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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2016)
B S PORTS Wednesday, November 2, 2016 Section B South Lane County Sports and Recreation Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com Cottage Grove volleyball out of playoffs but team is on the rise The Lions fi nished a successful season with a tough loss against Hidden Valley on Saturday BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel After the football and boys’ cross-country teams won the Sky-Em League, the next best performance has been a come- back season for the Cottage Grove volleyball team. Last year, the team went 9-13 overall and 6-4 in the Sky Em. The Li- ons were 4-6 through their fi rst 10 games, and fi rst-year head coach Jason Corwin was just getting to know the team. This year, the Lions have fi nished 12-5 overall (7-3 in the Sky-Em ,taking second place), started off with four wins in a row, and were 7-3 in the fi rst 10 games and only dropped two more losses after that. Their season earned them a play-in match against Corbett at home. The Lions gained mo- mentum early with several aces by senior Carly Sand. From there, Cottage Grove managed to control the tempo of the game and swept Corbett, 3-0. The win earned the Lions a playoff spot against Hidden Val- ley. A win for Cottage Grove would send them to the state tournament in Forest Grove. However, the momentum didn’t carry over from the previous game and the Lions’ winning season came to a halt after fall- ing 3-0 to Hidden Valley. With the departure of last year’s seniors like Abigail Ladd and Allyssa Ganchegui, there came questions surrounding whether Corwin had the roster to replace talented leaders. This year, the large shoes were fi lled by not only juniors and seniors, but by some underclassmen as well. Sand, for one, was a senior setter that was the backbone of the Lions’ attack, delivering controlled balls to hitters up- front such as Sydney Boxberger. As a junior, she has shown with her athleticism and height that she can quickly turn sets into kills. Two of the most impressive players to breakout this season are underclassmen. Sophomore Please see VOLLEYBALL, Page 3B Photo by Sam Wright Senior Carly Sand sets the ball for a teammate during last week's win against Corbett. The team moved on to play Hidden Valley for a spot in the state tournament, but fell short in a 3-0 loss on Saturday. Boy harriers win districts Athletes of the Week Jesse Ellingworth propels his team to an extremely close victory with a second-place fi nish at the Sky-Em district meet The Lions went to the Sky Em district meet and surpassed expectations. The varsity boys’ team pushed hard and won a very tight race where just 11 points separated fi rst and fourth place. Junior fi rst-year runner, Jesse Ellingworth had a break- through run with a 46-second PR to place second, pulling his team to the win. Konrad Raum (fi fth) and Paesen Timm (sixth) accompanied Jesse on the po- dium with their fi nishes. Great efforts were also turned in by teammates Jimmy Talley, Eric Cortes, Max Gause and Jus- tin Francis.The varsity women placed in fi fth paced by fresh- man Sabrina James’s 10th place fi nish. The JV women pushed through to win their competition paced by Emma Sexton, Kaitlyn Brooks, Tatiana Baird and Les- lie Chacon-Romero all plac- ing in the top 10. The JV men placed third as Konnor Owens placed second with his PR ef- fort (19:53). This effort ended up earning Owens a spot on the State Varsity team after the dis- covery late Friday that Senior Max Gause would be forced to withdraw due to confl icts with the SAT test he needs for his college application and scholar- ship work. The wet day on a course with a couple of climbs allowed the Cottage Grove harriers to use their advantage of training on hills to surprise the rest of the district and surpass their pre- meet expectations powered by 18 personal records. Head Coach Jim Settelmeyer says that the training for the state meet began in earnest on Friday, when 16 teammates showed up to bolster the state qualifi ers with their positive energy, help- ing keep the atmosphere fun, supportive and friendly. The seven varsity men have a week to work beside their team- mates and see if they can create the same kind of energy when they compete with the rest of the best in the state on the big stage Nov. 5 at 11:50 a.m. at LCC. Courtesy photo A special congratulations goes to the boys' varsity team led by junior Jesse Ellingworth, whose second-place fi n- ish helped give Cottage Grove a fi rst place fi nish overall. Konrad Raum and Paesen Timm fi nished in fi fth and sixth place respectively. Even freshman Jimmy Talley fi nished 16th out of 40 participants. The girls' team ended in fi fth but saw a strong performance by freshman Sabrina James, who fi nished the course in 22:21.9. Lions' football to face North Valley in fi rst playoff game Hidden Valley honors late Holley Gould Cottage Grove enters the OSAA 4A playoffs ranked sixth and will look to topple the North Valley Knights to make it to the quarter fi nals BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel It was a quiet Friday night at Cottage Grove High School this past week. The undefeated Lions received a bye week due to their perfect season and Sky- Em Title. But the team wouldn’t know who its opponent would be until the weekend’s play-in matches were complete. Last year, Cottage Grove’s 4- 4 record brought them to a close play-in match against Baker, where the Lions lost, 28-34. This year, the Lions earned a week of rest, though the ambition of the team had Head Coach Gary Roberts and his team take the bye week as a chance to have more time to prepare. After the Lions took down Elmira, Roberts told his team to celebrate their 8-0 fi nish on the season over the weekend, but come Monday, the team would consider itself 0-0 again. This past weekend gave Cot- tage Grove the answer that the team and fans have been look- ing for. The Lions will play host to the 11th-ranked North Valley Knights on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The Knights made it to the playoffs after a close 29-25 vic- tory over North Marion, a team that just fi nished 4-4 (their game against Philomath on Oct. 7 was cancelled). A lot can happen in high school football, making predic- tions more diffi cult by looking at who has beaten who, but it can be a good starting point. North Valley went undefeated all the way until their last game of the regular season, where they took a 40-0 loss by sec- ond-ranked Mazama, a team that didn’t allow a single point scored against them in its last four games. North Valley’s one loss shouldn’t boost the confi - dence of the Lions, but it does give insight into their defense. To allow a team to rack up 40 points is tough, and that team (Mazama) took a loss to Cas- cade early in the season. Maza- ma’s defense has only allowed 60 points all season, four points less than Cottage Grove’s stout defense. However, North Valley de- feated seventh-ranked South Umpqua on the road, meaning they have the ability to pull off an upset. But the odds seem to be in favor of Cottage Grove. The Li- ons are carrying the momentum of an undefeated season with dominating numbers (outscor- ing opponents 359-64). The Lions will also have the home fi eld advantage. Though Maza- ma is ranked higher and perhaps played in a tougher conference, it’s not outrageous to think the Lions could do what Mazama did to North Valley. Cottage Grove’s dominance throughout the entire season is a statement that the team can play with any- one in class 4A. Please see FOOTBALL, Page 3B Photo courtesy of Marla Lewis Pictured : Back - Standing: Jamie Parsons, Allene Parsons, Mary Jean Thomas, Carol Craig, Dahlia Mor- ris, Don Gould, Sue Johnson. Front: Laurie Pratt, Marla Lewis and Diane Patenode. Not Pictured: Romeni Bechtold, Joelie Saunders, Cindy Arney, Ida Martin, Jeanne Hinojosa, Alair McCarty, Sally Langham and Judy Cawley. On Wednesday, Oct. 26, several people attended a dedi- cation in honor of Holley Gould. Gould was a member of the Ladies Golf Club at Hidden Valley Golf Course. Gould passed away in late September this year. A few ladies from the club got together to have a stone etched in honor and remembrance of the passionate golfer. The stone was placed at the base of the old oak tree in the middle of the fairway on hole four. Gould always had the goal of making it to that oak tree by the second shot, and many times she did just that: “there in two.” Etched on the stone with Holley’s name were the words: “Here in 2,” her birth date, and her death date. The ladies golf club extends a special thank you to Dan and Molly Nord for allowing the stone to be placed on the course.
