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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2015)
B Section B S PORTS South Lane County Sports and Recreation Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com Presley Lions sweep Huskies, Falcons in Sky-Em tri meet honored Cottage Grove girls and boys each win eight events on their way to victory at Sweet Home by OADA BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel T he Oregon Athletic Di- rectors Association rec- ognized Cottage Grove High School Athletic Director Dave Presley with the OADA / OSAA Partnership Award on April 20 at Sunriver Resort, during the 46th annual OADA State Con- ference. BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel T he Cottage Grove track-and-fi eld team had another strong outing in a Sky-Em League triangular meet Thursday at Sweet Home. “If last week was a breakthrough per- formance, this meet was about compet- ing,” said Cottage Grove coach Ricky Knutson. “The temperatures were a bit cooler, and at times it was wet, so the conditions weren’t the best for setting PRs. But I think that was an important lesson: you’re not always going to be able to set a PR at this point of the sea- son.” The boys won eight events en route to scoring 76 points, which outpaced Sweet Home (66) and Elmira (38). Michael Tharpe led the way with victories in the 110 meter hurdles and 300 meter hurdles. His time of 44.08 in the latter event was a seasonal best and ranks as the fourth-fastest in the Sky- Em. Tharpe also placed second in the 100 meters (11.55) and teamed with Con- nor Howard, Jacob Woods and Brynden Howell to take fi rst in the 4x100 meter relay (44.89). Howard, who typically runs the short dashes, moved up to the 400 meters for the fi rst time in his career. He won in 52.74, which is the fourth-best time in the league. Please see TRACK AND FIELD, Page 2B Athlete of the Week: Michael Tharpe Cottage Grove High School Hall of Fame preview Dave Presley The OADA recognizes athlet- ic directors from each of the six classifi cations through nomina- tions submitted by current and former associates, school per- sonnel and community members that are evaluated by an awards committee and approved by the OADA Executive Board. The OADA / OSAA Partner- ship award, which is not neces- sarily awarded every year, goes to an athletic director who goes above and beyond the scope of their normal duties to support the OSAA through their work on committees, hosting state- championship contests or other efforts that benefi t the organiza- tion. OSAA Sports Information Director Steve Walker said that Presley stood out from other nominees for his year-in, year- out commitment to staging high- quality championship events. “What sets Dave apart is that he and his staff never just go through the motions. They really make it a special expe- rience for athletes, fans and OSAA personnel. Even when his Lions aren’t competing in these games, Dave shows just as much excitement to host outside teams,” Walker said. Presley was also recognized for his 15 years of service as an athletic director. Lions fall in Sky-Em softball standings After the opening week of league play, the Lions were in a tie for second place at 2-1. But since then, they have lost four games in a row. On April 20, Junction City beat Cottage Grove 8-7 in eight innings. Angel Pitchford’s double in the top of the eighth scored Mikayla Edwards for the go-ahead run and the visiting Tigers held on to win. Edwards and Pitchford each had three hits and a double. Kassidy Wh- siler was 2-for-4 with a double and triple for the Lions. The following day, Elmira beat Cottage Grove 8-3 to com- plete the season sweep. Lynd- say Bradley had three hits, in- cluding two doubles, to lead the Falcons. Giulia Appoloni also doubled twice. For the Lions, Lizzy Wiltse went 3-for-4, with Taylor Sayles and Lindsey Clark each adding two hits. Cottage Grove was scheduled to play a home doubleheader against Sisters on Tuesday and plays at Sutherlin on Friday. BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel O n May 9, the Cottage Grove High School Hall of Fame will introduce its eighth class of inductees. Those include athletes Lowry Hoyer, Wes Malcolm, Bob Wiltse, Melanie Woodworth and Kaitlyn Uram (Kronberger); coach Clive Mac- Donald, community contributor Bob Butler and the 2008 boys’ soccer team. Kaitlyn Uram (nee Kronberg- er) was a three-sport standout for the Lions from 2005 to 2009. She earned three letters on the soccer fi eld, where she helped lead the Lions to a fourth-place fi nish in the 2008 state playoffs, and the following year she earned fi rst team all-league honors. She also competed on the track and fi eld team for two seasons. But Uram was best known for her exploits on the hardwood. The four-year letterman was named Sky-Em League MVP in each of her fi nal three seasons, and she was a fi rst team all- League performer as a freshman. fi le photos At the all-state level, Uram was Kaitlyn (Kronberger) Uram and Bob Wiltse are two members of the 2015 Hall of Fame class. recognized on the third team as a sophomore, second team as a junior and fi rst team as a senior. she played one season. AAA golf championships, and they said. With Uram, the Lions achieved un- Kaitlyn married her husband John won a district championship in 1990. MacDonald said that he is still enjoy- precedented success. They fi nished in July 2011. They had their fi rst son, MacDonald said he was drawn to ing life as a retiree. He spends his time fourth at the state tournament in 2008 Cael, in June 2013, and they are ex- coaching because of a life-long love of golfi ng and reading up on military his- and came in as runners-up the follow- pecting their second child in Septem- athletics, and he was further encouraged tory. ing year. ber. Uram said they love going camp- to pursue that career after spending two Uram said that her favorite memories ing, riding quads and spending time years helping coaches Len Casanova Robert Wiltse attended CGHS from include the state tournament run during with family. and John McKay at the University of 1974 to 1976 and is one of the most her senior year and scoring 30 points The family currently lives in Eugene, Oregon. decorated athletes in the history of its against Dallas as a sophomore. where Kaitlyn manages a cafe. MacDonald said that his career high- aquatics programs. “I loved being able to play with such lights were beating Marshfi eld to deny Wiltse was a four-year letterman for amazing teammates,” she added. “I al- Clive MacDonald coached football, Pirate coach Pete Susick from win- the swim team and set numerous school ways felt I had the loudest and proudest basketball and golf at Cottage Grove ning his 200th game, and working with records. At the 1975 state meet, Wiltse family in the stands. They always sup- High School from 1959 to 1994. Wally Ciochetti, who served as the Li- won the 200-yard freestyle, placed sec- ported me and held me accountable for In his 10 seasons as head coach of the ons defensive coordinator from 1969- ond in the 100-yard breaststroke and everything.” football team, MacDonald compiled a 1978. was a member of the Lions’ victorious After graduating from CGHS, Uram 42-49 record, which ranks as the third “I enjoy the small-town atmosphere, 4x100-yard freestyle relay, as Cottage played one year of basketball at Lane most wins in school history. and I loved the work ethic of the stu- Grove took third place overall. Community College. She then trans- In 1979, the Lions placed fi fth at the dents and coaches I worked with,” he Please see HALL OF FAME, Page 2B ferred to Pioneer Pacifi c College, where Cottage Grove loses ground in Sky-Em race Lions have lost four games in a row BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel O h how fortunes have changed for Cottage Grove. Two weeks after rising to the top of the Sky-Em, the Lions have lost four games in a row to drop to fourth place in the league standings. And with six games remaining in the regular season, their margin of error to reach the postseason is nil. On Friday, Sisters beat Cottage Grove 13-3 in six innings. While it could have been expected that the Outlaws would bounce back from their loss to Cottage Grove earlier in the season, the Lions’ 11-9 defeat by Elmira on Tues- day, April 21, was a bit more shocking. Cottage Grove nearly overcame a disas- trous outing by Zach Thomason, by scor- ing four runs in the top of the sixth inning to trim a 10-5 defi cit down to one run, but the Falcons made just enough plays down the stretch to hold them off. “This league is just rugged,” said Elmira coach Rick Royster. “Everybody can score runs, so you’re never safe in a game. You got to give Cottage Grove all the credit in the world for coming back like they did.” The Lions got off to a strong start against the Falcons, putting three runs on the board in the fi rst inning. T.J. Bellamy scored two of those runs with a line-drive single to right fi eld. But in the top half of the inning, it quickly became clear that Thomason, Cot- tage Grove’s top pitcher, was off his game. He gave up three base hits and threw three Please see BASEBALL, Page 2B photo by Matt Hollander Cottage Grove's Tristan Mihan, who also pitched in relief, hit a two- run double at Elmira on April 21. Join us for the FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT Saturday, May 2nd 360 Sprints, Late Models, IMCA Modiϐieds, and Quaility RV Reapir Hornets
