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