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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2016)
PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 27, 2016 1000 $ Keizer MILITARY, VETERANS & FIRST RESPONDERS † www.skylineforddirect.com APPRECIATION CASH ON TOP OF ALL OTHER OFFERS. ENDS 5- 5 - 31- 16 3555 River Road N, Keizer (503) 463- 4853 *Available to active military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, veterans, retirees, and household members toward purchase or lease of eligible new ‘15/’16/’17 Ford vehicles. Not available on Mustang Special 50th Anniversary Edition, Shelby GT500, GT350, GT, Boss 302, and Focus RS. Limit of 5 purchases or leases. U.S. residency only. Amount may be higher in some markets. Take new retail delivery from dealer stock between 5/20/16 and 7/5/16. See dealer or complete details and eligibility. † See dealer for qualifi ed fi rst responders. KEIZERTIMES.COM Duran 2nd in 300 hurdles McNary High School’s Dani Duran took second in the girls 300 meter hurdles at the state meet held in Eugene May 20 and 21. Duran entered into the race with the second best time in the state and held onto that spot to take the silver medal. Duran’s time, 44.37, was an improvement of more than half a second over her prior best and set a new school record, her second of the season in the same event. The Celtics’ Brendan Van Voorhis took sixth in the 400 meter race after winning the Greater Valley Conference title in the event two weeks ago. He also competed in the 200 meter race, but came up just shy of making the fi nals. The boys 4x100 relay team – Austin Brown, Levi Timmons, Anthony Nguyen and Van Voo- rhis – placed ninth with a time of 43.12 at the state meet. Sperle commits to PSU Vikings KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Lady Celt Xena Lane prepares to bunt in the game with Elmira High School Thursday, May 19. Tornadoes oust Lady Celts Submitted McNary High School’s Jason Sperle on a visit to his new home with the Portland State University Vikings. By TIM HAYS Of the Keizertimes There isn’t enough to say about Jason Sperle. A 3-year varsity starter for the McNary Celtic football team, Sperle was more than most coaches could dream of. “He was a great leader. He led by example, he led ver- bally, he was at every work- out, every practice, [and] ev- ery game,” said Jeff Auvinen, McNary’s head football coach. “He gave it his best shot every time. I’m really going to miss him a ton.” Sperle, a staple in the Mc- Nary offensive line, commit- ted to play football at Portland State University in the fall at a signing ceremony Friday, May 21. He is still unsure what he is going to study, but he is inter- ested in business or some sort of physical therapy program. “I am really excited to be a part of the future (of the Port- land State football program),” Sperle said. “My overall goal is to be successful, not just in the weight room, but on the football fi eld, and I really want to exceed everyone’s expecta- tions.” Sperle was named to the 2015 All-Greater Valley Con- ference second team this year playing center, and earned an honorable mention in 2014 at the same position. He works hard on the fi eld and in the weight room, but also in the classroom. Sperle will carry a 3.8 grade point average into Portland State af- ter graduation in June. “It takes lots of hours after practice, and a lot of extra ef- fort,” he said. Sperle went on to speak about what he hopes to ac- complish in his upcoming endeavors, “I hope to get ac- climated with the city of Port- land, work my way around, get focused in on the classes, and fi nd my role for the fi rst year (on the football team).” Baseball team sets sights on 2017 was decided by two or fewer runs. By TIM HAYS “Coming in next year, I think the expe- Of the Keizertimes McNary High School varsity baseball team rience we have will give us an advantage in wrapped up its last game of the 2016 season those closer games,” said Celt pitcher Josiah Tuesday, May 17, in a 16-2 loss to Grants Pass. Gilbert. “There were a lot of players this year The Celtics ended with an 11-14 (7-9) re- that had little varsity (game) action, and it cord with a sixth place fi nish in the Greater showed from time-to-time.” The Celtics look to have four starting re- Valley Conference, and 35th overall rank in turners next year, with fi ve the state. They had the oppor- other players who found their tunity to advance to the state name in the line-up at some playoffs had they won their point in the season. play-in game against Grants “All the guys that are return- Pass. ing, I am excited for,” Keeker The young Celtics had a said, “I always look forward to very up and down season. a challenge of the next season.” “We would have games Along with those returners where our offense was produc- are pitchers Kevin Martin and tive, but our defense and pitch- Riley Hays, who both had sea- ing wasn’t,” said Larry Keeker, head coach of the program. — Josiah Gilbert son-ending arm injuries in the past year. “And we had games where we “I think it really hurt us to pitched well, but the offense not have those guys play for us this year,” Gil- wasn’t where it needed to be.” The Celtics played .500 ball for most of the bert said. “They gave us a lot of innings (on season before dropping the fi nal three games the mound) last summer, and we are looking of their conference schedule and slipping from forward to having them back next spring.” All-league honors for the Celtics consisted third to sixth place in the Greater Valley Con- of fi rst-team all GVC pitcher Josiah Gilbert ference. “We were very inconsistent throughout the and infi elder Matthew Ismay; two second- season, and it really hurt us when we couldn’t team all GVC honorees in infi elder Matthew fi nish those close games,” said Matthew Ismay, Aguilar and outfi elder Trent Van Cleave; and a junior. “We really lacked that experience this three honorable mention players: catcher Daniel Johnson, fi rst baseman Collin Young year.” McNary was 3-7 in games where the game and outfi elder Brendan Frizelle. “I think the experience we have will give us an advantage.” If the members of the Mc- Nary High School varsity softball team end up having bad dreams this week, they will probably involve North Medford High School’s Sarah Thomas. Thomas, the senior pitch- er for the Black Tornadoes, pitched a two-hitter in the teams’ fi rst-round playoff game Monday, May 23. Med- ford rode a four-run second inning to a 4-1 victory. The Celtics only run of the night came in the sixth inning when Kinsey Mc- Naught rounded the bases on a pair of errors by Tornado infi elders. McNary pitcher Faith Danner handled duties in the circle for the Celtics and held Medford scoreless aside from the second inning. It was the second time the two teams faced this season, and a bit of retribution for the Tornadoes. McNary ousted Medford from the state play- off tournament in the second round in 2015. The Celtics played a non- league contest with Elmira High School in the dead week between the end of the regu- lar season and the beginning of the state playoffs. The Lady Celts won that match-up 9-2. The teams were tied 1-1 after the fi rst inning, but Mc- Nary unloaded for fi ve runs in the third frame. Madisen Oliver blasted a home run shot over the left fi eld fence scoring Nadia Witt and Haley Ebner for a 4-1 lead. Nicole Duran scored on a single by Xena Lane, and Ebner scored again on a walk later in the in- ning. Danner and McNaught had RBI-singles in the fourth inning, and Witt scored on another Danner single in the fi fth. Danner pitched a com- plete game with 19 fi rst-pitch strikes and seven strikeouts. While the season ended on a sour note, McNary will graduate only two seniors next month, McNaught and Oliver, which should leave the team with a lot of tested will and experience next spring. Submitted Sea lions like the ones pictured above pose a threat to the Columbia’s sturgeon population. Heartbreak on the Columbia A massive 2,000-pound sea lion drags the struggling white sturgeon to the surface. The 50-year-old female – laden with roe – is no match for the vice-like canine teeth of the powerful predator. In a matter of seconds the soft underbelly is ripped open and hundreds-of-thousands of eggs are gulped down. Ever present seagulls feast on scat- tered eggs. The lifeless car- cass slowly drifts away in the current to become food for scavengers downriver. Un- fortunately, this is not an iso- lated incident. This has serious implications for the future of white sturgeon from British Columbia to California. These magnifi cent, prehis- toric creatures, have never had a predator–other than man– until recent years on the Co- lumbia. Sea lions have learned how to kill the much slower, defenseless females. They dive underneath and rip out the bellies to eat the roe. These females are 300, 400, or more pounds, a minimum of 20 by G.I. Wilson years old. Some as much as 80. The Columbia has not been just another river hosting white sturgeon. It has been the hub of the West Coast stur- geon population for Oregon, Washington and Northern California. Sturgeon migrate from the Columbia up and down the Pacifi c Coast. White sturgeon numbers in the Columbia collapsed in the 1800s due to over harvest- ing. Old photographs show giant females, stacked like cordwood, on loading docks, waiting for transport to mar- ket. Photos show work horses and mules-in harness-used to pull heavy sturgeon out of the river. Tales were told of giant fi sh winning an occasional battle and pulling a team into the water. Fortunately, some in the fi shing industry developed a conscious and didn’t want sturgeon to follow the paths of the carrier pigeon and bison. Regulations were established. It took roughly 100 years for sturgeon numbers to recover. A few years ago electronics revealed a large mass-down- stream-at the base of Bonnev- ille Dam. Engineers thought a huge chunk had broken off the dam. Cameras revealed a gigantic “ball” of stur- geon. Thousands of sturgeon, stacked up in layers. Biologists were baffl ed. No logical expla- nation could be found. Some speculated they were attempt- ing to get away from sea lions. Today, they are gone. “There are no sturgeon there now,” Jimmy Watts, biologist, Oregon Department of Fish Please see WILSON, Page A11
