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Brayden Pedroza has impressed La Conner High School basketball fans in the season's first couple weeks with his ability to defend, pass and score. They aren't alone. Pedroza has made an impression with his stellar play throughout the county. The junior guard was named Skagit Valley Herald Boys' Athlete of the Week after having scored in double digits in La Conner's first three contests. Pedroza scored 23 points against Oak Harbor, 18 opposite Sedro-Woolley and a game-high 25 in the dramatic...
The La Conner Braves basketball team are true road warriors. The team followed its convincing 65-44 NW2B/1B triumph at Orcas Island Dec. 5 with another all-day trip on Saturday – this time to 2A Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula and likewise requiring a ferry ride. It was neither smooth sailing on rainy, wind-swept Puget Sound nor in the Buccaneers’ gym for the travel-weary Braves, however. Kingston was able to withstand another big scoring night by La Conner’s Brayden Pedroza, the Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Athlete of the Week, to post a 64-56...
It's been a busy fall quarter in the La Conner School District. Owing to hard work and some long hours, La Conner School District staff, faculty and administration have successfully applied for and received grants that will benefit La Conner students and the community. $16,000 grant provides new oven The district's food service department received a $16,000 grant to purchase a new oven. Food service supervisor Kelly Kjarstad reports that the ovens at the elementary school went out last year,...
La Conner High School principal and athletic director Christine Tripp encourages the community to turn out for games at the Landy James Activity Court this winter. About 50 students are playing basketball this year, she said. The girls team head coach is Joe Harper, who is in his second year. He is assisted by Scottie Miller. Harper has coached a variety of sports, but has a passion for basketball, he said. The boys team head coach is Lance Lopez, now in his first year. He is assisted by John...
The school district's Advisory Committee for Education (ACE) continues to look for more members. The committee meets from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. The committee concerns itself with ways to help the district be successful. Bring your ideas. Comment on programs under development. This is a great way to help the La Conner community, and you don't need to have a kid in school to take part. Call Cherri Kahns at the district office if you are interested,...
New La Conner High School boys’ basketball coach Lance Lopez said before the season tipped off that two goals for his team were to be competitive and draw large crowds to Landy James Gym. He achieved both in just the Braves’ second home date. La Conner (1-2) fought back from an early double-digit deficit to edge 1B power Lummi 62-58 in overtime Saturday night. The Braves, trailing much of the contest, forced the extra session when Corran Eisen took a side inbounds pass from C.J. Edwards and drained a long three-point jumper as time exp...
She was the driving force behind the La Conner High School girls' basketball team's convincing 63-36 non-league home win over Lummi last Saturday. But outside Landy James Gym, Kim Williams can't drive at all. The eighth grader is too young. But Williams had license to motor down the lane and from baseline to baseline against the Lady Blackhawks, delivering a game-high 26 points, including a trio of outside treys. Making her second career varsity start, Williams shot 11 of 22 from the floor and...
The loss of more than 50 points per game to graduation will be a tough task for the La Conner High School girls' basketball team to surmount this season. But second-year head coach Joe Harper, who guided La Conner to a fourth place finish at the Washington State Girls' 2B Hardwood Classic in Spokane last March, has crafted what he and assistants Scottie Miller and Roger Valentine hope will be yet another winning formula. The key terms in that equation are speed and defense. "Speed and defense,"...
Conway remains on the La Conner Schools radar. Faced with recent years of declining student enrollment, the driving force behind state funding of public schools, school district officials are resuming last year’s effort to recruit Conway students to the high school. Conway, 11 miles southeast of La Conner, has an elementary school whose graduates attend Mount Vernon High School but have the option of Stanwood or La Conner. “We’ll keep it going,” school board chair Susie Deyo said during board’s Nov. 13 hybrid study session of attempts...
Now it’s official. Last month it was announced that the La Conner Schools board of directors was a recipient of two performance-based statewide honors. Last week in Bellevue, during the Washington State School Directors Association fall conference, the members were formally recognized as a 2023 Board of Distinction and for being Washington’s School Board of the Year for small school districts. The five-member La Conner board – Susie Deyo, chair, and directors John Agen, Loran James, Kim Pedroza and J.J. Wilbur and student reps Taylor Rae Cayou...
They didn't win a single match this season, but Black Bird Landscaping U-11 girls' soccer players were champions, nonetheless. And not just here in town, but across the entire county. That's because the La Conner team was honored at the end of the regular season with the Skagit Valley Soccer Association's coveted Sportsmanship Award. On that score, it wasn't even close. During the season, referees assigned to youth soccer matches submitted scores for sportsmanship for each team on a 1-5 scale....
Strategic planning and chaos aren't mutually exclusive. That is the approach taken this coming high school basketball season by new La Conner Braves hoops coach Lance Lopez. Lopez, who has served on coaching staffs in various sports at Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley and his alma mater Burlington-Edison – larger schools – will employ "borderline chaos" to control tempo and take advantage of a versatile, athletic boys' roster this winter. "I'm very familiar with the group we have here," Lopez tol...
All good things must come to an end. Such was the case last week for a youthful and overachieving La Conner High School volleyball team that scored late season wins over two 3A schools and stormed back from a two-set deficit to league rival Coupeville at bi-district trials to secure a spot in the state 2B net tourney. This season’s stay in Yakima, however, was short-lived for the Lady Braves who, with just two seniors, were eliminated the first day and unable to defend the state crown La Conner had worn since 2018. La Conner fell in four s...
Coupeville was on the verge of winning the bi-district volleyball title here last Wednesday. Until it wasn't. The Lady Wolves fell prey to a scintillating La Conner comeback that saw the hosts erase a daunting 2-0 deficit to forge an emotional 22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-12 two-hour, five-set victory for the 2023 Northwest 2B Bi-District championship and berth to the state tourney today (Nov. 8) in Yakima. La Conner offset Coupeville's relentless power game by playing stellar defense. The...
The Kiwanis Club of La Conner High School Student of the Month for October is Katie Cayou-Lockrem. Katie's parents are Josh and Val Lockrem. She is in the tenth grade. Katie is in Associated Student Body leadership. She enjoys the Breads & Pastries class she is taking. Outside of school she enjoys hunting and fishing with her family. After graduating she would like to attend college and study to be a project manager. Middle School Student of the Month for October is Angus Poprycz. Agnus'...
On a morning during which local veterans were honored, La Conner Schools staff employed military precision to blend two indoor student assemblies within 45-minutes. A Veteran’s Day program keynoted by retired U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Scott Poulton, a Shelter Bay resident, meshed seamlessly into a sendoff ceremony for the state tournament bound high school volleyball team. Students in grades K-12 entered Landy James Gym single file to designated seating areas Tuesday morning for the Veterans Day segment of the twin assemblies.. About a half-hour l...
The La Conner High School football team saved its best for last, closing out the campaign with a convincing 26-13 non-league victory over Annie Wright Academy of Tacoma on Senior Night at Whittaker Field last Friday. Versatile junior C.J. Edwards paced the La Conner attack – doing damage as a runner, passer and receiver – while the Braves stop unit forced Gator freshman quarterback Charlie Finch to flee the pocket much of the night, often resulting in tackles for loss. Edwards rushed for two scores, reeled in two touchdown passes from Ivo...
There was no way La Conner wouldn’t win its soccer match at Whittaker Field last Wednesday. But the question afterward was which of the two teams the Braves or Lady Braves won the impromptu home finale match. A paper tally, including post-game penalty kicks, had the Braves posting an 11-4 triumph. The scoreboard told a different story. It indicated the Lady Braves had recorded a lopsided 50-11 victory. “Look, we won!” exclaimed a member of the girls’ team, who recorded the electronic final score with her phone camera. The afternoon pairing...
This year’s La Conner High School volleyball team, with its several underclassmen – including eighth graders – playing key roles, has taken a different route to reach a familiar destination this fall. That being the Northwest 2B Bi-District Tournament. The Lady Braves tuned up for a postseason run with an impressive 3-1 victory at Mount Vernon High Thursday. Monday they were paired against Auburn Adventist in a first-round bi-district clash at Landy James Gym. On the opposite side of Monday’s bi-district bracket, NW2B/1B rival Coupevi...
There was no way La Conner wouldn’t win its soccer match at Whittaker Field last Wednesday. But the question afterward was which of the two teams the Braves or Lady Braves won the impromptu home finale match. A paper tally, including post-game penalty kicks, had the Braves posting an 11-4 triumph. The scoreboard told a different story. It indicated the Lady Braves had recorded a lopsided 50-11 victory. “Look, we won!” exclaimed a member of the girls’ team, who recorded the electronic final score with her phone camera. The afternoon pairing...
The new-look La Conner High School volleyball team rekindled memories of the recent past during two impressive matches last week. The net program, which has suffered heavy graduation losses in the wake of four straight state titles dating to 2018, flashed championship form with twin straight-sets triumphs over NW2B/1B rival Friday Harbor on the road and 3A Marysville-Getchell at home. The team defeated M-G 3-0 on Oct. 17 in its annual Dig Pink Senior Night event at Landy James Gym. Morgan Huizenga and Addison Keller fueled a comeback in the...
Zaira Najera-Davalos, a La Conner High School senior, is the Soroptimist International of La Conner Honored Student for the month of October. Zaira is a busy young woman both at school and home. She is the executive president of the high school's Associated Student Body (ASB). Her interest in student government began when she was the freshman class president. Now as spokesperson for all the students, Zaira excels with her strong speaking ability and mature outlook on life. Helping to sharpen...
A solid ground game supported by a potent passing attack led by quarterback Ivory Damien wasn't enough for La Conner to defeat archrival Coupeville in the Braves' Homecoming football game at Jack Whittaker Field Friday night. Seeking its first NW2B triumph of the campaign, the team fell 43-12 to the Wolves despite a strong start that saw the Braves reel off a methodical nine-play touchdown drive on their first possession. C.J. Edwards capped the 46-yard march, which came after holding...
The La Conner High School Lady Braves brought their ‘A’ game to the soccer pitch Saturday. Actually, they brought their better than ‘A’ game. Lydia Grossglass took a well-placed pass from Kendall Lee to break a scoreless tie and forge a thrilling 1-0 La Conner non-league triumph at 1A Sultan, taking the sting out of twin 5-0 setbacks earlier in the week to Friday Harbor and at North Mason. “I’m so proud of the team for performing at such a high level with back-to-back-to-back away games,” Lady Braves coach Maddie Huscher said after her cha...
The traffic volume in town last weekend teased that it was the height of tourist season. That wasn't the case, of course.. But it was a peak weekend in terms of La Conner High School's fall sports schedule. The football and volleyball teams played simultaneously on campus Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Braves' boys soccer team hosted league rival Mount Vernon Christian. Results were mixed. The La Conner grid program broke into the win column with a convincing 30-0 shutout win...
