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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2021)
SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM | SATURDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 18, 2021 | $1.00 Viks complete Hack-a-thon threepeat By Coach Lloyd Little Siuslaw News Retired teacher, coach & game official Sports & Lifestyle With more than 55 years as an athlete, coach, parent and spectator, Lloyd Little shares what he’s learned about sports from his multiple points of view My Sports Philosophy Foundation Originally published Dec. 19, 2020 COURTESY PHOTO SPORTS CALENDAR Siuslaw and Mapleton All events subject to change December 18 • SHS Wrestling — Grants Pass Winter Kickoff (Day 2) • SHS Girls Basketball — Creswell Tournament (Day 2) • SHS Boys Basketball — Creswell Tournament (Day 2) December 20 • MHS Girls Basketball — vs. Colton (Bandon Dunes Holiday Tournament) — Noon • MHS Boys Basketball — vs. Waldport (Bandon Dunes Holiday Tournament) — Time TBD December 21 • MHS Girls Basketball — Bandon Dunes Holiday Tournament (Day 2) • MHS Boys Basketball — Bandon Dunes Holiday Tournament (Day 2) • SHS Boys Basketball — vs. Pleasant Hill — 5:45 p.m. • SHS Girls Basketball — vs. Pleasant Hill — 7:15 p.m. Siuslaw’s Hack-a-thon “Team Fenrir” members Brayden Holcomb, a freshman, and Hannah Edman, a junior and team captain, work on the design of their competi- tion-winning video game. Siuslaw sent two teams to codeORcreate’s three-day Hack-a- thon. Siuslaw High School designers and coders excel in first competition of season By Zac Burtt Siuslaw News From Dec. 3 through Dec. 5, the Siuslaw business and technology program compet- ed in the annual codeORcre- ate Hack-a-thon. This is the third consecutive year the team has entered this com- petition. This is also the third straight year SHS has taken 1st place honors in the cate- gory of game design and de- velopment. In the Hack-a-thon, teams of up to five come together to create a tech-based solu- tion for a community chal- lenge. Teams are paired with an industry mentor and have 48 hours to build a website, app or video game, and then present their final project to the panel of judges and fel- low participants. The event is sponsored by Elevate by Con- nected Lane County, Wayfair, Emerald Broadband and Palo Alto Software. Siuslaw fielded two teams of designers and coders for this annual hack-a-thon; Team Váli, which consisted of seniors Hayden Houlihan, David Stegers, John Corser and Mark Olson and junior Lucian Murphy, and Team Fenrir, consisting of juniors Hannah Edman, Noel Her- nandez and Kaden Harms, sophomore Taylor Spencer and freshman Brayden Hol- comb. The competition began on Dec. 3 at noon. From there, student teams chose to de- sign and code either a video game, a mobile app or web- site addressing the challenge. Both Siuslaw teams chose to design and code a video game addressing conservation and quickly got to work deciding on a platform for coding the game, choosing a game genre and delegating roles for team members. Coders on both teams de- cided on Scratch for their game coding engines; de- signers chose Illustrator and Pixelart for visual design and Bandlab and BeepBox for sound effects. See CODE page 2B Getting better every day Viking girls basketball steadily improving • MHS Girls Basketball — Bandon Dunes Holiday Tournament (Day 3) • MHS Boys Basketball — Bandon Dunes Holiday Tournament (Day 3) • SHS Wrestling — Marshfield 4-Way Dual (Coos Bay) • Winter break for Mapleton and Siuslaw school districts RESULTS Dec. 14 BOYS BASKETBALL Siuslaw 63 – Newport 61 GIRLS BASKETBALL Siuslaw 14 – Newport 45 Other games the first part of this week were canceled for both Siuslaw and Mapleton. Tide Tables For the entrance of the Siuslaw River are available at www.saltwatertides.com Much of my sports foundation began during my playing days at Sunset Elementary School in Herm- iston, Ore. I learned from an early age two important concepts I have carried with me for a lifetime. Number one is that winning is much more fun than losing. Number two is that the winner often gets to keep playing against a new opponent. This extra playing time helps to develop skills that in turn helped me to win more games; the more I won the more I got to play. When the winners get to keep the court in one-on-one basketball, they get more playing time in team bas- ketball. It coincides with the phrase “a rolling stone gathers no moss” be- cause the more you play, the better you get — and watching is not near- ly as fun as playing. I graduated from Pacific Universi- ty with a master’s degree in physical education. The requirements includ- ed earning credits from a variety of individual and team sports. See TIME OUT page 3B Athletics News & Notes By Zac Burtt Siuslaw News December 22 December 20 to January 3 Time Out (Clockwise from left) Freshman Rhianna Lane, #0, attempts a free throw versus Newport on Dec. 14. Lane had 10 rebounds versus the Cubs. Jolee Erickson, #9, is a freshman on the Siuslaw Viking basketball team. Sophomore Jane Lacouture, #4, is co-captain of the SHS girls basketball team and also the team’s leading scorer. Story & Photos By Zac Burtt Siuslaw News When Aaron McNeill took the Siuslaw Viking girls bas- ketball coaching job for the second time, he stated that he had one simple goal: improve every day. “I believe it is extremely important to work hard and make improvements every day, with the ultimate goal of being a much better team at the end of the season than we were at the start,” said McNeill when he initially accepted the position in October. “If we continue to work hard and improve as individuals and a team, wins will come.” Seven games into the 2021- 22 season, McNeill’s Vikings are achieving their goals. After traveling to Newport on Dec. 3 and losing 52-2, the Vikings met the Cubs again on Dec. 14, this time on their home court. Though not the outcome the McNeill or his players would like, Siuslaw showed great im- provement over the two teams’ first meeting, but still lost to Newport 45-14. Senior Gracie Perkins led the Vikings with 8 points ver- sus the Cubs. See BBALL page 2B Elks host Hoop Shoot Contest today T h e Florence Elks Lodge #1858 is once again hosting the Elks Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest. This is the Na- tional Elks 50th anniversary of hosting this event for children. The Florence event will take place at Siuslaw Elementary School, 2221 Oak St., on Satur- day, Dec. 18, at 9:30 am. Everyone is encouraged to come and participate in the contest. Winners will receive trophies and ribbons. Winning shooters for both boys and girls age groups — 8 & 9, 10 & 11, 12 & 13 — that make more than 18 of their 25 free throws will qualify for the District Hoop Shoot, an overnight stay with parents, meals and gasoline expenses in Seaside, Ore., on Jan. 8, 2022. (Parent or Guardian must show proof of current covid vaccinations). For questions, contact Director Harry Gualco at 541- 790-1076. • Sean O’Mara, Siuslaw softball coach has stepped down. O’Mara has 17 years of coaching Viking softball under his belt, over two different periods, first coaching SHS in 1999. Interviews to fill the position will begin in January. In addition to a head softball coach, Siuslaw Athletic Director Chris Johnson is looking for an assistant track and field coach. Information and applications can be found here: siuslaw.tedk12.com/hire/ index.aspx. • A member of the Siuslaw Athletic Hall of Fame passed away on Dec. 2. Jerry Richard “Rich” Prater was 57. Prater was an all-state lineman on the 1981 Viking team that shared the state title with South Umpqua. He was inducted into the Siuslaw Hall of Fame in 2015. “Prater is widely re- garded as one of the best linemen in Siuslaw High School history,” said his hall of fame induction notice. • The Siuslaw Viking varsity basketball team was out of com- mission last week due to illness. SHS was forced to cancel its Dec. 8 game at Pleasant Hill and also had to pull out of the Harrisburg Booster Club Tournament over the weekend. • Season passes are available for Siuslaw boys and girls basketball games. Prices are $33 for adults and $21 for students. Season passes to not include the Sky- Em League-Skyline Conference Crossover girls tournament games Jan. 7-8. Tickets can be purchased here: bit.ly/siuslawtickets. • Siuslaw assistant football coach Sean Campbell is creating a tribute to the championship season and needs your pictures See NOTES page 3B