TACOMA — Relays were the focus for North Kitsap Saturday during the finals of the West Central District 4A swim meet at Foss High School and a pair of Viking foursomes saw solid improvement after qualifying through preliminary heats Feb. 3.
Junior Jeffrey Reeves was the lone individual to make a splash for North in the finals, swimming in the 100 meter backstroke and 100M freestyle, finishing sixth and 11th, respectively.
BREMERTON — Saturday’s semifinal round of the Narrows League subregional wrestling meet was a bittersweet cycle for North Kitsap, but the two days of competition has increased confidence.
“The first two rounds we came out and started pinning people; that was great to see,†said NK coach Jon Cooke. “We were chasing that first place trophy and (the team) could see it was within reach.â€
PORT ORCHARD — The South Kitsap Wolves laid their Narrows League dual meet winning streak on the line Jan. 24 as North Kitsap came to town steaming with the opportunity to disrupt South’s run and devour league championship honors.
But North’s hopes were bruised by a 52-16 loss that extended South’s streak to 130. It was also a loss that was not quite indicative of the meet, said NK coach Jon Cooke.
POULSBO — Turn the corner.
Washington high school wrestling, along with the rest of winter sports, has rounded the halfway mark of the 2005-06 season, and the North Kitsap Vikings are accelerating out of the turn.
The varsity Viking grapplers kicked it into high gear before the start of the new year at a 12-team tournament at North Mason High School Dec. 30.
POULSBO — Solidify.
That is the demanding goal of the North Kitsap High School Wrestling team after Olympic’s lighter crew outweighed the Viking big men to cruise to a 42-31 victory.
Nick Miller started the match out right for North. After an aggressive start, he pinned Lukas Kogut in the waning seconds of the first period. Viking sophomore Anthony Lindfors followed in similar fashion against R.J. Hout.
POULSBO — No diving.
The waves have been rolling again at the North Kitsap pool as Viking strokes and kicks splash into the 2005-06 season. Individual goals will be the fuel of this year’s crew, said head coach Greg Braun.
OH — Melissa Liechty, Central Kitsap — Liechty has had no problem filling the shoes of Lindsey Fryer, leading the county with 264 kills this season. Just a junior, she also recorded 181 digs and 29 aces for the Bridge Division champs.
POULSBO — For the past few seasons, the North Kitsap girls swim and dive team has had to deal with the notion that personal success — not overall team achievement — is the only possibility in the pool.
Up against teams that are sometimes three times the size as the Vikings, North in the past has often lost matches simply because there weren’t enough swimmers to compete against large squads like Shelton and South Kitsap.
KINGSTON — Laurel Siegenthaler remembers well that first time as a youngster when she tried out her sea legs.
But it wasn’t exactly the way you’d expect a member of University of Washington’s sailing team — a squad ranked in the nation’s top 20 programs — to get her start in the sport.
POULSBO — Halfway through the 2005 season, it didn’t look as if the North Kitsap Vikings soccer team was going anywhere near the post-season.
Granted, a record hovering around .500 was an improvement over years past — NK won only two games in 2003 — but the mark would clearly not make the cut in a competitive Narrows League Bridge Division.
POULSBO — Numerous tall, white-sheeted fins cut back and forth through the waters of Liberty Bay, cruising amidst one another this Tuesday in what appeared to be seemingly endless chaos.
In the spring, this scene plays out most afternoons near the Poulsbo Marina, as the North Kitsap Sailing Team competes in mock races between its own boats so on the weekends, it can travel to take on other high school squads.
POULSBO — North Kitsap High School senior soccer player Marc Anderson came into the season with talent, much experience and versatility.
And in one single decision, North Kitsap head coach Pat Stickney uncovered one more attribute that Anderson had not yet fully developed — on-the-field maturity.
POULSBO — Spring break for these guys was no day at the beach.
The North Kitsap baseball squad took on Bremerton in a two-game series last week and hosted non-league Capital Friday, coming away with three wins in three games.
Especially noteworthy was a win over the Cougars in a 7-5 game that saw the Vikings get out of a jam in the seventh with the bases loaded. But being in those situations with tough non-league opponents can only make North better, said head coach Steve Frease.
POULSBO — North Kitsap’s senior post Ryan Young said he could hear the crowd, all of North’s fans and even the ripples of the hardwood, as he approached the two foul shots that would determine the Vikings’ playoff fate versus the Kentridge Chargers.
“I could definitely hear the fans. I could even feel the floor vibrate,” Young said. “But once I step up to the line, it’s just me and the free throw line.”
KINGSTON — The shiny, clean shaven head of new Cavaliers’ assistant wrestling coach Bobby Reece may not be the only buzz-cut sported by the Kingston coaching staff come the end of the season.
“I told the guys that if we’re league champions, I’ll even shave my head,” said veteran head coach Chris Gilbreath.
POULSBO — Being a female in a predominantly-male sport is something that NKHS senior wrestler Tara Williams has grown accustomed to.
However, that doesn’t mean those wrestling against her have made the adjustment. And as a result, many in her path have paid the price on the mats.
“I wrestled a kid in sixth grade,” Williams said of one of her past victories, “And the guys there still tease him about it.”
POULSBO – Despite having two of its top wrestlers on the bench with injuries, the North Kitsap Vikings wrestling team squeaked out a 40-33 victory Tuesday versus Olympic, winning the meet in a dramatic and high-spirited contest between the squads’ 130 pounders.
SILVERDALE — The North Kitsap Wrestling Team, looking to improve under second-year coach Jon Cooke, took its lumps but also gained valuable experience at the perennial Matman tournament, held Saturday at Central Kitsap High School.
POULSBO — Though there were several close head-to-head battles against veteran swimmers, the sheer size and strength of the South Kitsap Wolves swim and dive squad powered the team to an easy 134-44 win against their rivals North Thursday.
The North Kitsap Wrestling team lost its first two matches of the Thomas Jefferson High School tournament Saturday but regained its footing for its first two wins of the season as well.
