Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2007)
»0 7 Lions receive quick exit from playoffs 11 Sports _ M ax H ays ________________ _ Staff Reporter After a great regular season in which the Boys' Varsity Basketball Team finished with a 17-7 overall record, an 8-4 league record, and captured third place in the Three Rivers league, the Lions lost in the first round of the state playoffs. They faced a tough Benson team led by Ameer Shamsud-Din, junior, in the first round on Feb. 28 at Benson. Shamsud- Din finished with a game high 22 points, helping Benson to an 81-70 victory over the Lions, who were led by Justin Monahan, junior, who finished with 18 points. While the loss was disappointing, it didn't take away from the team's outstanding regular season. The Lions clinched a playoff berth with an impressive 69-55 win against a scrappy Milwaukie Mustang's squad on Feb. 16, in front of a large and rowdy West Linn crowd. Leading scorer Colby Martzall, senior co-captain, finished with 18 points. Spencer Dorway, senior co-captain, and Monahan finished with a Colby Martzall, senior co captain, dribbles the ball up the court during a 69-55 win over Milwaukie. The team finished 17-8 and earned a spot in the playoffs. Photo by Malia Chong respectable 16 points each. The Lions then followed up their playoff clinching game with a big 71-59 win against Three Rivers fourth ranked Clackamas Cavaliers. Brenton Spickerman, sophomore, had a monstrous game, finishing with a huge 28 points. Dorway and Alex Tadros, senior co-captain, helped the team in a big way, both finishing with 12 points "Both Clackamas games Debs dance way to State ■ J essica S huholm Staff Reporter Spending 12 to 15 hours j^ e e k practicing their ^ rtn iqu e and routines for a State competition and basketball games is hard work; and on March 14 and 15, that hard work will pay off for the Debs at the State competition at the Memorial Coliseum. The Debs will be performing a four-and-a-half minute jazz routine to the song "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. "It'll be very fun and hardest part of Dance Team is the time commitment. "We have been practicing a lot," Sydney Nopson, freshman, said. Wilcox and the other coaches, Angie Sharpe, Karissa Peterson and Geoff Wishart, instruct the Debs during their three hour long nightly practices, with four to six hours spent practicing on Saturdays. "We work on our projection, technique, forms, everything that the judges look for," Gulati said. The team members also think that Tami Horton, junior, Emily Schroder, senior, and Laura McKinley, junior, perform at the Feb. 17 Parkrose competition. The Debs placed third at the competition. Photo courtesy of Angie Sharpe a great opportunity to represent our school,” Natasha Gulati, freshman, said. The team members are very excited about performing, and their coaches are hopeful. "I feel really good. The kids have come a long way. The new members are very hard working. They've improved a lot since the fall." Amanda |cox, coach, said. According to Wilcox, the the time commitment and physical work is tough, but worthwhile. "It pays off in the end," Gulati said. In February, the Debs used their State routine to place third at the Parkrose High School competition. They also beat the Glencoe Dance Team, which has not happened for at least eight years. The team also received third place at their competition at Liberty High School on March 3. were huge for us. They both really gave the team a confidence boost," Martzall said. Heading into the post season, Aaron Downs, head coach, said that while the team was still improving, the reason they have had such success in the regular season is because they played very tough, spirited basketball. They put together good fourth quarters and ground it out when the game was on the line. In fact the Lions have won six out of seven games decided by five points or less. Their only loss was a 54-55 game against LACES (Los Angeles), decided by a last second shot during a tournament in Orange, Calif, on Dec. 26. The Lions headed into the playoffs after a tough 81-54 loss against the local powerhouse Lake Oswego Lakers. The game was dominated by national recruit and future University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruin, Kevin Love, senior, who finished with game highs in blocks, rebounding and scoring with 37 points, 25 rebounds, and six blocks. It was just too much for the Lions, who were led by Monahan's 13 points. Although the Lions were disappointed not to make it to the elite eight and McArthur court in Eugene, they still believe they had a successful season and are excited for next year, when they will have a possible eight players returning to the Varsity team. "We had a great season and put West Linn hoops back on the map. The boys did an awesome job," Downs said. u definitely come out for the team as long as they have have a lot of time and self motivation. "It's a great way to make friends," Wilson said. At the beginning of the season teammates joked that almost everyone was out of shape. "The first couple of practices totally wore us out," Bhutarak said. "The coach made me swim the 100 Fly every week!" Mitchell Monihan, freshman, 100 Fly, said. At each meet, the team felt more and more success. After those long practices, the girls beat Oregon City during their first meet, and that was only one of many to come. "Each swimmer helped out in some way in their own special events," Bhutarak said. Soon the team made its way to Districts. "The last meet was intense, but it was really fun. It was kind of funny because [the coaches] made all the guys shave their legs, and they would get really mad at us if we didn't," Monihan said. Expectations for next season are high. "Next season will go a little better, because the coach, who was new this year, will be back next season, and now she knows exactly what she is doing. Swim team is underapperciated, and no one realizes how much determination it takes," Wilson said. Bhutarak added that next season she hopes to see someone from West Linn make it to State. "I think that our team has the potential to be amazing!" Swim Team takes final lap K atie C arnahan ____________ Staff Reporter From playing swimming games to winning meets, the Swim Team took a final lap for the winter sports season. On Feb. 10, members of the team met at the Lake Oswego pool for a long day of competition at Districts. "I think we did pretty well," Rosa Bhutarak, freshman, who swims the 100 Fly, said. "Our girls placed third in the league, following Lake Oswego and Lakeridge, so that means we beat everyone else! Our guys did pretty good as well; they placed fifth in the league at Districts." With a "no cut" policy, anyone is allowed to join. Sarah Wilson, Captain and senior, said students should Lions end another successful season An P eterson Staff Reporter The Varsity Girls' Basketball Team claims victory against Tigard Tigers of the Pacific League. On Feb. 27 the team won 39-38. A close game, the Lions were helped with a point made by one of the other teams' players. The next match was against the Southridge Skyhawks. Ending their part in the playoffs the team lost 53-62. The team was lead by Glen Lee, head coach, and Jason Ashley, Assistant Head Coach. According to Lee, the team has been closely knit but at times has had trouble focusing due to excessive giggling and chatting both on and off court. The team was also challenged with finding players to fill empty positions resulting from three cases of mono and other seasonal illnesses. The players' skills and positive attitudes along with off season practices contributed to the team's survival. "All teams are different and special in their own way," Lee said. He feels this team has been especially confident going into the Emily Locke, senior, dribbles past a Clackamas player on Senior Night. The game ended with a victory for the Lions 55-38. Photo by Sachie Hopkins games. All of the players have a special talent to add in pushing the team to its full potential. Many of the girls have shown improvement both in attitude and skill, according to Lee. Brittany May, sophomore guard, has shown massive improvement this season. This year's team included four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. The diversity in age and grade didn't stop the girls from bonding. "All the girls are really close together. It's really fun to play with them," Nikki Aden, senior guard, said. Aden, one of the team's super stars has been nominated for McDonald's All American High School Girls Basketball Team. She will compete among other nominees chosen nationally from other states for one of 24 positions on the team. Aden's average is 14.2 points per game, and after high school she plans on continuing playing basketball in college. She says she'll miss playing for Girls' Varsity. "I can always count on them. They're like my second family," Aden said.
