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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
B S PORTS Section B Wednesday, APRIL 5, 2015 South Lane County Sports and Recreation Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com COACH KYLE TEMPLE HEADED TO UCC Temple will say goodbye to CGHS after nearly four years By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com When Kyle Temple arrived at Cottage Grove High School, it was the fi rst time in over three decades the school had seen a new wrestling coach. At the time, Bill Thompson told The Sentinel, “Kyle’s a young go-getter who has basically the same philosophy and work ethic that I have tried to instill in our kids, our community and school. "I think he fi ts the bill to do a great job for our community and kids.” Now, after nearly three years, the high school will say goodbye to Mr. Temple. "The Umpqua Community College Department of Athletics is excited to announce the appointment of Kyle Temple as their new Head Coach for Men’s Wrestling," a press release from Umpqua announced on Monday, April 3. Temple grew up in Sweet Home, Oregon before eventually land- ing a position at Stayton and Sprague high schools and becoming coach of three different Top 10 programs. According to the release, while working at both Stayton and Cottage Grove, Temple began to get involved with the Oregon Wrestling Association. He held positions on the Cadet, Junior, and Women’s council, while also taking the reigns as the lead coach and organizer for Western Junior Dual trip to Pocatello, ID. This trip grew under Temple from 15 participants to its’ current yearly average of 52 kids from all across Oregon. In 2016, Coach Temple was voted as the Western Region Junior Person of the year by representatives from the 11 western states. Also in 2016, Temple took over as the Oregon Wrestling As- sociation Junior Level Director where he has worked to increase opportunities and participation for high school aged wrestlers across the state at regional and national level tournaments. During this past seasons’ Greco-Roman National Championships, Oregon fi nished 3rd in the nation and produced two national champions. Temple attended Southern Oregon University where he competed for the Raiders from 2003 through 2008. He was a national qualifi er his senior season and also competed in the FILA Jr. National free- style and Greco-Roman tournaments where he was a match out of earning All-American honors. Temple earned a Bachelor's in Histo- ry from Southern Oregon University in 2008, and holds his Masters in Teaching from Western Oregon University. Umpqua’s Director of Athletics Craig Jackson, had this to say about the naming of Coach Temple as the Men’s Wresting Coach, “We are very excited to have someone with Kyle’s experience to head up RiverHawk wrestling. We feel that his enthusiasm and con- tacts throughout Oregon and the western United States make him an outstanding fi t for what we are trying to accomplish with our new program. He is very well thought of by his peers and will work to show athletes that UCC is an outstanding destination for collegiate wrestlers.” Athletic director for the high school Gary Roberts said of the change, "We're going to at some point shortly post for the job. We don't have any internal right now that has shown interest yet and we'll go from there." Speaking on the loss of Temple to the program, Roberts said, "We're going to miss Kyle and we're wishing him well. It's an op- portunity that's tough to pass up, to coach at the college level that he's dreamed of and didn't think he'd get the opportunity to do be- cause those positions are just hard to come across. Not to mention, he'll have the chance to start a program. It's really good for him and we wish him well and hopefully we fi nd someone who can come in and pick up where he left off and continue to get this thing going in the right direction." Lion's Pride Pageant STUDENTS PREP FOR THE ANNUAL EVENT WITH NIGHT AT EL TAPITIO Pictured above from left to right: Contestants Tanner Howe, Hunter Gipson, Blake Sentman, Kory Parent, Brent Ollivant, TJ Bellamy, Zane Levings, coordina- tors Savannah Crump, Carly Sand, Cassidy Lusson, Keara Murphy, contestants Hannah Albrecht, Lauren Fields and Elizabeth Poe. It will be a busy week for contestants of the annual Lion's Pride Pageant. On Thursday, April 6, El Tapitio will be hosting an event that will see 20 percent of every bill go towards the pageant to those customers who bring in the accompanying fl ier found at local businesses and in this edition of The Sentinel. The night before, on April 5, the students will go head-to-head with staff on the basketball court during a silent cake auction. All proceeds from that event will also go towards the pageant. According to the high school, "The purpose of the Lion's Pride Pageant is to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. This organization provides money for Springfi eld RiverBend Sacred Heart Hospital's neonatal and pediatric units. These units of the hos- pital help not only premature babies, but also any child throughout their teenage years who requires hospitalization." The statement went on to note that several Cottage Grove High By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com School students have benefi tted from the Children's Miracle Net- work's relationship with the pageant throughout the years. Moreover, the high school will a receive 10 percent return on whatever funds it raises through the event. The goal this year is to raise $22,000 which would top last year's total of $17,500. The pageant contestants have been on the go since February with several events already completed including a kick-off dinner, Val- entine's night babysitting and a dodgeball tournament. A signifi cant change to the program this year is the addition of fe- male students. In its long history, the Lion's Pride, formally known as the Lion's King Pageant, has had only male students participate. According to the high school, "These girls are pioneers in our new perspective of the pageant and I am thrilled to bring them into our fold. This year, Hannah Albrecht, Lauren Fields and Elizabeth will usher in future female students as part of the Lion's Pride program. El Tapitio will be accepting fl iers tomorrow, April 6. A goodbye to our seniors A series of profi les on seniors who have spent their high school years as Lion athletes After school years full of football games, basketball practices and off-season lifting, Cottage Grove high school senior Kory Parent is taking this Spring to prepare for his future. Though his post- high school options abound, among the most prestigious of Parent’s offers is one from the United States Naval Acad- emy. The academy boasted just a nine percent acceptance rate in 2015, and this year, Parent made the cut. “I knew I wanted to get a bachelor’s and then try to become a Navy SEAL, but I didn’t think I was going to get accepted into the Naval Academy,” Parent said. “The competition was really high this year.” But a 4.0 weighted GPA, stellar athletic record, including Sky-Em 2016 Boys Basketball Player of the Year and fi rst team All-State selections in both basketball and football, among other accolades, landed Parent among the few who earn a spot at the academy each year. Parent has not yet accepted the offer and said he is keeping his options open, however, juggling the decision to stay in state or make the trip to Annapolis, Maryland where the academy is located. As a lifelong athlete, the 5 foot 8 inch senior has also land- ed offers from a series of smaller schools around the state with offers to continue his athletic career. Schools including George Fox University and Willamette University have sought Parent out with offers to play football at their schools. Though the U.S. Naval Academy acceptance came as some- what of a shock to Parent himself, those who have known him as an athlete or student during his time in Cottage Grove weren’t nearly as surprised. One such fi gure who has seen Parent progress as an ath- lete and leader is Assistant Superintendent for the South Lane School District and Cottage Grove High School Football assis- tant coach Kyle Tucker. Tucker coached Parent on the defen- sive side of the ball for the past three years and was witness to his work ethic on and off the fi eld, citing Parent’s extra time in the weight room, watching fi lm and his fi rst-in-last-out practice schedule as markers for his offer from the academy. “Just the ability for a kid that age to put in the amount of time that he puts in is amazing,” Tucker said of Parent. “You don’t see that very often.” That “extra practice makes perfect” mentality is one that Par- ent brought not only to football, as Tucker described, but also to the basketball court. Parent said it is one that he developed at an early age, especially when it came to basketball. “I just was never one of the kids that would be laying on the couch, watching TV all day,” Parent said. “I would be the one that would be thinking, ‘If I’m watching TV, then why couldn’t I just go out and shoot shots?’” That work especially paid off his junior and senior years, after the early morning shooting sessions in addition to regular prac- tices gave him an extra competitive edge. His work refl ected in the Lion’s basketball record, bouncing from 5-20 overall Par- ent’s sophomore year to 20-5 his junior season. But Parent said it was more than just his own work that led the Lions to a stellar two year streak; a core of strong senior starters was also integral to his basketball and football team’s success. “They were key players, and I think our leadership was the best it’s been in football,” Parent said. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Lions’ football went 8-0 in league play, while basketball took a 9-2 league record. Now, with his high school athletics career behind him, Parent is sorting his options, preparing for the next step. But his legacy as a trendsetter and captain both on the court and on the fi eld is one he leaves behind for the Lions’ next round of student-ath- letes. “The culture of those young kids... having good leaders like Kory, helps our younger guys become good leaders,” Tucker said. “Then you get those young leaders who step up and keep that tradition moving forward.” Athletes of the Week Sam Settelmeyer and Kenzie Parsons beat out 28 other runners during the Fool's Rush 5K. The race started and fi nished downtown with the middle of the course traversing Mt. David. According to organizers, "There was no fooling around as they had a good climb in the middle of the 5K course. Fun was had by all at this community event." 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