Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2015)
PAGE 12, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 16, 2015 KEIZERTIMES.COM Mat men make most of shots at Don York By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes In a busy week for the Mc- Nary High School wrestling team, the Celtics showed no signs of slowing down. The brightest spots in a week of good news for Mc- Nary were a number of con- fi dence-boosting placements at the annual Don York Invi- tational. “The biggest thing is I came out of it believing in myself more,” said Sean Bur- rows, who took second at the tournament. “I used to have a big issue with kids who are a lot stronger because they are built differently, but I can overcome it.” Burrows pinned his way to the semifi nals where he drew Cleveland High School’s Jun- pei Hunt, an opponent he’d been keeping track of. “We were pretty close in skill level and we worked each other pretty hard the entire match. We were both dog tired at the end,” said Burrows, who won in a 17-9 major decision. Burrows fell to Centen- nial’s Tyler Wagner 14-6 in the fi rst place match. Junior Joey Kibbey made it his mission to get to the fi nals match this year after falling short of his own expectations KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Left: Celt Joey Kibbey gets a near-fall in his match with McKay’s Shane Tennis. Above: Sophomore Carlos Vincent narrowly avoids a shot by Bryce Clifton. as a freshman and sophomore. “I was real close both years, but I went in this time saying I’m going to the fi nals,” said Kibbey. That’s precisely what he did. Two wins on points and two byes got him to the fi nals where he faced Forest Grove high School’s Lucas Higgin- botham. “I got a bit nervous head- ing into the match and I did okay in the fi rst round, but he’s pure muscle and turned me in an arm bar in the sec- ond round,” Kibbey said. He took second place af- ter getting pinned in the fi nal seconds of the round. Taran Purkey was the team’s other second place fi n- isher. Senior Alvarro Venegas continued his 22-0 romp over, under, around and through all comers to take fi rst for the Celts at 195 pounds. He led a stacked decked of top fi nishers for the Celtics at Don York. McNary also posted a number of third place fi nish- ers including Riley Repp, Jor- dan Cagle and Carlos Vincent. Vincent found himself in an interesting situation. Two wins put him in the quarter- fi nals against Ryan Steen of Pendleton High School, but Steen won in a major decision that put him out of competi- tion for the fi nals. However, Vincent wrestled his way back from the consolation brackets to face Steen again for third place. “I knew he was a tough, hard-headed dude. I usually try to be pretty explosive and try to intimidate the other guy, but he wasn’t having it,” Please see YORK, Page 13 Boys move forward with mark on backs Photo courtesy J&H Photo Lady Celt Vanessa Hayes puts up a shot under heavy coverage in the girls varsity basketball game with Sprague High School Friday, Jan. 9. Girls fall to Saxons, trounce Olys By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes McNary High School’s girls varsity basket- ball team won one and lost one last week, both by wide margins. The Lady Celts (3-2 in the Greater Valley Conference) lost to South Salem High School 63-32 Tuesday, Jan. 6, and thumped Sprague High School 68-12 three days later. In regard to the South game, Head Coach Derick Handley said the tone was set early on. “Their game plan was to jump on us and put us down early and that’s what they did,” Handley said. The Keizer team was down 17-2 after the fi rst frame. Even though McNary outscored the Saxons 14-13 in the second period, it was already too little too late. “We did a good job of breaking their press, but the rebounding killed us that game,” said McNary’s Sydney Hunter, who had seven points against the Saxons. “We went in with a good mindset, but we got nervous right away.” Junior Madi Hingston put up more than a third of the Celtics’ points with 12; Kaelie Flores had seven; and Kailey Doutt put in six. “It was really a matter of them capitalizing on every transition and that hurt our confi - dence,” Hingston said. “When we got out in the game with Sprague on Friday, I think we took out a lot of aggression on them.” Despite the lopsided 68-12 score, Handley thought the team was capable of more in the fi rst half against the Olys. “We had a lot of communication break- Please see GIRLS, Page 13 By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes The McNary High School boys varsity basketball team went from predator to prey now that the team is leading the Greater Valley Conference. “It’s a great position to be in but new for us and a new learning experience for our guys,” said Ryan Kirch, Mc- Nary head coach. “We went into the South Salem game confi dent, not arrogant, and trusted our game plan.” McNary soared to the top of the GVC with a 67-60 win over South Salem High School Tuesday, Jan. 6. However, the win ups the ante for every game going forward. “We need to know that ev- ery team is coming for us and we need everyone’s best game,” said junior Harry Cavell, who went 6 for 6 at the free throw line, in the fi nal minute of the game with the Saxons, to help McNary pull away. Cavell put in 17 points in the game overall, but the Celts were led by senior Tregg Peter- son who poured in 26 points against the Saxons. McNary took a lead it never relinquished in the second frame against the Saxons, but were under fi re for most of the second half. “South scores so quickly, but we were able to slow things down and create some great mismatches with Tregg, Harry and Devon (Dunagan) out on the court,” Kirch said. It was the fi rst time McNary beat the Saxons since before Dunagan, a senior, joined the program as a freshman, and he’s well aware of the mark Mc- Nary now has on its back. “From here on out, teams don’t have much to lose by leaving everything on the court against us. We’ll be expected to win and there’s more pressure on our shoulders because of it,” Dunagan said. In the wake of the big win, KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald McNary’s Drew McHugh leaps up for a lay-in in the Celts’ game with South Salem High School Tuesday, Jan. 13. Kirch had hoped to see the team reach the same level of preparation and focus against Sprague High School Friday, Jan. 9. The result was middling, he said. “It took us 18 minutes to start playing with intensity on defense,” Kirch said. By the end of the fi rst frame, McNary led 19-15 and out- scored the Olys 21-18 in the second quarter. But the differ- ence in the Celtic defense be- came glaringly obvious in the second half. The Celts put in 39 points to the Olys’ 14. The Celtics won 79-47. “We got the stops in the second half and rattled them because they are a young team and, then, we just went and scored,” said Dunagan, who went 8 of 8 from the fi eld. Peterson, who is averaging more than 16 points per game, led the team with 21; Duna- gan had 18; Trent Van Cleave had 15; Cavell had 12; Mathew Ismay had eight points; Cole Thomas and Wyatt Grine had two each and Jason Sperle hit one from the foul line. The biggest challenge for the team in the weeks ahead will likely be in its ability to keep an even keel. “We have to get ready for every opponent no matter who it is,” said Cavell.
