PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 2, 2016
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Celtics sights set on Portland
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Optimism fi lls the McNary
High School gym as the boys
basketball team prepares for its
upcoming season, which tips
off Friday, Dec. 2 at Grants
Pass.
“It’s going to be a special
group,” head coach Ryan
Kirch said. “It could be as
good as we’ve had. They’re
just all good kids. They’ll all be
enrolled in college next year.
They’re all honor roll kids.
They all come from great fam-
ilies. They’re all great friends.
You just don’t get groups like
this anymore. We’re talented in
a lot of ways and have as much
potential as any group we’ve
had.”
Senior Cade Goff shared
his coach’s confi dence after
the fi rst day of practice.
“It’s easy to jump to con-
clusions but I’ve practiced
varsity for four years now and
that was probably the best fi rst
day of defense we’ve had,”
Goff said. “I’m excited to see
how we do defensively and
how that leads to transition
points and allows us to run up
and down the fl oor.”
One thing that makes the
Celtics special is their tough-
ness.
“You’ve got to be physi-
cally and mentally tough and I
think this group is as physical-
ly and mentally tough as any
group I’ve coached,” Kirch
said.
McNary’s toughness starts
with junior Mathew Ismay, a
two-time Greater Valley Con-
ference Defensive Player of
the Year who took a school
record 23 chargers last season,
including four in one game.
“He’s very smart so he’s al-
ways where he needs to be,”
Kirch said. “He anticipates
as opposed to reacts. You just
watch the way he plays. He’s a
guy that’s not very fl ashy from
a fan’s standpoint, you may not
see all the little things he does
but it’s just a difference for us
when he comes off the fl oor.”
McNary graduated about
25 points per game in Trent
Van Cleave and GVC Player
of the Year Harry Cavell but
Kirch believes the Celtics
have the pieces to make up for
those losses.
“This summer, we had sev-
en different guys score 20 or
more points in a game,” Kirch
said. “Scoring won’t be an is-
sue for us. In fact, I think in a
lot of ways we’ll be tougher to
defend in that I think our ball
movement is better. I think
we take care of the ball a little
bit better. There’s not really a
guy that you can shut down.
Last year, we knew Harry
was the guy and teams could
game plan around that. This
year it’s going to be more of
a challenge. We’ve got a lot of
diversity with our players and
guys can do a lot of different
things.”
Senior Alex Martin agreed.
“I defi nitely expect us to be
able to run with eight or nine
guys and be really deep,” he
said. “We’ve got a lot of guys
who can really play. It should
be a lot of fun this year.”
McNary returns four play-
ers with varsity starting ex-
perience—Goff, Ismay, Mar-
tin and Adam Harvey. Senior
Easton Neitzel and junior
Chandler Cavell are also back.
Kevin Martin returns from a
shoulder injury that cost him
last season while juniors Lucas
Garvey and Andrew Jones are
coming up from the junior
varsity.
“Alex and Easton and Lucas
are probably our best outside
shooters, though a lot of guys
can shoot,” Kirch said. “Cade
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
McNary senior Cade Goff, guarded by Andrew Jones, is one of four players with starting experience returning for the Celtics, who
open the season Friday, Dec. 2 at Grants Pass.
and Chandler can really attack
the rim. Matthew and Adam
can really score from all over
the place. We can score from
outside. We can score from in-
side. We can attack the rim. We
can score in transition. There’s
not really a part of our game
offensively that’s lacking.”
While the Celtics should
have no problem scoring in
transition, Kirch said execut-
ing in the half court will be
the key to making a deep play-
off run.
Advancing to the elite
eight in Portland is on the
minds of McNary’s six seniors
who have been eliminated in
the second round of the state
tournament the last two years.
“We want to get over that
hump,” Goff said. “We don’t
want to be in the fi nal 16. We
want to be in the fi nal eight.”
“We defi nitely want to get
up to Portland and compete
for a state championship,”
Alex Martin said. “The two
teams we’ve lost to, South Sa-
lem and North Medford, the
year before, were both really
good teams. I think this year
we’ll be a lot better and more
prepared for that kind of situ-
ation.”
SCHEDULE
Dec. 2 at Grants Pass, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs McMinnville, 7:15 p.m.
Dec. 6 vs Oregon City, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 vs South Salem, 6:45 p.m.
Dec. 9 at West Albany, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 24 vs North Salem, 6:45 p.m.
Dec. 13 at North Salem, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 27 at Sprague, 5:45 p.m.
Dec. 16 vs Sprague, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 31 at Forest Grove, 6:45 p.m.
Dec. 21-23 Capital City Classic
Feb. 3 vs West Albany, 5:45 p.m.
Dec. 28-30 Bend Tournament
Feb. 7 vs McKay, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 3 vs Forest Grove, 6:45 p.m.
Feb. 14 at South Salem, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 6 at West Salem, 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 17 vs West Salem, 5:45 p.m.
Jan. 10 at McKay, 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 at McMinnville, 5:45 p.m.
Kuch leads MHS swim team
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
What does a swimmer do
when she’s never lost an indi-
vidual dual race in two high
school seasons and already bro-
ken multiple district records
before her junior year? What is
she competing against? What’s
next?
Ask Marissa Kuch.
“I kind of just race against
McNary’s records,” said Kuch
who owns the school records
in the 100, 200 and 500 free-
style.
“I really race to get Mc-
Nary’s name more out there
because we’re not really well
known for swimming.”
Kuch, who also has the
Greater Valley Conference re-
cord in the 100 and 200 free
and was named Female Swim-
mer of the Year last season,
won’t likely be tested until the
state meet.
She placed fi fth in the 100
free and eighth in the 200 free
there last season, marks she
would like to improve on.
“This year I have really high
goals of placing top fi ve or top
three in the 200 free and the
same with the 100 free,” said
Kuch, who would also like to
lead the Lady Celts’ 200 free
and 200 medley relays to state.
Kuch was the only McNary
swimmer to qualify for the
state tournament last season.
“A lot of the girls I’m su-
per close with,” Kuch said.
“They’re some of my best
friends. I have a pretty close
relationship with all of the
girls on the team. It’s just su-
per fun getting to be on re-
lays with them and trying to
push them. They try to work
so hard because they want to
go to state and I want more
McNary swimmers to get to
state. It kind of sucks just be-
ing alone at state.”
Kuch swims year round
at Courthouse in Salem but
looks forward to the high
school season.
“I love the team atmosphere
of it,” she said. “I love that you
are constantly getting support.
You’ll look from your block
at the other end of the pool
and you have a whole group,
at every lane cheering for ev-
eryone. You don’t get that as
much with club swimming.
Please see SWIM, Page 13
KEIZERTIMES/File
McNary junior Marissa Kuch owns the Greater Valley Conference records in the 100 and 200 free
and was also named Female Swimmer of the Year last season.
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Brayden Ebbs, right, and Wyatt Kesler wrestle during practice at McNary High School. The
Celtics open the season Friday, Dec. 2 at home.
Ebbs eyes state championship
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
After placing sixth as a
freshman and fourth as a
sophomore, McNary wrestler
Brayden Ebbs is ready to take
the next step and win a state
championship.
He also wants to go unde-
feated.
“Expect more and don’t
give too much respect to
anybody,” Ebbs answered
when asked how he’d ac-
complish those goals. “Go out
there and expect to win the
match. There’s always tough
guys from a bunch of differ-
ent schools but I’m willing to
beat everyone of those guys to
make my way up to the top.”
Ebbs was the 138-pound
Greater Valley Conference
champion last year but expects
to jump up to 145 pounds this
season. He spent his spring
and summer wrestling, going
to camp at Oklahoma State
University and participating
in tournaments in Iowa and
Fargo, N.D.
“I learned a lot about my-
self,” Ebbs said. “I’m ready to
get back to what I do best. I’m
going to go out there and give
it all I’ve got.”
Senior Wyatt Kesler and ju-
nior Isaiah Putnam, who both
placed third in the GVC and
wrestled at state last season, re-
turn for the Celtics as well.
Kesler would like to join
Ebbs on the podium as state
champions.
“I know pretty much ev-
eryone in our district that I’ll
be wrestling but right now
I’m just worried about myself
and getting better and out-
training everyone, wrestler
tougher and don’t give up the
matches I shouldn’t be giving
up,” Kesler said.
Senior Carlos Vincent, who
didn’t wrestle last year, also re-
turns for the Celtics.
“He’s back, he’s excited,
he’s ready to go,” McNary
head coach Jason Ebbs said.
“He’s put in some extra time
and we’re hoping for bigger
and better things out of him.”
Senior Sean Burrows, who
took fourth in the GVC, just
missing the state tournament
last season, is also back along
with junior Noah Grunberg
and sophomores Nick Her-
nandez and Enrique Vincent,
who all fi nished in the top six
in the district a year ago.
Please see WRESTLE, Page 13