Clackamas Print
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Sports 7
Cougars’ catcher
finds her focus
CpFK
■
behind the plate
Track and Field
This week, track
I not compete at a
et, instead prepar-
; for the Northwest
ileticEssociation of
mmuBty Colleges
impio|ships.
Tead Coach Keoni
Honelsays that the
ietes to watch on the
nen’st side are long-
anceltunner Andria
ieese, the women’s
00 and 4x400 relay
n and Sierra Hess
the discus. Hess was
for a few weeks due
i twisted ankle.
It is still a little teiv
, but it didn’t seem
iffect her last week-
i,” McHone said,
jfeth« men’s com
etion, both of the
n’s relays are pre-
tt^^Hdo well, and
tt’Tweedy is one to
tch in tge 400 meter.
*Joe (Ebel will most
sly score the most
nts for the team,”
Hone said. “He’s
ered t-in multiple
-nts and looks to
re well.”
Cai Ojala is expected
io well in the men’s
h jump;as well.
rheW NWAACC
mpionships
will
3 place May 22 and
at Siokane Falls
nmunityi College in
ikane, Wash.
Softball
Clackamas softball
zn made* it to fifth
:e in the Northwest
letic Association of
nmunity Colleges
VAACtf) champi-
hips before being
-eked out of the com-
Tion Saturday. May
by Lower Columbia
i .Walla Walla.
hese defeats mean
.. for the first time
ix years Clackamas’
ball team, made
jf mostly freshman
yers, Md not make
nto the NWAACC
»■ipionship.
, .oftballlfinishes the
ton with 26 wins
23 los|es.
MegaiuKoler
Lisa Sellars
The Clackamas Print
“Winning” is all in the name for
freshman catcher Susan Winningham.
“I’d never change my last name,”
Winningham laughed. “I’m going to be
kind of bummed when I get married and
have to change it.”
Winningham, who graduated from
Crater High School last year, helped her
team win its softball title before coming
to Clackamas to explore possible career
options and continue playing the sport.
With barely a year of college under
her belt, she has stood out as one of the
most dedicated and talented
athletes in Clackamas athlet
ics.
“Susaji is one of the hard
est-working around,” said
Softball Coach Jessica Buel.
“She is fun to watch play.”
“She has been one of the
most consistent players we’ve
ever had,” said Assistant
Coach Denise Nasuta.
“Her attitude and her deter
mination add a lot to our
team,” said teammate Brianne
Rowley. “She is always trying
to .be up, and she is always
hard on herself.”
Winningham wasn’t always
the most focused, hardworking player
— in fact, that’s how she
became a catcher in the
first place.
Catching “is the only
position I could be put at
because every other posi
tion, you don’t really have
to pay attention a lot, and
I was spacey then,” she
said. “I’d look into other
people’s dugouts and stuff,
so they had to put me there
so I’d pay attention.”
Since little league, soft-
ball has become an inte
gral part of her life.
“If I didn’t have soft-
ball ... I don’t know what
I would be doing,” she
said. “I like just being a
part of something, being a
part of a team.”
Even though she revels
in the team atmosphere,
joining the lady Cougars
this season has had its
share of difficulties.
“In high school, we’d
been playing together for
seven or eight years. You
Left: Freshman Susan
Winningham gets
ready to take a swing.
Although she is a catcher,
Winningham’s self-pro-
claimed forte is batting.
knew everybody,” she said. “It’s just a
challenge coming up here and getting
to know everybody and knowing how
they play.”
Winningham isn’t the only new indi
vidual to the group - nearly 90 percent
of the 25 softball players at Clackamas
are freshman.
Last weekend, at the Northwest
Athletic Association of Community
College (NWAACC) championships, the
Cougars placed fifth out of the 16 com
munity college teams from Oregon and
Washington.
The team feels that a lot of its suc
cess is due to Winningham’s attitude
and drive.
Even though she is technically a
catcher, she admits that batting is her
favorite part of the game.
“Batting’s kind of my forte,” she
said. “It’s something I just really enjoy
working on and getting better at and just
doing.”
Her most precious commodity might
simply be her unshakable attitude and
strong sense of belief in her abilities,
which she feels is a necessary attri
bute for any competitor. As her team
mate, freshman Kayla Vedaa, says, “She
knows she’s good.”
“I go through hard times — everyone
does,” Winningham said. “You have to
be confident or you’re not going to be
successful.”
“I’m confident, but not cocky,” she
added.
Robert Crawford Clackamas Prtnt
Baseball
'he Cougars failed to
;e it into Northwest
letic Aisociation of
j|munity Colleges
AACC) post-sea-
te team wrapped up
m on a high note
a double victory
Mt. Hood on May
first game
.ng in a score of 3-2
in game two, 1-0.
team ended the
,pn with a record of
yins ld 17 losses'
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• USP 399 Introduction to Sustainable Urban Development—fully online
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