PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 27, 2015
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Keizer teen brings
home heavy metal
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Marcus McCoy, a freshman goalkeeper on the McNary High School lacrosse team, takes part in
a drill during practices Thursday, March 19.
LAX won’t settle for
less than league title
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The fi rst varsity game for
the McNary High School la-
crosse team was a barnburner
Wednesday, March 18.
“With two minutes left in
the game and a two-goal lead,
we tried unsuccessfully to kill
the clock. We had a couple
turnovers and a penalty allow-
ing Newberg High School to
tie the game 8-8 with 35 sec-
onds left. We managed to get
three shots off in the fi nal 35
seconds of regulation, but none
of them made it into the net,”
said Ryan Bowlby, McNary
head coach.
After two overtimes, Mc-
Nary won 9-8.
“Me and Beard (Jeremy Wil-
liams) double-teamed their last
guy to get the ball back, then
I got tunnel vision,” said senior
Cade Christensen.
Christensen picked up the
ground ball, ran the full length
of the fi eld behind the New-
berg’s goal. He evaded a double
team behind goal and managed
to dive into a second double
team four yards in front of goal.
“Cade took a one-handed,
left-hand shot that fl icked into
the back on the net for the
game-winning goal with 35
seconds left,” Bowlby said.
Lacrosse, which is run as a
club sport for the Celtics, com-
bines physicality of football
with the fi nesse of soccer and
the strategy of basketball.
While the game made for
amplifi ed excitement, Bowlby
knew the team was capable of
more.
“Statistically we dominated
Newberg, we just did not score
effi ciently. We are very young at
the midfi eld with three fresh-
man, one sophomore and two
seniors,” Bowlby said. “All four
of the underclassmen overcome
the lack of game experience by
being great athletes.”
David Gonzalez led the team
with three goals against New-
berg, Christensen and Camer-
on Engle had two each, Mike
Phelps and Tanner Hughes put
in one each.
Last season, McNary took
second in the league, but Wil-
liams, a senior, wants the team
to go one better this year.
“I have the highest hopes for
us. I want to win league, I want
that set in stone as the goal, and
my parting gift for the team,”
Williams said.
If they manage a league title,
this year’s team will be the fi rst
lacrosse team to hang a ban-
ner on the wall of the McNary
gymnasium.
Williams has seen the pro-
gram grow rapidly. As a fresh-
man, there were players swing-
ing between junior varsity
and varsity on the same night
because the squad lacked num-
bers. This year, McNary can fi ll
the rosters for varsity and junior
varsity teams.
“It’s been fun to get better as
a team as a family. Every person
on this team is a friend,” Wil-
liams said.
The team has grown as a
direct result of current players
enlisting friends and, in some
cases, family. This year, Williams’
younger brother is on the team.
“We’ve got wrestlers and
basketball players coming out.
It’s the perfect sport for football
linemen. We’re breeding success
and that builds confi dence in
parents letting their kids come
out for the team,” Bowlby said.
While all of the pieces are
coming together, Christensen
said the team will need to work
to reach its goals by season’s
end.
“We need to tighten our of-
fense up a bit. Our defense did
pretty well in the fi rst game and
it will keep getting better,” he
said.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Tony Castaneda, 13, with some of his recent awards including a belt from the Rumble in Reno and
a plaque designating him as state champion.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
When Tony Castaneda made the choice to
pursue wrestling instead of soccer, his father
was a bit disappointed.
“Soccer was my sport and I felt like I had
a lot I could teach him,” said Richard, Tony’s
father.
As of this month, there is little doubt Tony
made the right decision. On March 14, the
13-year-old won the Oregon Middle School
State Tournament. In February, he took second
in the OWA Kids State Folksyle Tournament
and won the Rumble in Reno Feb. 28.
The Rumble earned him the biggest prize, a
pro-wrestling-style belt.
“I went up to the table fi guring I’d get a
trophy and they handed me a belt. It was really
cool,” said Tony, an 102-pounder.
The match that won Tony the belt was ac-
tually a rematch with Nevada’s Beau Chacon.
Beau had beaten Tony for third place in the
same tournament last year.
“I knew I could do it last year, but the
coaches got into it and there was a lot of that
going on,” Tony said. “This year, we were 5-5
in the third round and he is really good at es-
caping. I did a roll and caught him with a near-
fall that put me ahead.”
He won the match – and the title – 10-5.
A little over a week later, Tony took second
in the Kids State Folkstyle and then won the
state title at 102 pounds March 7.
In the state tournament, Tony won his fi rst
match by pin in 49 seconds, his second match
in a 6-0 decision, a third match in an 8-2 deci-
sion, and the title with a 4-2 decision.
However, he bristles at the notion of “win-
ning his way” through a tournament.
“There was no easy match. Every kid at a
tournament is tough,” he said.
Please see WRESTLER, Page A10
Lady Celts start 3-1
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School’s
girls varsity softball team is
off to a roaring start for the
second time in two years.
The girls are 3-1 after four
preseason contests.
The Lady Celts started the
season with a 12-0 win over
Grant High School Monday,
March 16. McNary already
had a 5-0 lead when it un-
leashed a seven-run sixth in-
ning on the Generals.
Senior Megan Ulrey
pitched a complete game al-
lowing one hit with seven
strikeouts. At the plate, Kiana
Villarreal went 3-for-4 with
a double, a triple, four RBIs
and two runs scored. Madi-
son Oliver also had a triple in
the outing.
Two days later, the Keizer
team edged Silverton High
School’s Lady Foxes 1-0.
McNary’s only run came in
the sixth inning when Emma
Kinler brought home Ulrey
on a single. McNary stranded
eight runners in the game.
On Friday, March 20,
the Celtics beat Jesuit High
School 3-2 in a steady rain.
Jesuit rallied for two runs in
the sixth inning, but couldn’t
overcome the Celtics’ 3-0
lead.
Kinsey McNaught was the
only batter with more than
one hit and went 2-for-3.
Villarreal had a double.
McNary’s fi rst loss came
Monday, March 23, to West
Linn High School, but it
wasn’t for lack of offense. The
fi nal score was 15-14 Lions.
After the Celts ran up a
4-0 lead in the fi rst inning,
West Linn went ahead 6-4 in
the third. By the sixth inning,
the Lions were up 15-7. Mc-
Nary scored four runs in the
bottom of the sixth and fi ve
in the seventh, but fell just
short of knotting it up.
Villarreal went 3-for-5
at the dish including two
home runs and four RBIs.
Oliver, Villarreal, Ulrey, Han-
nah Carr, Nicole Duran and
Emma Kinler all had doubles.
Oliver led the team with fi ve
RBIs and also had a home
run.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Haley Ebner makes a throw to fi rst base in the Lady Celts’ softball game with Jesuit High School
Friday, March 20. The Lady Celts won 3-2.