PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 15, 2016
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Ebbs, Kibbey tops
at Don York Invite
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School se-
nior Joey Kibbey and sopho-
more Brayden Ebbs won their
divisions at the Don York In-
vitational Jan 8-9.
The Celtics fi nished third
overall in the annual tourna-
ment held at Cleveland High
School.
“We were third in that
tournament because everyone
contributed,” said Jason Ebbs,
McNary head coach. “The
exceptional parts were the
fi ve kids who didn’t place but
were one match away from it.”
Kibbey, at 120 pounds, had
one fall and three decisions in
the run up to his fi nals match
where he face Gary Thayer of
Churchill High School. We
won the fi nals match 9-7 for
the tournament title.
“Keeping my mind in the
game the whole time was a
big part of it. I was also lucky
to have my whole team be-
hind me,” Kibbey said.
His only disappointment
of the tournament was not
getting to face fi rst-seeded
Gavin Stockwell of Sunset
High School. Stockwell lost
his third-round match just
before Kibbey would have
faced him.
The younger Ebbs, at 138
pounds, entered the tour-
nament as the fi rst seed and
notched three pins to make
his way to the semifi nals
where he faced Drew Urben
of Putnam High School. Ur-
ben was the only wrestler to
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Celt Jon Phelps puts a McKay high School wrestler in a com-
promising position at a dual meet Thursday, Jan. 7.
get a point on B. Ebbs in the
entire tournament. B. Ebbs
won that match in a 14-1
major decision and pinned
Isaiah Haynes of Sandy High
School for the title.
“I had a good few days
where I was in my groove and
it was just a big confi dence
boost,” said B. Ebbs.
Ricky
Vincent
(113
pounds), Jon Phelps (132
pounds), Carlos Vincent (152
pounds) and Kyle Bonn (220
pounds) all made it to the
semifi nals at the tournament
before getting ousted.
“I think we’re fi nally com-
ing together more as a team.
We had a lot of different small
groups forming before the
break, but last week it felt like
we were all moving in the
same direction as one,” said
Kibbey.
Prior to the York tourney,
McNary traveled to meet
McKay and West Salem high
schools at McKay Thursday,
Jan. 7. The Celts beat both
teams by wide margins.
Please see WRESTLE, Page A11
Girls slip to second
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A slow start in the third
quarter of a game with South
Salem High School led to a
10-point loss for the McNary
High School girls varsity bas-
ketball team.
“They came out and hit
two threes as part of a 10-0
run that put us behind,” said
Sydney Hunter, a McNary
junior. “After that we start-
ed questioning whether we
could still win.”
The Celts lost 66-56.
After starting the game in
the lead, McNary had fallen
slightly behind to end the fi rst
frame at 14-12. The teams
went to halftime locked in a
deadheat, 23-23.
The Saxons hit a pair of
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Above: Parker Dean nears
a turn in the 200 IM. Right:
Lizzie Bryant swims in the
backstroke.
treys to start the third period
and then extended the run to
10 points before McNary was
able to get its groove back.
“We were able to chip
away a little bit and cut it
to three points in the fourth
quarter, but that 10-point run
made the difference in the fi -
nal score,” said Derick Hand-
ley, McNary head coach.
Celt Madi Hingston led
the team on offense with 20
points, Kailey Doutt had 12
and Hunter put up 11.
Despite the loss, which put
McNary in a tie for second
place in the Greater Valley
conference with West Salem
High School, Celt Reina
Strand was happy with the
overall performance.
“We held our composure.
Even though we were down
at times, we never acted like
that was the case,” Strand said.
Handley said the difference
between last year’s team and
this year’s team was evident
during the game and the next
day.
“A year ago, the team
would have folded after
South’s run, but they fought
back this year and then came
back to school and had a great
practice,” he said. “We have a
lot more maturity this sea-
son.”
McNary debuted new of-
fensive and defensive schemes
in a game with Sprague High
School Friday, Jan. 8, to most-
ly good results. The Keizer
team won 48-26.
Please see GIRLS, Page A11
Boys rebound,
beat Olympians
Swimmers
beat Scots
The McNary High School
boys and girls varsity swim
teams dominated McKay High
School at a Kroc Center meet
Thursday, Jan. 7.
The Lady Celts won 137-
20. The Celt boys won 110-40.
Senior Samantha Williams
and sophomore Sarah Eckert
led the way for McNary with
both individual and relay wins.
Race winners for the girls
were: Anjelica Glassey, Kiana
Briones, Bailey White and
Eckert in the 200 yard med-
ley relay in 2:12.43; Williams
in the 200 freestyle in 2:20.29;
Kylie McCarty in the 200 yard
individual medley (IM) in
2:39.88; Emily Alger in the 50
free in 28.33; Williams in the
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
McNary’s Sydney Hunter lays up a shot in a game with West Salem High School Tuesday, Jan. 12.
100 butterfl y in 1:14.34; Eck-
ert in the 100 free in 1:05.46;
Abby McCoy in the 500 free
in 6:33.60; Williams, Hannah
Corpe, McCoy and Briones in
the 200 free relay in 1:58.31;
Lizzie Bryant in the 100 back-
stroke in 1:12.18; Eckert in
the 100 yard breaststroke in
1:20.27; and Corpe, Williams,
McCarty and Eckert in the
400 free relay in 4:18.20.
Boys race winners were:
Wyatt Sherwood, Matthew
Albright, Derek Howard and
Gavin Jaqua in the 200 med-
ley relay in 2:12.27; Harrison
Vaughn in the 200 free in
2:03.88; Parker Dean in a hotly
contested 200 IM in 2:39.52;
Jake Wyer in the 50 free in
25.37; Isaiah Holt in the 100
butterfl y in 1:08.27; Evan Al-
ger in the 100 free in 56.59;
Vaughn in the 500 free in
5:35.03; Vaughn, Grant Biondi,
Jake Wyer and Alger in the 200
free relay in 1:42.88; Holt in
the 100 backstroke in 1:12.52;
Dean in the 100 breaststroke
in 1:16.21; and Alger, Bryce
Looney, Georgio Corrieri and
Brock Wyer in the 400 free re-
lay in 3:58.04.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Much to the relief of players and coaches, the
McNary High School boys varsity basketball
team was able to rebound from a loss to the
South Salem Saxons last week.
“They expect to win games and when they
lose they’re upset, but the part I like is how
coachable they’ve been after the two losses we’ve
had,” said Ryan Kirch, McNary head coach.
The Saxons’ win over the Celtics Tuesday, Jan.
5, gave South the lead slot in the Greater Valley
Conference. McNary settled into second place.
“It’s always tough losing, but we took away
a lot of things we need to do on the defensive
end. We have to cut turnovers in the long run
and that’s something we’re still working on,” said
Mathew Ismay, a McNary junior.
McNary didn’t spend long nursing their
wounds. Kirch and assistant coach Marc McAvoy
said the team had one of its best practices the
following day.
“(The loss) really refocused us and motivated
us to come out and have great practices,” said
junior Cade Goff.
By Friday, Jan. 8, the Celtics were back to
hitting on all cylinders, taking a 60-52 win over
Sprague High School on the road.
McNary had a 15-13 lead after the fi rst
frame and extended it to 36-24 by halftime. The
Keizer team was able to ride the lead through a
low-scoring fourth quarter to take the win,
“We had room for improvement, but we
stayed competitive. Our leaders led and the
mistakes we made were made going hard and
fast,” said Kirch. “The speed at which we played
was right where we wanted to be.”
Please see BOYS, Page A11