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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