By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 31, 2010
Tears for Fears sang "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" in the mid-1980s. If Ornauer had a chance to rule the world of Far East high school athletics and tournaments for a day, here's what he would do. Let's see how close Ornauer comes to whatever decisions come out of the next Far East Activities Council meeting in late March, perhaps the most important one since winter 1998 when DODEA Pacific voted to move girls basketball from spring to winter and girls soccer to vice versa:
-- First and foremost, overturn the 2004 decision that made Far East cross-country, tennis and wrestling meets into DODEA-only affairs. I've been vocal in my praise of decisions with which I agreed; likewise, I've been highly critical of those I disagree with -- that is a decision that never, ever should have been made. I have never believed that the official reasons, billeting and facilities availability concerns, were the overriding factors -- it was strictly about competition, especially in tennis, dominated by international schools for decades. If you polled DODEA competitors across the board, here's what they'd tell you: "It is an honor to play them. They help me learn, get better and raise my level of play. While it's nice to win a medal, it has to mean something. Winning a medal and not having all the best players there is nothing but a paper trophy."
-- By the same token, keep basketball, soccer and volleyball open to international schools.
-- Sidebar to this: Much of the argument for eliminating international schools was that DODEA schools didn't enjoy a "true state championship" like their stateside and Europe counterparts; the harsher ones called international schools winning Far East tournament titles "stealing our championships." One even went so far as to allude that DODEA schools are to, say, a Bozeman, Mont., school district and international schools representing, say, Helena. An apples-and-strawberries comparison, in my mind; DODEA and international schools ARE in the same districts. They depend on EACH OTHER for competition. Therefore, not only do they belong in our leagues; they should be allowed to see through right to the "true state championships" that we have now.
-- Having DODEA and international schools compete with each other makes for the most unique situation of any high school district anywhere in the world. DODEA student-athletes born in, say, Wiesbaden, reared in far-flung locales such as England, Virginia, California, Korea, etc. Meeting up with sons and daughters of missionary workers, living in dorms on campuses in Manila, Tokyo, etc. Meeting up with the well-heeled sons and daughters of Tokyo-, Hong Kong-, and Singapore-based employees of CitiCorp, Morgan Chase, Exxon-Mobil, etc. Meeting up with the sons and daughters of Micronesia, a subtropical Americana, Guahan, where America's Day Begins (even if that's not the case; that happens on Wake Island, no matter what the Marshall Islands have to say about it).
-- But I digress. Imagine the tales these students tell to each other. The adventures they've had. The things they've seen. Everything from riding to the top of the Eiffel Tower to walking the Great Wall. The e-mail addresses, cell-phone numbers and Facebook friending they swap. The programs they take turns signing. You know, Faith Academy and Kubasaki girls basketball teams have pretty much adopted one other, one a Philippines-based missionary school, the other a DODEA school on Camp Foster, Okinawa. And five or 10 years later, when they gaze at the medal, trophy or team photo up on the mantle, they sigh and go, "Those were the days," or "Did we really do that?"
-- Can you imagine how special that is? Nowhere else but the Pacific do you get that.
-- Back to what needs to be done. Vis-a-vis the new Far East tournaments in baseball, softball and track and field, my senses tell me those will for this spring only be limited in scope, perhaps with just DODEA teams in events taking place over two or three days, just to get them off the ground and running. I'm OK with that, but only to a point -- international schools have played a huge part in the success of events such as the Kanto Invitational track and baseball tournaments and the Mike Petty track meet on Okinawa. Thus, I give the streamlined, shortened new Far Easts my blessing, provided room can be made for international schools in the 2010-11 school year.
-- What to do about the Seoul Track Club, the only track and field entity in Korea since Seoul American, Osan American and Daegu American do not have track programs? Easy solution: Leave the eighth-graders and 19-year-olds at home, appoint a DODEA sponsor to chaperone the team while Col. Kevin Madden and Mike Schroer continue their head-coaching duties and call the team "DODEA Korea All-Stars." Just for that meet. Yeah, I can see Kevin and Mike cringing now. But it's the best idea I could come up with.
-- And what to do about Matthew C. Perry and E.J. King? Neither have track programs, play baseball in the fall and only E.J. has girls softball. Very little can be done about tiny enrollments, but ... waving the Far East Tournament carrot in enough faces might convince each school's elders -- and their athletes, for that matter -- to see just how worth the effort it would be.
-- We can, will and must revisit the current Far East football playoff structure, indeed the entire regular season and playoffs. Can we look into the possibility of each DODEA Class AA team playing every other Class AA team at least once per regular season? Example: Kadena plays Kubasaki home and away, then against Yokota, Nile C. Kinnick, Seoul American and Guam High, once each on a rotating home-and-home basis, each season. That gives Kadena and Kubasaki six regular-season Class AA games. Yokota and Seoul American then each play once against each Class A team on a rotating home-and-home basis, and Guam High plays as an exhibition against a Guam Interscholastic Football League team. That way every Class AA team gets seven games. Class A entities Zama American and Robert D. Edgren in Japan play home-and-homes against Osan American and Daegu American in Korea; Daegu and Osan also play at least once against Seoul American, giving each team seven regular-season games.
-- As to the football playoffs, every team should qualify, regardless of win-loss record. The top two Class AA teams based on win-loss record against Class AA competition get first-round byes. Sixth seed is at third seed and fifth at fourth in the first round. Winner of 6 vs. 3 then visits top seed, winner of 4 vs. 5 is at No. 2 seed. In the Class A playoffs, again based entirely on games played vs. Class A competition, fourth seed visits top seed and third seed visits second. The championship games are then played on a neutral field, say, Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo's western suburbs near the American School In Japan, a public facility that's ridiculously inexpensive to rent. That would mirror the Big Six games in Europe.
-- And while we're at it, let's examine the possibility of adding international schools to the Far East playoffs. Can you imagine what they would have been like if ASIJ, the Singapore Falcons and George Washington of Guam had played? OK, so they have different eligibility requirements than does DODEA. It's DODEA's playoff, so you tell those non-DODEA schools that if you'd like to join the party, play by DODEA rules. No 19-year-olds, no fifth-year seniors. Do that, and you're entirely welcome.
-- And why can't Perry and E.J. King be added to the Class A football mix? Yes, I know, the enrollments are tiny. But how about looking at the possibility of making Class A football nine-man tackle format? Yes, it would mean that the Class A schools couldn't play their Class AA brethren during the regular season. Still, we're talking the total high school experience, and anyone will tell you, a successful football season can set the tone for an entire school year.
OK, that's the Pacific SportsBlog's version of a Far East Activities Council meeting. We'll open it up to SportsBlog Nation to see how it feels about the subject.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 31, 2010
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer begins his pre-Far East tournament walk-throughs and wonders when the "real" Korea winter weather will settle in:
-- Looks like there may be a new sheriff in town at 180 pounds. Matt Payne, Kubasaki junior, rebounded smartly from losing to pre-Far East Tournament favorite Tyler Broome of Kadena at last month's "Beast of the Far East" Tournament at Yokosuka. He's beaten Broome three times since, including Saturday's two victories in the 3rd Rumble on the Rock Tournament in his home gym.
-- And welcome to Contenders' Row at 122 pounds fellow junior Jeff Mizell of Kadena; he took down Rumble favorite Soma Yoshida of St. Mary's International in the lone two-bouter in Saturday's final round. He comes from nominally a baseball family -- his older brother and Jeff used to play baseball for Kadena, his older sister Maria used to keep score and father Allan was the most successful coach in Panthers baseball history. "I think he found his switch," coach Steve Schrock said of Jeff, who secured two head-and-arm holds to take down Yoshida in 49 and 47 seconds.
-- Can there be any doubt now that Kadena is an overwhelming favorite to win next week's Far East Tournament's team titles at the swank new Super Gym at Camp Humphreys, South Korea? They swept the Rumble's dual-meet tournament on Friday and outdistanced second-place Kubasaki by 48 points in Saturday's individual freestyle tournament ... to the tune of NINE golds out of 13 weight classes.
-- Yes, there can be a shadow of a doubt -- victory may have come at high cost to Kadena, which lost 148-pound gold contender Cody Reyes with an ankle injury. But there's a two-word answer to that: Zach Pelky. The Panthers' chances at 148 gold may diminish from "outstanding" to "very, very good," but they're sure to take points there. Simply means Kadena could win the Far East individual freestyle team title by 21 points instead of 25.
-- Yes, there can be a shadow of a doubt -- anybody see where Nile C. Kinnick owned last weekend's DODEA Japan invitational at Yokota High School? Three victories in as many dual meets, on top of their Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools regular-season title. And they won Saturday's tournament without 135-pounder Elijah Gamble, who was held out of the lineup. Only the Kanto Plain championship tournament remains before immediately heading to Korea on Sunday for Far East.
-- And there are enough individual contenders on many other teams, including defending Far East champions Michael Gilliam (heavyweight) of Osan American, Devin Day (129) of Yokota and Michael Spencer (158) of Zama American along with rising stars such as Kinnick's Nick Gibbons (168, winner over Spencer in a Kanto three-way two weeks ago), who can steal gold medals. Keep in mind, while Kadena dominated the Far East dual meet tournament last year, exactly that "steal gold medals" scenario happened and Kubasaki rose up to grab the individual freestyle team title.
-- At the end of the day, nothing but love for Fred Bales and the Rumble organizers; that's a fantastic event, and more teams need to come experience it. That said ... Jordan Castiillo-Henderson should have been named the Rumble's Outstanding Wrestler. The 135-pounder equalled the three-pin performances of a handful of others, including OW winner Harry Bloom of Kadena, but he also scored a tough decision over a quality opponent in Jon Goddard of Kubasaki.
-- The big question at 135 is: Will Devin Day wrestle there or will he drop to 129, where he won Far East a year ago? A number of observers say that will likely be a Far East Tournament-time decision. I can well imagine that Day has worked his tail off since getting beat by Gamble at "Beast" to ramp up his game. My take: Day will stay at 135, which will make for the best Far East four-way in one weight class in a decade.
-- Perhaps the greatest thing about the Rumble is the fellowship during and after. Following the first Rumble, all the wrestlers gathered under the basket at the gym's south end to see who could outdance each other to the strains of "Souljah Boy"; no doubt, American School In Japan's Erik Sonntag won that one with his ballet-hip-hop mix. Last year, there was the hacky-sack game prior to the Saturday individual freestyle tournament. This year? More of the same, this time dancing to Chelo's popular "Cha Cha" dance tune, followed by a break-dance competition to New Boyz' "You're a Jerk" under the south-end basket, followed by ASIJ 180-pounder Tom Jardine playing a game of 21 against a Kubasaki assistant coach.
-- And one must wonder, with his hoop skills, might not Jardine have made a nice complementary part of coach Aaron Rogers' Mustangs' basketball team?
-- Speaking of versatile athletes, can anybody one day see Kadena 215-pounder Aaron Ahner kicking for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fall, then every four years play for Team USA in the World Cup and the Olympic Games soccer tournament, and also wrestle for Team USA in the same Olympics? Not only do I think he could do it; he'd be roundly successful at each. That's how good an athlete he is, and that's how good a shape he's in.
22 days.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 27, 2010
Boys
1, Kadena, Okinawa (25-7). Two more defeats, but against very, very good Japanese high school competition.
2, Christian Academy Japan (18-1). Still on a roll reminiscent of the Gene Fitzgerald-coached teams of the 1970s.
3, Seoul Foreign (15-4). Crusaders overtake Kinnick; will they be as successful this week at APAC?
(tie) Guam High (3-0). Wealth of experience speaks to possible island title, Class AA Tournament contention.
4, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (12-8). Wide-margin loss to Yokota knocks Devils down a notch.
5, Kubasaki, Okinawa (9-19). Like Kadena, faced hard-as-nails opponents in the Okinawa-American Shootout.
6, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (7-3).
7, E.J. King (7-4).
8, Yokota, Japan (11-9).
9, Faith Academy, Philippines (17-7). Suffered first loss since Hong Kong tournament.
10, Daegu American, South Korea (9-5).
Girls
1, Seoul American (16-6). Only losses to adult teams.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines (15-2). Lost for just the second time this season, but to a university team.
3, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (10-1). Two key players to depart in February, damaging Eagles' Class A title chances.
4, Daegu American (11-4). Might it be Eagles-Warriors in the Class A final on Daegu's home court?
5, Zama American, Japan (12-4). Still atop the DODEA Japan heap.
6, Yokota (7-5). Is 7-2 since losing first three to open season.
7, International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan (3-2).
8, Academy of Our Lady of Guam (season complete).
9, Taejon Christian International (9-5).
10, Notre Dame, Guam (season complete).
(tie), Yongsan International-Seoul (10-6).
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 25, 2010
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer stumbles toward Winter Wall-to-Wall Weekend # 4, Rumble Tres at Kubasaki:
-- Things were looking mighty good for Zama American's wrestling team in that three-way Saturday with Yokota and Nile C. Kinnick. The host Trojans trailed Kinnick 27-17, Zama's John Iredale had just beaten Devon Youngblood and the meat of the Trojans' order, with defending Far East champion Michael Spencer, beckoning. A Spencer win would cut the margin to as few as five and set the stage for a donnybrook of the first order. A Zama win in the dual meet would force a three-way tie atop the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools standings.
-- Then ... BOOM! Nichalous Gibbons happened. Two weeks after losing a close decision to Spencer at "Beast of the Far East," Gibbons, a sophomore, pulled out all the stops, teching Spencer 7-0 in the first period, then pinning him 1 minute and 40 seconds into the second period.
-- It was something like Spencer never had.
-- It was something like Gibbons never had.
-- It turned the dual meet on its ear, with Kinnick sweeping the next three weights and pulling away 47-17, improving to 4-0 and securing its second straight Kanto Plain title.
-- When coach Gary Wilson, trying wrestling for the first time, informed me of such via e-mail in November, he closed it by saying (What am I thinking?). ... You can bet he's thinking he made a very wise choice.
-- Having the veteran leadership he has in Elijah Gamble (135 pounds), Dereck Youngblood (148) and an assistant coaching staff including three former Virginia Tech grapplers and none other than Rear Adm. Kevin M. Donegan, Battle Force 7th Fleet and Carrier Strike Group 5 commanding officer.
-- First time since 1979, by the way, that all three DODEA Japan Kanto Plain wrestling teams were 1) unbeaten, and 2) ahead of their international-school counterparts in the Kanto standings this late in the season (back then, the season consisted of a double round-robin schedule). Zama's coach back then? The now-retired DODEA Japan district superintendent Bruce Derr. Kinnick's? Jim Feller, who last I heard is selling real estate in Las Vegas. Yokota's? Charlie Capps, who can be found at most Yokota home basketball games at the scorer's table along with his fellow "Wise Men," John Thek and Don Kalina.
-- Back to Spencer and Gibbons ... you think for two seconds that that 168-pound final at Far East next month at the sparkling Super Gym at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, isn't going to be one for the ages?
-- Didn't think so.
-- That weight class will be as tough as tool steel.
-- So, too, will the 135-pound class. Gamble and defending Far East champion Devin Day of Yokota might appear to be odds-on to reach the final, but ... a healthy Jordan Castillo-Henderson of Kadena and Jonathan Goddard of Kubasaki will make that weight the most compelling four-way we've had in 10 years. Think of last year's 122-pound class (Henderson, Yokota's Nick Guzman and eventual champion Scott Wood of Kubasaki) plus one.
-- The term "group of death" comes to mind.
-- Like how Kubasaki athletics director Fred Bales has termed the top of Kadena's lineup, Tyler Broome (180), Aaron Ahner (215) and Gabe Ahner (heavyweight) "Murderer's Row." "That's quite a compliment," Kadena coach Steve Schrock said at Saturday's 4th Okinawa-American Friendship Tournament at Kadena.
-- A well-deserved compliment, from all appearances. Broome had an off day, but Gabe Ahner came away with a gold and, while he had to settle for a bronze, Aaron Ahner surely had to impress with his pure strength. He gave one Japanese opponent flying lessons, sending him airborne out of bounds. Then from the back position, Ahner wrapped his arms around another foe and wrenched him to his back as if he were a child.
-- Jacob Bishop is another one who appears to have had a fire lit under him at "Beast." He made short work of a Japanese opponent to capture the 141-pound class.
-- Turning to the hardwood ... Yokota's boys over Kinnick 52-25?
-- You're kidding, right?
-- Talk about somebody playing a game for the ages ... Seoul American junior Liz Gleaves continues to amaze, sparkle and dazzle. I mean, in a 53-18 pounding of Osan American, she almost scores a triple-double with points (10), steals (11) and blocked shots (6)? Oh, and she had five assists as well.
-- Is there anything, athletically speaking, that the girl cannot do?
-- "If she weren't so unselfish, she'd average 25 points a game," coach Billy Ratcliff said.
-- If Phillip Loyd never has to face Seoul Foreign sharpshooter Gal Tesler again, it'll be too soon, in his mind. The Daegu American coach and his Warriors were sitting pretty, leading 37-29 after three quarters when Tesler (27 points) and Clayton Baker (13) went to work, with Tesler's three-pointer with 15.2 ticks left breaking the Warriors' backs.
-- Osan American 58, Seoul American 44. This Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference season is one in which Halloween came more than 10 months early. Four players in double figures for the visiting Cougars. They lose Dan Arnold and Sean Moye and welcome a new coach and look as if they've not lost much. Consider them in the mix, along with Daegu and host Robert D. Edgren, in the Class A tournament next month at Misawa Air Base.
-- You've heard of the "Golden Goal" in soccer? The 4th Okinawa-American Basketball Shootout produced something I'd never seen in 30 years of covering high school athletics: The "Golden Free Throw." To stay on schedule, the tournament incorporated a rule that stated that after the first overtime if the score was still tied, they'd go to sudden-death foul shooting. In a girls game, Nishihara edged Naha, which had been unbeaten all season, 49-48 on a "Golden Free Throw." Just when you think you've seen it all, etc.
Semester exam "dead week" is upon us. 28 days until the bestest spring season in Pacific high school sports history.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 21, 2010
It's done. It's official. It's set in stone. DODEA Pacific officials announced Thursday afternoon that baseball, softball and track and field are being added to its activities calendar as official Far East Tournament sports. Story coming in Saturday's editions of Stripes. No information yet about where and when the tournaments will be, but that they will happen. Not a case of if, but where and when.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 20, 2010
This directly from DODEA Pacific's Far East Athletics Coordinator Don Hobbs and Deputy Director Dr. Steven Bloom on Wednesday afternoon:
-- The Far East High School Wrestling Tournament remains at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, in the sparkling new Super Gym.
-- To avoid conflict with Lunar New Year traffic (air and ground), the tournament will be held Feb. 8-11, two days earlier than scheduled.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 19, 2010
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as we edge ever closer to the winter season's home stretch:
-- Don't for a minute think that Kadena's and Kubasaki's basketball teams and Seoul American's girls team are in big-time slumps based on all the losses they piled up last weekend. They played in Martin Luther King Invitational Tournaments for adult teams, and in a couple of cases they very smartly acquitted themselves.
-- After losing all three games in pool play, Seoul American upset top playoff seed Yongsan Garrison, a team featuring four former collegiate players. The Falcons then fell by just four points to an Osan Air Base team with three All-Air Force players and one All-Army player.
-- So much for the notion that the Falcons are good only against Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference opponents.
-- And bad news for the rest of the Far East Class AA Tournament field.
-- And even those teams that didn't do so well on paper, gained a wealth of experience playing against bigger, more physical, quicker and faster adult foes. Can't do anything but benefit each of them as the Class AA Tournaments beckon Feb. 15-20 at Yokota Air Base and Camp Zama.
-- With every passing week, it's looking more and more like Daegu American squaring off against Robert D. Edgren for the Class A Tournament titles on Feb. 19, the boys at Edgren and the girls at Daegu. The Eagles girls lead the DODEA Japan standings and the boys are close; the Warriors girls are closing in on second in KAIAC and the last time they did that, they won Far East in 2006.
-- Don't look now, but Daegu's wrestling team is starting to feel its oats. The Warriors fell by just two points, 33-31, to Seoul American as the DODEA Korea season resumed last Saturday at Osan Air Base.
-- Don't for one minute sleep on Zama American's wrestling team. Though the Trojans took third in the Sasebo Invitational last Saturday at E.J. King School, they seized four individual gold medals. Do that at Far East, they might torpedo favored teams' hopes, or at least give them major headaches.
-- 24 is off to a flying start, as always. Go Jack Bauer!
-- Pitchers, catchers, infielders, outfielders, throwers, sprinters, distance runners, strikers, midfielders, stoppers, sweepers and goalkeepers report in 34 days.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 19, 2010
Boys
1, Kadena, Okinawa (21-5). Don't be fooled: those four losses last week were to adult teams in the Martin Luther King Invitational.
2, Christian Academy Japan (16-1). Good bet to run the Kanto Plain table.
3, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (11-7). Eagles Nest was a house of horrors for Red Devils last weekend.
4, Seoul Foreign (13-4). Crusaders closing gap.
5, Kubasaki, Okinawa (8-15). Like Kadena, Dragons don't get punished for losing to adults; they played a couple of tight ones in the MLK.
6, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (7-3). Closing gap on Kubasaki.
7, E.J. King (7-4). Solid performance at Kobe last weekend.
8, Faith Academy, Philippines (15-6). Vanguards haven't lost since Hong Kong in November.
9, Daegu American, South Korea (7-4).
10, Yokota, Japan (9-9).
Girls
1, Seoul American (14-6). More than held their own against adults at MLK tournament; heck, the Falcons reached the FINAL.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines (14-1). Vanguards begin new year the way they ended the old one.
3, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (10-1). Best start for the Eagles since their 2000 Class AA finals season.
4, Zama American, Japan (11-3). Might a Class AA Tournament Final Four appearance be in the cards?
5, Daegu American (8-4). Good position to sew up second place in Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference; last time Warriors did that, they won Class A in 2006.
6, Yokota (7-4). On a roll.
7, International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan (2-2).
8, Academy of Our Lady of Guam (season complete).
9, Taejon Christian International (8-3).
10, Notre Dame, Guam (season complete).
(tie), Yongsan International-Seoul (8-5).
Disagree with Ornauer's assessment? Shout it out! Be true to your school, and remember: You've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." (">
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 19, 2010
For those of SportsBlog Nation who are also Facebook members, click here to join a quickly growing community of people on a page dedicated to the memory of our beloved St. Mary's coach Fred Sava.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 16, 2010
They may not loom large physically, but returning Far East champion Marcus Boehler (108 pounds) and fellow sophomore Elijah Gamble (135) are a big reason Nile C. Kinnick's wrestling team has thus far enjoyed an unbeaten DODEA Japan and Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools wrestling season. Click here to read their story.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 12, 2010
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer again smiles a contented smile, knowing the "Beast" wrestling tournament was worth the price of the airline ticket:
-- True to its history, last Saturday's Nile C. Kinnick Invitational "Beast of the Far East" Wrestling Tournament spawned a new rivalry. Diminutive Elijah Gamble of host Kinnick High School ran his winning streak against returning Far East gold medalist Devin Day of Yokota to three straight after losing five of six last year. But it wasn't easy; Gamble and Day remained scoreless until the final seconds of the first period of the 135-pound weight-class final, when Gamble scored a three-point throw en route to a two-period decision.
-- But that wasn't the only bout of reckoning. Zama American's returning Far East gold medalist Michael Spencer got all he could handle from Kinnick's Nick Gibbons in the 168-pound final. Kadena's two-time Far East champion Harry Bloom found himself in a 158-pound semifinal tussle with Zama's John Iredale before ekeing out a decision en route to the "Beast" gold. And Robert D. Edgren's Tim Pounds got the edge on Kadena's Jacob Bishop in the 141-pound final.
-- Bloom must be thinking how Zama wrestling has become the bane of his existence. First, it was Elias Labrador throwing everything including the kitchen sink at Bloom last January and again at Far East; now, Iredale.
-- And don't think for a second that Iredale, Bishop, Gibbons and a whole slew of others in a "Beast" tournament that featured 101 wrestlers and 160 bouts weren't repeating to themselves afterward: "That won't happen again. I know what to do. I know what I have to do to fix this. He'd better watch out next time."
-- Which tells me that Far East next month at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, should be a doozy, at least where the individual freestyle tournament is concerned.
-- From a team standpoint, Kadena surely stamped itself as the early favourite to recapture Far East Class AA team gold. Seven finalists, five of them "Beast" winners. Remove Shonan Military Academy from that mix and you might see even more.
-- Then again, there's a lot of time between now and Far East. A lot can happen in that interim. One coach told me after his team won an in-season tournament title last year: "You could have an injury, an ineligiblity and a girlfriend all in one day, and there go three starters."
-- Is it just me, or does wrestling at international school powers St. Mary's International, American School In Japan and Christian Academy Japan seem to be down from years past? CAJ is perpetually thin in numbers, while St. Mary's seems quite young this year. To be fair, ASIJ was missing a handful of its starters. We'll see how they look when everybody's at full strength in the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools tournament on Feb. 6 at St. Mary's. But it'll take a lot of convincing to make me believe that the 2004 decision to turn Far East meets into DODEA-only affairs didn't have something to do with the downturn. When you don't have a state championship to shoot for, why bother? might be the line of thinking.
-- The number of girls dotting DODEA teams' lineups continues to increase. Zama alone has five females on the roster, three of them starters, according to coach Chris Iredale. And don't sleep for a second on Edgren's Jacqueline Steele at 115 pounds; she's got potential.
-- As a whole, Edgren looks like a good bet to vault back to the top of the Class A team standings, which they would have occupied two seasons ago had Far East been split into big and small schools that year. Top to bottom, the Eagles have potential, with Pounds being the team's signature grappler.
-- Turning our attention to the hardwood, and some Jekyll and Hyde moments, starting with Kadena's girls. The Panthers lost their first nine games, but now have a three-game winning streak, two of the victories over their arch-rival Kubasaki ... by vast margins. And it's not just Maria Vaughan lighting up the nets; four Kadena players scored in double figures in Friday's 70-44 win at the Panther Pit.
-- Then, there were Kinnick's and E.J. King's boys basketball teams at Sasebo Naval Base. On Friday, Red Devils coach Mike Adair played man coverage against the quick Cobras, which led to a lot of cuts and drives to the basket. And the Cobras couldn't miss from long range, 10-for-12 from three-point land and 16-for-19 from the foul line in an 85-75 triumph. So what does Adair do in Saturday's rematch? Goes 2-3 zone and dares E.J. King to beat Kinnick from deep. The result? A 63-26 Red Devils victory, with Cobras sharpshooter Ryan Wagner held to single digits for the first time this season.
-- Yes, that's 6-foot-1 junior Kristina Bergman being tried at small forward, point guard, every position on the court. And she's responding well -- try 11 points, eight rebounds and nine steals in a 51-37 win at Yongsan International-Seoul. Plenty of diversity to go with that talent. And of course, Jamie Cheniault remains just as steady as she always does. A Warriors-Eagles final on Feb. 19 in the Class A Tournament at Daegu? Not completely out of the conversation.
-- One more item to add to the growing legend of Antoine "Flash" Feagin. The senior who helped power Daegu to its first DODEA Korea football title and into the Class A final game hit a three-point goal with 1.8 seconds left in Saturday's 57-56 come-from-behind triumph at Yongsan International-Seoul. "Flash?" Try "Lights Out."
-- Don't look now, but those are Eagles soaring toward the top of the DODEA Japan basketball ledgers for boys and girls. John Benavidez and the Edgren boys are 1 1/2 games behind Kinnick for first, while Ashley Hawkins and the Eagles girls are 8-1, their best start since reaching the Class AA tournament finals in 2000. Now at the Class A level, Edgren stands a pretty good shot at a winter season Class A title sweep.
-- Cuisine of the weekend: The "Beast" hospitality room at Yokosuka Middle School's teachers' lounge. Had a little bit of everything, but the roast chicken was utterly divine. Whoever cooked that, reach over and pat yourself on the back. Well done. Quite tasty.
-- Photography star in the making: Zama American High School's yearbook group keeps turning out quality photographers. So far this school year, three have been published by Stripes, the latest Dominic Labrador, who in just his first time shooting wrestling had two photos published in Monday's editions. It pushes the number of published Zama photographers close to double digits.
Pitchers, catchers, infielders, outfielders, sluggers, strikers, midfielders, halfbacks, fullbacks, keepers, jumpers, sprinters and throwers report in 41 days.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 12, 2010
We who knew Fred Sava well all knew it was coming, inevitable. First, it was a series of strokes starting last summer, then an MRI in October revealed a brain tumor. Emergency surgery was able to get at about 30 percent of it, but the other 70 percent ... inoperable, incurable.
Sava, the beloved, dynamic coach of the St. Mary's International Titans boys basketball team, passed away in hospice at his sister's house in Canterbury, Conn., at 8:50 a.m. EST Monday. He was 52.
He takes with him on his next journey three Far East Class AA Tournament titles, 2001, 2002 and 2009. The first and the last, perhaps, were the most stunning.
Never before had a team lost every game in pool play and come back to win a Class AA title ... until Sava and the Titans, led by Yoichiro Basso, Nick Varner and Lars Kelley, did it at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam in February 2001.
Maybe even more shocking was St. Mary's 62-36 semifinal upset of Seoul American in last February's Class AA semifinal. The same Titans team that lost 62-35 to that same group of Falcons three days earlier. St. Mary's went on to edge Yokota 35-33 in the final last Feb. 21.
From a stylist's viewpoint, though, the first warning shot came on a February evening in 1995, when St. Mary's hosted a Nile C. Kinnick team that had already clinched the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools title at 8-0. It was a Red Devils team wealthy in talent and stocked for the present and future, with sophomore stars Levant Kenney, LaShawn Williams, George Thompson and Jared Warner, among others. Kinnick regularly showed up on the pages of the Seahawk base newspaper; hell, then-producer Bob Long at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka Channel 7, the base community access station, dispatched two cameras and two broadcasters to cover all their games. Home or away.
Longtime St. Mary's public-address voice Peter Hauet had a son, Joe, who played for the Titans' first Final Four team in the 1992 Class AA Tournament, and Sava's Titans seemed far removed from those days. They'd won just two games when they welcomed Kinnick to the TitanDome that February 1995 evening.
Hauet sat at his post, as did Teruko Kuroda, a senior attending International School of the Sacred Heart, St. Mary's sister school. Kuroda kept the scorebook for Titans home games, and I made a comment along the lines of, "The question is not whether Kinnick will win, but by how much," or something like that.
"You watch and see. St. Mary's is going to win," Kuroda said, a gleam in her eye as she flashed a confident smile at me.
I laughed. But as the game progressed, and Kinnick suddenly found itself in a tight battle with a Titans team totally unafraid and not backing down, I kept looking at Kuroda. She kept smiling and saying, "You watch."
Final score: St. Mary's 53, Kinnick 51.
Shows what I know.
"I told you, Dave. I told you St. Mary's would do it," a triumphant Kuroda said, beaming with a Cheshire Cat-like smile.
That was the warning shot, and the first of what would become many significant moments in the coaching career of Sava, who assumed the Titans' helm from the retired Lannie Peterson after the 1993-94 season. After that improbable victory over Kinnick, you just knew, you could tell that special things were going to come in the Sava era.
Sadly, that era is at an end. "Playing ball for Mr. Sava," the Titans' warmups read. Somewhere up above, I'm sure Sava is smiling down on his former charges, who loved him as much as he loved them, and when next St. Mary's does something unique and special, one word will dance on the ears of his players: "Amazing."
Farewell, Fred Sava. We'll miss you.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 12, 2010
UPDATED on Jan. 14.
I make mistakes just like anybody else. E.J. King's boys team takes its rightful post in the Top Ten, tied with Daegu American. How did the Cobras get left out to begin with? I neglected to include E.J. King in my database of schools eligible for ranking and input their data into the program that creates the ratings for me. My apologies to Cobras basketball nation.
Again, posting these with heavy heart, now that we live in a world without St. Mary's coach Fred Sava. How the world will miss out. Now, onto the ratings:
Boys
1, Kadena, Okinawa (19-1). Still holding sway over Kubasaki; next big test comes in this weekend's MLK tournament on Okinawa.
2, Christian Academy Japan (15-1). "They're the real deal," coach Paul Ettl said after Yokota lost at CAJ 60-45 on Tuesday.
3, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (10-6). Loss at E.J. King, a bump in the road or sign of things to come?
4, Seoul Foreign (10-4). Doing well in Korea; must prove itself against out-of-area competition, which the undermanned Crusaders didn't do in Hong Kong.
5, Kubasaki, Okinawa (8-11). Best sub-.500 team in the region.
6, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (6-2). "They're the real deal," coach Chris Clark said after his Matthew C. Perry team got swept at home by the Eagles.
7, E.J. King (5-3). Has beaten every DODEA Japan large-school team so far this season.
(tie), Daegu American, South Korea (6-3).
8, Yokota, Japan (9-9).
9, St. Mary's International, Japan (8-9).
10, Faith Academy, Philippines (9-6).
Girls
1, Seoul American (9-2). Still holding sway over high school opposition; let's see how they handle adults in the MLK tournament at Camp Humphreys.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines (11-1). Let's see if they remain on a roll after returning from holiday.
3, International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan (4-0). Coach Kurt Rose might likely be putting together the best elongated run of success in any Kanto Plain school's history..
4, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (8-1). Might the Eagles sweeping all winter sports Class A Tournament titles be in the conversation?
5, Zama American, Japan (8-4). Crystal Valentine and the Trojans recalling successful days of last decade.
6, Taejon Christian International (6-2).
7, Academy of Our Lady of Guam (season complete).
8, Notre Dame, Guam (season complete).
9, Yongsan International-Seoul (7-4).
10, Yokota, Japan (5-4).
Next ratings next Tuesday. Don't agree with my picks? Shout it out! And remember, you've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." :)
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 6, 2010
From its infancy as an in-season Japan invitational, the Nile C. Kinnick Invitational "Beast of the Far East" Wrestling Tournament at Yokosuka Naval Base has not only grown in size but in stature -- so much so that it's known by one name, "Beast," and has even fueled rivalries in addition to serving as a proving ground for the teams involved. Click here to get a preview of Saturday's 2010 "Beast" tournament.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 5, 2010
I would say these are the first Pacific high school basketball ratings of the new decade ... but they're not. Why not? Because there was no year 0 AD. Thus, 2010 is the last year of the decade. Now, onto the ratings:
Boys
1, Kadena, Okinawa (18-1). Perhaps as deep a team as the Panthers have had in years and coach Robert Bliss has ever had.
2, Christian Academy Japan (12-1). Most certainly the best Knights team since the one that won the Far East Class AA Tournament in 1998.
3, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (9-5). Record seems a bit pedestrian until you consider the Red Devils beat an undermanned Kadena in pool play, then almost came back to steal the New Year Classic final.
4, Seoul Foreign (10-4). Doing well in Korea; must prove itself against out-of-area competition, which the undermanned Crusaders didn't do in Hong Kong.
5, Kubasaki, Okinawa (7-10). Might seem odd considering their win-loss record, but they're better than that seems. Trust.
6, Daegu American, South Korea (4-1).
7, Yokota, Japan (7-7).
(tie), Robert D. Edgren, Japan (4-2).
9, St. Mary's International, Japan (8-9).
10, Faith Academy, Philippines (9-6).
Girls
1, Seoul American (6-0). Deep, quick, fast, deadly on both sides of the ball. Not just Liz Gleaves, Destinee Harrison and a supporting cast.
2, Faith Academy, Philippines (11-1). Still a force despite Janel Long's departure; must learn to handle press better to avoid a repeat of second half of Hong Kong tournament final.
3, International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan (4-0). Coach Kurt Rose continues to build winners; Hannah Arbour would love to go out with a bang and win Class A Tournament title.
4, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (6-1). Not just Ashley Hawkins and a supporting cast. Just might be coach Sarah Richardson's best unit since the 2002 team that lost the Class AA final.
5, Taejon Christian International (6-2). Not since the old Korea Christian Academy days of 1986 have the Dragons seen such heady heights.
6, Zama American, Japan (6-4).
7, Academy of Our Lady of Guam (season complete).
8, Notre Dame, Guam (season complete).
9, Yongsan International-Seoul (7-3).
10, Yokota, Japan (4-3).
Next ratings next Tuesday. Don't agree with my picks? Shout it out! And remember, you've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." :)
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 3, 2010
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer finally stirs awake after stumbling over the Christmas holiday checkpoint finish line and falling on his face, exhausted and sick:
-- What did we learn in New Year Classic 4.0? Very little, if you're looking for a clear-cut leader in the chase for Pacific high school boys basketball early-season bragging rights.
-- Even with Christian Academy In Japan (12-1) and Kadena (18-1) seemingly ahead of the field, that victory by Nile C. Kinnick over Kadena in NYC pool play and the Red Devils' near-rally in which they almost stole the final from the Panthers, kind of brings those two with the combined 30-2 ledger back to the pack somewhat.
-- No doubt, CAJ senior aircraft carrier Miles Peterson is the real deal, very polished after spending his junior year in Colorado. And he's got people around him who can score if an opponent decides to collapse all five players on Peterson and take their chances.
-- Kadena's got the depth, though. They won their second NYC in four tries without two of their veteran stalwarts, Stanley Schrock and Kevin Paranal, both seniors who went on Christmas holiday with family. More than one person has told me, "Paranal makes that whole team go." Bugs Bunny might reply: "Not necessarily, Doc."
-- And Kinnick, with its group of guys who've played together since they were able to pick up a basketball, is also pretty deep. The fact that they beat Kadena once and nearly a second time in the final says at least for now, the Red Devils have their number.
-- Besides those three, the picture of title contenders is as clear as mud. Any one of those teams can beat the other on any given day.
-- Kubasaki's boys are the best 7-10 team entering January.
-- Kenneth Haynes of Kinnick's junior varsity will be playing on the A squad by the time Far East comes along.
-- Don't be surprised if defending Class AA Tournament champion St. Mary's International, playing for their ailing coach Fred Sava, finds itself come Far East in February at Yokota, just as the Titans did last year.
-- Freshman Jeremy Harris is Yokota basketball's "next big thing." With Norzell Harris, the All-Air Force men's assistant coach, as his father, that might be expected. Certainly, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. With Harris and newcomer Warren Manegan replacing departed Tajh Kirby and Keron Brown, Yokota might be far better than advertised, particularly on their home court come the Far East Class AA Tournament.
-- Speaking of freshmen, Kadena's girls, who lost their first nine games, enter January on a two-game winning streak largely because of the shooting of distance specialist Maria Vaughan. She torched Kubasaki for 33 points, including four three-point goals, and the Panthers uncharacteristically routed the Dragons 71-46; Kubasaki had beaten Kadena two times previously by razor-thin margins.
-- Again in the underclassmen set, Yokota sophomore Erika Ettl sparkled as the Panthers won their last two games before the break. She totalled 51 points in victories over Seisen International and Zama American, and had eight rebounds, six steals and seven assists against Zama. This despite her facing box-and-one defenses wherever she goes.
-- One might view juniors Liz Gleaves and Destinee Harrison as the fuel that drives 6-0 Seoul American's girls basketball team's engine. This team is far more than that. So deep is this unit that they'll be strong not just this year and next, but for some time to come if coach Billy Ratcliff can hang onto all of them.
-- The question being, who is going to challenge the Falcons at all this season? With the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference seemingly down this year, Seoul American might have to wait until Far East at Zama before they play some truly tough games.
-- Unless Camp Casey/Area I, Yongsan Garrison, Osan Air Base or Camp Humphreys' post teams want to give the Falcons a run. And they'd better be ready to run -- Seoul American can flat fly.
First Pacific high school basketball ratings come out Tuesday.
50 days.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 3, 2010
Dependents and disciples dominating the hardwood, Pacific cagers and spikers shining at the All-Armed Forces and International Military Sports Council level, Okinawa softball teams claiming three of four titles in two Pacificwide tournaments, a first for Okinawa interservice football teams in the U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League. Catch it here in our 2009 Pacific interservice sports year-in-review.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 3, 2010
Wrestling rivalries, international-school hardwood dominance, record-setting track and field meet performances, historic Far East tournament milestones for Zama American, Kadena football and tennis dominance and back-to-back cross-country championships for Seoul American. It's all here in the 2009 Pacific high school sports year-in-review.
