Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2008)
11 Cross country teams sweep Three Rivers League, look to upend Jesuit in pursuit of championship u C hristopher E rsin _________ Staff Reporter After a long and fatiguing season, both cross country teams walked away from the regular season achieving their goal: winning the Three Rivers League District top ten in the country. Unlike the competitive Laker squad, the Lions have had great depth all season, which helped bring home a first place title. Wannarka was followed closely by Taylor West, sophomore, 10 finishers at Districts, setting personal records in the process. Jefferson Chandler, sophomore, and Matthew Crawford, senior, also helped bring home the title, finishing in the top 20. "These guys really work The boys suffered a major loss late in the season as their eighth runner, Steven Boe, senior, has been fighting an achilles injury. Boe was able to compete at Districts, however, and crushed the competition in The Boys’ Cross Country team celebrates winning the Three Rivers League title. Both boys and girls took home first place finishes, and head into the State Championships ranked second and fifth, respectfully. Photo by Christopher Erbin title. On Oct. 21., the boys toughest competition came from Lake Oswego. Cullen Wannarka, sophomore, took second to the Laker's top runner who is ranked in the who claimed fifth. They were followed by Tim Donnelly and Zach Boyd- Helm, sophomores, and Christopher Daniels, senior. All three runners were top hard every day," John Linman, head coach, said. "They race with lots of heart. They race for their teammates and school. They are a joy to coach." winning the Junior Varsity race. In doing so, Boe is eligible to compete on the Varsity team at State, should his injury fully heal. "Our team has great depth all the way through, and that will make us very tough to beat," Linman, said. The girls had equally successful results at the TRL Districts. The girls were led by Taylor Nowlin, senior, who finished third. She continues to improve after missing last season with injury. Nowlin was closely followed by Chelsea Ollar, sophomore, who set a personal record with a fifth place finish at Districts. Kelsey Guerins, Kathryn Flyte, juniors, and Erin Morrow, sophomore, were the next three runners, all finishing in the top 10. Ann Bernert and Kayla Nowlin, juniors, rounded out the girls team, finishing in the top 20. "Our team has lots of fun," Taylor Nowlin said. "We are a family. We support and care for each other. We have great team spirit." "We try to run free of worry and negative thoughts. Racing is just play. Our relationships with others are much more important than the result of any race," Linman said, "We are thankful that we can run fast. We are fortunate to be blessed with the ability to run, when for some walking is not even possible. Our season has been truly wonderful." Debs dance year round in hope of standing atop State podium m H annah Z aayer ____________ Staff Reporter Love and dedication for the dance team is important since it is practically a year round sport with only two months off a year. Average practice time is ten hours a week in the fall and once the winter season comes, practices stretch to 13 hours a week. "Dance Team is something I have chosen to dedicate my high school years to. I love the girls and coaches and being a part of the team has taught me how to put my whole heart in a team and my work," Rachel Tennis, senior captain said. Summer classes are required for all dance team members and nearly a third participated in additional camps. "Each dancer completed 20 and 30 hours of dance classes in ^studio over the summer, f l r i 13 members attended Thunderbird Dance Camp on top of that," Amanda Wilcox, coach said. The Debs have been practicing halftime routines for the football games and additional routines for the upcoming competitions during the first three weeks of November. "We have been working very hard and by the time we compete we will be able to do very well," Rachel Tennis, senior captain said. The team has been working on its modern routine staged to "Return to Oz" by Scissor Sisters and the kick routine choreographed to the song "In my Arms" by Kylie Minogue. The fall competitions start tomorrow at Gladstone High School, Nov. 8 at Clackamas and the last competition of the fall season is at David Douglas on Nov. 15. After the competitions are completed, a simple grey floor is rolled out from the closet and the team starts to work on its State routine. "In the fall, the team competes with two to three different three minute routines, and in winter they compete with a five minute show using a floor, sets and props," Wilcox said. This year the state routine will be performed to "Alone" by Celine Dion. The props are very simple compared to the Marie Antoinette routine that was used last year when the team placed fifth in state last year. West Linn Debutantes perform at halftime during the game against Clackamas on Oct. 17. The Debs finished fifth in State last year, and look to improve this year. Photo by Michael Zaayer
