Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About Cougar print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1976-1977 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1977)
orts ougars wind up winning season I I by Randy Frank Sports Writer ■ a good season that could have Hr," said Clackamas Community ■eball coach Gene Peterson as he ■konhis 1977 season. K good season as the Cougars lived ■ pre-season expectations of being ■ the powerhouses of the Oregon ■ity College Athletic Association. Jlerson said before the season began, ■- should be able to score a few ■ score is what they did as they ■ague in hitting with a .280 average ■ring almost twice as many runs as ■pponents (246-143). ■ the Cougars' attack were all-stars ■Ison,designated hitter, Rich Jones, Base, and first baseman Tim Wach. If; Wilson was voted to the OCCAA ■■star team after having one of the ms in Clackamas baseball history in Eoming off a one year layoff, Wilson, ■ore who attended Tigard H.S., led me in hitting with a .429 batting ■which was also good for 14th in Hon and it also tied a school record Best average with Elmer Groener ■tin 1969. In the process, Wilson tied Mike Back- man for the Cougar record with 48 hits and he also set a new school record for the most RBI's in a season with 38. Jones, a sophomore from McMinnville, had a fine campaign for the Cougars as he was named to the OCCAA first team as he compiled a .380 batting average which placed him among the league leaders. He also was second on the team with 38 hits and third in stolen bases with 11. Wach, a sophomore who attended Cleve land H.S. was one of the most respected hitters in the league as he tied the school record for the most home runs in a season with five, while driving in 26 runs and he played almost flawless baseball committing only three errors all season. Playing a major role in the successes of the 1977 Cougars was the exceptional pit ching coach Peterson received from his freshman staff made up of Bob Tollefson, Bob Simril, Jim Coffman and Gary Fior ante. Tollefson, a freshman from Hillsboro H.S., was named to the OCCAA second team and was the Cougars' leader in com plete games with nine and in strikeouts with 62 in only 71 innings pitched. etfers tie for second in state ■ y top singles player Mike Maynard, II® Community College men's tennis ■¡shed in a tie for second with Cen- ■gon Community College in the Ore- ICommunity College Athletic Associ ate championship tournament at ■las,May 12 through 17. ■art), a product of Canby H.S., won Ifet flight singles competition. He dis- Bof Tim Kramer, of Concordia, 6-3, Bien Kelly, of Southwestern Oregon, Band Art Cavanaugh, of Blue Moun- ■6-1. nd flight singles, Dave Lemons placed second, losing the de- ■to Marty Graham, of Blue Mountain, Bp. Birth flight singles player Buddy Pat- » Clackamas finished second also, Bio Central Oregon's Mike Quick in lais, 6-1,6-4. Hie doubles play, Maynard and Dan ■ placed third in the first flight and M and Lemons did the same in the Might. Me regional meet, which was run with ■ate meet at Clackamas, the Cougars ■fourth behind Treasure Valley, North ■andCentral Oregon. jynard placed fourth in the singles ■theregional, while no Cougars placed Roubles competition. Body has yet found a way to stop Bmas Community College's Kim Flem- |a the tennis courts. ■Cougar freshman won the Northwest re Womens Sports Association South- Ba community college tennis title at Bod Community College, May 13 and png, a graduate of Rex Putnam, re- I unbeaten as she dispatched Mari Donaldson of Clark College, 6-0, 6-0, and Teresa Alexander of Mt. Hood, 6-1,6-1, to win the first singles title. Mary Budnick, of Clackamas, took the consolation title in the second singles brac ket as she defeated Julie Donaldson, of Clark, 6-1,6-1. In doubles competition, Fleming and Budnick combined to win the first doubles trophy, topping Alexander and Tootie Rice, of Mt. Hood, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, and Gerì Mader and Cheryl Shrum, of Lane 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Simril, out of Grant H.S., was one of the Cougars' most effective spot starters with a 3-1 mark, which included a no-hitter against Blue Mountain and a one-hitter against Jud son Baptist and a 2.07 ERA. Coffman, a frosh from Rainier H.S. was named as an honorable mention to the OCCAA all-star team as he was one of the winningest pitchers in the league with a 6-1 mark, good for a .857 percentage and a 2.64 ERA. Coffman was also second on the team in innings pitched and strikeouts (41). Fiorante, Tigard H.S., joined Coffman on the honorable mention listing and in pit ching the Cougars' first no-hitter of the sea son, a 7-0 shut-out of Blue Mountain. Fiorante also had a fine season of his own as he compiled a 4-3 record and a 3.3 ERA. Pitching and hitting won't win games if you don't have strong defense and the Cou gars had one of the best in the league as they finished second, committing only 43 errors. Still, the 1977 season turned out some what of a disappointment for the Cougars as they could only manage fourth place with a 19-9 (25-14-1) overall season, three games behind league leading Umpqua, who later went on to take the National Junior College Championship. Cougar Coach Gene Peterson said he feels he knows what happened, "It would have been a much better season if the Umps wouldn't have burned us in those two games with Umpqua, because right now we'd be in the playoffs." "I say this because I know that Umpqua is not any better than we are and if those two calls had gone the other way it would be an entirely different bailgame." As for next year, Peterson said, "We should be competitive because all our star ters will be back, but it will be tough to fill the shoes of Mickey Wilson, Rich Jones and Tim Wach." Spikers compete in nationals Four athletes represented Clackamas Com munity College at the National Junior Col lege Athletic Association Championships held in Houston, Texas on May 19, 20 and 21. Mark Nugen, a contender in the decath lon, Frank Gibson in the high jump, Kelley Sullivan in the steeplechase, and Dave Reed who competed in the triple jump were the total Cougar contingent. Nugen completed both days of competi tion in the grueling decathlon event. He wound up 21st out of a field of 34. Cougar track coach Buck Monroe commented on Nugen's performance as being a "good job, especially against such tough competition, in an event where you only get one shot and then it's all over." Nugen finished with 5605 points. Kelley Sullivan had his work cut out for him in the steeple chase when he was pitted against a former Olympic competitor from the winning junior college, Essex of New Jersey. High jumper Frank Gibson cleared the opening height of 6'4" in the first rounds of that event. Gibson went on to clear at 6'6", but failed at his 6'8" attempt. Dave Reed competed for the Cougars in the triple jump, but didn't really perform up to par in his specialty. Coach Monroe said that Reed "did the best he could, but was also up against some top competition." Sixth place in the triple jump went to a 48'7" leap, three feet over Reed's best. The event was won at 52 feet. "It really was an awesome field," commented Monroe. Essex, of New Jersey gathered a total of 92 points en route to their victory. The strong team included two former Olympians amid many outstanding athletes from other countries. Second place overall went to Mesa CC of Arizona. Placing highest from the Oregon colleges was state-winner Lane who took sixth place. Next year's competition will be held in Champaign, Illinois and both men and wo men's team championships will be together. Page 9 Was Community College centimeters Colors by Munsell Color Services Lab