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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2017)
Sports B1 Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com Wednesday, February 15, 2017 Silverton reaches school milestone Boys, girls place second at swim meet, best results recorded BILL POEHLER STATESMAN JOURNAL Silverton High School’s boys and girls swimming teams had program-best days Saturday. The Foxes placed second in both the boys and girls in the Mid-Willamette Conference district swimming meet at Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis, the best result the team has had. Silverton’s team of Jason Orr, Ross Mackinnon, Jaiden Davis and Blake Doerfler won district championship in the 200 medley relay in 1:47.80, the team’s only district champion. Event winners qualify for the Feb. 17- 18 OSAA Class 6A state swimming meet at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham. Dallas’ Jolie-Rae Ford was second in the 50 free in 25.07 and in the 100 free in 54.15. In the 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 3 district meet at South Albany High School, Salem Academy’s boys came up just short in their bid to win a second con- secutive district championship as Sweet Home swept the boys and girls. Salem Academy senior Davis McHugh won the district championship in the 100 back in 1:03.01and Salem Acad- emy sophomore Caleb Warde won the 200 free in 1:49.27. Also for Salem Academy, Greyson Hanowell was second in the 200 IM (2:36.63), Wilson McLean was second in the 50 free (22.53), Warde was second in the 100 free (49.56), McHugh was second in the 500 free (5:32.49), Elijah Leutwyl- er was second in the 100 back (1:04.65) and all three of the Crusaders’ relay teams placed second. In the girls, Salem Academy’s Molly Gallager was second in the 100 back (1:04.89), Stayton senior Sadie Mak was second in the 50 free (26.86) and 100 free (58.13) and Cascade junior Min Wei placed second in the 100 fly (1:03.69). bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Silverton High School swimming head coach Lucky Rogers runs a practice on Jan. 13. The Foxes placed second in both the boys and girls in the Mid-Willamette Conference district swimming meet at Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis, the best result the team has had. TRI-RIVER’S POWER QUAD PHOTOS BY ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Western Mennonite’s Madison Hull, center, passes against Kennedy on Friday. 4 of top 6 teams reside here, including state champ Kennedy Hull hopes to conclude prep career in Pendleton GARY HOROWITZ STATESMAN JOURNAL If you want a preview of the OSAA 2A girls state basketball tournament, check out the Tri-River Conference playoffs next week. Four of the state’s top six teams in the OSAA power rankings reside in the Tri- River, including defending state champi- on Kennedy. On Friday, No. 2 Western Mennonite (18-7, 8-4) defeated No. 3 Kennedy (14-9, 10-2), the regular season champs, 54-50 in overtime before a packed house in what is known as “The Barn” on Western Mennonite’s campus. It would come as no surprise if West- ern Mennonite and Kennedy met again Feb. 18 in the league playoff champion- ship game, and perhaps a couple weeks later in Pendleton in the state tourna- ment. Tri-River: Conference of champions The Tri-River has produced the past eight girls state champions. “I honestly love the Tri-River. It’s the best league in 2A,” said Western Menno- nite senior guard Madison Hull, who scored 35 points in Friday’s dramatic comeback victory by the Pioneers. “Ev- ery night you never take it off because every team’s good.” No. 1 Monroe (23-0) of the Mountain View Conference is the main challenger to end the Tri-Rivers’s streak of state championships. Kennedy is strong once again despite the graduation of first team all-state guard Lakin Susee, who is the leading scorer this season for Chemeketa Com- munity College. “Once you get out of the Tri-River (playoffs) we’re really tough because ev- ery night we’re battling,” Kennedy coach Kerry Hall said. “We love it.” No. 6 Regis, which won five consecu- tive state crowns from 2010 to 2014, is the No. 3 seed in the Tri-River playoffs. The fourth seed was determined by a play-in game Saturday between St. Paul and No. Kennedy’s Kaylin Cantu, left,tries to block a shot by Western Mennonite’s Lexi Pack, right, in the first half of the Kennedy on Friday night at Western Mennonite. “I honestly love the Tri-River. It’s the best league in 2A. Every night you never take it off because every team’s good.” MADISON HULL WESTERN MENNONITE SENIOR GUARD 5 East Linn Christian. Western Mennonite overcomes challenges Western Mennonite has navigated a road littered with challenges to emerge as a state championship contender. Former coach Robby Gilliam re- signed in November due to health rea- sons. Hull, a first-team all-state selection last season, said Western Mennonite was close to not fielding a team this season. “There just wasn’t enough interest,” Hull said. “We weren’t gonna have a team at the beginning. Even some of the girls that are starting (now), it’s not that they didn’t want to play. … But I’m the only returning starter from last year and so a lot of them weren’t confident.” Enter Mike Hopper, who came on board as head coach. The Pioneers stayed together and developed into a strong team. Hopper, whose daughter, Peyton, is a senior guard for Western Mennonite, joked that his primary role as coach is “to stay out of their way.” Said Hull: “He’s doing a great job.” Western Mennonite would not be in this position without the stellar all- around play of Hull. Her 30-foot 3-point- er with five seconds remaining in regula- tion forced overtime Friday against Ken- nedy. Hull scored 20 of her 35 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, helping the Pioneers overcome a 39-31 deficit enter- ing the fourth quarter. “If she’s not the best player in the state I would be hard pressed to find out who was,” Hopper said. Had Western Mennonite cancelled its season, Hull said she would have played at West Salem in the 6A Greater Valley Conference. The challenge of testing her skills at the state’s highest level would “have been a cool experience,” but Hull wanted to finish her high school basketball career at Western Mennonite, where her father, Gary Hull, has guided the boys basket- ball program for three decades. “I would have missed it so much,” she said. Two teams from each of the six 2A con- ferences automatically qualify for the 16- team state playoffs, and two more get in based on their standing in the OSAA pow- er rankings. Eight teams will qualify for the 2A state tournament March 2-4. Hull has an opportunity to conclude her high school career with a fourth con- secutive state tournament appearance at the Pendleton Convention Center. “I love Pendleton. It’s like nothing else,” Hull said. “Everything shuts down and everyone comes and watches.” BOX SCORE Western Mennonite 54, Kennedy 50 (OT) Kennedy: Kleinschmit 11, Carley 11, Jaegar 11, Cantu 7, Arritola 6, Frey 2, Go- mez 2 W. Mennonite: Hull 35, Hess 12, Pack 3, Foster 2, Hopper 2 KENNEDY 15-12-12-5-6 – 50 W. MENN 9-14-8-13-10 – 54 ghorowitz@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6726 or Twitter.com/ghorowitz