f e d e r a l way
SPORTS
[8] March 14, 2014
www.federalwaymirror.com
Beamer snags fifth-place trophy
By CASEY OLSON sports@fedwaymirror.com
Megan Huff, Beamer
Todd Beamer senior guard Trey Burch-Manning goes to the basket during the Titans’ loss to Issaquah Saturday at the Class 4A Hardwood Classic inside the Tacoma Dome. Burch-Manning finished with 16 points. casey olson, The Mirror
cal-berkley wins pac-12 swimming championship at kcac California took home its second-consecutive title, winning the 2014 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Championships on Saturday evening at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. The Golden Bears scored 786 points en route to the victory, more than 100 points over second-place finisher Stanford and thirdplace finisher USC. Arizona came in fourth in the final standings, followed by Utah at fifth and Arizona State at sixth. UC Santa Barbara placed seventh and Cal Poly rounded out the standings at eighth.
Beamer leads All-City Girls Basketball
Titans win first-ever state tournament game Thursday over Gonzaga Prep, lose two in a row to Richland and Issaquah By CASEY OLSON sports@fedwaymirror.com
The Todd Beamer boys basketball team picked up the school’s first-ever state tournament trophy Saturday afternoon inside the Tacoma Dome. It just wasn’t the trophy they had hoped to be holding after advancing into the semifinals with a win over Gonzaga Prep Thursday in the opening round of the Class 4A Hardwood Classic State Boys Basketball Tournament. The Titans (22-6) finished in fifth place Saturday afternoon with a 60-49 loss to the Issaquah Eagles in the third/fifth game in Tacoma. The defeat came a day after losing to previously-unbeaten Richland in the semifi[ more beamer page 19 ]
Beamer senior Bogdan Bliznyuk grabs the ball during the Titan’s loss to Issaquah on Saturday in the third/fifth game in Tacoma.
The 6-foot-2 Huff was a force in the middle of the Titans’ offense and defense. Huff was a first-team, All-SPSL South selection after leading Beamer in scoring and rebounding. Huff averaged 13.5 points a game and had a high game of 25 points during a win over Bellarmine Prep at the West Central/ Megan Huff Southwest District Tournament. Huff also had 24 during a loss to Mount Rainier in the SPSL Championship game. Huff and Beamer missed out on qualifying for the program’s first-ever state tournament with an overtime loss to Arlington at Regionals, 35-33. The Titans finAll-City Girls ished a perfect Basketball 16-0 in the SPSL Megan Huff, Beamer South. Huff is headed Nia Alexander, Beamer Quinessa Caylao-Do, to the UniverBeamer sity of Hawaii Bria Rice, Beamer in the fall to play volleyball Kayla Smith, Federal Way after signing in November. Huff was a four-year starter at Beamer. During her senior season, Huff led the Titans in kills with 212 and aces with 54. She was a first-team, All-SPSL South selection. Since 1997, the Rainbow Wahine have led the nation in home game attendance, with a cumulative average of more than 6,800 fans per match. The program is the second-largest source of financial income for the University of Hawaii athletic department, behind only the school’s football program. [ more all-city page 19 ]
MLS: Beamer grad, Sean Okoli, shines in Sounders FC debut Forward replaces TJ’s Lamar Neagle in 86th minute and assists Seattle to a 1-0 victory By MATT GASCHK SoundersFC.com
Beamer graduate Sean Okoli made his first appearance for the Seattle Sounders FC Saturday during their 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City. courtesy soundersfc.com
The chants of “2-5-3” echoed through CenturyLink Field as Sean Okoli subbed on for Lamar Neagle in the 86th minute of Sounders FC’s season-opening match against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. The cheer from the Emerald City Supporters acted as an hom-
age to a Federal Way native and Thomas Jefferson High School product in Neagle and as a welcome to a Todd Beamer High School alum in Okoli, with their home area code acting as a rallying cry. Okoli, 21, made sure that his time on the field would be as memorable as his entrance, changing the point of attack for Seattle as he was able to create havoc with his speed up the right side and eventually setting up the game-winning goal with a cross that found Clint Dempsey in the box after a redirection at the near post and Chad Barrett finished the rebound. “When I came in the coaches
told me to do the best I can to get in behind the defense and try to make an impact. So I just tried to get the ball at my feet and get a couple of touches in,” Okoli said. “On the counter, Clint found me on the far side, and I just whipped the ball in. It was a mosh-pit in there so it was good to see our guys get on the end of it.” Okoli was able to cause a particular matchup problem for Kansas City’s left back because of that speed. With Seth Sinovic out with a hip injury, Josh Gardner – who played in the midfield for the Sounders in the USL in 2007 and 2008 – started in his place. Okoli got up the right side in the 88th [ more okoli page 19 ]