Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2008)
12 Deccmbf^s Sports Boys' Soccer Team returns to playoffs after four years m mm continued from page 11 "When we were done, we knew we had run well. Our coaches crunched some numbers, and we thought we were in fifth," Scott Spear, head coach, said. For nearly a half hour after the boys race, approximately 3,000 fans on hand at Lane Community College remained hushed in anticipation, waiting to hear the results. Jesuit, Central Catholic, North Medford, South Eugene, all pre-race favorites, found themselves in competition with the Three Rivers League's top two teams, West Linn and Lake Oswego. Although the Lakers had finished second to the Lions at the Three Rivers League Districts, it was possible they had passed the Lions, denying West Linn a spot on the podium. The four teams who earned trophies were announced, in no particular order, and both West Linn and Lake Oswego were named along with Jesuit and Central Catholic. "We knew it was going to be close and it was nice for the TRL to be well-represented at state," Spear said. The Lions were led by Taylor West and Cullen Wannarka, sophomores, who both showed maturity beyond their years in what may have been the biggest races of their lives. The pair paced each other throughout the race and each turned in quick times on what is historically a fairly difficult course. "They've both grown a lot as runners and as racers especially in the second half of the season," Spear said. West took 16th for the Lions in a time of 16:19 which was ju$t eight seconds off of his time on the very fast Clackamas Community College Districts course. Wannarka wasn't far behind in 19th, just eight seconds behind West and matching his second fastest time ever. West Linn's third finisher was yet another sophomore, Timothy Donnelly, who finished 43rd, recording a time ten seconds faster than at Districts. Team co-captain Christopher Daniels, senior, was next for the Lions in 62nd, followed closely by Zachary Boyd-Helm, sophomore. The Lions top five runners finished in under seventeen and a half minutes, and many made some crucial passes to finish ahead of a number of runners in the final 500 meters of the race. The strong finishes may have proven to be the difference between third place and missing a trophy altogether as Lake Oswego edged out South Eugene for fourth by a single point. While it is possible they S w im Team e m p h a s ize s training, fun, improvement A shley S heron Staff Reporter With nearly 70 swimmers and new coach Phoebe Skinner, the Swim Team members are hoping to improve their swimming, get in shape, and just have fun. After competing in the Three River League Relays on Dec. 2, they will follow up with a meet against the Cavaliers on Dec. 16, 4 p.m. at Lake Oswego. "Clackamas is our rival team. We are usually tied at the end of the season and we usually beat them," Rosa Bhutarak, junior, said. The team will have nine dual meets before Districts. In December they will compete against Redmond, Milwaukie, Clackamas and Tigard. In January they will compete against Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Putnam and Lakeridge. "Lake Oswego and Lakeridge are tough teams and we usually lose," Bhutarak said of the teams that could impede their ability to finish well at Districts. Districts are spread over three days in February. JV Districts are on Feb. 12 and Varsity Districts are on Feb. 13 and 14 when qualifications for State Championship are decided. "I would like to see the team develop a strong sense of discipline and bring some new fans to our meets," Skinner said. "I would also like to have a low rate of attrition to - ív & i* * . were overshadowed by the boys terrific finish, the girls also finished the season strongly, as they placed 10th. "Some of the girls really hadn't recovered. This team is so tight, they do so much together and I guess that includes getting sick together," Spear said of his girls squad. The runners had suffered through injury and illness almost all season, but pulled together to end the year on a high note. As she has done all year, Taylor Nowlin, senior, finished first for the Lions, taking 28th overall. Chelsea Ollar, sophomore, had a stand-out performance for the Lions, finishing just 15 seconds behind Nowlin in 35th place. Kelsey Guerins and Kathryn Flyte, juniors, finished .just seven seconds apart. Meanwhile, Erin Morrow, sophomore, ran one of her better races of the year, taking 80 th overall. Boys Soccer: Third Place Three Rivers League, First Round o f State It seems ironic that a 1-0 defeat would end the Boys’ Soccer season, seeing as the team rode its way into the State playoffs for the first time in four years, thanks to a streak of one-goal victories. Unfortunately for the Lions, they came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 game against Centennial which ended an otherwise successful season. "Our team reached the playoffs this year as a result of a willingness by our players to learn a new system and grinding out wins on game day." Greg Bean, head coach, said. One of the Lions' best chances came in the first half when the team received a free kick that Torsten Bruemmel, junior, sent just wide of the goal. John Paul Savory, sophomore, also narrowly missed in the first half on a well-placed header. "We had our opportunities early on. There were about three or four chances in the first half," Greg Bean, head coach, said. Centennial's large and physical team controlled the pace of the game throughout, but it appeared that the Lions' defense would at least hold on to force overtime. "They had some freakishly big guys so we had speed on them. But then there was this little Mexican kid. He was so fast and just fouled the entire game," Jamie Beckett, sophomore, said. "The refs were inconsistent and played a factor in the outcome of the game." Garrett Grimm, senior, was terrific in goal for the entire contest, making a handful of stops in the first half to keep his team in the game. The Lions best opportunity of the second half came when another Centennial player was taken down in the box and a penalty kick was awarded to the Eagles. Grimm made what could have been a season saving-stop. "(The stop) was one of the most spectacular saves I’ve seen by a person in a Playoff game." Bean said. "The fact that it kept the score 0-0, it was just incredible." With the Eagles frustrated, failing to convert on yet another scoring opportunity, it seemed like the Lions were picking up some momentum. However, just a few minutes after the penalty kick, Centennial mounted another run. The Eagles connected on a one-timer into the side of the net with 27:33 to play in the game for the contest's only score. "At that point the game was completely changed. We are a very defense-oriented team and score when it counts." Beckett said. "Down 1-0 with not much time left, we were screwed." The Lions were unable to come up with many decent chances to tie the game as Centennial was able to sit back and focus on ball control and defense. The loss marked the end to an extremely successful season for West Linn that saw the-h>^ emerge from the competitive Three Rivers League and earn a playoff berth for the first time in four years. "After not making the playoffs the last four years, I think our boys felt good just being there." Bean siad. "Next years team will remember this feeling and won’t be satisfied with just getting there. Because their expectation will be higher, they will prepare better, mentally, for the playoffs." v Snowboard, Ski teams wait for snow to fall Varsity swimmers dive at the start of a meet against Redmond on Dec. 4. Later in the season they will go up against three of their biggest rivals, starting with a meet on Dec. 16 against Clackamas. Photo by Hannah Zaayer keep our roster strong for next season." The team practices at three different pools, Tualatin High School, Lewis & Clark College and Portland Community College Sylvania Campus, five to six days a week. They practice after school, in the evening and some Saturday mornings depending on when they can find time at the pool. Out of the pool practices are held two to three times a week. "I am not looking at the numbers of wins and losses to define the season, but it would certainly be nice to walk away from the pools at the end of the season with a strong winning record. This would reflect nicely the work the team has put in," Skinner said. , C arly H alverson £ J ackie SI eeh Staff Reporters The Snowboard Team anxiously waits for the mountain to open so the new season can officially start. On Dec. 1 the team plans to have its first practice in order to prepare for the six competitions later that highlight the season. "We take the charter bus after school to the mountain, put on our gear, and just ride around to make ourselves better for practice," Andrew Riesen, junior, said, about the typical practice. During competition they will be judged in three different areas: slopestyle, half pipe and banked slalom. Slopestyle is set in a train park where the riders are free to perform tricks on rails and jumps. Half pipe is another way to judge tricks like slopestyle, but they are done on a half pipe. Banked slalom is a racing competition where the course is set up with banked turns and rollers. The first competition is set for the middle of December. "Slopestyle is my favorite because I like to do jumps on rails, and I think half pipe is the biggest competition." Jordan Scholz, junior, said, about the three different styles. Nick McMillen, sophomore, Jonathan Lambert, Alexander Moore, Tommy Pittenger, juniors and Tanner Kewley, and Bryan Toti, seniors, are key returners according to Scholz. A new ski coach will bring new techniques for racing and for dryland training as well. "Last season went great. Our team got third in the league for girls and boys combined. I also got third in the league for girls and many other people on our team placed," Madeleine Martus, sophomore, said. "We also made it to state which was great fun, and the first time for a lot of us." "For this season we are starting dryland so we can get in shape. I have also been working out on my own. Some of the team went to summer camps to train during the summer." "This season I’m really looking forward to state, seeing my friends from Lakeridge, going to races especially for the Kato race with the Metro and Hood River league, and going to Thursday night training, pretty much the whole experience. My favorite part last year was going to state and getting to race with my friends from different leagues," Martus said. "Last season was awesome; the snow was great and the boys team finished third in state. Hopefully we can finish third place or better again this year. The best part has to be going up to the mountain multiple days a week." Alexander Otey, senior, said.
