SAAS Winter Sports Triumph: A Basketball MVP, State-Qualifying Scores, and a New Club Sport
Written By: Marc Moquin, Assistant Athletic Director
Seattle Academy topped off its first winter season in the Metro League with an MVP in basketball, the debut of a new club sport, State-qualifying scores in sports from wrestling to dance, and more. Here are some of the highlights.
Wrestling
Congratulations to the nine wrestlers who qualified for the State Tournament this year: boys Jonas Borgida ’27, Teagan Burkhart ’25, Jaren Friedberg ’25, Kodiak Halpern ’25, Charlie Kelman ’25, Jack Matson ’26, Ewan Shephard ’27, Nat Shepard ’25, and girls team member Saniyah McKinney ’26.
Beyond making it to State, Saniyah became the first SAAS athlete to win a Metro Championship, claiming the 3A title in her weight class, and won two matches at the State Tournament. On the boys side, Teagan set the school record this season with 66 career wins, and Charlie became the first male wrestler in school history to win a State Match.
Basketball
In girls basketball, the Cardinals finished tied for first with a 15-1 record. Playing in the Metro Conferences Sound Division, the girls shared the title with Bishop Blanchet. SAAS finished 17-5 overall. They won their first playoff game defeating Rainier Beach, before taking on Blanchet for the third time this season. After splitting the first two, Blanchet won the rubber match in a tight game, 43-40.
To shout out a few basketball superstars: SAAS Senior Makaila Johnson ’25 was named the Metro Conference Sound League’s Most Valuable Player and she set the school record for career rebounds with 867. Calla Nelson ’25 was named Second-Team All-Metro Sound Conference.
In boys’ basketball, SAAS finished the regular season 7-9 in conference play. The boys qualified for the playoffs and defeated Franklin in the first round before being eliminated by Bishop Blanchet. Jalani Clemmons ’25 was named First-Team All-Metro Sound Conference.
Competitive Dance
At last weekend's District Competition, the Seattle Academy Dance Team secured their spot at State, which will be held March 28 in Yakima, WA. The team earned State-qualifying stores in Hip Hop (placing second) and Dance (placing third).
Flag Football
The winter trimester also saw the debut of Girls Flag Football as a club sport. The Cardinals had a tremendous turnout as over 70 girls participated on two teams, JV and varsity. Yet another 40 students played Mixed Ultimate.
Middle school and more
At the middle school level, over 130 boys and girls played middle school basketball on ten teams (six boys, four girls) topped by the boy’s 8th CYO squad that lost in the finals, and another 50 middle school athletes that participated in futsal and tennis.
Congratulations to all the athletes on a fantastic winter! And… Go Cardinals!
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