B
S PORTS
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Cottage Grove fi nishes sixth at state tournament
Although the Lions missed an opportunity to take fourth place, the season still ends on a positive note for the basketball team
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Though the boys’ basketball
season was fi lled with great
games and fantastic fi nishes for
the Lions, it wasn’t so much the
case at the state tournament. Af-
ter beating Baker on a buzzer-
beating layup by Kory Parent,
Cottage Grove advanced to the
quarterfi nals and the fi rst round
of the state tournament at Lib-
erty High School in Hillsboro.
When it came to the fi rst
round, the Lions found them-
selves in a fairly uneven matchup
with the tall and lengthy players
of Gladstone. The Gladiators
brought three players taller than
six-foot-four, while Cottage
Grove’s only counter to their
size was six-foot-six Chance
Hopkins. However, Hopkins,
who led the game in scoring for
the Lions, wasn’t enough for the
Lions to overcome the Gladi-
ators, and Cottage Grove was
sent to the consolation round,
losing 43-31.
It was the lowest scoring game
the Lions have played in all sea-
son (their previous being a 52-40
loss at Elmira). Hopkins totaled
13 points and was followed by
Blake Sentman, who scored six
points. The regular high-scorer
Parent only managed to fi nd the
bucket twice and drew no fouls,
a rarity this season. Parent shot
2-for-12 on the game, scoring
on par with Jayden Tucker, who
was two-for-nine.
Gladstone presented the Li-
ons with a 2-3 zone defense, and
with their size, Cottage Grove
struggled offensively. However,
the loss wasn’t a total break-
down of the team.
Head Coach Donn Pollard
was impressed with the Lions’
defensive play, which held
Gladstone to only 43 points.
“We had a very solid defen-
sive game; we were able to
Photo by Sam Wright
Hunter Gipson pulls up for a jump shot against Henley Friday morning.
make stops and force turnovers,
we just couldn’t fi nd the basket,”
Pollard said. He noted that while
the physical matchup was fairly
uneven, his team just wasn’t hit-
ting their shots. But like they
have after each loss this season,
the Lions bounced back with fe-
rocity and enthusiasm.
The loss to Gladstone sent
them to Forest Grove, where
Cottage Grove would take on
Henley in a consolation match
that sends the winner to the
fourth-place fi nal.
Initially, the Hornets kept up
with the Lions with a deadlock
tie at the end of the fi rst quarter.
But the second quarter was the
complete undoing of Henley, as
Cottage Grove went on a 17-1
run. Henley couldn’t make a
single fi eld goal the entire sec-
ond quarter, giving the Lions a
32-16 lead at halftime. The lead
extended to nearly 30 points
before Pollard pulled his start-
ers. It was a great time for the
younger players on the bench to
get experience, especially at the
state tournament. Sophomore
Jesse Ellingworth made a quick
side-step move in the paint and
scored a triumphant basket to
fi nish off the Hornets, 68-41.
Please see TOURNAMENT, Page 3B
Track stars compete at Portland Indoor Classic
Alongside the USA Track and Field Indoor Championship, fi ve Cottage Grove athletes
competed in an event that hosted talent from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming
Athlete of the Week
Jayden Tucker breaks out against Henley
Photo courtesy of Ricky Knutson
From left to right: Michael Tharpe, Tyler Ledford, Hudson Weybright, Connor Howard and Trevor Layne.
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
In a once-in-a-lifetime oppor-
tunity, fi ve Cottage Grove ath-
letes were invited to compete in
a track and fi eld meet in conjunc-
tion with professional athletes at
the USA Track and Field Indoor
Championship. Track and Field
Head Coach Ricky Knutson
traveled to Portland over the
weekend with fi ve of some of
his best competitors. Michael
Tharpe, Tyler Ledford, Hudson
Weybright, Connor Howard and
Trevor Layne all represented
Cottage Grove High School on
one of the largest athletic stages
for high school athletes.
The meet offered a wide vari-
ety of talent, from class 4A stu-
dent athletes to class 6A, there
was no shortage of competition
for the Lions.
Tharpe competed in the 60-
meter sprint along with How-
ard, who also competed in the
200-meter sprint. Howard was
the fastest 4A runner in the 60-
meter, fi nishing in 7.31 seconds
and placing 15th overall. He
was also the second-fastest in
the 200-meter and placed 14th
overall with a time of 23.62 sec-
onds.
In the 800-meter event, Cot-
tage Grove was represented by
Ledford. He fi nished one of the
most physically draining events
in 2:11.21 and placed 53rd out
of over 70 competitors. Wey-
bright also competed in the 800-
meter run and fi nished in a solid
2:34.13 and placed 35th out of a
total of 62 competitors. She had
been out from practice all week
due to a cough but still managed
to place in a decently high posi-
tion.
Layne intended to compete in
the long jump, but unfortunately
was scratched due to hamstring
issues. It was a similar case with
Tharpe who scratched in the 60-
meter because of his hamstring
as well.
“Trevor’s had been lingering
so we knew he probably wasn’t
going to compete but we wanted
to take him with us anyway for
the experience,” Knutson said.
As for Tharpe, the decision came
fairly last-minute. He tweaked
his hamstring on Wednesday,
and once he warmed up decided
it was best not to compete and
further his injury.
“I’m hoping it’s the hardest
decision he has to make all sea-
son,” Knutson said.
The athletes then got free ad-
mission to the USATF Indoor
Championships.
Next week, Knutson will be
returning to the Convention
Center in Portland to bring four
to-be-determined runners to the
World Indoor Track Champion-
ship, where a high school exhi-
bition will take place.
The senior made his last games memorable as he
earned himself Player of the Game honors in their con-
solation match against Henley and totaled 23 points in
the tournament.
Chelsea Blevins anticipates 360
Sprint Debut at Cottage Grove
BY BEN DEATHERAGE
For the Sentinel
Anderson, California- 2015
was the year that Chelsea Blevins
would be put on the map when
it comes to Sprint Car racing.
After spending several success-
ful seasons in Kage Karts, she
decided to make the jump to the
Extreme (Limited) Sprint divi-
sion at Oregon’s Cottage Grove
Speedway. The third-genera-
tion driver managed score four
top fi ves in 12 starts, including
a pair of second-place fi nishes,
and would complete the year
5th in the fi nal point standings
as well as collecting the Rookie
of the Year award. This year the
15-year-old Anderson, Califor-
nia pilot plans to bump up to
the 360 ranks at CGS as well as
visit some new venues.
“Last season was such an
incredible experience,” said
Blevins,
Please see SPEEDWAY, Page 5B