12
May
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Rugby team endures Regional defeat;
tournam ent ends with police presence
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Staff Reporter
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The Renegades won
a coveted "one for the
thumb" State championship
on April 26 at Delta
Park in Portland. The
next weekend, the team
traveled to the Regional
championships in Seattle,
Wash., and on Sunday,
played the Sacramento
Amazons in the final round.
The game saw several
players injured, and they
police were summoned.
The Regional
tournament, which
included the top teams
from Washington, Oregon
and northern California,
resulted in a 12-7 win
for the Renegades. The
next day, the Renegades
came up against the
Sacramento Amazons who,
on the previous day of the
tournament, inflicted a
concussion, a broken arm,
cracked ribs and a bruised
liver upon their opponents.
With a trip to the national
tournament on the line, the
Amazons scored within
the first five minutes, and
it was increasingly difficult
for the Renegades to stay
in contention. One Amazon
player was yellow-carded
for high tackles as the team
racked up points. The
Amazons won 30-0, but
the events that followed
brought the police.
When the Renegades
posed for a photo under the
goalposts to commemorate
their final match, a
Renegade parent reportedly
made a remark within
earshot of the Amazon
parents, commenting on
how poorly the opposing
team's players handled
themselves. A parent from
the other team charged at
him, starting a fight that
was broken up by parents
several minutes later.
Another coach called the
police, but by the time they
arrived, the Amazons had
left.
At that point, it seemed
all was lost for the
Renegades. A bitter end to
a bitter day, they prepared
to leave. That was until
Ernesto Espinoza, head
coach, decided to file
charges against the Sir who
refereed the match.
"That was combat, not
rugby. There were high
tackles left and right, as
well as other dirty play
that the ref should not have
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tolerated. In high profile
games, you cannot let that
sort of behavior slide,"
Espinoza said.
Several other teams may
do the same thing, and if
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the Pacific Coast Rugby
Football Union recognizes
these charges, it is possible
that the Amazons will
be disqualified from the
national tournament. This
Ariel Heston, senior, attempts to drive through a Sacramento Amazon
during the Renegades' regional championship match. According to
Ernesto Espinoza, head coach, it was the "most physical match" he had
seen in six years of coaching.
Photo submitted by Bruce Sommers
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would leave one more open
spot to be filled by a West
Coast team. Only time
will tell, but either way, the
Renegades' season may not
be over yet.
Before this storm, the
Renegades took on Canby
for the State championship.
The Cougars came out on
top in the southern division,
with a 4-0 record. West Linn
and Canby have been fierce
rivals ever since 2007 when
the Renegades played, and
defeated, the Cougars in
the State, Regional, and
National plate division
playoffs.
According to Espinoza,
the Cougars really stepped
up its game this year. "The
Canby defense was really
good, we hadn't seen them
that strong since 2006.
We knew what they were
planning on, they knew
what we were planning, so
both teams were very well
prepared," he said.
The Renegades'
youth greatly aided
them in playoffs and at
tournaments, as it added
depth and built a solid
structure of players for
upcoming years. A packed
pre-season also aided
in their success, as they
played top-notch teams
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from California, Canada
and Washington. "The
normal season was actually
easier than pre[season];
even rookies had gained
experience by then, and
we were ready for action,"
Espinoza said.
Before Regionals, the
focus, according to the
coaches, was to work on
fitness and fine-tuning
skills. The team put in
three practices a week, each
lasting two hours. Espinoza
believes that the decrease in
practices from four a week
has kept everyone from
getting burned out during
the long season.
Several key players
for State, according to
Esipnoza, were juniors
Carly Lenhoff from Lake
Oswego, Megan Hackney
and Katherine Linday.
The team lost several key
players during the State
competitions, including
juniors Jennelle Barizola to
a broken arm and Zchonae
Jones to a sprained ankle.
"The Renegades this
year were an amazing
combination of intelligence
and athleticism, and that's
what it takes to succeed in
rugby," Cathryn Lambeth,
coach, said of their winning
season.
Track team exceeds expectations at Districts
M ax H ays
Staff Reporter
In a season filled with
surprise performances
according to Joe Cemy, head
coach, the track season ended
May 16 for all but two Varsity
athletes. Ali Super, senior, will
be defending her State title in
the javelin, and Bryce Baker,
junior, enters as the ninth-
ranked 300 meter hurdler.
At Districts, the boys
finished sixth ahead of
Lakeridge, and ran very
well with a couple athletes
missing State qualifications
by very small margins. Taylor
Kolasinski, senior captain,
missed going to state by one
second in the 800 finishing
a close third place, and Josh
Oltman, junior, also took third,
missing State qualifying in the
javelin by only a couple feet.
Other impressive
performances came from
Jacob Gianuzzi, sophomore,
with a sixth in the 100 and
fifth in the javelin. In the
3000, Ben Morrow, senior
captain came in fifth place.
In the throws, Austin Banta,
junior, placed seventh in the
discus and tenth in the shot
put, and teammate Tommy
Patrick wasn't far behind,
finishing tenth in the discus
and llth in shot. Jumpers
Andre Armattoe, sophomore,
finished sixth in the high jump
and Brian Schiewe, freshman
ended up ninth just ahead of
Ian Markstaller, junior, in the
long jump.
Cemy also cited the
talented group of freshmen
that includes Justin McKee,
ninth in the 400; Tim Donnelly,
ninth in the 800; Cullen
Wannarka, eighth in the 1500;
and Taylor West, eighth in the
3000 as turning in impressive
and unexpected results.
Several girls team found
out the hard way that track is
a sport decided by a matter of
seconds and inches. The girls
finished fifth place at Districts
in the team competition ahead
of Milwaukie and Putnam.
Natalie Pittenger, senior,
Josh Valentine, senior, pole vaults over the bar in the Lions last
dual track meet of the year against Rex Putnam. The Lions placed
many athletes at Districts but advanced only two to the State
competition.
Photo by Calley Lathrop
finished two seconds behind
the second place competitor
in the 800 narrowly missing
advancing to State. Also in
the 800, Diana Crane, senior,
finished in eighth place. In the
300 hurdles, Alyssa Jemigan,
senior, fell two seconds
short of a State qualification.
Samantha DeMars, senior, was
only two inches off the needed
mark in the high jump.
The girls also garnered
good performances from
Casey Livesay, freshman,
who finished eighth in the
100 and Sydney Veenker,
freshmen, who finished sixth
in the 200. In the 1500, Taylor
Nowlin, junior, Kathryn
Flyte, sophomore and Kristi
Pace, senior, ended up
finishing seven, eight, ninth.
Nowlin also did well in the
3000 finishing just ahead
of teammate Chelsea Ollar,
freshman, and Kelsey Guerins,
sophomore. In the 100 hurdles
Amy Kestek, senior, ran
well, finishing a respectable
seventh. In the triple jump,
AnnaLisa Koll, senior, took
fourth, missing third place by
only two inches.