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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2019)
PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 26, 2019 IN REBATES $ 4500 2018 ECOSPORT SE ALL 2019 starting at ECOSPORTS $20,320 * SPRING SALES 2019 ESCAPE S starting at SUV EVENT $19,376 ** Keizer 3555 River Road N, Keizer (503) 463 - 4853 *MSRP $25,965, Sale price $20,320 after Skyline Discount $1,145 and $4,000 rebate, $500 Select Inventory Bonus Cash, plus license, title & documentation fee $413 and applicable taxes. Vin#238235, Stk#183582. OAC. Art is for illustration only. **MSRP $25,100, Sale price $19,376 after Skyline Discount $1,224, and $3,000 rebate, $1,000 Bonus Cash, $500 Select Inventory Bonus Cash, Plus license, title & documentation fee $413 and applicable taxes. Vin#A555540, Stk#193746. OAC. Art is for illustration only. www.skylineforddirect.com KEIZERTIMES.COM McNary’s bats come alive in victory BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Coming into their contest with West Salem, the McNary softball team had scored 60 runs in their last four games. And the offensive produc- tion didn’t slow down in this one. The Celtics pushed across 12 runs on 19 hits as they cruised to the 12-5 victory over West Salem on Monday night. “We have been working on hitting a lot. That has been our main focus lately,” McNary head coach Kevin Wise said. “Every inning, we kept the pedal to the metal and didn’t let up.” “Once they got hot, the girls just fed off each other. It was really fun to watch.” Faith Danner, Kamryn Miller and Abbi Covalt had three hits apiece for McNary. Kate Ronning went 4-for-5 at the dish with two RBIs and a run scored. While she only went 1-for- 2 at the plate, it was clear that McNary shortstop Taylor Ebbs is making a name for herself among Mountain Val- ley Conference coaches. After she scalded a line- drive double off the wall in the top of the second inning, West Salem head coach Ty Nicholson elected to inten- tionally walk Ebbs in her fi nal three plate appearances. But the strategy wound up backfi ring on the Titans as Ebbs scored each time she was dealt an intentional pass. “What I really liked was, after they walked (Ebbs), the girls behind her picked her up by hitting singles and dou- bles,” Wise said. “Everyone is chipping in right now and it makes life a lot easier as a coach.” The McNary offense ex- ploded out the gate with fi ve runs in the top of the fi rst to take a comfortable lead. Alexa Cepeda and Covalt started the contest with back- to-back singles and gave the Celtics runners on second and third with nobody out after a stolen base by Covalt. Cepeda and Covalt both scored on RBI-groundouts to put McNary on top 2-0. Ronning and Shaylee Cluster kept the inning going with back-to-back doubles to give the Celtics the 3-0 advantage. Hannah Ebner Please see CELTS, Page A13 KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings McNary third baseman Kate Ronning doubles to center fi eld in the second inning. Ronning was 4-for-5 on the night with a pair of doubles in the Celics 12-5 victory over West Salem on Monday. Celtics outlast West Albany BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Kendyl Jennings led the Celtics with six goals as Mc- Nary’s girls lacrosse teamwas able to pull away late to earn the 13-9 victory over West Albany on Tuesday night. Haley Hughes chipped in with three scores while Mi- kayla Fleming and Regann Donahue added two goals apiece in the win. “We have great chemistry on this team and I think that really helped us tonight,” Jennings said. “We can all read each other really well.” After missing a couple of point-blank opportunities in the fi rst three minutes, Flem- ing was the one that got Mc- Nary on the board fi rst as she got herself free with a great spin move and put one in the net. Moments later, Donahue, who was waiting patient- ly behind the posts waiting for a teammate to get open, found Jennings cutting to- wards the net, and the junior put one between the pipes to give the Celtics the 2-0. Even though they missed some shots right at the net throughout the game, Mc- Nary always seemed to be able to get high-percentage looks on the majority of their offensive possessions. “We have been really fo- cusing on being smart with our shots,” McNary head coach Becca LaFramboise said. “They really understand the importance of being patient and waiting for the right opportunity.” West Albany got their fi rst goal of the contest six min- utes into the fi rst half, but the Celtics responded almost immediately as Donahue won the face-off and took it all the way herself for the score to put McNary back up by two. The Celtics extended the lead to 5-2 after a pair of quick scores by Hughes and Donahue. But McNary could only put one across in the fi nal 15 minutes of the half, allowing the Bulldogs to cut the defi cit to one at the break. But every time West Alba- ny threatened to tie or take the lead in the second half, the Celtics always had an an- swer. “We just had that special click inside of us and when- ever the other team scored a goal, we’re always ready to fi ght back,” Donahue said. The two teams traded four goals each in the fi rst 10 minutes of the second half as McNary clung to a 10-9 lead. But a trio of key scores allowed the Celtics to sep- arate themselves down the stretch. Hughes scored her third goal of the contest at the 9:21 mark by sneaking in a shot pass the West Albany goalkeeper into the left side of the net. Four minutes later, a shot from Jennings initially looked like it was stopped by the keeper, but the ball just trickled across the line for the score to put McNary on top 12-9. Jennings scored her fi nal goal of the game with un- der a minute remaining as she forced a turnover deep in Bulldog territory, scooped up the ball and fi red a laser into the twine, putting her Please see LAX, Page A12 KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings Kendyl Jennings tries to get past a West Albany defender in McNary’s 13-9 victory on Tuesday night. KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings Gabriel Martinez clears the bar in his fi rst jump of the day in McNary’s dual meet with Sprague on Wednesday, April 24. Martinez won the high jump with a leap of 5-feet-6 inches. McNary shows improvement in dual meet with West Salem BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes While it may not have shown on the scoreboard, the McNary boys and girls track teams continue to show steady improvement as the season goes along. “We’re doing a really good job competing,” McNary head coach Frank Gauntz said. “The kids have been showing that when you come out and work hard, you’re going to get bet- ter.” “All-around, it was a fun meet to watch.” West Salem defeated Mc- Nary 92-53 on the boys side and 112-29 on the girls side on Wednesday, April 17. But that didn’t stop the Celtics from coming away with a number of season and personal records. The McNary boys had three individuals (Nikita Mar- tushev, Elio Carnella and Axel Zapien) all set personal records in the 400 meters by all fi nish- ing under the 54-second mark — Martushev won the race with a time of 53.06. “Getting three guys to go under 54 (seconds) was really exciting,” Gauntz said. In his fi rst run of the sea- son, Gavin Gasperini won the 3000m (10:23.24) and beat his old personal-best by more than a minute. Where the Celtic boys re- ally excelled was the jumping events. Gabriel Martinez won the high jump with a new season-best of 5-feet-6 inch- es while Cole Garland took home the win in the long jump by setting a new person- al record (19-6). Remy Olson also hit a new personal-high in the triple jump (40-2) and Sunny Ho- ang ended tied for fi rst in the pole vault 10-6. Sabella Alfaro continued her hot start to the season for the McNary girls as she once again set another personal-best in the javelin (123-5). It was the third time this season she won the event at a Mountain Valley Conference dual meet. “Her ceiling is so high,” Gauntz said. “It’s just a mat- ter of getting that technique down because (javelin) is a re- ally technical event.” As a freshman, Ashlin Sam- ples was one of the best fresh- man on the McNary track team. But Samples transferred to West Salem over the offsea- son. In her fi rst meet against her old school, Samples was victorious in the 100-hurdles (17.16) and tied for fi rst with McNary’s Brandi Grunberg pole vault (9-6). Caitlyn Kiefi uk Yates was neck-and-neck with her for- mer teammate in the 100-hur- dles, but Samples just edged her out down the stretch. “Any time a different color jersey winning, you don’t like it … But she’s a great kid and a good athlete and I wish her the best,” Gauntz said of his former athlete. “Caitlyn ran a great race against her and if she doesn’t hit the last two hurdles, she might have beat her.” Isabella Walker had the only other win for the Celtics in the high jump (4-8). McNary’s next dual meet comes on Thursday, May 2 against Cascade starting at 3:45 p.m.
