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Lions receive quick exit from playoffs
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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.