14
schools
june21
2018
Vernonia Wrestlers Already Preparing for Upcoming Season
Coach Chris Barnes is excited to
defend VHS’s District Title and
grow the girls wrestling program
The two-time District Champi-
on Vernonia wrestlers will be busy this
summer with workouts and fundraisers
as they prepare to defend the District Ti-
tle they won in dominating fashion last
year.
Head Coach Chris Barnes has
a strong returning contingent of wres-
tlers, including two returning state plac-
ers from last year in Wyatt Jones who
finished 4 th and Joshua Rice who fin-
ished 3 rd . Also returning this season are
state qualifiers Hepner Forster and Josh
Sholes, along with Patrick Fletcher, Aus-
tin Sicard, Byron Cook, Cutter Barklow,
Eli Thompson, Isaiah Thompson, Jacob
Pasko, and Zach Larke.
Last year the Loggers won the
District going away, scoring 305 points
to 2 nd place Monroe’s 148, while sending
six wrestlers to the State Tournament.
Coach Barnes was named District Coach
of the Year.
While Barnes is looking forward
to defending the District Title, he is also
passionate about the progress girls wres-
tling is making at the state and national
levels. Oregon had two national champi-
ons in 2018 at the collegiate level.
According to Barnes, there are
presently six states that have added an
official state girls championship, recog-
nized and run by their state scholastic
governing body: Hawaii 1998, Texas
1999, Washington 2007, California
2011, Alaska 2014, and Tennessee 2015.
Oregon has been in the process
since 2009, working with the OSAA for
several years to promote and sanction
a girls state high school tournament. In
2018-2019 Oregon will add a girls divi-
sion to the OSAA High School Wres-
tling Championships and become one
of the first eight states to sanction girls
wrestling. And, due to the emerging
status of women’s wrestling, there are
many scholarship opportunities as col-
leges and universities continue adding
women’s wrestling programs.
In 2018-19 there will be an
OSAA sanctioned girls season schedule.
Girls will have different weight classes
than boys. At the State Tournament there
will be eight-person girls brackets.
Barnes says girls wrestling is
catching on fast in Oregon and contin-
ues to grow. “The first year Oregon held
a girls exhibition at the State Tourna-
ment they had 70 girls participate – the
next year there were 150,” says Barnes.
“They have been running numerous
middle school and high school tourna-
ments for girls throughout the season
in recent years and they’ve continued
to hold the girls exhibition at the State
Championships. This year it will be
a full tournament just for the girls.”
Barnes has had several girls
compete with his team over the last sev-
eral years, including graduated senior
Kailia Jackson, who won the boys Dis-
trict Title two years ago and placed 4 th
at girls state in 2018. “We have many
girls in our youth program and I’d love
to see 15-20 girls show up for the 2018-
2019 high school season,” says Barnes.
“Warrenton currently has one of the big-
gest girls teams in the state and it would
be fantastic to get a north coast rivalry
established with them!”
Barnes says the summer
schedule for practices is Mondays and
Wednesdays from 6:00-7:00 pm. Prac-
tice is open to middle and high school
athletes. “It’s a fast paced practice
and we’re having fun,” says Barnes.
The wrestling team will also
host several fundraisers this summer, in-
cluding the annual ‘The 24.’ “This one is
open to anyone who wants to participate,
says Barnes. “We ask for a $50 donation
and we go from 8:00 am Friday to 8:00
am Saturday, performing a workout ev-
ery hour on the hour for 10 to 20 min-
utes in length. No sleep allowed. For
non-team members we ask a $50 dona-
tion to participate and you get a T-shirt
and food.” Event and date will be posted
on Vernonia Wrestling Facebook page.
The team will also hold car
washes on July 7 and September 1 start-
ing at 9:00 am at Holce Logging behind
Bridge Street Mini Mart.
Summer Meals Program Helps Bridge the Gap
ticipating summer sites including many
schools, parks, and other non-profit or-
ganizations.
The program is currently under
utilized with many families unaware
of the free meals and activities in their
communities. Nationally, only one out
of six children who receive free or re-
duced price meals during the school
year continue to receive meals during
the summer months. Increasing aware-
ness of and access to these programs can
have a significant impact on combating
childhood food insecurity.
Locally the Vernonia School
District sponsors the Summer Meals pro-
gram, which started on June 18 and runs
through August 24 at the Grace Family
Fellowship Church, 967 State Avenue.
Meals are available for free to children
under the age of 18, Monday through
Friday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.
“We know the important role
that child nutrition plays during the
school year and it’s just as crucial in the
summer months when children don’t
have access to school meals,” Colt Gill,
Director of the Oregon Department of
Education, said. “We encourage families
and caregivers to take advantage of this
opportunity to help ensure the children
they care for have access to good nutri-
tion over the summer.”
Families can look up other meal
locations in their area by calling 2-1-1,
or texting “Food” or “Comida” to 877-
877, or visiting the Summer Food Or-
egon website. Meals are available for
any child 18 and under without regard
to race, color, national origin, sex, age or
disability.
“The Summer Foods Lunch
Program in Klamath Falls allows us to
provide lunches to kids who would oth-
erwise go hungry,” Integral Youth Ser-
vices Outreach Programs Director Craig
Schuhmann said. “Over the course of
the summer we serve 24,000 lunches at
30 different sites, rural and city, over a
ten week period. This affords us the op-
portunity to combine our efforts with lo-
cal community partners to provide edu-
cation and enrichment activities while
the youth are gathered to eat. Many ap-
preciative parents have told us that this
program helps to stretch an already tight
food budget.”
Please help spread the word
about the free summer meals and activi-
ties to families in your area.
DM
D
Vernonia
Dental
an
When school lets out for the
summer, thousands of Oregon children
lose access to breakfast, lunch and after-
school meals that are available during
the regular school year. Many children
and families rely on these school meals
to supplement what is available at home.
The Summer Food Service Program
helps to fill this gap by providing free,
nutritious meals to children and teens
over the summer months. Free meals and
enrichment activities are offered at par-
e rm
Summer Food Service
Program offers nutritious
meals to combat childhood
hunger
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622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064
phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881
