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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2015)
B Section B S PORTS Wednesday, May 6, 2015 South Lane County Sports and Recreation Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com Mootz nears the fi nish line of an unpredictable fi rst season at OSU Former Lion has seen highs and lows in her fi rst season with the Beavers BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel C ottage Grove school-re- cord holder Ahsha Mootz began her collegiate career al- most exactly where she fi nished as a Lion. Mootz debuted for Oregon State University at the Washington Preview on Jan. 17, blitzing the half-lap distance in 25.50 — just 0.47 off the per- sonal best she set at the 2014 state track meet. It was by far her best open- ing time of a season, and she brimmed with hope and confi - dence; the small-town kid had what it took to compete at a Di- vision I, Pac 12 school. But since that fi rst race, the track has been anything but smooth for Mootz. Finding her sport It was some time before Mootz found her home in a set of starting blocks. As a young girl she tried ballet, rode horses and spent a lot of time watching her fi ve siblings play soccer or basketball. “I wasn’t really into recre- ational sports, so I decided to wait it out before settling into an activity. When I started mid- dle school, someone got me try track. I ended up really enjoy- ing it, and I felt accepted on the team as well,” said Mootz, who attended London but competed at Lincoln. By the time she fi nished eighth grade, Mootz was a fi ve- time Sky-Em Youth District champion in the hurdles. As a freshman at Cottage Grove, Mootz initially kept her focus on the hurdles, but a calf injury pushed her into the sprints. She found that her skill set transferred very well to the dashes, and that was also an area of need on the team. She went on to qualify for state as part of the 4x100 and 4x400 re- lays, both of which fi nished on the podium. Mootz improved signifi cantly during her sophomore cam- paign. She won the 100 and 200 at districts and placed top-six in both events at state. Her junior season unfolded similarly, as she defended her district titles and helped lead the Lions to a third-place fi nish at state by scoring 12 of their 56 team points. However, she was Please see MOOTZ, Page 3B Cottage Grove High School Hall of Fame Preview — Part II BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel O n Saturday, the Cot- tage 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 Kait- lyn Uram (Kronberger); coach Clive MacDonald, community contributor Bob Butler and the 2008 boys’ soccer team. Part one of this preview ap- peared in the April 29 issue. The 2008 boys soccer team won the school's fi rst ever state championship by defeating Gladstone 1-0 in the fi nals. The Lions, who fi nished the season undefeated at 15-0-3, scored in the 23rd minute on a goal by Mauricio Lopez, assisted by Stephen Beach, to take a lead over the Gladiators that they never relinquished. Senior goal- keeper Garrett Rhodes made several key saves during the second half to ice the victory for Cottage Grove. En route to the championship, the Lions beat Central 2-1 in the quarterfi nals and overcame La Salle 1-0 in overtime of the semifi nals. In addition to Beach, Lopez and Rhodes, the team included Sam Settelmeyer, Tanner Sus- taire, Brian Bruyeel, Francis- co Garcia, Kyle Helsel, Kyle Woods, Toby Rosenthal, Alex Garcia, Kirby Bullinger, Ant- wone Mootz, Marco Urenda, Tim Eckstine and Jeri Lead. The Lions were led by head coach Brian Fish and assistant Chris Fish. Wes Malcolm played foot- ball, basketball, baseball and track and fi eld at Cottage Grove from 1948 to 1952. He earned varsity letters in all four sports between 1950 and 1951 to be- come the fi rst four-sport letter- man in school history. During his senior year, Mal- colm was an all-conference se- lection in basketball and quali- Courtesy photos This year's Cottage Grove High School Hall-of-Fame class includes the 2008 boys soccer team (above), Lowry Hoyer (right) and Wes Malcolm (far right). fi ed for the state track and fi eld meet in the pole vault. Malcolm’s favorite memories of Cottage Grove include play- ing sports with all his team- mates, including fellow induct- ee Lowry Hoyer, and one winter that brought over 48 inches of snow. He said that Wally “Chic” Ciochetti and Maurie Kritez were the two most infl uential coaches. Malcolm went on to Wil- lamette University, where he earned a degree in economics. Upon graduation he entered the Navy Flight Training Program and later earned his wings as a single and twin-engine fi ghter pilot. He retired as a Captain af- ter 22 years in the Navy, includ- ing 10 years on active duty and over 12 years in the reserves. He also worked at SAFECO Insur- ance for 27 years before retiring in 1995. Malcolm lives in Greensboro, Ga. with his wife of 51 years, Nancy. He has two children and four grandchildren, all of whom live close by. Lowry Hoyer graduated from Cottage Grove High School in Please see HALL OF FAME, Page 3B Tharpe wins again, and again Boys and girls track and fi eld teams fi nish sev- enth at Stayton Twilight Cottage Grove completes series sweep of Sisters Lions take doubleheader against the Outlaws BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel O fi le photo Cottage Grove's Michael Tharpe swept the hurdle events at the Stayton Twilight Friday. Tharpe also fi nished fi fth in the 100 meters. ne week after leading the Li- ons to victory in a Sky-Em League triangular meet with wins in two individual events, Michael Thar- pe was once again a double-winner, but this time at the Stayton Twilight — one of the premier invitationals of this past weekend. Tharpe swept the 110 and 300 hurdles in lifetime bests of 15.32 and 42.33, respectively. He also lowered his PR in the 100 meters to 11.33, which placed him fi fth overall. Thar- pe’s marks in the 110 hurdles and 100 sit just outside of Cottage Grove’s all-time top-10 list at 11th and 12th, izzy Wiltse went 6-for-8 with two triples and six RBIs to lead Cot- tage Grove to a pair of victories over Sisters on April 28. The Lions never trailed in the fi rst game, winning by a fi - nal margin of 5-1, and they fought back a furious rally by the Outlaws to win the second game 17-9. Cottage Grove came out fi ring on all cylinders in the second game. Lindsey Clarke retired nine of the fi rst 11 batters, allowing just two singles. And the Lions took advantage of eight walks to build an 8-0 lead through three innings. But just when it seemed that Cottage Grove was on its way to an easy, Please see TRACK AND FIELD, Page 2B Please see SOFTBALL, Page 2B L Lizzy Wiltse Athlete of the Week JOIN US FOR A GREAT NIGHT OF RACING SATURDAY MAY 9TH NWWT Sprints, Late Models, IMCA Modiϐieds, Quality RV Hornets and NW Extreme Late Models
