Sports Notebook

Photo by rocky ross

BUOYANT EFFORT. D’Voureaux Cann pushes hard during his race at the state swim meet last weekend.

NO STATE TITLE FOR STADIUM'S CANN

Stadium senior D’Voureaux Cann was no stranger to the state swim meet. In both his sophomore and junior seasons he earned second-place finishes.

Last weekend at the state meet at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, he was poised to try to bring home a first-place medal in one of two events - the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.

Despite swimming marks that were good for All-America qualification, Cann’s bids in both races came up short. Ian Wheeler of Eisenhower defeated the Stadium swimmer in the 200, swimming a 1:40.14 against Cann’s 1:41.78.

Then Bryan Henry of Snohomish defeated Cann in the 100-butterfly. Henry touched the wall in a stunning 49.29 and Cann finished with a 50.95.

“It was disappointing because I’ve been trying for three years. These are great swimmers I was going against and as I expected, it was a great race,” said Cann.

TACOMA WRESTLERS MAKE THEIR MARK

For Tacoma Baptist wrestler Josh Peters, being in a position to win a state title was not exactly new. He has been on two state championship soccer teams.

For Mt. Tahoma sophomore Seini Anua, it was not just a case of her being in the state finals for the first time. No female wrestler from Tacoma had ever reached that far.

Peters tasted victory with a win over Reardan’s Niko Knezovich in the 171-lb. boys final, and Anua fell in the finals bout  in the girls 151-lb. class to Lilia Gudzyuk of Auburn-Mountainview.

Peters pinned Knezovich in 5:22. Anua was beaten, 4-1.

Peters was just in his second year of wrestling for the Crusaders, who finished in fifth place in the Mat Classic.

HAULING IN THE GOLD

At eight years of age, Tierra Crockrell already has a resume of track and field acheivements worthy of several parades. Already the holder of multiple national track and field records in numerous events in her age group, the young track star from University Place received a gold medal last week at the AAU Northern Indoor Track and Field Championships in Bloomington, Ind.

 She won the multi-event, which consists of the 200 meters (32.53); high jump (3’10,75”) and shot put (18’ 5”).  In the individual events she received a gold medal in the high jump (3’10”) and long jump and bronze in the 55 meter (8.61).  

The week before, Tierra participated in the AAU Great Lakes Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Geneva, Ohio.  She won four  gold medals: in the multi-event, the 200, the 55, and the long jump.

COBRAS HUNTING FOR NEW TALENT

The Tacoma Cobras semipro football, the defending champion from the inaugural PDFL season last summer,  held their first of two open tryouts last weekend at the Mel Korum YMCA in Puyallup.

Coach Dave McEachern and his staff were able to get a look at some of the players who might fill roster spots on a team that lost a few players to the Arena league and other professional development teams around the country.

One of the players who stood out was former PLU tight end Nick Caraballo.

“Nick is going to fill a big need on the team.”

Other first-time players who caught the eye of the staff were wide reciever Josh Brannon, defensive back Hosea Bickerstaff, defensive tackle Torise Perosi and linebacker Codie Mendenhall.

The Tacoma Cobras will hold another combine March 21 at Mel Korum YMCA at 4 p.m.

TCC HALL OF FAME DINNER IN APRIL

Tacoma Community College will honor former TCC athletes at the third annual Hall of Fame dinner and auction on April 10, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Opgaard Student Center.  

Individual honorees will include Bob Barnette, Ian Chursky, AJ Fairburn, David Olivier, Robin Saathoff (Krona), and Lorenzo Rollins.

Barnette was the Ellen Pinto outstanding student of the year and an All NWAACC performer in men’s basketball, on which he was team captain for the 1986 conference championship team.

Chursky was an all conference soccer player. Fairburn was a region  MVP in women’s soccer. Krona was an all-conference soccer player.

Olivier was the 1975 NWAACC Tournament MVP in men’s basketball. Lorenzo Rollins was the 1994 Region MVP in men’s basketball and is the school’s all time leading scorer.

Team honorees include the 1986 conference champion women’s and men’s basketball teams and the 1996 women’s soccer team.

The event is open to the public, and former Titan athletes and coaches are encouraged to attend.

For reservations, contact TCC athletics at (253) 566-5097 or or . Tickets are $50 per person or $375 for a table of eight. All proceeds support TCC athletic scholarships.

PASL TITLE GAME

For the third time, the Premier Arena Soccer League championship game will be held in Tacoma. The Tacoma Stars have secured the top position in the league and the reward of home field advantage for the playoffs. The opposing team will be determined by games played this week.

Game time is 7:15 p.m. on Saturday Feb. 27. All home games are played at the Soccer Center located at 2610 Bay St. in Tacoma. Ticket information can be found online at http://www.soccercentertacoma.com or by calling (253) 627-2255.

UPDATES:

DISTRICT BASKETBALL  

At the West Central District tournament, Lincoln defeated Decatur, 57-49, in the semifinals and will face No.1 ranked Federal Way on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m.

Wilson lost in its semifinal game to the Eagles, 67-47, and will play Decatur at 6 p.m. to determine the state tournament’s third and sixth seeds from the district. Mt. Tahoma and Bellarmine Prep were eliminated in the consolation bracket.

Reported by Rick Walter

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