2007
Winter athletes hit gym, slopes, pool as season opens
Jk o
C allagan ____________
Staff Reporter
Hook shot...Takedown...
Kickline...Freestyle...Slalom—
it's time once again for winter
sports and time for the
season outlook.
Boy's Basketball: The
team is prepared for an
impact season, buoyed by the
return of nine seniors. The
biggest difference between
last year and this season
is that the frontcourt will
no longer be anchored by
post Brenton Spickerman,
a recent transfer to Jesuit.
The good news is that
the rivalry between West
Linn and Oregon City
will be especially heated
as the Pioneers open the
season ranked #1 in state.
A particular strength of this
year's team is their versatility
and depth, which will
allow the team to utilize an
uptempo style. The mood is
upbeat as the playoffs look to
be an achievable goal.
Girls' Basketball: Many
key players are returning
such as Samantha Dewart,
Emily Wattman-Turner,
Natalie Pittenger and Rosetta
Adzasu, seniors, two major
losses are Nicole Aden, who
will be missed for her scoring
and ball-handling skills, and
Brittany May, who is out for
the season with an injured
foot. New player Morgan
Joscelyn, sophomore, is
expected to make an impact.
Wrestling: After
graduating 18 seniors, many
teams would be devastated.
For the wrestling team,
however, this only means
an opportunity for talented
grapplers to step up and
make a difference. Key
returners include Donald
Paulson, sophomore, and
Andrew Kim, junior, both
of whom were District
Champions last year.
Also expected to make an
impact are Logan Krellwitz,
sophomore, and Devan
Schiewe, senior. They will
join Mitchell Gaulke, junior,
a returning starter on Varsity
from last season. The goal
for the season is the District
Championship, which the
Lions are defending on their
way to a 12th consecutive
title.
Winter Cheerleading:
A team goal will be
incorporating tougher and
more difficult stunts during
halftime. Expect some fresh
faces among the squad, as the
group includes seven new
cheerleaders. According to
Coach Nikki Stroup, "Winter
is always exciting because
Austin Cemy, senior, practices a drill with partner Devon Schiewe,
senior, during practice. The wrestling team graduated many seniors
last year, but is still pursuing a 13th District title.
Photo by Calley Lathrop
the crowd is closer to the
event," and this allows the
cheerleaders to be more
involved with the attendees.
Swimming: Swim
Team is geared up for a
successful year and is stacked
with talented swimmers.
According to Thomas Lord,
senior, every one of them
is a key part to success.
An important meet will be
against Lake Oswego, the
Staff Reporter
After a first round 17-3
victory over Beaverton in the
playoffs, the Lions Varsity
Football Team earned a first
playoff. The Lions followed
with a bitter but respectable
the defense was able to come
up with a stop. A 23-yard
field goal was botched by
kicker Robert Truax, which
began a string of unfortunate
events for the Lions on both
sides of the ball.
West Salem took a 7-0
lead on a grab by Titans
Justin Monahan, senior, holds the ball for kicker Robert Truax, senior.
Truax accounted for six of the 26 points during his final game as a
lion.
Photo submitted by Tracie Krellwitz
loss on the road at number
four ranked West Salem, 26-
41. They finished in second
place in the Three Rivers
League.
The Lions started strong,
intercepting West Salem's
quarterback Aaron Hire. The
Titans QB had not thrown
an interception all year, until
Joshua Thurston, senior,
picked him off on the team's
opening drive. Thurston's
interception led a drive
: Trich ended up inside the
Titan's ten yard line before
9 B
"champion breaststrokers,"
Lord said. The predictions
for the season is that though
there may be challenges, the
year will turn out "okay."
Snowboarding: The
Snowboard Team is primed
for an explosive year. Spencer
wide receiver Jordan
Bishop, which bounced off
Thurston’s shoulder pad
and allowed Bishop to bring
in the catch. Unfortunate
breaks worsened for the
Lions on offense, which
saw multiple penalties go
unflagged.
It did not help that
the Lions were unable to
convert on offense, with
four opportunities in the red
zone that didn't result in a
touchdown. Some of these
resulted from poor calls that
ended drives. As Kyle Kraus
drove toward the end zone,
he was brought down by
the face mask, a personal
foul penalty, which was
called against the Lions. That
call killed the momentum,
and the Lions settled for a
field goal. It was a case of
two high powered offenses
colliding and the Titans
simply outscored the Lions.
The season was a success
from any standpoint.
The Lions put together
the second of two
consecutive playoff seasons
while enjoying strong
performances from their 21
seniors.
Bryce Baker, junior,
performed well at
quarterback, on two different
occasions setting passing
records. The offense and
defense performed better
while special teams made
strides in their performance.
The Lions boasted the sixth
best scoring defense in
the state and were equally
proficient in the passing
game. Truax enjoyed a
season in which he kicked 12
field goals, an improvement
from last year. The team
also scored in the classroom,
ranking number one
academically in the state.
Despite a disappointing
end to the year, there are
a multitude of reasons to
look forward to next season.
The Lions return starters
Baker, Mitchell Gaulke, Josh
Oltman, juniors, and Reid
Adams, sophomore.
Smith and Zachary Sharp,
seniors, will lead the team.
Also contributing will be
Tanner Kewley, Bryan Toti
and Chadwick Boggess,
juniors. An especially
exciting competition this year
will be against Lakeridge, but
expect West Linn to prevail.
The only issue is the youth of
the team, as a large portion
of them are freshman. While
undoubtably talented, their
inexperience may hold them
back in the early going.
Skiing: The Ski Team
comes into the season
looking to improve on its
performance from last year.
They are welcoming two
top skiers, Alec Ramsey and
Madeleine Martus, freshmen.
Despite a lack of senior
leadership, Kevin Versteeg
and Chelsea Spitzer are the
lone seniors, but this is not
expected to set the team back.
When keeping track of their
performance this season,
keep a close eye on the
competitions with La Salle,
Lake Oswego and Tualatin,
the team's chief rivals.
All-star rugby team formed
l i i life tales tit iillig ts
M the Renegades starting play
continued from page 8
Football ends season with respectable defeat
I saac C allagan
Lions' chief rival. Although
the team is skilled in all
areas of the sport, they are
Several players stood out
ncluding Zchonae "Z" Jones,
junior, Sommers, a Canby
senior, and Cassie Powell, a
Westside senior. Powell was
a captain, and played many
positions on the back line.
Players switched positions
frequently, and for the most
part, received equal playing
time.
With the fall season over,
the players will be going
back to their regular season
teams. Come January, the
rivalries will reignite, with
in mid-January. Potential
players are encouraged to
attend an informal "skill
session," and open house
on Dec. 6, from 6-7 p.m. at
the WLHS field, and the
yearly team meeting in
Dec. 11th, time and place
to be announced. More
information, including
pictures, informative
reading and schedule
information can be found
at www.westlinnrugby.
com, as well as a link to
the boys' page. All girls
are encouraged to give the
sport a try.
Girls
Kellie
H urt,
Danieli
League
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