The SMS Silvers celebrate another winning season Saturday at the middle school.

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The Seward Silvers Middle School Girls Basketball team completed their regular season of play undefeated.  Saturday they beat Kenai 50-19 during a home game. Friday they beat Soldotna (White) 41-25 in Soldotna. They will compete in the Borough Tournament Saturday, December 11 in Homer at 10:00 a.m. They’ve been expertly coached by Cliff Draper. Way to go Silvers!

By Heidi Zemach for SCN

Jayna O'Leary, Nick Broughton, Josh Eavis, and Ryan O'Leary at the Kodiak meet.

The Seward Seahawks Swim Team finished their season with a great State Championship meet in Anchorage this weekend. Ryan O’Leary was named Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year for 2010 by a panel of coaches who voted by secret ballot. O’Leary almost broke the state record for his 50 yard freestyle. Ryan placed first in the preliminaries and first in the finals for the 50 yard freestyle. His score of 21:31 places him on the Wall of Fame at Seward High School. It came awfully close to the state record set in ’96 by Andrew Tainter of Service of 20:21. At a recent regional swim meet at Kodiak, O’ Leary got a time of  21:20.

O’Leary also took first in the Boys 100 yard freestyle in the prelims, with a time of 46:42, a personal best, and in the finals he got 46:45. Ryan had been determined to beat the state record for that event of 46:27, set by Petersburg’s Derek Gibbs in ’98, but didn’t get enough push off the wall, according to longtime SHS swim coach Janet Van Driessche. “He was so close and everybody knew it,” she said.

Seahawk swimmer Nick Broughton also had three personal bests at the meet. In the 50 yard freestyle he placed fifth in the prelims and the finals, with a personal best time of 22:81. In the 100-yard breast-stroke, Nick placed 12th with 1:04.16—another personal best.

Eileen Audette placed sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 1:09.79. In the Girls 50-yard freestyle, she placed ninth in the preliminaries at 25:77. She was runner up for the finals.  Izzy Barnwell placed 15th in the Girls 200 yard freestyle, and 15th in the 500 yard freestyle, with a time of 5:50.20. In the Girls 500 yard freestyle prelims, Izzy’s time was 5:50.29. Unfortunately, she wasn’t feeling well, and had to leave, Van Driessche said.

The Seward Boys team placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The swimmers in order included Jayna O’Leary, Josh Eavis, Nick Broughton and Ryan O’Leary. They created a new team record of 1:31:37 and won a medal for the achievement. Their splits were pretty interesting said their coach. Jayna’s was 23.96, Josh’s was a 24.09, Nick’s was 22.66, and Ryan’s was 20.66. Ryan’s time had state record-breaking potential, and he would have won a medal had it been counted, but in a team relay race only the lead swimmer’s time counts as an official time. Also, by then, the medals had already been awarded for the freestyle events.

The Seward Boys team might have placed sixth in the medley relay; they were disqualified as one of the boys went off the block too soon. Sam Werner swam the backstroke for the team in that race, and Josh Eavis did not participate.

“Truthfully I couldn’t be more proud of the entire team,” said SHS Principal Trevan Walker. “And what can you say about Ryan? Two time state champion, and voted outstanding male athlete of the state championship meet! But knowing how hard he’s worked for this– it couldn’t happen to a better kid.”

All in all it was a fabulous season in which the Seward swimmers did really well, and improved all the way through, Van Driessche said.  The boys also got their first trophy at the Pentathlon at So-Hi in September. And O’Leary getting two “Athlete of The Year” Awards, and almost breaking the state record made the season that much better, she said.

Trevan Walker: I had the opportunity to visit with the assistant superintendent, and he was asking me about Ryan, and I said Ryan’s a better human than he is a swimmer. I mean he’s just really a great kid.

Seward Seahawks Swim Team:  Janet Vandriessche.    And I honestly don’t know how long she’s been coaching. Probably since that pool opened in ’79, I’m pretty sure she founded the seward seahawks swim team.

Cool boys and few girls rolled snowball up the hill by flagpole. Got snowman up front 14 feet tall… 20 mins.

This last Saturday, October 9, 2010, the Seward Seahawk Swim Team hosted a meet well attended by Peninsula high school teams. Homer, Kenai, Soldotna, Skyview and Seward swimmers filled the pool deck to capacity.

Both boys and girls in the Peninsula teams had three swimmers with top times in events. In the girls events, Seward’s Eileen Audette took the 100 free in 57.55 and the 100 Breaststroke in 1:10.67.  Kenai’s Olivia Pfeifer led in the 50 Free with a 27.78 second time and in the 100 backstroke with 1:07.24. Marie Schmidt of Homer won the 50 Free in 27.78 and the 500 Free in 5:37.07. Boys event top swimmers were Seward’s Ryan O’Leary with a 100 free style in 48:02 and the 100 breastsroke in 1:01.91, which was a Seward pool record time. Richard Ginter, Homer with a 100 butterfly in 57.63 and the 200 IM in 2:14.85. Winter Heaven, Kenai, had a 50 free of 22.44 and the 500 free in 4:51.17.

Seward Seahawk girls 200 medly relay team came in third place with a time of 2:10.91 and third place in the 200 freestyle relay with 1:54.44. Relay team swimmers were Eileen Audette, Rachel Tougas, Izzy Barnwell and Kinsey Barnwell and Lilla Hedrick. A list of placements for the Seahawks girls are:
• First Place, Eileen Audette – 100 freestyle -57.55
• First Place, Eileen Audette – 100 breaststroke – 1:10.67.
• Second place, Izzy Barnwell – 100 backstroke – 1:09.59
• Second Place, Izzy Barnwell – 200 IM – 2:30.02
• Fouth Place, Kinsey Barnwell – 50 freestyle – 30.08
• Fifth place, Rachel Tougas – 100 freestyle – 1:06.16
• Fifth place, Lilla Hedrick – 50 freestyle – 30.31
• Fifth Place, Lilla Hedrick – 100 butterfly – 1:21.33
• Sixth place, Kinsey Barnwell – 100 freestyle – 1:06.27

Seahawk boys walked away with first place in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:49.07 and the first place in the 200 freestyle relay with 1:35.55. Relay swimmers were Sam Werner, Nick Broughton, Ryan O’leary, Stephen Werner and Josh Eavis.  A list of placements for the Seahawk boys:
• First Place, Josh Eavis – 200 freestyle – 2:02.63.
• First Place, Ryan O’leary -100 freestyle – 48.02
• First place, Ryan O’Leary – 100 breaststroke – 1:01.91
• Third place, Josh Eavis – 100 backstroke – 1:06.21
• Third Place, Nick Broughton – 100 Breaststroke – 1:08.07
• Fourth place, Nick Broughton – 50 freestyle – 23.80
• Fourth place, Jayna O’Leary -100 backstroke – 1:17.05
• Fifth place, Janya O’Leary – 100 free – 57.58
• Fifth place , Sam Werner-100 butterfly – 1:10.94

Senior Seward Seahawk swimmers were recognized for their years of swimming with the high school team. The senior Seahawk swimmers are Ryan O’Leary (4 yrs), Nick Broughton (3 yrs), Sam Werner (4 yrs), Lilla Hedrick (4 yrs), Austin Gillespie ( 1yr), Kinsey Barnwell (1 yr)and John Treece (1 yr). This was the Seahawk seniors last home meet of their high school swimming .

Seward volunteers helped with the hospitality room, snack shack, timing, officiating, and running the computer timing system plus set-up and take down. Thank you volunteers!

Community businesses that helped sponsor this event were:
Apollo’s, Three Bears, Safeway & Resurrection Coffee House. Please thank these wonderful businesses for helping our community youth sports with their sponsorship!

Enjoy the pictures of our Seahawk Swim Team in action. The only Seahawk diver was Austin Gillespie, there are pictures of him taking air during his dives.

Leon Hood

The Phoenix Chapter of the Alaska State Firefighters Association held a drawing for a mountain bike donated by ODOM during the 2010 Fire Conference held in Seward September 27 thru October 2nd.

Leon Hood – a Seward High School student was the winner of the bike.

24 high school students came to the vendor show during the conference to check out the fire service as a career field and enjoy the Conference vendor show.

Chief David Squires, Seward Fire Dept, Jilian Chapman – President of Seward Volunteer Firefighters, Curt Jacobson – Vice President of the Phoenix Chapter and Assistant Fire Chief for Moose Pass Fire. And Leon Hood- the winner

At Sohi, Soldotna High School, last weekend, the Seahawk swim team walked away with a first place trophy for the boys and first place in the team category.  Over 200 swimmers participated.

Seward Seahawk team member Ryan O’Leary placed second overall with a time of 2:34.99.  Seward placed first in the team category based on a point system with 33 points, Kodiak 30, Kenai 29, Soldotna 26 and Homer 24.

The meet was the Pentathlon that includes five events; 100 meter Individual Medley, 50 Butterfly, 50 Backstroke, 50 Breaststroke  and 50 Free.  Times for each is added together for a finish time.

Coach Janet Vandreissche will be traveling with the Seahawk Swim Team to Barlett High School for a meet this weekend which is the biggest of the season.

Congratulations Seahawks Swimmers!  Go Seahawks!

Ryan O'Leary, Nick Broughton, Sam Werner, Josh Eavis & Stephen Werner

Seahawk Swim Team 2010

Seward Competitive Softball League Champions Custom Creations A.K.A. the Hammerheads (from left to right, back to front): Travis Weddle, Jared Guthridge, Juliana Kim, Kip Boers, Tim Lebling, John Maniscalco, Sarah Fink, Jamie Fredrickson, Deanna Trobaugh, Lisa Hartman, Ed Hartman and Pam Parker (not pictured: Chuck Frost, Darin Trobaugh and Courtney Lebling).

Seward Parks & Recreation would like to express thanks to everyone who made this year’s youth soccer season such a success. A hearty thank you goes out to our sponsor F/V Chandalar and the Hankins family for their continued support of youth programming. Thank you to volunteer coaches Dave and Dana Paperman, Chris Polasek and Scott Rierson as well as parents who stepped in to help from time to time. Finally, thank you to the Seward Elks Lodge for letting us team up with them for their annual Elks Soccer Shoot. This is a perfect way to end our season and continues to be a wonderful partnership between two organizations with a similar goal, ensuring healthy and happy youth in our community. Call or email SPRD for the latest events, leagues and programs: 224-4054 or sprd@cityofseward.net.

Elks Soccer Shoot and End of Season BBQ for F/V Chandalar Youth Soccer League

Seward Parks & Recreation would like to thank all those involved with the Recreation and Competitive Softball leagues this summer. Thanks to the managers for all of their hard work keeping teams organized and motivated. A great many thanks to all of our umpires: Norm Regis, Gary Ackerson, Tom McDuffie, Ryan Anger, Matt Chase, John Foutz, Jamie Fredrickson, Jennilee Regis and Erik Slater. This is a grueling and at times, thankless job that can only be carried out by those individuals most passionate and dedicated to the sport. Thanks to the Campgrounds crew for prepping the fields every week and thanks to all the volunteers that came out for Volunteer Day at the beginning of the season. Field maintenance is an extensive job so thanks for helping us start the season off smoothly. Finally, thanks to anyone who kept a book, helped line or rake the fields prior to a game or helped put away equipment after the games. As much as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to ensure a successful recreation program. Adult volleyball and basketball leagues are coming up in September and October. Call or email SPRD for the latest events, leagues and programs: 224-4054 or sprd@cityofseward.net.

Seward Recreational Softball League Champions City Sluggers (from left to right, back to front): Umpire Norm Regis, Joe Hewitt, Mikael Kinney, Tim Shearer, Mike McHone, John Foutz, Greg Haas, Travis Beals, Sean Moline, Umpire Gary Ackerson, Carmen Batchelor, Johanna Dollerhide, Susie McHone, Melanie Hauze and Tarrah Beals.

Thursday, August 19th

Seward, Alaska, August 19th, 2010 Harold Foley of Anchorage holds the lead with an 18.89 pound Coho caught at North Hive while fishing aboard the Susan F.  Sunny weather for two days running here in Seward, what a treat!  Liza Kercher, a youth from Wasilla has captured the 4^th place spot with a 16.20 silver caught at Iron Doors aboard the Sea Trek.

Derby lasts until noon on Sunday!

You can find the latest derby results at www.seward.com

For more information, contact the Seward Chamber of Commerce at 907-224-8051; PO Box 749, Seward, Alaska, 99664

Although Rubye now goes by her new married name, the Foldagers continue to own the title in the 5K Wildlife Rescue Run, winning six of the last eight races.  This year Rubye  Elhard took the title back from sister, Denali, but not without some stiff competition from Nychele Fischetti and Shoshana Keegan.  Rubye finished the race in 18:02.

In the men’s race, Erik Johnson of Seward edged out Casey Ross of New York, by 20 seconds.  Erik finished in 16:31 and was just happy to be able to participate this year.  Last year, he had to work at the last minute and couldn’t make it to the start on time.  Among the junior runners, the Szweda Mittelstadt brothers continued to impress onlookers.  Eight year old Sebastian and 13 year old Gillean gave a taste of what is to come from them as Alaska runners.

A total of 120 walkers and runners enjoyed a refreshing dose of sunshine as they gathered together to raise money for the rescue and rehabilitation of Alaska’s marine mammals.  It was another great turnout by locals and visitors alike, with everyone enjoying the dramatic waterfront view of Seward and a glimpse of some marine life.

The Alaska SeaLife Center would like to thank the many volunteers and supporters who helped make this event possible.  We also appreciate the sponsors who fully fund the cost of the race:  Alaska Serigraphics, BP, Dr. Michael Moriarty, J & R Fisheries, PetroMarine, Providence Seward Medical Center, Seward Parks & Recreation Department, and TelAlaska. We would also like to thank the following companies for their donations:  Safeway, Three Bears, NANA Corporation, Moose’s Tooth, and The Wildlife Trading Company.  Thanks also to Maggie Wilkins for all of her expertise.  She is Seward’s true gem and does so much for our community.

Special Season Opener – Friday, August 6th

Coach Steinbrecher

Join the Seahawk community in honoring Roger Steinbrecher with the dedication of the refurbished high school playing fields.

Ribbon-cutting Ceremony at 4:30 with special guests Noreen and Lisa Steinbrecher; Seahawk football at 5:30, Varsity only game against Monroe H.S.

Thank you Debra Burdick-Hinton for sending a link to this!

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Important part of the trail coming up at Tuesday’s meeting…

By Mary Tougas, Co-Vice Chair of the Seward Community Library Museum (SCLM) Building Committee

Next weekend thousands of people will pour into Seward looking for a July 4 experience that they cannot find anywhere else in Alaska. In the 83 years people have been running and climbing up our high mountain on this highest of American holidays, Seward has never failed to delight residents and visitors by its natural beauty and welcoming hospitality.

Just like a Mt. Marathon experience, the SCLM Building Committee has been working on funding for the new Library Museum project.  We were delighted that the Seward Community Library Museum (SCLM) Building was able to join the Legislative “Grant to Libraries” initiative this spring and was awarded a $4.7 million state grant for our project, with Seward’s needs placed on the state priority list. This is the kind of core funding that will make our project successful, and we need to maintain our project development timeline. 

Since 2002, when the Spirit of Seward (SOS) initiative started, we have shown an overwhelming community support for this new facility. When a pollster polled us on a new library museum, an astounding 9 out of 10 residents indicated they were in favor of the project. At the beginning, the new facility was dedicated for completion by 2012, the 100^th year of Seward’s incorporation as a city, a fitting dedication to our future and celebration of our past.

If natural beauty and friendly locals were the only requirements for a successful community, then Seward would be the most important town in the state. But it takes a lot more to ensure a successful, working community.

Libraries, in carrying out their mission, provide users with direct benefits. Our community benefits indirectly when users get the help they need, like the information to start a business, help in learning to read, or the material for an important speech to a community organization. These two kinds of benefits – direct and indirect – that come from public library services have been recognized since the first public library opened in 1833.

Today’s smart communities are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from one another, (just like businesses do) as we all struggle to attract and retain employees, teachers, doctors and nurses and visitors. A new library says to potential residents, “Seward is a place in favor of free access to books, ideas, resources, and information—because education, employment, enjoyment and informed self-government are important principles to us.”

So keep in mind, as we approach our July 4^th weekend, that a public library is the cornerstone of the American experience and has been a great equalizer in our society. A library provides free access to information for all citizens, and enables our community to better embrace literacy, education, economic development and knowledgeable, informed citizens while enhancing the quality of life for all living and working in Seward today. 

A work session with the City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, June 29^th at 6pm, City Chambers.  SCLMBC will be updating the council, please show support by attending this meeting.

Photo courtesy of Allen King of One Shot Photography

Standing on right with fishing rod:  Aaron Buscher of Conifer, CO
It was Aaron’s first trip to Alaska, he has been planning & saving for years
to make this fishing trip.  (He came in to see us at the Chamber before
leaving town)  He can’t wait to return next year!

Standing on left:  Capt Andy Mezirow of Crackerjack Sportfishing Charters
Kneelin on left:  deckhand Jeff Seward

Fish was caught on 6/14 aboard the Crackerjack Voyager

Gary Hillsten 1st place 110.8 lbs caught on the Crackerjack on 6-5
James Bettys 2nd place 107.4 lbs caught on the Rainisong ( Capt. Jeff Barney) on 5-27
Corine Camille 3rd place 102.2 caught on the Rogue (Capt. Randy) on 6-7
All photos courtesy of One Shot Photography Seward AK

Gary Hillsten (img 010) 1st place 110.8 lbs caught on the Crackerjack on 6-5

James Bettys 2nd place 107.4 lbs caught on the Rainisong ( Capt. Jeff Barney) on 5-27

Corine Camille 3rd place 102.2 caught on the Rogue (Capt. Randy) on 6-7

Boys Soccer Team: Judy Lindquist photo

“The 2010 Boys’ Soccer season was a good one,” said Dustin Phillips, the coach along with Tim Lebling. “We were able to scratch out a couple good wins this year against Skyview and Houston. In the Houston game the boys were able to overcome a 2-0 deficit to win the game 4-2 in front of our home crowd. We played all of our games with a roster of 12 against full teams of 18+ players. Add in the fact that a late spring thaw prevented us from getting on the field until after our first two games, and I am very pleased with our overall performance.”

This coming Monday the 24th of May will be the first meeting/practice for Major Girls Softball (ages 7 – 12). We will meet at John Perry field at 5:30 pm. Parents that have not yet signed their player(s) up should be there to do so. Please have your player bring tennis shoes or cleats and a glove. Junior girls (ages 12 – 15) will start on Tuesday the 25th, same place and time. Parents of Junior girls should be available to register there ball player if they have not yet done so. All players are advised to bring a water bottle and dress for the weather, (i.e. no blue jeans please). Point of contact for softball is Rex von Borstel, 422-7191 or Lindsey von Borstel, 422-7192. Email us at akvonborstel@gmail.com We will have forms and all other paperwork available at the field. Fees are majors $35 and juniors $40. If you have already signed up at the opening day ceremony and paid the fees then you done. Manager and coaches wish to meet with parents prior to practice.
Thanks and hope to see you all there.