8_ ______________________________________ SpQ CtS________________________________ February
Rugby teams prepare, partake in pre-season matches
u CALLEY L a THROP________ -
Staff Reporter
The boys' and girls'
rugby team s rucked, tackled
and ran, dom inating their
opponents in last year's
state com petition. The girls
won first, and the boys took
fourth. The rugby season
began on Jan. 15, and both
team s anticipated victory
as pre-season games and
tournam ents against top-
caliber opponents drew near.
The girls have gained a
new arsenal of freshmen.
A strong set of returning
players including A riel
H eston, Alison M cDonald,
Kylie Rogers, seniors, and
M egan Hackney, Katherine
Linday, Zchonae Jones,
juniors, that are expected to
make an im pact.
The first pre-season game
was on Feb. 1 against Canby,
the Renegades successfully
fought through the Cougars'
powerful offence w ith a final
individual talent and drive,
we ju st need to work on
tightening up all the loose
ends and pulling
together as a
team ," Espinoza
said.
Their second
m atch took
place Feb. 10
against the
Kent Crusaders,
who placed
second at last
year's national
com petition. The
Crusaders swept
the floor when
a player drove
through the
offense, scoring
w ithin the last
few minutes
Shelby Patterson, freshman, practices her
creating a fined
tackling with Rachel Sommers, 2007 Canby
graduate. The Renegades have played two score of 22-15.
Both teams
preseason games since their Jan. 15 start. They
took on powerful Canadian opponents during w ill participate
the Prez Fest tournament held last weekend and in the Prez Fest
won two of their games.
tournam ent on
P h o to b y C a fle y L a th ro p Feb. 16 and 17,
score of 22-7.
"A fter the Canby game I
noticed that we have a lot of
With State approaching, Snowboard,
Ski teams continue preparations
B M a x H ays
_________ ;____
Sports Editor
Snowboard Team looks
for strong season finish
Top finishers at Three
Rivers League competitions
held each weekend have been
collecting individual points,
helping their teams in the
quest to qualify for State.
At the Jan. 26 Varsity Half-
Pipe competition, Tanner
Kewley, junior, came in first
place for the boys with a best
score of 183. For the girls,
Mackenzie Bruns, senior, came
in third place with an overall
score of 82.
In the Jan. 12 Varsity
Banked Slalom competition,
Spencer Smith, senior, blew
away the competition with
an impressive time of 43.522
seconds, and Jonathan
Lambert, sophomore, came
in third place for the boys.
For the girls, Susanna Taylor,
junior, Carolyn Barnwell,
senior, and Bruns, took
second, third and fourth with
times of 44.6 seconds, 48.2
seconds and 50.0 seconds,
respectively.
In the Jan. 19 Varsity
Slopestyle competition, Nick
McMillen, freshman, had a
strong showing for the boys
and tied for fourth overall
with score of 135. For the
women, Bruns and Jali Henry,
sophomore, placed third and
fourth with scores of 99 and 71
respectively.
According to Nannette
Boggess, team adviser, 24
members qualified last year
for the Oregon Interscholastic
Snowboard Association
(OISA) championships. But
with three long term injuries,
including Barnwell, one of
the girls top snowboarders
who is out for the rest of the
season, the Snowboard Team
will have to make up for the
members lost in the next few
competitions.
_ This year championships
will be held at Timberline
and will occur over a three
day span, each day being
reserved for a separate run.
As of press time the results
from the Feb. 3, Feb. 10 and
Feb. 17 competitions were
unavailable.
2:33.73 seconds for the boys.
Girl's Varsity came in third
place overall and Boy's Varsity
came in seventh place overall.
In the overall league
standings, Martus is currently
in third with 216 points and is
Ski Team gears up for
State Competition
With State approaching,
many skiers are scrambling
to improve their Three
Rivers League standings and
establish themselves as top
contenders.
"The Varsity team is doing
really well this year and
everyone should be qualified
to go to State," Kevin Slossar,
sophomore, said.
With Giant Slalom and
Slalom runs, skiers use the
practices each week to work
on increasing their speed
and endurance. From the
competition on Jan. 26, David
Hinton, junior, won the Three
Rivers League Giant Slalom,
completing both runs in a total
time of 2:06.38. For the girls,
Madeleine Martus, freshman,
came in third place with a
combined time of 2:41.35.
Boys' Varsity took home
fourth place overall finish
while G irl's Varsity took third
place overall.
In the latest competition on
Feb. 9, Martus camé in third
with a total time of 2:42.96
seconds for the girls and Sean
Campbell, sophomore, came
in seventh with a total time of
M adeleine M artus, freshman,
works her way down the slopes
during the Feb. 9 Giant Slalom
at Ski Bowl. Both the boys' and
girls' teams are enjoying solid
seasons with the girls in fourth
place and the boys in fifth place
in the TRL.
which w ill include the best
team s from Canada, Oregon
and Northern California.
The girls are still set to take
on the Budd Bay Barracudas
(second at the 2007 regional
cham pionships) on Feb. 24.
The boys team is a young
and sm all one, w ith many
returning sophomores and
few seniors. They are not,
w orried, because, according
to Tim M edearis, head coach,
the team is a determ ined
one.
"Our good conditioning
was a saving grace for us last
year, we may not have been
big but we were fast. So far,
turnout at practice has been
low, but there are people
■
who have w inter sports
to finish up, so w e're still
hopeful," M edearis said.
An issue that both teams
faced was where to practice.
Lacrosse becam e a school-
sanctioned sport this year
and was given priority use
over the rugby team s. "We
were really worried that
we w ouldn't have a field to
practice on," M edearis said.
The issue was resolved as
both teams w ill move to
Athey Creek M iddle School
to enable them to practice at
an earlier tim e and avoid the
early darkrtess until daylight
Savings takes effect.
Work standards guide
Girls' Basketball Team
to strong league play
u L.EX1 WELP
______ ______
Staff Reporter
The Varsity Girls'
Basketball Team welcomed
two sophomores and four
freshmen who have combined
with returning players to gel
as the group heads into the
second half of league play,
according to Glenn Lee, head
coach.
The team played the
"highlight game of the season,"
on Jan. 25 at home against
league nemesis, Clackamas. ~
Lions scored a huge win, 64-59,
over the Cavaliers who were
ranked fourth in the state.
"Everyone was playing
really well> and we got a win,"
Amy Christensen, freshman,
said.
The Lions have won six
out of their last seven games
in Three Rivers League play
defeating Milwaukie, 74-31,
on Jan. 18 and 76-28 on Feb.
15; Lakeridge twice, 51-41, on
Jan. 8, and 53-49, on Feb. 5;
Putnam, 57-36, on Jan. 31; and
Lake Oswego 51-50, on Jan 29.
Beating Clackamas, though,
boosted the team to second
place in the league and gives
it a better shot at making it to
state.
"We have to come to
play every day and not take
practices or nights off," Lee
said, referring to what the
team needs to do to prepare
for state. According to Lee, if
the team stays focused, follows
game plans and stays healthy,
it really has a good shot at
making state.
"It's not about age,
it's about work ethic. But
experience is also part of
it and we still have seniors
and juniors that have that,"
Christensen said. Seniors
on the team include Natalie
Pittenger, Emily Wattman-
Tumer and Rosetta Adzasu,
guards.
The team is currently
preparing for state in hopes of
making it to the Chiles Center
on the University of Portland
campus, where the state
tournament is being held on
Feb. 27-March 8. The Lions end
their regular season in a home
game on Feb. 21 against Lake
Oswego on senior night.
"The youth of the
four freshman and two
sophomores, coupled with all
the other experienced players,
help make this a solid team. A
team built on character, hard
work and togetherness," Lee
said.
P h o to s u b m itte d b y J e ff M a u r e r
closing in on second. Chelsea
Spitzer, senior, is the closest
to Martus for the girls in 12th
place with 83 points. For the
boys, Hinton is in second with
200 points, and Campbell,
and Alec Ramsey, freshman,
are in ninth and 16th place
respectively.
With the Oregon
Interscholastic Ski Racing
Association (OISRA) quickly
approaching for the skiers,
the team must transition
into work mode improving
favorite tricks and increasing
speed.
Both the Snowboard and
Ski teams will continue to
compete until the Snowboard
State Championships take
place March 6-8, and the Ski
Team State race on March 5-7.
David Barey, O.D.
Optom etrist a t Clackamas Costco
EYE EXAMS - CONTACTS - COLOR CONTACTS
for appointments call:
503 - 652-7467