The clock is ticking for sports in 2005

Sports fans have a lot to contemplate as 2005 comes to a close.

The year provided countless thrills as state championships were won and lost.

As always, the athletes were the ones who provided the most vivid moments of triumph, despair and inspiration.

Here is a recap of the most memorable personalities and teams from the last 12 months.

Helmer captures 3,200-meter championship at state track meet

With about 200 meters to go in the boys 3,200 finals, Jackson senior Jeff Helmer saw Gig Harbor’s Tommy Betterbed pull into the lead.

Helmer, who had led the race almost from the start, saw his chance for the first-place finish he had worked so hard all season for slipping away.

Not so fast.

Drawing on reserves he didn’t know he had at the time, Helmer regrouped and overtook Betterbed to win a thrilling 3,200 at the Class 4A state track and field championships June 3 at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco.

“I wasn’t sure if I had anything left in the tank,” Helmer said. “Somehow I found the extra gear. I just knew that coming into it, it was going to come down to who wanted it more. I knew I wanted it incredibly bad. I just went for it.”

Helmer made history by becoming the first Class 4A state champion in Jackson history.

When Betterbed first surged into the lead, Helmer initially thought the race was over.

But only for an instant.

“Then I just told myself I’m not going to settle for second,” Helmer said. “I just took a shot at it and took a risk and it worked out.”

Citing Olympic champion Bill Mills, the 1964 gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, as inspiration, Helmer said he rebounded from his moment of despair and “just felt like I had that extra gear when I needed it.”

As Helmer crossed the finish line, he raised his arms high in celebration. Shortly after, he yelled, “I love you Grandpa!” honoring Bud Truscan of Renton, the man in the stands who Helmer said never misses his grandson run.

Former Cascade coach

returns to the bench

In 1999 John Barhanovich walked away from his job as a successful high school girls basketball coach, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Guess what? He’s back.

Barhanovich, 50, is the new head coach of the Archbishop Murphy High School girls basketball team. Since resigning from Cascade about six years ago, he had more time to see his wife, Diana, and watch his three children grow up. And when Barhanovich recently saw a chance to reunite with a former co-worker, Archbishop Murphy athletic director Terry Ennis, he had to take it — after mulling it over with his family, of course.

Barhanovich, a 1972 graduate of Everett High, has 15 years of experience coaching girls basketball. He was Cascade’s head coach from 1991-1999 and worked as a volunteer varsity assistant there the past three years. He guided Cascade to its first state tournament appearance in 1999. The Bruins reached the semifinals, finishing sixth.

Barhanovich replaced Bill Kelley, whose contract was not renewed after 14 seasons at the school (formerly Holy Cross).

Jackson takes third at

state baseball tourney

Jackson didn’t get much sleep after its tough loss to Skyline in the Class 4A state baseball semifinals last June.

The coaches and the players stayed up all night thinking about what went wrong in the 3-1 defeat to the Spartans.

The bus ride from Mill Creek to Cheney Stadium the next morning for the third/fourth place game against Western Conference rival Cascade was noticeably quieter than usual, according to Jackson coach Kirk Nicholson.

“There wasn’t a lot of talking going on,” he said. “That was a long, hard night. I don’t know about the kids, but I slept about two hours last night, replaying things in my mind.”

Junior right fielder Travis Snider also stayed up late contemplating the future.

“It was real quiet on the bus ride down here this morning,” he said. “I know myself I was up hours just thinking about what we’re going to do next year to get back here and go to the championship game.

“It’s tough to lose a game like we did last night, but that’s baseball.”

The Timberwolves appeared to chase some of their blues away by pounding out a 10-2 victory over the Bruins in the June 4 consolation final at Cheney Stadium.

The third-place finish was the highest ever for Jackson (21-6 overall), which had never made it to the final four prior to this season.

“A lot of people say third/fourth place, it doesn’t matter,” said pitcher Cam Nobles, who scattered four hits and struck out 10 in a complete-game effort. “We came out and played our best like it was any other game and got the W.”

Jackson softball team

advances to state

The breaks didn’t go Jackson’s way at the Class 4A state softball tournament and as a result, the Timberwolves’ postseason run was cut short.

But the Wolfpack’s two-and-out appearance didn’t diminish the accomplishments of a young team that came into the season with a lot of questions.

“We had a great season,” said junior catcher Lindsylee Wheadon. “It started off where we didn’t know how far we’d get. We got really far. This is more than we could have thought.”

With only a pair of seniors on the roster, Jackson fielded one of the younger teams at the South End Recreation Area fields. The Timberwolves’ roster included three juniors, six sophomores and a freshman.

This was the first appearance at state for most of the Timberwolves and senior pitcher Rachel Koenig-Eng expects the experience to benefit the returning players.

“Our team is real young,” Koenig-Eng said. “It was a tough loss, but I think they’ll do good next year and the years to come … a lot of our team is really young. We have a lot of sophomores and one freshman and they’re going to create a team the next couple of years.”

This year’s state appearance was the Wolfpack’s first since 1999.

“They had a great season,” said Jackson coach Mike Moran said. “Definitely our youth showed at times a lot … up here you’ve got to make every play and we didn’t. But I think they realized, hopefully, what it takes to play at state. They have a lot to be proud of.

Lillibridge back at Jackson

Suzi Lillibridge has traveled back to the future.

Lillibridge became the new head volleyball coach at Jackson High School, although “new” is a bit misleading. She was the program’s first coach back when the Mill Creek school opened, about 11 years ago.

Lillibridge, 51, coached Jackson for five years before starting the volleyball program at Heatherwood Middle School and becoming an assistant at Jackson.

Lillibridge took over for Amy Riesinger, who left Jackson to coach Lake Stevens.

“Originally, I had planned to not apply,” said Lillibridge, who led Jackson to Class 3A state tournament appearances in 1996 and 1997. “But I realized I was the best candidate and I needed to step up.”

Bartley records 300th

career victory

Mike Bartley’s phone was abuzz following the Jackson girls soccer team’s victory over Everett.

The 4-0 win marked a milestone for the Wolfpack girls soccer coach — his 300th career victory. Players from Bartley’s past teams were quick to get on the line to congratulate Bartley on his accomplishment.

Bartley was glad he was able to share the experience with his girls team.

The players felt the same way.

“For him to get his 300th win, (it) was just so exciting to be a part of that because I don’t know of any other coaches that have gotten 300 wins,” said sophomore forward Kristi Kingma. “It couldn’t have happened to a better person.”

Bartley is entering his third season at the helm of the Jackson girls program. He previously coached the Meadowdale girls from 1997-2002, the Jackson boys from 1995-2005, the Issaquah boys from 1993-94 and the Eastside Catholic girls from 1986-93. Bartley’s teams have won three Metro League titles, five Wesco South Division titles, two district titles and he has guided nine teams to the state playoffs.

“I’m really happy it (300th win) with the girls,” Bartley said. “The girls thought that was really something neat to be a part of … I’ve had three great schools that allowed me the opportunity to win games. I’ve had great players who made it much easier for me to get it done.”

Helmer wins state

cross country title

As a particularly massive gust of wind blasted his body, Jeff Helmer experienced a rare moment of uncertainty. Maybe the dream he’d worked toward since he was in the seventh grade simply wasn’t meant to be.

“I started to doubt myself slightly,” said Helmer, a senior at Jackson High School who held a tenuous lead at the 2-mile mark of the Class 4A state boys cross country race when his confidence withered.

But wait, this was just some measly wind. Helmer overcame so much more over the last few years. There were injuries, including a hip problem that slowed him a year ago. There were towering, mind-warping expectations. There was even jealousy from some of the competition.

So in the big picture, a little wind was nothing, and Helmer quickly morphed his moment of doubt into a day of glory during the 2005 State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course this Fall.

Helmer pulled away over the final third of the 3.1-mile course and won the 4A state title in 15 minutes, 40 seconds. Kentwood junior Michael Chinchar was second (15:51).

In the finish area, an ecstatic group of supporters embraced Helmer. His fans included current and former teammates, coaches and, of course, Mom and Dad, who received the first post-race hugs.

Helmer won the 3,200-meter 4A track title last spring. But he said the victory was more special because he craves cross country’s longer distance and soothing scenery.

“The fall is my favorite season,” said Helmer, who runs about 90 miles a week. “I like seeing all the leaves on the ground.”

Jackson falls in football

playoff game

It is a cold, hard fact that even in good weather, points don’t come easy against these guys.

Wind, rain and Olympia’s vaunted defense thoroughly grounded Jackson’s high flying offense and the Bears defeated the Timberwolves 29-12 in a 4A quad-district playoff game Nov. 5 at Ingersoll Stadium.

Jackson saw its season come to an end with a 5-5 mark.

Hounded constantly by the unrelenting Olympia defense, Jackson quarterback Jake Gelakoska completed just eight of 36 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. His hands were affected by the cold conditions as were those of his receivers.

“My hands were a little cold,” Gelakoska understated. “Those were tough conditions for our offense.”

Jackson bid farewell to a quality group of seniors, but Gelakoska said the junior class is ready to pick up the gauntlet.

“Next year I hope Wesco watches out,” Gelakoska said. “We’ll be stepping up big.”

Jackson’s Ha swims in 4A finals

The Jackson girls swim team experienced surprises, both of the good and not so good variety, at the Class 4A state championships.

Two of the Timberwolves made splashes by advancing to the finals and consolation finals, while the veteran of the squad battled through adversity to contribute to the Wolfpack’s relays.

Sophomore Stephanie Ha took sixth place overall in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in with a time of 1 minute, 4.04 seconds, .20 seconds faster than her preliminary time.

“It was the best of my season,” Ha said. “I just wanted to keep it easy and slow in the beginning and build and just go all out.”

Ha also swam on the Wolfpack’s 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays, which finished 10th and ninth, respectively. The Jackson sophomore swam the anchor leg on both relays. Ha also competed in the 100 backstroke preliminaries.

“She dropped three seconds (in the 100 butterfly) since the beginning of the year,” said Jackson coach Drew Whorley said. “It was a lifetime best … she’s been great. She was just an outstanding swimmer this weekend.”

Jackson freshman Marina Pomar-Enders, who got her first taste of state competition, advanced to the 500 freestyle consolation finals where she finished 15th (5:20.42).

Pomar-Enders also swam on both of Jackson’s relays and was an alternate in the 200 freestyle.

Whorley sees a bright future ahead for Pomar-Enders, Ha and the Jackson team.

“They (freshmen) don’t know they can get to state until they get there,” Whorley said. “She (Pomar-Enders) swam really well at districts to get herself here. She swam fantastic over the course of the season. In a lot of ways she was kind of the surprise of the year. She’s such a great competitor … she was critical to the team’s success on the relays.

“We really have a bright future.”

Jackson senior Amber Pleasant, who finished third in the 50 and 100 freestyles at the 2004 state meet, ran into some bad luck this time around and did not qualify for the finals in either event.

A week before the state championships, Pleasant got sick and went home from school with a fever of 103 degrees. Pleasant felt worse as the days went on and went to the doctor, who diagnosed her with bronchitis.

Pleasant missed three days of school preceding last week’s state meet and struggled at practice.

“Every breath she was taking up until yesterday she was coughing,” Whorley said.

In the 50 freestyle preliminaries, Pleasant had a bad start and ended up finishing 18th overall. She placed 19th in the 100 freestyle.

“I think she swam well this weekend,” Whorley said. “It’s just we got started on the wrong foot yesterday in the 50. She just had a bad start. Her feet kind of got stuck on the block a little bit. It’s tough to come back from that, especially from an athlete that expects as much as she does from herself and has had the success that she has had in the past.”

Timberwolves finish third

at state soccer tourney

The Jackson girls soccer team accomplished its goal.

A year after finishing fourth at the Class 4A state tournament, the Timberwolves found themselves back in the final four.

The Wolfpack’s objective since the start of the season was to do better than the fourth-place finish in 2004.

Senior Dani Oster made sure the Wolfpack made good on its pledge by scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Western Conference North Division rival Lake Stevens in the third/fourth place game Nov. 19 at Harry Lang Stadium.

The third-place finish is the highest ever for a Jackson girls soccer team and the victory avenged an earlier loss to the Vikings in the Northwest District 4A championship game.

The Timberwolves’ hopes for a state title were thwarted by eventual champion Tahoma, who defeated Jackson 1-0 in a Nov. 18 semifinal matchup.

Coming back after the loss was difficult, but the Wolfpack was able to regroup and refocus.

“We were disappointed because we were hoping to make it to the finals, but we just rallied together and gave it our all,” said Oster, who finished with a team-high 20 goals and 17 assists. “I think we wanted it more … and we got what we wanted.”

Sophomore Kristi Kingma and several other underclassmen wanted to make sure Oster and the other four seniors went out with a victory.

“Just coming into the game, we wanted to do it for the seniors,” Kingma said. “I’m going to miss Dani so much. I can’t imagine not playing with her.”

Kingma finished the season with 19 goals and 14 assists. Many of Kingma’s goals were via assists by Oster and many of the assists went to Oster, who is headed to the University of Oregon.

“Kristi and I worked so well up front,” Oster said. “We just have this chemistry. I don’t know where it comes from, but we just play so well together and it showed again today.”

Wildcats place third

at 2A tournament

So near, so far.

The Archbishop Murphy girls soccer team has been there so many times, been so close, only to come up short of an elusive state title.

East Valley of Yakima thwarted the Wildcats’ latest title hopes 2-1 in a Nov. 18 state semifinal game at Harry Lang Stadium.

Archbishop Murphy rebounded from the loss to beat an injury-riddled Meridian team 5-0 in the third-place match, Nov. 19.

“Third place is still really respectable,” said Wildcats senior co-captain Ashley Reinig, who notched a hat trick against Meridian and finished with a team-high 22 goals. “We worked hard all season to get here.”

The Wildcats have made the state semifinals five consecutive years, three times as a Class 1A school and the last two seasons as a Class 2A school. During the run they’ve finished second twice and third three times.

Archbishop Murphy (18-4) dominated Meridian start to finish, in the third meeting between the two teams this season. The Wildcats beat the Trojans during the regular season and lost to them in the District 1 championship in a shootout.

Wildcats edged in 2A title game

The Archbishop Murphy football team left the field with no regrets after the Class 2A state championship game.

Except for the final score.

Pullman scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter and then withstood a drive deep into its own territory to edge the Wildcats 28-24 in the Dec. 3 showdown at the Tacoma Dome.

“We played our hearts out. We did all that we could,” said senior running back/defensive back Shiloh Keo. “We made little mistakes here and there, but it’s a game and stuff like that happens. There’s nothing we could have done. They’re a good team, a great team. I wish that the scoreboard could have read differently at the end of the game.”

The championship game was the third time in four years that Archbishop Murphy advanced to the finals. The Wildcats won Class 1A state titles in 2002 and 2003 and lost in the Class 2A state semifinals in 2004. This was Pullman’s first state title.

For Archbishop Murphy coach Terry Ennis, the pride he felt in his players’ performance far outweighed the sting of the loss.

“What we’ll remember much more than the score of the game will be our effort, our preparation and our teamwork and how badly they wanted to play together, to finish out the season,” Ennis said. “I saw that right to the bitter end, so that’s my fondest memory now.”

The loss marked the final high school game for 18 seniors, many of whom helped the Wildcats win 53 of their past 55 games.

Archbishop Murphy’s accomplishments this season are what will stay with senior running back/defensive lineman Chris Hoerauf. A second-place trophy wasn’t a bad way to close out the season.

“We’re so proud. We made so many strides this year,” Hoerauf said. “We just kept building every week as a team. We just kept getting better every week. I wouldn’t go to battle with anyone else except with all the guys you saw out on the field tonight.”

As a freshman, senior running back/linebacker Stan Smith admitted he came into the program not really knowing what high school football was all about. By the end of the four years, Smith was a two-time league offensive most valuable player.

Smith was glad to have the opportunity to finish out his high school football career with all his friends by his side.

“You look around. Everybody that’s a starter you’ve been playing with for four years,” Smith said. “It’s just a great feeling to look around and see everybody you’ve played with for four years.”

The senior leadership kept Archbishop Murphy (14-1) sharp throughout the regular season despite a string of blowouts. The Wildcats outscored the opposition 521-91 during the regular season.

The players never became complacent, Ennis said, and they always came to practice ready to work and take direction from the coaching staff.

“They knew they were going to work extremely hard on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, regardless of what the score of the game had been,” Ennis said.

In his 34 years as a head coach, Ennis has run into players, at times, who after a string of wins start to think they know more than the coaching staff. That never happened with the Wildcats.

“It’s very unique,” Ennis said. “I guess the way best to put it is they were so receptive to our coaching … they didn’t fight you and they didn’t act like they had all the answers. They never got big headed. That is a great quality for the kids to have.”

While the championship game marked the final football game for many of the 18 seniors, it doesn’t mark the end of the friendships and the bonds that developed among the players and coaches.

“It is my life,” Hoerauf said of the football program. “I intend to still keep tabs, come back, check up. Archbishop Murphy football will forever be a part of me. There’s no way that can be taken away.”