Year in Review: Blaine High School sports

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The past year brought stability to many Blaine High School sports programs after a year of change in 2018, when eight programs got new varsity head coaches. Programs with second-year coaches built on last year’s work and returning Blaine athletes saw fewer new faces in charge.

The 2019 calendar year brought its share of leadership changes as well, with five new varsity head coaches, though many had previous experience as assistant coaches. Throughout the transition, most Blaine sports continued to improve and some teams of younger varsity athletes showed hints of a promising future.

Here’s a season-by-season look at how Blaine teams and athletes did in 2019.

Winter

Coached by Tom Hinz in his first year as head coach, Blaine wrestlers earned an 11th place finish at the state championship Mat Classic and maintained their spot as Whatcom County’s top 2A school. Senior Aidan Button led the Borderites at state, placing second after losing an exciting final match by pin. Fellow senior Jacob Westfall placed seventh at the Mat Classic and Alex Hall and Gavino Rodriguez finished just short of the top eight.

The girls wrestling team continued to gain steam with a small but enthusiastic team of four. Josy Delgadillo qualified for the state wrestling tournament where she won a match but didn’t place.

Girls basketball finished the season with a 6–15 overall record and qualified for a first-round playoff game. Regular season highlights included conference wins against Lakewood and Squalicum.

With its third new coach in three years for 2018-2019, boys basketball faced a season of rebuilding. Brett Farrar, who’s back for 2019-2020, coached the young team to an 8–13 overall finish and a first-round playoff game. The squad improved rapidly throughout the season, developing a quick style and winning some hard-fought games against bigger opponents.

Spring

Baseball was once again a highlight for Blaine sports. The Borderites battled their way to an 11–8 regular season record in head coach Tanner Olson’s second year with the team. Thanks to a deep roster and a big group of experienced seniors, Blaine made a decent run into the playoffs, beating Mountlake Terrace in the first round before losing tough games to Archbishop Murphy and Lynden, ending the season.

The boys and girls golf teams both had second year coaches looking to build and improve, and both had some success at tournaments despite tough opponents.

After several seasons of improvement for the boys soccer program, a tiny crew showed up to play in 2019. Forced to pick up the pieces and regroup, the program put together a single team made up of about one-third freshman. Though they were out-matched throughout the season, the Borderites didn’t give up and came through with an exciting 3–1 conference win against Nooksack Valley late in the season.

On the tennis courts, longtime junior varsity coach Amanda Dahl stepped up as varsity head coach following former head coach John Freal’s retirement. Nine players and three doubles teams from the young squad played at the sub-district tournament but didn’t qualify for the next round of postseason play. Blaine finished with a 2–14 overall record.

A young softball team led by three experienced seniors finished the season with a 4–16 record and qualified for a first-round playoff game. The team lacked experience, but new coach Sean Miller and assistant coach and former Blaine softball player Riley Miller brought fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the program.

Blaine’s track and field program was abuzz in 2019 with 50 percent more athletes than the previous year and some talented new assistant and volunteer coaches. Hard training paid off and many athletes notched big personal bests in the season’s final weeks. Ben Caro, Brynn Hallberg and Elee Faulkner all broke personal records at the 2A Northwest Conference District Championships, and Faulkner and Caro went on to medal at state.

Unified soccer finished with a 2–2–2 record. Season highlights included victories at home against Lynden Christian and Squalicum.

Fall

After choosing to play in the tougher of two divisions, Blaine football struggled against bigger opponents and finished with a 1–8 overall record. The Borderites improved much throughout the season, though their efforts didn’t show in the standings. The silver lining to the season was that Blaine finished the year with a home playoff game, its first in years and a fitting farewell to the grandstands and grass field that will be replaced before next football season.

On the girls soccer field, strong senior leaders and a big class of sophomores played their way to Blaine’s best season in at least a decade, finishing 7–9–1 overall. The Borderites surprised some bigger teams on the field and ended the season in a heartbreaking playoff loss; Blaine led through most of a first-round playoff game against Lakewood, but the Cougars tied the score 1–1 in the final minutes and served Blaine a season-ending defeat with a goal in the first period of extra time.

Blaine volleyball got off to a slow start before coming together and winning some matches and finishing the season 3–10 in league games. Season highlights included making the playoffs and winning close conference matches against Bellingham and Mount Baker.

Back for his second year as head coach, Gabe Bolton continued to push the cross country program, which once again had more than 20 athletes after a low of just nine in 2016. Senior leader Taylee McCormick stood out as the top Borderite, knocking more than a minute off her best time and placing 79 out of 155 at state.

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