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Februaiy 8, 2006
Sportsmanship Grows
Riverdale Program r
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Riverdale Girls Varsity Coach Mario Deleso talks to junior Liz
Hampton and senior Lauren Holguin.
Newcomers compete
in a tough league
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Riverdale High School doesn’t
have an athletic tradition like its 4 A
team neighbors in Beaverton and
Lake Oswego. But the beauty of
sportsmanship is that it doesn’t
really matter when cheers fill the
gymnasium.
The 10-year-old southwest Port
land school of 250 students is hop
ing to build its fledgling athletic
department, often overshadowed
by the school’s academic focus,
into a program strong enough to
contend with established teams in
the 2A league.
Head varsity boys basketball
coach Michael Harper, ex-Trail
Blazer, knowledgeable high school
basketball coach, is wrapping up
his first season with Riverdale.
Harper is key to shaping the future
of Maverick athletes.
“Riverdale may be a team to be
reckoned with," Harper said. "The
most incredible thing is that we
have a firm base, and the future
The Riverdale High School Boys Basketball team: (Front row. from left) Evan Peterson. Michael Sabol. Zach
Fettig and Amandeep Dindral; (second row. from left) Coach Mark Washington, Mike Wance, Willie Durante.
Rozek and manager Willie Stoffer; (third row, from left), Sean Taylor. Coach Michael Harper and Chapin Pier.
looks bright.”
Assistant coach Mark W ash
ington also joined the basketball
program this season, bringing his
skills and experience as a coach in
northeast Portland to the suburban
district.
Harper and Washington view
their positions as a great challenge,
and both coaches are instrumental
in establishing a recruitable base,
not only in the tiny school district,
but surrounding areas.
The girls’ varsity team, coached
this season by Mario Deleso and
JenniferCard, has faced challenges
similar to the boys team, but they
also learned a valuable lesson early
on: how to reckon with the curse of
success. Three years ago they made
it to the 1A state playoffs, subse
I
quently getting bumped to 2A.
•A E T y r » # # ■ /
They've been experiencing grow
L
ing pains in 2A, which is regarded
R
as the most competitive in the state.
Coacn
Mark
Washington
brings
his Riverdale High School Junior Varsity team together during
Deleso said her girls understand
practice.
The
players
(front
row,
from left) are Jon Friedman, Jeff Dewitt, Mike Drummand,
the commitment it takes to be suc
Marshall
Fettig,
and
Blake
Ruble;
(back row, from left) Spencer Rozek and Hapreet Dindral.
cessful. One of those girls is Lauren
Holguin, a senior and guard/for-
ward for the Mavericks this sea
son. Holguin said the school’s small
size has allowed her to play several
positions and helped her grow as
an athlete.
“It’s helped me step up and be
confident,” she said.
Fellow senior and basketball
player Greg Thomason is a proto
typical Riverdale student: he pos
sesses athletic talent, but focuses
prim arily on academ ics. He ex
pressed faith in his new coach.
H a rp e r, b e c a u se “ h e ’s been
there.”
“He’s more vocal,” Thomason
said. “He’ll tell you how he feels
and how to get it done.”
As interest in Maverick sports
grows. Harper said his goal is to
create a pool of athletes to choose
from at the varsity level while add
ing a freshman team.
“I think we’ve done a great job in
getting the kids to believe hard
work does pay off,” he said.
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