PAGE 14, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 30, 2015
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Montano turns up
heat on Grizzlies
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School
sophomore Jaylene Montano
ignited second-half scoring vs.
McMinnville High School in a
varsity basketball game Friday,
Jan. 23.
Montano replaced senior
Jasmine Ernest who got into
foul trouble in the fi rst half,
then drained a trio of three-
pointers and 3 of 4 from the
fi eld to lead Celtic scoring
with 16 points in a 47-29 win.
“Once that fi rst shot (a
three pointer) went in, my
confi dence went up. From
there it was a matter of try-
ing to get out in the open and
making sure we ran through
our plays aggressively,” Mon-
tano said.
It was the fourth consecu-
tive win for McNary, and came
as the team was about to begin
the second round robin of the
Greater Valley Conference.
The Lady Celts had to
wrest back the lead in the
game against the Grizzlies in
the latter half of the fi rst pe-
riod on a basket by Kailey
Doutt. The bucket put Mc-
Nary up 6-4.
“We started the games get-
ting good looks, but shots
we’d been making just weren’t
falling. We were trying some
new things in our defense that
weren’t quite working, but our
man-to-man and half-court
defense was just outstanding,”
said Derick Handley, McNary
head coach. “Luckily, it was
one of those games where the
defense kept us in it while the
offense warmed up.”
By the half, the Lady Celts
were maintaing a slim, 15-11,
lead.
“For the fi rst half, it was
mostly trying to fi gure out
how they play and they were
aggressive. We were a little
thrown off by that. When we
came back out we knew a bit
more about what they were
going to do and adapted to it,”
said Kaelie Flores, a McNary
junior.
McNary, powered by Mon-
tano, stretched the McNary
Submitted
The McNary girls bowling team: Sierra Mo, KayLynn Hatfi eld, Brittney Kiser, Hannah Russell and
Aneeka Stephen.
Lady Celts bowlers win district
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
McNary’s Vanessa Hayes puts up a block in the game with the
McMinnville High School Grizzlies Friday, Jan. 23.
lead in the third period. A six-
point run by Ernest helped
seal the win in the fi nal min-
utes.
Madi Hingston had 10
points in the outing; Doutt
and Sydney Hunter had six
apiece; Lauren Hudgins had
two.
“We’ve been playing a lot
better lately. They’re getting
comfortable with new coach-
es and they are getting more
comfortable with each other,”
Handley said. “What I’m hop-
ing is to see that confi dence
continue as we come to the
second half of the season.”
Flores said better commu-
nication and cohesive team-
work were at the top of her
wish list for the coming weeks.
Consistent effort and not
letting other teams slow Mc-
Nary’s momentum would be
key, said Montano.
“We always need to try our
best in every game – even if
we’re behind – because we
don’t know what will happen
if we do that,” she said.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
After leading for most of
the day at the district bowl-
ing tournament, the McNary
High School girls bowling
team hit its fi rst snafu in the
fi rst game of the fi nals match.
“The whole day had been
going really well. We were
300 points ahead of the sec-
ond place team most of the
day, and 500 points ahead
of the last-place team,” said
Lady Celt Hannah Russell.
It wasn’t until the Lady
Celts had to sit out for a
game while the second and
third place teams competed
that the girls began to lose a
bit of steam.
“All we could do was sit
and wait, and I think that’s
what got into our heads,” said
McNary’s Sierra Mo.
The Celtics fi nished two
pins behind McKay High
School, 168-166, in their fi rst
fi nals game, but stormed back
to take the district champi-
onship with a score of 183-
135 in the second game.
“We didn’t have as many
strikes as we wanted, but
spares make the game,” said
senior KayLynn Hatfi eld.
Junior Brittney Kiser said to the state competition Feb-
the team spirit is what car- ruary 21 and 22. That com-
ried them through to the big petition will be held at Sa-
fi nale.
lem’s Firebird Lanes.
“In past years, we’ve al-
Head Coach Kathy Ka-
ways had moments where we plan said the team “went
got down on each other. This above and beyond” at the
time, we were just believing district tournament.
in each other all day long. I
“In practice, we had some
don’t know when we’ll have low scores of around 100, but
the
chance
I told them
to do some-
they need to
thing like that
be
aggres-
again,” Kiser
sive and prac-
said. “In the
tice like they
three district
would need
tour naments
to play at the
I’ve been to,
district tour-
this one felt
nament. In the
the best.”
district com-
— Brittney Kiser petition, their
The boys
fi nished third
low game was
in a fi eld
a 134 and their
of tough competition, but high was a 214,” Kaplan said.
overall the Celts posted fi ve
She added that having Ste-
All-Star bowlers who will phen practice with the team
get to compete in another while she was still in middle
tournament in March. For school was a huge boon.
the boys, Scott Bridger and
“I would love to have
Nick Blythe earned All-Star more middle schoolers come
status. Hatfi eld, Russell and out and bowl with us during
Mo all qualifi ed out of the practices. It gets them used to
girls team.
the style of bowling we do
Kiser and freshman An- and it was a huge advantage
eeka Stephen are hoping to this year when Aneeka could
qualify when the girls head join the team,” Kaplan said.
“We were just
believing in
each other all
day long.”
KYBA Celts on a roll
Mat men settle
for little victories
at Reser tourney
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary High School
wrestlers traveled to Cor-
vallis for the annual Reser
Tournament of Champions
last weekend. They expected
tough competition, but maybe
not quite as tough as they en-
countered.
“It’s the toughest tourna-
ment we wrestle all season
long. Any match you want
to win is going to be close,”
said Jason Ebbs, McNary head
coach.
Overall, McNary had one
wrestler win his weight class
in junior varsity brackets, one
take third in varsity and one
take sixth in varsity.
Jonathon Phelps took
fi rst in the 132 junior var-
sity bracket, but his toughest
match wasn’t the fi nal.
Jonathon faced Sandy High
School’s Jonathan Morrell in
the semifi nals, a wrestler he’d
lost to earlier this season. This
time, he was determined to
reach a different outcome.
“I was more of the ag-
gressor and took him down.
When I got on top, I rode him
and just kept putting bars and
half-nelsons on him to show
him who was in control of the
match,” Jonathon said.
He was so tired at the end
of the third round, 9-4 vic-
tory that he took a nap before
heading back to the fi rst place
match against Eagle Point’s
Conor Goines. Jonathon won
4-1.
“He was tough and I could
have done better, but I was
wiped out,” he said.
Senior Alvarro Venegas,
who wrestles at 195 pounds,
took his fi rst loss of the sea-
son at Reser against Crook
County High School’s Gun-
nar Robirts.
“I went out there and I
was scared and he was really
good and really big. I brushed
off the fi rst shot he took on
me easily, but I could feel his
strength and it kind of got into
my head,” Venegas said. “He
Please see WRESTLE, Page 14
Submitted
Back row: Kalea Salang, Brianna Anaya, Trinity Phipps, Bailey Hittner, Hailey Ostby, Anaya Coronado and Loren Elmore. Front row:
Julie Dieker, Abby Hawley, Anita Lao, Chloe Campbell and Grace Brown.
The eighth grade Keizer Celts girls, rep-
resenting Keizer Youth Basketball Associa-
tion, started their tournament season 12-0.
Those wins include three fi rst place
tournament trophies, most recently one
from the Sisters Shootout, January 17 and
18. Coached by Ron Hittner and Jeff Hai-
ley since the girls fi fth grade season, the
Lady Celts are showing their growth this
season. The team’s full court press in the fi -
nal game on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Sisters
Shootout, proved extremely effective.