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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2015)
B Section B S PORTS South Lane County Sports and Recreation Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com Stronger, faster and more mature Lions start spring practice Cottage Grove returns over 20 players with varsity experience BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel It’s been a long six months since the Lions last took to the gridiron. But after two days of spring practice, coach Gary Roberts could already see the results of a productive offseason. “Mentally they’re where I hoped they’d be. They’re really fi red up to be out here. Physically I always wish everybody was 20 pounds heavier and fi ve inches taller, but you can tell there are kids who invested time in the weight room get- ting bigger and faster,” he said after Wednesday’s session. Over 50 players came out for last week’s volun- tary practices. Each session balanced fundamen- photo by Matt Hollander Fabian Corona-Rodriguez (left) and Brad Geisler dig in for the tire tug-of-war at the end of Wednesday's practice. tal football skills and conditioning with a specifi c area of emphasis, such as screen passes or outside running. Roberts said he was thus far pleased with the effort and turnout — which was noticeably high- er than last year — but also with the balance of numbers across all four classes. With perhaps its youngest team in school history (just two seniors played last year), Cottage Grove went 2-7 in 2014, including a 1-4 mark against the Sky-Em. “We had a hiccup last year, but the hiccup didn’t have anything to do with lowering expectations or not having the same desire and work ethic to be successful. We had a small senior group that was injured, and our younger kids fought, but they weren’t quite physical enough to be in there. I was really proud of our kids last year because they came to play every week,” he said. While many young and inexperienced players had to step into meaningful roles last year, the Li- ons will hope to reap the benefi ts of those grow- ing pains by returning over 20 players with varsity experience. Please see FOOTBALL, Page 2B Forty years later, Prefontaine is still unforgettable Artist James Cloutier recalls the experience of photographing Pre BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel Forty years ago last Friday, Steve Prefontaine ran his fi nal race, winning the 5,000 meters at Hayward Field. Just hours later — shortly af- ter midnight on May 30, 1975 — Prefontaine was leaving a post-race party when he crashed his 1973 MGB convertible into a stone embankment on Skyline Boulevard. Pinned under the vehicle, he suffocated and died before help could arrive. At the time of his death, Pre- fontaine was 24 years old and held every American distance record from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters. He was the na- tion’s most popular track and fi eld athlete and an international star. Prefontaine was also con- sidered a favorite for the gold medal in the 5,000 meters at the 1976 Olympic Games. To this day, the legacy of Pre, as he was often called, lives on in countless ways: the annual meet named in his honor draws dozens of the best athletes in the world to Hayward Field; Pre’s Rock, the memorial on Skyline Boulevard, is always decorated with keepsakes left by fans of all ages and abilities; two fea- ture fi lms, a documentary and Please see Cloutier on Pre, Page 2B photo by Matt Hollander Local artist James Cloutier, who photographed the late American distance runner Steve Prefontaine at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, talks with John Thuo, a professional marathoner from Ngong, Kenya, after the fi rst day of the Prefontaine Classic Friday at Hayward Field. Saturday was the 40th anniversary of Prefontaine's death. Guns and Hoses raise $1,600 for Senior Grad Party Athlete of the Week: Dennis Miles South Lane Fire and Rescue piled up 34 hits en route to a 27-11 vicotry over the Cottage Grove Police Department in the third annual Guns vs. Hoses softball game, held Saturday at Lincoln Middle School. Dennis Miles hit four homers and drove in nine runs, and Tim Ecks- tine had four RBIs for the Hoses. Jarrod Butler had two doubles and an RBI, and Austin Branstet- ter had three hits for the Guns. The event raised $1,600 for the Cottage Grove High School senior party. "For some time there has been a friendly rivalry between the police and fi refi ghters here in Cottage Grove," said police offi cer Sean Branstetter. "This year we thought we could chan- nel some of that energy into a good cause, and supporting a party that gives kida an alternative to drinking after graduation is a great cause to get behind." Both organizations were very pleased with the rseults of this year's event, and they plan to bring it back again next year. Join us June 6th Late Models, Clark Printing Extreme Sprints, IMCA Modiϐieds, Street Stocks
