Woodinville Montessori School (WMS) dominated its competitors at the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering (WIOL) Regional Championships for both individual and team categories.
The athletes competed in the midst of challenging weather conditions on Fire Mountain in Mount Vernon — facing torrential downpours, high winds and icy temperatures, running and slipping over muddy trails while reading their maps to locate the correct controls on their courses. In spite of these adversities, the WMS students were awarded first place for three of the four individual and first place in both team categories they entered. WMS students also had placements among the top three of every category they competed in.
Particularly noteworthy is the performance by the junior-varsity boys team, which competed against more seasoned JV teams such as Lakeside and Spanaway. This is the first year the school has entered a JV team for interscholastic competition. In addition to its first place win at the regionals, the JV boys also placed second for the WIOL season. Individually, Andy Seckinger placed second for the season and Brian Ellis placed first at the regionals.
In the elementary girls division, WMS swept all three individual regional awards and placed in the top two for the WIOL season. Individual first-place winners were Yula Stehling for the season and Audrey Javadoff for the regionals.
Yola Stehling, competing in her first full year as a middle-schooler, anchored the school’s team and individual categories, placing first for middle-school girls for both the season and at the regionals.
When complimented on the WMS team’s outstanding performance, coach Eileen Breseman commented, “Regular practice of map reading and mental focus has really paid off this year. I’m very proud of them all.”
Breseman is the school’s certified orienteering instructor. She and her husband Rick have been coaching WMS students since 2003, taking a team from regionals to nationals each year.
WMS, which has Bothell and Woodinville campuses, will defend its 2011 championship title at the National Interscholastics on April 22 at Lord Hill Park in Monroe.
