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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ YEAR IN REVIEW ❚ 2016 SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017 5 SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS BY NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Review (cont) from 6 JUNE (cont.) J OHNSON NEW duty for students, parents and coaches.” AUGUST SHS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR In September, longtime Siuslaw coach Chris Johnson laced up his running shoes for more than the Vikings’ highly successful cross country and track programs. That’s because he’s doing a different kind of running around as the school’s new ath- letic director. The announcement was made Wednesday by Siuslaw High School principal Kerri Tatum, who explained that Johnson will work together with vice principal Corky Franklin to oversee the school’s athletics programs Franklin, who was appointed as athletic director in June, will be the administrative compo- nent, with Johnson being the hands-on and day-to-day coor- dinator for Siuslaw’s athletics programs. “Essentially, they will work together to handle all things athletic at the high school,” Tatum explained. “The athletic director will report directly to the vice principal to create a clean line of responsibility and H ORNUNG HEAD COACH OF V IK VOLLEYBALL New head volleyball coach Jon Hornung tends to smile a lot. Not just because he loves the sport. Or because he’s excited about taking over a pro- gram he knows has all the ingredients to reach the next level. “It’s just a great group I’m really enjoying coaching,” Hornung says. “I’ve got players who want to stay after practice to work on ways to improve their serves or kill shots. Not for themselves but for the team. “You have to love that as a coach.” His players are sharing the love. “It’s a good fit and we’re all on the same page,” says Jordan Long, a sophomore who will once again be seeing some solid varsity minutes this sea- son. “He makes it fun, and we’re getting in lots of condi- tioning while we’re doing it.” S AILORS BLAZE NEW TRAIL It’s been nearly 30 years since the trails winding through the woods in and around Mapleton High School carried the footfalls of cross country runners. But this year, Mapleton jun- ior Cole Spencer and freshman Richie Gastelun were climbing the trail woven between old logging roads before eventually emerging onto the main cam- pus and looping back up the steep hill leading to the mesa of Bill Bowerman Field. Until he went in to register as a freshman, Gastelun didn’t even know there was a cross country program at the high school. “That’s mostly because we haven’t had one since as far back as 1987,” says Aaron Longo, the school’s athletic director as well as its track and field coach and, now, cross country coach. “Cole and I talked about it at the end of last football season, and he was committed to doing it if it was a possibility. “So we made it happen. OCTOBER S IUSLAW NABS LEAGUE ’ S TOP SEED After splitting the season with Douglas, the Viking vol- leyball team left little question as to who deserved to emerge with the Far West League’s No. 1 seed to state. And that was the plan, according to senior spiker Elyssa Rose. “We finished second ever since I started as a freshman,” Rose said. “We came in focused to be No. 1 this time and leave no doubt. Accomplishing that feels amaz- ing.” The Vikings took the Trojans in four sets, 25-21, 25-23, 22- 25, 25-14, breaking an 8-2 league tie with Douglas. Rose, along with sophomore Makenzie York, led Siuslaw offensively, with Rose ham- mering Douglas with 13 kills, 13 blocks and 3 aces, and York scoring 16 kills and 11 blocks. NOVEMBER M ANS KEESP STATE CROWN Siuslaw senior Celie Mans wasn’t only the first to cross the finish line at Lane Community College in Eugene for the girls 4A state cross country title, she was also the first in Viking his- tory to do it twice. Her back-to-back state titles apex a career that included third place as a freshmen in 2013 and fourth place as a sophomore in 2014. Last year, she became only the third Lady Viking in school histo- ry to win the state title — begin- ning with Raelyn Robinson in 2009, then Katy Potter in 2012. N EW COACH HAS V IKING ROOTS In addition to having his own ties to Siuslaw basketball as a player, Dylan Perry has another shared experience with this year’s team. He’s coached most of the players before as a JV coach two years ago. “I know the potential this team has,” said Perry. “It’s a very competitive group that is willing to work hard to be suc- cesful.” After taking a year off from coaching, Perry saw the listing for head basketball coach of Siuslaw’s program and decided it was time to come back. “I thought about it for all of about 30 seconds,” said Perry. “I realized how much I missed coaching. And having the chance to coach this group again was something I couldn’t pass up. “They want to prove how good they can be, and I want to help them do it.” L ADY S AILORS NAME NEW BASKETBALL COACH Commercial • Residential A nother year, another chance to show you how much we appreciate your business! We look forward to your visits in 2017! 1 Voted # r ome o r G t e P aders 2016 Re ic o Ch e Open Mon- Sat 9am - 5 pm 1751 12th Street, Florence 541-997-2726 • Drop Box Service • Portable Toilets • Portable Storage Rentals • Recycling Specialist • Recyling Services & Containers available at no cost to customers. 85140 Hwy. 101 S Florence, OR 97439 Phone: 541-997-8233 Fax: 541-997-7345 As the new head coach of the Lady Sailors’ basketball pro- gram, Mike Murray has been making the 45-minute drive from Cheshire to Mapleton each afternoon for two simple reasons. First, because he is admitted- ly obsessed with the game of basketball. And secondly, “I am thor- oughly impressed with the kids and teachers at Mapleton,” says Murray. “They all have big hearts. I love being here.” With nearly 30 years coach- ing experience, including four consecutive trips to state and two state titles as head coach of Lowell’s varsity girls from 2004-07, Murray has seen all sides of the game — as a play- er, coach and even game offi- cial for 15 years. “I think about the game all the time,” laughs Murray. “I wake up at 5:30 a.m. thinking about how to improve what we’re doing.” DECEMBER OSAA PLAN MAY MEAN MORE MILES FOR V IKS As the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) redistricting conversation con- tinues, during it’s latest meet- ing in early December, the board offered new six-classifi- cation, five-classification and “football-only” proposals. Under the latest six-classifi- cation system, Siuslaw would be part of a Class 4A Far West League that includes: Cottage Grove, Creswell, Douglas, Elmira, South Umpqua and Sutherlin. However, should the OSAA decide to go with its most recent five-classification model, Siuslaw would become part of a Class 3A Southern Cascade League that includes Medford area schools St. Mary’s and Cascade Christian, as well as Grants Pass area schools Hidden Valley and North Valley. In short, the Vikings’ new league map would nearly dou- ble the miles the school already travels during a typical league season. It’s a proposal that Siuslaw High School athletic director Chris Johnson intends to oppose. Now... On to 2017
