The Blaine boys golf team is now coached by Matt McAuley, an assistant golf coach to former head coach Rick Shockey for the past three seasons, and head coach of the girls bowling team. McAuley has worked closely with this group of upperclassmen golfers since they were incoming freshmen, and said he’s excited to see those players make big jumps in their final seasons.
The golf program lost six varsity players to graduation, but McAuley knows that there’s a ton of new and returning talent on this year’s team.
One of those returning golfers to watch is Ellis Griffin, who came just a few strokes shy of qualifying for the 1A state championship last year, but seems poised to have another great year on the links.
Another name to look for is sophomore Peyton Bouma, who played most of his freshman season on the varsity squad, making the bi-district playoff.
“I expect even better things from him this year,” McAuley said.
Working alongside Shockey for three years prepared McAuley for his new role, and he hopes to keep the solid team culture and program interest that Shockey built up for years to come.
“I learned so much about how to run a program from [Shockey],” McAuley said. “It’s been great learning from him and taking a lot of the stuff he did and incorporating that into this year’s team.”
Blaine boys golf starts the season with a home match at Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club on Tuesday, March 18, first tee at 2 p.m.
With five returning varsity players, Blaine girls golf is set for another season on the links after three golfers narrowly missed state qualification in 2024.
Third-year head coach Connie Pilon said the team of 11 golfers has lots of new faces this season, and has already seen the whole team begin to gel together in the short preseason practice window before the schedule begins.
“I’m just looking at them to shine in all of their matches,” Pilon said. “I’m looking for them to improve. They’ve improved just from the week of practice I’ve seen. They’re very focused and invested in each other’s game.”
Pilon said there’s tons of talent on this year’s team, but mentioned a trio of junior golfers that have their hopes set on a state championship bid: Hannah Phelps-McDonald, Thora Engen and Megan Rosenberger.
“Those are my returning juniors that played a lot of varsity last year,” Pilon said. “They told me their goal is to get to state and play better this year in the district [tournament] than we did last year and improve in lowering their scores and not getting frustrated with themselves.”
The mental game is a huge aspect of golf, and Pilon said that has been a focus during preseason practice sessions.
“The big thing is they get frustrated and then their stroke goes away,” Pilon said. “I just want them to enjoy themselves, improve on their skills in practice and enjoy the gals that they play with in the matches.”
The first home match of the season for the Borderites is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 25 at the Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club.
Blaine track and field is now head coached by a familiar name for most Borderite runners, cross-country head coach Roberto Aguilera. After former head coach Mark Schultz stepped down, Aguilera spent the offseason assembling his coaching staff, bringing in Serrah Gerhardt (jumping and hurdling), Jarid Poole (sprinting), Abigail Triou (throwing), and Colter Papritz, with Aguilera taking over long-distance coaching duties.
With a new coaching staff, Aguilera hopes to instill a fresh culture into the track and field program, encouraging these young athletes to work together to make themselves, and the team, better.
“My team philosophy is working together as a family, enjoying what we do while working hard, putting in that grit, determination and consistency day in and day out,” Aguilera said. “And making sure that the kids have the resources that they need.”
A full coaching staff with expertise in each competition will surely help Blaine keep up its representation in district and state playoffs coming up at the end of the season.
The 2024 track and field program sent 10 athletes to the 1B/2B/1A state championships, mostly sprinters, throwers and relay teams.
The boys 4x100-meter relay team should be reloaded for another great season, with Jaiden Paez, Beckum Bleazard, Dylan Johnson and AJ Anthony-Bennett, who will also do long jump.
Aguilera said he was excited for the girls 4x100-meter relay team of Brietta Sandell, Juliana Zuzarte, Kaitlyn Ritter von Trautmann and an open spot with multiple athletes looking to rise to the occasion and win the position.
“I don’t know who, we’ll have to test that out once we get to our first meet,” Aguilera said. “As the season progresses, we can see who can fit in that spot, but I believe that they are contenders to go to state.”
Blaine track and field will host its first home meet of the season against Ferndale on April 2, with events starting at 3:30 p.m. at Borderite Stadium.
The girls tennis team is also being led by a new head coach, Marcel Zuzarte, who played collegiate and semi-professional tennis and raised three kids through the Blaine school district.
Zuzarte said the offseason training has been slow going due to the bad weather that keeps his team off the uncovered home tennis courts. But indoor training in the gymnasium has been a great start to his tenure as coach, Zuzarte said.
Three players made it to the bi-district playoffs at the end of last season, but no Borderites were able to break into the state tournament. This season, the goal for Zuzarte is to build a solid foundation, and get more girls interested in joining the team and staying through multiple seasons.
“My ambition is for the girls to grow,” Zuzarte said. “That’s really what we’re looking for, growth. Growth of the program, growth of the freshmen, sophomores and juniors so we can continue to build.”
The first home tennis match of the 2025 season is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 19 when the Borderites take on Burlington-Edison. Blaine will host another match at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 25 against Mount Vernon.
After a solid regular season in 2024, the Borderites couldn’t make a final push in the playoffs for a state berth, but lost only five seniors to graduation, and look poised to run back another strong season of boys soccer.
The team was knocked out of the 1A District 1 playoffs by Meridian, finishing the season 9-4-2 with a 4-3-1 conference record. The story of the five-team 1A Northwest Conference was of haves and have-nots. The Borderites went 4-0-0 against bottom table Mt. Baker and Nooksack Valley, but went winless (0-3-1) against Meridian and Lynden Christian.
The Borderites have likely lost their two best scorers from last season, with Leo Blanco graduating and Blake Koreski recovering from a knee injury that occurred during the winter sports season.
That duo combined for nearly half of Blaine’s goals (22 of 47 total) last season, so the team will certainly need to find new offensive options to stay apace with perennial NWC contenders like Meridian and Lynden Christian.
Look for brothers Maxim and Dmitriy Yuryev to take a big step forward for the team, with the senior and junior pair holding down the middle of the pitch on midfield and defense.
The first home game of the season will come against Northwest Conference opponent Oak Harbor at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 at Borderite Stadium.
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