2
SANDY
(P ro .) POST Thor»., Jon 3
j)
1979/Triumphs
and frustrations
by M A R K ELO YD
Tlie year 1979 w ill be remembered by
m any as a frustrating time. But 1979
also ranks as one of the most successful
years of late for many local sports
figures.
As usual, the athletic programs at
Sandy High School dominated the
a re a ’s sports interest The Sandy ski
team gained state-wide acclaim by
winning the state championship for the
second consecutive year The Pioneers
were led by E rik Pearson, a junior who
captured the state individual combined
championship A ll members of that
state championship team are back this
season aiming for a third straight title.
Sandy also got its highest finish ever
in an Oregon Scholastic Activities
Association-sanctioned sport when the
girls volleyball team took second in the
state. The Pioneers also captured a
district title for the second year in a
A second place state finish went to
another local group, the Sandy Midget
Federal baseball team. The 9-10-year-
olds made it all the way to the state
finals before bowing to Canby 8-4 this
summer.
Much of the success locally was
centered in girls sports. In addition to
the volleyball team, Sandy High had a
number of powerful girls teams. The
girls swimming team won the district
title with a freshmen and sophomore-
oriented lineup. Freshman G ayle Roth
went on to take fourth place in the state
50-yard freestyle.
Also winning a district title was the
SUHS girls cross country team. The
Pioneers, again led by the versatile
Roth who placed second at district,
annihilated the field and earned a trip
to the state meet There Sandy faltered
a bit, but still finished 12th, the highest
state finish ever for a Sandy cross
country team.
The success of the Sandy swimm ers
was repeated in w ater polo. The
Pioneer girls took third in a state in
vitational tournament and the boys took
fifth in the state.
A
n um ber
of
in d iv id u a ls
distinguished themselves during the
course of the year. Sandy H ig h ’s Rayth
Buswell (168) and B ill Blackford (157)
placed second in the state Class AAA
wrestling meet. Buswell went on to
earn a spot on the Oregon Cultural
Exchange team which wrestled in Ita ly
this summer.
A freshman named Kathie George
sparked new interest in gymnastics this
year. Competing in a 15-team district,
the freshman ace placed third in all-
around competition and went on to
state.
Kevin Peterson became the third
m em ber of his fam ily to be named to
the prestigious A ll-Star Shrine Game
team . Peterson, playing defensive back
in the August grid classic, helped the
North to a 17-14 win over the South All-
Stars
As good as 1979 was for those people,
it wasn't the best of years for others.
The Sandy High basketball program
suffered through a painful season—the
girls finished with just one win and the
boys picked up six.
But that wasn’t as bad as the Pioneer
soccer team.
W ith a
youthful
and
K evin
P eterson
(to p )
placed fifth In the state
tong jum p competition for
Sandy High this spring.
Also making a name at
state was the Sandy bovs
water polo team. Bret
Crane (center > heads a fast
break for the Pioneers who
‘ ‘»ok fifth in the state
Things haven’t been so
rosy for Sandy’s basketball
program and Dawn New
(left) shows the frustration
of what happens when your
opponents are quicker than
you are. But speed and
quickness
w ere
most
evident in the Sandy ski
‘ earn, as David Antis (fa r
left) helped the Pioneers
‘ ake first in the state.