2011
9
WÊSÊÈm
Sparts
An elite athlete in two sports, To exemplifies dedication
T y C larke
The commitment required to
be a Varsity athlete for all four
years of high school is a concept
very few people can truly
grasp, and Arthur To, senior,
has confronted the challenge
head on, while balancing
a multitude of other time
consuming activities.
He is a captain of the Swim
Team that is partly defined by
its youth. According to Katie
Wilson, head coach,To equals
leadership.
"He adds an element of fun
because he also messes with his
brothers (Anthony, junior, and
Andre, sophomore)," Wilson
said. "He also adds stability
alongside Adam (Oldenkamp,
senior captain)."
To participated in club
swimming before high school,
but did not really enjoy it.
However, when he started high
school, his feelings towards
swimming changed, and now
he says he is proud to be a four
year varsity athlete.
"Swimming is a pretty
difficult sport. When I get to
see new swimmers try it out
expecting it to be easy, it's
funny to see them struggle at
first, but over the course of the
season I'm glad to see them
start to respect it and improve
at it," To said.
Being such a successful
athlete has had its drawbacks
for To. He called the meets
and practices that come
with swimming "very time
consuming," which has taken
time away from schoolwork.
This sacrifice does not go
he also was awarded a spot
on Varsity tennis, but was
not able to participate due to
other commitments. However,
he started competing his
sophomore year and has been
ever since. Last year, To and
partner Ken Tsuruta, senior,
made it to State in doubles.
"I never thought Ken and I
would get a shot at State after
picking up the sport in eighth
a physician after his scholastic
career ends, and plans to attend
Oregon Health and Science
University for medical school.
As for college, the senior
says he will be attending
Oregon State University,
while swimming and playing
tennis for fun. Even with such
ambitious plans after high
school and being a three year
Varsity tennis player, To has
stepped up as a captain and
has remained committed to the
Swim Team.
"He is one of the ones who
comes to optional weight
training classes, so his stamina
has increased. He has gone to
almost every practice which
helps," Wilson said. "Compared
to last year, he feels more
responsible for the team since
he is a captain."
The Deuce: Providing
the heartbeat of
interschool basketball
Photo by Andre To
Arthur To, senior, gasps for air in a recent race against Lake Oswego on
Jan. 13. The swimmer has been on varsity all four years while managing
a schedule chalk full of challenges, from varsity tennis for the past three
years to Advanced Placement Chemistry.
unappreciated by his coach.
"He is really important to the
team because he is one of our
only butterfliers," Wilson said.
"He is willing to swim without
complaining."
Swimming has not been
the only sport in which To
has excelled. As a freshman,
The w ords "basketball dy
nasty" bring forth thoughts
o f M ichael Jordan and the
Bu lls, Larry Bird and the
C eltics, or M agic Johnson
and the Lakers to the m ind
but the team is suffering in
the process. They have gone
w inless in their first seven
gam es of play.
W hile m any other team s
have the star athlete or prim a
donna w ho leads the team in
grade," To said.
Two varsity sports are not
the only challenges To has dealt
with. He has taken a strenuous
schedule over his four years,
and lists AP Chemistry along
with AP Calculus AB and BC as
some of the most challenging
classes. To says he wants to be
Team 10: W here aspiring dreams greet raw talent
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T y C larke
W ith three secon d s left
in the g am e, the score is
tie d , 6 4 -6 4 . B o th te a m s
have p layed im pressively,
the co m p etitio n has b een
chalk full of gam e plans and
strategic thinking. A coach
calls a tim e out to draw up
his final play. A ny casual
fan can spot the excitem ent
in this. H ow ever, this is n ot
w hat the fans of intram ural
basketball see on a biw eekly
basis. G one are the coaches,
the p lay s, the fu n d a m en
tals. Pure fun has taken the
p lace o f th e se so m ew h a t
unnecessary things. A nd, in
the center of this, as if they
w ere if in the eye of the b ig
gest hu rricane in history, is
Team 10.
T ea m 10 h a s b e c o m e
som ew hat o f an icon on an
international level. The team
is carried b y seem ingly im
possible am ounts of talent
in its players. M iles K ing,
junior point center, considers
him self "the b est pure scorer
in the nation." E vric Jenkins,
ju n ior high flyer, com pares
his experience to a certain
M iam i H eat forw ard.
"I fe e l lik e th e L eb ro n
Jam es of W est Linn, going
from the deuce (JV 2) to a
team th at can w in a cham
p io n s h ip ," Je n k in s s a id .
Talent scouts have recently
com pared ju n io r center Seth
W eston to D w ight H ow ard,
according to W eston. H e is
not the only one being com
pared to N BA stars.
" I t ' s
a r d
up
next
A llen Iverson
b u t w ith a b et
ter crossover,"
Jenkins said.
M a x B lu -
m enthal, ju n ior
sh a rp sh o o te r,
sp o k e o f th e
s p ir itu a l lif t
in tr a m u r a ls
p r o v i d e s it s
p a r t ic ip a n t s ,
sa y in g "T h is
te a m is th e
only fam ily I
have." K asey Fer-
rin, senior leader,
said, "Intram ural
b a s k e t b a ll is n 't
ju st a gam e, it is
a lifestyle." These
strong feelings are
present throughout
the intram ural com
munity. It provides
each
and every
player the oppor
tunity to com e out
of h is sh ell w hile
show casing a broad
range of skills, from
h alf cou rt shots to
n o lo o k p a s s e s
H ow ever, w ith
this great experience com es
pressure.
"The pressure is im m ense
to p erform w ell under the
pressure from the national
m ed ia," W eston said. The
national m edia does seem
to have a taken a special
in terest w ith Team 10. A
throng of reporters follow s
the team 's every m ove. Jen
kins recently m ade national
h e a d lin e s fo llo w in g one
very public breakup.
A s the season advances,
the expectations and fam e
for the team grow. Eight
gam es into its season, the
chem istry and connec
tion is already as strong
% as a thousand brick
w a lls. S h irts s a y
ing "Taylor G ang
or play Team 10"
have sprung up
all over the internet.
Even Jam es has
ex p ressed d e
sire
in bringing his
talents to Team 10 w hen
he inevitably fails to
w in a cham pionship
in M iam i.
Photo by Rachael Woolley
Jefferson Chandler and
T yler S te e le , se n io rs,
attempt "Tag Team Duo"
in a recent game. Team 10
has changed the intramural
world, in part because of
Chandler's ploy to dunk
while on Steele's shoulders.
Photo by Rachael Woolley
Members of The Deuce throw up their sticky fingers in an attempt
to distract the opposing team's free throw shooting. Despite the
successful distraction by the players, the team lost the game, 69-63
to Team 10.
o f any ty p ica l b a sk e tb a ll
fan atic. A fter th e recen t
d ev elo p m en t in the W est
Linn Intram ural Basketball
Leagu e, the w ords "Team
D euce" now m ake even the
m ost avid sports fan rem i
nisce about the glory days
of professional basketball.
T ea m D e u c e w a s th e
m asterm ind o f five young
basketball prodigies during
th eir fresh m en b a sk etb a ll
s e a so n . M ic h a e l W rig h t,
Zachary Foushee, Eric Lon-
sway, Jim D arke and M ax
Edw ards, ju niors, w ere the
foundation upon w hich the
team w as built. The original
s ta rtin g lin eu p rem ain ed
intact throughout the first
tw o seasons o f play, bu t w as
recently "shaken up" in a con
troversial m ove by Lons way.
"I think w e are very similar
to the Blazers. Both team s
are facing adversity," Lon-
sw ay said. "I changed the
lineups to better the team 's
chem istry and adjust to each
individual's skill set."
T he n ew ly co n stru cted
lineups are still being ad
ju sted to find the p erfect
balance of height and speed,
scoring, Team D euce is driv
en by a team -first m entality
com prised of chem istry and
hard w ork. They have m any
strategies that help them to
play scrappy and grind out
the tough points.
"Penetration to the hoop
is key," Zachary Strickland,
ju nior point guard, said.
"Sticky fingers w in gam es
for us. They help us get into
the m ind and soul of the
shooting player," Foushee
said.
Sticky fingers have been
a cornerstone to the team 's
p r e v io u s s u c c e s s . N o w ,
w henever a player from the
op p osite team attem p ts a
free throw, the D euce and
its faithful fans can be seen
putting their hands in the air
and w iggling their fingers
until the player's concentra
tion is broken.
Even though the team has
yet to w in a gam e this season,
m ost analysts expect them
to bounce back for a strong
finish. A fter losing only one
gam e before the playoffs last
season, the D euce has only
to re-gain its com posure to
return to dynasty form .