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
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