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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2019)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Sports & Recreation SOUTH LANE COUNTY SPORTS AND RECREATION Philomath holds off Lions in play- in game • • WEDNESDAY | MAY 22, 2019 B1 CONTACT SPORTS EDITOR ZACH SILVA AT 942-3325 OR ZSILVA@CGSENTINEL.COM Krokus crowned state champion 10th ranked Warriors end Cottage Grove baseball season By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Th e Cottage Grove baseball team continued to fi ght back. Th e team that got out to a 1-5 start on the sea- son and snuck into the postseason by securing the last playoff spot con- tinued to fi ght back last Th ursday on the road against 10th ranked Phi- lomath (17-10). But for the Lions (11-14) it was where the season ended as the team lost 4-2 in a state play-in game. “We’re not the most talented team. We’ve beat a lot of teams that were better than us and we played close to a lot of teams that we shouldn’t have,” said Cottage Grove head coach Dan Geiszler. “And that’s a testament to them and their work ethic and they believe in themselves. Th ey work and work together. I never thought we were out of it until they threw that guy out [on the fi nal play]. “I’m proud of them for that. It’s never fun to lose at the end and watch the seniors go. Th at’s the crappy part of coaching. But proud of them for what they did.” It was an ominous start to the game for the Lions as Philomath re- corded a single, that saw the runner advance to second on an error, on the very fi rst pitch the team faced. Th rough- out the rest of the fi rst inning Philomath hits were paired with Cot- tage Grove errors that resulted in three runs for the home team. “I thought it was big jumping out on them in the fi rst inning,” said Philomath head coach Levi Webber. “Th at’s huge in the playoff s to get off to a good start to get things going. Settles everybody down a little bit, gets the angst out a little bit. Gets everybody going.” “Just a couple errors killed us but we com- peted and battled,” said Geiszler. Th e Warriors struck again in the third inning when another error from the Lions set up another run. Th e inning started with a Philomath runner being called safe at fi rst in a contested call followed by a fi elding error for the Lions. “Talking to some coaches that had played Cottage Grove, they said they’re a good team, they’re scrappy and they’re competitive,” said Webber. “Th ey told me, make sure you don’t give away outs or give away at-bats and that’s what we talked about, just making sure that we forced them to make plays. I thought, espe- cially in the fi rst four in- nings, we did a great job of putting some pressure on them and they made some mistakes and we BASEBALL see B3 In his fi rst jump of the 4A state triple jump competition on Friday at Mt. Hood Community College, Cottage Grove junior Mitchell Krokus leaps out to a state-winning jump of 44-04.75 feet. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL Krokus wins triple jump competition, Talley records pair of eighth place fi nishes By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Friday’s state triple jump compe- tition was over as soon as Mitchell Krokus started. Competing at Mt. Hood Com- munity College, the Cottage Grove junior was able to claim the state title by recording the farthest jump of the day – a mark of 44-04.75 feet – on his very fi rst jump of the com- petition. “I’m still kind of processing. It’s weird,” said Krokus who record- ed the three farthest jumps in the competition. “It’s a relief but also like something to look forward to next season. It’s something I want to keep improving. It usually takes a few hours to kick in.” Entering the day, and boosted by a near two-foot personal record (PR) at the district meet, Krokus had the best jump in all of 4A. And while it was in that fi rst sprint down the runway that secured his spot as a state champion, Krokus’ entire day leading up to that jump prepared him for this outcome. Triple jump was the only thing on his mind. “On the way here I didn’t want to think about anything that I would have to worry about. I didn’t want to think about anything that would pull back my mindset,” he said. “I wanted to stay focused on what I was doing and nothing else. Not a single thing. Th is is everything.” Krokus, who stumbled into the event in the middle of last season and quickly found success and a desire to get better at it, went through his warm up on Friday with a new-found level of focus. Completing every stretch and drill he could think of, he was both physically and mentally ready to go. “When I competed, I don’t think there was a single thing that went through my head. It was just blank. It was probably one of the weirdest things,” he said. All the preparation crescendoed in the fi rst jump. “Aft er that my legs started to shut down. Physically I couldn’t re- ally get much better,” said Krokus. “I didn’t want to think that’s the winning mark. I wanted to keep improving it. I didn’t want to stay at that mark and say I’m OK with that mark. Even though I couldn’t physically get farther aft erwards, I was trying my hardest to get there.” For the rest of the competition, LIONS see B2 Ladd and Arnold record top six fi nishes in state high jump competition By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Th e state track meet better get used to Matty Ladd and Gracie Arnold. Th e pair of Cottage Grove un- derclassmen – Ladd a sophomore and Arnold a freshman – both fi nished in the top seven of the 4A high jump competition last Friday at Mt. Hood Community College. “Coming here when you’re younger and knowing that you might come here again sets those expectations,” said Ladd. “Last year I got fi ft h and so this year my expectation was I want to get fi ft h or higher.” Ladd did just that as she took fourth with a clearance of 5-02 feet. Locked in from the start, Ladd cleared 4-10, 5-00 and 5-02 on her fi rst attempts. “I think it was adrenaline and we also had like an hour warm up so we were ready to go,” said Ladd. Arnold fi nished seventh in the competition with her clearance of 5-0. COTTAGE GROVE see B2 Sophomore Matty Ladd gets an early clearance in the high jump com- petition at state on Friday. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL Olson takes discus title, Byle to finals in three events Pair of Elkton athletes make their mark at 1A state meet By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Elkton junior Sadie Olson winds up in the discus on her way to winning state. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL It was a long day – made longer by a 76-minute thun- der and lightning delay – for Elkton junior Sadie Olson and sophomore Margaret Byle at last Saturday’s 1A state track meet. On the fi nal day of com- petition, the pair of athletes made the fi nals in all fi ve of their respective events – Ol- son in discus and shot put and Byle in the 100, 200 and Athlete of the Week 400 – highlighted by Olson fi nishing the day with a state discus title. “I had never expected this. Coming my fresh- man year I scratched all my throws at districts. But last year when I came and got second place [at state] I was like, ‘Wow, I might actually get fi rst next year once this girl graduates,’” said Olson. “So I’m just overjoyed and I’m really glad. And I’m really thankful it didn’t get cancelled.” Aft er a brief storm passed through the area, Olson, who had the farthest throw in 1A coming into the day, was back warming up for discus where the weather didn’t hold her back as she unleashed a throw of 117- 09. Th e state-winning throw was also a personal best by over two feet. “It felt so wonderful. It was awesome. It was com- plete and it was the best throw I’ve ever done and it was really fun,” said Olson. Earlier in the day, Olson took eighth in shot put with a throw of 31-09. “I didn’t get a PR so I was a little disappointed with my performance. But I did make it into fi nals and I ELKTON see B3 Th is week’s athletes of the week are state champions Mitchell Krokus and Sadie Olson. Mitchell Krokus. Sadie Olson. PH
