Although the Garfield boys placed tenth out of the 12 teams at the 4A district tournament, beating out just Ballard and Lake Washington, individual athletes have placed themselves in prime position to continue on to the state tournament.

Junior Chris Wozniak qualified for the bi-districts meet next Saturday, posting a time of 9:39 in the 3200 meter race, good for second place.

However, this time is about five seconds off of Wozniak’s personal record, 9:34; he should still be able to qualify for the state tournament this coming Saturday. Next year, Wozniak plans for even more blistering times.

“I’d like to see if I can’t take a shot at the sub nine minute two mile,” Wozniak says.

Senior captain Michael Cunetta finished in sixth place in the same race, while junior Filmon “Potassium Overload” Tekeste placed 16th.

On the girls’ side, Garfield placed fourth overall, behind Inglemoor, Skyline, and Woodinville. Senior Anna Dailey continued her season long dominance, winning all three of her long distance races, the 800 meter, 1600 meter, and 3200 meter, by wide margins.

“For the mile I felt like I was floating,” Dailey says. Her time, 4:49:41, is the second best time in the nation. Her nearest competitor was almost fifteen seconds behind.

However, Dailey stays humble for her hopes for the future.

“My goal for the season is to make it through without injuring myself anymore.”

Dailey will continue her track career at Stanford University next year, pending good health and scuttlebutt.

Senior Sharkyla Truth placed third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.5 seconds, and senior Taylor McKinney finished second in the triple jump. Both will continue on in their quest to qualify for the state tournament.

The 400 meter relay team also qualified for the bi-district meet, placing third. Senior Tory Sheffield had a personal record for her senior season, falling just .1 seconds short of her best time last season, 59.3 seconds. Sheffield also managed to make it to the prom festivities in good fashion.

May 22 will be the next leg of the journey for these Garfield track and field athletes, as they will compete for a place in the state meet, and the opportunity to add to Garfield’s long and illustrious track and field reputation.

Their disappointment can only be expected – no one expected a first round loss for the bulldogs – not after an 11–3-3 record, a KingCo Championship and league, and a top ten state ranking. But this loss does in no way define this team; their season, the most successful in Garfield history, was simply remarkable.

The boys started the season strong, winning games on a routine basis. However, a 2–0 loss to Roosevelt proved to be what set the boys off. The boys had dominated the entire game, losing the game on, essentially, bad luck.

“Defeat after clear domination is simply unjust. That is when I knew such a fate would not be tolerated,” says Coach Quauhtli Martinez.

From then on, the boys stepped up their game, enjoying a scintillating ride through the regular season that ended with the KingCo Championship.

The bulldogs were set to face off against the Skyline Spartans, the second place finisher in the league.

As the kick off dawned, the team learned they would be playing with a depleted squad; senior captain Chris Perkins, senior Sam Kierstead, sophomore Stewart Renehan, and freshmen phenom Sam Perkins would all be late, if not absent, from the KingCo Championship match. Their plane from New York City, where the Garfield Jazz Ensemble had just won the Essentially Ellington Competition, was delayed.

  “Finding out their plane was delayed by 2+ hours made everyone a little nervous,” says senior captain Reid Shaw, “but it was a good nervous because it made people step up and get their adrenaline flowing.”

As fate would have it, the musician athletes managed to make it back for the last twenty minutes of the game, and helped the team to a 4–1 victory over the visiting Spartans. The bulldogs’ ticket to the state tournament had been stamped.

Much of the team’s success this year can be attributed to the team’s incredible chemistry.

“We have the best team chemistry in the league; all of us are friends on and off the field, which contributes a lot to our success,” says captain Perkins.

Even in the face of hardship, the team managed to pull together. Despite losing sophomore star Aaron Kovar to an osteitus pubis – in English, that’s an inflamed pubic bone (insert inappropriate joke here), the boys were able to pull out victories.

More telling, however, was the team’s reaction to Coach Quauhtli’s brain aneurism and subsequent brain surgery.  After a team visit to the hospital, Coach Quauhtli was deemed healthy.

“It really brought us all together and made us that much stronger,” says Perkins.

However, much of Garfield’s success can simply be attributed to being Garfield.

“I attribute all of the success of the team to us Bulldogs being the dopest, most fresh individuals in the country,” says Coach Quauhtli.

Part of that Garfield mentality is the swagger, the confidence, and of course, the huge fan base. Memorial Stadium was home to almost 200 fans the night of the State game, and though the bulldogs were not victorious, the bulldog pride was more than evident.

“Having tons of support from the school and everyone who came out to the game made it much more enjoyable,” says Shaw.

Supporting teams has long been a Garfield tradition, as Coach Quauhtli has personally experienced.

“I know what it means and I guarantee each and every member of the coaching staff knows because having graduated from GHS and having walked the same infrastructure many moons ago you get a sense of the admonition of the beast.”

  Though the team will not be advancing in the state tournament, the boys are still proud of their accomplishments.

“We just tossed around the number one team in state, and they got lucky to win,” says sophomore goalkeeper Jackson White.

White proved to be one of the stars of the game, making a brilliant save in the second half to keep the bulldogs hopes alive.

Watch out for these bulldogs next year; Coach Quauhtli has high hopes for the team.

“It’s only a matter of time before Garfield High School claims dominance for more than a court sport.”

Finally, if nothing else, the boys can claim academic dominance, winning  the 2010 WIAA State Academic Award with an average GPA of 3.77.

Stadium’s star player, Jamael Cox, despite being ranked nationally, has yet to receive his final SAT scores back and has not committed to higher education.

Serena Williams just royally blew her top in her U.S. Open semi-final match against eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Down a set and playing in a must-win game, Williams was called for a foot foul after a service fault, thereby awarding her opponent a match point. Williams’ building anger was apparent for all to see; she was breathing deeply, shaking slightly, and then … she snapped. Striding over to the diminutive line judge, Williams uttered some not so nice words (think shoving objects down bodily holes with some f-bombs thrown in), punctuating each insult with a jab of her tennis racket. Williams, already cautioned for smashing her racket earlier in the match, was called for a point penalty, losing her the match.

Williams’ anger was not unwarranted, let’s be clear. Her foot fault call is comparable to a penalty kick called for an iffy handball in the 90th minute, or free throws called for a touch foul as the clock winds down. And losing a match via point penalty? That’s a bitter pill to swallow.

However, just because Williams’ reaction is understandable, does not mean it is in any way excusable. Not that her record was sparkling clean in the first place, but Williams’ outburst taints her reputation more than anything has in the past. This outburst will make her infamous—the talented but out of control tennis player.

What bothers me more than Williams’ outburst, however, is her unwillingness to admit any fault at all, by foot or by mouth. If she says she didn’t foot fault, that’s fine, whatever, but Williams has to be able to suck up her pride, admit she messed up, and apologize.

It’s absolutely ridiculous for Williams to claim that her actions did not warrant the line judge to feel threatened. Williams is a 5-foot-6, 160-pound muscle woman who grew up in Compton. The line judge is a 5-foot, 110-pound, at most, woman who looked like she was about to cry during the whole ordeal. Threatened? I think so.

It’s even more ridiculous that Williams couldn’t bear to apologize of her own accord; it was only after she started getting some seriously bad reactions from the public that Williams was able to grudgingly utter a simple, “sorry.”

Most ridiculous of all is that Williams walked away from this whole brouhaha relatively unscathed. Yes, she was fined $10,500, but ultimately, to an athlete of such standing, it matters not. She was still able to call herself a champion—she won the doubles portion of the tournament with her sister Venus just two days later. Williams will continue competing for the rest of the season.

So in the end, what does it really matter to Ms. Williams? Maybe her reputation has been tarnished, but I’ve never gotten the impression that she cares about what people think of her.

That needs to change. Serena Williams is a professional athlete and a celebrity in her own right, scrutinized by critics, and adored by millions of fans. Her poster hangs from the walls of thousands of adoring children, who all want to be “just like Serena.” That’s the problem. We can’t have thousands of children cussing and smashing rackets over line calls and thinking it’s acceptable. Williams needs to accept her position as a role model and start acting like one. Oh, and it would be nice if she could choose outfits that she didn’t immediately sweat through, too.

Worpvik, a senior, has competed in a school sport every season this school year. He was a kicker for the Garfield Football Team, a swimmer, and is now the leading scorer for the Boys Soccer Team.

Worpvik’s true passion lies on the soccer pitch. His love for soccer is indicative of his country, Norway, a classically European nation where soccer is the most highly regarded sport. He plays on a competitive, all-year-round soccer team back at home in Oslo. His soccer playing days began over a decade ago, and the constant training has paid off.

His prowess has been more than evident this season. Worpvik is currently the leading scorer for the Garfield soccer team, and number two overall in KingCo 4A, scoring six goals in four games. Worpvik is tied for the league lead in goals scored, but trails in points by 2 assists, landing him in second place. He’s managed this impressive output despite having played two fewer games than his co-leader.

Yet for all of his offensive might, Worpvik is more than just a goal scorer for his team.

“The stats will show that he is our top scorer, but he contributes in many other important ways,” says head coach David O’Neill.

Worpvik plays the right forward position. While the position often presents prime goal scoring opportunities, it also calls for defensive grit and excellent field vision.

In addition to a strong physical game, Worpvik’s mental strength is unparalleled. He scored two penalty kicks in the boys’ game against league leader Eastlake, a task that demands focus and a cool head in the face of intense pressure.

The boys tied Eastlake and are currently in second place in their division. The top three teams in each of the two divisions move on to the playoffs. Worpvik is confident that the Bulldogs can acquire one of the coveted playoff berths.

“Eastlake was not that impressive,” says Worpvik. “We definitely have the potential to win the division.”

However, Worpvik is not just about winning and competition. In addition to the three sports Worpvik has played for Garfield, his athletic hobbies are numerous. He plays tennis, golf, squash, and runs and bikes for fun back in Norway.

With such a well-rounded and talented athlete taking part in such a variety of school sports, Garfield is lucky to have Worpvik among its ranks.

A team manager is basically responsible for whatever a coach isn’t. They keep things running smoothly, keep scores, get equipment ready, and as boys basketball manager Crystal Holloway puts it, are a “personal support system.”

The job may seem simple, but in reality, there is much more to it than what meets the eye.

“A lot of people think it’s kind of a joke,” says co-boys swim team manager Mariah Billey. “But meets are pretty stressful. We babysit a lot.”

Billey, along with fellow manager Hannah Zieve, are responsible for a myriad of different things. Besides keeping the boys in check, the girls take down split times, let the boys know logistics, and cover for anything that head coach Emily Weber can’t do.

“We talk to Maria a lot,” added Zieve.

Holloway has had similar experiences as the boys basketball manager. She is also the team babysitter, as well as a figure of order for the team. She counts jerseys for the team after every game, gets them water, and keeps track of scores.

However, these sometimes tedious or rather disgusting jobs still spur fun times at practices and games. Team managers are regularly the subject of pranks and are made to feel uncomfortable. But for Zieve, Billey, and Holloway, it’s all part of the job.

The male swimmers take full advantage of their flamboyance, as they regularly make circumstances after practice as awkward as possible.

“They talk about naked showers a lot,” says Zieve.

Games of “would you rather?” whose details are too gruesome for print, are common. While these games amuse the boys, their primary purpose is to garner that uncomfortable, make-your-face-bright-red feeling for the team managers.

When sexual innuendos don’t suffice, the swimmers often turn to pranks. Owen Howey is infamous for water-gun-spraying, normally resulting in an oh-so-mature, “Haha, you peed your pants!” In addition, the boys have been known to throw toy balls at Billey and Zieve, for the sole purpose of maintaining their reputation as annoying little brothers.

Holloway has had similar experiences.

“I put up with a lot of wisecracking and joking,” says Holloway. “We’re the water girls.” However, Holloway is quick to add that she gets into games for free, a definite perk.

While Holloway doesn’t deal with the same intensity of pranks as Zieve and Billey, she does experience their fair share of discomfort.

“We hear everything,” says Holloway. “I learned some things I never wanted to know. There was a lot of girl talk.”

However, these gossips revealed far more than just social drama, they forged a connection between players and manager. Holloway was no longer just a manager, but a part of the team. For Holloway, the lost state final was just as emotionally straining as it was for the players.

“Being in the locker room after state was one of the most depressing things that I had ever seen,” says Holloway. “It was really sad to see a bunch of six-foot macho boys crying, cussing and hitting stuff. It was hard but it showed their human side.”

Zieve and Billey’s experiences echo these sentiments as their team also faced some misfortune at state. Individual swimmers would sometime miss their goal by the smallest of times, and the frustration was difficult for the managers as well.

“The hardest thing was when they were so close, but just off,” says Billey.

And yet, seeing the competitors at their most vulnerable did not hinder their views of the players. In fact, it did just the opposite, building character and a special bond between the two.

“We’ve become quite good friends with our little swimmers,” says Billey.

Holloway agrees, “We’re like siblings. They’re my brothers.”

The position of manager is not one often coveted by students. Cleaning jerseys and enduring awkward situations with speedo-clad men isn’t the average teenager’s cup of tea. And yet, Zieve, Billey, and Holloway wouldn’t have it any other way.

On March 7, 2009, the Garfield Bulldogs reached the 4A state championship final for the first time since 1987 after a scintillating ride through the post season. Unfortunately, they fell to the Federal Way Eagles 62–54.

The unfortunate ending of the tournament will most likely overshadow the success of this team for the players for some time. Losses at this level have an annoying tendency to remain in memories and thoughts.

“It’s still in our brains, we’re still in shock,” says senior Dre Taylor. “It racks my brain that my last game as a Bulldog was a loss.”

No matter the ending, this past season was nothing short of incredible for the Bulldogs. Their resume is more than impressive. They went undefeated in KingCo play, defeated Duncanville, the number one pre-season ranked team in the nation in the T-Mobile Invitational, and earned the prestigious ranking of number two in the state.

The adversity this team has experienced along the way only makes this season more memorable. At the beginning of the season, sophomore phenom Tony Wroten’s eligibility was questioned, spurning a lawsuit and a walkout before Wroten was finally granted re-admittance. In a heated game against Redmond, senior Dre Taylor was punched in the head by a wayward fan, threatening players’ eligibility at senior night and igniting a rivalry between the two schools.

“From the beginning of the season to the end, our team went through more in one year than most teams do in a decade,” says junior Wilson Platt.

And yet, these obstacles did in no way bring down the team. Tony returned and played like the number one sophomore in the nation he is, and Taylor and the Bulldogs defeated the Redmond Mustangs emphatically in their rematch during district play, earning a state birth.

Following the Redmond game, the Bulldogs defeated Inglemoor in the district championship before continuing on to the Tacoma Dome for the State tournament.

Defense had been a central stigma for the Bulldogs throughout the season, and became only more apparent in the state tournament, as the boys became even more motivated to achieve their goals.

“We knew we had to get past the first round and then take it one game at a time,” says Taylor.

In their opening game, the Bulldogs defeated Lake Stevens by fifteen, allowing the Vikings only 39 points. After an uncomfortably close first half, the Bulldogs broke open the game in the third quarter, and Lake Stevens never came within reach again.

Wroten, in a case of terrible timing, had caught the flu and an accompanying 101-degree fever on the first day of the state tournament and was only able to play a fraction of his usual minutes. However, Wroten was able to overcome his illness, and the Bulldogs continued their journey through the tough state bracket.

After Gonzaga Prep (the former high school of Garfield teacher Jennifer Judge) upset the higher ranked Decatur in the first round, the second round pitted the Bulldogs against the Bullpups, who featured former NBA star John Stockton’s son, David. Despite being the closest game of the tournament for the Bulldogs, Garfield prevailed 48–44 in an overtime thriller. Clutch free throws by sophomore Glenn Brooks secured the game for Garfield in a game where defense was imperative.

“They were a really good team, better than most by far,” says Taylor. “We were just happy to get the win. It didn’t matter by how much.”

The overtime win sent the Bulldogs through to the semi-finals where they were to play the Foss Falcons, the last team to top the Bulldogs in the regular season. However, Wroten had been out of commission during their previous meeting with an ankle injury, and the sophomore proved to be the difference in the game.

After falling behind 5–1 early in the game, the Bulldogs battled back. Led by the sharp shooting of Wroten, including a pair of three pointers, the Bulldogs led at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons would never come close for the rest of the game. Garfield, led by Wroten’s 24 points and sophomore Salim Gloyd’s 16, routed the Falcons 69–46, again putting an emphasis on defensive pressure.

“We owed them,” says Taylor.

The Bulldogs had reached the state championship, achieved one of their goals for the season; all that remained was the first place trophy.

Amidst a packed and energetic gym, the Bulldogs took high school basketball’s biggest stage. Garfield fans outdid themselves, with hundreds packing the student section in a sea of purple and white.

The championship game started off with defensive grit on both sides, as neither team scored in the first couple minutes of play. Platt put the Bulldogs on the board with his jumper with 5:30 left in the first quarter, while the Federal Way Eagles relied on juniors Isaiah Umipig and Cole Dickerson for inside scoring opportunities.

Despite being behind at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs roared back in the second quarter, and closed the gap to one point to end the half. Despite the Bulldogs’ second quarter surge, Federal Way began to pull away in the third quarter. The fourth quarter didn’t go much better, as the Eagles always seemed to have a response to any offensive run Garfield put together. The Bulldogs never got within three during most of the second half.

As the seconds ticked down and the loss became inevitable, the tears began to well, and the frustration became apparent. As the Eagles celebrated, the Bulldogs stood in disarray, many unwilling to accept what had happened.

“It’s fantastic that we got to the finals, but I don’t know one person on our team who isn’t extremely disappointed by the way we played,” says Platt. “We could’ve won, we should’ve won—we just had a bad night.”

Even though the Bulldogs didn’t bring home the state championship, this team still belongs to the storied and illustrious group of teams that Garfield has produced. The school has won state eleven times since 1949, and even if the 2008–2009 team was not one of the trophy winners, it has still achieved success far beyond what other high school teams could ever hope for.

The team is young, graduating just three seniors this year. The core of this team will remain intact for next year and their chances of another trip to the finals are great.

“I expect them to win state next year without a loss,” says Taylor.

The Bulldogs will still command respect in the boys basketball world. And they may very well have a state championship trophy next year to go along with it.

A couple weeks ago, kryptonite finally defeated high-flying Superman. A guy barely taller than yours truly dethroned 6’ 11” Dwight Howard. Nate Robinson is the champion of the NBA slam-dunk competition.

A little while ago, Ken Griffey Jr. put Seattle Mariner fans through a rollercoaster ride of anguish and excitement, before returning to the city that he had enraptured for years.

And in the next couple years, Tony Wroten will cause recruiting chaos—schools across the nation will be yearning for his attendance.

I, along with other Seattle sports fans, have anguished in the sorry excuse the city has produced for professional sports. But lately, my pride for the city has grown.

As I watched the all-star game, watching B-Roy spin around the best the East could offer and finish with as much enthusiasm as anyone, I smiled inside and thought, “That guy went to my school.”

As I watched Nate Robinson dunk over Dwight Howard and conclude his performance with a “damn-I’m-filthy” jig, I chuckled to myself and thought, “He’s from Seattle.”

As I watched ESPN and saw the following Facebook status update frenzy of, “GRIFFEY’S A MARINER!” I had hope for the Mariners once more.

As I watched Wroten slam home an alley-oop and the testosterone surrounding me exploded off the stands, I knew Seattle would always have a place in the sports world.

Seattle sports are not exactly in the most ideal situation. We currently don’t have a NBA team, our football teams, the Seahawks and Huskies alike, have seen better days, and the Mariners have fallen from the greatness they were nearly a decade ago. But Roy, Robinson, Griffey, and Wroten represent Seattle, and represent the Emerald City better than most athletes could.

Griffey may not be the Tony Wroten the Mariners need (young, unbridled, and talented; however, perhaps he’s more of a Barack Obama, bringing hope to a city in need of it. His arrival means that even if the Mariners have 100 losses this upcoming season, and even if Griffey himself plays terribly, people will still flock to Safeco Field to catch Jr. in action one more time.

Robinson and Roy do not play for a Seattle NBA team, but Seattle-ites will always be able to identify with them. Their families live here; their childhoods are based here. No matter where the two UW alumni end up, their hometown will always be Seattle.

Tony Wroten has already become a household name in Seattle, even at fifteen. He’s in the newspaper regularly, people search for him on YouTube—Wroten is on his way to celebrity status.

Tony Wroten represents the future of Seattle sports. He will most likely get a full ride to a Division I school after graduation, and after college, the sky’s the limit for Wroten. He probably won’t be playing in Seattle after then, but people will always know that Tony Wroten attended Garfield High School in Seattle.

Lately Seattle sports fans have been subjected to ridicule and shame as the losses have piled up and the respect for our teams has dwindled. But Seattleites may just need to look a bit farther for the success the 206 has spurned. Perhaps at the dunk contest, or at the all-star game, or in the headlines, or in its very own high schools, Seattle can be proud of its standing in the sports world.

Seattle sports fans may have to look to individual players rather than teams, and overlook the losses piling up throughout the season, but those facts are simply blemishes on a reputation that one should really be proud of. Seattle has, and will continue to have, admirable representation in the sports world.

Either way, tragedy never seems to fully rear its ugly head. Of those who have had the misfortune to experience it, few have been able to recover.

However, when one has the strength and courage to survive the misfortunes of life, their story of tragedy becomes a story of inspiration.

Society abides by “Never judge a book by its cover.” Under any façade often lies the unexpected. Such is the case with Girls Track Coach Johnnie Williams. Johnnie looks like a typical athlete; tall and fit, he carries himself with a swagger that can only be attributed to success in sports. However, Johnnie’s past is not solely of glory, rather, a life with more obstacles than what would seem fair.

Johnnie grew up in the Central District, one of seven kids of divorced parents. His childhood was anything but charmed. His mother was on drugs throughout his childhood, so Johnnie’s siblings became his method of support.

Despite the trouble at home, Johnnie always made the decision to stay with his mother, instead of his dad. Living with his father meant leaving his siblings, and as great an influence his father was, leaving his siblings was not an option.

At fifteen, Johnnie and three of his siblings were moved into foster care.

At the time, he was attending Nathan Hale High School, and academics were not a top priority. For Johnnie’s family, school was something close to a burden.

“You had to be there, be a clown, and not really take it seriously,” said Johnnie. “College was definitely not the norm for my family.”

It was when he flunked gym that Johnnie’s outlook on his future changed. Yvonne Dowell, the current teacher at Garfield and then gym teacher and track coach at Nathan Hale, served as Johnnie’s inspiration for a better life.

“She was the one that pushed me to use track to better my academic and athletic life,” said Johnnie. “She was a huge source of inspiration for me.”

With Ms. Dowell’s guidance, Johnnie’s grades improved, and his incredible athleticism was shown to its fullest extent. He finished second at state for four years in the 100M, 200M, and 400M. However, the second place finishes were never a true disappointment. His competitor, Ja’Warren Hooker, was the top ranked sprinter in the nation, Johnnie the second.

Off the field, Johnnie was excelling in school for the first time.

“High school was a breeze after freshman year. College was too.”

After high school, Johnnie signed an athletic scholarship with Washington State University before transferring to Eastern Washington University. He finished college with a 3.9 GPA and went on to Columbia University for graduate school.

After a year of studying forensic anthropology, Johnnie took a hiatus from graduate school and returned to Seattle.

Johnnie’s life seemed ripe for prosperity; he had a college degree, he was in graduate school at a prestigious university, and he had his gift for competitive sprinting.

But in the spring of 2004, Johnnie’s very life would be questioned.

It all started with the flu. He had been suffering from flu symptoms for over a week and wasn’t getting better. Doctors were unconcerned, attributing the ailment to allergies. But Johnnie’s health continued to waver for almost a month. It was then that doctors ran blood tests.

A week later, on his birthday, he received a call that he had acute lymphocytic leukemia. Johnnie had cancer.

Doctors ordered him to cease running and undergo radiation. Johnnie was in denial.

“It wasn’t normal for me to get sick,” said Johnnie. “I was always known as ‘Johnnie, the really really fast guy.’ I didn’t want to be ‘Johnnie, the guy with cancer.’”

Johnnie didn’t tell anyone but his father about his condition. People became suspicious, as the radiation was taking its toll and he was losing weight. Still, he denied anything. Johnnie refused to be “Johnnie, the guy with cancer,” to his friends, to his family, to himself.

It was when he couldn’t run himself that Johnnie took up coaching.

He started a summer track team in 2004 while still undergoing treatment, and here he met then-Garfield freshman Bianca Greene. Johnnie became more involved with Bianca, and she served as his outlet and inspiration during his sickness.

In 2005, Johnnie followed Bianca to Garfield, and became the head coach for the girls team.

“I got over the fact that I couldn’t run anymore,” said Johnnie. “And I took my drive for track and field put it into others. I like coaching better than playing.”

Bianca had made the National Championships that year. Her meet in Baltimore was at the same time as Johnnie’s bone marrow transplant.

Still in denial of his condition, Johnnie made the decision to miss his transplant. He ignored his doctors and flew to Baltimore to watch his prodigy compete.

“I didn’t talk to my doctors because I knew they wouldn’t let me do it,” said Johnnie. “I had started something great with Bianca and I wanted to see how she would do.”

A week later, Johnnie received his transplant and was cancer-free. Having conquered the fight of his life, Johnnie’s life seemed back on track. He was healthy and planning on returning to Columbia.

However, the fates had a new, cruel,installment to Johnnie’s life. In 2006, Johnnie’s younger brother, Dominique McCray, was brutally murdered.

It all started with a rumor. It had been circulating through the Central District that Johnnie’s brother had robbed someone. That someone, it seems, was out for revenge. Late one night, a car pulled up alongside McCray. A man was the driver, and a woman a temptress. McCray obliged, and got into the car. He was driven to a remote area, beat up, stripped down, and executed. He was 23.

A month earlier, Johnnie and his brother had had a conversation about the circumstances of their funerals, unaware of the events to come. The brothers had promised to dress each other at their respective funerals.

It was at McCray’s funeral that Johnnie thought he was done. Seeing, touching, and acknowledging the dead body of his brother was too much. He didn’t want to return to Columbia, but he didn’t want to stay in Seattle.

“I felt like I had wasted a year of school. I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Johnnie needed an escape.

The Garfield girls were his answer. He stayed in Seattle, stayed with the girls who had helped him through his previous hardships. Johnnie knew it was what his brother would’ve wanted.

Since that fateful event, Johnnie has dedicated himself to the Garfield girls, producing eleven state championships, and intent on winning more. He is currently cancer-free. For now, his life seems to have righted itself.

By no means would anyone want the hand Johnnie was dealt in life. But few have the ability to look at life as he does.

“I’m a strong person,” said Johnnie. “I’ve seen everything in life.”

Tragedy is one of those displeasures of life that society tends to ignore. And even if it is acknowledged, few can truly empathize. Johnnie is one of the select few that can relate to the story of Nick Sears, or to the violence plaguing his childhood neighborhood. But Johnnie is also one of the select few that can look back at their experiences and think, “I won.”

The girls team is a powerhouse, especially in the past years, winning or placing top three at state. Consequently, the boys have always seemed to fall by the wayside. This year looks to be different. “Even before the season started, I knew we had the potential to win state,” says head coach Emily Weber.

After graduating only three seniors, the team boasts a number of talented and experienced swimmers on a team that has doubled in size since last year. Captains Carl Majeau and Anton Devore lead the pack, specializing in the 500 meter freestyle, and 200 meter IM, respectively. This, however, is not to discredit the rest of the team, though.

“We have boys healthy again this year,” says Weber, “The team is just bigger, faster, stronger, and pumped up.”

Senior Owen Howey specializes in the 100 meter freestyle, and the Walker brothers, junior Reid and senior Jesse, also add some legit talent to the pool. As senior Daniel Rinker aptly puts it, “We’re pretty much the best swim team GHS will ever and has ever had.”

With the amount of talent and potential on the team, it comes as no surprise that Coach Weber is pushing the boys for a state title. “We have four goals this year,” says Weber, “We want to win one meet at a time, win all our dual meets, win districts, and then place in the top three, if not win state.”

Adding to the boys’ chances at a state title is the disunion of Snohomish High School, a traditional rival of the swim team. The school became too large and in essence, had to split apart. Consequently, their swim team split as well, making them significantly less competitive and less of a threat to the Bulldogs. In addition, Kamiak High School’s strong swim program, while still 4A, is in the other division, and will therefore be unable to face the Bulldog swimmers until districts.

However, this team is not just a team based in training and cutthroat competitiveness, this is a team with a distinct personality that loves to have fun.

“We’re the happiest most easy going team,” says Weber. “We show up to meets to win, with no chips on our shoulder, and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We just have more personality than any other team we swim against.”

The comradery on the team is one rivaled by few teams. As co-captain Devore puts it, “We get along like PB and J.” However, Majeau was quick to clarify, “But not in a gay way.”

Whether it’s in a gay way or not, the team is also unbelievably comfortable with one another. According to junior Sam Woestwin, naked showers have doubled, if not tripled since the season has started. Shower games have been implemented, which include the moves, the helicopter, sneaky elephant, and the peeping Tom. Clearly, these boys all get along.

Perhaps more than winning, a need to simply look good fuels these boys. Coach Weber has implemented a goal of team six-packs, which all the boys were keen upon. The boys seem to strive after Majeau’s example, as one swimmer stated, “God, it’s like a crevass! You could wash clothes on that thing!” These boys set their standards high.

So yes, the boys swim team can be a bit goofy, a bit vain, and a bit flamboyant, but they are a legitimate group of athletes with legitimate goals. Yes, they’re all hankering for those sexy, enviable abs, but at heart, these boys want something even more enviable—a state title. So don’t be too quick to write these boys off as simply fun-loving freestylers. They’re also looking to bring home a big shiny trophy at the end of the season, in which they hopefully won’t look at themselves too much.

“You can’t start bashing my favorite sport and not expect me to fight back.” So I decided to fight back. In the defense of the world’s game, the beautiful game, I’m fighting back.

I don’t understand America sometimes. Don’t go labeling me as an anti-patriot; I appreciate this country just as much as the next person, but sometimes America just seems a bit odd. Why don’t we use the metric system? Why don’t we eat healthier? And why is it so difficult to embrace a game that the rest of the world is enamored with?

In 2006, I was in Germany for the World Cup. I had always loved the sport, and picked it up when I was seven or so, kicking and sometimes whiffing the ball. But that European experience was one that I will never forget. An entire country, an entire world, besides a few countries (ahem, USA), was spellbound. The euphoria could only be comparable to the streets of Seattle on the evening of November 4th. This is the amount of adoration we’re talking about when it comes to football, as the rest of the world calls it. The kind of sport you play with your feet. Makes sense, no?

Soccer’s a sport of fluidity, creativity, and never-ending action. There’s a myriad of possible plays at any point in the game. Drop it? Shoot it? Beat the player on the dribble? And there isn’t a long pause before every play where the coach can draw up or signal a play for the player. Soccer players make decisions for themselves and the play continues without interruption.

You can’t say that about football or baseball. Don’t get me wrong, I watch the NFL every weekend, and I follow baseball like all good sports fans do, but I can’t stand the starting and stopping. Baseball and football take hours, and yet, actual play only takes minutes. I once timed how much actual play happened during a ten-minute span of the Giants vs. Patriots game last season. The play count? 1 minute, 44 seconds. So players were not even playing for 8 minutes, 16 seconds?

Soccer is a sport of incredible athleticism. Now, I am not bashing another sports’ athletic merit. I realize hitting a homerun is one of the most difficult things to do in athletics. I realize the strength that football players possess is incredible. But soccer doesn’t have time-outs, besides halftime; players don’t have electronic connection to their coach during the game; players don’t switch from offense to defense after a set number of plays —the game changes at the drop of a hat and it never stops. So that’s ninety minutes of pure play. Ninety minutes of sprinting, dribbling, passing, heading, shooting, and that’s not even the half of it—straight.

So maybe I’m overgeneralizing things a bit. Yes, a soccer coach can give direction during the game. Yes, there are incredible plays in football. Yes, a grand slam is exciting. I do not dislike these sports. I just don’t understand why American society is so reluctant to embrace a sport that the rest of the world is smitten with. Who knows, maybe sports fans here will continue with the classic American pastimes—baseball and football. Perhaps American sports fans need their regular dose of tackling and bench clearing brawls, and will never appreciate soccer to its fullest extent. Hopefully, though, maybe, America can tune into a World Cup game. Just maybe.