Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2017)
Cougars ready to hold down the den STORY BY JACOB THOMPSON hotos by Sam Weston ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Last season Clackamas men’s basketball saw a 17-year streak come to an end when the Cougars failed to secure a spot in the playoffs, ending the season on a three-game losing streak. The team is returning seven of their nine freshman from last year’s squad. Clackamas also returns Young (6.74ppg, 2.37apg, 1.96rpg), sophomore post Austin Rose (3.58ppg, 2.5rpg) and sophomore guard Freddy Vera (2.15ppg, 1.3rpg). The Cougars add a little national and international flavor to this year’s foster with the addition of freshman post Nik Polynice (Los Angeles)^-Solomon “ The end [of last season] was heartbreaking,” said Head Escalante (Kea’au, Hawaii) and Adam Gehrig (Brisbane, Coach Clif Wegner. “It came down to the very last second. Australia).;, We literally had a shot to put Us in the playoffs, and the last The Cougars will be coached by Wegner, who returns for three games were very close and could have gone either way.” his 20th season at the helm. Wegner has over 380 wins at Clackamas Was unable to get the elusive win that would- Clackamas, and has won three NWAC championships (2007, have given them a berth into the postseason in 2016-17, but 2009, 2010), arid has won the Southern Region seven times the Cougars are ready to do whatever it takes to get back to (2001, 03, 07, 09, 11, 14, 15); Wegner will be assisted by start a new streak. ' Associate Head Coach Brian Stamme who has been with “Last year it hurt to not make it,” said sophomore guard, Clackamas for six seasons. Wegner is optimistic about the Nygil Carr. “This year I ’m going to make everyone, including Cougars chance to return to the playoffs. myself, do everything in our will to make it to the playoffs.” “We just need to play together,” said Wegner. “We have Clackamas went 8-8 in conference and 15-13 overall, talent, we have experience, we have good people, arid we’re finishing in fifth in the Southern Region of the NWAC. The two deep at every position. We just need to gel, and do it as a Cougars return a strong core group, which includes last year’s team, and if we’re focused on getting done as a team, I think leading scorer, Carr (18^2 points per game, 4.15 assists per we will be very good.” gàme, and 4.3 rebound^ per game), second best rebounder Clackamas hosts the NWAC Jamboree on Sunday, Nov. sophomore swingman Isaiah Gentry (13,2ppg, 1.96apg, and 6.0 5 at 9 a.m., and the hope is it will be the beginning o f a rpg), and the rejection expert, blocks leader sophomore post, championship season. Shawn Carson Jr. (4.63ppg, 4.69rpg, and 1.2 blocks per game). “We expect to go out and compete every night,” said Wegner. “If we play together we can beat anyone in the NWAC,”? “We look at every game on our schedule as a winnable game, said sophomore guard Briggs Young. “We’ve got the skill with we expect to compete for the Southern Region championship, Nygil [Carr] at the point, me at the two, Isaiah [Gentry] can and we expect to get ourselves into the NWAC tournament, and shoot the bàli really well, and Shawn [Carson Jr.] and Austin we expect to get to the final four.Those are our expectations [Rosé] are doing great down at the post.” and goals, and they’re all realistic for this team/. Austin Rose contests the shot of teammate Solomon Escalante. design by Jared Preble CLACKAMAS COMMUNITY -=== C O LLE G E ’S = - Tl rn r r i xc The Athlete of the Month is chosen based on recommendations from coaches of the current sports season at GCC. The Clackamas Print reached out to coaches of fall sports and asked for nominees based on performance and leadership in the month of October. Freshman forward Eileen Reyna was selected as the October Athlete of the Month. • Leads team in goals, points and shots on goal (9/13/51). • Currently a captain in her first season at Clackamas. • Coach Janine Szpara calls her goals "amazing... while taking on three or four defenders." Clackamas Print theclaGkamasprint.net _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ November 1,2017
