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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2015)
PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 15, 2015 The Athlete’s Best Friend …is their Chiropractor. Meet Dr. Andrew Isaksen Quality Chiropractic for the Whole Family CALL TODAY 503 -391- 9112 Come see how we can improve your level of peformance! 1797 Lansing Ave NE, Salem • www.nwfamilychiro.net KEIZERTIMES.COM MHS teacher turning pro in body-sculpting By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Five years ago, Anna Ko- fron’s son’s fi rst reaction when his mother told him she was thinking about competing in physique competitions was one of disbelief. “But, Mom,” he said. “You’re so shy.” That moment sealed the deal for Kofron. It’s a good thing, too. Last month, Kofron won the master’s and overall physique title at the Washing- ton State Natural Emerald City Pro Am. “I wanted to win the mas- ter’s class, and when they called my name it felt really good. Winning the overall was in- credible,” Kofron, 51, said. The win also means she’s qualifi ed to compete among the professional ranks of body builders and fi gure contestants. Kofron is a teacher in the de- velopmental learning center at McNary High School and lives in Salem. Make no mistake, Kofron is still shy. She speaks in a voice only a few decibels above a whisper, but once she begins her passion for the sport carries her through. “I love lifting. I never thought about it before, but when I saw my body change I really got into it,” she said. Kofron was urged to give fi gure competitions a shot at the urging of personal trainer Corey Ahrens, but a meeting with suit designer Angel Sauc- ier helped. “After talking with my son, the next time (Corey) ap- proached me he invited me to the posing practice the next day,” Kofron said. Up to that point, Kofron had batted away Ahrens attempts to get her in- volved in the sport. “It’s because of (Corey and Angel) that I look at bodybuilding as an art.” Unlike traditional body- building where competitors vie to lift the most weight in moments of explosive power, fi gure competitions focus more on body-sculpting. Preparation KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Above: Nadia Witt hits a triple in the game with Forest Grove High School Friday, May 8. Below: Megan Ulrey makes a throw to fi rst for an out. Lady Celts on six-game streak Submitted McNary High School teacher Anna Kofron recently won the State Natural Emerald City Pro Am, qualifying her to compete at the pro level in body-building competitions. for competition involves more repetition than heavy weights. In her fi rst competition, she placed second and has been racking up fi rst- and second- place accolades each year since she began. She competes about twice a year. “It’s lots of discipline and focus and not skipping meals. I don’t eat a lot differently, but I had to start eating more. When you want to build, the body needs something to build with,” she said. Kofron said she’s grate- ful for co-workers who put up with her “crazy” eating sched- ule. Kofron frequents the natu- ral physique circuit meaning tests for use of controlled and enhancing substances. She had to pass a polygraph test to com- pete in the Emerald City Pro Am. While the training has paid off in terms of fi tness, Kofron is more grateful for the other ways it has improved her life. “I’ve learned about myself, about my body and it’s helped me overcome my shyness. I’ve built confi dence and learned age doesn’t matter. I can place fi rst or last, but as long as I am happy with my body, that’s what matters,” she said. She plans on competing in one or two more competitions between now and next August when she’ll tackle her biggest challenge yet: the 2016 WNBF Pro World Championship in Atlantic City. By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes The McNary High School girls varsity softball team is on a six-game win streak after beat- ing two opponents by a total of 45-1 last week. The Lady Celts took down McKay High School’s Royal Scots 35-1 in a game Tuesday, May 5. “In that game we were working on slapping and just getting the ball in play. We defi - nitely had their infi eld moving,” said Celt senior Kiana Villarreal. “Our hitting has gotten a lot better, and we’re hitting for our team and not just ourselves.” The offensive onslaught continued in a 10-0 win over Forest Grove High School Fri- day, May 8. “Our energy built off their errors and our base running was really good. All of our hits were in clutch,” said sophomore Hannah Carr. Villarreal said the team made it a goal to be the fi rst one on the board, and the Celts did just that with one run in the second before scoring nine in the third. Freshman Nadia Witt hit a triple with bases loaded, but twisted an ankle rounding sec- ond. It was her only hit of the game in three at-bats, but she also scored a run for McNary. Kinsey McNaught, Madisen Oliver and Villarreal both went 2-for-3 at the dish. Villarreal and Ito both had doubles. Megan Ulrey pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits and one walk with two strikeouts. Due in no small part to re- cent games, McNary now leads the entire 6A OSAA classifi ca- tion in offense with 237 runs. Their closest competition for the lead is West Salem with 203. As league play wraps up, the stakes for the Celtics were high this week. The team was slated to play South Salem High School Thursday, May 14, and the GVC-leading Sprague High School Olympians Friday, May 15. A game with McMin- nville High School preceded the two Wednesday, May 13. Both South and Sprague beat the Celts in the fi rst round-robin of the conference, but the games were close and Carr felt the team has come to- gether more since that time. “We don’t give up anymore like we did sometimes earlier in the season, our communication in the dugout and on the fi eld is better, and we’re just a stronger team overall now,” Carr said. Doubles team takes top Big games have GVC seed in tennis tourney By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes McNary High School’s best chances in the Greater Valley Conference district meet are riding on two of the girls’ doubles teams. Senior Sandy Childress and her freshman sister, Hannah, will enter the tournament as the fi rst seeded team. Mc- Nary’s No. 2 doubles, Ariana Neads and Sami Trowbridge, go to the tournament seeded fi fth. “We don’t have any seeded players in singles,” said Der- ick Handley, McNary assistant coach. “Despite that, I think we’ve got some good draws that, if things go our way, we might have some surprises.” The tournament began with pigtail rounds Thursday, May 14 and continues Friday and Saturday at Salem Tennis and Swim Center. Handley was also hope- ful for the doubles team of Rachel Morrow and Ami Chikatsu. While the pair have only been playing together the past couple of weeks, he said the improvement with each match has been impres- sive. Neads, who went to the state tournament with Trow- bridge last year, said the dis- trict competition is going to be even tougher this time around. “Going into it, we just want some good competition. The competition last year isn’t as high as it is this year and we’ll have to push hard,” she said. She hopes lessons gleaned from the trip to the state tournament last year will pay off in the district meet. “Placement is a big thing for us. We played timid and didn’t make the shots that we usually make. We need to do better in that this time around,” Neads said. In the Lady Celts’ most recent matches, the team lost to McMinnville High School 6-2 Thursday, May 7. Sandy Childress and Cambria Rush- ton got a win with set scores of 7-5 and 6-4. Morrow and Chikatsu won in sets of 6-4 and 6-2. Two days prior, the team swept North Salem High School 6-0. In singles, Sandy Childress won in sets of 6-0 and 6-1; Hannah Childress won in sets of 6-1 and 6-0; Krissy Kelty won in three sets, 1-6, 6-4 and 7-5; Katherine Patterson won in sets of 7-6(8-6) and 6-2. In doubles, Trowbridge and Neads took a win in sets of 6-0 and 6-1; Morrow and Chikatsu won in consecutive 6-0 sets; Taslima Sidhu and Hannah Kannier won in 6-2 and 6-1 sets; and Blanca Te- peque and Tayler Rains won in three sets, 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4. In boys tennis, the Celtics were blanked by McMinnville 8-0, but Roman Kuklicka picked up a win in the North Salem match with consecu- tive sets of 6-0. The Vikings took the overall win 7-1. baseball title on line By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes If McNary High School’s varsity baseball team truly wants the Greater Valley Con- ference title, the team had to hit on all cylinders in games with South Salem and Mc- Minnville high schools past press time. The Grizzlies caught up with the Celtics after making up a game cancelled due to weather and the two teams are tied for for fi rst place. South dealt McNary an 11-3 loss in the teams’ fi rst meeting of the season. “To beat McMinnville on their fi eld, we’ll have to play our best game of the season. They have one of the best pitchers in the league with David Brosius. He’s tough on the hill and he’s a 6-foot-4 southpaw,” said Larry Keeker, McNary head coach. “They’re not going to give us anything. KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald McNary’s Matt Aguilar makes a bee-line for fi rst base in the game with McKay High School. They gave up a lead last time around and they’ll be moti- vated.” The Celtics locked horns with Forest Grove High School Vikings Friday, May 8. The Celts took a 1-0 win. The only run scored was on a double to center fi eld by Connor Goff that scored Matt Aguilar. Aguilar had a double Please see TITLE, Page A9