JANUARY
Bellevue defeats Interlake in rivalry wrestling match
The Bellevue Wolverines had five pins in a 42-36 victory against the Interlake Saints in a Class 2A/3A KingCo wrestling match on Jan. 8 at Interlake High School in a battle of schools separated by a mere six miles.
Chen strives for the state
Interlake Saints wrestler Albert Chen is profiled in the weekly “Beyond the Athlete” segment of the sports section. Chen revealed in the interview that his favorite wrestling move is the lower single leg takedown. At the halfway point of the 2014-15 season, Chen had compiled an overall record of 16-0.
Column focuses on tragedy
Shaun Scott writes a column about the death of his good friend Jim Johnson due to ALS. The column focuses on watching the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers in his fallen friends honor.
FEBRUARY
Wolverines clinch league title
The Bellevue Wolverines girls basketball team registered a 59-41 win against the Mercer Island Islanders on Feb. 8 in Bellevue. It was the Wolverines 10th win in a row and clinched the KingCo Class 3A regular season basketball championship. Bellevue improved to 17-3 overall and a perfect 10-0 in league with the win.
Bellevue defeats Olympic
The Bellevue Bulldogs men’s basketball team continued its winning ways with a 92-85 win against the Olympic College Rangers on Feb. 11. The Bulldogs improved their overall record to 22-2 with the win and won their 13th game in a row.
State title attained
Bellevue Wolverines 152-pound wrestler Christian Villani captured his third consecutive state wrestling championship, registering a pin against Peninsula’s Zach Goddard in the Mat Classic Class 3A 152-pound state championship match with 1:24 left in the third round.
“I just can’t thank God enough. It was all off of my habits in practice. I keep a strong faith and I was able to go for those risks that I wouldn’t normally do,” Villani said. “I didn’t want it to end. I don’t want it to end.”
MARCH
Bellevue nabs fifth place at state
The Bellevue Wolverines girls basketball team’s season came to an end courtesy of a 68-66 loss to Bishop Blanchet in the third place/fifth place game at the Class 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Bellevue Head Coach Leah Krautter was proud of her team’s resolve not only at the state tournament but throughout the entire 2014-15 season.
“It’s tough to end the season like this because it doesn’t show or define the kind of season we had. I’m really proud of the way we fought. We gave it everything we had,” Krautter said.
APRIL
Javelin thrower is focused
Newport Knights track athlete Julia Sliwoski was focused on attaining a dream of a lifetime in her favorite event, the javelin during her senior season.
“My ultimate goal is to win state this year. I want to be at around 150 (feet). The winner of the state meet in javelin usually throws at around 150 (feet),” Sliwoski said. “I want to make the most out of my senior year and leave my mark on the high school.”
Bellevue defeats rival Mercer Island in softball contest
In a matchup between fierce rivals, the Bellevue Wolverines earned a 6-4 win against the Mercer Island Islanders on April 17 at Bellevue High School in Bellevue. The Wolverines had five stolen bases and three triples in the win.
“We definitely want to be aggressive on the bases. We’ve had a couple of games where we have been really aggressive and have been close to making it work for us. Today we finally broke through so we’re excited about that,” Bellevue Head Coach Heather Tracy said.
MAY
Vikings win district title
The Bellevue Christian Vikings boys soccer team defeated the Klahowya Eagles 1-0 in the Class 1A West Central District III Championship game on May 14 in Orting.
Interlake wins state soccer title
The Interlake Saints attained the absolute pinnacle of high school soccer with a 1-0 victory against Garfield Bulldogs in the Class 3A state championship game on May 30 at Sparks Stadium in downtown Puyallup.
Interlake sophomore Stirling Russell scored the lone goal of the game in the 40th minute.
JUNE
Pan clinches berth at US Open
Bellevue resident Cheng-Tsung Pan captured first place on June 8 at the USGA Sectional at Tumble Creek Golf Course near Cle Elum to qualify for the U.S. Open. Pan shot a combined 138 during the two rounds of play.
JULY
Swirsky is living the dream
Chuck Swirsky is a household name to nearly every Chicago Bulls fan throughout the midwestern portion of the United States.
Swirsky, who has been the play-by-play radio voice of the squad since 2008, graduated from Interlake High School in Bellevue in 1972. The 61-year-old credits his childhood home for giving him a solid foundation in the world of broadcasting.
“When I was in elementary school and junior high school they allowed me to read the announcements to start the morning on the public address system, which was a big thrill for me,” Swirsky said.
SEPTEMBER
Bishop Gorman defeats Bellevue in season opener
In a matchup between two of the most well known high school football programs in the nation, the Bishop Gorman Gaels (Las Vegas) reigned supreme against the Bellevue Wolverines.
The Gaels delivered a 35-7 victory against the Wolverines in front of a packed house on Sept. 11 at Bellevue Memorial Stadium in Bellevue.
OCTOBER
McDonald takes KingCo tennis title
Bellevue Wolverines sophomore tennis player Theo McDonald captured the Class 3A singles KingCo tournament title on Oct. 19 at Mercer Island High School. McDonald had a 4-0 overall record at the tournament.
NOVEMBER
Bellevue hosts Squash tourney
Gregory Gaultier of France captured the 2015 Professional Squash Association World Championship courtesy of a 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 12-10) victory against Egypt’s Omar Mosaad in the title match on Nov. 22 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.
DECEMBER
Bellevue loses state title game
With a little more than six minutes left in the third quarter, it appeared the Bellevue Wolverines would reclaim the Class 3A state championship after a one-year hiatus in a matchup against the Eastside Catholic Crusaders.
Bellevue running back Christoph Hirota scored on a 12-yard touchdown run, giving the Wolverines a commanding 42-14 lead against Eastside Catholic with 6:10 left in the third quarter of play.
Eastside Catholic outscored Bellevue 34-0 down the stretch, earning an improbable 48-42 overtime victory on Dec. 4 at the Tacoma Dome.
