Sports
The Clackamas Print /
W ednesday, A pril 25, 2 0 1 2 '
sportsed@clackamas. edu
Left: Freshm an M ehgan A n g e l hangs a history fille d poster
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on th e w a ll o f the g y m chronicling m ost o f Woods’ seasons.
I
Above: Coach C athy Woods cheers afier p u llin g o f f a fir s t
ro u n d upset in the 2 0 1 1 cham pionship tournam ent.
Alumni gather to honor beloved coach, mentor, friend
volleyball painted on it hung a
sign with bold letters on it saying,
“ Once a Cougar, always a Cougar.”
Looking around at the players here
Early on a Saturday morning,
Randall Hall usually stands still, and there, the proverbial phrase
and silent, devoid o f its typically adorned nearly every neon green,
yellow shirt. T he ladies
bustling activity from, hoards of
passing students. It’s..on such days wearing them were as diverse as
that old memories; ghosts o f a their eye catching colors.
time long past, begin to echo in
The ones in dark blue tie-dye
the em pty hallways, across the were familiar. For. the: m ost part,
barren floor and up abandoned they played volleyball together in
stands. They recall the rich history the fall, wearing the red, ■white and
that, the bidding
blueClackamascolors. A fewfaces
By John William Howard
Sports Editor ,.
p e r stories o f defeat, heartbreak,
were new, bur a t least recoghiraUe.
The same couldnt be said tor the
drama, learning, victory, success
and progress. T he people who have rest of the players on the floor. T he
walked its hallways and run its team across the net looked to be in
floor have gone on to lead lives o f ' their m id 20s and older, and several
their own, occasionally, returning of the members from the team on
the far side of the room appeared
to pay respects to their past.
However, the q u iet. murmurs to have broken well into their 30&,
o f the past Were drowned out by y et they were all grouped together
the building o f new memories last with the same smile oh their feces,
Saturday, when droves o f volley as though they’d returned home
ball alumni grouped together to once again .
. As. more players began to trick-
share in something they all loved,
playing volleyball. T he gym was le in and games began to finish,
filled with bright shirts o f many ■a few o f the attendees grouped
colors, and on the wall with a large together to catch up, telling sto
“It means that we’re a fam
ily,” said 2011 standout Taylor
Richardson. “All these girls have
been through w hat I’ve been
through. N o one else can-relate
to having two years with Kathie
Woods. She’s the stickler o f the
NW AACC, the old fashioned,
hard working coach. W e have to
be solid in academics, in our social
life, on the court. Everything is
school, volleyball and life. All these
girls have had to be held up to th at
standard that I have, and so it’s an
au S S rnau ^en S ^f t a m i l y . ^
ries from their past year arid
reminiscing their time playing- at;
Clackamas. Perhaps the veteran
o f them all,, Chrissie Lewis, was
the.oldest alumni to participate,
having played in ' 1987-88j just
four seasons after current head
coach Kathie Woods was hired.
According to Lewis, none o f it.
would have been possible without-
Woods herself.
“T he whole root.ofit.js Kathie,
Just her dedication, her value that
she puts in us, her confidence that
NW AACC championship team.
“I’m a new mom, so I haven’t had
time to play, but it all comes back.
Its like you kinda just pick up
where you left off, and it’s a great
feeling.”
Woods’ emotions wavered for a
few moments when she heard the
loving words from her former play
ers and looked out over the court at
all the feces that she knew by heart.
“They’re a blessing. They’re
ray blessing and this is by fer my
most important day of the year
^ ^ p u t s in everybody,” said Lewis,
w ho has maintained a relationship
I. uJdUi,
said w o o d s. g I tell m y
in a lew years as tim e passes,
with Woods ever since graduation.
“I think that’s what makes it. That’s
what makes you feel good about
coming back and supporting her.”
Lewis said that there were many
alumni members who would have
attended but now live too far away
or had too many responsibilities
to make it. Some, however, went
through a lot of trouble to be there
to play for Woods once again.
“This is m y volleyball fix,” said
Samantha Hennessy Schreiner,
w ho played on the . 2004
girls, I go, T m gonna be mov
ing around talking because, think
about it, I’m the only one in the
gym that knows everybody, that
Jmows
¿Wy and I want to talk
to everybody to make sure I say hi
and see how they’re doing.”’ .
Woods also talked about the
importance the alumni tourna
m ent had for her current players,
saying truthfully that the turnout
and the family atmosphere spoke
volumes o f the tradition o f Cougar
volleyball.
Richardson and her teammates,
like so m any o f their predecessors
will make the trip back home,
connecting with their peers and
bringing joy to their coach’s heart.
“To see m y alumni, to see how
they’ve grown, to meet their fami
lies, to see what they’re doing and
to make sure that they’re happy.
This is what it’s all about,” said
Woods, “and it means the world
to me' Every year I want more and
more. I love it. I just love it.”
Model student is the picture perfect athlete
By Emily Rask
Associate Sports Editor
There are m any athletes at
Clackamas Com m unity College,
but Jake Buchanan, pitcher for
Cougars baseball stood out with his
“posing” background. Buchanan
is a model for Abercrombie and
Fitch and an aspiring firefighter.
H e started his baseball career when
he was four years old, his earliest
m emory o f baseball being when he
hit the ball, but ran to third base
instead o f first Despite the early
mishaps, he continued playing all
the way through high school. A
graduate o f Aloha High School,
he decided to continue baseball
at C C C and plans to move on to
a school in Kentucky or Corban
University in Salem.
T h ro u g h o u t high
school
Buchanan wrestled and played
football, b ut after enrolling in col
lege, decided to focus on baseball;
although he is redshirting this year
to recover from a shoulder injury
For many, jobs are hard to find.
Others, like Buchanan, walk right
in to theirs.
, “I gpt recruited,” said Buchanan.
“I was walking around looking for
a, job arid just got offered a posi
tion.”
W hat Buchanan landed was his
first modeling job for Abercrombie
and Fitch, with whom he had his
first shoot.
8 “I had to take pictures with
m y shirt off,” said Buchanan. “It
was interesting. 1 was still nervous
but I knew the photographer so
that made me more comfortable.”
Modeling is something Buchanan
mentioned he would like to con
tinue doing as a career, and it has
influenced the person he is today.
“It makes you more comfort
able and confident with yourself,”
said Buchanan.
Baseball and modeling aside,
public service seems to ru n in
Bucharian’s family, and growing
up, he shared a dream job with
thousands o f other kids.
“It was always between a cop
and firefighter,” said Buchanan,
“but then in high school I decided
that since m y uncle is a firefighter
and m y grandpa is a retired fire
fighter, it is something to continue
doing.” Buchanan is not currently
serving as a firefighter and hasn’t
done any training.- H e has taken
related classes and an E M T class.
To him, firefighting is different
than what he had imagined it to
be.
“I don’t really know what I’m
getting myself into. N ot all fire-
fighters can save everyone’s lives;
so I would have to live with that
if I couldn’t save a life. It would
put a damper on that [jpb],” said
Buchanan, who shared that he
thinks being , a firefighter is admi
rable. ‘Tts good to think about oth
ers before yourself because in class
they’ve been talking about [how]
doing something is better than
nothing in emergency situations.”^
Buchanans story suggests that
anyone can be anything they want
to be, all it takes is a goal and the
motivation to reach it. From base
ball player, to model, to prospective
firefighter, Buchanan has great
potential to reaching his dream.
Jake Buchanan balances m ore'than most, as he is a college baseball
player, a m odelfor Abercrombie a n d Fitch a n d a n aspiring firefighter.
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