Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Page A-3
Sports
IVHS readies to make history
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
Calling all track and field fans, May 6 marks the first
official meet at the new all-weather track at I.V. High School.
Coach Paul Jackson is looking for about 60 volunteers to help
with the inaugural event.
“There’s a lot going on all at the same time during a
track meet,” Jackson said in a telephone interview, “You can
turn your head in any direction and see events taking place. A
track meet takes a tremendous amount of volunteers to help
with anything from raking sand between jumpers or measuring
distances to just sitting in the shade as a timer or back up timer.
Even kids can help by carrying information to the announcers
or handing out bottles of water. It’s a fun activity for the whole
family.”
For example, with only six lanes on the track, running
events will require many heats, one right after another, starting
with the slowest competitors and ending with the fastest.
“I’d love for this track meet to be an annual event that the
community can become a part of,” Jackson said. “Who knows
how far this can go? If we have donations come in annually, we
can hire more coaches and this program could become a better
program.”
“Right now, we only have two coaches, but we really
need more specialized coaches for events, nutrition and body
mechanics. We want to get these athletes in the training room,
but they have to be supervised.”
Jackson asked that those interested in volunteering for
the meet or donating toward expenses call athletic secretary
Heather Merrill at 541-592-2116. The meet starts at 4:30 p.m.
Volunteers will need to be there half an hour to an hour early.
Since the new facility was officially opened June 4, 2014,
this is only the second season I.V. athletes have been able to use
the improved track.
Jackson thanked the community for investing in the
facility and praised former coach Todd Kaberline. “He was
instrumental in raising funds and very active in letting people
know what our needs were,” Jackson said. “Everything is
finally complete and that’s pretty exciting.”
Cave Junction city recorder and IVHS Alumni board
member Ryan Nolan shares Jackson’s enthusiasm and gratitude.
In an email to Illinois Valley News he stated, “After five years
of fundraising and help from many people, including those in
the Illinois Valley, the entire area of Josephine County, and
many from far away, we look forward to the first track meet
held at this great new track.”
“The Illinois Valley Booster Club, all of the Josephine
County Rotary Clubs, and the Josephine County Educational
Fund (JCEF) were key players in getting this project completed.
Thanks are due to the whole community for helping provide an
even playing field for our local kids. This is a great example of
how people across our county worked together to accomplish a
great thing.”
Multiple building and renovation projects over the past
10 years include a press box, new sound system, and the
all-weather track. The total cost of these projects was about
$200,000.
Until a few years ago, the track was only dirt, later
upgraded to asphalt. The rubberized surface was a recent
addition and team members helped pour the pads for discus and
shot put.
“Track and field is expensive,” Jackson said. “We just
had to spend $3,200 on hurdles. Each year we’ll make some
purchases. For example, the pads the athletes fall on in the
pole vault have to be replaced after 10 years, max. We need
donations for supplies.”
“We live in the poorest part of the poorest county in
Oregon and I just spent $3,700 for warm-ups. We’ve got 45
athletes who all want to come out and have fun, but we’ve
only got 40 uniforms, so some of them will have to wear old
uniforms.”
Jackson is hoping to recoup some of the expenses by
selling ads in the meet programs and also selling refreshments.
As of press time, he was looking for donations and volunteers
to cook and sell barbeque. He’s also planning for an awards
celebration at the end of the year and is seeking donations for
those expenses as well.
“These are great opportunities for community
involvement and to help boost Cougar Pride,” he said.
(Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
Members of the IVHS track team goof-off after
team photos Thursday, March 31.
Cougar track heats up classic
Ray Brown
Contributing Writer
The IVHS Cougar track team arrived at
the Crater Classic April 16 ready to compete.
The distance duo of Evan Vallot and Tyler
Blind eclipsed their personal records again in
the 3,000 meter run and Vallot bested again in
the 1,500 meter run. Halona Jackson ran her
best time in awhile in the 100 meter dash to
take third place in a very strong field.
Other good showings were by Jacob
Bafia in sprints; Roza Jonas, 800 meters; and
Austin Young who made the finals in discus.
According to head coach Paul Jackson
the Crater Classic is a high level competition
where just placing high in the event is an
accomplishment.
April 19 the JV team went to Douglas.
Cullen Beery set the tone with a personal
record and good showing in the 100 meter
dash. The 4x100 relay team of Cynthia Burns,
Lilly Pyle, Taylor Hammers and Tessa Turner
ran a great race and placed second among
many teams. Turner added to her great day
with a fantastic run in the 100 meter hurdles
and a nice long jump. Also competing in the
long jump were Meron Jonas and Hammers,
both setting personal records. Alyssa Lewin
tossed the javelin well for ninth place out of 30
throwers. Dean Hearn had very good results
in both the long jump and triple jump. Pepe
Mendoza threw the javelin 134 feet-3 inches
for fifth place out of 51 throwers.
After a long dry spell, Rowdy Bates got
that monkey off his back and threw the shot
nearly 32 feet for a personal best. Rumor has
it that the heat had something to do with the
throw.
The team travelled to Klamath Falls April
23 to the prestigious Lithia Invitational where
teams from three states gathered and the results
will be in next week’s paper. (Here’s a clue:
who do you think won the girls’ 100 meter
dash out of 50 high level competitors and what
small southwestern Oregon town does she
represent every time she steps onto the track?
The answer will be in detail next week.)
HECK YES!
FOR COMMISSIONER
MY GOALS:
To honor God in all that I
do and say.
To treat people with dignity
and respect.
To continue to address with
confidence the many difficult
issues facing our County.
To remember that I am not
a shill for any individual, po-
litical party or community
organization.
To work hard to increase
the involvement citizens to
vote and become involved in
our county’s affairs.
To support that which
makes any society a success:
a strong and innovative busi-
ness community tempered
with compassion that sees
individuals not as specimens
of societal experiments but
as fellow humans of worth
and value.
Thank You for making the time to vote for me,
KEITH HECK for Commissioner
Position Two.
Heck Yes for Commissioner, PO Box 216, Grants Pass
OR 97528.
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