February 21, 2014 [9] [ swimming from page 8]
www.federalwaymirror.com
Team Celski Blog: Sochi shopping This blog, which can be read in its entirety at fedwaymirror.com, is written to keep the people of Federal Way informed about one of the city’s sons, shorttrack speedskater J.R. Celski and the experience of his parents, Bob and Sue, during the Olympics. By Bob Celski For the Mirror
Thursday, Feb. 20
Wednesday the sun came back out and it was another great and busy day. We started out by taking the bus from the hotel to the Adler train station and took some pictures of the Black Sea again. Then we took a bus to downtown Adler, a quaint little town center. The massive Olympic Coastal Park is located at the South end of the town. Looking past the Olympic Park to the south is the country of Georgia, not five kilometers away. You would never know we are so close to Georgia. We shopped, and shopped. I’ll admit, I’m not a shopper unless I’m looking for souvenirs. This was an enjoyable experience as
[ basketball from p 8] South selection, finished with a team-high 24 points for the Eagles. But the Titans ended the game with a 6-1 run to finalize the score. Bliznyuk was the only Beamer player in double figures during the contest. Charles Frazier had eight and Ferron Flavors finished with seven points. Federal Way got 17 points from Adrian Davis and 10 from Christian Jones, to go along with Montoya.
there was booth after booth to check out the wares. We found absolutely everything we were looking for, and filled my backpack with stuff. Probably way overpaid, but prices were cheaper than at the Olympic store in the park. We took our time in the nice weather. Next thing you know, Chris says, “Hey dad, isn’t that Lester Holt over there?” Sure enough Lester Holt was shopping too, along with a camera crew. Lester is one of the news anchors of NBC Nightly News along with Brian Williams. We watch him all the time. Not being bashful, Sue and I went up to Lester and introduced ourselves, saying we are the parents of J.R. He knew of J.R. right away, so we started a nice, long conversation about how our experience here is NOTHING like it was supposed to be as portrayed in the media prior to the games. He too has really enjoyed himself here when breaking away from the NBC Nightly News cast. Before we knew it, his crew chief Kim asks us if we wouldn’t mind
Beamer split its two 4A South Puget Sound League games with the Eagles, with Federal Way winning 67-64 on Feb. 9 at Beamer in the final game of the regular season. Beamer came into the game 15-0 in the SPSL South.
Girls basketball
The third-ranked Todd Beamer girls are headed to the Regional Tournament for the second time in the program’s history. The Titans secured the bid with a 55-42 win over
[ wrestling from page 8] came into the wrestling season in good shape.” “We used it toward getting better,” Aragon said. “We don’t care about rankings at all.” The Gators’ school-record 11 state tournament qualifiers has been led by the foursome of seniors Dawson and Zimmerman, along with junior Isaiah Diggs and sophomore Leviticus Arizpe. All four snagged regional championships last weekend and all boast 32 or more wins on the season. The 126-pound Arizpe (35-1) avenged his only loss of the season with an 8-1 win over Lakes’ Andrew Ramirez at regionals. Ramirez upset Arizpe in the final of the SPSL 3A Tournament. Diggs, who was the SPSL 3A’s All-Purpose Player of the Year in football, is 34-3 on the season and pinned Aparis in the 138-pound regional championship. Dawson (32-4) dominated the
Decatur will compete at state gymnastics after finishing second 1A/2A/3A West Central District Championships (Saturday)
Bob and Sue Celski pose for a photo with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt while shopping near Sochi. courtesy celski family
being interviewed for an NBC Nightly News segment they will be airing in the next few days. We were totally willing, in an effort to tell the true story of what is going on here in Sochi. It was a spur-of-the moment thing but a lot of fun. After shopping, I packed all our stuff in my backpack and we took a train back to the Olympic Park...
Team scores (top 3 to state)—1. Enumclaw 172.375; 2. Decatur 160.05; 3. North Kitsap 153.425; 4. Port Angeles 150.95; 5. Hazen 141.3 Vault—1. Olivia Bannerot, Enumclaw, 9.525; 2. Victoria Hernandez, Enumclaw, 9.4; 3. Anna Paradee, Decatur, 9.35. Bars—1. Victoria Hernandez, Enumclaw, 9.0; 2. Kiley McCain, Sumner, 8.4; 3. Emily Berte, Enumclaw, 8.075. Beam—1. Olivia Bannerot, Enumclaw, 9.175; 2. Victoria Hernandez, Enumclaw, 9.1; 3. Anna Paradee, Decatur, 8.3 Floor—1. Olivia Bannerot, Enumclaw, 9.475; 2. Hailey Taylor, Bonney Lake, 9.4; 3. Emily Berte, Enumclaw, 9.35. All-Around—1. Victoria Hernandez, Enumclaw, 36.725; 2. Olivia Bannerot, Enumclaw, 36.175; 3. Emily Berte, Enumclaw, 34.8.
State Gymnastics
Where: Exhibition Hall of the Tacoma Dome Schedule: Friday – 3A team and all-around are from 1:30 to 4:25 p.m. 4A team and all-around are from 6:20 p.m. until 10 p.m. Saturday – All individual event finalists compete from 11:20 a.m. until 3 p.m. 2013 team champions: 4A – Woodinville. 3A/2A/1A – Enumclaw. Tickets: Daily passes are $15 for adults, and $11 for students and senior citizens. Weekend passes are $23 for adults, and $17 for students and senior citizens.
Kentridge Saturday in the pions got 21 points from quarterfinals of the West sophomore Nia Alexander. Central/Southwest District But it was a career-high Tournament. 17 points from Giavanni Beamer (22-1) Flowers that jumped all over proved to be the Kentridge, the difference. Flowers third-place team finished with five from the SPSL 3-pointers during North, in the first the game. She quarter. The Titans had only scored took a 13-7 lead in double figures after the first quarBogdon Bliznyuk in three games ter and extended this season for the the lead to 31-18 at Titans. halftime. Beamer cruised Beamer took on Bellarin the second half. mine Prep Lions Thursday The SPSL South chamin the district semifinal
120-pound bracket last weekend, pinning Timberline’s Gage George in the first round. Zimmerman moved to 33-4 at 160 pounds, with a 41-second pin of Lincoln’s Murad Vagabov for the regional title. “We have a much greater desire this year,” Zimmerman said. “Our goal is to take state. It would be awesome to win the title at Decatur.” Also helping the Gators is that six of the 11 wrestlers have qualified for the Mat Classic before, which is a huge advantage. The Mat Classic, which is best described as a wrestling extravaganza, draws nearly 900 wrestlers from every nook and cranny of the state, more than 25,000 fans and media from more than 125 newspapers, television and radio stations. The grapplers, both boys and girls, compete on 24 wrestling mats strewn across the humongous Tacoma Dome floor.
The pressure of competing under the bright lights of the Mat Classic can sometimes affect firsttime wrestlers. “It’s just another match,” said Good, who is 29-6 this season. “That’s how you have to look at it. You can’t let all the hype get to you.” “To win state is the ultimate goal,” Dawson said. “But there is a lot that can happen. We are just going to take it one match at a time.” But the 11 Decatur wrestlers won’t be the only Federal Way school district representatives at the Mat Classic. On the Class 4A side, the Todd Beamer Titans will be sending a solid seven wrestlers to Tacoma, led by regional champions Jordan Rhodes (120) and Haftom Tafere (132). Other Beamer qualifiers are Brett Dykman (113), Brian Dykman (126), Sean Van Earwage (138), Adrian Avena (145) and
(after press time). Skyview played Mount Rainier, who handed the Titans’ their lone defeat of the season in the SPSL Championship game, in the other semifinal. The district championship game will be at noon at Pacific Lutheran University Saturday. Beamer lost to Arlington in the Regional round last season, 50-42, with a state berth on the line. The Titans have never played a game at the Class 4A State Tournament.
K.J. Skannal (195). Brett Dykman and Van Eagwage both lost in regional championship matches last Saturday. Federal Way and Jefferson will both be represented by one wrestler. The Eagles’ Andrezj HughesMurray lost in the regional final at 220 pounds and TJ’s Heng Yon finished fourth at 170. On the girls’ side of the tournament, the district contingent will again be led by Beamer’s Arian Carpio. The junior will be shooting for her third-straight state-championship match appearance. Carpio finished second as a freshman and won the 118-pound title last season. The loss as a ninth-grader is the only loss of her high school career. She will be wrestling at 124 pounds this weekend. Jefferson’s Jasmine Pleasant is also coming off a regional championship last weekend. The freshman won the 112-pound bracket
which outdistances secondplace Chase Bublitz from Kentridge (21.48). Anderson is also the second-ranked swimmer in the 100 backstroke (51.24) behind Curtis’ Brian Woodbury (49.69). Anderson started swimming competitively at the age of 11 and now is in the pool seven days a week for three to four hours every day. He has been with the vaunted King Aquatic Club since he was 12. Anderson will be joined inside the Aquatic Center by Federal Way teammates Robert Hughes, Spencer Berry and Chris Flores. Hughes will swim in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley and Berry will compete in the 100 butterfly. The foursome will also compete together in the 200 medley relay, the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay. A pair of Decatur divers will be competing in the 1-meter event at the state championships. Junior Jordan Nelson enters the competition as the sixth-ranked diver with a preliminaryround score of 330.95 and senior Evan Sobus is ninth with 310.40.
State Swimming/Diving
When, where: Friday and Saturday, King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way Schedule: Friday – 4A preliminaries are from 9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday; 3A preliminaries from 6:15 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. Saturday – 4A finals start at 10 a.m.; and 3A finals start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets: Daily passes are $9 for adults, $7 for students and senior citizens. Weekend passes are $15 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens.
with a 5-1 decision over Puyallup’s Brooklyn Bartleson. The Federal Way girls qualified four for the Mat Classic, including Ana Sanchez (106), Evelyn Lafferty (118), Tally Thomas (155) and Fernanda Carmona (170).
MAT CLASSIC XXVI
Where: Tacoma Dome Schedule: Friday – First session is from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Second session (including quarterfinals) is from 4 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday – Third session (including semifinals, and all stateplacing matches) is from 10 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. The championship round kicks off at 5:15 p.m. 2013 state team champions: 4A – Lake Stevens. 3A – University. Girls – Warden. Tickets: Daily passes are $15 for adults, and $11 for students and seniors. Weekend passes are $23 (adults) and $17 (students/ senior citizens).