Basketball’s Brittany Janz and soccer’s Otto Sortun win our endorsement as the top Anacortes High School athletes of 2007-08.

Soccer coach Jim Schemmer and fastpitch coach Tom Swapp take the honors as the top coaches of the school year.

Senior Brittany Janz led the 24-4 girls basketball team in scoring as she tallied a school-record 1,605 points during her four-year varsity career. In that span of years the Seahawks made three trips to the state tournament.

Brittany had plenty of competition. Kassandra Beseau distinguished herself by winning a state championship in the 100-yard butterfly as the girl swimmers took fifth at the meet, and Jorgina Moore demonstrated a scrappy, never-say-die attitude during a 6-26 year for the girls soccer team.

Senior Kaila Hammond stuck out with her second-place finish in the shot and third in the discus. And Maria Roney’s consistent, often brilliant play as catcher for the fastpitch team certainly demands recognition. And Crystal McDaniels’ four-year contributions to the girls golf team, leading to consecutive appearances at state, are also notable.

Brittany’s classmate Alyssa Averill deserves special notice for establishing a school record for assists and for playing hurt in the final games of the season. Teammate Amanda Kelly also shone brightly for the girls basketball team as she finished the season playing brilliantly with a broken arm.

There were a number of deserving boys under consideration, but senior Otto Sortun personified the long journey of the boys soccer program at AHS.

He played under two coaches during his four years of varsity competition. And he played any style and any position his coach assigned him to. In the end, coach Schemmer moved him to forward in order to add potency to the Seahawk attack and the plan succeeded, propelling Anacortes into the state tournament.

Among Sortun’s competition for the honor were Kenny Birkeland, who seemed to specialize in touchdown receptions of over 50 yards from quarterback Kyle Dixon’s arm. Though the football squad managed just a 3-7 record, the tandem gave Seahawk supporters some exciting moments during the campaign.

Tanner Gallo went to state in two sports: tennis and soccer. As did Danny Lindstrom, who placed third in cross country in the fall and fifth in the 3,200 meter race at the spring state track meet. Jordan Freeman came close. He played in the state 2A golf tournament and led the ‘Hawk basketball team into the district playoffs.

The boys swim team had three academic All-Americans in Trenton Holmes, who repesented Anacortes at state, Justin Holden and T.J. Gross.
Sophomore Thomas Kassa, with a second in the long jump, third in the triple jump and ninth in the high jump, is also deserving of recognition.

Coach Jim Schemmer receives special commendations for exhuming a boys soccer program that laid dormant for years before he arrived. During his first season, 2007, he changed a perennial NWC cellar dweller into a 14-6 club that finished second in the Northwest Conference. This season, his coaching turned a season that again teetered on the brink of disaster into the first trip to the state tournament for an Anacortes boys soccer team in 22 years.

Tom Swapp has coached softball and fastpitch at AHS since time began, or so it seems. He’s won one of the two state championships in the school’s history. This season his program was invaded by five fresh-faced freshmen — Madison Bundy, Jackie Saunders, Tara Belluschi, Kayla Rieger and Hannah Brennan. He mixed them with sophomore Maria Roney and juniors Sara Brennan, Rachel Nelson and Megan Dunton and slowly molded them into a lethal fastpitch weapon. At midseason their record was 4-6, but they were ready to roll. And roll they did. Right into the state tournament.

Congratulations to the athletes, coaches, parents and everyone associated with the athletic program at Anacortes High for another year of successful competition.

A-Buzz may be contacted at .