B
S PORTS
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Boys' make CG history in best
state track fi nish since 1977
The boys' squad
did not receive a
trophy for fi fth place,
but their overall
performances racked
up for the best fi nish
Cottage Grove has
seen since 1977
Athlete of
the Week
Albrecht stands
alone in girls' fi nals
competition
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Over the course of two days,
the Cottage Grove track and
fi eld squads made school his-
tory at the OSAA state meet this
past weekend. While the girls
brought seven competitors and
were out of the team race for
overall standings, the 11 boys
from Cottage Grove fi nished in
fi fth place overall, the best fi n-
ish for a Cottage Grove boys’
team since 1977.
After taking complete control
of the district meet, the boys set
out to make a statement at Hay-
ward Field in Eugene. Connor
Howard, Michael Tharpe and
Brad Geisler led the way for the
boys, taking top-fi ve spots in
their events.
Howard, who swept districts
(taking fi rst in the 100, 200, 400
and 4x100-meter races), came
out to rival Junction City sprint-
ers James Palodichuk and Zach
Rogers. Howard competed in
the same four aforementioned
events, which was the most out
of any Cottage Grove athlete.
“Howard was attempting a
workload that we have never
had an athlete attempt during
the 12 years I’ve been here,”
Head Coach Ricky Knutson
said. Howard struggled early
in the 100-meter dash but man-
Photo by Sam Wright
Connor Howard crosses the fi nish line in the 100-meter dash at historic Hayward Field.
aged to fi nish fi fth with a time
of 11.35 behind Palodichuk
at 11.27 seconds. Tillamook’s
Rory Coon took fi rst place after
breaking 11 seconds in the pre-
liminary round.
After a short recovery, How-
ard was sent to the starting line
for the 400-meter run, where he
took fi fth again with a time of
51.20 seconds. He managed to
fi nish second in the preliminary
round in 50.45 seconds, but fa-
tigue had settled in.
Between the 400 and 200-me-
ter races, Knutson managed to
run down an exhausted Howard,
who was informed by his coach
that they were tied in fi fth place
with Marshfi eld.
“Connor put the team on his
back one last time,” Knutson
Baseball passes
Blanchet Cath.,
CG sweeps All-
League Special
Awards
The 3A competitors
were not to be
underestimated as
the Lions escaped
with an 11-10
victory Saturday
Saturday was not the start
of the playoffs as previously
reported, but rather Cottage
Grove hosted 3A school Blan-
chet Catholic. The Cavaliers
have so far dominated their 3A
class this season, going 15-0
against their league opponents.
Their 15-game winning streak
was halted, however, when they
came across a more resilient Li-
said. It was his seventh race in
two days, and in one fi nal push,
Howard fought his way to a
third-place fi nish in the 200-me-
ter dash in 22.96 seconds, earn-
ing his team a much-needed six
points.
Another top fi nish came from
Tharpe in the 110-meter hurdles.
The senior just came off from a
weekend where he ran a per-
sonal best at districts and broke
15 seconds with a time of 14.93.
However, at the state meet he
fi nished just outside of the 14-
second window with 15.08 sec-
onds and a third-place fi nish.
Tharpe also competed alongside
Howard in the 100-meter. While
he wasn’t the favored 100-meter
Please see BOYS' TRACK, Page 2B
Out of the seven girls
from Cottage Grove that
qualifi ed for the state
meet (two being alter-
nates), Hannah Albrecht
was the only one who
made it into a fi nal heat.
The junior fell just short
of making the fi nals for
the 100 and 200-meter
dashes but managed to
make it to the fi nals in
the 400-meter race. She
took seventh place after
a season that tested
her with injury. Albrecht
also set personal bests
in all of her events this
season.
Girls still thrive despite lack of depth
Although only seven girls qualifi ed for state, their
presence was still felt in several events
Photo by Sam Wright
Hunter Harris tosses a ground-ball to Jaydin Osban to
get the easy out against Blanchet Catholic.
ons team.
The Cavaliers started things
off by hitting a solo home run
in the top of the second inning.
But Cottage Grove was quick to
respond, rallying with six runs,
three of which came from Pay-
ton Presley on a double deep
into center fi eld.
But the Cavaliers didn’t go
down without a fi ght. Blanchet
Catholic came back from a 6-1
defi cit to tie the game at 10. The
Lions, however, would not roll
over and used their home-fi eld
advantage bring in one last run
at the bottom of the seventh and
put the game away.
Along with tacking on one
more victory, Cottage Grove
Please see BASEBALL, Page 4B
Stewart named boys' soccer Head
Coach, Dylan Ferguson to take over girls
After previous head coach
Brian Fish stepped down to
focus on other aspects of his
life, an important vacancy was
opened in the Cottage Grove
athletic department. Three ap-
plicants applied for the position
of head coach for the boys’ soc-
cer program, and there was one
clear front-runner.
Vern Stewart, who won Coach
of the Year for the 2015 girls’
soccer team, was chosen to lead
the Lions next school year. It
was a hard decision for Stewart,
as he helped lead his team to a
league title and the girls’ team
will welcome back a lot of tal-
ent. But Stewart has grandsons
on the boys’ team, which was a
strong factor on why he made
the switch.
“It was tough to make the
choice, but I’m excited for the
upcoming season,” Stewart said.
Stewart is also confi dent in his
replacement, Dylan Ferguson,
who worked as Stewart’s assis-
tant for several seasons.
“I believe he’ll do very well,
and he knows the kids is also
a part of the faculty which is
important,” Stewart added.
Athletic Director Gary Roberts
agrees that Ferguson is a strong
choice.
“He has a passion for the
game and he’s one of the most
popular staff members at the
high school,” Roberts said of
Ferguson. He also pointed out
that a large number of the girl
soccer players are always eager
to work out with him and im-
prove their game.
“It’s very motivating as an ad-
ministrator to see that happen,”
Roberts said.
With Stewart at the helm of
the boys’ soccer program, there
are likely to be a lot of improve-
ments made as Stewart plans to
hold his team to the expectation
of three words to play by: re-
spect, integrity and excellence.
541-942-7561
Photo by Sam Wright
Hannah Albrecht gives a fi nal push on the last stretch of the 400-meter dash.
relay alternates), there were not her next year.” Knutson recog-
BY SAM WRIGHT
many opportunities for the girls’ nized the hardship Wright had
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
team to fi nish the season strong- gone through with a serious in-
The girls’ team was in no po- ly, but the Lion girls defi nitely jury her junior year, which kept
her out for most of the season.
sition to contend for any high answered where they could.
Wright ran a season-best by However, he praises her ability
positions in the overall team
scores, but that didn’t hinder the 18 seconds in the 3000-meter to come back after nearly a year
seven competitors that qualifi ed race, placing 10th with a time of without racing to win two dis-
10:57.72 Then on Saturday, she trict titles and qualify for state.
for state.
One star that will return for
The girls’ squad fi nished in ran another season-best in the
second place at the district meet, 1500-meter race to take ninth one last year is Albrecht. The
junior struggled in the 100 and
with junior Hannah Albrecht and place with a time of 4:58.51.
“I can’t say enough about
senior Breanna Wright leading
Breanna Wright,” Knutson said,
their team to Hayward Field.
Please see GIRLS' TRACK, Page 2B
With only seven athletes (two “her resiliency and drive inspires
of which were only 4x400-meter all of us, and we will really miss
3rd Annual Marvin Smith Memorial Grove Classic
Saturday & Sunday 360 Sprints and IMCA Modifi eds
Saturday – Midget & Ladies Night 18 and over are free
Sunday - Quality RV Hornets
www.cottagegrovespeedway.com
The best drivers on the West Coast including former World of Outlaw driver Jason Solwold, Kyle
Hirst, Henry Van Dam, Roger Crockett, and Kyle Miller racing for $4100.00 to win on Sunday