12
March
Sports
Snowboard Team wins State Championship
A lison F ielphouse _____________
During the State
Competition from March
9 to March 12 at Mt. Hood
Meadows, the Snowboard Team
won the Sato Cup by placing
first in two events, halfpipe
and slopestyle. The team
chose riders that they wanted
to be scored for each event.
Nick McMillen, Drake
Edwards, Andrew Brown,
Josh Gertlar and Kyle
Holmes, seniors, Kevin
Holmes and Adam
Kays, sophomores,
and Michael Foushee,
freshman, competed
in halfpipe. There were
two slopestyle teams.
The first consisted of
McMillen, Kevin, Kays
and Foushee and the second
had Holmes, Gertlar, Chip
Jameson, Edwards, Trevor
Harris, senior, and Joonas
Lemetyinen, junior.
"I think I was the
happiest person in the
world when we won State,"
Kevin said. "We all made a
plan to win the cup since the
beginning of the year, so we
worked really hard."
State consisted of three days
of competition. Each league
sends the riders that have done
the best in each specific event.
Events at State included the
banked slalom, boardercross,
slopestyle and half-pipe.
"For me, my toughest
competitions will be halfpipe
and slopestyle," Harris, senior,
said. "This year, the bar has
been set high."
The Snowboarding
Team started the
season with
expectations
fo r
becoming
Photo by John Gertlar
T revo r H a rris,
senior, completes a
nose grab at the Feb. 20
slopestyle competition
at Mt. Hood M eadows.
The team w on the Sato
Cup at State by placing first
in slopestyle and halfpipe on
March 9-12.
better athletes, maintaining a
positive attitude, and having a
great experience according to
head coach Graham Peterson.
As the season progressed, their
Debutantes dance to fourth
p lace a t S tate Tournam ent
S ean P ebler
The Dance Team earned
a fourth place-finish at the
State Tournament at the
Memorial Coliseum on March
14-15. With less than four
points separating the top
four finishers, the Lions were
edged out by Parkrose, Canby
and Clackamas, respectively.
The debutantes advanced
to the State Tournament on
March 5 after placing first in
its m eet at P ark ro se High
School. The team was
able to place in the toj
tw o in a ll
its regular
On Feb. 19, the debutantes
displayed one of its strongest
performances of the season
according to Wilcox, placing
first out of 12 other teams
at Parkrose High School.
They edged out league rivals
Clackamas and Canby with a
score of 84.56.
"I feel like this year has
been a lot of hard work
and commitment but very
rewarding. The outcome has
been well worth it!" Alyssa
Bridgman, senior captain, said.
With the season reaching a
conclusion, Wilcox hoped her
dancers performed at their
highest %
level
possible
Photo courtesy of Angie Sharpe
Mackenzie Johnson and Hailey Zaayer, juniors, surround teammate
Alexis McKinley, junior, in a competition at Parkrose High School
on Feb. 19. The Debutantes won first place, beating out league rivals
Clackamas and Canby.
this season, and did so
in the company of tough
competitors, according to head
coach Amanda Wilcox.
"So far, our biggest
competition has been Parkrose,
Clackamas and Canby," Wilcox
said. "We all four have been
running neck-and-neck."
at the State meet, but doesn't
believe that scores always
reflect effort.
"I will be proud as long as
the team gives 100 percent at
State, and holds nothing back,"
Wilcox said. "Our goal is never
just a placement, but to give
our very best performance."
expectations did not change.
At State, the team hoped to
excel in events they were strong
in as well as those they were
not.
"Our team is strong in all
events; where we face tougher
competition is in slopestyle and
boardercross," Peterson said. "I
was confident that if the team
continued to bring the level
of commitment they'd shown
so far to State, we would do
great."
The whole season was
geared towards state, according
to Peterson. The team usually
practiced Wednesday nights at
Meadows. Members also spent
weekends doing recreational
boarding with friends.
"Each practice and each
competition helps develop the
skills that our riders will need
to bring to state," Peterson said.
During the Slopestyle
competition on Feb. 20, there
were six boys who placed in
the top 10. Holmes, with a score
of 179 won first place. For the
girls, Estey came in third with
77 points and Kylie Steele,
senior, took fourth place with
22 .
"In my mind, I believe
we did exceptionally well,"
Peterson said. "One could see
the riders pushing themselves
to the max."
Boys Basketball Team takes sixth in State
J ennifer S itton
If someone had said a
month ago that the Boys'
Basketball Team was going to
take sixth in State, most people
probably wouldn't have
believed them. The team went
5-4 in preseason, took fourth in
league and finished the season
with a losing record, but when
it mattered the most, the team
united to win three key playoff
games to send them to the
State Tournament at the Rose
Garden.
The Lions lost their first
game at the tournament to
North Medford, 54-64, moving
them to the losers side of
the bracket. However, they
bounced back to beat South
Medford 68-60 the following
morning. On the final day
of the season, the Lions fell
to Lincoln 70-78, earning
them sixth place in State, an
incredible feat for a team that
was ranked 21st in the OS A A
power rankings at the end of
the season.
"It was a great run at the
end of the season that got
us to the tournament," Eric
Viuhkola, head coach, said. "I
was also really proud of how
the team responded after the
first loss, coming back and
beating one of the best teams
Photo by Tracey Sitton
Keith Baggetta, senior, hits a shot
in the face of a Redmond defender
at WLHS on March 1. The Lions
defeated the Redmond Panthers
84-60 in their p lay-in gam e,
earning a first-round State playoff
berth against David Douglas.
in the state in South Medford."
The team overcame tough
odds to beat the Lake Oswego
Lakers in the second round
of the playoffs, which earned
them a spot in the Elite Eight
and the opportunity to play at
the Rose Garden. After losing
to the Lakers three times in
league play, the Lions didn't
lose hope that they could win
the one game that counted.
With solid defense, support
from the crowd and free-
throws, the Lions won the
game 63-51.
With a fourth place Three
Rivers League finish, the team
benefited from the OSAA's
new playoff format, which
allowed it an opportunity
to make it into the 32 team
playoff bracket through play-
in games.
"I definitely like the RPI
system because I feel like it's
more fair. It's not perfect, but
it's better than what it was,"
Viuhkola said. "The highest
seeds are winning, which
is what they expected to
happen."
In their play-in game, the
Lions took on the sixth place
team from the Special District
1, the Redmond Panthers.
continued on page 13
Girls Basketball Team falls to number two
Clackamas in second round of State playoffs
J ennifer S itton
The Girls' Basketball Team
saw its season come to an
end in the second round of
playoffs, when it fell to the
Clackamas Cavaliers for the
fourth time this season. The
contest between the two Three
Rivers League teams was
debated by many.
"At first I wasn't bummed
that we were matched up
against them," Glen Lee, head
coach, said. "But now that it's
over and had time to review
everything, maybe playing
another team might have been
better for us."
The team had confidence
going into the game after
having taken Clackamas to
the wire in its final league
meeting two weeks earlier,
but the Cavaliers returned
with a vengeance, starting off
the first quarter of the playoff
game with a 17-0 lead. The
Lions played them even the
rest of the game, but couldn't
overcome the early deficit.
"With the exception of the
first quarter I thought we
matched them point-for-point.
Down 17 was too much to
come back from in a closeout
game," Lee said. "If we could
have only made a few of our
lay-ups and two footers in that
first quarter it might have been
a different outcome."
West Linn lost 35-55 to end
their season. However, three
days earlier, the Lions took
on a storied program in the
Central Catholic Rams. The
Rams, who lost their league
title for the first time in years,
traveled to West Linn for the
first round playoff game. After
a slow first half on both ends,
the Lions outscored Central
Catholic in both the third and
fourth quarters, leading them
to a 49-45 win.
"The second half we came
out with a lot more energy
and ran more," Brittany Smith,
freshman, said. "It felt fantastic
to get the win."
Smith's sentiments were
echoed by Lee.
"I was pleased with how
our team followed the game
plan on guarding their talented
lineup," Lee said. "We also did
a nice job closing things out
by hitting our free throws by
shooting 83 percent."
The team finished league
play with a record of 8-7,
which earned third place.
However, the team's barely-
winning record and third place
finish are deceptive, as the TRL
was arguably the strongest
league in the state this year,
with two top-tier teams in
Clackamas and Oregon City,
according to Lee.
"I was very pleased with
our efforts in league," Lee
said. "Playing each team three
times was a grind, but we got
through it."
Regardless of how the team
finished, Lee and the players
feel that this was a special team
with incredible chemistry.
"I loved this team. They
all got along, enjoyed each
other's company and played
hard," Lee said. "This team
was unselfish and represented
the Lion Program well. I
was very proud of their
accomplishments and growth."
"We're a really close and
unified team," Smith said. "We
all love each other and that's
what made us so successful
this year."