PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 25, 2016
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Rocky start for Lady
Celts on the diamond
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
The McNary 4x400 relay team, Austin Brown, Brendan Van Voorhis, Anthony Nguyen and Levi
Timmons, was invited to take part in an exhibition race at the IAAF Indoor World Championships
Sunday, March 20.
McNary relay team hits
world stage in PDX
ABOVE: Celt Nadia Witt makes a beeline for third base in the game with Franklin High School.
BELOW: Nicole Duran makes a play at third after cutting off a line drive.
varsity team after a strong freshman season.
“It’s cool because watching them run last
year was inspiring,” Timmons said. “My goal is
just to keep up with them this year and im-
prove individually as well.”
In a pool of mostly individualized competi-
tions the relays stand out for the team effort
required.
“It’ s different from other events because you
have other people relying on you, but that pres-
sure pushes us to get better and make sure that
we’re doing what we need to be doing,” Brown
said.
The Celtics fi nished fourth in the race with
a time of 3:34.
Kelley Borresen, the Celts’ relay coach, said
the invitation to the World Indoor Champion-
ships was a credit to the way the program has
bred success over time in both boys and girls
relays.
“Each year, everyone on those teams has
been willing to add to their training. By this
time in the year, they’re lifting weights every
morning and spent time running in the off-
season. They have become a group of leaders
for the program as a whole, and they do a great
job of including the younger kids in the train-
ing and lifting them up,” Borresen said. “Being
selected for the race is a nice way to recog-
nize the effort and level that our athletes have
trained at.”
While it’s a bit early to be talking about the
season yet to unfold, Borresen has high hopes.
“With the work they’ve put in, they are in
a good position to compete at a high level,”
she said.
The McNary High School
varsity softball team is off to a
rougher-than-hoped start this
season. After four games, the
Lady Celts’ record is 1-3.
The team’s fi rst game of the
season, against Medford High
School Wednesday, March 16,
ended in a 15-5 loss after fi ve
innings. In 2015, McNary
dominated the Black Torna-
does in the fi rst round of the
state playoff tournament.
The Celtics scored three
runs in the fi rst frame, but
North Medford answered
with six of its own and never
looked back. Celt Nadia Witt
had a home run and Kinsey
McNaught had a triple in the
outing.
McNary hosted Franklin
High School Friday, March
18, and led the game 2-1 un-
til the seventh inning when
the Quakers put together two
runs and took the win.
At a spring break tourna-
ment that began Monday,
March 21, the Celtics split
their fi rst two games. St. Hel-
ens High School edged the
Keizer team 5-4 in the fi rst
game, but McNary pummeled
Springfi eld High School 22-0
later the same day.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The track and fi eld season is barely under-
way, but the McNary High School boys 4x400
relay started things off in a big way.
The team – comprised of seniors Anthony
Nguyen and Austin Brown, junior Brendan Van
Voorhis and sophomore Levi Timmons – took
part in an exhibition race at the International
Association of Athletics Federations’ World In-
door Championships held in Portland March
17-20.
“It’s a pretty cool experience just to be on
the track with those great runners,” said Van
Voorhis. “A big stage like this one is going to
be pretty comparable to state.”
The Celtic team was picked for the honor
by a special selection committee based on per-
formances from the 2015 outdoor season and
2016 indoor season. They were also slotted in
the fi nale race, the boys invitational, that fea-
tured teams from Washington, Idaho and Or-
egon.
“It’s good exposure for us and our school.
It’s a way to get our names and the name of our
school out there,” said Nguyen. “It also gives us
a big edge to have that high-level competition
this early in the season.”
The Celtics lost their anchor, Kyle Torres,
to graduation last June, but Nguyen is return-
ing after a standout sophomore season that saw
him fi nish second in the Greater Valley Con-
ference meet 100 meter in 2014. Van Voorhis
has served time on both the 4x100 and 4x400
team, Brown is a veteran of the 4x100 and
Timmons is an up-and-comer from the junior
Celts rack
up all-GVC
honors
The McNary High School
varsity basketball teams were
awash in accolades after Greater
Valley Conference coaches
made their annual all-confer-
ence selections.
On the boys’ side of things,
senior Harry Cavell was named
player of the year, junior Mat-
thew Ismay was co-defender of
the year, and Cam McCormick
was named the league’s assistant
coach of the year.
Cavell was named to the
fi rst team all-conference; Ismay
was named to the second team
all-conference alongisde senior
Trent Van Cleave; and honor-
able mentions went to juniors
Adam Harvey, Cade Goff and
Easton Neitzel.
In the Lady Celts’ program,
Head Coach Derick Handley
was named co-head coach of
the year and sophomore Kailey
Doutt was picked as the league’s
fi rst-ever defender of the year.
Senior Madi Hingston and
junior Sydney Hunter were se-
lected for the fi rst team; seniors
Reina Strand and Kaelie Flores
earned second-team picks; and
Doutt was an honorable men-
tion.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Keizer man makes good on the draw
by G.I. Wilson
You may fi nd Ray
Wurdinger practicing his draw
at his Pacifi c Crest Archery
shop. Or, he could be fi lling
out raffl e tickets hoping to
draw one of the big game lot-
tery hunts. Either way, he has
experienced his share of suc-
cess.
Enter into a conversation
with Wurdinger on hunting
and his face lights up like the
proverbial kid in a candy store.
You know you are listening
to a person who has a passion
for the hunt, and a respect for
the animals he pursues. A per-
son who enjoys the thrill and
challenges of the chase.
Wurdinger has hunted
from Alaska south.
He is not only a bow hunt-
er. He hunts with rifl e and
muzzle loader.
He is also an accomplished
guide.
Probably the luckiest draw
he has ever made was drawing
an Access and Habitat sheep
tag. It is the most coveted tag
in Oregon. A once in a life-
time tag.
“I was driving through
town thinking about that
sheep tag,” he muses. “Some-
body’s going to win that tag.
Why not give it a try.”
He purchased 24 tags for
$200. Odds for drawing the
tag were bleak. There were
7500 applicants.
“I remember, I was sitting
in an easy chair,” he explains.
“Actually, I was resting up
from a minor injury, when
the phone rang. A friend from
Baker City had seen where I
drew the tag.”
Excitement builds over
the next couple of months as
Wurdinger assembles a team
for scouting and preparation
for the hunt.
Listening to Wurdinger’s
account of the hunt gave me
goose bumps. His vivid de-
scriptions make me see and
sense the thrill of the hunt.
Sheep live in hostile coun-
try. A physical challenge for
Submitted
Ray Wurdinger and his wife in the center along with the rest of the team.
man. To give you an idea, to
get the ram out, they started
at 4:30 a.m., and got back to
camp at 4:30 a.m. the next
morning.
Wurdinger had his state re-
cord. The old record was 177.
His ram scored 185-3/8.
It was refreshing to talk
with Wurdinger about hunt-
ing. He is a goal-oriented
hunter. He sets a goal for a
specifi c species and sticks to
it. His goal for the sheep hunt
was to set the state record
with a bow.
Wurdinger shares some of
his philosophy:
Setting goals; “A lot of peo-
ple don’t realize it’s not that
you were not successful in the
hunt, you just didn’t fi nd the
animal you were looking for.”
“It’s not about killing
something, it’s about making
choices.”
“Hunters get too excited
and stray from their goal. Stick
to the goal.”
Advice to new archers:
Practice and more prac-
tice. Know your limits. There
Please see DRAW, Page 12