The gymnastics team went undefeated in the regular season, culminating with a win of the 2022 Metro League Championship. Senior Lilly Clarke won the Metro League floor title while sophomore Naomi Kildal won the Metro beam title. Other key contributors to the team's winning season - seniors Audrey Lepper & Nadine Harrison, junior Taylor Whetsel, sophomores Alex Bullock & Linden Fatland and freshmen Brooke & Caitlyn Adkins.

Both the girls and boys’ basketball teams had great seasons. First year head-coach Michelle Gallagher and her staff did an excellent job in preparing their athletes as we ended up with one of the highest seeds going into playoffs that we’ve had in a long time:

The girls’ basketball program had a very successful season! We started off strong with a high turnout and were able to have JVC, JV, and Varsity teams for the first time in years! All three teams competed competitively in the Metro League finishing with winning records, showing great teamwork and improvements throughout the season. Our teams showed strong commitment with resilient and positive attitudes, even with the challenges of injuries/illnesses and the ever changing Covid and spectator protocols.

The Varsity team placed second in our division, earning an automatic spot in the District Tournament for the first time in four years! To our Seniors: Trinity, Elsa, Samantha, Frannie, Camden, and Odessa: Thank you for your hard work, passion, and dedication to this program. You will be missed and we wish you nothing but the best in your futures! Our coaching staff feels lucky and honored to have worked with outstanding student athletes and are so proud of our teams! Thank you to our athletes, families, and to all who make this possible, for such a great season!

Varsity finished with a 14-9 record placing the team in 7th place in the Metro league, the highest rank finish since BHS returned to Metro in 2014. This team advanced to the final eight in Districts before losing a winner to state game against a very tough Eastside Catholic squad. We are extremely proud of our players who have an amazing work ethic, sense of team, and pride in each other. The team was led by senior captains Ian Macpherson, Carson Nakagawara and Drew Herrman with Josh Coacher leading the team in scoring. The players voted for the following season awards: Most Valuable Teammate Ian Macpherson, Most Improved Player Ralph Stinebrickner, Most Enthusiastic Teammate, Max Sevier and Defensive Stopper Carson Nakagawara. The basketball program consisted of three teams; JVC, JV and Varsity for a total of 34 players, 3 team managers and 8 coaches. This group started their commitment to the season with fall strength and conditioning with Coach Colin and early morning open gyms. They have shown growth in their understanding of the game as well as themselves. The entire program participated in the Long Talk in the Uncomfortable Truth antiracism activation program and the Varsity team participated in the Coaching Boys Into Men sexual assault prevention program. Participation in these programs demonstrates the players and coaches’ commitment to bettering themselves, each other and their community now and in the future. The lessons learned from these programs, their speakers and the discussions has led the team to a deeper awareness of the issues and has helped prepare them to step up as leaders and allies.

The JV team was coached by John Verduin and Patrick Sheehy and the JVC team was coached by Drew Blacksmith and Nathan Hartman. These teams practiced and played hard throughout the season and battled every game. These 37 student athletes prioritized the classroom by finishing out first semester with a program wide GPA of 3.55. In addition, the Varsity team consisting of 12 players and 2 managers has maintained a cumulative weighted GPA of 3.9 during their time at Ballard HS. These student athletes have made Ballard proud and should be celebrated for their work on the court, in the classroom and community.

We had some great performances by some of our wrestlers this year. Cassidy Sylves represented the Beaver Nation with strong performances all year and ended up winning Districts. She also made it the Tacoma Dome for the state tournament, along will Brendan Day and Cooper Vaughn. Our program had amazing numbers this year after losing some due to Covid last year. We have a young and talented group that will be doing great things on the mat in the future. Tell your kids to wrestle – they will be better humans after. Everyone is welcome!

The Ballard Boys’ Swim Team finished the regular season 5-2, only losing to Lakeside and Roosevelt who are both top-tier teams statewide. At Metros: 20 swimmers and divers qualified for Metro Championships. We earned 5 th place of 15 teams – our highest team finish in almost 15 years, beating rivals like Blanchet, Ingraham and Eastside Catholic! This was a huge surprise. Oliver Stacey was metro diving champion, Caleb Pook earned bronze. Kyle Chew was silver medalist in 100 butterfly and set a new Ballard record with a time of 52.62! At Districts: 10 boys qualified. Caleb Pook was diving champion and Oliver Stacey silver medalist – they head into the state meet seeded # 1 and 2 in 3A state! We had 6 boys qualify for the State Championship Meet (Feb 17-19) • Thomas Bioren in the 200 and 500 Freestyle – ranked 12th in state in both • Kyle Chew in the 100 Butterfly – ranked 9 th • Kyle, Thomas, Charlie Parker and Kian Vae’ena in the 400 Freestyle Relay – ranked 19th • Caleb Pook and Oliver Stacey in Diving - ranked 1 & 2 in 3A State! *Most Ballard Boys State participants since 2004!* – when I competed against Ballard in State.

The Ballard High School Dance Team just completed their regular season of competition, and will be heading into the post-season for the month of March. In January, the team received 3 rd Place in the Hip-Hop Category at the Redmond High School Dance Competition, and they have now qualified for Districts in both the Hip-Hop and Dance Categories. The team will head to Districts this Saturday, March 5th, at Mt. Si High School in North Bend. Good Luck BHS Dance Team!! Looking ahead to the Spring, the team will hold tryouts for the 2022-2023 school year on April 26th -29th , 2022. More information about tryouts can be found on the team website here: https://bhsdanceteam.wixsite.com/ballard/auditions. You may also email Coach Bethany at bhsdanceteam@gmail.com with any questions about tryouts.

 BUF featured Varsity and JV teams for the 2022 winter co-ed ultimate season. This year’s focus has been on rebuilding a team as the prior season was cancelled due to the pandemic. The players have reacquainted with each other, forming a tight-knit, competitive group, and had fun playing on weekends in all kinds of weather! Congratulations to our seniors: Millie Atack, Chamonix Reynolds, Willa Behrens, Luke Weaver, Cole Bianchi-Green, Nico Darringer, Colin Dunlap, and Zachary Stanley. The Varsity mixed team will participate in the Spring Reign Tournament the weekend of April 9 in Burlington, WA. Next up, the Girls spring season begins February 28.

Spring sports are just getting started. All schedules for WIAA sports can be found at metroleaguewa.org. Please come out to support our Beaver Athletes!

Thanks!

Eric Ensign

BHS Athletic Director

Are you out there with your camera during practice, games, or other team events? We are looking for great Ballard Athletics photos to share with our community through this newsletter, the Athletic Booster Club website, and our Instagram account! Share your sports photos with us HERE and YOUR photo could be the next one featured!

Are you a Ballard Athletics parent/fan who has been looking for just the right low-key volunteer opportunity with a great group of people? Are you interested in fostering school-wide athletic community and reducing barriers to play for all BHS athletes? Do you like to help parents connect with coaches and each other? We have a spot for you!

Think you might be interested? More info is available HERE. If you'd like to talk to someone about specifics, please email our Membership Coordinator, Beth Sylves (bhsabcmemberships@gmail.com). We would love to work with you!