PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 16, 2016 KEIZERTIMES.COM Back from injury, Vincent leading McNary By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Carlos Vincent is making up for lost time. Back from a shoulder in- jury that cost him the sec- ond half of last season, the McNary senior went 3-0 in a tournament at Silverton on Friday, Dec. 9 to improve to 6-0 on the season. His goal is to win district and then place at state, which he didn’t get an opportunity to do last year. “It made me mad,” Vincent said. “I didn’t get to wrestle and I knew I could’ve done something big at districts and just didn’t because I was in- jured.” And Vincent is off to an undefeated start while wres- tling guys at least 15 pounds heavier than him. Vincent weighed in at 155 at Silver- ton but wrestled at 170 to fi ll a spot for the Celtics. “It’s a lot tougher because they’re a lot bigger but I also have to keep in mind that I’m a lot faster,” Vincent said. “I’m more technical. I’ve been wrestling for a while. I’m just using my brains and being faster.” Vincent started the tourna- ment by defeating Alec Rob- erts of North Marion 4-3, which was much tighter than he intended. “I wasn’t too happy about it,” Vincent said. “I didn’t want it to be that close. I knew I could score more.” Vincent dominated his next two opponents and his 13-4 major decision was the difference in the Celtics edg- ing Silverton 40-39 for their only team win of the day. McNary head coach Jason Ebbs hopes Vincent will be an example for the rest of his wrestlers. “I just think his mind is simply in a good place and that’s something that I think is good advice for any wres- tler,” Ebbs said. “It’s easy to get caught up in the nerves and the giving up the weight but he’s just learned to step out on the mat and do his job and it’s working out well for him. He just stayed in really good position. “Giving up that weight causes you to wrestler a little different. You don’t come out and do fl amboyant crazy things. You just have to come out and control the match. He did a great job of keeping his opponent’s feet moving, wrestling and attacking on his terms. He does everything we wish kids would do. It really comes down to that simple. You don’t have to score a 100 points to win a match. You just have to score a few and make sure the other guy doesn’t get a bunch.” Four McNary wrestlers, Sean Burrows (132), Noah Grunberg (145), Brayden Ebbs (152) and Wyatt Kesler (160), earned pins against Sil- verton. Enrique Vincent (126) and Anthony Garcia Reyes (195) won by forfeit. In a 49-27 loss to North Marion, Celtics Nick Her- KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley Carlos Vincent has started his senior wrestling season at McNary 6-0, which included three wins at Silverton on Friday, Dec. 9. nandez (138) and Ryan Mos- grove (120) won by pin fall. Noah Gatchet (106) and Aid- en Foster (113) both won via forfeit. “North Marion is a re- ally solid 4A program,” coach Ebbs said. “We’re just an ex- tremely young program. It’s fi ve freshmen in our var- sity lineup and one fi rst-year wrestler. We’re going to bat with North Marion, who’s a phenomenal team.” Please see VINCENT, Page 13 Celtics fi nish strong, win league opener KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary senior Cade Goff drives past a pair of West Albany defenders to score two of his 14 points in a 70-62 Celtic victory on Friday, Dec. 9. By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes ALBANY—Behind a fast start and strong fi nish, Mc- Nary opened Greater Valley Conference play with a 70-62 victory over West Albany on Friday, Dec. 9. “Any league win is tough,” Celtics head coach Ryan Kirch said. “On the road is tough. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing or when you’re playing them. I think what we can take from this is when you get to the playoffs, every game is going to come down to the fi nal three minutes and your ability to fi nish and your ability to be mentality tough. We’re going to focus on the positives from that and enjoy tonight.” McNary appeared it would coast in its league opener as senior Cade Goff knocked down a 3-pointer in the fi rst 15 seconds to begin a 13-0 run before the Bulldogs were even able to get on the score- board with a 3 of their own with 2:05 remaining in the fi rst quarter. Goff also started the sec- ond quarter with a 3-pointer to stretch the Celtics lead to 21-10 before West Albany be- gan heating up from behind the arc to stay within striking distance. McNary led 33-24 with 2:19 remaining in the fi rst half but the Bulldogs closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 33-32 at inter- mission. Alex Martin barely played in the fi rst half after picking up two quick fouls in the fi rst quarter and his third less than a minute into the second. In his absence, Lucas Garvey had fi ve points off the bench. West Albany stayed hot in the third quarter and grabbed its fi rst lead, 35-33, on a 3-pointer to begin the second half. Adam Harvey answered with a 3-pointer to give the lead right back to the Celtics but the Bulldogs scored seven straight to take control, 42-36. “We probably played as poorly as we could play,” Kirch said. “Our defense wasn’t very good. I thought we rushed shots a little bit. We had too many turnovers. The way the game was called, we didn’t ad- just.” McNary needed its bench to get back on top. Back-to-back baskets by Garvey, including a 3-pointer, got the Celtics within 44-43. After West Albany added two free throws, a Chandler Cavell layup and free throw tied the game at 46-46. Goff then gave McNary a 48-46 lead with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter. “I thought the ball was stagnant a little bit, particularly in the second and third quar- ter,” Kirch said. “We had to make some adjustments. I just didn’t think we were as strong with the ball as we needed to be in the half court.” After the Bulldogs went back on top, 56-53, with 5:09 left to play, Cavell knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game. Please see BOYS, Page 13 Lady Celts stunned at West Albany KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary junior Paige Downer scored fi ve points and had three assists in a 48-41 loss at West Albany. By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes ALBANY—McNary girls basketball coach Derick Handley said before the season started that the Greater Valley Conference had improved. At West Albany, he found out just how much as the Lady Celts opened league play Fri- day, Dec. 9 with a 48-41 loss. MHS swept the Bulldogs last season, outscoring them 128-58. “They’re improved,” Handley said of West Albany. “They’re a better team than they were a year ago. You’ve got to give them credit. They knocked down some shots that a year ago they weren’t able to do. They have two of the best post players (Georgia Smith and Saylor Siegner) in the league if not the best post players in the league. I think we had a little bit of a mis- match there.” The two teams played to a 4-4 tie through the fi rst quar- ter as the Lady Celts struggled to attack West Albany’s zone defense. “Honestly, I think yesterday we had a snow day,” Handley said. “We didn’t get to practice because of Salem-Keizer rules so it really made it diffi cult for us to implement a game plan other than just talk to the girls today and show them the fi lm. We didn’t get to walk through.” The scoring picked up in the second quarter as sopho- more Abigail Hawley came off the bench to knock down a 3-pointer and give McNary a 9-6 lead. But the Bulldogs answered with a 3-pointer of their own to tie the game. Senior Sydney Hunter then picked up two quick fouls and went to the bench. In Hunter’s absence, Haw- ley continued to lead on the offensive end, making an- other 3-pointer, despite being fouled, to give MHS a 14-11 lead. She then knocked down the free throw to complete the 4-point play. Please see GIRLS, Page 13 KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary senior Parker Dean fi nished second in the 100 and 200 freestyle Friday, Dec. 9 against McKay at the Kroc Center. McNary swim teams win dual over McKay By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Filling out the McNary boys varsity lineup is getting more diffi cult by the meet and that’s a good thing for head swim coach Casey Lewin. “We had a lot of good swims, had a few JV kids who again this week had some fast times so that will make some things interesting,” said Lewin after the Celtics defeated McKay 119-41 on Friday, Dec. 9 at the Kroc Center in Salem. “The boys are getting that depth, which I wasn’t expect- ing to see quite that much of it and it’s defi nitely a good thing for the team.” Please see SWIM, Page 14