Sports
2011
Boys' Lacrosse Team grinds out tough games early
S ean P ebler ____________ __
To begin the 2011 season, the
Boys' Lacrosse Team travelled
to Arizona for their Spring
Break retreat, playing teams
from Colorado and Arizona.
The team went 0-3 against
competition, but felt the trip
provided more than the results
in the wins and losses columns
revealed.
"The trip to Arizona was a
positive bonding experience,"
Zachary Strickland, junior
defender, said. "We all got a lot
better and bonded as a team."
After returning from the
retreat, the team lost its first
two games by a single goal to
tough playoff
contenders,
Lincoln and
Sunset.
"We knew
wins would
be tough to
come by with
our tough
schedule," Mark
Flood, head
coach, said.
"We think we
are one or two
plays away
from beating
the best teams
in the state. It
would be nice
Photo by Alex Houston
Andrew Weinhart, junior, sprints down field while
cradling in a league game against Lake Oswego. The
Lions fell to the Lakers, 5-1, putting an end to the
team's three game league win streak.
on early success
T y C: WKt|
and a close win against
Oswego have helped
Tennis Team to clinch a
the Three Rivers League title.
The Lions are a veteran team,
with nine seniors, looking for
a TRL title after tying for one
last year with Lake Oswego
and Lakeridge. By beginning
the season with nine straight
league wins, it is looking like
they could achieve their goal.
"I expect our team to finish
in the top three in our league,
but we have a very good chance
to win it all," Arthur To, senior,
said.
With many cancellations,
the weeks are packed with
rescheduled games as the end
of the season nears. In one five
day stretch from April 18-23,
the team was scheduled to play
five matches. Although one was
cancelled, the team played four
in as many days. On April 19
and 20, the team played Canby.
In back-to back
Lions shut out the Cougars. The
score was 8-0 in both matches.
The team followed this with a
double-header against Oregon
City. In the first match, the team
shut out the Pioneers, and in
the second, the team won 6-2.
On Friday came the marquee
matchagainst Lakeridge. Helped
Photo by Alex Houston
Ken Tsuruta, senior, tracks down
a ball in a recent match against
Canby. The Lions have enjoyed
a successful start to the season,
going 5-0 in the Three Rivers
League.
es from Mitch Tingey, freshman,
and Craig Wright, sophomore,
the Lions defeated the Lakers.
With this win, the team earned
a share of the TRL title. Earlier
in the season, the Lions toppled
the Pacers, 7-1.
On April 11 cam e West
Linn's match-up with Lake
Oswego. This showdown was
sure to have some impact on
who would win the title this
year. The match was as close
as it could be, tied 4-4. It ulti
mately came down to which
team won more sets, with West
Linn coming out the victor in
enemy territory.
Thanks in part to those two
matches, the team is 9-0 in
league. Two of these victories
came over Clackamas, 8-0, and
another over newcomer Grant,
5-3. The team has also been
victorious outside of its league.
The team also competed in
a tournament at Jesuit High
School on April 16 and 17.
They finished third out of eight
teams.
to have more wins but we are
still getting better."
The Lions competed against
Curtis and Bainbridge, two
teams that were on their Spring
Break from Washington the
week of April 4. The team split
the games, defeating Curtis,
11-4, and falling to Bainbridge,
9-3.
"The season so far has been
tough. We have played some
really good teams from out of
state," Strickland said. "But we
have shown a lot of promise."
Flood feels the team isn't yet
playing at its full potential, but
believes that there is a bright
future ahead.
"This is a very young team.
Excellent senior leadership,
but we still are playing a lot of
youngins," Flood said.
The Lions reeled off three
straight wins to begin league
play. After defeating Canby in
a close brawl, 10-8, the team
Track and Field Team breaks
away from fierce competition
J ack L ammers _______________
"Sisters (Rotary Invitational)
was a blast. The first half
hour there was a white out
snowstorm. We were running,
jumping, and throwing in the
snow," Joe Cemy, head coach,
Girls’ Golf Team draws on experience, young talent
J ennifer S itton _______________
Imagine the excitement and
adrenaline that comes from
winning a State Championship.
Then, imagine two players
are returning from that
championship team who are
arguably two of the best golfers
in the state. Add into the mix
a freshman standout and an
undefeated tournament record.
Feeling the pressure yet?
The Girls' Golf Team has
all of these elements working
for it. It won its first two
matches, shooting 310 as a
team in the first and keeping
each individual's score in the
70s. Sharon Shin, senior, led
the team with a low score of
73. Morgan Thompson, senior,
Sarah Archuleta and Kristin
Elich, freshmen, all followed
with individual scores of 79.
"We set the bar high (in the
first two matches)," Thompson
said. "We definitely want to
repeat. Winning State two years
in a row would be great."
The team posted a score of
335, at its next tournament,
40 strokes better than second
place Canby. Shin finished with
a top score of 78 for the Lions.
The following week the
team beat Canby by 35 strokes,
shooting 321 as a team. Shin
posted the best score of the
tournament with a 74, while
Thompson finished with a 77.
The team's success in
tournaments isn't just a fluke.
According to Thompson, this is
a much different team than last
year's team, partially due to
the addition of Archuleta and
Elich.
Photo by Alex Houston
S arah A rch u le ta , fresh m an ,
practices putting at the Oregon
Golf Club in preparation for an
upcoming match. The team has
found success in its first few
tournaments, winning them all
by a margin of at least 20 strokes.
"We have a lot of new talent
this year," Thompson said.
"Things are also a lot more
serious this year. We're trying
to focus hard at every practice
and be the most prepared
team."
"We don't rest," Bob
Tumquist, head coach, said.
"We can't just hope to be
good, we have to practice and
actually work at it."
According to Turnquist, the
team doesn't talk or think much
about the State Championship.
His goal is simply to make sure
that the team improves and is
better prepared.
"We have to get there first,"
Tumquist said of State. "The
day after Districts I'll start
thinking about it. I try not to
think about May 16 at all."
Regardless of the
expectations, the girls each
have their own motivation to
finish as high as possible at
State.
"This season I'm excited to
go out with a bang," Thompson
said. "It's Sharon's and my
last year and we're going to
make it a year everyone will
remember."
progressed to beat Clackamas,
14-1, and Oregon City, 15-1.
Following the win streak, the
team fell in a defensive struggle
to Lake Oswego, 5-2.
With the rest of its league
schedule approaching fast,
the team hopes to put all of
the elements together to make
a strong run towards the
playoffs.
"Face-offs and goalie play
have been awesome," Flood
said. "We are not consistent
yet in playing well on offense
and defense in the same game.
Once we put both together we
could be a tough team to beat."
Strickland believes that the
team's challenging schedule
early on will harden them for
battle against worthy league
opponents.
"I feel good about our team,"
Strickland said. "Our tough
schedule has gotten us ready as
we head into league."
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Z ach ary B oyd -H elm , sen ior,
leads the pack in the 1500 meters
along with Jefferson Chandler,
senior. Boyd-Helm and Chandler
finished first and second in the
race, respectively, adding to a
string of accomplishments for the
track team this season.
said.
This year, outside of the
Three Rivers League, the track
and field team traveled to
Sisters to compete against teams
including Summit, Redmond
and Crook County. The girls'
team took 2nd place while the
boys' team took 5th.
Among many
accomplishments on the girls'
team, Cemy noted the efforts
of Casey Livesay, senior, for
her performance in the hurdles
races, finishing second in the
100 meter hurdles. Bene Wilsted,
sophomore, the first wheelchair
athlete for the track team,
finished with a time of 1:57.80
for the 400 meter race and Maria
Green, junior, tied for first in
high jump with a height of 5-0.
On the boys' team, Cerny
recognized Justin McKee, senior,
for his performance in throwing
javelin, throwing a distance
of 140 feet, 10 inches. He also
acknowledged the impressive
feats of the distance team
with Cullen Wannarka, senior,
finishing first in the 1500 meter
race with a time of 4:11.90, Zach
Boyd-Helm, senior, finishing
second in the 800 meter race
with a time of 2:02.90, and
Graham Frank, senior, finishing
first in the 3000 meter race with
a time of 9:53.00,
"This season the team is full
of new athletes that continue
to improve and upperclassmen
that contribute to the team's
improvement meet after meet in
the face of a challenging league,"
McKee said.
The league change this
season added Grant and Canby
which are both good teams
while removing Milwaukie
and Putnam who were less
challenging opponents,
according to Cemy.
"It's a new year. Here we
go," Joe Cemy, head track and
field coach, said.
While Cemy is not sure
where the team will end up,
the team members have shown
their willingness to improve
while staying competitive.
"You always miss the
graduating students, but there
are always people to fill their
place," Cerny said. "I look to the
future."
Early in the season, the
coaches and athletes recognized
that there is a lot of good
competition ahead, including
the Jesuit Twilight Relays.
"With quality competition
ahead, we will strive to do our
best and try to qualify as many
people as we can for state,"
Cerny said.
On April 6, both the
boys' and girls' teams lost
to Lakeridge, and in the
Centennial Invitational held on
April 23, the girls' team finished
9th.