PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 5, 2019
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Celts take three out of four
at spring break tournament
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary softball
team competed in the Jesuit/
Mountainside Tournament in
Beaverton over spring break,
where they played four games
in the span of just two days.
The Celtics fi nished the
tournament with a 3-1 re-
cord and had double-digit
run totals in all three of their
victories.
“We went into that tour-
nament refocused,” McNary
head coach Kevin Wise said.
“We had some really good
offensive games.”
Game 1: McNary 16
Century
5
(Monday,
March 25).
The Celtics racked up an
incredible 17 hits in this one
as they run-ruled Century
16-5 in the opening game of
the tournament.
Eight of the nine players in
the McNary lineup had mul-
tiple hits for the game. Taylor
Ebbs led the Celtics with a
3-for-3 game and knocked in
four runs.
Alexa Cepeda also had a
big game with two doubles
and three RBIs.
In McNary’s fi rst six games
of the season, senior pitcher
Faith Danner had been the
only one who saw time in the
circle.
But in this game, freshman
right-hander Hannah Ebner
made her fi rst appearance on
the mound for the Celtics.
In fi ve innings of work,
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
McNary’s Kate Ronning gets a base hit in a game against Tigard
earlier this season.
Ebner surrendered seven hits
and fi ve runs while striking
out two, earning her fi rst win
of her high school career.
“Having a great other
pitcher that we can throw out
there is invaluable,” Wise said.
“If she was nervous, she sure
didn’t show it because she
went out there and did her
job.”
At the plate, Ebner was
2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Game 2: Mountainside
6 McNary 0 (Monday,
March 25).
McNary couldn’t recap-
ture their offensive magic
from game one as they fell to
Mountainside.
It was the second time they
had been shutout this season.
“It took us a few innings to
adjust to their pitcher, and I
think by that time we just had
too big of a hole to climb out
of,” Wise said.
Danner threw a score-
less frame in the top of the
fi rst, but a pair of errors by
the McNary defense allowed
Mountainside to push two
across in the second inning.
Mountainside broke the
game open in the top of the
third with three runs, extend-
ing their lead to 5-0.
McNary’s best chance
to get back into the game
came in the bottom of the
fi fth. Danner started the in-
ning with a single to right
fi eld. The next batter, Shaylee
Custer, doubled down the
right fi eld line.
But Ellie Martin, who
was pinch running for Dan-
ner, was thrown out trying to
Please see CELTS, Page A11
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
McNary pitcher David Allen delivers to the plate.
McNary gets two
wins in Arizona
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Over spring break, the
McNary baseball team got
the opportunity to play in a
tournament down in Good-
year, AZ. — coincidently, the
Celtics only ended up match-
ing up with teams from Col-
orado.
Despite facing some tal-
ented squads, McNary was
able to salvage a 2-2 record in
the tournament.
“There was a lot to like,
but there’s also a lot to learn,”
McNary head coach Larry
Keeker said. “We saw a lot
of good things in terms of
our hitting, pitching and de-
fense, but there were also a lot
of mistakes that showed up
along the way that we need to
learn from moving forward.”
“The teams we played were
pretty talented to be honest,
and all four games were very
competitive. We could have
easily gone 0-4, but we also
could have gone 4-0.”
This trip, however, was
more than just about playing
baseball. It ended up being a
time of camaraderie for this
McNary group as they went
to spring training games, had
a bowling night and worked
together on team building ac-
tivities.
“It was really good for
us to get away and do some
things outside of baseball it-
self,” Keeker said.
Game 1: Chatfi eld 8 Mc-
Nary 5 (Monday, March,
25).
While the Celtics outhit
their opponent in their fi rst
game, the couldn’t overcome
committing four errors in the
fi eld in their 8-5 loss to Chat-
fi eld.
“Most of the defensive
mistakes we’re making are
physical mistakes,” Keeker
said. “It’s about making sure
we make the little details a
priority when we come to
practice.”
Robert Benson led the
way for McNary with a pair
of doubles and an RBI in this
one.
The Celtics got out to a
2-0 lead in the bottom of the
fi rst inning on a two-run sin-
gle by senior catcher. Ty Co-
valt.
McNary continued to
build on their lead in the bot-
tom of the third. With one
out in the frame and runners
on third and fi rst, the Celtics
pulled off a double steal as
David Allen was able to swipe
second and force a throw
from the catcher, which al-
lowed Benson to score from
third.
Moments later, Covalt
added another RBI-hit to put
McNary up 4-0.
The advantage increased
to 5-0 in the fourth inning
as Benson was hit by a pitch
with the bases loaded and no-
body out.
But with a golden oppor-
tunity to put the game out of
reach, McNary couldn’t push
any more runs across, which
proved to be costly.
McNary pitcher Rennick
Jeffries was solid on the hill
in his fi rst four innings of
work, giving up just one hit
and no runs. But in the top of
the fi fth, it all fell apart for the
Celtics, as Chatfi eld scored
fi ve runs on two hits to tie
the game in the fi fth — Jef-
fries was taken out with one
out in the frame.
Chatfi eld scored one run
in the sixth and two runs in
the seventh to seal the win.
Game 2: McNary 4
Wheat Ridge 3 (Wednes-
day, March 27).
A fantastic pitching per-
formance from Devon Be-
doya helped put the Celtics
Please see BASE, Page A10
Motocross legend honored in Seattle
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Mark Gregson doesn’t
consider himself a legend
when it comes to the sport
of motocross.
However, some of his
peers beg to differ.
On March 22, during the
Monster Energy Supercross
Series, Gregson was honored
at CenturyLink Field in Se-
attle, Wash. by the Legends
and Heroes Tour for his time
spent as a privateer racer in
the late 70’s — during the
infancy stages of motocross.
“Mark was a very accom-
plished motocross racer,”
said Alex Moroz, who is the
general manager of The Leg-
ends and Heroes Tour. “The
Northwest has a rich histo-
ry of riders and Mark was a
guy that came up through
the ranks to have a successful
career. Everyone remembers
him and speaks highly of
him.
The goal of the Heroes
and Legends Tour is to share
with fans the rich history of
the sport of motocross. From
the riders, to the history of
the bikes, this tour can be
seen all across the country at
multiple different motocross
series events — 2019 marks
the tour’s 10-year anniver-
sary.
It’s been nearly 40 years
since Gregson last raced
competitively, but that didn’t
change how grateful he was
to be honored in front of a
roaring crown of die-hard
fans of the sport he loves.
“It was a huge honor,”
Gregson said. “Racing is like
a huge family.”
Infl uenced by his father,
Gregson fi rst got into moto-
cross when he was a student
at McNary High School in
the early 70’s, and it became
a passion that he got to share
with his friends.
“There was a fairly large
group of us at McNary that
were into motocross and
racing at local events on the
weekends,” Gregson said.
After graduating from
McNary in 1975, Gregson
continued to compete in
local events and was the top
rider in the Northwest for
three straight years.
“I just had the desire to
compete and win,” Gregson
said.
After his success at the
local level, Gregson had the
desire to see if he could
compete on the top stage.
So, in 1978, he set off on
his own dime to compete
on the national tour in the
125MX division.
As a 21-year old privateer,
Gregson was at a signifi -
cant disadvantage compared
to his competitors. While
Gregson was sponsored by
the Chicago-based company
Lorenz Offner Products, he
was not directly supported
by an automobile manufac-
turer and had to race with
equipment that was inferior
to his competition.
“It’s hard to go out
there on your own against
stiff competition against
well-funded people. You
have to get that to realistical-
ly compete for a champion-
ship,” Gregson said. “I had to
make a lot of modifi cations
to the bike.”
However, that didn’t stop
Gregson from having success
at the highest level.
In his fi rst season as a pro-
fessional, Gregson fi nished
in the top-10 in four dif-
ferent races — including a
pair of fourth-place fi nishes
at Sunshine Speedway in St.
Petersburg Fla. and Metro-
lina Speed Park in Char-
lotte, N.C. respectively, and a
third-place fi nish at Agency
Motocross in St. Joseph, Mo.
Even though he moved
up to the 250SX class the
following season, 1979 was
Gregson’s best year of Greg-
son’s career.
Gregson earned sev-
en top-10 fi nishes over the
course of the year and fi n-
ished the season in fi fth place
at the 1979 Lucas Oil Pro
Motocross Championships
— which was the highest
fi nish for a privateer.
“I wasn’t the most talent-
ed guy out there, I just think
I had a lot more desire than
others,” Gregson said. “You
have to have the desire to
compete and win.”
“It was hard, but I loved
it.”
However, competing as
a privateer can only last for
so long. Gregson was on the
road for all but two weeks in
‘79 and wound up putting
65,000 miles on his truck
that year in traveling to com-
petitions.
So, after competing in
three races in 1980, Gregson
decided to retire from the
sport he loves.
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Salem resident and former McNary grad Mark Gregson shows off the award he was presented
at the Legends and Heroes motocross tour in Seattle, WA.
“I just got to point where
I didn’t see it going any fur-
ther than where I was at,”
Gregson said. “The amount
of work was too crazy.”
Gregson now resides in
Salem and is the superinten-
dent at Riverbend Sand and
Gravel, where he has worked
for the last 25 years.
But even though his days
as a professional racer are
long behind him, his dedica-
tion to motocross is admired
by those who love and re-
spect the sport.
“It is very hard to com-
pete as a privateer,” Moroz
said. “You have to fi nd your
own transportation and try
and live off your winnings.”
“It’s for the love of
the sport that guys like
Mark did what they did.”