PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 19, 2016
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Boys fend off
surging Titans
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Celt Austin Moore takes control of an opponent in pigtail rounds at the GVC regional meet Fri-
day, Feb. 12.
Ebbs nabs district title
By ERIC A. HOWALD
vis of Sprague High School.
Of the Keizertimes
“Landon and I have been friends since we
McNary High School’s Brayden Ebbs was were little and we know a lot about each other
crowned the 138-pound Greater Valley Con- when it comes to the ways we wrestle. I knew
ference wrestling champion at
it would be a tough match,”
the regional tournament Feb.
Ebbs said.
12 and 13.
Ebbs won in a 12-2 major
Ebbs, a sophomore, is one of
decision.
four Celtic wrestlers who will
Ebbs placed sixth at the state
represent the school at the state
tournament as a freshman and
tournament next week.
thinks he’s got a better-than-
It was the second consecu-
average shot at improving on
tive year that Ebbs reached the
that fi nish.
regional fi nals match. He was
As a team, McNary placed
determined to come out on
third overall. Celts Jon Phelps,
top this time around.
Wyatt Kesler and Isaiah Put-
“The fi rst thing that came
nam will join Ebbs at the state
to mind was I didn’t want it to
tournament after fi nishing
end up like last year, going all
third in their respective weight
the way to the fi nals and los-
classes.
ing because I wasn’t thinking
Phelps, a 132-pound senior,
Brayden Ebbs
straight and making a mistake,”
made it to the semifi nals be-
Ebbs said.
fore losing a 5-1 decision to
The district title came down to a match be- Sprague’s Michael Murphy.
Please see WRESTLE, Page A12
tween Ebbs and a longtime friend, Landon Da-
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Most of the McNary High
School boys varsity basketball
team’s opponents are bring-
ing their A game to the court.
But, this season, it’s been the
West Salem Titans who have
brought their A+ game each
time out.
While McNary won 62-
59 in a contest Tuesday, Feb. 9,
the team was gutting it out for
much of the second half.
“West provides us with a
number of different match-
up problems on top of being
well-coached and talented,”
said Ryan Kirch, McNary
head coach.
After falling behind in the
early going – mostly due to
being outrebounded – Celt
junior Mathew Ismay was able
to tie up the game 31-31 with
two buckets and three shots
from the foul line.
The Titans, however, went
up 34-31 on their next posse-
sion with a trey.
Ismay knotted the score
again at 36-36 a few minutes
later, but the game was sepa-
rated by a single point again
with 5:15 left in the game. Ju-
nior Cade Goff tied it up at
52-52 from the foul line and
then the Celts went on a 7-0
run.
The Titans weren’t yet
ready to roll over. They
scrapped their way back into
the fray and were only two
points behind the Celts at 61-
59 with less than a minute left.
McNary held on and hit one
more from the foul line for
the 62-59 fi nal.
“West has done really well
in the second half of the sea-
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
McNary’s Adam Harvey leaps past a West Salem player in the
game Tuesday, Feb. 9.
son, but we just had the better
game plan that night, especial-
ly after they shot out the lights
on us last time. Our physical
advantage also helped,” said
Ismay.
To the Keizer team’s credit,
it never looked frantic or dis-
organized despite the pressure.
“I thought our guys han-
dled the rigors of the game
very well, adjusting to some of
the things they were trying to
Please see BOYS, Page A12
Kuch sets two GVC records, heads to state
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School
sophomore Marissa Kuch
was named the Greater
Valley Conference Female
Swimmer of the Year at the
district tournament Feb. 12
and 13.
Kuch set new conference
records in the 100 and 200
freestyle races at the meet and
is the only Celt headed to the
state tournament.
Kuch won the district title
in the 200 freestyle in 1:53.84
and the 100 freestyle district
title with a time of 52.11.
Overall, the Lady Celts
fi nished fi fth in the GVC
with 234 points. The Celtic
boys fi nished seventh with
138 points. South Salem High
School won the girls district
title. McMinnville High
School’s boys dominated in
the male events.
Other notable fi nishes for
McNary were: Lizzie Bryant,
Kiana Briones, Sarah Eckert
and Kuch, fi fth in the girls
200 medley relay; Isaiah Holt,
Harrison Vaughn, Jake Wyer
and Evan Alger, seventh in
the boys 200 medley relay;
Briones, ninth in the girls 200
free; Kylie McCarty, eighth
in the girls 200 individual
medley and 10th in the 100
freestyle; Haley Debban,
10th in the girls 50 free;
Eckert, third in the girls 100
butterfl y; Vaughn, eighth in
the 100 breaststroke and 10th
in the boys 500 free; Eckert,
Samantha Williams, Debban
and Kuch, fourth in the 200
free relay; Alger, Parker Dean,
Georgio Corrieri and Wyer,
seventh in the boys 200 free
relay; Bryant, fourth in the
girls 100 backstroke; Anjelica
Glassey, 10th in the girls 100
backstroke; Abby McCoy,
Hannah Corpe, Debban and
McCarty, fi fth in the girls
400 freestyle relay; and Brock
Wyer, Dean, Grant Biondi
and Corrieri, sixth in the boys
400 free relay.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Left and above: Celtic swimmers take part in preliminary races
at the GVC conference meet Friday, Feb. 12.