Sports
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TACOMAWEEKLY.com
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2013
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SECTION A, PAGE 6
LIONS WRESTLE PAST TIGERS
Ladenburg leads with quick pin
BELLARMINE PREP TOPS OLYMPIA TO STAY IN FIRST Mount Tahoma, Tacoma Baptist roll to wins N
o matter the sport, physicality seems to be a factor of every game between Bellarmine Prep and Olympia. And there was no exception on Jan. 11, as the Lady Lions survived 24 foul calls against them and beat the Lady Bears 55-42 to remain atop the Narrows 4A standings. “This was really an ugly game,” said Lady Lions coach Kevin Meines, who saw his team dominate early and then struggle late. “We need to become more consistent really soon.” After a slow first quarter by both teams, Bellarmine turned up the heat on the defensive end – holding the Lady Bears to just four secondquarter points – while Claire Martin took over in the paint for eight points in the period as the Lions took a 28-13 halftime lead. “Olympia is a tough team that always gives us fits,” Meines said. “We responded well in the second quarter.” A different Lady Bears team emerged in the second half, however; one that Meines’ fully expected to see earlier. “Their defensive intensity really picked up, and the game became much more physical because of it,” he said. Nursing a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, things heated up just a little bit on both sides as Bellarmine’s Jasmyne Holmes caught Olympia’s Jenna Randich with an elbow as the two were battling for a loose ball. “It was an unfortunate incident, but sometimes in the heat of battle these things happen, and we hope that Jenna will be okay,” Meines said. That seemed to inspire Olympia, as the Bears would shortly slice the Bellarmine lead in half. But after a timeout, the Lady Lions would put the pedal to the metal to extend the lead to 14 points, and from that point they would never be threatened. “The coaching staff was very proud of the way the girls responded after the unfortunate incident,” Meines said. “They focused and closed the game out from there. They really battled down the stretch.” Senior Ionna Price led the Lady Lions with 16 points, while fellow senior Sydney Swofford added 14 points for Bellarmine. “We have a very experienced team with a senior class that has been there before,” Meines said. “Once the underclassmen begin to become X See BASKETBALL / page A9
PHOTOS BY ROCKY ROSS
RIDING HIGH. (Top) Bellarmine’s Sydney Swofford (23),
who scored 14 points for the Lions, shields off Olympia’s MacKenzie Cooper in the 55-42 win. (Bottom) Sophomore forward Claire Martin gets off a shot inside, as she finished with eight points and 12 rebounds for the Lions.
PHOTOS BY ROCKY ROSS
BATTLE-TESTED. (Top) Bellarmine senior
Taylor Ladenburg got a quick pin of Stadium’s Kaleb Rascon, and will look to return to the state meet this year. (Bottom) The Lions’ Kevin McCarthy (left) takes on the Tigers’ J.J. Sealey, eventually outlasting him for a 6-3 win. By Jeremy Helling jeremy@tacomaweekly.com
Rebounding from the loss of nine graduated seniors last year, Bellarmine Prep continued a solid start to their season with a 60-12 win at undermanned Stadium on Jan. 10. The Tigers, who are looking to build the program under first-year coach Steve Haase, a former longtime coach at Bellarmine, were hurt right off the bat by eight forfeits. The Lions claimed four of the six matches on the night, including senior Taylor Ladenburg’s pin of Stadium’s Kaleb Rascon just 25 seconds into the 182-pound bout. “Our technique is coming along,” said Bellarmine head coach Dave Grisaffi, noting that the Lions have continued to change their style from years past after attending college camps. “Our ability to stay in wrestling matches and stay aggressive is one of the goals we’ve wanted to accomplish – and not be meek and not be soft.” The match began with an entertaining battle in the 106-pound bout, as the Lions’ Jed Klein outlasted Stadium’s Diante Wise 10-8 in overtime. Wise took down Klein early in the overtime period and looked to have him pinned, but Klein escaped and turned the tables. “We’ve got a few lower-weight (wrestlers) that are really doing work,” said Ladenburg, who noted that Klein and 120-pound wrestler Josiah Mayo are impressing early. “I see a really bright future for those guys. All of our young guys are really fitting in with the rest of the group.” The Tigers, though, responded with a pair of impressive victories, as James Norton had an early takedown on Andrew Turner in the 113-pound match and went on to pin him late in the first round. In the 132-pound bout, Stadium’s Jordon Envoldsen went down 5-4 after the first round to Kory O’Connor before recovering to take a 9-7 lead on a takedown and earning a pin shortly thereafter. Deadlocked 2-2 after the second round of the 145-pound matchup, the Lions’ Kevin McCarthy pulled away from Stadium’s J.J. Sealey with two takedowns and earned a 6-3 win. Carson Grisaffi followed with a pin of the Tigers’ Sean O’Brien 32 seconds into the 152-pound bout, just before Ladenburg answered with his quick pin. The Lions improved to 4-1 on the year with the win, and Ladenburg noted that with the graduation of last year’s leaders, his ascension to team leader has provided a new dynamic. “It’s a new role,” said Ladenburg, who advanced to the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome in the 160-pound weight class last year. “I’ve got to be serious sometimes, and that’s new for me.” And with a solid group of seniors again this year, including 160-pouder Louis Catiller, the Lions look to be a formidable opponent against anyone that takes the mat against them. The Tacoma City Championships – which the Lions won last season – were set to take place on Jan. 19 at 9 a.m. at Lincoln High School.