One Glacier Bear team advanced to the championship game of the annual Triple Threat Tournament last weekend at the Haines School, and five Haines athletes earned all-tournament recognition.
The girls’ “B” team coached by Lori Giddings and Tiffany DeWitt faced one of Juneau’s HoopTime squads in Sunday’s final. Haines took an early lead, but finished with the runner-up trophy following a 21-10 loss. Eighth-graders Bozhi Sebens and Kayla Yeoman were all-tournament performers for Haines.
Other all-tournament honorees for Haines at the competition were sixth-grader Marissa Haddock in girls’ “C”, eighth-grader Jacob Stigen in boys’ “C” and eighth-grader Charlie Bower in boys’ “B”. Bower and his “B” teammates earned third place.
Triple Threat ran Feb. 22-24 in both gymnasiums at the school and featured students in fourth through eighth grade.
Sixteen teams entered, representing Haines, Juneau and Skagway. The Haines contingent included two girls’ teams and three boys’ teams. HoopTime, an Amateur Athletic Union program from Juneau, won three of the four divisions, with Skagway taking the title in boys’ “C.”
Ralph and Sarah Swinton organized and coached at the tournament, which relied on dozens of residents serving as referees, stat keepers and scoreboard operators. Volunteers also dished up a spaghetti dinner on Saturday night.
“I think the kids had a great time,” Sarah Swinton said. “It’s very nice for the parents to see their kids actually play against different teams and towns. That’s what it’s about – the kids having fun and the parents being able to see what their kids have done, because the rest of the tournaments are out of town.”
Triple Threat followed tournaments in Juneau and Skagway this season. Youth teams from Haines will close out their schedule at a Juneau tournament in March.