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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2019)
Sports & recreation Cottage Grove Sentinel Wednesday, March 27, 2019 South Lane County Sports and Recreation Lions face slow start to season Section B Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail zsilva@cgsentinel.com Pool remodel moving right along Facing some of the top teams in 4A, Cottage Grove baseball out to 2-5 start By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com In the fi rst week of the season it was Cottage Grove baseball (2-5) fac- ing both the second and eighth ranked teams in state. In the second week of the season, the task at hand was not easier as the Lions faced a 4-1 Mazama team and number fi ve-ranked Phoenix. “We’ve played good teams in this preseason, we’ve played a lot of good teams,” said Cottage Grove head coach Dan Geiszler aft er last Th ursday’s 11-2 loss against Phoenix. “[Th e team] just has to under- stand that this is a process and we’re working towards the league and getting bet- ter.” It was the visiting Pirates (4-2) jumping out to an early lead – capitalizing on walks and miscues – with three runs in the fi rst in- ning and a pair in the sec- ond to give the team an ear- ly advantage last week. “We have so many kids that are so nervous. We get so uptight and nervous over things and we’ve just got to relax and play,” said Geisz- ler. Geiszler noted that in addition to playing some of the top teams in 4A, the Li- ons were also dealing with an injury and some issues with grades that meant ad- justments throughout the lineup. “Th e kids are work- ing hard, they’re trying. We’ve just got to keep get- ting better and improving.” Phoenix continued to put the pressure on Cottage Grove in the fi ft h inning as it batted around its lineup and scored four runs. “Just putting the ball in play and play hard. Th at’s what our focus was today, just make good contact,” said Phoenix head coach Bill Hutchinson. “We got 15 guys in today and all 15 guys contributed in some way. You don’t see that very oft en. I’m happy for them.” Cottage Grove’s pitching trio of Noah Spink – who got the start and pitched three innings – Hunter Sharkey and Jaxon Sim- mons gave up 11 hits on the day and recorded three strike outs. Off ensively, Sharkey recorded two of the team’s six hits on the day and scored a run. Earlier in the week the Lions split a double-header with Mazama winning the fi rst game of the day 8-7. In the victory, Wyatt Sayles pitched six innings and re- corded seven strikeouts. Cottage Grove fi nished the game with six hits as a team including two from Sim- mons. Sayles had a hit on the day to along with three RBIs. In the second game of the day, Cottage Grove lost 9-4. “Aft er last game, I think my message was you better get better or this is going to be a long season. You better fi gure it out.” Geiszler said of the loss to Mazama. “To- day was kind of on the oth- er end of, ‘Hey, we’re just going to keep working.' As BASEBALL see B3 Renovation to facility on pace to be open in September By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Th e Warren H. Daugherty Aquatic Center remodel is com- ing along, well, swimmingly. “It’s a far cry from what it used to look like,” said South Lane School District Maintenance and Facilities supervisor Matt Allen on a tour of the facility last week. While Allen was directly talking about the new women’s locker room that features six toilets opposed to the two that occupied the space before, his comment seemed to apply to the area as a whole. Th e current construction is barely recognizable from the pool that occupied the space since 1955. Where the one pool sat previously now sits the new tank that is 25 yards long and will have eight lanes that will al- low competitions to take place. Next to the pool sits the warm water recreational and therapy pool. “We like to call it that because, yes, we want it to be available for therapy but we also know that there is going to be young fam- ilies and pre-school and kinder- gartners that are going to learn to swim in this pool,” said SLSD Communications Director Gar- rett Bridgens. While $6.2 million from 2016 bond funds was allocated for the pool, the additional therapy pool pushed the project about $524,000 over budget. Between donations both received and committed, the district has so far raised over $450,000 with the goal of raising $550,000. In addition to the new tanks, work is being done across the building to update the locker rooms, electrical work, outside paneling and entrance area. “One of my favorite things that got included in this pool with this remodel, they’re put- ting these windows back in. We’re standing here, you can see the light that’s coming in right now,” said Bridgens of windows that illuminate the building from the side. “Natural light is coming in. I’m so excited about the fact that we were able to in- clude the windows.” Top: A look from the back corner of the aquatic center shows the pool in its current state of the remodel process. The pool is 25 yards long, will have eight lanes and be able to host swimming competitions. Bottom: The warm water recreational and therapy pool, complete with easy access steps, sits next to the larger pool at the facility. In addition to the windows, the remodeled facility will also feature up-facing lights. Th e lights face up to ensure there is no glare on the water and will be bouncing off a white ceiling to provide as much light as pos- sible to the previously dim and dank building. Another addition that the district was excited for was the newly added family bathroom that includes a bench area and an ADA compliant shower. “In terms of the design pro- cess, this was one of those things that the committee felt and ev- eryone wanted and it was like were we going to be able to get it in the building,” said Bridgens. Construction on the remod- el began last October. Th e re- cent snow storm moved the timetable on the remodel from ahead of schedule to on sched- ule which means the pool is still planned to open in September. Local racer soars in California By Ben Deatherage Cottage Grove eight-year-old Keegan Bounds takes home a trophy from the West Coast Nationals earlier this month. Athletes of the Week Eight-year-old Kage Kart sen- sation Keegan Bounds made the trip south to Red Bluff , Califor- nia for the prestigious West Coast Nationals and would claim the coveted eagle trophy in the Box Stock division. Th e event draws Kage Karts from all over the country and is one of the tough- est races to win. Th e third-gen- eration Cottage Grove chauff eur had spent the previous three weekends to get some important Th is week’s athletes of the week are those competing in spring sports this season. Between the four local high schools there are over 250 athletes participating in baseball, soft ball, golf and track and fi eld. To read about the players, teams and coaches, make sure to check out this week’s Spring 2019 Sports Preview in this week’s paper. To see additional pictures, see B2. track experience underneath his belt. Despite a rough start to the weekend the reward in the end would make it that much sweeter. “We’ve struggled when we’ve came down here because our car has been too tight,” commented Josh Bounds, Keegan’s father and crew chief, “but this weekend with so many cars running the track fi nally came to us.” Friday, March 15th, witnessed Bounds post 16th in qualifying which set him up for his heat rac- es the next day Running two sets of heat rac- es the results didn’t refl ect the speed the team showed. Keegan was sixth in heat one and fourth in heat two. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to tabulate enough points to get locked into the main event so he would have to come out of the consolation fea- ture that Sunday. “Keegan was really fast in his heats and our car was hooked up with the setup we put in it. But every time we’d get up towards RACER see B3 Cottage Grove’s Wyatt Sayles on the cover of this year’s spring sports preview. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/ CG SENTINEL
