September 2009

Monday night's matchup between the Ballard High School girls soccer team and Nathan Hale was a game of opportunities.

The Beavers couldn't capitalize on their many opportunities, while Nathan Hale capitalized on all of theirs, leading to a 3-3 tie in the Sept. 14 non-conference game.

Kat Anaseni, Sara Ives and Maria Tsagalakis scored for the Beavers. Ives is leading the team through the first four games with two goals.

Coach Val Seid said Ballard had trouble with the field, which was smaller than a normal varsity field. He also said the Beavers had a lot of shots that went right to the keeper.

The girls soccer team is 1-2-1 in the non-conference preseason.

They lost 9-0 to Woodinville Sept. 12 in a game in which Seid rested the varsity players. He played the junior varsity team against Woodinville because they are a conference opponent and he said he didn't want to give away too much before the regular season.

The Beavers face Sammamish at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 at Ingraham High School. Ballard opens conference play on Sept. 22 against Redmond.

Ballard High School senior Erin Philbeck and sophomore Alex Bowns set personal bests for the Beavers during the Sept. 10 KingCo Preview meet at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

Philbeck placed finished third overall in the girls race on the 5,000-meter course in a personal-best time of 19:18.

The top five runners for Ballard in the girls race were Philbeck, Natalie White, Erle Lima, Rochelle Erskine and Hannah Murphy.

Bowns set a personal best of 16:32 and placed eighth overall in the boys race.

The top five Beavers in the boys race were Bowns, Jesse Bengtsson, Blair Scott, Garret Wirta and Victor Bailey.

Because this was a preview meet, teams were not given overall scores.

Ballard cross country starts is scoring meets at 4 p.m. on Sept. 16 at Upper Woodland. The Beavers will be competing against Bothell and Inglemoor.

UPDATE: The Sept. 16 meet will start at 5 p.m. not 4 p.m.

It is a particularly dangerous time of year for me. It’s the time of year that I am tempted the most by all the possibilities around me.

We are no longer strapped down by the heat and drought. We no longer have to pull the hoses around and curse to ourselves that we should have rigged up a self-watering system. We can plant, plan and arrange and then plant some more – at our leisure.

It’s the great Northwest, and this is our time for gardening!

Well, gardening in the Northwest is really a year-round hobby here actually – that just sounded good.

But, really. We can go through our gardens and see what worked, see what we’re tired with, what took way too much pampering - and try new things, too.

By planting your trees, shrubs and perennials right now, the winter rains and cool weather will help them adjust perfectly to their surroundings before next spring. When the weather warms up next year, the plant will already be “home” and ready to grow.

And, because the plant will be somewhat established in the landscape and it will be a lot easier to maintain, and won’t need as much watering, too (with the exception of the big trees, of course).

Dear Editor,

I wanted to relay information to your readers about a wonderful summer program offered in West Seattle. ArtsWest offers three theater study and performance programs every summer for our youth.

Apprenticeship Program – ages 16 to 21
Conservatory Program – ages 12 to 16
Musical Theater Academy – ages 8 to 11

My daughter has attended both the Musical Theatre Academy and the Conservatory Programs, and I am hopeful she will land a part in next summers Apprenticeship Program. Our experience during the last four summers has been nothing but exemplary.

The staff is well trained and attentive to each child’s strength as well as their needs. Your children will not only start setting the ground work needed to audition for a production, but they will also learn movement, voice, acting skills, theater history and general history.

Each year, depending on the show being rehearsed, there are discussions on events and history in the world that relate to the play. These discussions help the child to understand the playwright’s point of view.

For the Federal Way High High School boys tennis team, time joined its side on Tuesday, September 8, at the Eagles’ home nest.

More than three hours after the beginning of the competition, the No. 3 doubles tandem of Alex Lewis and Gaurov Gupton closed out its Decatur counterparts, Nelson Atkinson and Josh Park, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, in a tension filled marathon match to send the Eagles soaring to a 3-2 regular season opening verdict against the Gators.

After splitting the first two sets, Decatur’s Atkinson used excellent volleying to fireball his team to a 4-0 third set advantage. Decatur came off the deck with a run of its own to tie the set at 4-4. Both teams held serve before Federal Way gained a service break. Neither team could take full advantage of the openings presented throughout the match.

A Gupton volley for a winner and Lewis’s backhand through the middle set up a love game for the match.

Decatur 18, Puyallup 13

Decatur journeyed to Sparks Stadium in Puyallup – one of the toughest places for a visiting team historically – and beat the Puyallup Vikings on their home turf.

And the Gators accomplished the feat on the last play of the game, where Cary Carver caught an Alex Bykovskiy pass in the corner of the end zone.

Decatur is now off until Saturday, when it hosts Spanaway Lake in a 7 p.m. game at Federal Way Memorial Stadium. Auburn-Riverside is at Beamer Friday and Federal Way is visiting Kentridge.

Thomas Jefferson played Kentridge for a good portion of its South Puget Sound League North Division game against the Chargers Friday, but the game got away in the second half with Kentridge going on to a 41-7 lead. The Raiders had only trailed, 7-0, at the end of the first quarter and 21-0 at halftime.

“We played a good first half,” said TJ head coach Dean Peck. “I think our defense has really improved. That’s hard to believe when you see a 41 on the scoreboard, but a lot of them (touchdowns) were when the offense gave them the ball.”

The teams took turns marching down the field but not scoring through most of the first half, but Kentridge put the first points on the Federal Way Memorial Stadium scoreboard with 1:12 to play in the first quarter.

Jason Didus used the big play, catching a pass from quarterback Caleb Smith and running to complete a 74-yard passing touchdown. Wes Concepcion kicked for the extra point to put the Chargers up, 7-0.

Scoring was also sparse in the second quarter before Kentridge scored two touchdowns in the final 1:16.

(Editor's note: This story was changed from its original publication. A business was incorrectly named. It should have been Rooster's Breakfast Club.)

Developers planning a four-story building at 6010 Phinney Ave. N. may now move forward with their project following approval from the Northwest Design Review Board and protests from local residents.

About 40 people attended the Sept. 14 meeting at Ballard High School during which several residents voiced concerns about the development.

Developers changed aspects of the building’s design as recommended by the design review board, which asked for alterations during a February meeting. The architect presented new drawings that showed changes to the exterior façade and explained these changes were made to better align the building’s design with the neighborhood’s character.

Denny International Middle School held a ceremony to celebrate its start of the school year as an international school.

The event was held Monday, Sept. 14 at the school from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson shared the stage with principal Jeff Clark to welcome Denny and Concord Elementary, also an international school, in South Park.

Concord graduates will feed into Denny. Their focus will be on a Spanish/English bilingual education, while nearly two dozen languages are represented.

Federal Way 28, Em. Ridge 3

Trent Pinson started the Eagles on their way to victory Saturday, returning a punt all the way across the field for a touchdown.

Pinson struck again in the second quarter, this time on a 6-yard run.

Emerald Ridge gained its three-point total for the game on a second quarter field goal, but the Eagles were well on their way to victory.

Jordan Pulu scored an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter, picking up a kick and running into the end zone.

Kellen Rowe did all of the kicking for Federal Way, making all of the extra points.

Federal Way returns to action Friday when it visits Kentridge for a 7 p.m. game at French Field.

The Eagles stand at 1-1.

Graham-Kapowsin 23, Beamer 21

Todd Beamer came close to victory again Saturday, losing on a 37-yard field goal, 23-21, with only 39 seconds to play.

Dominique Maxi gave the Titans their 21-20 lead on a 17-yard run in the third quarter. Safety Napa Mefi returned an interception 98 yards for an impressive Beamer touchdown.

Todd Beamer entertains Auburn-Riverside at 7 p.m. Friday at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.