A8
FRIDAY
March 1, 2019
Winter Sports
SeasideSignal.com
Seaside beats Banks
to win tie-breaker
Seaside basketball photo
The 2019 senior class of Seaside boys basketball.
By GARY HENLEY
Seaside Signal
ntering the Cowapa League first-
place tie-breaker Feb. 16 at Tilla-
mook, the Seaside boys basketball
team had a string of eight straight
wins in post-season play.
And the Gulls were not about to ruin that
mark.
Seaside made it nine straight playoff vic-
tories with a 51-42 win over Banks, giving
the Gulls the tie-breaker at the top of the
E
Cowapa League standings.
And the two teams may meet a fourth
time, as Banks and Seaside are on a col-
lision course for the state championship
game, March 9 in Forest Grove.
Just two days after the Braves scored a
54-53 upset over Seaside, the Gulls returned
the favor in the tie-breaker.
Seaside never trailed in the league play-
off, although the Braves rallied from a
37-27 deficit to start the fourth period, and
pulled to within 37-35 midway through the
quarter.
Seaside answered with 3-pointers from
Beau Johnson and Ryan Hague, and the
Gulls made six straight free throws in the
final minute to secure the win.
Hague led Seaside with 12 points, while
the team of Johnson & Johnson (Beau and
Brayden) combined for 22, 11 points apiece.
Brayden hit a 3-pointer to end the first
quarter, and made another to start the
second.
Each Johnson added another 3-pointer in
the second quarter, giving Seaside a com-
manding 28-16 halftime lead.
Seaside’s
Nelson takes
fifth at state
By GARY HENLEY
Seaside Signal
Impressive first day results for Clatsop
County wrestlers led to some big finishes
for the locals at the state meet, Feb. 22-23
at Portland’s Memorial Coliseum.
Combined,
wrestlers
from
Asto-
ria, Seaside,
Wa r r e n t o n
and Knappa
had six wins
(including one
bye) and two
losses in first
round matches
Seaside wrestling photo
on Day 1.
S e a s i d e Seaside’s Luke Nelson,
was 2-0 in the following one of his
first
round, victories in the state meet.
with wins by
Andrew Gastelum (3:04 pin against Maza-
ma’s Brycen Johnson) and Luke Nelson
(8-2 win vs. Lincoln Clark of La Grande).
The two victories were the first wins for
the Gulls in state tournament competition
since 2006.
Gastelum was pinned in the quarter-
finals, won his first match in consola-
tion (12-9 decision over Mazama fresh-
man Savien Burk), before being pinned by
Woodburn’s Marcos Hernandez.
Nelson also lost by fall in the quarter-
finals, but then won twice in consolation,
with a 2-1 win over Matthew Horrillo
of Siuslaw and a major decision (11-3)
against Kody Zemke of Madras.
Nelson dropped a 4-2 decision to Tyler
Morris of Junction City, but again came
back strong, winning the fifth-place match
with a 9-1 decision over Tillamook’s Daw-
son McKibbin.
Scoreboard
Swimmers compete at state
The North Coast did not send many swim-
mers to the final day of the OSAA state meet,
held Feb. 15-16 at Tualatin Hills Aquatic
Center in Beaverton. But swimmers from
Seaside still made the most of their appear-
ance in Friday’s preliminaries.
For the Gulls, “We didn’t make it to
the second day, but had some really great
swims,” said Seaside coach Shane Spell.
“The 200 free relay dropped two seconds
from their district winning time (1:52.46)
and moved up one spot from their original
seed (to 1:50.21). Great relay splits across
the board.”
In addition, “Kendy Lin had less than 10
SPORTS IN BRIEF
minutes to turn around and swim her 100
backstroke,” Spell said. “Lifetime best by
over a second (1:06.63) and moved up three
spots from her original seed (from 11th to
eighth). I’m thankful that the seniors got
to finish the season strong and some of our
younger swimmers got a peak at what is pos-
sible next year.”
Merchants hold tryouts
The North Coast Merchants, a fastpitch
club for local softball players age 8-16, is
holding tryouts Saturday, March 9, at War-
renton High School.
Tryouts will be held rain or shine, with
a tryout fee of $10 per player if registered
before March 4, or $20 day of the tryouts.
Scheduled times are 9 a.m. To noon for
8-12-year olds, and 1-4 p.m. for ages 12-plus.
Players should bring gloves, helmet,
bat and shoes for both indoor and outdoor
practice.
For more information, contact or call
coach Ian O’Brien at 253-720-7970, or email
at: obrieni @ warrentonk12 .org. Players
can also message the North Coast Merchant
Facebook page, or contact coach Morgan
Streeter at 541-226-6535, or email morgan.
streeter22 @ gmail.com.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Seaside 51, Banks 42
BAN (42): Blake Gobel 11, Bunn 8, Cameron 6, Slifka 5, Klein 4,
Hiestand 4, Evans 2, Exline 2.
SEA (51): Ryan Hague 12, Br.Johnson 11, Be.Johnson 11,
Januik 7, Thompson 6, Westerholm 4, Meyer.
Banks
8
8
11
15—42
Seaside
11
17
9
14—51
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Seaside 41, Molalla 31
SEA (41): Lilli Taylor 19, Blodgett 8, Kiser 7, Douglas 7.
MOL (31): Madeline Lisac 10, Myers 7, Nogle 3, Nelzen 2,
Nacoste 2, Wood 2, Curry 2, Burge 2, Greer 1.
Seaside
11
12
5
13—41
Molalla
5
7
10
9—31
Astoria 44, Seaside 42
SEA (42): Lilli Taylor 9, Turner 8, Blodgett 6, Kiser 6, Goin 4,
Douglas 4, Garhofer 3, Zagata 2.
AST (44): Brooklynn Hankwitz 17, Norris 11, Fausett 9, O’Brien
5, Helmersen 2, Long, Jackson.
Seaside
8
10
12
12—42
Astoria
14
10
6
14—44
Sweet(!) Sixteen for Seaside girls after playoff win
By GARY HENLEY
Seaside Signal
Seaside’s 2-6 league record may not look
like it belongs in the Sweet 16, but that’s
where the Gulls are headed, following a
Class 4A girls basketball play-in game Feb.
22 at Molalla.
The Gulls clinched their spot in the final
16 with a 41-31 win over Molalla, improv-
ing Seaside’s overall record to 14-13 and
sending the Gulls on to the first round of the
state playoffs.
Lilli Taylor scored 19 points for Seaside,
which is one win away from returning to the
state tournament for the first time in three
years, when they took third in 2016-17.
The Gulls will open the state playoffs
Saturday at Baker. The Bulldogs finished
second in the final OSAA rankings — but
they haven’t faced a team from the tough
Cowapa League, which has four teams
among the final 16.
“Well, we were able to sneak our way
into the state tournament, and Marla (Olst-
edt, assistant coach) and I couldn’t be more
proud to accompany this group,” Hawes
said.,” said Seaside coach Mike Hawes,
whose team won a first round playoff game
Colin Murphey/Seaside Signal
Seaside’s Lilli Taylor, left, and Ruby Douglas try to stop Astoria’s Hailey O’Brien on a drive to the
hoop in the league playoff game Feb. 18.
at Molalla in the 2016-17 season, 38-31.
If they win Saturday, the Gulls would
face either Junction City or Stayton in a
first round game of the state tournament,
March 7 at 8:15 p.m. at Forest Grove
High School (the Seaside boys will likely
be playing at 8:15 p.m. the same night, at
Pacific University).
Molalla scored the first three points of
the game, but Seaside’s Emy Kiser scored
the next seven off a steal, an offensive
rebound and a 3-pointer. And the Gulls
never looked back.
Back-to-back scores from Morgan
Blodgett and Lilli Taylor gave Seaside a
15-7 lead. Ruby Douglas hit a 3-pointer to
counter a trey by the Indians, and Blodgett
knocked down a triple as time expired in
the second quarter to give the Gulls a com-
manding 23-12 halftime lead.
Seaside had to weather a brief third
quarter rally by the Indians, who closed to
within 26-22, but the Gulls went to their
go-to play — Taylor at the free throw line.
The freshman finished 11-for-12 at the
line, including 7-for-8 in the fourth quar-
ter alone. With limited defensive pressure
from the Indians, the Gulls closed it out
with easy scores by Taylor and Douglas in
the final 1:20 to pull away.
In addition to her 19 points, Taylor
had five rebounds and five assists. Doug-
las added nine points, Blodgett had eight
points and nine boards. Kiser finished with
seven points, as only four Seaside players
scored.
“The second half (the Indians) made a
run and switched to man, and eventually we
just turned it over to our freshman,” Hawes
said. “We ask an awful lot from this young-
ster, but sometimes she just has to be the
best player on the floor, and tonight she cer-
tainly was.”
SEASIDE SPORTS SUPERFANS
SEASIDE
WELLNESS
CENTER
Mental Health Therapy
Children, Adolescents,
and Adults
503.717.5284
seasidewellnesscenter.net
CCB# 205283
Best of luck
this Season!
To be a
Go Gulls!
LEAN
C
C S WEEP SUPERFAN
McCALL
Call April
503.738.5561
WARRENTON • 503-861-3252 • 1167 S.E. Marlin Ave.
SEASIDE • 503-738-9243 • 2155 S. Roosevelt Dr.
S
PAVING &
EXCAVATION
1570 Lewis & Clark Rd., Seaside
503-738-7556
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