Braves Sports, April 4, 2012

Photo by Karla Reynolds

La Conner thinclads get the jump on track foes

By Bill Reynolds

There was no way the La Conner High track teams were going to blow a chance last week to shine against big school rivals.

Even if it meant having to weather gusty conditions at a four-team meet in Anacortes.

Ultimately, La Conner got the jump on its competition, at least in the field events.

Landy James paced the Braves' thinclads by capturing the high jump, 5'-10", while La Conner's Emily Anderson claimed the girls' triple jump with a best effort of 30'-4".

Jamall James, meanwhile, clinched second place in the boys' triple jump, stretching the tape to 40'-10.5."

Anderson was nearly a dual winner, finishing second, 4'-6", in the girls' high jump.

She also ran legs of the sprint and 800 meter relays for the Lady Braves, who placed third in each event.

Kelsie Crawford, Priscilla Ponce-Venegas, Anderson, and Katie McKnight combined to clock a :55.40 in the 4x100. 

The same quartet posted a time of 1:57.63 in the 4x200 meters.

Anderson said afterward the weather contributed the afternoon's mixed results.

"I had a really off day in high jump," she conceded, despite the runnerup finish against entrants from larger schools. "I'm not sure if it was the wind or not. But running both relays on the back stretch was really difficult in the wind.

"But, for the triple jump, I won," she noted. "I think the wind was going with us then so it wasn't really an issue in that event."

Ponce-Venegas was another Lady Brave to finish in the Top Three in a solo event.

The La Conner senior placed third in the 300 meter hurdles, clocking a :52.50 in that event's final heat.

McKnight finished fourth in both the 200 meters,:29.06, and javelin, 83'-8", while Crawford was fourth in the long jump, 14'-5.5",  and fifth in the 100 dash, :14.78.

Lydia Lenning placed fifth in the 1600 meters, 6:38.04, a finish matched by Ponce-Venegas in the javelin, 82'-9".

Lenning was also sixth at 3200 meters, nearly breaking the 15-minute mark. She was clocked at 15:00.91. 

La Conner's Chrissy Barsness, Marina Kochuten, Kelby Herstad, and Victoria O'Brien were timed at 5:17.34, good enough for fifth place in the girls' mile relay.

Amber Drye posted Top Ten placements in the shot put, discus, and triple jump.

On the boys' side, the Braves' Nathan Parker was second in the discus and third in the shot put. Parker went 124'-6" in the discus, and 41'-2" in the 12-pound shot.

La Conner sprinter Mitchell Grant, just a freshman, placed fourth in the 200 meters at :24.50.

Versatile Nathan Sybrandy and Todd Hoagland once again were all over the time sheet.

Sybrandy was fifth in the 1600 meters, 5:00.69, and fifth in the 800, 2:30.18.

Hoagland finished fourth in the 400 meters,  :56.13, and eighth in the 200, :25.04.

Sybrandy and Hoagland each ran legs of La Conner's mile relay, which finished second in 3:54.80. Jamall James and Dahlton Zavala rounded out the Brave quartet.

Hoagland, Jamall James, Landy James, and Zavala were runnersup in the sprint relay, completing the 4x100 in :46.22.

It was yet another busy outing for Landy James, who rounded out his meet with a fifth place finish in the javelin , 142'-6".

Zavala, 100 meters;  Jordan Romanelli, 200 meters, 300 meter hurdles;  Grant, 400 meters; Mitch Roth, 110 meter hurdles; and Jimmy Garcia, 300 meter hurdles, added Top Ten finishes at Anacortes for the Braves.

Mount Baker erupts in twin wins over Braves

By Bill Reynolds

Life was a beach Monday for La Conner High's baseball and softball teams, both of whom opened Spring Break with double-digit setbacks at Mount Baker.

It was a matter of offenses getting stuck in quicksand for the La Conner clubs, neither of which was at full strength due to players being away on spring vacation.

The Braves fell 12-2 to the potent Mountaineers.

The Lady Braves, with starting pitcher Emma Christianson unavailable, were defeated 18-2.

But all wasn't lost in either case.

The La Conner softball team received outstanding relief pitching from Olivia Hedlund and sterling defensive play at shortstop by Kelley McClung.

McClung also delivered an RBI safety in support of Hedlund, who threw over 50 per cent strikes and yielded just six tallies after taking over the circle late in the first frame.

With the Lady Braves playing shorthanded, coach Michael Bliss used the game as an opportunity to give players work at different positions.

Lexi Nelson, for instance, debuted at second base and turned in a flawless performance.

"We didn't have any errors," Bliss said afterward. "It's just that Mount Baker is such a good hitting team.

"This game," he said, "was a good learning experience for us. What I liked is our girls stayed positive the whole time."

Lauren Reynolds had two doubles and drove in one of La Conner's two runs.

Hayden Schmidt led the La Conner boys at Mount Baker, going three-for-three at the plate while also pitching four solid innings.

The game was closer than the final score indicates, said Braves' coach Jeremiah LeSourd, noting that Mount Baker was held fairly in check other than a seven-run eruption in the fifth.

La Conner had bolted to a fast start, with Tanner Cyr leading off the game with a double and then scoring on the first of Schmidt's three base hits, an RBI single to right.

Trailing 2-1, the Braves briefly deadlocked the contest in the fourth when Taylor Swanson drove in Cameron Sherman with a single.

Mount Baker added three insurance scores in the sixth.