B
S PORTS
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Fan Night exciting despite power outage CG Speedway gears
up for Historical
Night to celebrate
60th anniversary
Despite power problems in
the southern Willamette Valley
for much of the day, due to a lo-
cal aviation accident, it would be
fully restored just in time so that
all of the racing would be com-
pleted at Cottage Grove Speed-
way on Saturday, Aug. 6. The
night was the annual Fan Ap-
preciation Night where during
intermission all of the race cars
in the pits were brought out onto
the front stretch for fans to inter-
act with all the drivers. Classes
in action were the Late Models,
Clark Printing Extreme Sprints,
IMCA Modifi eds, IMCA Sport
Mods, and the Quality RV Re-
pair Hornets. Several of the top
Late Model chauffeurs in the
Pacifi c Northwest would make
their way to “The Grove”. The
event was sanctioned by the I-
5 Super Late Model Series and
a total of 23 entries were in
attendance. Coos Bay’s Mike
George showed the way early in
the feature. Shortly after a lap
three restart, George would get
passed for the top spot.
It was Brian Cronk making
the move on lap fi ve to get in
front and lead the pack. Cronk,
out of Portland, managed to pull
away and create a very large gap
once the fi nal caution occurred.
He paced the fi eld the rest of the
way despite feeling a little bit
of pressure late. It was Cronk’s
fi rst win at CGS this year and
his second triumph with the I-5
Late Models. Joey Tanner, also
out of Portland and driving the
Dave Walters machine, fi nished
a close second followed by
Kye Frick, from Sweet Home,
in third. Bend’s Darren Coffell
would place fourth while Jus-
tin Duty, now living in Mulino,
was fi fth. In the Clark Printing
Extreme Sprints, it would be a
caution free main event.
Cooper Desbiens seized the
initiative right off of the bat and
didn’t look back. The Sutherlin
teenager cruised right along and
did not feel any pressure what-
soever. That was until the last
few laps when he was begin-
ning to get caught. Despite a
late race effort by the challeng-
ers, Desbiens was able maintain
his lead to win his fi rst race of
the season in the Clark Printing
Extreme Sprints. Dusty Red-
mond, of Roseburg, was the re-
spectable runner-up while Cot-
tage Grove’s Kinzer Cox placed
an impressive third. Ricky Ash-
ley, out of Thurston, got fourth
with Harrisburg teenager Tyler
Thompson in fi fth. The IMCA
Modifi ed fi nale was an incred-
ible race. Grey Ferrando had the
race of his life. Ferrando got out
in front on the opening start and
was the car to beat for much of
the feature. The Stayton native
seemed to thwart the opposition
until Jesse Williamson would
bring an incredible amount of
pressure.
Coming to the white fl ag Wil-
liamson, from Eugene, would
edge out Ferrando, but Ferrando
took the spot back out of turn
two. When the two cars exited
the fourth and fi nal turn, it was
Williamson collecting the win.
Jesse Williamson now has three
wins recorded at CGS in 2016.
Ferrando got sideways on the
front stretch and got together
with Mark Wauge. Wauge, of
Medford, would edge out Fer-
rando for second. Corbett’s Col-
len Winebarger was fourth, fol-
lowed by Springfi eld’s Steven
Sturdevant.
In the IMCA Sport Mods
Willy McFall of Shady Cove
would show the way. McFall
paced the fi eld until lap four
when Medford’s Mike Medel
made it around him. However,
Medel’s tenure as the trailblazer
was short lived when Jorddon
Braaten passed him on lap fi ve
Braaten, of Central Point, re-
mained in the lead the rest of
the distance to score his sixth
victory of the year. Eugene’s
Andrew Mathers was second
while behind him in third was
Mike Medel.
Shawn Hand, from Cottage
Grove, crossed the wire in fourth
and Winston’s Buddy McHar-
gue was an impressive fi fth.
Last but not least were the
Quality RV Repair Hornets.
Bernie Bryant was quite fast in
the main event early. Bryant,
who is from Sutherlin, stayed
in the coveted top spot until lap
seven.
Westfi r’s Josh Corley was the
one to make it around Bryant.
Corley set a torrid pace and was
in front the balance of the dis-
tance to make his fi fth trip to the
winner’s circle. Cottage Grove
native Chris Pierce was second,
in the Marcel Forte owned en-
try, and Springfi eld’s K.C. Scott
managed to grab third. Joe Mar-
icle, of Veneta, placed fourth
and completing the top fi ve was
Roseburg’s Rich Dickenson.
Hall of Fame to induct 18
BY SAM WRIGHT
For the Sentinel
This Saturday will mark the
14th annual Historical Night at
Cottage Grove Speedway. The
night will feature 360 Sprints,
Late Models, IMCA Modifi eds,
IMCA SportMods and Quality
RV Repair Hornets. While the
racing will be an exciting event
of its own, Historical Night also
features the induction of a new
Hall of Fame Class.
The fi rst Historical Night took
place in 2002, but the Hall of
Fame (or what could be consid-
ered the “Wall of Fame”) wasn’t
brought about until 2004, mak-
ing the 2016 inductee class the
12th class at the Speedway.
“[Historical Night] started out
as a way to celebrate the people
that got the track going,” Denny
Deatherage said. By the third
year, Cottage Grove Speedway
decided to add the Hall of Fame
to honor the best participants
from the track.
This year’s class is comprised
of 18 inductees. But the induct-
ees are not all racers. Some are
dedicated pit crew members and
others are former offi cials. The
amount of inductees is signifi -
cantly larger this year because
this Historical Night will be
celebrating the 60th anniversary
for the Speedway itself.
“We’ll have old articles, pho-
tos and trophies on display,”
Deatherage said. With all the
history of the speedway being
celebrated in one evening, His-
torical Night should be one of, if
not the biggest event of the year
quarter-mile oval track.
Athletes of the Week: Cottage Grove Jr. Golfers
Last Wednesday, the Cottage
Grove Junior Golf team fi nished
their six-week summer program
by playing a fi ve-hole and three-
hole junior/adult golf competi-
tion at Middlefi eld Golf Course.
The program hosted children
between ages eight and 14. The
winners are:
Five-hole Chapman format
tournament
1. Tristan and Brian Kane, 24;
2. Kaden and Jason Erickson,
25; 3. Kassidy Poetzl and Kevin
Lucke, 27; 4. Alexis Christie
and Dave Erickson, 28; 5. Kay-
lee McHugill and Mark Cooley,
30; 6. Carson and Tracey Kane,
31; 7. Caleb and Todd Box-
berger, 33; 8. Kelvin and Kelly
Johnson, 34; 9. Eryn Lawrence
and Jason Phillips, 35; 10. Kel-
len and Jamie Cranmer, 38; 11.
Melissa and Maralee Johnson,
41.
Three-hole Chapman for-
mat tournament
1. Frank Garcia and Jerry
Avery, 12 (Card Playoff); 2.
Carson and Larry Young, 12;
3. Draton and Ryan Young, 13
(Card Playoff); 4. Brock Cran-
mer and Lawrence Burns, 13; 5.
Kadance Crownover and Joelie
Saunders, 17.
Bohemia Sunrisers Kiwanis
of Cottage Grove, Hidden Val-
ley Golf Course and Middle
Field Golf Course sponsored
the junior golf program.
Photo courtesy of Philip Jones, junior golf program director
Kids and adults competed with and against each other at the fi nal tournaments of the summer golf program last week.
Introducing the North Douglas High School Warriors
With readership expanding into Drain, North Douglas athletic scores and updates will be covered in the Sentinel sports section at the start
of the fall season, while Cottage Grove will maintain receiving full coverage of its sports
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Leading up to and throughout
the school year, it won’t just be
Lions featured in the sports sec-
tion. As our readership expands
into Drain and North Douglas
County, the paper will begin
to feature the North Douglas
High School Warriors and the
school’s athletic achievements
each season.
North Douglas is a small 1A
school, small enough that the
school will only have enough
athletes to fi ll a football and
volleyball roster for this fall sea-
son. The cross-country runners
merge with Yoncalla.
“We tried to put together a
wrestling team this fall, but there
simply wasn’t enough people to
keep the program going,” said
Athletic Director and head foot-
ball coach JJ Mast. There may
not be a soccer team or a cross-
country team, but North Doug-
las does have a strong football
team for 1A schools and a solid
volleyball team.
The football team has gone
from having to play eight-man
games to a full 11-man starting
line up on both sides of the ball.
Last year, the Warriors went 7-
2 in Skyline League play but
fell short in the fi rst round of
the playoffs to fi nish with a 7-3
record. It was the third straight
year that Mast and his team
have reached the playoffs.
The warriors operate out of
a wing formation for the most
part, but adopt some of the
spread offense the Lions use as
well.
“We defi nitely don’t run
the spread as well as Cottage
Grove, but it’s been effective at
times,” Mast said. The warriors
are bringing back 11 seniors
this year, which Mast says is a
“luxury” to have. The team only
graduated one senior the year
before: Austin Gordon, a run-
ning back and linebacker for
the Warriors. Among the return-
ing seniors, Riley Swafford will
help lead his team at the quar-
terback position next to an ef-
fective tight end by the name of
Jayce Ellis, who will also be a
541-942-7561
defensive end on the other side
of the ball. The Warriors will
also see the return of Walker
and Storm Woolley as linemen
playing both ways. Brent Taylor
will possibly fi ll the shoes of
Gordon, although the new roster
isn’t fi nalized yet.
With so many returning se-
niors, Mast hopes that the War-
riors will get past the fi rst round
of the playoffs this year.
“We came really close to win-
ning our conference champion-
ship game last year, so I expect
we’ll be better and go a bit fur-
ther this year,” Mast said.
The volleyball team is headed
by coach Anne Campbell and
won the Skyline league with
ease after going 13-0 in league
play. In total, the team went 24-
7 and fi nished in second in the
1A state rankings.
In the team’s roster of 13,
four graduated and six will be
returning as seniors. One of the
biggest returning assets will be
Jhana Lane, entering her senior
year at six feet, two inches tall.
She will defi nitely be needed af-
ter the loss of Lauren Davidge
and Dani Baker, two 5’11”
graduates.
With the introduction of
North Douglas athletics to the
Sentinel, Lions fans should
rest assured that Cottage Grove
High School athletics will not
be pushed aside. There will be
plenty of action to read about
once the fall season starts.
The North Douglas Mascot.
Join us August 13th
HISTORICAL NIGHT
www.cottagegrovespeedway.com
360 Sprints, Late Models, IMCA Modii eds, IMCA SportMods,
and Quality RV Repair Hornets