B
S PORTS
Section B
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Community spirit takes center
stage at 67th annual rodeo
Two-day attendance of
3,000+ is a recent high
for the rodeo
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
S
cott Fergason was pretty sore
when he lined up to run the Cow
Hyde Race for the second time on Sat-
urday night at the 67th annual Cottage
Grove Rodeo. Having tied with another
team with the fastest run of the evening,
Ferguson and partner Lisa Laroe had to
win a race-off to claim the $1,600 cash
prize.
“I’ve been going to the Cottage Grove
Rodeo for my entire life, and I’ve never
seen a tie in Cow Hyde Race,” said Fer-
gason, 43. “I’m certainly paying for it
today.”
But instead of putting his winnings
toward a well needed massage, Fergu-
son donated the $800 to Tim Hedrick
and Colin Baker — two Cottage Grove
residents who are battling through life-
threatening conditions.
“I was hoping people would match
my contribution and help raise money
for a very good cause,” said Fergason.
This past May, Baker was diagnosed
with Willson’s disease, a rare genetic
disorder which often leads to liver fail-
ure. The disease, however, has not
Please see Rodeo Page 2B
photo by Matt Hollander
Lisa Laroe pulls partner Scott Fergason across the fi nish line to win
the Cow Hyde Race Saturday at the Cottage Grove Rodeo.
A Golden
Rerun
Running down
potential
Former 5K race to be held
Friday night
After two years at LCC, CGHS
grad Kristine Dunn will continue her
track career at Southern Oregon
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
fter a six-year hiatus, the Gold Rush 5K
will once again roll through the streets of
Cottage Grove. The 3.1 mile race will be held
July 17 at 9 p.m.
The course starts and fi nishes near the Brew-
station at 5th Street and Washington in down-
town Cottage Grove. The course loops through
Main Street and then River Road, along the Wil-
lamette Coast Fork River.
Registration is $30 (or $20 without a t-shirt)
and includes a drink ticket for the Brewstation.
Jon Stinnett led the inaugural effort in 2008,
which coincided with the staging of the U.S.
Olympic Trials in Eugene. Stinnett called the
fi rst year a major success with 80-90 entrants,
but numbers declined in the following year.
“I had the notion of, ‘Hey, we should really
have a race while all of these fi tness minded
people are in town for the trials,’” explained
Stinnett. “That fi rst year we had Dyrol Burle-
son as our starter. It’s always a plus to have an
Olympian involved. But the second year was
not as great, and then I just got busy with other
things.”
Stinnett is once again involved with organiz-
ing the Gold Rush, along with Jim and Joyce
Settelmeyer and other members of the Cottage
Grove jogging club, which meets on Friday
nights.
For some time, local running enthusiasts have
been attempting to fi ll the void left by the Bohe-
mia Half Marathon. Last year, for example, Jim
Settelmeyer organized an informal half-mara-
thon relay at the high school. Stinnett hopes that
this reboot of the Gold Rush will be lasting.
“The Half Marathon was both huge and
legendary. A variety of other races have been
staged in its absence, and I’m not exactly sure
why none of them have taken hold, but I know
it's time for one to do so,” he said.
In addition to the Gold Rush on Friday night,
the Gold Dash, a 500-meter race for kids, will
be held on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. There
is no registration required for the Gold Dash,
which starts at 14th and Main streets and runs
along part of the Grand Miner’s Day Parade
route.
Additional information for the Gold Rush, in-
cluding registration, can be found at goldrushcg.
com. Online registration closes July 16.
K
ristine Dunn graduated from Cottage Grove High
School in 2013 as the school’s all-time leader in
the 400 meters, but it was her potential to move up to
the middle distances that had college coaches so excited
for her future.
In two years at Lane Community College, Dunn
struggled to stay healthy while adding mileage to her
training regiment. Her fastest time in the 800 meters
— a 2:15.89 this past spring— was just a split second
faster than her high-school best.
With two years of eligibility remaining, Dunn still has
time to fulfi ll her immense promise. But while she will
be attempting to do so in a new setting — at Southern
Oregon University — the strategy will feel a lot closer
to home.
Dunn began running track as a sixth grader at Lincoln
Middle School, but she did not race a 400 until her fresh-
man year at Cottage Grove. As with many fi rst-timers,
her debut in the one-lapper was memorably painful.
“It was a pretty horrible time, probably something
in the 70s. It defi nitely wasn’t something I thought I
wanted to keep doing, but by the end of the season I was
getting the hang of it,” she said.
Dunn ultimately set a PR of 61.61 in a third-place
fi nish at the Sky-Em district meet, and a trip to the state
meet as a member of the 4x100 meter relay team left her
hungry for more.
Heading into the championship weeks of her sopho-
more season, Dunn had yet to break the 60-second bar-
rier. However, she had a stunning breakthrough at the
district meet. She dipped under 60 seconds in the pre-
lims (59.97) and ran 57.78 in the fi nals to win her fi rst
league title and set a new school record.
The following week at the state meet, Dunn was the
number-one ranked entrant.
“It was kind of scary, but it was also fun because I
didn’t have anything to live up to,” she recalled. “Coach
Bruce (Vogel) told me that I had to run my own race.
We had a pretty good idea of how fi t I was, so the plan
was to go out hard and hold on as best as I could.”
fi le photo
Kristine Dunn, the 400 meter-school record
holder at Cottage Grove, was considered a
promising middle-distance recruit. But injuries
have delayed her progress.
Please see Dunn, Page 2B
Williamson wins extreme late model event at CG Speedway
BY BEN DEATHERAGE
T
he Northwest Extreme Late Model Series
(NELMS) took to the Cottage Grove Speed-
way on Friday, July 10. A total of 23 entrants rep-
resenting the states of Oregon and Washington
were on hand. There was very exciting with action
all over the race track.
Britton Donahoo from Salem was really fast in
the opening stages. He stayed in front until lap 11
when Jesse Williamson of Eugene made the pass
to the front.
Williamson cruised right along and managed to
develop a massive lead over the rest of the pack.
It was his fi rst NELMS win of 2015 and the sec-
ond of his career. It was second his victory in a
Late Model competition at CGS this year.
Preston Luckman of Coos Bay was second,
and Vancouver, Wash.’s Jerry Schram was a close
third. The rest of the top fi ve consisted of Collen
Winebarger out of Corbett in fourth and Donahoo
placed fi fth.
Winebarger was fast time of the night, and Cot-
tage Grove’s Curtis Towns won the trophy dash.
Heat races winners were Kye Frick of Sweet
Home, Towns and Williamson. Ron Brewster
from Redmond won the consolation feature.
Towns wins night one of Mark Howard Me-
morial
Friday was the opening night of the 2015 Mark
Howard Memorial Cottage Grove Speedway
Modifi ed Nationals. The race is named in honor
of the late Mark Howard, who was a champion
on the track and a mentor to countless drivers off
the track. A total of 30 IMCA Modifi eds were in
the pit area from the states of Oregon and Wash-
ington.
Jeremy Richey from Phoenix was in control of
the top spot for a good part of the main event. He
briefl y lost the lead only for the caution to come
out just in time for him to get it back. On lap
14, Richey had contact with another car, which
brought him to a halt. That gave an opening for
Medford’s Tom Berry, Jr. to take the lead.
Please see Speedway, Page 3B
Athlete of the Week:
Jesse Williamson
Join us for
BOHEMIA MINING DAYS MINER’S NIGHT
July 18th
Clark Printing Extreme Sprints, IMCA Modiϐieds,
IMCA SportMods, Quality RV Repair Hornets