B
Section B
S PORTS
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Howard shines in season debut
Hammel moves into the state's
discus Top-10
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
S
easoned track-and-fi eld athletes understand
that it’s diffi cult to start a new season where
they left off previously; it takes time to round into
peak condition.
But Cottage Grove junior Connor Howard de-
fi ed that logic by setting two personal bests in his
2015 debut at the Springfi eld Rotary Invitational
last Friday.
Howard ran 11.54 in the 100 meters and 24.14
in the 200 meters. Without any marks for seed-
ing purposes, he ran in the slower heats, yet still
placed in the top fi ve of both events.
Howards’ meet was only marred by a botched
handoff in the 4x100 meter relay. But with the
team settling into positions, he expects they’ll be-
come more accustomed to each other and won’t
have issues passing the baton in the future.
Michael Tharpe lowered his PR in the 110 me-
ter hurdles to 15.66 at last week’s Marist Clas-
sic but injured his foot in the process; he still ran
16.04 in a third-place performance on Friday.
“I spent a lot of time this week concentrating on
my foot,” Tharpe said. “And it was feeling better
before the race, but I lost a bit of control midway
through. I still think I’ll be in good shape for dis-
tricts, though.”
Tharpe came back later in the evening to set a
seasonal best of 44.14 in the 300 meter hurdles,
which placed fi fth.
Brad Geisler came within an inch of his PR in
the shot put, placing fi fth with a throw of
Please see Track and Field, Page 2B
photo by Matt Hollander
Cottage Grove's Connor Howard (far
right) won his heat of the 100 meters and
placed fourth overall.
The play
that didn't
beat the
Lions
Cottage Grove over-
came a key error in
its win over Sisters
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
photo by Matt Hollander
Top: Cottage Grove players rush to meet Elias Stock at home plate after he scored the winning
run against Sisters last Wednesday. Left: Payton Presley hit the walk-off single to score Stock.
Presley’s walk-off hit lifts
Lions to historic victory
Cottage Grove hands Sisters its fi rst
league loss in four years
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
H
Athlete of the Week:
Payton Presley
istory was made at Kelly Field last Wednesday.
Cottage Grove beat Sisters 3-2 on a walk-off
single by Payton Presley, snapping the Outlaws’ 50-
game league winning streak that dated back to 2011.
It was nothing short of a watershed moment for the
Lions, who climbed to No. 3 in the state rankings fol-
lowing the victory.
“I was thinking about this game before the season
even started,” said Presley, “because I knew how good
we would be, and this was going to be our chance to
take control of the league. Tonight, we made that state-
ment.”
Sisters (8-2, 1-1 Sky-Em) had previously not lost
to Cottage Grove (10-2, 2-0 Sky-Em) since 2009 — a
streak of 14 games, in which the Outlaws had outscored
the Lions 156-29.
“We don’t talk a lot about beating a particular team,
but all our kids knew what this game meant,” said Cot-
tage Grove coach Dan Geiszler. “The way they played,
it was exciting. And I’m really proud for our seniors,
who got it done against this team for the fi rst time.”
‘Exciting’ might be an understatement for the Lions’
fi nal at bats.
Through six innings, Cottage Grove managed just
four hits off of Sisters’ ace Justin Harrer, but Tristan
Mihan, who was batting in the seven spot, led off with
a single to left fi eld.
After falling behind 0-2, Elias Stock drew a walk to
put two men on base.
Bryce Allen then hit into a fi elder’s choice, and Brett
Ollivant struck out swinging to give Sisters two outs.
But up next, Presley took his very fi rst pitch deep to
centerfi eld, and Stock avoided the tag at home plate to
score the winning run from second base.
“Coach Geiszler teaches us to want that situation; to
be the hero. I was hoping that the guys in front of me
would get on base, and that I’d win the game for us,”
said Presley, who went 2-for-3.
Entering the seventh inning, Harrer had retired nine
straight batters. But Sisters coach Steve Hodges wasn’t
surprised that Cottage Grove was able to get men on
base in the fi nal frame.
Please see Baseball, Page 2B
Cottage Grove reclaims the Ladies golf club to
lead in boys' golf standings host open house
W
ith two fi rst place fi nishes last week, the
Cottage Grove boys’ golf team overcame
an early-season defi cit to Stayton to reclaim the
top spot in the league standings.
The Lions fi nished fi rst at Diamond Woods
last Tuesday with a score of 358, well ahead of
Junction City (373) and Stayton (386). Their scor-
ing team consisted of Cameron Sandoval (84),
Johnny Conrad (86), Nick Russo (92) and Jeremy
Hall (92). It was Hall’s fi rst round under 100, and
coach Kent Russo said that he has solidifi ed him-
self among the varsity fi ve.
On Thursday, the Lions continued to distance
themselves from both Stayon and Junction City.
Cottage Grove shot 366, while the Tigers and Ea-
gles scored 391 and 396, respectively. Contribut-
ing to the team score were Conrad (84), Sandoval
(87) Russo (93) and Hall (102). Derek Carlton
shot 110 as the Lions’ fi fth, non-scoring member.
Conrad leads the race for individual league
champion by one stroke, and Sandoval is also in
contention.
Coach Russo said that the team fi gures to be
even more lethal when Carlton emerges from his
current slump and Nick Russo, who missed the
fi rst part of the season due to injury, gets back to
scoring in the 80s.
Cottage Grove is at Agate Beach today for the
fi nal regular-season league match. The Lions will
then play three more events before the district
tournament, which will be held May 11 and 12 at
Tokatee Golf Club.
The Middlefi eld ladies golf club is hosting an open house on
Wednesday, May 6. Perspective members are invited to come play
a round of nine or 18 holes, free of charge. Tee time is at 8:30 a.m.,
but those who are interested are encouraged to arrive early for cof-
fee and doughnuts, and to learn more about the club.
“It’s a very fun and active group,” said secretary Linda Franklin.
“And we welcome new members of all skill level.”
The club, which has approximately 35 active members, began
playing this month and will continue meeting on Wednesday morn-
ings through the end of October. In addition to weekly games, the
club participates in a variety of fundraising tournaments.
Other offi cers of the club include president Pam Hirsh and trea-
surer Linda Levings, who was awarded Oregon Golf Association’s
member of the year in 2013.
Those seeking more information may call Hirsh at 541-345-
5822, or Franklin at 541-335-9802.
he Outlaws of Sisters
came into Cottage Grove
last Wednesday, the winners of
50 consecutive Sky-Em League
games. During that streak, they
outscored their opponents 530-
81 and had more games end in
fi ve innings than close contests.
So how exactly did the Lions
bring that freight train to a halt?
They made plays, lots and lots
of plays.
Of course, the game ended
with a great one: Payton Presley
gave Cottage Grove its second
walk-off win in as many weeks.
And there were several others
along the way that the Lions
could not have done without.
But perhaps the most impres-
sive play was the one that they
did not allow to beat them: T.J.
Bellamy’s error in the fourth in-
ning, which allowed Sisters to
tie the game, 2-2.
Besides being on the opposite
side of the fi eld, it had the look
of Bill Buckner’s infamous play
in the 1986 World Series. And
there was a collective gulp by
the Cottage Grove fans at Kelly
Field, who all surely thought
that the scrappy upset bid had
ended.
When facing a juggernaut,
missed opportunities feel like
omens. The law of averages
says that a team like Sisters
won’t stay down for long, and
you can’t afford to help them at
all.
And when Cottage Grove
pitcher Zach Thomason hit the
Outlaws next batter to load up
the bases, Lions’ fans were
probably just hoping that the
game wouldn’t get ugly.
But Payton Presley snared the
third out, and the Sisters squall
was neutralized before it had a
chance to set in.
Please see Hollander, Page 2B
CHGS cheer
members
selected for
all-star game
Three members of the Cottage
Grove High School cheer team
were chosen to participate in
Oregon’s 63rd annual East-West
Shrine all-star football game,
which will showcase some of
the best players from 1A-4A.
Justin Epperson, Hayley Evans
and Destiny Silke were select-
ed for spots on the 28-member
squad that will cheer during the
game, which will be held on
Aug. 1 in Baker City.
In addition, coach Melissa
Hatling was chosen to help lead
the group of cheerleaders.
Over the summer, Epperson,
Evans Silke and Hatling will
spend time fundraising and
weorking in Portland’s Shriners
Hospital for Children.