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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2016)
B S PORTS Section B South Lane County Sports and Recreation Wednesday, July 20, 2016 Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com Athlete of the Week Gold Rush Run/Walk sees big turnout The race has returned since it fi rst appeard a few years back, and many fi tness enthusiasts showed up to participate BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel As Bohemia Mining Days geared up, so did many of the fi tness enthusiasts of Cottage Grove for the Gold Rush 5k Run/Walk. Run CG (includ- ing CGHS cross country coach Jim Settelmeyer and the Sentinel’s own Jon Stinnett) organized the race as part of Bohemia Mining Days. The run is a twilight-set race through historic downtown Cot- tage Grove that featured walkers and competitive racers alike. The race started at Sixth and Washington streets by the Brewstation and then proceeded to River road along the Coast Fork of the Willamette Riv- er. Some runners and walkers were unable to enjoy the scenery, as many fi nished by the time twilight turned to dark. Though the event was a casual and recreational race, that does not mean there weren’t any com- mitted runners and impressive fi nishes. As one Settelmeyer helped organize the race, it is only appropriate that another won it. Sam Settelmeyer, son of the aforementioned Settel- meyer, fi nished in fi rst in 16 minutes and 45 sec- onds, nearly two minutes ahead of everyone else. “It’s always fun to come out here and run with my family,” the winded Settelmeyer said. The Cottage Grove High School alumnus used to run cross country for his father, so the race is nothing new to him. “I’m not really training for anything or pushing for a specifi c time, it’s just about being with my family and having fun,” he added. Just as Settelmeyer fi nished speaking, his broth- er, Teagan, came racing to the fi nish line to snag second place with a time of 18:19. Kyle McNary, Patrick Frost and Paesen Timm wrapped up the top-fi ve fi nishers, but soon-to-be sophomore and cross country state qualifi er Kon- rad Raum fi nished in sixth with a time of 19:37. The Gold Rush somewhat replaces the Bohe- mia Mining Days half-marathon, which last took place in 1993. In 2014, Jim Settelmeyer tested an idea of a team half-marathon relay, but the idea never really took off. “There just wasn’t enough interest in it, it seemed diffi cult to get going,” Settelmeyer said. But with around 100 participants in the Gold Rush with its second appearance in roughly eight years, a successfully themed race may be emerg- ing. Please see Gold Rush Results, Page 3B Photo by Sam Wright Nearly 100 local community members showed up to run/ walk the route of the Gold Rush as the sun went down on Friday night. CGHS cross country alumnus Sam Settelmeyer blazed through the 5k run on Friday. Taking fi rst place with a time of 16: 45, beating his brother by over a minute and a half. Elementary swimmers qualify for state meet Six PR times set in Roseburg BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel Sentinel fi le photo This year's triathlon will feature just under 350 athletes from around the country and even the world. The race has been dubbed one of America's top triathlons. Best in the West takes command of Rolf Prima Tri for second year The pretigious race returns to Cottage Grove this Saturday for the sixth annual triathlon BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel The Rolf Prima Triathlon is set to return to Cottage Grove Lake this Saturday, July 23. This marks the sixth-annual triathlon, which usually sees over 300 entrants each year. The event was originally kick- started by dark:30 sports with Steve Cash and Alan Cline with the help of Blair Bronson. After moving on to other opportuni- ties, Cash passed the torch on to Bronson, who heads Best in the West events. “He [Cash] had another busi- ness he was running,” Bronson said. It will be the second year Best in the West has hosted the race, and they seem to be doing it justice. While Alan Cline and dark:30 sports built a partner- ship with the people of Cottage Grove, Bronson and Best in the West have maintained the rela- tionship so that the race contin- ues to be a welcomed and excit- ing event. Bronson says that they work with Park Rangers and the Army Corps to ensure that they meet all of the requirements and can have certain parts of the road closed off for the race. This year, Bronson reports that just under 350 athletes have registered, a number that corre- lates with the growing popular- ity of the fairly recent tradition. “We’re very happy with the turnout, but we would like to get it to the 500 mark within the next couple of years,” Bronson said. Over 300 participants is a great success, but the real sta- tistic is that about 25 percent of this year’s participants will be fi rst-timers. Such a number is encouraging to the goal of 500 participants in future years. “The best way to spread the word is by word of mouth,” Bronson said. “It’s the best way, in my opinion, if people have a great experience then tell their friends and family about it and encourage them to join.” While Best in the West does spend re- sources on marketing online and in print, Bronson says that good feedback and recommendations to other people is the best way to get more participants. Though 500 is a reachable goal, Best in the West would want to cap the number around there. As the number of par- ticipants increases, the race will lose some of its intimacy. The race will see the return of power couple Guy Crawford and Kate Belivaqua, who set records while winning last year’s race. Crawford fi nished the Olympic distance in one hour, 51 minutes and 36.2 seconds. That defeated 2014’s winner Jesse Thomas’s record of 1:54.58.8. Belivaqua also set a record for the wom- en’s Olympic distance with a time of 2:05:49.30. “It’s a race I keep coming back to because I love not only the location and course, but the fun, social atmosphere,” Be- livaqua said. Bronson says the race will be a success as long as everyone enjoys themselves. “So long as everyone crosses the fi nish line safely, it will be successful,” he said. Along with an increase in participation, Best in the West is looking to put on a kids' race in order to get more youth in- volved. “I think that will be our peak; if we can get a kid’s race going and have more youth involved.” The race will start at Cottage Grove Lake on Saturday at 8 a.m. The strength of Cottage Grove’s high school swim- mers is well known throughout the community, but this past weekend it was the elementary swimmers that shined. Over the weekend, Roseburg hosted one of the largest swim meets of the summer, where the competition ranged from elementary to high school and even some college competitors. Cottage Grove elementary- level swimmers set six personal records between four different swimmers, and two qualifi ed for the state championship meet this upcoming weekend. M.J. Raade placed fi rst in the 500-meter freestyle race, setting a personal record of 6:20.46. Despite the fi rst-place fi nish, Raade unfortunately didn’t qual- ify for state. However, she also snagged a second-place fi nish in the 100-meter freestyle race with a time of 1:06.47, another personal record. Sophia Seliva- nova qualifi ed for six events, but it was her 200-meter inter-med- ley race that put an exclama- tion mark on her performance. Selivanova fi nished the event in 3:16.79, another personal record for Lion swimmers and another fi rst-place fi nish. Sarah Wills, whose exact times were not yet released to head coach Tyson Pilling, made a massive PR as she dropped her 100-meter butterfl y time by a whopping 40 seconds and took fi rst place in her race. “It was by far the biggest time Please see SWIMMING, Page 3B Miller, Donahoo, Braaten and Maricle July 16 winners at Grove BY BEN DEATHERAGE For the Sentinel Cottage Grove Speedway hosted Bohemia Mining Days/ Ladies Night on Saturday, July 16. The historic quarter-mile had some incredible racing all evening long. Classes in competition included the 360 Sprints, Late Models, IMCA Sport Mods, and the Quality RV Repair Hornets. The 360 Sprints were on tap for the third and fi nal round of the Interstate Sprint Car Se- ries Triple Crown. Grants Pass driver Jared Ridge claimed the lead in the early goings of the main event but was soon passed on lap seven by Garen Linder. Linder, who is from Central Point, lost the lead to Ridge on lap 23. It looked like Ridge had the race won until the fi nal lap, when Eugene’s Kyle Miller made a daring pass in the last set of turns. It was the fi rst winged 360 Sprint victory for Kyle Miller in 2016. Miller (driving of Kady Adelman) accumulated the most points over the three-race miniseries to win the Interstate Sprint Car Series Triple Crown. Jared Ridge was the runner- 541-942-7561 up, followed by Garen Linder in third. The rest of the top fi ve was made up of Burlington, Washington native Greg Ham- ilton and Chelsea Blevins from Anderson, California. Britton Donahoo was the guy to beat in the Late Model fea- ture. Donahoo, out of Salem, obtained the top place position on the opening start. There he remained for the entire distance to win his second victory of the season, which makes him the fi rst driver in the Late Models to visit the winner’s circle more than once so far in the current season. Creswell’s Paul Culp fi nished second, and ending the night in third was David Schmidt of Eugene. Redmond driver Ron Brewster got fourth, while Chuck Christian, from Eugene, managed to place fi fth. In the IMCA Sport Mods, Daniel Ray set the tone early. Ray, of Springfi eld, led the fi rst lap until Jordon Braaten found his way around him on the eighth circuit. Braaten kept all challengers behind him to win for the fi fth time at CGS. Please see SPEEDWAY, Page 3B Friday July 22nd $2,600.00 to win Mark Howard Memorial Modii ed Nationals NW Extreme Late Models, Late Models, IMCA Modii eds, Street Stocks Saturday July 23rd Modii ed Nationals Continues with NW Extreme Late Models, Late Models, www.cottagegrovespeedway.com Clark Printing Extreme Sprints, IMCA Modii eds SAVE! $5.00 of coupon good for this weekend only