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P R IN T : Sports
Wednesday, Feb.20,2013
Not so 3
lucky
lottery
picks
Wrestling with fate:
Cougars eye Nationals
A.M« /
SPORTS
Andrew Milibrooke
Sports tditoi
The NBA draft lottery has
not been kind to the Portland
Trail Blazer franchise over frie
years. O f course frie firsL ftfo ^ |
that conies to mind is when the
Blazers took Sam Bowie over.
Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. '
Then they did it again by draft
ing another injury plaeued b f e
man (Greg Oden) instead o f the
NBA’s biggest rising star (Kevin
Durant) in 2007.
The Blazers most recent lot-;
tery pick was right on the money,
though, a jackpot winning pick
at the number six spot. Former
Weber State guard Damian
Lillard has virtually sewn up the
NBA rookie o f the \ ear award
hallway through the season.
Lillard has won all three Western
Conference Rookie o f the Month
awards this season and is looking
to join an elite group o f players
that have swept the rookie o f"
the month honors to begin their
careers.
The list o f players that have
swept the Rookie of the Month
voting is short and loaded with
Hall o f Famers and some o f
today’s greatest stars. Lillard-.'
would join H o u sto rg ^ ^ g f e
Sampson, San Antonio’s David
Robinson and Tim D uim S h S s
Cleveland’s LeBron James,
Denver’s Carmelo A nthon5|l
New Orleans’ Chris Paul a n B
the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake
Griffin.
Lillard leads all rookies in
scoring (183), assists (6.5) and
minutes played (38.4) per
this season. He has been a steady '
influence on a short-hand t t g
Blazer team and a major reason
they are still in the playoff hunt. ■
Lillard has shown the ability to
hit the 3-pointer consistently and...
is fearless taking the b aftto S B
basket
Lillard stepped up late in theff
game numerous times and his
game-winning 3-pointer against
New Orleans in mid-December |
will be remembered for a w
time in the Rose Garden. Lillard
has showed some signs o f grow
ing pains, as he leads all rookies
in turnovers per game (3.0), but
to be fair he plays more minutes
and handles the ball more than
any other rookie.
j k
Lillard is getting most o f the
publicity nationally and o f course
locally in most o f the rookie o f
the year discussion, but a few*
other first year playas are prov-
ing to be solid NBA players. ■ . | I
Number one draft pick
Anthony Davis o f New Orleans
has come back from injury to lead
all rookies in rebounding ( ^ .5 ) ,'
steals (12) and blocked shots
(1.9). Davis is also averaging12
points per game, and as Blazer
fans saw last week, his stellar
defense held Portland’s leading
scorer LaMarcus Aldridge to
points on 2 o f 11 shooting in
the Hornets 99-63 win. Davis
finished with 21 points and II
rebounds.
Cleveland’s Dion* Waiters
and Washington’s Bradley Beal,
future stars at the “two-guard”
position, have each earned start
ing spots and shown flashes of
brilliance this season. Waiters is
averaging 14 pointe, 3 2 assists
and 2.5 rebounds in almost 30
minutes per game. Beal is aver
aging 132 points, 3 2 rebounds
and 2.5 assists in a little ova* 30
minutes per game. Both have
shown tremendous athleticism
and the ability to score around
the rim, but each has struggled
with their 3-point shooting so for.
While none o f these play
ers look capable o f beating out
Lillard for Ihe Rookie ofthe Year,
they all have shown 1he ability to
be future stars in the NBA. Let’s
just all be happy that the Blazers
got it right, for once at least
> ||
I ’i« gonnajake
first and I think w
can as a team.”
Jacob Mitchell
No. 2 ränked heavyweight
Trent Noon secures a takedown against Kyle Sweedman to solidify his place at next week’s nationals. Noon and
the rest o f the wrestlers have been working hard this season and have the accomplishments to prove it.
A heat wave originating in
Oregon City will blast east this
week as the Cougar wrestling team
prowls toward another NJCAA
championship title shot. The
NJCAA National wrestling tourna
ment takes place Feb. 22 and 23
at Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition
Center in Des Moines, Iowa. It will
be the biggest challenge o f the year
for eight outstanding Clackamas
team members.
“It’s been an up and down year
for the team, but that’s not a good
indicator for nationals,” said head
coach Josh Rhoden, “I like all our
spots in the brackets.” The Cougars
won the 2011 NJCAA title and fin
season,” said Mitchell, in between
rounds in the mat room last week.
The fearless Cougar looks forward
to the upcoming national competi
tion with optimistic enthusiasm for
himself and teammates.
“I’m going to take first and I
think we can as team,” said Mitchell.
“Me, C.J. and Trent, I think will
be national champs and a lot of
people could place higher or win
it.” Fueling the team fire this season
has been Steve “The Heater’ ’ Conn
in the 184 pound .division.
“Steve was on the heater and
just kept winning,” said Mitchell
o f his teammate’s performance.
Conn won in dramatic fashion at
Pacific University in Forest Grove
last month.
“The match versus Pacific, I was
losing 8 to 2 and I pinned the guy.
The whole team went huts after I
Rhoden is impressed with
Conn’s work ethic and . improve
m ent “Steve Conn has come on
really strong as o f late, he figured
out how to get wins and be success
ful,” said Rhoden. “We could easily
have eight All-Americans this year.”
Speaking o f All-American wres
tlers, Trent Noon, the No. 1 ranked
wrestler at 174 pounds will descend
on the competition Friday. Noon
sets a good example for the team
and team chemistry seems to.be in
good supply at Clackamas.
“During wrestling season it’s just
school and practice,” said Noon.
“Everyone on the team is really
close.”
Wrapping up an impressive
personal wrestling season, Noon
looks forward to nationals with high
hopes.
“My only losses this season were
them.” He sees victory in the cards
•for the team as well.
“We’ll get the win as long as
everyone keeps their heads down
and gets to it,” said Noon.
On Friday the weigh-ins start
at 7:30 a.m. and the first matches
begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue
throughout the day. Saturday the
weigh-ins start at 9:30 a.m., with
competition starting at 10:30 a.m.
and going until awards and final
presentations later in the evening.
The Cougars will have an action
packed weekend and are sure to
stand out among the other teams at
the competition.
The full team this weekend
with weight classes includes: Sage
Ornelas at 125, C.J. Palmer at 133,
Beau Roberts at 149, A.J. Ballard at
157, Trent Noon at 174, Steve Conn
at 184, Jacob Laden at 197*and
ish e d fourth last season.
' “ATWy&rHtiTg We WCflt tw b 'arid'
pin n ed the guy, it w as nice to cel
ebrate as a team ,” said C onn. “T his
to one ju n io r College g u y an d th e
others Were D iv isio n I w restlers,”
Jaco b M itchell a t 285. T h e stacked
sq u ad w ill h e a force to reck o n w ith
three as a team,” said heavyweight
Jacob Mitchell about last month’s
Western Wyoming Duels.
“Last practice is highlight o f the
is my first time going to nationals
in the lineup. I’m hoping to go All-
American. I’m just going to take it
one match at a time.”
said Noon. “I learned and gained
a lot as a wrestler. I plan on taking
it one match at a time. Everyone
has to beat me, I don’t have to beat
this weekend as they are fired up for
victory. A video feed will be avail
able the day o f the event at www.
njcaatv.oig.
David Beasley
Associate Sports Editor
Fitness center: No pain, no gain!
Continued from Page 1
One floor below the gym you’ll
find the weight room, a necessity
for athletes needing a competitive
edge or anyone who wants their
shirts to fit better. A wide variety
o f free weights, weight and car-
dio machines and other miscella
neous fitness doodads are contained
in this room, usually with some
upbeat workout-style music going
strong in the background.
“We work out three times a
week,” said Megan Malvick, a
member o f CCC’s softball team.
“We train every term throughout
the school year.”
Across the hall are the athletic
training and locker rooms, where
students can ease a troubled ankle
or stow their belongings, and if
you’ve forgotten a padlock or a
clean towel, both can be checked
out free o f charge using a student
“I’ve been coining down here
about seven hours a week to do
rehab work on my hamstring,” said
Kael Kealoha-Lindsey, a freshman
on the track team. “I just moved
here from Oahu. I went to small
floor, former home o f the music
department I f you happen to be a
fan o f weekend afternoon karate
movies, there are several different
schools o f martial arts being taught
and practiced in Randall.
And if you aren’t sure o f what
you’d like to do or even what your
schedule is like during the week,
there’s a program for that too. The
cross training program allows stu
dents to design what sort o f work
out works out best for them. These
students log their workout times
into a computer system using their
student ID, and their workouts
can be done on their own time.
So if you’re the type o f person
who makes a point o f feeling that
cleansing day-after soreness on
most mornings, why not earn a few
credits while you’re at it?
Lutheran high school that didn’t
have a weight room. So this is a big
up for me.”
If you’re looking to earn some
credits with your workout, it
shouldn’t be hard to find a class in
Randall that tickles your fancy. If
you’ve signed up for a swing danc
ing class, you’re probably familiar
with the dance room on the second
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Ingrid Bergmann and Taylor Ballard prepare for pole vaulting for the up
coming track season in the Randall’s fitness center open to all students.