Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
There was a lot to celebrate at Chief Sealth International High School on Wednesday night, as student-athletes, coaches, and family members gathered for the school’s winter sports awards banquet.
Honorees included not one but two state wrestling champions, two all-league basketball players, and several other deserving award winners from across the various winter sports.
The evening began with a dinner in the Sealth IHS / Denny International Middle School galleria area:
Sealth principal Hope Perry welcomed guests and thanked everyone for attending and supporting the student-athletes:
CSIHS athletic director Ernest Policarpio (aka “Coach P”) kicked off the awards ceremony with some brief remarks and staff shout-outs:
Policarpio recognized Sealth parent Chatrice Young (at left, below) for stepping in to lead the “CheerHawks” cheerleading squad for a couple of months until a new head coach was found: That new coach is Dejanna Rhodes (at right):
Young thanked the Sealth staff for the support and pledged to help Rhodes however she can. Rhodes thanked Young for her efforts, and expressed excitement to lead the CheerHawks.
Policarpio brought all of his coaches to the front of the galleria, and passed the microphone around for updates about all of the winter sports.
As we reported last week, it was a particularly epic season for Sealth’s boys and girls wrestling teams, with coach Maurice Dolberry (six-time Metro League coach of the year, including this season) at the helm:
Both the boys and girls teams were conference champions and district champions, with 17 total state qualifiers as follows:
Boys
120lbs Senior Stevens Nguyen (2nd in Metro, 4th in Districts)
120lbs Senior Lucas Jones (Metro Champ, 3rd in Districts)
126lbs Senior Jonnathen Seng (Metro Champ, District Champ)
132lb Junior Xander Gomez (Metro Champ and District Champ)
138lb Junior Jumpy Kamili (2nd in Metro and District Champ)
144lb Sophomore Seneca Nguyen (3rd in Metro, 2nd in Districts)
144lb Sophomore Abdi Abdi (Metro Champ, 3rd in Districts)
150lb Senior Vlad Ponce Ramos (2nd in Metro, 3rd in Districts)
190lbs Senior Jessie Gilmore (Metro Champ and District Champ)
215lb Junior Eli Policarpio (Metro Champ and District Champ)
285lb Senior Shane Allen Tino (2nd in Metro and 4th in Districts)
285lb Junior Yusuf Donzo (Metro Champ and District Champ)
Girls
110lbs sophomore Nicole Ork (Metro and District Champ)
120lbs Senior Petra Sheppard (Metro and District Champ)
140lbs Senior Lucy Self (Metro and District Champ)
145lbs Senior Lanu Amituanai (Metro and District Champ)
155lb Senior Nyko Herndon (Metro and District Champ)
Dolberry noted that the boys went undefeated in conference and won 17 dual meets, and notched Sealth’s first known win over O’Dea High School in any sport, on O’Dea’s home floor by a convincing score of 70-12.
Lanu Amituanai (in the middle of the photo below, in the flowers, with her extended family) was state champion in the 2A 145lb bracket, and was the first female state champ from Seattle Public Schools. At state, she pinned every opponent including the final match, and during the season defeated eight other state placewinners.
Eli Policarpio (second from left below, with his family including proud dad Coach P) was state champion in the 2A 215lb bracket, and set a Metro Conference record with a 53-1 season. He “tech-falled” through the state tournament until the final, where he was injured but still finished and won.
Sealth was the first Metro Conference team to have two state wrestling champions in one year. Also at state, Lucy Self took 3rd place at 140lb and Yusuf Donzo took 6th at 285lb.
In basketball, the Seahawks had two all-league players this past season, including Alysse Bland, pictured here with coach Will Pablo:
And Adnaan Mohamed, pictured with coach Ja’Lyn Combs:
Pablo noted that the girls’ season started strong, then hit rough patches with injuries, with the team playing some games with only 1-2 subs, but that the team finished strong with a couple of playoff wins. Combs said the boys team won six games and has 7 returning players next year, and has a goal to double their wins next season and make it to state.
Notes from other sports:
- Girls Bowling: Competed in a 14-team league with 4A, 3A, and 2A schools; finished 4th. Two girls qualified for state (Elizabeth Andrews and Claire Chao) the team missed state qualification by just 20 pins. Six seniors graduating; new bowlers encouraged to join next year.
- Boys Swimming: Placed 3rd at districts and qualified both a relay team and an individual to state for the first time in several years: Theo Franzen individually, who was also on the 400 Free Relay team along with Cole Peloza, August Truman, Dominic Melanese, David Ohta, and Nico Balducci. Managed with a crowded pool and only two team lanes.
- Gymnastics: A rebuilding year after graduating seven athletes last season; small roster often competing with only 2-3 gymnasts. Strong effort battling injuries and tough routines; athletes learned new skills while facing elite Seattle-area competition. Hopes to add more athletes next
year. - Girls Flag Football: Finished 3rd in the district tournament and qualified for state. Played 4A and 3A opponents (including prep schools), competed well, and aims to return to state next year. Interested athletes are encouraged to join.
Sealth also honored 9 athletes with “Jersey Mike’s Player of the Week” awards, announced by coach Kyler Gaither. From left to right below they were Elizabeth Andrews (bowling), Isabella Dilley (gymnastics), Harper Gilbert (cheer), Dez Masters (wrestling), Calvin Washington (basketball), Xander Gomez (wrestling) and Dajah Johnson (basketball). Not pictured: David Bye III (swimming) and Triana Tuia (flag football):
Next up were the presentation of the “2026 Seahawk Awards,” honoring exemplary student-athletes and leaders. Pictured from left to right below, they were Cole Peloza (swimming), Clair Chao (bowling), Harlee Wahl (flag football), Naomi Kindem (gymnastics), Alysse Bland (basketball), Judah Doucettperry (basketball), Nyko Herndon (wrestling), Jessie Gilmore (wrestling). Not pictured: Bella Rhodes (cheer):
To close out the awards presentation, Sealth’s cheer squad gave a rousing performance before the crowd broke up into individual per-sport meetups for each team:
