June
Girls' Lacrosse Team utilizes solid chemistry
to earn third place in Three Rivers League
departure in the State Playoffs,
Elston still holds high
aspirations for the future of the
program.
"We're a young team, and I
think there's a lot of maturing
that will happen in the next few
S ean P esler _________________
The Girls' Lacrosse Team
advanced to the third round of
the State Playoffs before falling
to league foe Lake Oswego, 20-
9, capping a season where the
team fought against the odds to
win many games.
Despite having a young
team, a contributing factor
to the team's success was the
development of chemistry
between players, according to
Hannah Gulgren, junior.
"This year we have all
become a lot closer on and off
the field, and I think that's really
helped us become a stronger
team," Gulgren said.
Another key aspect that
propelled the advancement
of the team was the progress
that younger players made,
according to Megan Elston,
head coach.
"This season has been a
huge turnaround," Elston said.
"We've scored a lot of goals,
and competed well against the
top teams in the state. I'm very
proud of the team and their
progress."
The Lions carried their
momentum from the regular
season into the State playoffs,
where the team defeated
Corvallis and Liberty by the
same score, 12-10, before falling
to Lake Oswego.
Elston feels that the team
showed immense improvement
regarding a pivotal aspect of
any sport: league play. The
team's Three Rivers League
record after the regular season
stood at 5-5.
Timely hits, lock-down pitching
add to triumph of Baseball Team
S ean P ebler
Photo by Laurei Massaro
Mariah Gatti, freshman, wards off two defenders in a game against
league rival Oregon City on May 5. The Lions lost to the top-seeded
Pioneers, 18-5, finishing 5-5 in league play.
"We held onto an early lead
against Lakeridge for our first
win against them in many years
and have competed against
Oregon City and Lake Oswego,"
Elston said. "We came out really
strong against LO, leading 4-0 at
the beginning of the game."
Continuing their early
dominance after a disappointing
loss to Lake Oswego on April
18, the Lions reeled off three
straight wins against Putnam,
Canby and Oregon Episcopal
School. The team then lost
two league games in a row;
an offensive shoot-out to
Lakeridge, 12-11, and a loss to
top-tier Oregon City, 18-5.
After clinching a playoff
berth with a win against Canby,
the Lions set out to tweak minor
aspects of their game in order to
compete with the elite teams in
playoffs.
To wrap-up regular season
play the girls defeated league
foe Riverdale, 18-7. In their final
game of the regular season, the
team fell to Lake Oswego, 16-12.
Even though the Lions
experienced a third round
Young Track and Field Team
sends five athletes to State -
T y C larke _________________
With many new athletes, the
Track and Field team sent six
improve in all areas," head coach
Joe Cerny said before State. "We
are never satisfied, we always
want to do better in all events."
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Zachary Boyd-Helm, senior, leads the pack during his race at
Districts. He was one of multiple Lions to advance to State, where
he finished third in the 800 meters.
to Hayward Field in Eugene
for the State meet. As a team,
the girls nearly took third
place at Districts, falling one
point behind Grant to end in
fourth, while the boys finished
seventh.
"We are always looking to
seasons," Elston said. "There
have been some glimpses of it
this season, like the win against
Lakeridge and the competitive
play against Lake Oswego. I
can't wait to see where this team
will go."
advice. For the boys, Zachary
Boyd-Helm, senior, was one of
two male athletes to head to
State, held on May 20-21, where
he took third.
"I was very happy with my
performance at State, I didn't
expect to get third," Boyd-Helm
said. "The only thing I am disap
pointed about is I was hoping to
run a faster time."
Fellow distance runner Cul
len Wannarka, senior, joined
Boyd-Helm. Wannarka finished
seventh in the 3,000 meters.
For the girls, the team ad
vanced four athletes and a relay
team to Eugene. Casey Livesay,
senior, finished seventh in the
100 meters hurdles. At State,
Maria Green was a single inch
behind first place in high jump
while coming in third. Madison
Leek, sophomore, took fifth in
the 100 meter dash and sixth in
the 200 meters. Leek ran the 200
meters in25.23 seconds, securing
a school record.
The girls also had a 4 x 100 me
ters relay team advance to State.
Livesay, Green, and Leek were
joined by Cara Boucher, sopho
more, on the team that finished
sixth. Additionally, Benedicta
Wilsted, sophomore, took 5th in
the 100 200 and 400 meters in the
wheelchair division.
The Baseball Team is
sitting atop the Three Rivers
League with Lake Oswego
after going 12-3 against other
league opponents. Much of
this success can be attributed
to clutch hitting and stingy
pitching, according to Mike
Lord, head coach.
To begin the State Playoffs,
the fourth-seeded Lions went
toe-to-toe with fifth-seeded
Forest Grove on May 23. The
team defeated the Vikings
4-2 after an explosive second
inning and only three total hits
given up by Riley Wilkerson,
senior. The team's next playoff
game will be against Jesuit on
May 25.
"We have been getting the
key RBIs (runs batted in) with
guys in scoring position," Lord
said. "And Riley Wilkerson and
James Coghill (junior) have
done a great job on the mound
for us this league season."
On May 2, the Lions began
their three-game series against
Lake Oswego, conquering the
Lakers 3-0 after Wilkerson
pitched a stellar two-hitter.
"After the LO game and the
two-hitter it felt really good,"
Wilkerson said. "Pitching my
best game this season against
LO is very nice. I had to for our
team to win."
The team followed up the
win with two consecutive
losses, losing the series to Lake
Oswego, two games to one.
Despite the disappointment
of falling to the Lakers, the
Lions roared back to sweep
their final league series
against Clackamas. The wins
allowed the Lions to become
co-champions of the TRL with
Lake Oswego.
"As we close out the season,
I expect our team to be playing
better and better," Wilkerson
said. "We want a State
Championship this year."
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Riley W ilkerson, senior,
completes his throwing motion in
a league game against Clackamas.
The Lions finished the season
with a three-game sweep of the
Cavaliers, earning them a place a
share of the Three Rivers League
title with Lake Oswego.
Many successes and surprises
propel Boys' Tennis Team to State
C harlie C raft
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Preston Rattle, senior, grimaces
w hile attem pting a backhand
in preparation for State. Rattle
and M icah Wiard, senior, were
unseeded going into Districts
but defeated the second and
fifth seeds to go on to State.
The Boys' Tennis Team
finished up its season with
results at Districts that
exceeded expectations and
advanced five players to
State. Doubles teams Ken
Tsuruta and Arthur To,
seniors, and Preston Rattle
and Micah Wiard, seniors, all
made it to State, along with
Ian Reisenhoover, junior.
At State, To and Tsuruta
had a bye for the first round.
The fifth seeded duo won its
first match versus Sprague to
advance to the quarterfinals,
where the team was defeated
by South Salem. Rattle and
Wiard lost their first match
and went into the consolation
round. There the team was
victorious in its first match
but fell in the second round.
Risenhoover also had a bye
for the first round but was
defeated in his first match.
continued on page 18