Blaine cross-country traveled to Civic Stadium in Bellingham to participate in the Northwest Conference (NWC) Championships, where seven varsity runners ran against the best of Whatcom County.
Despite solid performances from senior leaders and young freshmen alike, the Borderites weren’t able to hang with stalwart teams like Sehome, Anacortes and Bellingham, which rounded out the top-three. The Borderites finished 15th out of 15 teams with a combined team score of 414, but still posted sub-20 minute times from six out of seven of its athletes in the 5,000-meter race.
Freshman Emmanuel Rios-Martinez led the way for the Borderites with a time of 17:53.1, placing 65th in a field of 128 runners. Rios-Martinez was followed by Tucker Greene (18:29.3), Steven Phelps-McDonald (18:54.3), Verdaan Aujla (19:37), Ian Tuski (19:44.2), Jacob Troupe (19:46.7) and Sihaan Aujla (20:32.8).
The Borderites traveled to Deming to face Mt. Baker on October 25 with a chance to eke up the NWC standings with its first conference win of the season, but weren’t able to stop the Mountaineers’ stifling rushing attack, losing 49-12.
The Borderites (5-3, 0-3 NWC) couldn’t keep Mt. Baker (5-3, 1-3 NWC) from making big plays, giving up four touchdown rushes of more than 40 yards, and were forced to play from behind most of the game.
Senior running back Jaiden Paez continued his stellar season with another solid performance; 23 rushing attempts for 119 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Colin Davis also got in on the rushing action with 13 rushing attempts for 57 yards.
Thomas Cox brought in three catches for 47 yards, Kai Kerwin caught three passes for 40 yards, Blake Koreski had two catches for nine yards, and Colby Shipp and Peyton Bouma each had one reception.
Blaine will face third-place Meridian (5-3, 1-2 NWC) on Thursday, October 31 at 6 p.m. at Borderite Stadium with a chance to cause absolute chaos in the final week of the regular season.
With a Blaine win against Meridian and a Mt. Baker loss to non-conference opponent Omak on Thursday (both games were switched from Friday to simultaneous Thursday kickoffs), all three teams would finish the season with one conference win, and a mini-playoff would be needed to determine who makes it to the state 1A playoff.
If the Borderites can pull off a Cinderella end of the regular season, string together wins and make it to state, who’s to say they couldn’t go all the way?
Stats provided by WhatcomPreps.com
Blaine volleyball snapped a four-game losing skid with a tight, 3-2 win over Bellingham at home on October 23, getting a memorable senior night win.
The Borderites have made a habit out of winning its first set, then not being able to continue the momentum and ultimately losing the match. On senior night, the Borderites were able to put together a complete game, winning the first set 25-15, the third set 25-22 and the final, fifth set 15-12.
In the final home game of their Blaine careers, Kaitlyn Harrington tallied 16 kills, 21 digs and nine aces, Brie Smith had 34 assists and 13 digs, Olivia Price had six kills and three blocks. Those three, along with senior Liesl Schutt, were honored pre-game for their commitment to the volleyball team that saw a shakeup in coaching for the first time in years.
The win allowed Blaine (3-13, 2-12 NWC) to leapfrog 2A Bellingham in the NWC standings, and solidify Blaine’s spot as the four-seed when the District 1 1A playoffs begin on November 2.
After a 3-1 loss to Mt. Vernon on October 28, Blaine had one more regular season game on the road against Oak Harbor scheduled for Wednesday, October 30 at 7 p.m. (after press time) before facing last place Mt. Baker in the first round of the 1A playoffs on Saturday, November 2 at 1 p.m. at Meridian.
In the one meeting between Blaine and Mt. Baker this season,
the Borderites put on its best performances, winning in straight sets, 25-20, 25-15, 26-24, on October 8.
With Blaine locked in as the four-seed in the tournament, the game against Mt. Baker is a win-or-go-home scenario.
If the Borderites have a game like it did against the Mountaineers earlier in the season, the team should move on to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and face first-place powerhouse Meridian later that same day at 5 p.m.
Stats provided by WhatcomPreps.com
Blaine soccer didn’t finish the season on the note it wanted, capping off the regular season with a six-game losing streak and a 6-0 loss to Bellingham at home on senior night.
Fortunately for the Borderites (4-12, 3-12 NWC), the team can still revive the season with a run in the District 1 1A playoffs that began on October 26 with Nooksack Valley beating Mt. Baker 2-1.
The Borderites were scheduled to play second-place Meridian (4-11-1, 3-11-1 NWC) on Wednesday, October 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Borderite Stadium. The double-elimination tournament allows the Borderites to continue even with a loss to Meridian, but the Borderites will have to win at least two games to advance to the District 1/2 Crossover Tournament to determine state tournament seeding.
Blaine seniors Larissa Pluschakov, London Fletcher, Juliana Zuzarte and Bailey Baas have been integral to this and previous year’s teams, and will surely hope to extend their high school careers for as long as possible with postseason wins.
With a win against Meridian, the Borderites would face the winner of the October 30 Lynden Christian/Nooksack Valley game, and will face the loser of that game if they lose to Meridian. The entire tournament will be played at Borderite Stadium, offering Blaine some much-needed home field advantage as they take on a Meridian team they lost 1-0 to on October 1.
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