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.