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Sports__________________ __________ ii
Bank Slalom competition successful for Snowboard Team
m CHRIS GARFIELD______________
Staff Reporter
After a frustrating wait,
the Snowboard Team has
finally practiced at its home
resort, Mt. Hood Meadows.
For some riders, Meadows
conditions and runs on Jan.
3 were nothing compared to
those of last year.
"Not many jumps were
groomed and the pipe wasn't
even open," Mackenzie
Bruns, junior, said.
Fortunately, many of
those problems have been
repaired in the last couple
weeks. Even still, Meadows
has many advantages in
comparison to the team's
alternate resort, Ski Bowl.
"There is more of a variety
of jumps and rails. It also has
a nicer lodge and better chili
fries!" Bruns said.
At the last team practice,
members enjoyed deep
powder and the ongoing
snowfall, which made up
for lack of groomed jumps
and no pipe earlier in the
season. Coaches continued to
familiarize themselves with
teammates and help the team
members complete tricks that
they have never done before.
"Highlights of the
last practice was Keegan
Warrington's smooth melan
frontside 3, a solid cab 3 from
Tanner Kewley, and a near
miss Cab 3 from Chadwick
Boggess," Jamie Kelso, coach,
said.
They also helped prepare
for the upcoming Bank
Bryan Toti, sophomore, competes in the boarder cross competition
held on Jan. 14. Toti took ninth place in 36.6 seconds.
Photo submitted by Nanette Boggess
Slalom competition, formally
known as Boarder Cross,
which will be the team's first
competition of the year.
The Bank Slalom
competition, which is
individually timed racing,
went very well for the team.
Spencer Smith, junior, came
in first with an impressive
time of 35.14 seconds and the
Ski
Team gets great
fresh powder start
u L auren L evine ______________
co-Editor-in-Chief
After more than two
months of training, the ski
season has finally begun and
it is clear that this season will
be very different from last
season. Out of 23-25 racers
who were on the team last
year, only a small handful,
three to five, have returned.
^ " T h e team was mostly
B iio r s so they all left," Eliot
Smith, sophomore, said.
Smith is among many others
who are on the team for the
first time this season.
"It's pretty much a whole
new team this year," Sandra
Slossar, Ski Team parent
representative, said.
Racers prepared for the
season by spending two
months dry land training
which includes runnning.
Now training on the
mountain, the team travels
to Mt. Hood every Thursday
night to ski for two-and-a-
half to three hours.
"They set up a course for
us on Thursdays like the one
we'll be racing on Saturday
and we will run it five to ten
times. Our coaches watch
us on each run and give us
tips on how to do better and
improve our technique,"
Paige Alii, sophomore, said.
On Jan. 6, six racers from
West Linn competed in the
Christine Cato Memorial
Race at Timberline. The race
is sponsored by the Cato
family in memory of their
daughter who died skiing. In
the Boy's Varsity individual
race, Smith placed 68th
followed by David Kawecki,
freshman, at 76th; Ryan
Walch, freshman, 100th, and
Alexander Otey 101st. For
Girl's Varsity individual
Chelsea Spitzer, junior,
placed 74th.
Even though they have
lost the majority of racers and
the season has just begun,
coaches already have high
hopes and are optimistic for
this year.
"I think the kids are loving
it and will represent the
school really well and show
their school spirit," Slossar
said. "I think Bruce (Rodway,
coach) is impressed with the
skiers and their ability and
sees great potential."
"I think we'll improve a
lot, I mean we have a lot to
work on but we'll get better
as time goes on," Smith said.
next West Linn competitor
was Collin Weeks in fifth.
The girl's team killed it,
taking the top four times.
Hana Jacover, senior, took
first place in 36.5 seconds.
Following Jacover was
Brynn Hayes, junior, Kesslie
Carlson- Ham, senior, and
Bruns.
"The conditions for the
competition were mediocre.
The wind was blowing pretty
fierce but the course still
maintained a good amount of
powder," Bruns said.
There have been numerous
injuries so far this season.
Andrea Bryson, sophomore,
broke her arm during
a competition; Danielle
Ramsby, senior, may have
fractured her back; and Jason
Shook, senior, broke his collar
bone.
"I broke [my collar bone]
in two places, tore all the
ligaments. I had to have an
open reduction surgery, and
now have a titanium plate
and seven screws holding my
collar bone together. I was
working on the wall ride and
just wasn't focusing, slipped
out and came down on my
shoulder. One wrong step
and you're in recovery for
four to six months." Shook
said.
The next competition is
half pipe and on Sat. Jan. 27
at Mt. Hood Meadows.
Brooke earns Second Team All-State
a M ary S cofield _____________
Staff Reporter
After playing soccer
since she was five years old,
Taylor Brooke, sophomore,
received a big honor when
she was awarded First
Team All-League, and
Second Team All-state for
girls soccer at the forward
position this year. Winning
All-State means out of all
the players in the state,
Brooke was chosen as
one of the best. Winning
All-League, is the same
concept except the players
are chosen from only Three
Rivers League.
"It is a big honor and it's
pretty cool," Brooke said.
Soccer is something
Brooke loves to play
because it is a fast-paced
game and a player needs to
be able to work well with
teammates to be victorious.
"To be effective, you
need to have a lot of ball
control and a good sense
of the pace of the game.
Taylor Brooke, sophomore, was
awarded Second Team All-State
and First Team All-League for
girls soccer. She hopes to continue
to play soccer through high
school and to play at University
of Portland or U niversity of
California in Los Angeles after
graduation.
Photo by Ann Breyne
Endurance and skill also
plays an important role.
It is time consuming, but
completely worth it,"
Brooke said.
This year's Girls
Varsity Soccer Team was
a young team with mostly
sophomores, and had
to overcome some big
challenges. The team ended
with a record of 5-4-3.
"We did have some really
good games this year that
will make it all the more
exciting next year," Brooke
said.
Ronaldhinho, a Brazilian
National Team player, is one
of Brooke's favorite soccer
players. She admires his
vision of the field and his
amazing foot skills.
Besides soccer, Brooke
likes to snowboard and go
see movies with her friends.
Brooke plans to continue
playing soccer through high
school and into college.
She would like to play for
University of Portland or
University of California
in Los Angeles because
they are prestigious soccer
programs closer to home.
Brooke currently plays for
the Southside Soccer Club
year round and has traveled
to California, Arizona,
Idaho and Washington with
the team.
America continues excessive packaging, prioritizes profit over environment
continued from page 4
Our society has become too
concerned with convenience,
so we have resorted to
extremely overpackaged
peanut butter slices instead
of a traditional jar and knife.
I find this appalling. A simple
toy truck may come with a
cardboard box with a plastic
window, multiple plastic
trays to hold little objects, and
twisty ties to hold it together.
What a waste! Since half of
is garbage, why not use
all recyclable items or just a
cardboard box that fits the
item?
Obviously America
has a problem, but
it's also obvious
that there are
multiple
solutions.
The easiest
solution
is to
f -. p|| I jj
impose
lllli iilii i l l ! ,
higher
.
recycled or composted. The
government needs to create
new laws on packaging
possibly according to
a ratio between the
object's mass and
its packaging.
Industries
should be
forced to use
almost all
"X -X
standards and limits on
packaging. Almost all of the
trash we produce could be
recyclable packaging and be
obligated to only use a certain
percent of non-recyclable
items in their packaging.
The packaging industry
needs to start phasing out
petrochemical products. If
the companies do not comply
with the laws, major fines
should be imposed.
So what can you as an
individual do? First, make
sure you have bins for
recycling, compost, and
garbage in a convenient place
in your house. Recycling is
one of the easiest things that
you can do. You can also
shop for environmentally
biodegradable containers,
buy in bulk and repackage in
reusable containers, or buy
only products that feature
low-impact packaging.
If we don't do something
soon our natural resources
will be depleted and our
world will become one big
dumpster. Waste is only one
problem in our world, but it
is one that we can solve. The
solution starts with a single
person, and that person
can be you. Reduce, reuse,
precycle and recycle. Write
to your legislator for tougher
packaging laws.