[ Clackamas Print
Sports r
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006
resiling: hard work, hustle
latthew Olsen
[lie Clackamas Print
Looking to finish the sea-
i well, the Cougar wrestling
m practices often and relies
[teamwork to bring out their
L
buffering from early season
¡taeles, including losing wres-
Luis Cisneros to a broken
I the team has rebounded and
led together. After trading
lories with Southwest Oregon
I Menlo College, the team is
er to finish the season with
ividual and team wins.
The team took six members
b 10 member team to their
1 against Pacific University
Friday, Jan.27. Being ranked
.th in the NJC AA, the Cougars
good prospects.
Winning five of their six
tches, the MVP of the duel
s Joe Vela who bested a sea-
-long rival. Earlier this sea-
Vela lost to the Pacific wres-
three times, but on Friday
mining paid off and he won
■7. The incomplete team
Udn’t pull out the win, and
[30-20.
On Feb. 4 the team is com-
ing in the Northwest Classic
en in Forest Grove to prepare
mselves for the Regional in
as Bay on Feb. 11.
If we wrestle to our poten-
Iwe can win,” Coach Mike
luska said of their chances at
lional.
“My goal has always been to
have 10 students become All-
American,” said Haluska. To
achieve this goal, all 10 mem
bers of the regional tournament
team would have to place in the
top four.
“I’d love to have the whole
team make it,” Haluska said.
Both Bryan Cantrell and
Shane Slover bear high praise
from their coach.
Of Cantrell, Haluska boasts,
“I truly believe he’s going to
win the [regional] tournament.”
Cantrell was a redshirt fresh
man of last year, but went to the
Fila Junior Nationals and placed
eighth in Greco-Roman style-.
“I find the harder I work, the
more luck I have,” said Cantrell.
He hopes to reneat his suc
cess this year at nationals and
achieve All-American status.
Slover is admired by his team
and coach for his fierce drive.
“I train as hard as I can,”
said Slover. When asked about
the regional, Slover smiled and
said
“I’m not much of a talker.”
Haluska puts it well though,
“He’s got a mindset that refuses
to lose ... he wants it real bad.”
“If I could have a team like
this every year, I’d coach for
nothing!” Haluska exclaims.
A highlight of the sea
son included the very close
loss to Northern Idaho -which
was ranked number one in the
nation- by a mere two points.
“We showed that we can com-
Andy Zehrung Clackamas Print
Cougar wrestlers Alex Bubb and Sammy Schmitz performing various takedowns during prac
tice in Randall. The team is working around the clock in preperation for the season’s end.
I
pete with them,” Haluska said.
The greatest asset for the
Cougars wrestling team is not
the individuals, but the team
work that exists.
“Our team has become a lot
closer ... we help each other
out.” Said team member Seth
Roy.
Blazers' inconsistencies
leave fans at a loss for
words, Chaiupas
Mike Sindico
I Sports Editor
'unt, Reeves continue to lead way
rank Jordan
le Clackamas Print
ffhe Clackamas women’s bas-
pall team improved its divi-
I-leading record to 6-0 with
■ wins over Umpqua CC and
li-Benton CC this past week,
the Cougars traveled to
ieburg last Wednesday and put
[five starters in double figures
[the first time this season in
rating the Timberwomen 90-
fWe played very well offen-
|ly the whole game, but our
Insive effort was the key to
■victory,” said Head Coach
■Martineau. “Umpqua only
133 percent for the game
■everyone had a hand in the
BL”
■mpqua started the game in
line defense but Clackamas
Ihman post Kellyn Cooper
led some easy baskets in the
early to help break up the
B Then the Cougars got hot
B the outside as LaToya Hill
I Charday Hunt hit some big
Ipers to help Clackamas to a
loint halftime lead, 45-32.
Umpqua made a run early in
the second half to cut the Cougar
lead to six with 14 minutes to
play, but the Cougars went on a
12-0 run to enlarge their lead to
18 and they coasted the rest of
the way enroute to the 24-point
victory.
Hunt led the offense with a
23-point, 11-rebound night.
Sophomore Rochelle Reeves hit
five three-pointers on the way to
20 points, while Cooper ended
the game with a double-double,
16 points and 13 rebounds.
Hill nearly got a triple-double
with 14 points, nine rebounds
and a game-high nine assists, and
Kellie Morey finished the game
with 13 points.
The Cougars traveled to
Albany Saturday to take on the
Lady Roadrunners from Linn-
Benton and Clackamas overcame
some early jitters to roar to an
easy 84-52 win.
“I was a little concerned going
into the (LBCC) game because of
our big win over Umpqua, and it
showed as Linn-Benton jumped
out to an 8-0 lead after four
minutes,” said Martineau. “But
the girls settled down and we
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hit some shots to basically take
over the game. Nothing much
seems to faze our team and this
team is very sure of what they
are about.”
The Cougars played solid
defense after the early bad start
and they controlled the game
from then on. They held the
Roadrunners to 32 percent shoot
ing for the game and played well
enough offensively for the blow
out win.
Reeves hit four three-pointers
and shot 10-20 overall to lead the
Cougars with 24 points. Morey
followed with a solid 18-point,
five-rebound effort, while Hill
had her usual great all-around
game with 13 points, seven
rebounds and eight assists.
Hunt had 12 points and seven
rebounds, Cooper had nine points
and seven rebounds and Monique
Tribble chipped in eight points
off the bench.
“It was a good night all-
around. Everyone got a chance
to play some meaningful minutes
and everyone played well,” said
Martineau. “Rochelle [Reeves]
shot the ball well, especially
in the first half, and it seemed
to get us going in the right
direction. I was very pleased
with the effort by everyone on
Saturday.”
The Cougars will play host
to the Mt. Hood CC Lady
Saints tonight at 5:30 p.m.
in the Randall Hall gym to
close out the first half of the
Southern Division sched
ule. Clackamas will travel to
Eugene on Saturday to take on
the second-place Lady Titans
from Lane CC in a game which
could have a big impact on the
rest of the season. Clackamas
defeated Lane 92-80 on Jan. 14
to hand Lane their only loss of
the season so far. Saturday’s
game is scheduled for a 4 p.'m.
start in Eugene.
The Portland Trailblazers
enigmatic season is nearing
the halfway point as fans are
left only with questions and
uncertainties, as is the team
itself. The Blazers have had
a roller coaster of a season, •
experiencing various ups
and downs.
The inconsistencies have led
to frustration, but the young
team has not given up on
new coach Nate McMillan^
Despite a handful of blow
out losses by more than 30
points, the team hasldis-
played resiliency throughout
the year. - The^Mve«ytmcey
against spifie of the lymey
elite teams, nptchijm Avins’?^
■ against MemphisyCleveland
i / and New jfrsey^hy^lqy’
ing the Pistons down to the
|||wii&
The team is clearly in a JM|
rebuilding mode, featur- M|
■’ ing such young talents as
. Sebastian Telfair, Travis
. Outlaw aW Martell Webster.
The problem with this is
'that pwerslnd Mfe^like,,^
. want to win now and not
develop players who are
straight out of high school.
The real key is that the team
possessq^b^®^|riter#S that
can <^wibute to t<
The^O^tpS^imillioft? ■
dollar nucleus of Zach i'■
Randolph and Darius Miles
has experienced a signifi
cant amount of adversity
this season, as they have
both been battling knee
injuries.
Randolph seems to have
fully recovered from his
off-season surgery but still
doesn’t seem to have the
spring in his legs necessary
for him to finish strongly
inside. He also still strug
gles to play defense and
■
often takes ill-advised out
side shots.
Miles meanwhile has been
inactive since the begin
ning of December, when he
tweaked his right knee and
was placed on the injured
list. He is expected to return
to the lineup sometime
shortly after the Feb. 19 All-
Star game.
However, there have been
some bright spots, most
notably guards Steve Blake
and Juan Dixon.
Blake has solidified himself
„.as theteam’sstartingnoint
guard, white Telfair has
• struggled with
iryut*y ar*d
turnovers. Blake consistent-'
1^ mikes big plays but in a
way that is fundamentally
sound and not flashy; low
risk and high reward.
Dixon may be the team’s
solution at shooting guard, "■
with Martell Webster being
aitootijebiio the National
Basketball Developmental
League; he’s taken the
reigns of the position and
ran with it, sinking satiny-
smooth shots almost effort-
lessly.
1
When all is said and done
and the Trailblazer’s 2005- ■
06 season has concluded,
it’s bird to say what the
The number eight seed
seems to be wishful think
ing but in sports anything is
possible.
IWhen Miles comes back
after the All-Star break he
has the ability to inject the
team with a dose of energy
that could hypothetically
lead to more wins than loss
es in the second half, or at
least an increase in Chalupa
distribution.
This is yet to be seen
though, and all that
Trailblazers’ fans can do is
be patient and keep support-
L ing the team, McMillan can
coach, so don’t lose hope.