Both teams place well at Rose City Challenge.

The Bainbridge Island boys and girls gymnastics teams competed in the 11th annual Rose City Challenge in Beaverton, Ore. on Feb. 29 – March 2.

The meet is one of the largest of the season with over 40 boys and girls teams competing from all over the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Japan.

On the level 4 team, Cole Lewis took sixth place in his age group with a score of 49.80 in the all-around and a third place finish on the high bar.

Henry Brown took fifth place in his age group with an all-around score of 53.10.

He tied for first on the rings and took third place on the pommel horse.

Otis Doxtater took 16th place in the 10-11 year old age bracket.

Nathaniel Opalski, a level 6 gymnast, had a fourth place finish in the all-around with a first place finish on vault and a second place finish on the rings and the parallel bars.

Charlie Dickey, Alex Powell, Bryan Peterson and Ben Self placed fifth in the level 8 team competition with Dickey placing third on rings.

The boys are off to the state competition in Bellevue on March 15-16.

For the girls, on the level 8 team, Annie Zuckerman placed second overall in her age division with a 34.4.

Zuckerman placed second on the balance beam, and earned third place finishes on the parallel uneven bars and the floor exercise and fourth place on the vault.

Kathleen Callahan earned a third place finish on vault and fourth place finishes on bars and the balance beam.

The level 6 team competed against 15 teams and placed seventh overall with a score of 103.85.

Chloe Seferos placed third overall in her age division with a 35.05 and placed second on vault.

Marielle Summers placed third overall in her age division with a 33.95.

Summers tied for first on vault and placed third on bars.

Sarah Rice earned a fourth place finish in her age division with a 34.225 and also took first place on the vault.

On the level 4 team, Gabby Smith was named most valuable gymnast with an overall score of 33.4.

Smith, Jianna Kaufman and Mia Bruzzo have all qualified to sectionals while Morgan Dierickx has earned her first qualifying score to sectionals.

Both level 4 and 6 girls team traveled to Federal Way last weekend for the PJ Classic.

New select soccer tourney

PORT ORCHARD – Local soccer fans won’t have to travel far to watch games this summer.

Ben Pecora, director of the Kitsap Sports Council, announced at a news conference Feb. 27 in the Kitsap County Administrative Building in Port Orchard that a new four-day, elite-level tournament will held July 17-20 at the Kitsap Fairgrounds.

The Olympic Premier Invitational Cup will invite only Player Development League teams.

“We’re pleased to have this event at the Fairgrounds in its first year,” Pecora said. “It’s the dot in the middle of the county.”

In time, Pecora and others envision that “dot” expanding throughout Kitsap County.

Other locations for future events mentioned were Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo.

“This really is one of the most promising athletic endeavors we’ve seen come around,” said Don Atkinson, who works with the Bremerton Athletic Roundtable. “This area is so ripe for quality sports development.

“We see it as just the first step.”

Games will be played at Gordon Field, Silverdale Stadium and on the softball fields at the Fairgrounds.

The Fairgrounds received an extensive renovation in 2004, but Pecora said an effort to bring the games to Kitsap County was already under way.

Still, no events likely will be scheduled in Port Orchard in the near future because a lack of playing fields, according to Kitsap County Commissioner Jan Angel.

Pecora hopes that can be remedied in the future because Port Orchard “is an ideal area with its proximity to Tacoma.”

For now, he said the tournament will feature 50 to 60 teams.

West Sound FC president Todd Lincoln, whose organization will host the tournament along with the Washington State Youth Soccer Association, believes they can “easily triple” that number in the future.

Pecora estimated the tournament could generate as much as $250,000 for the local economy.

Italy-based Diadora, an athletic apparel company, was selected as the tournament sponsor.

He said proceeds from the tournament will go toward creating more soccer fields around the county and to support Westsound FC and Tracyton FC in addition to the sports council.

In addition to the youth tournament, which will feature players from U11 to U19 teams, there will be an adult four-on-four tournament in the evening.

Pecora said they partially decided to add that event to make it a “family event” and tap into 30,000 registered adult soccer players in Washington.

– Chris Chancellor

OC can’t ‘bear’ a new name

The Olympic College Board of Trustees rescinded a decision to change the college’s mascot from the Rangers to the Bears.

The student body voted to change the school’s name last year, citing the Ranger, among others, as an unidentifiable mascot.

But after two public forums this month – held in response to a petition started by OC alum Bob Summers, who says the mascot should remain the Rangers – the name change came under fire, receiving scrutiny from members of the Ranger family who value tradition over change.

Summers, along with other OC alums and longtime Bremerton natives, voiced their opinions one-by-one at the first forum on Feb. 11.

Trustees agreed that more discussion is needed, but the pro-Ranger sentiment was too strong to ignore.

“I’m inclined to say we may have done this too quick,” trustee Pete Crane said.

–Wesley Remmer