Sports
B1
Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
CROSS COUNTRY
CANTU’S
CAREER
SWEEP
Kennedy cross country star
runs off with championship
Kennedy's Kaylin Cantu leads the pack in the 3A/2A/1A-SD2 District 2 girls cross country championships at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem on Oct. 27. Cantu won the race and became the first
runner from the Mt. Angel school to win the district championship in all four years of high school. PHOTOS BY ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
BILL POEHLER
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Kaylin Cantu completed the career
clean sweep.
The senior cross country star from
Kennedy High School won the Class
3A/2A/1A Special District 2 champion-
ships on Friday by completing the 5,000
meter course at Bush Pasture Park in
19:08.5.
She became the first runner from the
Mt. Angel school to win the district
championship in all four years of high
school.
And Cantu helped Kennedy to win its
third consecutive district championship,
this time with a commanding 25 points
while St. Paul was second with 81.
Kennedy dominated as junior Alejan-
dra Lopez placed second (19:31.6), senior
Azaris Velazquez was third (21:45.4), ju-
nior Clarissa Traeger was seventh
(23:23.3) and Cassie Traeger was 12th
(24:05.4).
Cantu and Kennedy’s girls cross coun-
try team next runs Nov. 4 in the OSAA
Class 3A/2A/1A state cross country meet
at Lane Community College in Eugene.
In the boys meet, Kennedy sopho-
Kennedy's Azaris Velazquez finished third in
the 3A/2A/1A-SD2 District 2 girls cross country
championships.
more Luke Hall placed third in 17:39.5
and also qualified for the state meet.
In Thursday’s Mid-Willamette Con-
ference district meet at Willamette Mis-
sion State Park in Brooks, Silverton ju-
nior Haile Stutzman placed fourth to
lead Silverton to a fifth-place finish in
the boys.
In the girls, Silverton junior Jori Para-
dis placed sixth in 19:40.3 and the Foxes
placed fourth.
Stutzman and Paradis both qualify for
the Class 5A state cross country meet,
also Nov. 4 at Lane.
Kennedy's Kaylin Cantu leads the pack at the start of the championship race.
POWER RANKINGS
Central quarterback soars after big outing
Each week, Statesman Journal re-
porters Bill Poehler, Gary Horowitz and
Pete Martini rank the best high school
football players in Salem and the Mid-
Willamette Valley.
7. Justin Herberger, St. Paul. Oct. 20
result: Beat Regis 60-0.
8. Brody Davidson, Santiam. Oct. 20
result: Beat Kennedy 30-16.
9. Ethan Coffey, Cascade. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Lost to North Marion 10-0.
10. Brandon Piete, Regis. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Lost to St. Paul 60-0.
Quarterbacks
Wide receivers/tight ends
Few players have the experience,
pose and ability to do what Peter Menda-
zona does.
The Central High School senior
passed for 182 yards and two touch-
downs and rushed for the game-winning
touchdown in last week’s 41-35 win
against Silverton to move up to No. 2 in
the Statesman Journal Top 10 power
rankings for quarterbacks.
Sprague quarterback Spencer Plant,
who passed for 166 yards and one touch-
down in last week’s win against West Al-
bany, retains the No. 1 spot.
There is one mistake teams make
when trying to defend Anthony Gould:
playing soft defense against the West Sa-
lem High School speedster. With seconds
left in the first half of the Titans’ 55-3 win
against South Salem last week, Gould
caught a pass from quarterback Grant
Thies in the flat and burned the soft cov-
erage for a 59-yard touchdown. For the
season, he has caught 27 passes for 538
yards and six touchdowns.
STAFF REPORTS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Central’s Peter Mendazona (10) fumbles the ball while being taken down by Silverton’s Zach
MacBean (68) at Silverton High School on Oct. 20. Mendazona moves up to No. 2 in the
Statesman Journal Top 10 power rankings for quarterbacks. ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Quarterback top 10
power rankings
1. Spencer Plant, Sprague. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat West Albany 42-14.
2. Peter Mendazona, Central. Oct. 20
result: Beat Silverton 41-35.
3. Levi Nielsen, Silverton. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Lost to Central 41-35.
4. Grant Thies, West Salem. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat South Salem 55-3.
5. Holden Smith, St. Paul. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat Regis 60-0.
6. Erik Barker, McNary. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat North Medford 40-20.
7. Quinn Legner, Cascade. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Lost to North Marion 10-0.
8. R.J. Veliz, Blanchet Catholic. Oct.
20 result: Lost to Sheridan 17-0.
9. Tristan Fergus, Dayton. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Lost to Scio 26-20.
10. Brad Milton, Willamina. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat Taft 56-14.
carries for the 2-6 Vikings, who run a
run-heavy, wing-T offense.
Running backs
Top 10 running back
power rankings
There have been two prolific running
backs in the Greater Valley Conference
this season, and they are performing at
high levels on drastically different
teams.
Sprague senior running back Noah
Mellen has rushed for 1,207 yards and 21
touchdowns on 144 carries for the 7-1
Olympians, who run a balanced run-
pass, pro-style offense. North Salem sen-
ior running back Rigo Padilla has rushed
for 1,390 yards and 12 touchdowns on 175
1. Noah Mellen, Sprague. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat West Albany 42-14.
2. Rigo Padilla, North Salem. Oct. 20
result: Beat McKay 20-9.
3. Dru Cook, Scio. Last weeks’ result:
Beat Dayton 26-20.
4. Jacob Denning, West Salem. Oct. 20
result: Beat South Salem 55-3.
5. Hunter Meissner, Silverton. Oct. 20
result: Lost to Central 41-35.
6. Evan Courtney, Dallas. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Lost to Crescent Valley 31-21.
Top 10 receiver/tight end
power rankings
1. Anthony Gould, West Salem. Oct. 20
result: Beat South Salem 55-3
2. Alek Altringer, Sprague. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat West Albany 42-14
3. Spencer Clements, Silverton. Oct.
20 result: Lost to Central 41-35
4. Jaidyn Jackson, St. Paul. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat Regis 60-0
5. Gage Hazelton, Salem Academy.
Last week's result: Beat Jefferson 18-12
6. Teagan Quitoriano, Sprague. Oct.
20 result: Beat West Albany 42-14
7. Max Long, Sprague. Oct. 20 result:
Beat West Albany 42-14
8. Isiah Abraham, Central. Oct. 20 re-
sult: Beat Silverton 41-35
9. Andres Delgado, South Salem. Oct.
20 result: Lost to West Salem 55-3
See RANKINGS, Page 2B