Swim and bowling teams cruised into winter break. Six prep basketball teams remain undefeated heading into the holiday tournament season. Girls wrestlers dominated at a 35-team event.
Don’t miss these highlights from Whatcom County’s prep and college sports teams over the past week.
Prep
Boys basketball
A familiar cast of characters leads the Northwest Conference, with Lynden, Lynden Christian, Sehome and Blaine remaining undefeated in league games.
Lynden played four games in six days last week after beginning its season late. The Lions won the 2A state football championship on Dec. 3, preventing multiple players from joining the basketball team on time.
In its most recent game, a 61-40 win over Mountlake Terrace on Dec. 17, Lynden was led by 18 points from junior guard Anthony Canales. Senior guard Coston Parcher stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six steals and four assists, while senior forward Kobe Baar tallied 14 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Lynden moved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in NWC games, setting up a league home game versus Nooksack Valley (2-2, 2-2 NWC) on Dec. 20.
Bellingham and NV sit narrowly above a host of schools with one NWC win.
The Bayhawks are 2-3 in the conference, and NV picked up a key 63-59 win over Lakewood on Dec. 17 to move to 2-2 overall in NWC games. Sophomore Brady Ackerman led the Pioneers with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double, while junior Wayne Silves added 14 points.
Bellingham fell victim to an undefeated Lynden Christian team on Dec. 16, losing 73-41. They had another tough test against Sehome on Dec. 19, falling 85-57.
Girls basketball
A log jam is forming at the top of the NWC girls standings as well, with Nooksack Valley, Lynden Christian, Lynden and Ferndale all sitting at 4-0 in league contests. Sehome and Bellingham remain in the mix.
The Bayhawks took down Sedro-Woolley 35-27 on Dec. 13, led by 18 points from senior guard Ellie Wolverton. Freshman forward Mary Lockhart contributed nine.
Bellingham faced LC on Dec. 16 and was shut down 52-9. The Bayhawks looked to get back on track against a talented Sehome team (4-1, 3-1 NWC) on Dec. 19, but lost 43-20.
NV continued its reign of terror last week, and the Pioneers are now averaging 71.6 points per game while allowing just 24 — nearly a 48-point average margin of victory. The Pioneers’ most recent game was an 83-19 win over Lakewood on Dec. 17.
Blaine and Meridian are still searching for their first wins of the season.
The Trojans dropped their last game to Lynden 46-28 on Dec. 16 and hosted La Conner in a non-league game on Dec. 19. For the Borderites, they lost a close one to Squalicum 51-46 on Dec. 16 and will have a tough road test at Lynden Christian (7-0, 4-0 NWC) on Dec. 21.
Girls bowling
Meridian’s final match before the late-December break was a 3-0 loss to Mount Vernon on Dec. 13, dropping the Trojans to 6-3 overall.
Meridian coach Gregg Hill said it was Mount Vernon’s best match of the season with a 670-pin count in the first game and 707 in the second. Mariel Schmidt led the way for the Trojans in game two with a 138, while Emma Hill finished with a 122.
Blaine toppled Everett 2-1 at Mt. Baker Lanes on Dec. 14, continuing a strong stretch of play for the Borderites. Squalicum dropped a home match 3-0 at 20th Century Bowl versus Burlington-Edison that same day.
Boys swim and dive
Swim teams have been on break since Dec. 15, but last week still had a healthy helping of crucial duals.
Squalicum defeated Ferndale 98-61 on Dec. 15, winning all 11 events and posting four new district- and state-qualifying times. The Storm’s Dylan Fisk picked up his fourth state-qualifying finish in the 100-yard freestyle while also posting a district qualifier in the 100-yard breaststroke.
“We had another strong showing from the young guys,” Squalicum coach Randy Elsner said. “The energy in the building was high and the guys fed on that and stepped up. This was a good way to go into the break to get them pumped up for training before we resume meets in January.”
Squalicum’s Hayden Nelson picked up two district-qualifying times in the 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle, while Finn Smith earned one in the 50-yard freestyle.
Ferndale’s Boomer Dahlstrom finished second in both the 50-yard and 200-yard freestyle races
Bellingham defeated Sehome 108-77 on Dec. 15, and the Bayhawks have won all four of their duals heading into the late-December break.
Girls wrestling
Mount Baker, Blaine and Bellingham United all attended the Santa Slam tournament at Juanita High School on Dec. 17, returning to Whatcom County with five first-place finishes.
The Mountaineers had the best team finish of the three, taking fourth place among 35 total schools with a team score of 152. Bellingham (104) finished eighth and Blaine (79) came in ninth.
Mount Baker’s Ella Moa finished first in the 100-pound weight class, pinning Everett’s Maria Angeline Pillejera in the title match. Tempest Heiner won by major decision, 16-7, over Orting’s Emma Bowers in the 105-pound first-place match.
Gabby Cortes grabbed the Mountaineers’ third and final top placement by pinning Everett’s Maricela Mendoza-Garcia in the 170-pound first-place match.
Bellingham was led by Isabella Phillips, who took first place in the 190-pound weight class following a pin of Chief Sealth’s Elyse Leger in the finals. Frances Porteous finished second at 155 pounds.
Lucyanna Dahl was the top finisher for Blaine, pinning Orting’s Heaven Samuels in the 145-pound first-place match. The Borderites had five other wrestlers finish in the top eight within their respective weight classes.
Basketball standings — Dec. 20
Boys basketball, Northwest Conference
| Boys basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Sehome | 5-0 | 7-0 |
| Lynden Christian | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| Blaine | 4-0 | 5-1 |
| Anacortes | 3-0 | 5-0 |
| Lynden | 3-0 | 4-0 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2-2 | 2-2 |
| Bellingham | 2-3 | 3-3 |
| Squalicum | 2-3 | 3-4 |
| Lakewood | 1-2 | 3-4 |
| Meridian | 1-3 | 3-3 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Oak Harbor | 1-3 | 2-4 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1-3 | 1-4 |
| Ferndale | 1-3 | 1-5 |
| Mount Baker | 0-2 | 0-2 |
| Mount Vernon | 0-3 | 3-4 |
Girls basketball, Northwest Conference
| Girls basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Nooksack Valley | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| Lynden Christian | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| Lynden | 4-0 | 6-0 |
| Ferndale | 4-0 | 5-1 |
| Sehome | 4-1 | 5-1 |
| Burlington-Edison | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| Anacortes | 3-1 | 3-3 |
| Oak Harbor | 2-2 | 3-3 |
| Bellingham | 2-3 | 4-4 |
| Lakewood | 1-3 | 3-3 |
| Squalicum | 1-3 | 2-5 |
| Mount Vernon | 1-3 | 2-7 |
| Mount Baker | 0-4 | 2-4 |
| Meridian | 0-4 | 0-4 |
| Blaine | 0-4 | 0-5 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0-4 | 0-7 |
*Standings were updated on Dec. 20 at 9:15 a.m. to reflect the outcome of the Dec. 19 games.
