District playoffs were in full swing this week, with the Borderites vying for spots in the state playoffs.
Boys soccer upset Lynden Christian, but lost to Meridian in the district finals and faced LC in a rematch with a place in the bi-district tournament on the line. Girls golf had a great day on the links, and will send three to the 1A State tournament.
Baseball was quickly bounced from the district playoffs with losses to reigning state champ Overlake, then Lynden Christian in a tough doubleheader. Softball beat Meridian in the first round of districts, but lost a heartbreaker to Nooksack Valley, ending its season.
Girls golf had a great day at districts, finishing second as a team, and will send three players to state.
Blaine golfers Marcella Bring and Thora Engen finished in the top-five at North Bellingham Golf Course on May 13, each of them securing a spot in the 1A state tournament at Liberty Lake Golf Course outside Spokane on Tuesday, May 20.
Bring shot a score of 100, tying for third place with Meridian’s Kennedy Brozozowski, and Engen shot 102 for sole possession of fifth. Meridian’s Kali Tan and Dallas Reinke tied for first, each with a 95.
Hannah Phelps-McDonald finished tied for sixth place with Meridian’s Reese McIntee, and the two will travel to the tournament as state alternates.
The 1A State Golf Championship will take place over two days from May 20 to 21.
The Blaine boys golf team didn’t have the same results as the girls team, missing out on a top-seven finish for a spot in the 1A State Championship.
Peyton Bouma finished with the highest individual score for a Borderite, finishing with a 95, tied for 11th. Ellis Griffin finished in a three-way tie for 13th with a 96, and Brady Thiessen finished tied for 16th with a 97.
All told, it was another great season for the Borderites that included multiple top-10 finishes, but ultimately ended without a trip to the state tournament.
The Blaine boys soccer had one of its best games of the season to open up the semifinal round of the district tournament, defeating rival Lynden Christian 2-0 on May 7.
Junior midfielder Dima Yuryev, one of Blaine’s top scorers all year, was responsible for both of Blaine’s goals on the night, including a last minute score that was the final nail in the coffin for LC.
The Borderites then went on to face top-seed Meridian for a chance to win a district championship trophy on May 10. The Trojans proved too good on offense, winning 3-0 en route to its third consecutive 1A District 1 championship.
The Borderites still have a chance to make it to the next stage of postseason play, the bi-district tournament, with another win over Lynden Christian on Wednesday, May 14 at 7 p.m. (after press time).
UPDATE:
Blaine defeated Lynden Christian for the second time in the 1A District 1 tournament on May 14, winning 2-1 and earning Blaine a spot in the 1A District 1/2 tournament.
Yuryev led the Borderites on offense yet again, scoring an early goal to jump out to a 1-0 lead, then a second half goal to put Blaine up for good.
Despite getting up to a two-goal lead with less than 20 minutes remaining in the game, the Borderites allowed a goal to Lynden Christian on a penalty kick, ratcheting up the pressure in the final minutes.
It was a physical game, with multiple players on both teams receiving yellow cards for harsh fouls. The Borderite defense was able to hold steady, thanks to a couple clutch saves from goalkeeper Abel Carlson-Vega, and stout defense from veteran back line players Wade Lottimer and Max Yuryev.
With the win, the Borderites advance to the 1A District 1/2 playoff, facing off against Bush at King’s High School in Shoreline on Saturday, May 17 at 7 p.m.
With a win over Bush, the Borderites will qualify for a state playoff berth. A loss, and the season is over.
Day one of the two-day 1A District 1 tournament was held on May 14, and the Borderites got out to a promising start in preliminary rounds, and performed well in the final rounds of the 1600, boys javelin and girls shot put.
For the sprinters, junior Dylan Johnson led the way with a fourth-place 100-meter dash with a time of 11.8. Seniors Beckum Bleazard and Colby Shipp were right behind Johnson, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Johnson and Bleazard also had strong showings in the preliminary 200-meter sprint, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. In the 400-meter preliminaries, freshmen Logan Bennett and Elbert Hao each set a wind-aided PRs with times of 1:00.49 for Bennett and 1:01.97 for Hao.
Senior Ian Tuski set PRs in the preliminary 800-meter race (2:21.22) and 1600-meter final (5:27.71), finishing 13th in both races. Fellow senior Tucker Greene earned ninth in the 800-meter with a time of 2:15.58.
In the girls 1600-meter final, freshman Carrie Balback finished sixth overall in a field of 16 runners with a time of 5:58.37. Sophomore Kathryn Lowry finished 14th at 6:45.51.
Josiah Weeda continued his strong season in the hurdles with another first place finish in the 300-meter hurdles in the preliminary round with a time of 42.56. Senior Raymond Ben placed fifth with a time of 44.35.
For the girls team, Juliana Zuzarte placed sixth in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 13.68. Kaitlyn Ritter Von Trautmann placed first in the 200-meter race with a wind-aided PR of 27.02, and Livia Weeda placed 11th with a time of 30.35. Weeda also placed sixth in the 400-meter event.
Brietta Sandell had another great performance in the hurdles, this time with a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.95.
Multiple field events held final rounds on Wednesday, with Ian Tuski placing ninth (122’ 3”) and Leif-Einar Engen placing 12th (107’) in the javelin final.
Three Borderites competed in the girls shot put final, with sophomore Olivia Carlson-Vega setting a PR of 30’ 1” en route to a fourth place finish. Senior Lydia Ayala also set a PR at 27’ 6.5” for eighth place.
Plenty of action is set on the final day of the district finals on Friday, May 16, with dozens of Borderites competing for a chance at the bi-districts next week.
Borderites will compete in every event other than girls 4x200-meter relay, boys 800-meter, girls 4x400-meter relay and girls triple jump, with plenty of chances to take another step towards the 1A State finals May 29 at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima.
This article was updated on May 15 with information on the Blaine boys soccer game against Lynden Christian and day one of track and field's 1A District 1 tournament.
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