B
S PORTS
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Football camp showcases
promising young players as
summer weight training begins
Scrimmages against other schools give head coach Gary Roberts some
insight on who will be stepping up with the departure of 13 seniors
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Lions’ football team has
been working hard in recent
weeks during its spring training
as they gear up for its summer
weight-training program. With
the absence of star athletes such
as Kory Parent or Blake Sent-
man, head coach Gary Roberts
has seen other athletes step up
in recent scrimmages.
On June 18, the team had sev-
eral scrimmages against teams
such as Creswell, Junction City,
Siuslaw and even Willamette, a
team that competes on a 6A lev-
el. At the 4A competition level,
Lions fans would expect their
team to struggle against such
competition; however, Roberts
says that the team performed
well despite several starters be-
ing banged up.
“We really rotated everyone
and tried to get kids a lot of
reps,” Roberts said. While the
team doesn’t lose focus on suc-
cess as a whole, it was a time
for individual players to show
coaches and teammates their in-
dividual potential and playmak-
ing abilities.
Players such as Hayden Glenn
had top-level performances at
wide receiver and defensive
back, along with Evan Britton.
Glenn will be a junior come fall
season and Britton will be a se-
nior, replacing the highly valued
Michael Tharpe, who graduated
a few weeks ago.
While it seems incoming se-
nior Sentman should hold his
position at starting quarterback,
Roberts has found a prospect to
step into Sentman’s position in
case of injury or in future sea-
sons. Juice Claufl in, an incom-
ing junior, had strong reps in
the scrimmages and impressed
Roberts.
Roberts says it’s a bit too ear-
ly to gauge how the team will
perform come the 2016 season,
but that doesn’t mean the team
isn’t being evaluated.
“If I had to answer now, I’d
say we’re above where we were
last year,” he said. Which is a
solid sign of upward mobility.
After reaching the state cham-
pionship in 2013, the team fell
into a slump in the 2014 season
and then rebounded to a solid 4-
5 last season.
With the loss of seniors such
as Tharpe, Brynden Howell,
Reily Boyce and Payton Presley,
it will be up to Parent, Sentman
and Co. to fi ll the shoes of over
a dozen graduated seniors.
But with the departure of many
seniors comes the entrance of
new seniors. The Lions' junior
class held a lot of weapons, not
just Parent and Sentman. Run-
ning back Zane Levings was a
workhorse in the 2015 season
and proved useful on the inside
running attack, which in turn
would open up the passing game
for Sentman and Parent to capi-
talize on. With Levings coming
back for his fi nal year, the senior
should be stronger and faster,
which is why the team will be-
gin its weight training program
this week. The training will
consist of both indoor and out-
door training, battling the heat
as summer temperatures climb
higher.
Courtesy photo
Kory Parent and Zane Levings will be two offensive players expected to make an im-
pact on the team, but recent scrimmages have shown that other younger players are
able to help fi ll the hole left by over a dozen seniors departing from last year's team.
Swimmers qualify for Roseburg invitational
as CG swimming kicks off in July
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Cottage Grove swimming will
be kicking off several summer
events this July. For starters,
a casual elementary triathlon
will be hosted at the Warren H.
Daugherty pool on July 9. Chil-
dren 12 and under will swim
laps in the pool, cycle around
the parking lot and run sprints.
The distance of each event var-
ies depending on age group.
“It’s a really fun event for
the kids,” Tyson Pilling, coach
of the CGHS swim team and
manager of the pool, said. After
the friendly competition for the
kids, however, swimmers from
Cottage Grove will head south
to race in a more competitive
environment.
Several high school swim-
mers have qualifi ed to compete
in a high-level swim meet in
Winebarger and
Maricle score Fast
Friday wins
Maricle's miracle win from behind earns him
Athlete of the Week
BY BEN DEATHERAGE
For the Sentinel
Cottage Grove Speedway
hosted its second $5 Fast Fri-
day of the 2016 season on Fri-
day, June 24. Despite only two
classes on the card, it would be a
decent car count with nearly 30
IMCA Modifi eds showing up.
The other division in competi-
tion was the Quality RV Repair
Hornets.
Brian Thompson of Sweet
Home led the way early in
the IMCA Modifi ed feature.
Thompson blazed the trail in
the fi rst handful of laps but was
never able to get out to a large
lead due to several cautions in
the fi rst six laps. Shortly after
the sixth lap restart, Corbett’s
Collen Winebarger overtook
Thompson.
Winebarger briefl y lost the
lead on lap 23, only for the yel-
low to come back out before the
lap was completed. Winebarger
stayed in front after the fi nal
restart and held on to win his
second race at Cottage Grove in
2016.
Jacksonville’s Mark Wauge
was a close second place, fol-
lowed by Curtis Towns from
Cottage Grove in third. Cot-
tage Grove’s Braedon Hand got
fourth and Eric Ashley of Jasper
completed the top fi ve.
Mark Wauge was fast time of
the night and won the Dot’s Tro-
phy Shop Trophy Dash. Heat
race winners were Springfi eld’s
Steven Sturdevant, Collen
Winebarger and Albany native
Craig Hanson.
The Quality RV Repair Hor-
nets put on an entertaining main
event. Marcel Forte paced the
fi eld for the majority of the dis-
tance. The Junction City driver
built a decent size lead until a
caution on lap 16 bunched the
fi eld up. On the ensuing restart,
Joe Maricle, from Veneta, was
able to track down Forte for the
lead and made the pass on lap
18. Maricle would hold on at
the line to win his fourth race of
the season. Something to note
is that earlier in the race, Mar-
icle had to start dead last after
getting involved in an incident
on lap one.
Westfi r chauffeur Josh Corley
claimed second with K.C. Scott
of Springfi eld placing in third.
The balance of the top fi ve
would consist of Marcel Forte
in fourth and Brad Moffett from
Veneta.
Joe Maricle set fast time of the
night and won the Dot’s Trophy
Shop Trophy Dash. Maricle and
Josh Corley were the heat win-
ners. It would also be a clean
sweep of the evening’s events
for Maricle.
mid-July. The Roseburg Invi-
tational will feature club and
high school teams, along with
younger age groups racing as
well. Compared to the average
high school meet, the invitation-
al will be a much larger event,
with more competitors and rac-
es throughout the day.
“A normal high school meet
is around 21 events, but this one
will have around 70. The com-
petition will be much higher for
some of the swimmers,” Pilling
said. From the Aqua Lions, Ian
Dukes and Tori Raade will be
competing and looking to lower
a lot of their times on different
races. Dukes, a freshman in the
2015-2016 season, qualifi ed for
the state tournament, and Raade,
also a state qualifi er, will look to
improve on already strong per-
formances in her races.
“I think we’ll really see some
time drops,” Pilling said. The
Athlete of the Week:
Joe Maricle
coach is also eager to see how
an incoming freshman will per-
form. Nadia Witt will follow her
brother John and sister Rose into
swimming and has a promising
future with the Aqua Lions. The
July 15 meet will be the fi rst test
this summer for Cottage Grove
swimmers, as Cottage Grove
didn’t participate in a meet at
North Eugene over the week-
end.
Courtesy photo
541-942-7561
A Feature: 1. 6A-Kyle Miller;
2. 23-Rob Lindsey; 3. 85-Ricky
Ashley; 4. 50-Brad Rhodes;
5. 57X-Dusty Redmond; 6.
21-Mike Griffi th; 7. 4D-Cooper
Desbiens; 8. 24-Theo Mc-
Carty; 9. 8H-Lance Hallmark;
10. 8X-Otto Jorgenson; 11.
2J-Jonathan Jorgenson; 12.
38DD-Randy Dunlap; 13. 15R-
Jake Gilman; 14. 57-Lindsay
Barney; 15. 52-Tim Alberding;
16. 11X-Chris Batalgia; 17. 54-
Johnny Butler
Dash: 1. 23-Rob Lindsey; 2.
52-Tim Alberding; 3. 4D-
Cooper Desbiens; 4. 6A-Kyle
Miller
Lions snag two wins
at North Douglas,
look to North
Eugene tourney
The younger players of the Lions' baseball
squad walked away with a winning record,
the older varsity players now look to a North
Eugene tournament that will feature 5A and
6A competition
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
After an incident on lap one, Joe Maricle came back
from dead last to win the Hornets race on Friday.
CGS Wingless
Series scores
Over the weekend, Cottage
Grove traveled to Drain to face
two teams in a tournament at
North Douglas High School.
The tournament didn’t feature
the varsity squad, but saw some
younger prospects perform at a
decent level of competition.
The Lions lost a close 4-3
game against North Douglas but
bounced back with two wins in
a row against Glendale.
An incoming freshman, Ezra
Senters, led the defense against
Glendale, holding them to only
three runs while the Lions' of-
fense racked up fi ve and ran
away with a 5-3 victory. The
second game against Glendale
was similar in scoring differen-
tials but featured a bit more of-
fensive potency than the previ-
ous game. Jaden Lidick totaled
three hits to help his team tally
up 15 total runs over the tourna-
ment.
“I think Ezra pitched well
through fi ve innings,” head
coach Dan Geiszler said, not-
ing the consistency in Senters’
pitching. The younger players
came out 2-1 from the tourna-
ment, but still have a ways to go
to be on the varsity team, a team
that is now working on replac-
ing some of the most talented
players to take the fi eld in a Li-
ons uniform in years.
After a game against Junction
City on Tuesday, the Lions now
have a tournament in North Eu-
gene this weekend. The tourna-
ment will feature mostly 5A and
6A schools where the Sky-Em
champs will have their work cut
out for them.
“We’ll have to wait and fi nd
out how we match up,” Geiszler
said, noting that the competition
will be thick, and it will be a
diffi cult game without All Stars
Payton Presley, Hunter Harris
and Lucas Ward. But competi-
tion like this will be a good time
to see which players will rise
to the occasion without the star
players.
“Talent-wise, fi lling the shoes
of Hunter and Payton is tough,”
Geiszler said. The coach’s
words don’t play down his cur-
rent players as much as they
praise the recently departed se-
niors. However, it’s not just tal-
ent to watch out for, it’s who can
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