Prep notebook: Prescott named Mercer Island girls hoop coach

Mercer Island High School has selected an in-house candidate as its next girls basketball coach, promoting assistant Jamie Prescott.

Prescott, a former Islanders player, replaces Blair Rasmussen, who resigned in February after six seasons to spend more time with his family.

At the time of his resignation, Rasmussen also said it was in the program's best interest to hire a woman who taught in the building. Prescott teaches English and journalism at Mercer Island.

"I'm thrilled. I'm really happy for her and I'm happy for the kids," Rasmussen said. "She's a young, enthusiastic coach. I think she's going to bring a lot of energy."

Prescott, 26, spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Mercer Island. She was an assistant at Redmond High for three years before that. Her younger sisters, Lexie and Beth Richards (Class of 1999 and 2003, respectively), both starred in the Mercer Island program and played together last season at Jacksonville University in Florida.

"It's really exciting to come back with a totally different perspective," said Prescott. "It's almost like I never left."

Mercer Island was 5-15 last season, losing to Liberty in the KingCo 3A tournament's first round.

Prescott said she would focus first on defense.

"I love intense defense ... we gave up something like 56 points (per game), and the competitive teams give up between 36 and 40, tops," she said. "So we have to change our mentality in terms of what we gear up on."

Mercer Island was 69-65 overall under Rasmussen, advancing to the Sea-King 3A District tournament three times.

Shorewood girls coach resigns

Citing "lack of support from the majority of players and parents in the program," Brandon Glasser has resigned as coach of the Shorewood girls basketball team.

Glasser, 27, coached the Thunderbirds the past two seasons. His teams had a 6-34 overall record.

"I have officially become another example of the many coaches who have gone through the 'revolving door' which is Shorewood athletics," Glasser said in a statement.

He said he was the fourth girls basketball coach in six years at the school.

"For the sake of the kids, I hope this culture improves," he said. "However, I realize that it is a problem beyond me or any other coach who has worked at Shorewood. I was hired to take a program with much youth and inexperience, and rebuild it. I have always maintained a positive approach, while keeping a realistic perspective that success does not happen overnight. I love the game of basketball and I look forward to coaching for a program in which players and parents respect and support my decisions as the coach."

Glasser played basketball at Ballard High School and Edmonds Community College. He graduated from Western Washington University and teaches at Einstein Middle School in the Shoreline School District.

"I don't want to be in a program where I'm not supported," he concluded.

The Shorewood athletic director was unavailable for comment and the district athletic director didn't return a telephone call.

Seniors featured in basketball event

Darnellia Russell of Roosevelt and Anne Martin of Meadowdale, who helped lead their teams to state girls basketball championships last month, are among dozens of seniors expected to compete tomorrow in the second annual In the Paint All-Star Classic at Green River Community College in Auburn.

The schedule features three girls games and four boys games. Three-point shooting and slam-dunk contests are set for 7 p.m.

The All-Star Classic, sponsored by Special Events NW and the Washington Restaurant Association Education Foundation, has more than tripled in size. Last year, one boys game and one girls game matched King County and Pierce County players.

A few Class 2A and 1A players dot the rosters, and Jeremy Mangum from 4A Davis of Yakima is expected to join the Seamount boys roster.

Participating coaches include Karen Blair of Meadowdale and Joyce Walker of Garfield, which lost the 4A state-title game to Roosevelt. Blair will coach the KingCo 4A girls and Walker will head the WesCo/Northwest 3A girls, to avoid coaching players from their own schools.

All-Star Classic rosters:
BOYS
SPSL - Pace Pendleton, Auburn; Curtis Terry, Curtis; Jordan Osborn, Eatonville; Dennis Struck, Eatonville; Evan Bratz, Cascade Christian; Scott McKendall, Lakes; Marcus Hinton, Wilson; John Levi, Wilson.
KingCo 4A - Dan Blanchard, Bothell; John Rogers, Franklin; Lamar Harrison, Garfield; Omar Tompson, Garfield; Ken Nwaelele, Inglemoor; Christian Yeager, Redmond; Stephen Ishmael, Redmond; Greg Haslam, Woodinville; Danny Breihl, Bellevue.
WesCo - Jason Hopkins, Edmonds-Woodway; Josh Griffin, Edmonds-Woodway; Wesley Burns, Mariner; Delvaughn Tinned, Mariner; Colin Matteson, Meadowdale; Laron Lover, Meadowdale; Taylor Marsh, Meadowdale; Brady Miller, Mount Vernon.
Metro - Jason Pegues, Cleveland; Patrick Frost, Mercer Island; Banard Banks, Cleveland; Amsula Abera, Foster; Payzaar Thomas, Foster; Chris Faidley, King's; Ian McCormick, University Prep; Jordan Schultz, University Prep.
Seamount - Courtlee Harris, Evergreen; Jamaal Collins, Evergreen; Ronald Rhodes, Evergreen; Zach Cooper, Kennedy; Brian Manaway, Mount Rainier; Lael Johnson, Renton; Jerry Thomas, White River; Jeremy Mangum, Davis.
Narrows League - Thomas Ward, Bellarmine Prep; Ron Soeu, Foss; Clarence Demmery, Lincoln; Paul Tabron, Lincoln; Anthony Tennyson, Mount Tahoma; Baree Ward, Mount Tahoma; Darius Joseph, Mount Tahoma; Julio Feliciano, Mount Tahoma.
Pac-9 - Giovonne Woods, River Ridge; Nate Menefee, Timberline; Nate Rosa, North Mason; Michael Lewis, Steilacoom; Derek Schluter, Steilacoom; Pat Lynch, Steilacoom; Brandon Jones, Steilacoom; Curtis Long, Life Christian; Adam Nelson, Life Christian.
Northwest 3A - Mike Rhyne, Anacortes; Azubo Bearden, Bellingham; Josh Fish, Bellingham; Tony Hillaire, Bellingham; Brock Ingram, Burlington-Edison; Eddie Gallagher, Ferndale; Tyler Thompson, Sehome; Austin Wilcox, Squalicum; Brandon Foote, Bellingham.

GIRLS
SPSL - Emily Voorhies, Auburn; Jackie Thomas, Curtis; Christine Kim, Federal Way; Shelby Avaava, Federal Way; Leitawsha Bronson, Kent-Meridian; Breanne Burley, Kentwood; Re'Onda Hall, Kentridge.
KingCo 4A - Julie Zubovic, Bothell; Amy Anderson, Eastlake; Raylene Johnson, Franklin; Tashara Simpson, Garfield; Sara Dennehy, Lake Washington; Darnellia Russell, Roosevelt.
WesCo/Northwest 3A - Kristi Auckland, Cascade; Morgan Harter, Edmonds-Woodway; Katie Holloway, Lake Stevens; Anne Martin, Meadowdale; Kristine Marte, Meadowdale; Brenan Kirkpatrick, Anacortes; Keisha Reynolds, Anacortes; Breanna Lindquist, Lynden; Jamie Hubka, Sehome; Kelsy Erickson, Sehome.
Narrows League - Marissa Cain, Bellarmine Prep; Leslie Rodriguez, Gig Harbor; Jackie Starr; Jessica Jackson, Mount Tahoma; Mystic Davis, Mount Tahoma; Scarlett Riggs, Stadium; Dominique Hodge, Wilson; Katie Mitchell, Wilson.
Seamount/Metro - Krista Pritchard, Clover Park; Lydia Butler-Smith, Fife; Moana Sau, Mount Rainier; Allison Maas, Tyee; Jennifer Royal, Clover Park; MeMe Lewis-Roberts, Chief Sealth; Nakeya Isabell, Cleveland; Tanaia Keyes, Ingraham; Keisha Beard, Rainier Beach; Ché Oh, Seattle Prep.
Pac-9 - Kyle Haag, Black Hills; Jessie Smith, River Ridge; Andrea Staley, Tumwater; Ashely Wakefield, Chehalis; Ashley Baker, Yelm; Karissa Scherer, Yelm; Erin Moore, River Ridge; Sarah Davis, La Center; Autumn Spencer, Winlock.

SCHEDULE
Boys games - 11:30 a.m., KingCo 4A vs. Narrows; 2:30 p.m., Pac-9 vs. Northwest 3A; 5:30 p.m., Seamount vs. Metro; 8:30 p.m., WesCo vs. SPSL.
Girls games - 10 a.m., KingCo 4A vs. Narrows League; 1 p.m., Seamount/Metro vs. WesCo/Northwest 3A; 4 p.m., Pac-9 vs. SPSL.

Frisby back at Seattle Prep

Tennis coach Mark Frisby has returned to Seattle Prep, where he won nine Metro League coed championships and nine state championships (six boys, three girls) in a 10-year span.

Frisby, a Seattle Prep alum who is in the school's athletic hall of fame, left in the 2000-01 school year to coach the Issaquah boys in the fall and girls in the spring. He will continue to coach the Issaquah boys in the fall because Metro League tennis is a coed spring sport.

Seattle Prep is 3-0 this season and Frisby's all-time dual-match record at the school is 161-3. His Issaquah boys teams and girls teams posted winning records every year after he arrived after more than a decade of losing seasons.

Frisby has 297 career victories as a coach.

He said he had left Seattle Prep looking for a fresh challenge but missed the school, particularly after the tragic death of former captain Jill Curran in a London traffic accident in 2002.

In the Paint All-Star Classic rosters in ScoreIt.