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PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, NOVEMBER 29, 2019 KEIZERTIMES.COM McNary student headed to Junior World Cup Titus will join a team of 19 other skaters considered to be some of the top junior roller derby athletes in the country. “I really couldn’t believe that I got in. I started cry- ing as soon as I found out. I know that I’m talented, but I never thought I was at that level,” Titus said. “I still can’t describe how excited I am about it.” Titus fi rst got into the sport at the age of eight when her mom joined a Cherry City Roller Der- by adult team. Three years later, a junior team called the Cherry Blossoms was created, which gave Titus a chance to compete. Even though she was only allowed to practice at fi rst and c o u l d n ’t make con- tact with other skat- ers, Titus fell in love with the sport. “I was so excit- ed when the junior team started,” Ti- tus said. “This is my main passion. I was always a sporty kid growing up, but I just fell in love with roller derby.” In roller derby, there are fi ve members of each team that are on the track at the same time (four blockers and a jammer). Each jammer wears a star on their helmet and starts behind the op- posing blockers, otherwise aggressive sport that allows full contact, Titus believes that it’s tamer than what it used to be. “It’s not how it was in the ‘70s with all the punch- ing and kicking. You do get some nasty shoulders to the sternum, but it’s not as vio- lent as it used to be,” Titus said. In her time with the Cherry Blossoms, Titus has gotten the opportunity to compete in bouts with the Rose City Rollers in Port- land and even got to go to Los Angeles for a tourna- ment with her Cherry Blos- som teammates. After seeing growth in her skill level, Austin encouraged Titus to go to Portland for a tryout for the World Cup team. In late Septem- ber, Titus partici- pated in what she called a “grueling” tryout that was fo- — Anneke Titus cused heavily on conditioning, fol- lowed by a two- strategy during the course of hour scrimmage. “I was trembling by the play and set the pace of the end of it. I was so sore,” Titus blockers. “She mostly wanted to be said. “It was very physical- a jammer and wear the star ly demanding, but also very on her cap and score all the fun.” A couple weeks later, Ti- points. But she also is great at defense. I know I can count tus got the call to join the on her to lead the team in team. “It’s the highlight of that area,” said Chris Austin, who has coached Titus for my athletic career. I never the last two years. “I forced thought I would be up this her to be a captain because high,” Titus said. “I really have to credit my I felt like she was someone who wanted to build this coaches over the years. I feel thing up.” Please see DERBY, Page A12 While roller derby is an known as “the pack.” Jam- mers score points for every opposing blocker they are able to lap. Jams last for two min- utes, with a 30-second break in-between to make lineup changes. At the end of two 30-minute halves, the team with the most points wins. For the majority of her ca- reer, Titus has been a jammer. But over the last two years, she has been able to show her versatility as a blocker. Titus has also recently played the role of pivot — a blocker who is allowed to become a jammer while the action is going. The pivot is often the team’s most experienced player that can establish “It’s the highlight of my athletic career. I never thought that I would be up this high.” Submitted Anneke Titus has established herself as one of the best junior roller derby competitors in the world, which is why she will be representing Team USA at the Junior World Cup in August. By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Anneke Titus, a senior at McNary High, has been competing in roller derby for the last six years. What started as a fun after-school activity has turned into a deep passion for Titus, which is one of the reasons why she will be heading north of the border this summer. Last month, Titus was no- tifi ed by the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) that she has been selected to compete for Team USA at the Junior Roller Derby World Cup in Saskatchewan, Canada. McNary girls basketball preview Celtics set to reload for 2019-20 season Doutt was a second-team By MATT RAWLINGS all-league performer last sea- Of the Keizertimes In each of Elizabeth Dor- son, averaging 12 points and an’s fi rst two years as the girls 4.5 rebounds per game. She basketball coach at McNary also led the team in assists High, the Celtics were one and blocked shots. With her multi-faceted of the younger teams in the offensive ability, Doutt will league. But as she prepares for likely be at the center of her third season at the helm, the scouting report for all of Doran is thrilled to be re- McNary’s opponents. “Leah is going to have a turning eight players that were on the varsity roster last target on her back, because she’s such a great player. She season. can score the “For the basketball re- fi rst time in a ally well and while, we have “We defi nitely can create a more expe- shots for her- rienced group. want to self, but she We have been compete for is also a great pretty young distr ibuter over the past the league and is really two years, title. We feel good at set- and now we ting up her have a strong like we have a e a m m a t e s ,” junior class group of girls t Doran said. to go along Despite re- with two se- that can do turning the niors that majority of have been in that.” their roster, the program — Elizabeth Doran, the Celtics for a cou- McNary head coach will greatly ple years that miss the ser- know what to vices of Abi- expect from me and know what to ex- gail Hawley. As a senior last season, pect from each other,” Dor- an said. “It’s a good group. I Hawley was one of the top love coaching them and I am scorers in the conference at looking forward to the sea- 13.3 points per game. She also led the McNary in steals son.” The top player out of (30) and three-point fi eld McNary’s eight returners goals (25), and was named is junior guard Leah Doutt, fi rst-team all-league. While Doutt looks to take who could be a candidate for Mountain Valley Conference over the bulk of McNary’s Player of the Year by the time scoring, Doran believes that the Celtics will have other the regular season is over. players that will be able to step into key offensive roles. “Losing Abby is hard be- cause we lose a lot of scoring and someone who embraced a leadership role. But there are a lot of people stepping up,” Doran said. Junior shooting guard Mackenzie Proctor started for most of the season last year and proved to be a con- sistent sharpshooter for Mc- Nary. Look for her to play an even bigger role in the offense this season. “We have seen a big im- provement with Kenzie and her confi dence. When she’s confi dent, she’s hard to guard because she shoots the ball really well and can also go off the dribble. I think she will step into more of a scoring roll for us,” Doran said. The Celtics will also re- turn junior guard Kennedy Buss, who was an honorable mention performer last sea- son. Buss led the team in re- bounding and was arguably the best on-ball defender in the league. “She’s always going to give us great defense, but I believe Kennedy is going to step up and hit more shots for us this year,” Doran said. For the second year in a row, McNary will be a team that lacks size. But thanks to their quickness and athleti- cism, the Celtics are hoping to make life diffi cult on op- posing teams with their de- fensive pressure. “I think we will be able to put more full-court defen- sive pressure on teams. We want to avoid getting caught Please see CELTS, Page A13 KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings McNary point guard Leah Doutt takes the ball to the rack in a game against Mountain View last season. Doutt will likely be one of the top returning players in the Mountain Valley Conference.
