The winter sports season is over the halfway mark, and teams are already beginning to prepare for the postseason. Blaine’s competitive cheer team qualified for the WIAA state tournament, both basketball teams had a competitive week of games, and boys wrestling showed out at the Paul Reiman Memorial Tournament.
For the third consecutive year, the Blaine competitive cheer team qualified for the state championships, and will travel to Battle Ground High School for the two-day tournament on Friday, January 24 and Saturday, January 25.
At last year’s state tournament, Blaine competed in the 2B/1A/2A category, placing seventh.
The competitive cheer team has only been around for three seasons, starting in the winter 2022/23 season, and has qualified for the state tournament in each year of its existence.
Tickets for the two-day tournament are now on sale at wiaa.com/tickets.
After handling the Canadian Surrey Christian team 66-44 at home on January 6, the Blaine boys basketball team went on a two-game road trip, facing Mt. Baker – the third-to-last place Northwest Conference (NWC) team – and Lynden Christian – the NWC leader with an 8-0 conference record.
In both games, the Borderite defense couldn’t seem to stop either team, losing to Mt. Baker 59-40 on January 8, then losing more lopsidedly to Lynden Christian on January 10, 94-35.
Lynden Christian put up a 35-point first quarter and never looked back against the Borderites. Multiple Lyncs scored in the double digits on the night, while Blaine was led by 10 points from junior forward Landon Melton, and a perfect 4/4 shooting performance from senior guard Beckum Bleazard, who scored nine points on the night.
Coming back home to host Anacortes on January 14, the Borderites – again – found themselves in an early hole, trailing 12-0 to start the first quarter after Anacortes made its first three three-point attempts.
Anacortes kept Blaine in a full-court press on defense for most of the first half, forcing plenty of turnovers and easy transition points that made it even harder for Blaine to dig itself out of the early deficit.
Despite solid performances on offense from senior wing Josiah Weeda, and junior guards Daniel Banks and Kai Kerwin, the Borderites just couldn’t mount a comeback, losing 67-37.
The string of losses puts the Borderites at 3-9 overall with 0-8 NWC record, and the team now sits at the bottom of the conference table midway through the season.
Head coach Chas Kok said he hopes to see the team continuously improve over the course of the season, and come into the district playoffs playing its best basketball.
Blaine will go on another pair of road games, first against Nooksack Valley on Thursday, January 16, then to Whidbey Island to face Oak Harbor on Monday, January 20. The Borderites’ next home game will be on Thursday, January 23 against Lynden.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Girls basketball has been on a tough losing skid in the past week, dropping its last four games, despite a close loss to Mt. Baker at home on January 8.
The Borderites lost 58-37 to Mt. Baker, and despite a 21-point difference by the final buzzer, Blaine played one of its most competitive and complete games of the season. Mt. Baker held a 23-18 lead at halftime, but Blaine scored just three points in the third quarter, snuffing out any
hopes of a comeback despite a 16-point fourth quarter.
Sophomore guard Kate Koreski earned a rare double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds along with four steals, leading the Borderites in all three statistical categories.
Against Lynden Christian at home on January 10, the Lyncs’ full court press suffocated the Borderites, causing multiple turnovers, and not allowing Blaine to string possessions together and get its offense going. The Borderites fell 56-16.
Junior guard Brietta Sandell was a bright spot for Blaine’s offense that night, making two 3-pointers to lead the team with seven points along with two steals.
On the road against Anacortes, Blaine had its least productive offensive game of the season, scoring just five points, losing 57-5 on January 14.
Despite the recent skid, the Borderites remain out of last place in the conference, just ahead of Oak Harbor with a 3-10 record (0-7 NWC).
The Borderites will host Oak Harbor in a rescheduled game that was supposed to be held on January 7. The rematch is scheduled for Monday, January 20, tip-off at 7 p.m.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine boys wrestling traveled to Mt. Vernon on January 11 for the Paul Reiman Memorial Tournament, where Blaine faced off against five teams from across the state, winning two matches.
Blaine defeated Everett 45-35 and Monroe 48-30, but lost to Marysville Pilchuck 51-16, Silas 48-32 and White River 60-21.
Rhys Milligan, competing in the 175-pound weight class, won all five of his matchups, as did Aidyn Hancock in the 132-pound weight class.
Otto Shelton won three of his five heavyweight matchups, winning by fall in multiple rounds, including a 35 second win over Everett’s Julian Tabin and a 38 second win against Monroe’s Talon Rutledge.
Blaine is scheduled to host a match against Whatcom County rival Mt. Baker on Tuesday, January 21, starting at 6 p.m. The team has just one more scheduled date on the calendar before the postseason begins, travelling to Oak Harbor on Tuesday, January 28 to face Oak Harbor and Burlington-Edison.
The Blaine girls bowling team defeated Jackson on January 8 at Mt. Baker Lanes in Ferndale, winning 1547-1269.
Co-captain Shaylie Daniels led the team with a high score – and season-high – of 174. Each Borderite bowler scored a 120 or above on the night.
Head coach Matt McAuley said Daniels is one of the top-15 bowlers in the NWC, and continues to move up the point leaderboards as the season progresses. Ainslee Ellis is 20th in points, and Madi Miller is 30th.
The Borderites travel to face Anacortes at Riverside Lanes in Mt. Vernon on Friday, January 17, then to 20th Century Bowl in Bellingham to play Squalicum on Tuesday, January 21.
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