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.