Jan. 10 — Decatur grad, Ben Henderson, now undisputed WEC lightweight champion
Ben “Smooth” Henderson is now the undisputed champion of World Extreme Cagefighting’s (WEC) lightweight division. The 2002 Decatur High School grad unified the WEC’s 155-pound title by defeating defending lightweight champion Jamie Varner Jan. 10 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento.
Henderson locked Varner in a guillotine choke out of nowhere midway through the third round during the main event of the nationally-televised fight.
Henderson had been crowned the interim champ after a decision win over Donald Cerrone in October, when injuries had sidelined Varner for the better part of 2009.
“Jamie is tough, he’s a scary dude,” Henderson said immediately following the fight. “I was a little intimidated at first. Thankfully, I came out on top.”
Jan. 28 — Beamer girls basketball coach takes leave of absence after doctors find brain tumor
Todd Beamer High School girls basketball coach Heather Sugg has taken a leave of absence from the team after doctors found an inoperable, cancerous tumor on her brain.
Assistant coach Dave Cox took over coaching duties for the Titans. Cox is a former women’s coach at Seattle University.
“It’s all happened so fast,” said Beamer athletic director Jerry Peterson. “Our goal is just to support Heather any way we can.”
Sugg, 36, took over the Beamer girls program last year after working as an assistant under former coach Tiffany Rutter for two seasons. She is the mother of four and married to John Sugg.
Update: Sugg is still dealing with the cancer, but is back on the bench this season coaching the Beamer girls basketball team.
“The cancer is still there, but not stopping me,” Sugg said recently.
Feb. 6 — Federal Way’s Floyd Little elected to football Hall of Fame
It was a dream come true for former Denver Broncos running back and current Federal Way resident Floyd Little.
Little was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 on Feb. 6 after a 30-year wait. The news was announced from Miami, the site of the Super Bowl.
“It’s been a long journey,” Little told the Associated Press from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “This is truly my dream. You can’t explain the emotions of the way you feel at this moment.”
The owner of Federal Way’s Pacific Coast Ford, which went out of business in July 2009, was officially enshrined into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 7 in a ceremony at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
Little was joined in the Class of 2010 by all-time greats Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, along with former Seahawk defensive lineman John Randle, offensive lineman Russ Grimm, linebacker Rickey Jackson and defensive back and coach Dick LeBeau. Little and LeBeau were elected as senior committee nominees.
The senior committee, a group of nine sportswriters, choose two NFL senior nominees from a list of players from the pre-1980 era every year. Little has been eligible for induction since 1981, five years after he retired, but was never nominated — moving him into the senior category.
Many would argue that Little’s nine-year career (1967-75) in the National Football League with the Denver Broncos warranted enshrinement in Canton a long time ago.
His statistics don’t lie. When Little hung up his cleats, he was the sixth leading rusher in NFL history with 6,323 yards. Little trailed only Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, Jim Taylor, Joe Perry, Leroy Kelly and John Henry Johnson. All six were already in the Hall of Fame.
“This is a great day for Floyd Little individually as well as for the Denver Broncos’ entire organization and our fans,” Broncos President and CEO Pat Bowlen said in a press release. “Floyd has made immeasurable contributions to this franchise and the NFL, and he deservedly will take his place among the greatest to play this game in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Feb. 13 — Celski skates way to bronze medal at Olympics; Ohno takes silver
JR Celski has something that can never be taken away from him — an Olympic medal.
The 19-year-old Federal Way resident skated his way to a bronze medal Feb. 13 in the 1,500-meter race at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum. It was the first of three events for the short-track speedskater at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
“Words can’t describe it,” Celski said after the race. “I’m so happy to be here.”
Celski finished right behind fellow American Apolo Ohno, who snared the silver medal. Ohno’s second-place finish gave the former Federal Way resident six total medals during his three Olympic Games, tying him with Bonnie Blair for the most medals by an American at the Winter Olympics. Ohno, like Celski, began inline skating at Federal Way’s Pattison’s West skating center.
Feb. 20 — Wrestling: Jefferson’s McIntosh, Beamer’s Carpio win titles
Kyle McIntosh couldn’t hold in his emotions any longer.
The Thomas Jefferson High School senior spent 2009 eating, sleeping and drinking the sport of wrestling in anticipation of winning a state championship. After finishing fifth at the 2009 Mat Classic, McIntosh (37-1) had a single-minded goal of having his arm raised inside the Tacoma Dome.
Mission accomplished.
And McIntosh’s emotions were on full display after the senior had a tearful leap into the arms of his coach, Jess Workman, after beating Kamiakin’s Pedro Mendoza in the 145-pound championship, 10-7, Feb. 20.
“I’ve attained one of my goals,” McIntosh said. “I have worked hard over the past five years. I’ve been to countless camps and countless tournaments. It feels amazing.”
McIntosh wasn’t the only Federal Way school district wrestler to snare a state championship in Tacoma. Beamer sophomore Ares Carpio won the 119-pound bracket, giving the school its first-ever state wrestling title.
Carpio will have the opportunity to win two more championships, but this was McIntosh’s final shot and he didn’t disappoint.
Feb. 20 — Federal Way’s Ohno becomes most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian
The last time anybody moved this fast at the Pacific Coliseum was 15 years ago when Pavel (The Russian Rocket) Bure of the Vancouver Canucks dazzled National Hockey League fans with electrifying rushes.
Jung-Su Lee of Korea was the Renfrew Street Rocket Feb. 20, setting an Olympic record in one minute, 23.747 seconds while claiming gold in a drama-jammed men’s 1,000-meter short track speedskating final before 11,077 delirious fans.
Ho-Suk Lee of Korea was right on Jung-Su’s heels for the silver medal, while Seattle/Federal Way superstar Apolo Anton Ohno settled for bronze in 1:24.128, his seventh Olympic medal. He surpassed skater Bonnie Blair as the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian, flashing seven fingers as he crossed the finish line.
Ohno took up speedskating after watching the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics with his father, Yuki. It was the same year Blair won her sixth medal in her fourth and final Olympics.
Asked by a member of the press if he now considered himself the greatest American Winter Games Olympian, the affable Ohno struggled with an answer to a “very hard question.”
The 5-foot-7, 150-pound Ohno, who laughingly pointed out his first name had been misspelled on the flip side of his press table sign, took the modest way around the question.
“I don’t put labels on myself,” he said, looking relaxed in a snazzy dark blue track suit. “I just consider myself an athlete who’s competing in my third (and probably last) Olympic games. My goal was to come out here and pour my heart and soul into these games, and I’m happy to be doing what I’m doing.”
March 6 — State basketball: Federal Way boys end impressive three-year run with third-place trophy
If the Class 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament were the Olympics, the Federal Way Eagles would have every medal in their trophy case.
The Eagles capped an extremely impressive three-year run inside the Tacoma Dome March 6 with a 53-44 victory over the Wilson Rams. The win over Wilson gave Federal Way a third-place trophy at the 2010 tournament, to go along with their first-place finish last year and runner-up finish in 2008.
The Eagles (26-3) entered the 2010 state tournament as the prohibitive favorite. Federal Way was the top-ranked team in Washington all season long after coming off an impressive run to the 2009 title. The Eagles returned two all-state caliber players in Cole Dickerson and Isiah Umipig, who have both already signed Division-I scholarships, and featured a strong cast of long and athletic secondary players.
But it wasn’t meant to be for Federal Way, which suffered a heart-breaking 53-45 loss to the Jackson Timberwolves in the semifinals March 4 inside the Tacoma Dome.
“It was a great run,” said longtime Federal Way head coach Jerome Collins. “It’s something to be proud of.”
March 16 — Four more gold medals: Federal Way’s Waller world’s fastest 51-year-old
It doesn’t matter if he is running indoors or outdoors, Federal Way’s Mike Waller is fast.
The 51-year-old, who works as the sprints coach at Pacific Lutheran University, returned from the 2010 World Masters Indoors Championships in Kamloops, B.C. with four more gold medals to add to his ever-growing track collection.
Waller finished in first place in the men’s 50-to-54 division in the 60-meter dash, the 200 meters, the 400 meters and the 4×200 relay. The indoor championships are held every year, but this is the first time the event has been contested in North America. The World Championships were held March 1-6 in Canada.
May 29 — State tennis: Decatur’s Meghan Cassens wins her second straight singles title
Decatur’s Meghan Cassens had to use every bit of her guile on the tennis court to win her second straight Class 4A singles state championship May 29.
The junior capped her unbeaten season with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Stanwood’s Megan LaLone in the state title match at the Tri-City Court Club. It was the third year in a row that Cassens has played in the state title match. She lost to Gig Harbor’s Christy Sipes as a freshman.
But it was the semifinals that proved to be the turning point for Cassens during her 2010 run to the state title. Cassens survived a three-set marathon with Newport’s Angela Chan.
After winning the first set pretty easily, 6-2, Chan pulled out the second set, 6-4. Chan then won the first three games of the third set to take a commanding 3-0 lead. But Cassens responded by winning six of the next seven games to win the third set and the state title, 6-4.
The win over LaLone in the championship match was the second straight year that Cassens beat a WesCo League opponent in the final. In 2009, she beat Lake Stevens’ Antonia Liebenow.
May 29 — State track and field: Federal Way relay team sets all-time state record
You don’t want to make Federal Way High School’s 4×400 relay team mad.
Because when that happens, the team of Ezekiel McNeal, Maurice McNeal, Robert Shelby and Trenton Pinson becomes the fastest 4×400 relay team in the history of Washington state track and field.
The foursome shattered the 28-year-old state record in the 4×400 relay during a May 27 preliminary race in a time of 3:15.26 at Star Track XXVII at Mount Tahoma High School. The old record of 3:16.09 was set by Wilson in 1982.
Two days later, the Eagles ran away with the state title in the same event in Tacoma, winning in 3:15.66.
The state title came a week after the same foursome were disqualified from the 4×100 relay at the West Central District Meet. The Eagles were also hoping to set the state record in the 4×100 relay before being disqualified.
June 25 — Federal Way will host 2012 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships
The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center will be a busy place during the spring and summer of 2012.
Officials were informed June 25 that Federal Way and the Aquatic Center were chosen to host the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The NCAA meet is slated for March 22-24, 2012, and will take place just three months before the Aquatic Center will host the 2012 United States Olympic Diving Trials.
“2012 will be a busy year for us,” Federal Way’s Economic Development Director Patrick Doherty said. “But this event will also be a good dry run for the Seattle Sports Commission, the Aquatic Center and city staff to gear up for the Olympic Dive Trials event.”
June 29 — Soccer: Rowe and Okoli both named Parade All-Americans
Everyone around the state of Washington knows that Federal Way produces some of the best soccer players year in and year out.
Now, America knows.
The Federal Way school district placed a pair of players on PARADE’s 2010 All-America High School Boys Soccer Team. 2010 Federal Way High School graduate Kelyn Rowe and Beamer senior-to-be Sean Ugo Okoli were honored on the 35-player team in the nationally-distributed magazine.
Rowe, who played at UCLA in the fall, scored 32 of the Eagles’ 49 goals and had an eye-popping 25 goals in Federal Way’s last 10 games.
“He is the best player in the state,” said Federal Way head coach Jason Baumgardt.
Okoli was also a beast this season for the Titans. As a junior, Okoli led Beamer with seven goals and into the state playoffs after finishing second in the South Puget Sound League South Division. The forward will be one of the top recruits on the West Coast during his senior season.
July 21 — Decatur grad Rich Cho hired as Portland Trailblazers’ general manager
Rich Cho had always hoped to run his hometown National Basketball Association franchise.
The 1983 Decatur High School graduate spent seven seasons as the assistant general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics before everything changed two years ago.
the Seattle SuperSonics before everything changed in 2008. That’s when the Sonics made the move to Oklahoma City.
Cho, 44, stuck with the franchise and spent the last two seasons working for the Thunder in Oklahoma. But Cho is now back in the Pacific Northwest after being hired July 19 as the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers. He replaces Kevin Pritchard, who was fired hours before the NBA Draft.
“I am extremely humbled and grateful for this opportunity, and I will do everything I can to help this great team get even better,” said Cho in a statement. “As someone who grew up in the Northwest, I’m aware of the unbelievable passion and support that Trail Blazers’ fans have, and I’m excited to be a part of this rich tradition.”
Cho is the second Federal Way district graduate to be the general manager of a Northwest professional franchise. Federal Way High School grad Bob Ferguson served as the GM of the Seattle Seahawks from 2003-05.
Aug. 6 — Federal Way woman charged with the theft of nearly $34,000 from youth sports leagues
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has officially charged a 43-year-old Federal Way woman with 10 counts of theft after nearly $34,000 went missing from three local sports organizations.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg filed the theft charges Aug. 3, over 15 months after the Federal Way Police Department forwarded a determination of probable cause to the Prosecutor’s Office with a recommendation to charge Colleen Wiley.
The charges include four counts of theft in the first degree, which are all considered Class B felonies and carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and/or a $20,000 fine in each instance. Wiley was also charged with six counts of theft in the second degree, which are Class C felonies and carry a max of five years in jail and/or a $10,000 fine on each count.
According to Federal Way police documents, unauthorized checks were written from accounts connected with the Puget Sound Junior Football Association, the Federal Way Hawks Junior Football Association and Federal Way American Little League. According to police, Wiley was a treasurer of all three organizations at different points and had access to their bank accounts.
Update: Wiley pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this year and is still awaiting trial.
Oct. 4 — Sharon Boyle named Coach of the Year by Special Olympics
Sharon Boyle was just looking for something to do 20 years ago.
Working as a stay-at-home mom, she was constantly busy doing everything for her three kids, which include a daughter and twin boys. But the kids eventually started school, leaving Boyle with a little bit of spare time during the day.
“They just got to the age where there wasn’t much for me to do,” said Boyle , who is the Federal Way School District’s special populations/unified athletic coordinator. “I wasn’t really working so I thought I needed something to do.”
That’s when the Special Olympics entered her life and the rest, as they say, is history.
“One day I got a call from somebody who told me that they thought I would be very good,” Boyle said. “So I started volunteering as a group leader for a club and I loved it and it blossomed from there.”
Boyle’s 20-year involvement as a coach and administrator was recognized last month when she was honored as Special Olympics Washington Coach of the Year in the King County region. The award is given every year to a coach for outstanding contributions to Special Olympics. The King County region is the largest in the state.
“I was very, very surprised,” said Boyle, who also received the award in 1996. “I really didn’t think I would get it again. There are so many great people in Special Olympics.”
Oct. 26 — The Streak is done: Federal Way volleyball wins first SPSL match since ‘04
The streak is finally over.
The Federal Way High School volleyball team snapped a six-year-long losing streak Oct. 26 with a big-time, five-game victory over the Bethel Braves on the road. The Eagles downed the Braves in Spanaway, 25-27, 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11.
The win ended a 62-match losing streak by the Eagles in the South Puget Sound League. Federal Way’s last SPSL victory was in the fall of 2004 when the Eagles beat Todd Beamer. Since then, Federal Way suffered through five-straight winless SPSL seasons.
“We have had our ups and downs, but this win makes it worth it,” said second-year head coach Donja Walker, who graduated from Bethel. “We work really hard in practice and have improved so much, but our record does not show that. It is a very long losing streak finally broken. I think that we had this huge weight on our back to get a league win and now we know we can finish a match.”
Nov. 13 — State swimming: TJ’s Cratsenberg snags another state title
For the second straight year Thomas Jefferson High School’s Amber Cratsenberg walked away from the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championships with a title.
The junior defended her 2009 state championship in the 100-yard freestyle Nov. 13 with a blazing time of 50.96, which was good enough to earn automatic All-America status. Cratsenberg won the race by nearly a second over second-place Joanna Wu from Kent-Meridian, who finished in 51.86.
But, unlike last year, Cratsenberg couldn’t pull off the double in the two freestyle sprint events inside the King County Aquatics Center. Cratsenberg finished the 50 free just seven-hundredths of a second behind Skyline’s Katie Kinnear to snag a silver medal in the event. She won the 50 a season ago as a sophomore and her time this year, 23.57, still qualified for All-America consideration.
Cratsenberg’s first- and second-place individual swims during the meet went a long ways in helping her Thomas Jefferson team finish in third place behind defending state champion Skyline (220 points) and Newport (157.5). The Raiders garnered 140 team points and the third-place finish is the highest in school history and the second straight season TJ has finished with the team bronze medal.
Nov. 18 — Travis Ishikawa: San Francisco’s World Series title ‘was unbelievable’
As Travis Ishikawa stood in the visiting dugout inside the Ballpark at Arlington, he was ready to explode. The anticipation was brutal.
Ishikawa’s San Francisco Giants were leading the Texas Rangers, 3-1, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in the fifth and deciding game of the 2010 World Series.
The Giants’ backup first baseman and 2002 Federal Way High School graduate remembers being very calm watching his closer, Brian Wilson, rock into his windup and uncork a nasty, two-strike slider that froze Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz.
Ishikawa remembers the home plate umpire raising his right hand and the Giants’ dugout exploding. After that, his memory gets a little vague.
“As soon as he got that strikeout, it was how fast can I get to the pitcher’s mound,” Ishikawa said. “It all happened so quickly that I really don’t even remember running out to the mound. All I remember is just jumping around and trying not to get stepped on.”
The Giants had the right to celebrate. The World Series title was San Francisco’s first-ever championship since the team moved from New York in 1958. Ishikawa and his teammates were able to do something that Giant studs like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal, Will Clark and Barry Bonds never did.
“I was thinking, ‘This is really happening,’” Ishikawa said. “I was asking some guys in the dugout how they were feeling. There were some guys who were holding back some tears. It was unbelievable.”
Ishikawa played in a total of 10 games during the 2010 postseason for the Giants, including one start at first base during Game 4 of the World Series. He finished 2 for 10 at the plate with two runs, a double and a RBI during the playoffs. The Giants swept the Atlanta Braves in the National League Divisional Series and needed six games to put away the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Championship Series.
Dec. 17 — Henderson loses decision to Pettis, won’t fight for UFC title
Everything was right in front of Ben Henderson on Dec. 16.
The Decatur High School grad had the unquestioned support of the 7,000 fans inside the Jobing.com Arena in his adopted hometown of Glendale, Ariz., at the final World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) event in the franchise’s decade-long history.
He was the odds-on favorite against a young and less experienced fighter, and was in peak physical condition after an eight-month layoff.
But it wasn’t meant to be for Henderson. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis did exactly what his named suggested Thursday in the main event at WEC 53. The Milwaukee native put on a show, including a flying leg kick late in the fifth round that looked like it came out of one of the “Matrix” movies, to win a unanimous decision over Henderson. The win now earns Pettis a coveted shot at the ultimate prize in mixed martial arts fighting: A shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight championship.
