own against Lynden Christian in the opening round of the District 1 1A Tournament on Saturday at Borderite Stadium, forcing a high-stakes penalty shootout to decide which team would advance and which would drop to the losers’ bracket.
After regulation ended in a scoreless tie, the Lyncs came out on top in penalty kicks, winning by an official score of 1-0.
Both teams scored the first two tries each, but Blaine faltered in its third attempt. After both teams eventually ended up tied at four goals each, Lynden Christian sophomore Jackson Yun scored the deciding fifth penalty kick, sending the Borderites to the losers’ bracket.
Thankfully, the double-elimination style tournament allows the Borderites a chance to extend its season.
The Borderites were scheduled to face Nooksack Valley at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday (after press time) at Borderite Stadium. Win, and Blaine continues on in the district tournament to face the loser of a game between Lynden Christian and Meridian for a chance to qualify for state. Lose, and Blaine’s season is over.
Good news for the Borderites, though perhaps adding additional pressure, is that the team has already beat Nooksack Valley once this season. The Borderites beat the Pioneers on the road, way back on March 23 by a score of 3-1. Repeat that outcome, and the hometown boys will be one win away from state qualification.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine track and field traveled to Ferndale on May 6 for a conference clash against the hosting Golden Eagles and Sedro-Woolley in the program’s final meet before the 1A District 1 Tournament starts on Wednesday.
In the girls 100-meter sprints, freshman Zoe Hill continued her stellar debut season with a third place finish, posting a time of 13.92.
Hill also came in third place in the 200-meter race, finishing again behind the two Sedro-Woolley sprinters with a time of 29.19.
Freshman Sophia Johner finished second in the 400-meter finals with a personal best time of 1:07.92. In the 800-meter event, junior Kathryn Lowry also finished second with a time of 3:01.97.
The Blaine girls had a solid showing in the long distance races, with sophomore Carrie Balback blowing out the field in the 1600-meter race with a time of 6:18.52, more than 24 seconds faster than the runner up from Sedro Woolley.
In the 3200-meter race, Balback posted a season-best time of 14:23.68, finishing second.
In the 100-meter hurdles, senior Brietta Sandell finished second with a time of 17.24.
On the boys side, underclassmen Tyler Rogers, Logan Bennett and Quinn Addis lined up for second, third and fourth place in the 800-meter finals, with Addis earning a personal best time of 2:30.39.
The boys discus squad also had a great showing, with sophomores Connor Crews, Aiden Mullins and Vincent Maxey all throwing personal best distances to earn third, fourth and fifth place finishes.
The Borderites will begin the two-day 1A District Championships starting Wednesday (after press time) and concluding on Friday at Lynden Christian High School. First events on each day will start at 4 p.m. and run through 7 p.m.
Stats provided by athletic.net
