8
BY STEVE HUNTER [email protected] Even though the flood risk of the Green River is lower this winter than last winter, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still needs to complete repairs over the next two years to get the Howard Hanson Dam back to full operating capacity. “Folks still need to get ready and be ready,” said Casondra Brewster, an Army Corps public-affairs specialist in Seattle. “We are not out of the woods yet.” e corps has lowered the threat of Green River flooding this winter to 1 in 60 from 1 in 33 last year because of installation of a grout curtain last year that stood up to summer tests to allow for more storage capacity in the reservoir behind the dam. at means more protection from the dam for residences and businesses in Kent, Auburn, Renton and Tukwila in the valley. But the mild winter of last year could be followed by a much wetter winter this year. OPINION | New city budget keeps Renton operating efficiently [6] R EP O RTER .com RENTON REPORTER NEWSLINE 425.255.3484 A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19/10 More state action | See how the Lindbergh and Liberty football teams, plus swimmers did last weekend [16] Health-care reform | The debate will go on for a long time in the United States [3] Cheery to cutthroat Hazen High School senior Lauren Kaufman smiles on the awards stand after winning a 3A state title in the 50-yard freestyle. CHAD COLEMAN, Reporter Newspapers BY ADAM MCFADDEN [email protected] It was only a matter of time. From the moment Hazen swimmer Lauren Kaufman burst onto the scene with a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle at state as a freshman in 2007, she knew she would get a state title. She just had to wait. It was only a matter of time. More specifically, it was only a matter of 0.57 seconds that separated her from a state title then as a freshman. Since then there have certainly been other highlights. She even won a state title in the 100 free as a junior. But in her mind it was always about the 50. Now a senior, Kaufman’s time has come. She won twin state titles in the 50 and 100 free races at the 3A state swim and dive Three state titles cement swimmer’s place as one of Renton’s best athletes SAFETY PREPAREDNESS SAFETY Special supplement published by the Kent Reporter, Renton Reporter, and Auburn Reporter Sponsored by: 2010 « Need to Know Numbers/Websites « CERT: Preparing for Trouble « How to Survive an Earthquake « Flood Preparation Worth Millions « Steps to Prevent/Survive Fire Hanson dam awaits more fixes to ease flooding risk BY TRACEY COMPTON [email protected] It’s the time of year when peo- ple are called to their family table to reflect and eat. For those who lack family or friends, there are several opportunities around the city to experience community and share in anksgiving festivities. Two such opportunities are the Renton Ecumenical Associa- tion of Churches’ anksgiving dinner and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church anksgiving Day Mass. “Nobody has to stay home on anksgiving and not have a tur- key dinner,” said Sally Cummings, REACH organizer. Cummings has been involved in the REACH anksgiving dinner since the beginning seven years ago and continues to sup- port the project year aſter year Volunteers help bring Thanksgiving meals to all in Renton community More state coverage SPORTS, pages 16,17 [ more SWIMMER page 15 ] [ more FLOOD page 19 ] [ more THANKSGIVING page 4 ] INSIDE 427785 206.949.1696 www.marciemaxwell.com Lisa Lam Realtor, CRS, ABR & ASP Marcie Maxwell Associate Broker, Realtor & CRS

WNPA submission

Embed Size (px)

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Adam McFadden, sportswriter of the year

Citation preview

Page 1: WNPA submission

BY STEVE HUNTER

[email protected]

Even though the � ood risk of the Green River is lower this winter than last winter, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still needs to complete repairs over the next two years to get the Howard Hanson Dam back to full operating capacity.

“Folks still need to get ready and be ready,” said Casondra Brewster, an Army Corps public-a� airs specialist in Seattle. “We are not out of the woods yet.”

� e corps has lowered the threat of Green River � ooding this winter to 1 in 60 from 1 in 33 last year because of installation of a grout curtain last year that stood up to summer tests to allow for more storage capacity in the reservoir behind the dam.

� at means more protection from the dam for residences and businesses in Kent, Auburn, Renton and Tukwila in the valley. But the mild winter of last year could be followed by a much wetter winter this year.

OPINION | New city budget keeps Renton operating e� ciently [6]

REPORTER .com

R E N T O N

REPORTER NEWSLINE 425.255.3484A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING

FRID

AY N

OVEM

BER

19/1

0

More state action | See how the Lindbergh and Liberty football teams, plus swimmers did last weekend [16]

Health-care reform | The debate will go on for a long time in the United States [3]

Cheery to cutthroat

Hazen High School senior Lauren Kaufman smiles on the awards stand after winning a 3A state title in the 50-yard freestyle. CHAD COLEMAN, Reporter Newspapers

BY ADAM MCFADDEN

[email protected]

It was only a matter of time.From the moment Hazen swimmer Lauren Kaufman burst

onto the scene with a third-place � nish in the 50-yard freestyle

at state as a freshman in 2007, she knew she would get a state title. She just had to wait.

It was only a matter of time. More speci� cally, it was only a matter of 0.57 seconds that

separated her from a state title then as a freshman.Since then there have certainly been other highlights. She even

won a state title in the 100 free as a junior. But in her mind it was always about the 50.

Now a senior, Kaufman’s time has come. She won twin state titles in the 50 and 100 free races at the 3A state swim and dive

Three state titles cement swimmer’s place as one of Renton’s best athletes

SAFETYPREPAREDNESSSAFETYSAFETY

Special supplement published by the Kent Reporter, Renton Reporter, and Auburn Reporter

Sponsored by:

2010

« Need to Know Numbers/Websites

« CERT: Preparing for Trouble

« How to Survive an Earthquake

« Flood Preparation Worth Millions

« Steps to Prevent/Survive Fire

Hanson damawaits morefixes to easeflooding risk

BY TRACEY [email protected]

It’s the time of year when peo-ple are called to their family table to re� ect and eat. For those who

lack family or friends, there are several opportunities around the city to experience community and share in � anksgiving festivities.

Two such opportunities are

the Renton Ecumenical Associa-tion of Churches’ � anksgiving dinner and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church � anksgiving Day Mass.

“Nobody has to stay home on

� anksgiving and not have a tur-key dinner,” said Sally Cummings, REACH organizer.

Cummings has been involved in the REACH � anksgiving

dinner since the beginning seven years ago and continues to sup-port the project year a� er year

Volunteers help bring Thanksgiving meals to all in Renton community

More state coverageSPORTS, pages 16,17

[ more SWIMMER page 15 ] [ more FLOOD page 19 ]

[ more THANKSGIVING page 4 ]

INSIDE

427785

206.949.1696www.marciemaxwell.com

Lisa LamRealtor, CRS,ABR & ASP

Marcie MaxwellAssociate Broker, Realtor & CRS

Page 2: WNPA submission

meet Nov. 13.Now with three state titles, Kauf-

man is Renton’s most decorated current athlete and one of the best to come from the area in some time.

“It feels really really good,” Kauf-man said. “It feels even better than the 100 last year because since I was a freshman, I’ve been working for the 50.”

The 50 has always been a differ-ent challenge. Make one mistake in a race lasting around 24 seconds (or 23.31 seconds in Kaufman’s case) and it’s almost impossible to get back in contention.

To avoid such missteps, Kauf-man will visualize the race beforehand, plan out every last detail. If the pool is new to her, she walks along the lanes and deter-mines where she needs to take her breaths.

“There’s a difference between a swimmer and a racer,” Hazen coach Ken Alfonso said. “She’s a racer. She will do whatever she needs to do to beat you.”

It’s that singular focus that makes Kaufman what she is in the pool.

“She becomes a different person when she’s on the blocks,” Alfonso said. “She’ll swim just fast enough to beat you. It’s fun to watch.”

Alfonso isn’t the first person to notice Kaufman’s change from cheery to cutthroat once she steps up on the blocks.

“Lots of people have said that,” Kaufman said. “I don’t really notice. I’m usually just nervous if it’s a big race. I’m just focusing mostly on winning. I don’t really think about

anything else.”It’s hard to argue with the results. Kaufman’s time of 23.31

in the 50 free at state earned her an automatic All-American bid. She beat the second-place swimmer by 0.53 seconds, a bigger gap than between any other two swimmers in the finals.

Both her club and high school coaches tapered her work-outs before state meet, which gave her an extra boost. Kauf-man went into many of her high school meets this season with a club practice already completed.

Kaufman started swimming for a club when she was eight, long before she ever made her first stroke in Hazen’s pool. So it’s no surprise club swimming is where her heart ultimately lies.

Club swimmers also have the unique bond of knowing ex-

actly what each other goes through to compete.

“My group is really small and close-knit,” she said. “It’s a dif-ferent vibe because we spend so much time together and no one else can really understand what we go through, with how hard the workouts are.”

Kaufman heads to practice at the King Aquatic Club for about three hours daily after practice at Hazen. Even though club is her focus, high school swimming provides some-thing essential: A release.

“High school swimming is just really fun, it’s very important to me,” she said. “Club is a different world and when I go to high school swim, it’s a relief.”

Kaufman already has scholar-ship offers from Washington State University, University of the Pacific and West Virginia University. She definitely plans on taking her

talents to the collegiate level next year.It’s only a matter of time.

www.rentonreporter.com [15]November 19, 2010

Singular focus makes Lauren Kaufman a standout in the pool

Hazen senior Lauren Kaufman checks her time after winning a state title in 50-yard freestyle Nov. 13. chad coLemaN, Reporter Newspapers

[ SWIMMER from page 1]

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Page 3: WNPA submission

BY ADAM MCFADDEN

[email protected]

Diane Dobson felt it coming for a long time.In six years at Hazen coaching girls and boys

swim, she had made the programs into some-thing to admire. She had tripled numbers, made the teams into yearly state placers and produced state title winners. She had also made waves.

Dobson butted heads at times with admin-istrators at Hazen and with the Renton School District. Now, perhaps because of that and per-haps not, a� er a reorganization of the district’s swim programs that turned out not to happen, she’s out.

“I didn’t want to believe it before,” Dobson said. “It just seems underhanded and dirty.”

� e � rst warning for Dobson happened when the district lagged on processing standard away-meet forms for the upcoming fall season

in February.� en in late April the district decided to run

a cooperative program between Lindbergh and Renton (meaning one coaching sta� would coach both teams) in order to deal with budget cuts.

� e district ended the coaching positions at Lindbergh, Renton and Hazen, even though Hazen was not part of the proposed changes.

“It’s more fair to just have all the coaches for both swim and dive apply for these two positions,” Renton School District spokesman Randy Matheson said at the time. “� at gives the best applicant a chance to come back in and get a program fresh.”

A month later the district reconsidered the changes, leaving the programs exactly the same as before, except the coaches’ contracts had not been renewed.

At this point, the whispers of doubt in Dob-son’s mind began to grow into yells.

“It was my suspicion the school was taking out a personal vendetta,” she said. “I’m a little bit in shock and disbelief that they drug every-body through the muck to get it done.”

One reason Dobson ran afoul of certain peo-ple with the district was because she vehemently opposed making cuts – something that led to teams sometimes topping 65 athletes.

� ose huge numbers (Lindbergh and Renton usually settled around 20 to 25 athletes) could be spun two completely di� erent ways.

From Dobson’s side, everyone who has the will to try out for swim team, including special-needs athletes and those who had never been in a pool before, deserved a shot.

Meanwhile, Dobson said individuals with the district told her athletes who didn’t know how to swim should be taking swim lessons, not join the swim team. She was also warned by the district that if her numbers continued to be so high, she would have to make cuts.

“� at is outside of the program that I have created and I will not cut,” Dobson said in a Reporter interview last fall. “Swimming is a life skill and there is so much more to the Hazen program than success in the pool.”

Bigger numbers meant more practice time and more buses for away meets, tough calls for the district at a time when the budget is crunching.

While it’s not clear what exactly was the tipping point, it is clear Dobson and the district didn’t see eye-to-eye. And who

is to say what’s right in situations like this? � e district certainly didn’t want to cut swimmers or combine the Renton and Lindbergh programs, but budget restrictions forced them to at least consider the changes.

Would the district really go through all of this trouble to � re a coach who’s excelling at her job because she occasionally raises her voice in protest? Does the indecisiveness throughout simply make it look that way? Or was it some-thing else?

Matheson said the reason for the change was simple: New coach Ken Alfonso was simply a better option, and a teacher too.

“� e individual that was hired was selected because of his abilities,” Matheson said. “� is has less to do with the former coach and more to do with the new coach.”

Alfonso has coached high school swimming and water polo as well as Olympic Development water polo programs. He’s also a language arts teacher, something Matheson said the district hopes to utilize.

Both Dobson and the district were put in tough spots.

But it was Dobson who was putting in the time. She was there for nine practices a week so all of the athletes could swim. It was Dobson who built Hazen into the district’s most success-ful program.

She has the credentials. She took the boys and girls programs at Hazen from 25-30 athletes to 65-70. � e Highlander girls placed 18th at state last year, while the boys were 11th. She received the Seamount’s coach of the year award four times.

Now, abruptly, she’s done.“I won’t coach again,” she said.

www.rentonreporter.com[12] August 13, 2010

SPORTS

RE

NT

ON

Contact and submissions: Adam McFadden

[email protected] or 425.255.3484, ext. 5054

FROM

MY S

IDE

Ada

m M

cFad

den

Hazen swimmers � lled the pool so full during Dobson’s tenure, coaches had to add extra practices. RENTON REPORTER FILE PHOTO

Hazen loses a good coach in Dobson

Above: Seahawks running back Julius Jones fends o� a defender during at run at practice Aug. 5. Top right: Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst rolls right and tries to get a pass o� while defensive end Nick Reed rushes at him. Bottom right: Cornerback Marcus Trufant signs autographs for fans after practice. ADAM MCFADDEN, Renton Reporter

DIANE DOBSON

Seahawks continue training camp

HAZEN’S BOLER RECEIVES AWARD

Hazen graduate Britney Boler, who is now playing soccer

at the University of Arkansas Pine Blu� , received a $5,000

scholarship from Washington Youth Soccer.

Washington Youth Soccer annually selects one boy and

one girl from each of its seven districts to a receive a $1,000

scholarship. After the winners are picked, an overall winner is selected to get the $5,000

scholarship.

MORE PHOTOS ONLINE…pnw.cc/vmacMORE PHOTOS ONLINE…pnw.cc/vmacMORE PHOTOS ONLINE…pnw.cc/vmac

LINDBERGH’S TOMS TOP DB PROSPECT

IN STATE Lindbergh senior Diondre Toms was recently ranked

as the top defensive back in Washington on ESPN’s college

football recruiting website.Here are the scouting

comments on the 6-foot, 165-pound cornerback:

“Toms is an athletic, rangy defensive back prospect. Best

college position may be free safety down the line. Has

good height and body length. Is very lean and needs to � ll

out, but his long arms and stride allow him to cover a lot of ground. Better in coverage

at the next level.”

Page 4: WNPA submission

www.rentonreporter.com[18] April 2, 2010

BY ADAM MCFADDEN

[email protected]

It will take a lot to rattle the experienced Hazen baseball team this season.

“� ere’s a lot to be said for the maturity and the extra experience,” said Hazen coach Gary Jacobs. “� ey’re more steady. ... � ey don’t get too high or too low.”

Led by seven seniors, the group is not only experienced but versatile.

“� at’s probably one of the best things we’ve got going is depth,” Jacobs said. “We’re a little more utilitarian, and that gives us some options in the lineup.”

John Wall and Brenden Campbell give Hazen experience in the in� eld. Wall will play second base. He earned a second-team, all-league mention last year.

Campbell plays third base and shortstop. He was an all-league honorable mention last year.

Anthony Pina, who made honor-able mention all-league last season, will lead the out� eld group. Nick Sharp, Kyle � omas and Chadd Garton will round out the out� eld, giving the team depth.

Sharp, � omas and Garton will all pitch

as well as play in the � eld.Zach Kolterman, a 6-foot-4 sophomore,

can play � rst and third and will add power to the lineup.

Jacobs said overall the Highland-ers won’t be a powerful team, they will be a scrappy one.

“We’re not going up there and hitting home run a� er home

run,” he said. “We’re willing to use whatever tactics and strategies are

necessary.”One key newcomer will be junior Patrick

BY ADAM MCFADDEN

[email protected]

It’s safe to say things will be a little safer around the Lindbergh track this season.

Last season conditions got so bad on the track that a sprinter broke his ankle when stepping in a rut.

“� ose days are over,” said Lindbergh coach Jef Rettmann. “� ere were days where we liter-ally couldn’t do anything on the track because it was under water.”

A� er a renovation of the track and � eld, mo-rale and numbers are up.

“It changed the attitude,” Rettmann said. “� ere’s more pride and the kids are more enthused. ... Plus we don’t have to drive down to Renton Stadium for practice anymore.”

Not to mention the kids are turning out in droves. At 90 total members, this year’s

team is the biggest Rettmann has had.Frank Cange, who was injured much

of the 2009 season, will team with Adam Freed to lead the Eagle sprinters.

Cange made state in 2008 in the 100, plus districts in the 200, 4X100 and 400.

Freed ran the 100 at state last season.

Other boys sprinters to watch are Devan Bick-ham and Derek Roseboro.

Trevor � ompson leads a standout distance group.

“We have a good pack of distance runners that will be great in dual meets,” Rettmann said.

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LOOKING FOR SEAHAWKS NEWS?

Find Seahawks news and rumors at the sports section

of RentonReporter.com.A sampling of stories from the past week:

• Lions considering acquiring guard Rob Sims -

pnw.cc/sims

• Seahawks could still be in position to trade for

Donovan McNabb - pnw.cc/mcnabb

• Seattle signs Sean Morey, will he cost the team a draft pick? - pnw.cc/morey

New track, new attitude for Eagles

From left to right: Devan Bickham, Frank Cange and Adam Freed run sprints at Lindbergh. ADAM MCFADDEN, Renton Reporter

BY ADAM MCFADDEN

[email protected]

For Joe Popich, the end to his time as the Lindbergh wrestling coach came as a shock.

In his second season as head coach, the program was growing and improving. But mid-way through the 2009-2010 wres-tling season, Ray Garcia, a parent of three Lindbergh wrestlers, changed everything with the assertion that the Lindbergh coaches mentally abused wrestlers and Popich, 27, gave pills to wrestlers.

“I honestly thought it could be interpreted as a hoax,” Popich said. “� at’s how far-fetched all those accusations were.”

While an investigation by the Renton School District quickly found the abuse allegations were false, the pills – later established to be pre-natal vitamins – were a di� erent story. Popich was placed on administrative leave while the district investigated further. Renton School District policy is that coaches are not allowed to give students any sort of vitamins or pills.

“It was devastating, not being able to talk to them, not being able to go to leagues (Seamount League match) and

SEASONPREVIEW

[ more TRACK page 20 ]

Experienced, versatile Highlanders ready to take on Seamount League

Hazen in� elder John Wall slides into second base against Renton. ADAM MCFADDEN, Renton Reporter

SEASONPREVIEW

Joe Popich ready to move on to next step after Lindbergh

Joe Popich

[ more BASEBALL page 20 ]

[ more POPICH page 19 ]

Page 5: WNPA submission

www.rentonreporter.com [19]April 2, 2010

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watch them,” Popich said of the Lind-bergh wrestlers. “I was just basically like being excommunicated out of your kid’s life. ... Some of them I’ve been with for three years. It was very difficult.”

Meanwhile, the district determined six students who said Popich gave them vitamins during the 2008-2009 season.

Popich found it odd the district didn’t make an attempt to thor-oughly interview his coaching staff, which included volunteers who were students on the previous year’s team. But Renton School District spokes-man Randy Matheson said it simply wasn’t necessary.

“I think when we have an adult who we’re asking a question, then he admits to doing something wrong, we’ve got one piece of evidence we need,” Matheson said. “Then we talk to eight students and six of them say the same thing independently, I think our investigation has concluded.”

The disagreement between the two sides seems to be with some of Popich’s comments while the district was interviewing him. According to the district’s dismissal letter to Popich Feb. 19: “You stated that you gave one student a bottle of pre-natal vitamins when the father was present during a tournament. ... During this same interview, you changed your statement that you gave the vitamins to the student’s father, and repeatedly stated that you did not give any pills to students.”

Popich said he never said he gave pills directly to students and used the example of giving vitamins to a parent as an illustration of how he would go about it. He did once give vitamins to a parent, but it was three years ago when he was an assistant with Lindbergh.

Popich felt like the district was

going to measures to quickly end the situation and avoid further con-flict, regardless of the validity of the outcome.

“It seemed like they were just try-ing to quickly sweep me under the carpet,” he said. “This is my passion and my reputation is on the line. I’ve spent so many hours on this and the kids are like my family. There was no other choice than to fight it in my mind.”

After find-ing the school planned to terminate him, Popich hired a lawyer. Before a planned pre-termination hearing March 15, the district, Pop-ich and his lawyer agreed that Popich would resign in return for a letter of recommendation from the district.

He still disputes the results of the district’s investigation.

“If I were to hand out pills to a team of 15 kids, I think more than one parent would complain and they wouldn’t wait an entire year,” Popich said.

Up until the incident, Popich had a good relationship with all of his wrestlers, including the Garcia broth-ers.

There was friction between Ray Garcia and Popich, which started in the 2005-2006 season when Popich was the head coach at Tyee, where he also wrestled as a student, and Garcia the head coach at Lindbergh. Popich eventually replaced Garcia as Lindbergh head coach.

“He never came to one match to watch his sons in the two years I was coaching,” Popich said. “I have no idea where this personal attack came from. The only logic I can think of is that it wasn’t me personally, it was

my position. He was out for blood and he got blood.”

Garcia did not respond to requests to be interviewed.

The team and supporters signed a petition when Popich was placed on administrative leave, praising every-thing from the team’s improvement under Popich to his conditioning methods and coaching style, as well as their desire to have Popich back as coach.

“We do not want another head coach,” the petition reads. “We want Joe Popich to be the head coach for the Lindbergh wrestling team; we do not want to wrestle for any other coach.”

After the investigation concluded, some of the students who admitted Popich gave them vitamins signed another petition stating, “The inves-tigation pertaining to Coach Popich was more of an ‘interrogation’ that the school dictated and influenced our answers when interviewed.”

Matheson said these claims are hard to understand because the students were all familiar with their interviewer and parents were present during the interviews.

Matheson also reasserted the dis-trict was happy with Popich’s coach-ing, other than this situation.

“We didn’t go at this as a way to rid of Coach Popich. We investigated it as we do any other complaint,” Matheson said. “We know him to be a good coach. This was just an error in judgment.”

Though the majority of his time at Lindbergh was positive, Popich is left with a sour taste about how things ended. He plans to take time off from coaching to focus on being with his 5-year-old son but expects to coach again in the future.

“The Garcias were fantastic kids. ... I wish the kids the best of luck and I really hope they do well,” he said. “I’m extremely hurt by all these accusations, even the ones that didn’t stick.”

[ popich from page 18 ]

popich: ‘This is my passion and my reputation is on the line’

@ pnw.cc/1zdfollow this story

and comment online:

“if i were to hand out pills to a team of 15 kids, i think more than one parent would complain and they wouldn’t wait an entire year.” Joe popich

The 14th annual Arnie Young Invitational is April 3 at Renton Memorial Stadium.

Lindbergh, Hazen and Renton jointly host the track and field event

Field events start at 10:30 a.m. and running events start at 12 p.m. Proceeds from the meet support the Renton School District track programs.

Arnie Young invite April 3

Page 6: WNPA submission

www.rentonreporter.com [19]January 28, 2011

SPORTS

RE

NT

ON

RENTONBOYS

57.69TOTAL

13.0DARREN BRIGGS

8.8JUSTIN BENNETT

8.1COLTON HAFEY

7.3MALIK ROPER

5.7D.J. EUBANKS

5.6EARL CHEATHAM

4.3JAMES WEATHINGTON

LINDBERGHBOYS

56.33TOTAL

20.9JAMES KEUM

13.6DIONDRE TOMS

9.4DEWAYNE BROWN

5.4DREANTE MITCHELL

4.7JERREL JOHNSON

4.3BRUCE JONES

3.6CASEY HUPPE

HAZENBOYS69.53

TOTAL

14.2R.J. MAGAR

12.6DAWIT KASA

10.4BRANDT GRAYBEAL

10.0MICHAEL DAMPIER

9.4DE’CORRIUS SAMPSON

5.6FRANKIE JOHNSON

2.4D.J. PERRY

LINDBERGHGIRLS

17.8GABRIEL REDWINE

16.8EMILY GRAVER

4.2SARAH RADULOVICH

2.4ALEISHA SIMPSON

2.4DEJA WINGO

2.1SARAH BATSCHI

2.1DALEN ELENZANO

46.64TOTAL

HAZENGIRLS

53.07TOTAL

26.2AIRASHAY ROGERS

10.8MICHELLE WNEK

6.8KEYANNA REED

5.2ANASTASIA PALLIS

4.6ANECIA SCURRY

1.3TYRA MARKEY

RENTONGIRLS

43.43TOTAL

10.5TAYLOR FARRIS

8.8TIA BRYANT

8.2PRISCILLA TUIASOSOPO

3.9LARELLE HILL

3.6KLARISSA QUINTAS

3.4SHANEASE KENNER

2.2AYNDA XAYKOSY

Where’s the offense coming from?Where’s the offense coming from?

Contact and submissions: Adam McFadden

[email protected] or 425.255.3484, ext. 5054

BOYS

GIRLS

There’s one week left in the regular season for basketball and many of the high school teams will move on to the playo� s. Here’s a closer look at who is leading the teams on o� ense and which teams rely more heavily on a single scorer to lead them.Each colored portion represents the percentage of the team’s total points that a player scores.

Thoughts: Renton seems very balanced. The Lindbergh combo of Gabriel Redwine and Emily Graver lead the Eagles’ o� ense. Meanwhile, Hazen’s Airashay Rogers scores nearly half of her team’s points.

Thoughts: Renton and Hazen are fairly balanced o� ensive teams, while Lindbergh’s James Keum scores just over a third of his team’s points.

HAZENBOYS69.53

TOTAL

14.2R.J. MAGAR

12.6DAWIT KASA

10.4BRANDT GRAYBEAL

10.0MICHAEL DAMPIER

9.4DE’CORRIUS SAMPSON

5.6FRANKIE JOHNSON

2.4D.J. PERRY

LINDBERGHBOYS

56.33TOTAL

20.9JAMES KEUM

13.6DIONDRE TOMS

9.4DEWAYNE BROWN

5.4DREANTE MITCHELL

4.7JERREL JOHNSON

4.3BRUCE JONES

3.6CASEY HUPPE

RENTONBOYS

57.69TOTAL

13.0DARREN BRIGGS

8.8JUSTIN BENNETT

8.1COLTON HAFEY

7.3MALIK ROPER

5.7D.J. EUBANKS

5.6EARL CHEATHAM

4.3JAMES WEATHINGTON

RENTONGIRLS

RENTON43.43TOTAL

1010TAYLOR FARRISTAYLOR FARRIS

8.8.8TIA BRYANTTIA BRYANT

88.2.2PRISCILLA TUIASOSOPO

3.9.9LARELLE HILLLARELLE HILL

3.6KLARISSA QUINTAS

33.4.4SHANEASE KENNERSHANEASE KENNER

2.2AYNDA XAYKOSYAYNDA XAYKOSY

HAZENGIRLS

HAZENGIRLS

53.07TOTAL

2626AIRASHAY ROGERSAIRASHAY ROGERS

1010.8MICHELLE WNEK

6.8KEYANNA REED

5.2ANASTASIA PALLISANASTASIA PALLIS

4.6ANECIA SCURRY

1.3TYRA MARKEYTYRA MARKEY

LINDBERGHGIRLS

LINDBERGH

1717.8GABRIEL REDWINEGABRIEL REDWINE

1616.8.8EMILY GRAVER

4.2SARAH RADULOVICH

2.4ALEISHA SIMPSON

2.4

22.4.4DEJA WINGODEJA WINGO

2.1SARAH BATSCHISARAH BATSCHI

2.1DALEN ELENZANODALEN ELENZANO

ALEISHA SIMPSON

DALEN ELENZANODALEN ELENZANODALEN ELENZANOSARAH BATSCHI

DEJA WINGO

46.64TOTAL

BY ADAM MCFADDEN

[email protected]

Before every football game, Bakari Davis settles his mind down and amps his body up with the same routine. He listens to music, focuses on the game plan and prays. � en his gaze li� s out to the stands where his father would have been sitting.

“I do everything for him,” Davis said. “He’s the one who taught me how to play and got me into sports.”

Davis’ father, Paul, passed away two years ago in the middle of Lindbergh’s football season from a heart attack. Davis, who wasn’t playing much on Friday nights but was helping with the scout team o� ense, took time o� from the team to focus on his family and

schoolwork.“It was

hard,” Davis said. “I credit my two older sisters. � ey got me back going and push me to be great at what-ever I do.”

Davis had to learn to balance being the man of the house, schoolwork and playing in three sports at Lindbergh. It’s safe to say he’s made it work.

� e senior plays basketball, football and baseball. He’s currently averaging 3.3 points per game o� the bench for the

Eagles, who are in � � h place in the Seamount and � ghting for playo� posi-tioning.

While he plays a lot of

sports, it’s on the football � eld where Davis really stands out.

Running out of Lind-bergh’s spread o� ense can

be a double-edged sword. Tasked with guarding more receivers, defenders are far-ther away from the center of the � eld and o� entimes looking to defend against the pass � rst. � e down-side is in blocking, where

the running back usually doesn’t have a fullback or tight end paving the way.

Whether running in a spread o� ense is more di� cult or less di� cult, Davis clearly found a way

Lindbergh’s Bakari Davis rounds the corner on a run against Foster last fall. The Eagles won 47-7 and Davis scored four rushing touchdowns. ADAM MCFADDEN, Renton Reporter

[ more DAVIS page 20 ]

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Davis overcame tragedy to become one of area’s top three-sport athletes

Page 7: WNPA submission

www.rentonreporter.com[20] January 28, 2011

to make it effective this season. Davis gained 9.3 yards per rush and scored 31 touchdowns.

“It was my senior year, so I felt like I really had to step up and lead my team,” Davis said.

He absolutely dominated certain games, scoring three or more touchdowns in four games.

“It feels really good to have a game like that,” Davis said. “But I have to give it all to my linemen for making it happen up front.”

The Eagles, meanwhile, outscored opponents 380-174 overall on the way to a 7-3 record and a trip to the 2A state tournament.

Lindbergh’s season ended in the first round of the 2A state tournament last season with a 28-14 loss to Anacortes. The talented Eagles expected more from the season, which gives a glimpse of how far the program has come.

“As I watched the clock hit go down and hit all zeroes, I couldn’t believe my senior year was over,” Davis said. “It kind of hit me all at once and it was a struggle at first.”

In Davis’ junior season, Lindbergh went undefeated in league play and won a Seamount title. The Eagles made it all the way to the 3A state quarterfinals, before losing to the eventual state runner-up, Liberty, 20-17 in triple overtime.

Lindbergh lost to Bellevue 35-6 in the first round of the state tournament in Davis’ sophomore season, 2008.

“It had been a long time since Lindbergh had won a league title,” Davis said. “It felt good to be a part of that, bringing Lindbergh football back to where it should be.”

Davis, 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, is still narrowing his choices of colleges to play for next season.

“I plan on going to the school that fits me best, the one where I can succeed,” Davis said. “I’ve been playing running back since junior football and I just want to keep playing.”

The stretch from 2008 to 2010 encompassed three of the four state football appearances in Lindbergh history. It’s clear that Davis was a big piece of a special group of Lindbergh players who pushed the program to the next level.

It’s also clear that his father would be proud of what Davis is accomplishing on the field, and off.

“He would be really happy with what I’m doing,” he said. “Knowing that, I can be really happy.”

Even though they won't be facing each other in the postseason again this year, Renton's Steve Sholdra and Liberty's Logan Briggs are still connected.

Both juniors achieved Ironman status, qualify-ing for state in every swim event, last week.

The two battled in the 500-yard freestyle state final last year, with Sholdra edging Briggs by about two seconds for second place. Briggs took third.

Renton moved to 2A this season, so the two won't have a chance to face off at the state meet again.

Sholdra qualified in the 50 free and 100 fly Jan. 18. He is the first Renton swimmer to ever achieve Ironman status. Sholdra broke Renton's 36-year-old record in the 500 free last season.

Briggs qualified in the 100 back Jan. 20 to finish his quest. Briggs holds Lib-erty records in the 200 free and 500 free. He has the school's second best times in the 200 IM, 50 free and 100 free.

Four Renton players made the all-state girls soccer team.

Coaches statewide voted on the teams.Liberty's Kimi Fry was named to the first

team as a forward. Cassidy Nangle earned honorable mention at forward for the Patriots.

Nangle led the team with 10 goals and three assists. Fry scored six goals and had four assists.

Liberty went 11-3-3 and made the

3A state tournament. The Patriots went unbeaten in league play on the way to a KingCo title.

Hazen's Kayla Hackman made the sec-ond team at forward. Goalkeeper Priscilla Yu earned honorable mention for the Highlanders.

Hackman led Hazen with 18 goals and nine assists. Yu tallied eight shutouts. Ha-zen went 9-5-3 and made the sub-district playoffs.

Sholdra, Briggs complete Ironman

Four named to all-state soccer teams

Davis: Plays basketball, baseball and football[ DavIS from page 19 ]

Lindbergh girls soccer coach Kirk Tavener has resigned his position to take the same job at Interlake High School.

The Lindbergh girls soc-

cer team finished 11-5-1 with a state berth last sea-son. Lindbergh fell to Sum-ner 2-0 in the first round of the state tournament.

Interlake went 10-7-2 last

year and play in the KingCo 3A/2A.

Tavener will remain the boys soccer coach at Lindbergh.

Renton’s aaron Garcia takes on Foster’s Ryan Keo Jan. 20. The Indians won 42-31. For more photos of the match go to pnw.cc/wrestle9. adam mcFadden, Renton Reporter

Indians hit the mats

Coaching changes for Lindbergh soccer

can’t make

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reading this

Page 8: WNPA submission

By ADAM McFADDEN

[email protected]

As the Hazen boys basketball coach, James Olive gave hundreds of speeches to his team in the locker room. He never imagined his final one would be through a cell phone set on speaker.

Olive was fired Monday after a series of miscommunications led to the Hazen team participating in a jamboree Nov. 27 without the proper number of practices. Unable to attend practice Monday night, he spoke to the team by phone to inform them of the situation.

“I told them to keep their heads up; the game is bigger than me and this season is bigger than me,” Olive said. “They need to keep striving for their goals; they’re not go-ing to get this time back.”

The Highlanders missed practices Nov. 22-24 because the Renton School District canceled activities due to snow. Olive asked for a waiver so the team could play at the jamboree at Chief Sealth Nov. 27 without the 10 practices needed to compete in a game. He was under the impression the waiver would go through, while Renton School Dis-trict spokesman Randy Matheson said no such waiver exists and the district therefore denied the request.

Hazen played at the jamboree and went on to start the season 2-1 until Olive was suspended late last week before the High-landers’ game against Kennedy Catholic

Dec. 10. Hazen lost 89-85.“It’s unbelievable,” said Nancy Magar,

mother of senior guard R.J. Magar. “Why would they do something like this before the biggest game of the year?”

While parents are upset the district wasn’t look-ing out for the players, Matheson said firing Olive was the best course of action to ensure the team could continue play this season.

“Not making this change would put their season in jeopardy under WIAA rules,” he said. “We believe it’s in the best interest of the program and the students to move forward with a different coach.”

WIAA Executive director Mike Colbrese declined to speak further about the situation in an e-mail and wrote, “At this time this is a school district and league issue.”

Matheson said it was “the opinion of the district” that Olive’s actions would put the team in danger of becoming ineligible and that Olive knew the risk he was taking by allowing his team to play in the jamboree.

Olive said he wouldn’t knowingly take such a risk.

“I would never put my program in jeop-ardy over a jamboree,” Olive said. “This was our season. We’ve worked up to this point to get here and now it’s here, and I don’t get to be a part of their lives anymore. I don’t get to

be their coach.”Matheson said the district informed

Olive of other days he could use to get in the required amount of practices before the weekend, one of which was on Thanksgiving Nov. 25. Olive acknowledged receiving that information but had issues with scheduling a practice on Thanksgiving Day.

“That’s a problem because it’s Thanksgiv-ing and most of my kids are with their fami-lies,” he said. “Even if I do hold a practice, I’m not going to get everybody there, and they still won’t be eligible.”

At that point, after talking with Hazen athletic director Anita Jose, Olive said he thought the waiver was still being consid-ered.

Before the 2009-2010 season Olive al-lowed Nathan Guy to play in a preseason jamboree and was found to be in violation of the rules. Guy, a junior who had transferred from Renton High School, was still going through the appeals process to become eligible. Guy played the season on junior varsity and now plays for Lakes High School.

With two incidents regarding pre-season jamborees, Matheson said Olive showed a pattern of not following guidelines, which also played into the determination of a punishment.

In his fourth season, Olive had turned Hazen from a 4-17 team in his first year to an 11-9 team last year. This year, the team is loaded with experienced juniors and seniors ready to make a run.

“This was supposed to be our great year,” said junior guard Frankie Johnson. “No dis-respect to any other coach, but we always say we have all the pieces to the puzzle, and now we’re missing the biggest piece, our coach.”

Monday night had an eery feeling for Olive, who’s used to spending every evening in the gym with his team.

“I feel very disconnected, I feel like my right arm has been taken from me,” he said. “It’s like a big part of my life is missing now.”

But Olive isn’t done watching the team he helped form.

“I might not be those kids’ coach in the bench, but I’m going to be their biggest sup-porter in the stands,” he said. “It’s not about me, not about my ego, it’s about those kids.”

Replacement coach Hazen teacher Gary Schaplow will replace

Olive as the head basketball coach. Schaplow previously coached the boys varsity team at Hazen in the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons.

“He’s been to Hazen games numerous times and he knows what people’s roles are,” said senior guard R.J. Magar. “So he’s not just some guy out of nowhere, which will help.”

Hazen entered a Wednesday night game against Evergreen at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Seamount play.

www.rentonreporter.com[16] December 17, 2010

Hazen fires James Olive as boys basketball coach

comment online…pnw.cc/olive

broke a 36-year-old school record in the 500 and won a dis-trict title on the way to his runner-up finish at state.

This year the Indians dropped to 2A, which should provide a chance for more of Sholdra’s teammates to join him at state.

This year in the 2A ranks at state the top returning time in

the 500 is 5:02.9 by Sehome sophomore Andy Small.Junior Aslan DaVault is the only other returning state

competitor on the team. DaVault and Sholdra both swam on Renton’s 200 medley relay that took 17th.

DaVault and Sholdra are just the start of Renton’s juniors. More than three quarters of the 18-person team is juniors.

“We have a really big junior class,” Sholdra said. “So the team we’re with right now is the one we’re going to be with for a long time.”

Pavelin is happy with the team’s move to 2A since it fits her team better.

“Size-wise and time-wise, 2A is where we belong,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to tell the kids that they could go to state.”

The Renton girls team took 33rd this fall in its first crack at 2A. It was the first time the girls team has scored points at a state meet in around 13 years.

[ LiNDBERgH from page 15 ]

Renton: Sholdra took second in 500 at 3A state meet last year

James Olive

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