B
S PORTS
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Big turnout and perfect
conditions for Rolf Prima Tri Athlete of the Week
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Saturday, July 23 marked the
sixth annual Rolf Prima Triath-
lon in Cottage Grove, where
hundreds of athletes from all
over the country came to race
near (and in) Cottage Grove
Lake. Nearly 25 percent of the
near 350 participants were fi rst-
timers at the event, and many
were attempting a triathlon for
the fi rst time ever. Cool weather
made for perfect racing condi-
tions until the sun came out in
the later part of the morning. At
8 a.m. the athletes gathered in
the water by the Lakeside Park
boat ramp and were sent off in
waves.
The race was split up into two
courses: the sprint course and
the Olympic course. The sprint
course consisted of 750 meters
of swimming, 12 miles of cy-
cling and 3.1 miles of running.
The event also offered a duath-
lon for those who wanted to.
The Olympic course refl ected
Olympic distances which double
that of the sprint course. There
are 1500 meters of swimming,
Crawford wins third CG Triathlon
Photo by Sam Wright
Mark Gregory transitions from bike to foot in the transition area.
24.8 miles (40 kilometers) of made up the regulars, with Evan 1:01:20 and ran the 6.2 miles in
cycling and 6.2 miles (10 kilo- Pardi placing fi rst. Pardi’s over- 35 minutes and 34 seconds.
meters) of running.
all time was two hours and 1.5
On the women’s side, there
The Olympic course was di- seconds. The 23-year old swam
vided into professionals and the 1500 meters in just under 22
Please see TRIATHLON, Page 3B
regulars. Nearly 90 participants minutes, biked the 24.8 miles in
Guy Crawford didn't beat his old record but still
smashed the competition to win his third Rolf Prima
Triathlon. The champion snuck by volunteers as he
approached the fi nish line, catching the announcer off
guard.
Lions tested against Sheldon
Photo by Sam Wright
The Lions got a chance to compete against 6A competition with Sheldon High School.
Gary Roberts said. The scrim-
“We’re really just trying to
BY SAM WRIGHT
mage wasn’t in pads, and both see who will put in the work and
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
teams only worked on passing play hard,” Roberts said. The
The Lions football team has and coverage. For a while, it Lions will be returning with the
been putting in a lot of work seemed like Sheldon’s receivers same offensive system as last
over the summer to prepare for were able to outmaneuver Cot- year, but there’s a twist.
Roberts has added a new
its season coming in the fall. tage Grove’s defensive backs,
Most recently, the Lions hosted and their defense was making it member to the Lions coach-
a seven-on-seven scrimmage hard for Blake Sentman and co. ing staff. The new offensive
to move the ball down the fi eld. coordinator this year will be
against 6A Sheldon.
However, the Lions began Marty Johnson, who previously
Against a school with such
depth, it was understandable that to click, forcing turnovers and coached for Sheldon, a powerful
Cottage Grove would occasion- completing passes, including team that went 7-1 last year, los-
ally struggle on both sides of a beautiful 30-yard bomb by ing to Jesuit in the playoffs.
Johnson is a welcome addi-
the ball. One of Sheldon’s most Sentman for a touchdown.
Roberts seems to already be tion with many of the return-
notable players was Taylor Alie,
who holds the Ducks’ record for familiar with the skill set of his ing players and should be able
longest rushing touchdown by a team with many returning play- to give the Lions’ offense a bit
ers, so he was looking for who more potency.
quarterback.
“They produce a lot of divi- can put in the extra effort on the
sion-one talent,” head coach fi eld.
They call it pickle ball
When driving or walking by Coiner Park
on Main Street, what looks like a minia-
ture form of tennis can be seen played
by a group of locals. Ken Welker has
recently organized games of pickle ball, a
racquet sport fi rst invented in the Pacifi c
Northwest in Washington. Welker’s group
is still small, so they haven’t been able
to establish a league yet, but they can
be seen smacking a Wiffl e ball over a
small net with wooden paddles on most
mornings. Representative Joel Pritchard
invented the game when he couldn't fi nd
a shuttlecock to play badminton with.
Pritchard's wife thought of the Pickle
Boat in rowing where oarsmen were cho-
sen from the leftovers from other boats.
CG Speedway hosts Mark Howard Memorial Modifi ed Nationals
BY BEN DEATHERAGE
For the Sentinel
Friday, July 22 was the fi rst
night of the 2016 Mark Howard
Memorial Cottage Grove Speed-
way Modifi ed Nationals. Thir-
ty-seven IMCA Modifi eds from
the states of Oregon, Washing-
ton, and California made up the
fi eld. Also, Late Models, with
the visiting Northwest Extreme
Late Model Series, and Street
Stocks were on the card as the
support class.
A big pile up on the opening
start of the IMCA Modifi ed fea-
ture occurred in turn one delay-
ing the fi rst lap to be recorded
in the books. Once the fi rst
circuit was registered complete,
Corbett’s Collen Winebarger
blazed the trail. It was a short-
lived lead, however, as Mark
Carrell passed him on lap two.
The two drivers went back and
forth a number of times before
the Redmond veteran Carrell se-
cured the position on lap eight.
Collen Winebarger did not
give up on his pursuit of the
lead. Winebarger reeled in Car-
rell and made a late race pass on
lap 28. It was the seventh and
fi nal change of the position for
the rest of the main event. For
Collen, it marked the third time
he has won at CGS in 2016.
Carrell was a close second,
followed by Eugene’s Jesse Wil-
liamson in third. Fourth place
went to Brian Poppa of White
City, while fi nishing fi fth was
Craig Hanson from Albany.
With so many cars mak-
ing the journey, the qualifying
fi eld was split into two groups.
Lebanon chauffeur Kyle Yeack
and Winebarger were the fast-
est in their respected groups.
Heat races were won by Yre-
ka, California’s Kyle Casson,
Winebarger, Justin Dittman of
Lebanon and Redmond native
Ethan Landers. Two consola-
tion features were also run with
Albany’s Craig Hanson and Jas-
per driver Eric Ashley the win-
ners. Winebarger won the Dot’s
Trophy Shop Trophy Dash and
Nick Trenchard of Klamath
Falls made a late race move to
win the Race of Champions.
In the Late Model main
event, it was Steve Moore show-
ing the way early. The Scio
driver possessed the top spot
until lap three. Making the pass
was Jerry Schram of Vancouver,
Washington and he managed
to hold down the position for
quite some time. However, Ron
Brewster was able to take the top
spot shortly after a restart on lap
15. Brewster, out of Redmond,
retained the lead the rest of the
distance to win his second race
of the season at CGS.
Schram fi nished second, fol-
lowed by Creswell’s Paul Culp
in third. The rest of the top fi ve
was made up of Steve Moore, in
fourth, and Eugene driver David
Schmidt in fi fth.
Please see SPEEDWAY, Page 2B
541-942-7561
www.cottagegrovespeedway.com
Courtesy photo
Mark Carrell walked away with a victory and $2,600 at the Mark Howard Memorial
Nationals.
Join us July 30th for
FROGGY 44 HORNET
TRIBUTE TO MEL
Late Models, Clark Printing Extreme Sprints,
IMCA SportMods, Quality RV Repair Hornets