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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com BASKETBALL Three Warrenton girls selected all-league As of Wednesday morning, Feb. 21 TOP 10 MEDAL WINNERS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Norway Germany Canada Netherlands United States France Sweden South Korea Austria Japan G S B 13 11 9 12 7 5 9 5 7 6 6 4 6 4 6 5 4 5 4 4 0 4 3 2 4 2 4 3 5 3 The Daily Astorian The Warrenton girls basketball team landed three players and a coach on the Lewis & Clark All-League girls basketball team, released last week. Head coach Robert Hoepfl shared the girls’ Coach of the Year award with Rainier’s Doug Knox. Warrenton senior Tyla Little was one of six players named to the first team. Junior Claire Bussert was selected second team, and junior Olympics coverage at bit.ly/DAOlympics Fernanda Alva- rez earned third team honors. Six more players were selected honorable mention, giving the league 24 players on Tyla the all-league team. Little Rainier senior Desirae Hansen, who will play next year at Portland State, was named the league’s Player of the Year. League champion Rainier and second-place Clats- kanie each had just three play- ers selected to the squad. Fourth-place De La Salle led with five players on the Robert all-league team. Hoepfl Little is War- renton’s first player named to the first team since Mady Hanna (2011 and 2012). It’s the seventh time that a War- renton coach has been named as a league Coach of the Year, with Hoepfl joining Don Lampi (1993, 1994) and John Mattila (1998, 1999, 2009, 2010). No Warrenton players were selected to the 26-player all-league boys’ team. Player of the Year was De La Salle senior Emmanuel Rei- ley, and Coach of the Year was De La Salle’s James Broadous. The league champion Knights had six players named all-league. For complete teams, see Scoreboard. SPONSORED BY: J&S Appliance & Home Furnishings JandSappliance.com OLYMPICS IN BRIEF Czechs eliminate US in shootout in quarterfinals Associated Press GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Pavel Francouz stopped all five shooters and Petr Koukal scored the shootout winner as the Czech Republic eliminated the United States from the Olympics with a 3-2 victory in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Jan Kovar and Tomas Kun- dratek scored in regulation for the Czech Republic, which was fresher after winning its group and getting a bye into the quarter- finals. The U.S. looked fatigued after facing Slovakia in the qual- ification round a day earlier and was outshot 29-20. Ryan Donato and Jim Slater scored for the U.S, which again was led by its youngest players, including speedster Troy Terry. SCOREBOARD PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE TODAY Girls basketball — Seaside at Asto- ria, 4 p.m.; Southwest Christian at Jew- ell, 7 p.m. (weather permitting) GIRLS BASKETBALL Lewis & Clark All-League Player of the Year: Desirae Hansen, Rainier Coaches of the Year: Robert Hoepfl, Warrenton; Doug Knox, Rainier First Team Desirae Hansen, Sr., Rainier Shelby Blodgett, Fr., Clatskanie Tyla Little, Sr., Warrenton Emma MacLachlan, Sr., P.Adventist Olivia Sprague, Fr., Clatskanie Zoe Zurasky, Jr., Riverdale Second Team May Brannon, Sr., De La Salle Claire Bussert, Jr., Warrenton Sarygh Dalton, Sr., De La Salle Lauren Han, Fr., OR Episcopal Jaela McKinney, Jr., P.Christian Aspen Norman, Sr., Rainier Third Team Fernanda Alvarez, Jr., Warrenton Journie Conard, So., P.Christian Dedaes McGautha, Sr., Catlin Gabel Raven Pearce, Fr., De La Salle Josie Petersen, Jr., P.Adventist Olivia Warren, Sr., Clatskanie Honorable Mention Grace Borbon, Fr., OR Episcopal Hannah Farrell, So., Rainier My’Zhane Fesser, Jr., De La Salle MinYaun Miller, Jr., De La Salle Megan Ruoff, Sr., OR Episcopal Sophia Spry, Fr., Catlin Gabel Sportsmanship: Catlin Gabel DROUGHT OVER AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth United States’ Jessica Diggins, left, and Kikkan Randall celebrate after winning the gold medal in women’s team sprint freestyle cross-country skiing. US women win 1st Olympic cross-country medal By STEVE REED Associated Press P YEONGCHANG, South Korea — As she headed up the steepest, most gru- eling hill of her life in third place, Jes- sica Diggins thought to herself just winning an Olympic medal was no longer good enough. She wanted more. She wanted gold. Diggins dug deep, remembering all the years of training she had put in, and of all her teammates waiting for her at the finish line to bring home the United States’ first medal ever in women’s cross-country skiing — and then she let loose. Diggins reached the peak of the hill in third place but sped past Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla on the last big, winding downhill. She rounded the final corner and took dead aim at Sweden’s Stina Nilsson on the final 100-meter homestretch. The crowd in the grandstand was on its feet sensing history, and at that moment Dig- gins said she felt “unstoppable.” “Around that final corner I felt like I was uncoiling a spring and letting it go,” Diggins said. “Giving it everything I had, digging as deep as I could and putting it all out there. When your team is counting on you, you don’t give up ever.” Diggins certainly didn’t give up. She blew by Nilsson in a blur to capture gold in the team sprint, bringing the United States its first gold medal ever in cross-coun- try skiing. As she crossed the line she collapsed in exhaustion as teammate Kikkan Randall tack- led her in the snow. Randall lay on top of a crying Diggins shaking her ski jacket in pure excitement and utter joy. “That feeling of being able to cross the line and have Kikkan tackle me was the coolest thing ever,” Diggins said. It was fitting Randall was her partner on the two-woman team. She has been through all of the tough times, competing with the American cross-country ski team since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She said it was also fitting that the American women won their first medal in a team event. “I got to see in 2013 when we won the world championships ... that team gold is worth far more than any individual accolade,” the 35-year-old Randall said. “What really kept me going over the last four years was try- ing to contribute toward a team medal. To do it with Jessie one more time is just amazing.” So move over Bill Koch, you have com- pany — finally. Koch was the only other American to win a medal in cross-country, taking home silver at the 1976 Innsbruck Games. Diggins and Randall ended that 42-year drought and surely gave a huge boost to all of the young cross-country skiers back home in the United States. Goggia beats Vonn; Bjoergen sets Winter Games medals mark BOYS BASKETBALL Lewis & Clark All-League Player of the Year: Emmanuel Reiley, De La Salle Coach of the Year: James Broadous, De La Salle First Team Emmanuel Reiley, Sr., De La Salle Sasha Agapiev, Jr., Catlin Gabel Tyshawn Ford, Sr., P.Adventist Ian Holzman, Sr., OR Episcopal Caymon Rea, Sr., Rainier Dusten Sewald, Sr., Clatskanie Second Team Kadren Addy, Sr., De La Salle Colby Bullard, Sr., OR Episcopal Dawson Carr, Sr., Rainier Ubedei McGautha, Fr., Catlin Gabel Kadeem Nelson, Jr., De La Salle Dee Pennington, Sr., P.Christian Third Team Dylan Irvine, Jr., P.Adventist Rowan Hoffman, Sr., Catlin Gabel Kai Munoz, Jr., P.Christian Clayton Pelz, Jr., Riverdale Joey Tripp, Jr., Rainier Lucas VanderPloeg, Jr., P.Christian Honorable Mention Theo Aclan, Jr., De La Salle Brad Antal, Jr., P.Christian Whit Horning, Jr., Riverdale Devon Jones, Jr., Clatskanie Anthony Mosley, Jr., De La Salle George Sadi, So., De La Salle Jett Sheng, So., Catlin Gabel Ryan Watson, Sr., Clatskanie Sportsmanship: Portland Adventist By DENNIS WASZAK JR. Associated Press PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Sofia Goggia refused to let Lind- sey Vonn catch her. Or, anyone else. The Italian skier won the wom- en’s downhill Wednesday , holding off Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway by 0.09 seconds and Vonn by 0.47 seconds. “I was really focused — I moved like a samurai,” Goggia said. “Usu- ally, I’m really chaotic, but I wanted to take in every little detail, every particular in the morning. I believed in myself. And then what counts, counts.” Speaking of counting, Marit Bjo- ergen has had to do plenty of it during her Olympic career. She became the most-decorated Winter Olympian of all time with 14 career medals, get- ting the latest when Norway won the bronze in the women’s team sprint in cross-country skiing . “When you’re still an athlete you just have focus on other races,” Bjo- ergen said. “I think I’ll need to have time to myself and look behind me AP Photo/Christophe Ena Lindsey Vonn wipes her face while speaking at a press con- ference after winning the bronze medal in the women’s downhill. and look how I’ve been able to do this. It’s still hard to understand it when I’m standing here.” While Bjoergen’s milestone was the highlight, the United States’ vic- tory in the event was its first Olym- pic gold in women’s cross-country skiing. Norway won the men’s sprint, giv- ing the country its 13th cross-country medal at the games to tie an Olympic record, and added gold in the men’s speedskating team pursuit with a win over South Korea in the final. Japan beat defending champion the Nether- lands in an Olympic record to win the women’s team pursuit, and the U.S. women picked up bronze. Mariama Jamanka won the wom- en’s bobsled, giving Germany its fifth gold medal in eight sliding events so far at Pyeongchang. Meanwhile, the Russian athletes are still sitting at zero in the gold medals column. But that number could change soon. Teen figure skaters Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva were in first and second place , respectively, in the women’s short program after earning the highest scores ever. That leaves them both in good position to come up with gold heading into the free skate Friday. “I was very happy when I saw the score, but I did not expect it,” said the 15-year-old Zagitova, who had 82.92 points. “Now my name will be con- nected to that record.” Brady Leman of Canada won the men’s skicross , beating Marc Bis- chofberger of Switzerland in a wild final — after some scary elimina- tion rounds during which a handful of crashes forced several men to leave the course on medical sleds. Finland won the bronze in wom- en’s hockey with a 3-2 victory over the Russian team. The gold-medal game between the United States and Canada is Thursday. At Jeongseon Alpine Center, Gog- gia was behind on the leaderboard at the top, but sped up near the bot- tom of the hill. It was enough to keep Vonn just out of reach when she raced two spots later. “I gave it all today, skied a great race,” Vonn said. “Sofia just skied better than I did.” Meanwhile, the 33-year-old Vonn likely completed her final Olympic downhill race. She will compete in the combined, along with American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, and that will be her last race in Pyeongchang. “It’s sad,” Vonn said. “It’s my last downhill. I wish I could keep going. I’m having so much fun and I love what I do, but my body just can’t take another four years. But I’m proud to be competing for my country, giving it all and proud to come away with a medal.”
