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Add one more item to the list of COVID-19 impacts here. The school board was told that the long running La Conner High senior seminar class, which featured formal student presentations before community panels, is morphing into a new program that is more technology oriented for this time of distance learning. “This year, with COVID,” La Conner Middle & High School Counselor Lori Buher told board members at their Sept. 28 video-conferenced meeting, “adding the senior seminar class is prohi...
Any other year the two-time defending state champion La Conner High volleyball team would be approaching mid-season form about now. But the COVID-19 pandemic has dictated the school sports calendar since mid-March. As a result, La Conner teams these days are content taking part through November in a modified practice format sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which governs school athletics and extra-curricular programs in the state. La Conner High’s v...
Outdoor education took on a whole new meaning when La Conner students and parents went back to school for Braves Days campus orientation last Thursday and Friday. The two-day event, held outside beneath canopies and shade trees, reflected adjustments being made by school officials this semester in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Families registered on-line for 30-minute outside appointments with teachers prior to the launch of distance learning instruction Sept. 14. While the coronavirus has...
La Conner High head volleyball coach Suzanne Marble and her players will have to wait to pursue a rare state title three-peat. The two-time defending champions will not defend their state 2B net crown until next spring under a modified high school sports schedule unveiled recently by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WIAA executive board has adopted a sports calendar divided into four seasons with moderate and higher-risk activities –volleyball, football, and soccer...
Former La Conner Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Meissner received a warm send-off, symbolized by receipt of a Pendleton blanket, during a farewell ceremony at the Swinomish Pavilions Thursday afternoon. Meissner has begun a new assignment as an administrator with the Lake Washington School District after three years in La Conner. Swinomish officials, staff and students gathered beneath one of the tribal community’s semi-open “cedar hats,” where they wore masks and practiced social dista...
Rich Stewart is no stranger to La Conner, having visited here several times during a long career in public schools marked by stops all over Washington state. He was hired last week to serve as interim superintendent of La Conner Schools, filling a role that has defined much of his more than four decades in public education. “Being an interim superintendent has been a good thing for me,” Stewart, who enjoys a statewide reputation, told the Weekly News on Thursday. “I hope I can help with La Conne...
The first whistle hasn’t blown and already there’s a delay of game call for fall sports at La Conner High and around Washington state. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Board of Directors has moved to push back the start of the fall sports season two weeks. The WIAA action, taken last week, was in response to the coronavirus threat and makes Sept. 18 the start of fall sports games and matches. The adjusted schedule shifts the start of football workouts to Sept. 5. Other fall sports, such as volleyball and soccer, are...
Richard Stewart has been down this road before, only this time it has led him to La Conner. Stewart, a veteran Washington state public school administrator, agreed to a contract Tuesday with the La Conner School District Directors to become interim superintendent. The Board interviewed Stewart last week. It voted Monday to hire the Ferndale resident during its video-conferenced summer retreat. He will be appointed and administered the oath of office at a 4 p.m. Board meeting Wednesday. Stewart...
The coronavirus nixed her senior year track meets, but Morgan Herrera had already shown University of Washington throwing coach Andrew Ninow enough for him to invite the La Conner High standout to the Montlake campus. Herrera will join the UW track program, once the COVID-19 crisis has passed, as a preferred walk-on to compete in the shot put and hammer throw. As a preferred walk-on, Herrera is guaranteed a spot on the Husky roster. “I had my sights set on the UW for a few weeks,” Herrera tol...
There was no question Justine Benson was one of the best players at the 2B Girls Hardwood Classic in Spokane last month. Nor was there any doubt in the minds of Associated Press sportswriters that the La Conner High standout was among the top hoop talents statewide through the entire 2019-20 season. The AP writers recently named the 5’-8” senior guard-forward to the first unit 2B Girls’ All-State Basketball Team. It is the latest in a slew of awards garnered by Benson, the all-time Lady Braves...
The sands of time have been kind to Cora Kellerman. A trained electrical engineer, the 29-year-old former La Conner High and Eastern Washington University volleyball standout now plugs into office hours on southern California beaches. Kellerman, who helped lead La Conner to State net titles in 2006 and 2007, is riding the popular wave of professional beach volleyball. Even for an accomplished player like Kellerman, who led EWU by averaging nearly three kills per set her senior year –...
The La Conner High girls’ soccer team left nothing to chance in its meeting with Mount Vernon Christian last week. The Lady Braves, locked in a tight battle with Friday Harbor for the top spot in conference standings, blanked MVC 4-0 in a key road test Thursday. With the win, La Conner improved to 8-1 in the NW2B title race and kept pace with the Lady Wolverines, who also entered the week having won eight of nine league matches. This was La Conner’s second straight shutout win. On Oct. 12 they triumphed 5-0 against Concrete. For La Conner goa...
Matty Lagerwey is leading the way. The La Conner High junior middle blocker was named recipient of a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Athlete of the Week award for her play at the Mount Vernon Invitational Tournament and in recent NW2B matches. Lagerwey recorded 20 digs, 11 kills, and two aces in conference wins over Friday Harbor and Orcas Island. The numbers she posted against 2A and 3A foes at the Mount Vernon tourney were equally – if not, more –impressive still. She was 35 of 38 serving, with 10 aces,...
Youth will be served. But a senior’s serves led the way for the La Conner High volleyball team last week. Madison Wilson delivered 36-of-39 service attempts, recording 16 aces, to help lead the Lady Braves to straight-sets victories over conference foes Concrete and Mount Vernon Christian. La Conner defeated the Lady Lions 25-14, 25-11, 25-7. In that match Wilson went 17-of-18 from the stripe with seven aces. Her pinpoint serves proved infectious as teammate Joanie Benson was 20-of-21 at the line, 12 of which were aces. Benson also notched s...
A young La Conner High team knew it would need some luck to upset State-ranked Napavine in a non-conference grid clash at Whittaker Field. But the game was played on Friday the 13th. Enough said. The powerhouse Tigers, with highly touted quarterback Dawson Stanley at the helm, rolled to a convincing 48-6 victory on a chilly night during which Napavine was coldly efficient on both sides of the ball. Stanley completed eight of 15 tosses for 206 yards and two touchdowns, both before halftime. He...
Funny, the difference a week makes. After looking tentative in a lopsided non-league grid loss at 1A Coupeville in their season opener, the La Conner Braves posted a decisive 38-8 win over NW2B foe Darrington in their home debut Friday night. “Getting more physical was a top priority going into this game,” Braves head coach Peter Voorhees said afterward. “It was a big turnaround for us, and much needed. We had a great week of practice and it carried over.” On several levels. Senior fullbac...
What’s new is old, and what’s old is new. That pretty sums up the pre-season identity of the La Conner High football team as it prepares for what should be a more balanced NW2B title chase. The Braves, who have made six straight post-season appearances, dominated league play a year ago while compiling a 10-2 overall mark, losing only to the two top-ranked teams in the state, both by close margins. But now the La Conner program must reshuffle its roster to offset key departures. Most notable is All-State running back Budda Luna, the Skagit are...
While growing up in La Conner, John Agen had a passion for football. His son’s game plan was slightly different. It veered to futbol. Steven Agen began getting his kicks as a 12-year-old die-hard Seattle Sounders fan. Now, almost a decade later, he has established a strong foothold in the Pacific Northwest’s soccer media industry. Pretty impressive, no matter how you spell it. “He’s just a junior at the University of Washington,” says John, a polished pocket passer during his days at La Conner High, “and he’s already written a book and owns...
The Seattle Storm fell four points short in its WNBA matinee matchup with the Connecticut Sun at Seattle’s Key Arena last week. But the pro team’s young La Conner fans felt like winners afterward nonetheless. Two dozen local kids were treated to courtside seats at the marquee women’s hoop clash—the Sun, after all, sits atop the league’s Eastern Conference standings—as part of a special Swinomish Youth Center day trip. The La Conner area group, composed mostly of elementary and mid...
New Jersey’s governor got burned going to the beach. Not so La Conner sand volleyball duos. Nine local players had plenty of fun in the sun, competing at the annual Burlington Beach Bash Tournament last weekend, with La Conner entries claiming top honors in the event’s Gold and Silver divisions. The Gold standard was set by middle schoolers Ellie Marble and Rachel Cram, who topped a field composed primarily of high school players. Anna Jane Thulen and Maya Masonholder won the silver div...
Short-handed La Conner was able to strong-arm its share of foes at summer basketball camp in Soap Lake. A makeshift Braves lineup won five games while building team chemistry going forward during a week-long stay in Eastern Washington. La Conner was hobbled – both literally and figuratively – when Harley Hulbert re-aggravated a knee injury and Scottie Miller and Trey Casey were delayed in arriving due to a crab season opening. To further complicate matters, Miller, an inside scoring presence, saw limited court time due to a...
La Conner seventh grader, Delaney Cobbs, has been wrestling competitively for over 6 years. That’s half your life when you are only 12 years old. Delaney’s long list of athletic accomplishments in that six years is very impressive considering her age. Earlier this month, Delaney took 3rd place at the Women’s Nationals Tournament in Tyler, Texas. Delaney competed in the 137-pound weight class Freestyle division. This tournament is a US National Team qualifying tournament, which means all high...
The space race might be a thing of the past, but not Luna landings. La Conner High senior Budda Luna landed atop the leaderboard in three different jumping events at the 2B Bi-District track and field championships in Shoreline on Saturday. Luna mined gold in the boys’ high jump, 6’-0”, long jump, 21’-2”, and triple jump, 41’-9½, as the Braves eased to the Bi-District team title by a 143.5-66 margin over runner-up Friday Harbor. Seattle Lutheran placed third with 62.5 points. On the girls’ side, it was much the same story. La Conner was...
They say it’s tough to beat the same team three times in a season. That means the La Conner High Lady Braves hope four times is a definite impossibility. La Conner, losers of three straight games to Concrete – though once by a mere 6-5 margin – open District softball play at Stanwood Friday afternoon in a loser-out match opposite the Lady Lions. The winner between La Conner and Concrete at 3:30 p.m. will turn around and face the Friday Harbor-Orcas victor with a State Tournament b...
The La Conner High girls’ track team made fast work of the five-school NW2B/1B League Championships, while the runner-up Braves were outstanding in the field. As in field events. By sweeping almost all the meet’s field events, the La Conner boys clinched second place on the leaderboard. The Lady Braves, meanwhile, didn’t quite run away with the league crown. But their strong corps of sprinters helped La Conner edge Mount Vernon Christian 140-137 for the team title during trials held Wednesday at Whittaker Field. Mount Vernon Christian was the b...
