Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2009)
12 Sports November Cross Country teams win Districts NicoiE C ampbell _____________ Climb into the shoes of runners striding through Mary S. Young Park in the heat, the rain or whatever the Oregon weather throws at them. That dedication to conditioning is one of the factors in the boys' third place they ran the best races they could run," John Linman, assistant Varsity coach, said. Some of the runners also believed that they ran a better meet than expected. "At the State Cross Country Meet running was at its best; the rain was a cornin' down and the wind was a swirlin'," placed in the top ten, with the girls close behind. The girls team defined the meaning of team, as all seven of them ran well, resulting in their fifth championship win. "I find my work with these young athletes the most rewarding. They know how to have fun and are very willing Guess trie 4 <3W * \ A senior <3W *0. Has a younger sister who is a sophomore 3 W * 3 Birthday is Nov. 13 CW Fan of Ducks football <3W Is a native Oregonian / a. Evan Voeller b. Cameron Keizur c. Brandon Thomas d. Scott Jubitz 1 Photo by Tracie Krellwitz, StopActionMemories' The Girls’ Varsity Cross Counry Team launches from the starting line on Sept. 9, at the Tualatin Invite. The team ended the season strong by winning Districts and going 6-0 in dual meet competition. finish at the State meet in Eugene on Nov. 7. Cullen Wannarka, junior, placed second in State, only two seconds behind the two- time State champion from North Medford, senior Drew Jordan. Ten seconds behind Wannarka was Taylor West, junior, who placed fifth. A couple places back were Zack Boyd-Helm, 25th, and Tim Donnelly, 26th, who had the best races of their career. The boys were only 11 points off of second place. "The boys did great and West said. "This always makes things more exciting for the runners." ' The girls' team finished twelfth, with Chelsea Ollar placing 68th. Kathryn Flyte, senior, finished 30 seconds behind her. "They (the girls) ran an okay race, but they couldn't quite capture the magic that they had at Districts," Linman said. Both the girls' and boys' teams won Districts for the second year in a row. All five of the boys' team runners to learn how to be good runners and racers," Linman said. Leading the way through the grueling practices are captains Flyte and Kelsey Geurins, seniors, for the girls, and Wannarka, Graham Frank and Donnelly, juniors, for the boys. "I believe in terms o f ' place within the State we have gotten better as a team. However, a great passion and team quality is always present in West Linn cross country!" Donnelly said. The answer to the Mystery Athlete can be found on The Amplifier blog, found at www.wlhs.wlwv.k12.or.us/blogs/amplifier. SITOtiKNIlIMKI A shley S heron The Portland Trail Blazers dominate the sports scene— with the exception of big Oregon Duck wins or major sports scandals. But what about Portland's other sport— the Portland Winterhawks? Since 1976, Oregon has boasted the junior hockey team as a part of the Western Hockey League team in the U.S. Division. The team members' ages range from 15-20 years old and at 18 years old, players are eligible for draft in the National Hockey League. Despite the team being ranked first in the U.S. Division, the first game of the regular season attracted only 4,232 people. Attendance at the Trail Blazers' first game of the season was 20,403. What makes the Blazers so popular compared to the Winterhawks? You might think it's because basketball is more popular in America than hockey, but according to The University of Washington Tacoma's newspaper The Ledger, hockey is rated fourth in the top five popular sports in America, just below basketball. To bring in more fans, the Winterhawks Booster Club sets up events that put out the word about the team and benefit the community. Before the season started the team came together to clean up the Kenton neighborhood rose garden. The team also auctions off signed action photographs and holds multiple raffles to further the players educations. The monthly Pizza Blast gives fans an opportunity to eat with the team. The next Pizza Blast will be held on Nov. 23 at the Stark Street Pizza Co. The players attending the event will be Spencer Bennett, Jacob Berglund, Troy Rutkowski, Nino Niederreiter, Taylor Aronson and Oliver Gabriel. Recently, the team held a \ silent auction for a player's friend who was paralyzed in a swimming pool accident over the summer. The team raised more than $4,000 by selling tickets, signed hockey sticks Humane Society. The team has been out of the playoffs only seven times. Three of those times have been in the last three seasons. This year's team is Photo by Ashley Sheron Brad Ross, Portland Winterhawks forward, looks toward the bench in the game against the Kennewick Tri-City team. The team fell 1-3 against the Americans. and other team merchandise. At the Nov. 3 game against Seattle, money from the tickets will go toward the Oregon already looking promising. After losing the second game of the season, the team went on a five game winning streak which was cut short when they matched up against the Tri-City Americans. The Winterhawks won their next game at home before heading off to seven away games. To start off the two week away game stretch, the team lost in a 4-10 blowout. In the next six games the team went 4-2. They came home going against a tough rival, Brandon Wheat Kings, winning 5-4 then went to Spokane and shutout the Chiefs. The team has hit a bump and been shutout in the last two games. The team's record is currently 13-7. If you're free on a weekend, go to one of the Winterhawks games. The tickets are $22 for the lower section and most games are at the Memorial Coliseum. The team has the potential to make it to the playoffs this season. You might decide that you like the fast paced sport of hockey maybe as much as the Trail Blazer games.
