Middle School sports

A look at sports from the Valley's Middle Schools.

Eagle grapplers finish strong

The Snoqualmie Middle School wrestling team finished their

1999-2000 season on Friday, Jan. 21, by competing against seven other

schools in the two-day Foothills League Wrestling Tournament. According to

the coaches, the Eagle wrestlers wrapped up their season in true form.

Trevor Louviere, Russell Botulinski and Trevor Moore

finished fourth in the 85-, 95- and 154-pound classes respectively, while

Justin Wright finished fifth at 120. Chris Brown recorded a sixth-place finish

at 115-pounds. Regrettably, Nate Aspinall suffered a dislocated

shoulder in his first round and was unable to continue.

Four Eagles scored league championships: Michael Montgomery,

at 78-pounds; Alex Haas, 90; Curt Davis, 175; and Kyle Davis, light unlimited.

Coaches Newell and Haas are quite proud of these student

athletes and would like to thank them, saying they displayed quality

athleticism, dedication, determination and pride

in themselves and their school. The coaches also thank April Rainey

and Rachel Keinath for their assistance and contributions, and the parents

and school for their support. Also, thanks are extended to Coach Haas for

his dedicated assistance to the program.

Middle School Sports Week

Eagle 8th-graders down Hawks

in annual battle

The Chief Kanim Hawks eighth- grade girls basketball team played

a thriller on Wednesday, Jan. 19, as the they took on the Eagles of

Snoqualmie in the annual “Battle of the Birds.”

The Lady Hawks led the entire first half, but the Eagles came out firing

in the third quarter and went ahead by 12. Chief Kanim took off again in

the fourth and pulled to within five points, but they ran out of time. The final

score was Eagles 32, Hawks 27.

Scoring for the Lady Hawks were Marti Lynch with eight,

Landa Pastrana and Erin Hart with seven each, Kate Rempfer with three

and Christie Leatiota with two. Pastrana led the team in assists with four,

while Lynch led in steals with five. Hart recorded seven rebounds and five

jump balls and Leatiota set a new school record in blocked shots with five.

Others in the game included Amanda Lyons, Crystal Hunter

and Brittannie Anderberg. Hart, Pastrana and Lynch were selected best

offensive players of the game, while Hart, Leatiota and Hunter received best

defensive player honors. Lyons and Rempfer were selected best of

the bench.

“It was an exciting game and we were in it all the way,” said coach

Dick Kirby afterwards. “This is an exceptional group of young athletes and

they have had an exceptional season given some unusual circumstances.

“Many school records were tied or broken this year. It was a pleasure

to coach this team.”

Tolt girls finish strong

The Lady Thunderbird eighth- graders finished their season with

a flourish, winning six of eight final games including four straight

where they averaged 43 points a game.

Issaquah visited Tolt on Monday, Jan. 10, and the T-Birds came out

on top with a hard fought, low scoring affair. The game was very physical,

as is always the case with these two teams. Jayme Busser led the team

with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jenny Hamilton chipped

in four; Valerie Martin had three and six boards; Sofia Foster hauled down

six rebounds and scored four; and Katy Dern added two points. The final

score was 23-19 in the last home game of the year.

Tolt traveled to Maywood for their season finale. It was a triumphant

finish as 13 different players scored in the game.

After a sluggish first quarter, the Lady T-Birds held a slim 10-6

lead. Tolt continued to build on the lead with tough “D,” good ball control,

some timely fast breaks and solid half-court execution.

Tolt led at halftime 24-15 despite some foul trouble. A good third

quarter stretched the lead to 14, and the team then fed off the excited fans

as they raced to a 48-32 victory.

Martin, Heather Ekstrom and Marci McCoy led the charge

with some of their best play of the year. Ekstrom was all over the court as

she sparked the T-Birds with her season-high six points, a game-high

seven boards and two assists. McCoy was outstanding with two assists, six

rebounds, three steals and three points. Martin had her best outing as

well, with nine points, five boards and two blocks.

Tricia Nelson scored five while Foster, Busser and Jenny

Hamilton had four. Katy Dern added three points while Abby Alten, Ali Hull,

Kaitlin Worden, Jenna Jennings and Jessica Sode all had two. The

inspirational Kelly Pflugrath played as well, but Missy Adams missed the game due

to an injury.

It was an exciting end to another great season for TMS.

Chief Kanim drops one to Issaquah

The Chief Kanim Lady Hawks eighth-grade basketball team

played well against Issaquah on Wednesday, Jan. 12, but came up short.

The Hawks trailed 2-10 at the end of the first quarter but came back

to trail 13-17 at the half. The third quarter belonged to Issaquah as they

went up 17-28 and, after a short Chief Kanim rally, the game ended

with Issaquah on top, 25-41.

Scoring for the Lady Hawks were Marti Lynch, 12 points;

Landa Pastrana, five; and Erin Hart, Christie Leatiota, Amanda Lyons and

Crystal Hunter, two points each. Kate Rempfer, Brittannie Anderberg

and Colleen Elliot also saw action in the game. Pastrana led the team in

assists and steals with six each. Leatiota led in rebounds with six and four

blocked shots. Lyons led in jump balls with three.

Offensive players for the game were Lynch and Pastrana.

Defensive players were Hunter, Hart and Leatiota, while Rempfer took “best

off the bench” honors.

Lady Eagles take 7th-grade

`Battle of the Birds’

The Snoqualmie Eagles capped off a terrific basketball season by

defeating Chief Kanim in their annual “Battle of the Birds” to finish

their season at 9-1 and co-champions of the Foothills Basketball League.

In their game against the Hawks, both teams played aggressive

defense and it proved difficult for Eagles and Hawks alike to find open lanes to

the hoop.

However, with the Lady Eagles applying constant pressure on

offense, Rachel Travis, Kaycee Crossan and Amber Harrington were able to

connect on eight, seven and seven points respectively to put the game out

of reach, nailing down the 26-16 victory. Throughout the season, the

seventh- grade team utilized a stifling defense against opposing teams, allowing

an average of only 19 points per game.

The Lady Eagles celebrated their championship season with a

banquet honoring individuals, with awards voted on by the players

themselves. Most Improved Player was awarded to Whitney Chelgren, while

Crossan earned Best Defensive Player. Whitney Beyerlin was voted Most

Inspirational and Travis was recognized as Most Valuable.

The coaches extend their congratulations to the ladies on a very

successful season and are looking forward to next year and beyond.