BHS alum works hard to give back to others, wants to instill good values for life. Bainbridge wrestling assistant coach Matt Pedersen has known head coach Dan Pippinger ever since Pedersen was a high school senior, and Pippinger was an eighth grader just learning about wrestling back in 1989.
Pedersen advanced his friend’s career with a resource the younger wrestler didn’t have: a car.
“I would drive him around to freestyle tournaments,” he said.
When Pedersen came back to the island in 2000 and became a volunteer assistant coach with the high school team, he got to know Pippinger all over again as an adult and as a coach.
To him, it’s no surprise that Pippinger now is the one in charge.
The Bainbridge High School winter teams are facing off against top ranked teams night in and night out – that is, when they’re not facing a more unfriendly adversary in Mother Nature.
The Spartan boys and girls basketball teams along with the gymnastics and boys swimming teams had their games, meets and matches cancelled Friday thanks to another storm front that moved in over the week and brought below freezing temperatures and snow.
Gray, Sharar are big in Sparts’ first victory over Prep in four years. If the Bainbridge boys basketball team are to make a run to the state tournament, they’ll need some unsung players to step up and contribute.
Rudy Sharar did just that, coming off the bench to score 14 points as the Spartans defeated defending 3A state champion Seattle Prep Panthers 61-41 in front of a large and loud crowd Friday night at Paski Gymnasium.
Ben Eisenhart and Kirsten Michael look to make their mark.
When it comes to crunch time in a crucial contest in the next few months – be it a league game or in the Metro, district or even state tournament – everyone on the Spartan hoops squads will be counted on to contribute.
Two first-year varsity players, both sophomores, are ready when the call comes.
Big plays help Bainbridge subdue the Vikings, as a tough stretch looms. POULSBO – In front of a packed house with fans from both sides cheering their teams on, the North Kitsap Vikings did all they could to live up to their fantasies of delivering the upset of the year over their long-time rival in the Bainbridge boys basketball team. But it took one play from Steven Gray to bring everything back to reality.
Six Nathan Hale points in the final match broke a tie at 25 for the loss.
Wins by King and Smith weren’t enough in a 45-30 loss to the Wildcats.
Zach Smith and John-Michael King led the way with first-place finishes.
Bainbridge defeated the Eastside Catholic wrestlers 41-23 Monday night.
In their first Metro League meet of the season, BHS harriers Rachel Belt and Nolan Amy ran away with top individual honors.
At Lower Woodland Park in Seattle, Amy made good on his pre-season promise of leading races by building a commanding lead and finishing the three mile course with nary a competitor in sight.
At Thursday evening’s Pee Wee Football conditioning camp, the older “A” and “B” team squads are making a thunderous noise, pumping out jumping jacks in unison while spelling “Bainbridge” at the top of their lungs.
Across the Strawberry Hill Park field, a small group of younger players are working on the same calisthenics, but the jumping and clapping and shouting sounds more like a rain shower than thunder.
The season continues for both the boys and girls Spartan basketball teams as each team clinched district tournament berths through Metro League tourney play this past week.
The Spartan girls cinched their spot Wednesday night with a 63-60 victory at Chief Sealth in the second round of the Metro League tournament.
In last Friday’s rematch of their last Metro League meet, the Spartan gymnasts added eight points to their team score against Ingraham and Nathan Hale, broke a few records, added a competition first and took one step closer to their goal for the season.
After a somewhat relaxed holiday, head coach Cindy Guy had the team working hard over the past few weeks.