B
S PORTS
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Dawson's Paradise
CGHS grad seeks so much more than the
island lifestyle at the University of Hawaii
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
D
estiny Dawson goes to the University of Hawaii at
Manoa, and she is very aware of what that is supposed
to imply.
“It’s actually not so much living in paradise,” said the 2014
graduate of Cottage Grove High School, “not because it isn’t
beautiful, but I didn’t come here for a vacation.”
In fact, Dawson’s schedule couldn’t be less conducive to the
island lifestyle; she’s a double major in architecture and engineer-
ing, and she throws the javelin for the NCAA Division I Rainbow
Wahine women’s track and fi eld team.
Most 18-year-olds should have a harder time resisting the temp-
tation of world-famous beaches within walking distance of cam-
pus, but Dawson possesses discipline, focus and independence
well beyond her years. But while these qualities have enabled her
to excel as a young adult, they were forged through a tumultuous
childhood.
Originally born in Cottage Grove, Dawson moved back to the
area as a second-grader with her father, David, and older brother,
Devin, following her parents' divorce. With two older children as
well, David, a 1985 graduate of Cottage Grove, acknowledged
that there wasn’t always enough support to go around.
“With so many families that are split, broken or blended these
days, the kids take the brunt of it,” he said. “And I know there
were times the kids were in tough situations because of my em-
ployment, or lack of employment. But Destiny is the most hard
headed kid I’ve ever met. She didn’t allow the negative stuff to
run her life.”
The father and daughter went on to form a special bond through
athletics, and their time together playing sports was often a sanc-
tuary to the familial stressors. Destiny played softball in her fi rst
spring at Cottage Grove but switched over to the Lions track
team as a sophomore — which meant that David had to make the
switch as well.
“When she played softball as a freshman, they put her behind
the plate. She didn’t know much about catching then, so I went to
practices and tried to learn what they were teaching her,” David
recalled. “But when she decided to go out for track as a sopho-
more, I had to learn an all-new sport. I never once thought there
would be so many interesting events in one sport.”
Not many young athletes dream of excelling in the javelin; it’s
not the most glamorous event in track and fi eld, and in most plac-
es it’s not introduced until high school. But Dawson said she took
to it instantly. She also had the opportunity to learn from two of
Cottage Grove’s all-time great throwers-turned coaches, fi rst in
Blair Wilkinson, and later under Jordan Brunetti.
photo courtesy of University of Hawii Media Relations Department
CGHS grad Destiny Dawson throws the javelin for the NCAA Division I Rainbow Wahine women's track team, but
the opportunity to compete collegiately was just one factor that led her to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Please see Dawson, Page 2B
Road to Rio starts with wellness
Grant supports fi tness classes, wellness education
for school district employees
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
t the start of the New Year,
South Lane School District
employees were invited to join in
the Road to Rio, the site of the 2016
Olympics.
After six months and four cycles of
fi tness classes, it appears that many
SLSD employees are well on their
way to Brazil. Not literally, of course;
the bulletin board in the district offi ce
(pictured) was designed to track staff
participation in a new grant-funded
wellness program.
“It’s really a win-win for everyone,”
said grant coordinator Emily Wren.
“We’re able to offer an incentive for
our employees that also promotes
healthy living.”
Since the early part of January, the
district has supported fi ve, six-week
fi tness cycles, during which staff can
choose from 5-10 classes, including
yoga, water aerobics, cycling and
cross fi t. Employees can also suggest
a new class for a future cycle, or they
can opt for another activity they can
track independently. Classes are at no
cost to district employees.
There were 75 participants across
seven fi tness classes in the fi rst cy-
cle, and overall there were 329 par-
ticipants during the fi rst three cycles.
There were also 26 participants in
six nutritional classes. Participants
are recognized for reaching different
benchmarks on the “Road to Rio,”
measured by participation.
“When you’re starting something
new, it can be hard to catch on,” said
Wren. “But we started to fi ne tune our
registration process, we saw a
Please see Wellness Program, Page 2B
photo by Matt Hollander
Participants in SLSD's grant-funded wellness program can track their
"progress to Rio" on this bulletin board at the district offi ce.
Athletes of the Week: Junior Golf
Cottage Grove Junior Golf completed its six-
week summer program with a fi ve-hole and a
three-hole junior/adult competition at Middle-
fi eld Golf Course on Wednesday, July 29. The
junior golfers are ages eight through 14. The
winners of this years' tournaments were:
5-Hole Chapman format:
1st — Carson Kane and Clayton Nordquist, 21
2nd — Garrett Allen and Taylor Neigh, 25
3rd — Kaden Erickson and Jason Erickson, 26
4th — Tristan Kane and Tracy Kane, 28
5th — Kelvin Johnson and Bob Martin, 31
3-Hole Chapman format:
1st — Alexis Christie and Dave Erickson, 11
2nd — Owen Land and Reid Stockwell, 12
3rd — Kaylee McHugill and Mark Cooley, 13
4th — Austin Arthur and Rob Hanson, 14
5th — Kassidy Poetzl and Kevin Lucke, 16
6th — Rhianah Poetzl and Jim Poetzl, 17
7th — Logan Shroy and Steve Perry, 18
Be ready for fall: Take
a hunter education
class this summer
SALEM, Ore.—Keep the kids occupied this sum-
mer and get them ready for fall hunting. Register
them for a hunter education class or fi eld day hap-
pening around the state in August and early Septem-
ber.
ODFW offers two types of hunter education class-
es: a traditional classroom experience or independent
study, which kids can do from home via workbook
or online course. Independent study students also
need to attend a fi eld day to receive their hunter
education certifi cate. Both types of class take about
12 hours to complete.
For a list of current classes and fi eld days open
in Oregon, visit the ODFW’s license sales site and
click View All Classes-Workshops / Hunter Ed Class
or Hunter Ed Field Day tab. New classes are added
regularly, so check back if you don’t see a date, time
or location that works for you. Registering for a class
or fi eld day costs $10.
Independent study students can take one of three
The Junior Golf program is sponsored by
Bohemia Sunrisers Kiwanis of Cottage Grove,
Hidden Valley and Middlefi eld golf courses.
Please see Hunting Classes, Page 2B
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