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Allen and Covalt sign to play at next level
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Less than 8 percent of ath-
letes that played a varsity sport
in high school will go onto
play in college. That statis-
tic is why this year’s National
Signing Day was particularly
special for two athletes at Mc-
Nary.
On Wednesday, Feb. 6, Celt-
ic seniors Tyler Covalt and
David Allen each signed their
letter of intent to play college
baseball in a ceremony at the
College and Career Center at
McNary High School.
Covalt signed to further his
education and baseball career
at Umpqua Community Col-
lege in Roseburg while Allen
signed to play with Pacifi c
University in Forest Grove.
Covalt was a fi rst-team
all-Greater Valley Conference
catcher last season and was
one of two team captains for
the Celtics.
Allen earned a honorable
mention nod as a pitcher and
will be McNary’s top arm this
spring.
Both players have proven
that they can make a big im-
pact on the diamond, but what
really makes them standout is
their personal character.
“Both David and Tyler are
high character guys and good
students,” McNary head coach
Larry Keeker said. “They rep-
resent and exude the charac-
teristics that we really pro-
mote here and McNary High
School. What I am really most
proud of is who they are as
people and how they represent
our program.”
Covalt — who has played
varsity baseball since his fresh-
man year — knew that he
wanted to play college base-
ball since he was a youngster.
His journey to UCC, however,
ended up being a unique one.
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Ty Covalt (left) and David Allen (right) shake hands after signing to play baseball in college at a ceremony at McNary High School
on Feb. 6. Covalt will play at Umpqua Community College while Allen witll compete at Pacifi c University.
UCC dropped the sport of
baseball back in 1985, but an-
nounced in January of last year
that they were reinstating the
program for the 2020 season.
Three months after the an-
nouncement, the college hired
nationally renown NAIA
coach Jeremiah Robbins.
Robbins, who is from
Roseburg, was the head coach
at Lewis-Clark State for six
seasons and led the team to
three consecutive National
Championships in 2015-17.
When Covalt starting
looking at colleges, playing
for Coach Robbins at Lew-
is-Clark State was at the top
of his list. But Covalt’s mind-
set shifted when Robbins an-
nounced that he was taking
over the new program at UCC
— especially because Covalt
wanted to stay in-state.
“When I found out, I was
doing backfl ips,” Covalt said
about Robbins taking over the
UCC program.
Having passionate kids with
great leadership qualities is in-
tegral when starting a program
from the ground up, which is
why Robbins wanted Covalt
to be a part of the building
process.
“Behind the plate, (Covalt)
has command of the whole
fi eld. But his leadership is his
biggest asset,” Robbins said.
“We think he has a chance to
leave a legacy at this program.”
After Robbins offered him
a spot on the team, it was an
easy decision for Covalt to ac-
cept.
“When (Umpqua) said they
wanted me, I almost cried. I
couldn’t explain the emotions
I was feeling,” Covalt said. “I’ve
had dreams about this since
I was a little kid. I’ve missed
school dances to go into the
cages and put in work.”
On the fi eld, Covalt prides
himself on having an author-
itative presence as a catcher
and maintaining an unselfi sh
plate-approach when he’s at-
bat.
“Defensively, I feel like I
can control the pace of the
game and help get my pitch-
ers strikes,” Covalt said. “I have
really big connections with my
pitchers.”
“Offensively, I know what
needs to get done situationally.
Key Losses (girls):
Paige Downer- The only
McNary athlete to qualify for
state last season. Downer took
second at the Greater Valley
Conference District Meet in
the pole vault .
Kailey Doutt- Took third at
the district meet in the 800
meters and is currently run-
ning track at George Fox Uni-
versity.
Leah Doutt- Was one of the
top Celtics sprinters as a fresh-
man last season, but decided
to focus on spring basketball
in 2019.
Key Returners (Girls):
Ashlin Samples (sopho-
more): One of McNary’s most
versatile athletes. Samples
competed in the 100 meter
hurdles, pole vault, long jump
and 4x100 meter relay at the
district meet last season.
Isabella Walker (sopho-
more): Was a top-10 fi nisher
at districts in the 300-hurdles
and high jump as a freshman.
Also competed in the 4x100
and 4x400
Caitlyn Yates (junior): Was a
top-fi ve fi nisher in the 100m
as districts. Also competed in
long jump and triple jump
events at the conference meets.
With the majority of his
top girls athletes being under-
classmen, Gauntz is excited to
see his young crew continue
to improve.
“We just want to keep get-
ting growth from our young
group,” Gauntz said.
Key Losses (Boys):
Casey Tovas- McNary’s
top hurdler last season. Took
fourth in the 100-hurdles at
the district meet in 2018.
Tim Kiser- Placed fourth at
districts in the discus last year.
Lucas Garvey- Had top-
10 fi nishes in the 200m and
400m at the district meet in
2018.
Key Returners (Boys):
Dyami Rios (sophomore):
Should be one of McNary’s
top sprinters. Was on the 4 x
100 team that placed fourth at
districts last season.
Bryan Hernandez (sopho-
more): Hernandez was Mc-
File
Dyami Rios runs the anchor of the 4 x 100 relay
Please see TRACK, Page C3
Please see SIGNING, Page C3
Haley Ebner — A sec-
ond-team all-conference per-
former last season. Ebner hit
.371 last season with 19 RBIs
and 26 runs scored.
Emma Kinler — Posted a
.369 batting average last sea-
son with 22 RBIs. Received
an honorable mention nod.
McNary brings youth
movement to the track
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
After a disappointing 2018
season where they were only
able to send one athlete to the
state meet, the McNary track
and fi eld program hopes to
bounce back in 2019 with a
fairly young crew across the
board — the Celtics have over
100 athletes that are either
freshmen or sophomores
“We’re a really young team,”
said head coach Frank Gauntz.
“I hope we continue to retain
those kids and just get better
and better each year.”
I’m not going to crank it out
of the park every time, but I
will get the job done, move
guys around and be a good
teammate.”
It will still be another year
before Covalt is in a UCC
uniform, but Robbins is great-
ly looking forward to the day
he comes on campus.
“I’m so excited to get Tyler
into our program,” Robbins
said. “He’s a bulldog when it
comes to working hard and he
is off the charts when it comes
to desire and passion for the
game. We are blessed to have
him being a part of building
our program.”
While Covalt has been
playing varsity baseball since
his freshman year, Allen, on the
other hand, didn’t get real var-
sity experience until just last
season. But in a short time, the
right-hander was able to trans-
form himself into one of Mc-
Nary’s most reliable pitchers.
“David was our most im-
proved player last year and I
think a lot of that had to do
with him growing up as a high
school player and physically
getting bigger and stronger,”
Keeker said. “He’s got good
arm speed and is a good ath-
lete.”
In 56 innings pitched last
season, Allen had an incredible
1.12 ERA and struck out 30.
Even with his great com-
mand, Allen feels that his top
weapon on the bump is his
demeanor.
“I feel like my calmness
on the mound is my best
strength,” Allen said. “I don’t
lose my temperament when
I’m pitching. If something
doesn’t go my way, I don’t let
it get to me.”
Allen fi rst gained interest in
the Pacifi c baseball program
Key Returners:
File
Courtney Robers takes a hack at a ball in a game last season.
Roberts is expected to be the starting catcher for McNary.
Lady Celts aim for
conference crown
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Last Season: 17-9, (11-5
Greater Valley Conference).
Lost to Franklin in the fi rst
round of the playoffs.
The McNary softball pro-
gram has been one of the most
consistent teams in the valley
over the last fi ve years.
Despite losing some cru-
cial pieces to graduation, this
Celtic team still plans to re-
group and reload in 2019.
“Losing the kids we did
does have an impact,” McNary
head coach Kevin Wise said.
“But we return almost our en-
tire infi eld and we have good
experience in the outfi eld and
a senior starting pitcher.”
“There’s really high expec-
tations for this group. They
were upset with going out in
the fi rst round last year against
Franklin. These girls have
worked really, really hard in
the offseason.”
Key Losses:
Nadia Witt — McNary’s
best player over the course of
the last three years. Witt batted
a ridiculous .602 last season
with 23 extra-base hits and
had 29 RBIs. She also scored
46 runs and stole 17 bases and
was named the conference
player of the year for the sec-
ond time in as many years.
Taylor Ebbs (sophomore-
SS): The Celtics top returning
hitter. Ebbs led the team with
36 RBIs and scored 29 runs
on the season while posting
a .539 average. She received
fi rst-team all-league honors.
“(Ebbs) might be the best
all-around athlete I’ve ever
coached,” Wise said. “I’m ex-
pecting huge things from her.”
“I’m going out on a limb to
say that she’s probably going
to contend for player of the
year.”
Faith Danner (senior-P):
McNary’s ace returns to the
circle for one last season, hop-
ing to build off her 16-9 re-
cord from 2018. Danner had
an ERA of 3.09 over 140 in-
nings and was second-team
all-league. She also is one of
McNary’s top returning bats
as she hit .361 last season.
“She’s not going to be one
of those pitchers that is going
to strike everyone out. But she
pitches really well to spots and
when she’s on, she’s going to
produce a lot of ground balls,”
Rise said.
Haley Bingenheimer (ju-
nior-INF): As a second-team
all-conference player last sea-
son, Bingenheimer was third
on the team with a .414 bat-
Please see CELTS Page C3