Another sports season is racing to a close at Chief Sealth International High School, with District play still remaining for both our fastpitch and track teams. While our other teams may have had their respective seasons come to a close, it does not mean there is not much to celebrate.

Continuing a trend which began in the fall, all of our teams saw significant participation increases. Over 210 Seahawks were out for the first week of tryouts, and let me say, there's something pretty darn cool about making the rounds at SWAC on a sunny spring day, seeing all of our athletes well entrenched into a challenging practice. Thanks to our dedicated coaches, those practices will go a long way toward building competitive and winning programs for years to come.

Those rounds often started with our soccer program, led by long-time coach and Sealth alum Ron Johnson, who finished with a Metro league record of 7-3-2, good for 2nd place in the Sound division. The season was highlighted by a sweep of West Seattle and a win over the BOC in the 4th annual Carne Asada Bowl. Behind outstanding senior leadership from Omar Luna and inspired play from a number of underclassmen, the Sealth soccer program is poised to contend for years to come. Omar was joined by his brother Jordan Luna, Dillon Zang, Christian Tellefsen, and Abdinasir Galgalo in receiving all-league honors. Adding depth to the program were full JV and C-team squads led by Katie MacDuff and Joe Grijalva.

Wandering across the complex it was not unusual to hear “Coach P” shouting instructions and giving signs from the third base coaching box. Ernest Policarpio, in his second full year as head coach, piloted a baseball program that was much improved this year, finishing with four divisions wins including a victory over 2nd place Nathan Hale early in the season. While seniors Daniel Davis, Tracy Manley and Nick Hansen will leave a void, the future is bright as numerous freshmen and sophomores, including Nic Layton and CJ Hicks, all played featured roles on this year’s team. Led by coach Juan Lozano, the JV team finished with a winning record and many of those players will be counted on to contribute next year.

Moving to the smaller diamond where the action is indeed fast, the Sealth fastpitch team is still in the hunt for a state berth and will play a loser-out District playoff game on Thursday afternoon versus West Seattle. Coach Mike Depew and assistants Jim DiObilda and Sara Thompson led the team to a 2nd place division finish and a 10-7 conference record. While league honors have yet to be released, team leaders Catelyn Ward, Sara Schendel and Chloe Behar all played significant roles and are undoubtedly some of the most talented players in the Metro league. A young team overall, these Seahawks played numerous games with as many as five freshmen in the starting line-up.

Another team taking huge strides (both literally and figuratively) this season was our track and field team, led by the coaching trio of Lorna Considine, Asosa Sailiai and Colin Slingsby. With all three bringing head coaching experience into the fray, the program immediately took a step forward. More steps were taken by the dedicated athletes that made an impact within the Metro league, including Devante Meullion, Damony Jackson-Anderson, Chris Edwards and Dominique Prater who will all be representing Sealth in this week’s District tournament.

The one team not practicing up at SWAC was left taking swings all over West Seattle. The tennis team, led by head coach Denise Hagen and assistant coach Nels Enquist, somehow managed to coordinate schedules when rain, transportation and court time caused them to move practices between the gym, Lincoln Park and Delridge Playfield on a regular basis. Still, returning players Vivi Nguyen and Kamariah Rockas-Mitchell each won a playoff match while many others developed a strong skill set throughout a season.

Special thanks goes out to the administration and teaching staff who were patient and understanding as Spring sports starting times causes our athletes to miss many sixth period classes. Assistant secretary Atia Yousuf also deserves much credit for attempting to organize a chaotic and always challenging transportation schedule and fiscal clerk Jeff Patterson who is so supportive of and helpful of our teams throughout the season. Finally, I need to extend an extra thank you to Dave and Nenita Rosario and all of the other families that helped take over for Delfino Munoz in preparing and serving food at this year’s Carne Asada Bowl. Get well soon Delfino!

So as the 2009-2010 athletic season and school year comes to a close, it is with much anticipation that I look toward next season. Between moving into a new facility where the athletic offerings will truly be top notch, to looking across the depth charts to see all of our returning athletes, to knowing that I’m surrounded by hard working and dedicated coaches, it is easy for me to see that this is just tip of the iceberg for what is possible for Chief Sealth Athletics.

Please join us in celebrating this season’s successes with the Spring Sports Banquet, held this Thursday, May 20th at 6:00pm in the Chief Sealth cafeteria. Admission is free for all athletes and their families. Donations to the Athletic Department will be taken at the door.

Thank you for all your support,

Sam Reed
Activity Coordinator / Athletic Director
Chief Sealth International High School
sjreed@seattleschools.org