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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2020)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Sports & Recreation SOUTH LANE COUNTY SPORTS AND RECREATION Calendar Feb. 21 • CGHS boys wres- tling: OSAA South Regionals opening rounds, Cottage Grove High School @ TBD • CGHS swimming: OSAA State Championship Preliminaries, Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center @ 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 • CGHS boys wres- tling: OSAA South Regionals finals, Cottage Grove High School @ TBD • CGHS swimming: OSAA State Championship Finals, Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center @ 6:30 p.m. • THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Lions take league crown for fi rst time in seven years with win at JC By Nick Snyder For the first time since the 2013-14 sea- son, the Cottage Grove Lions girls basket- ball team are Sky-Em league champions. After Junction City upset Marist last Tuesday, leaving both teams with two league losses on the year, the Lions (18-5 overall, 9-0 league) took their undefeated league record north to take on the Tigers (12-11, 6-3), needing a win to claim the Sky-Em’s top spot. And they did just that. On Friday, Feb. 14 Cottage Grove defeated Junction City for the second time this season, 37-24, to seal the league title and allow the team to breathe a small sigh of relief as they head towards playoffs. “I knew it was going to be a tough game,” said head coach Steve Eastburn. “Realisti- See DISTRICTS 2B By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com off the pool surface, the inside of the Daugherty Center felt at times like summer in Florida, but it did little to dampen the excitement of the event. Cowbells rang out, parents and coaches cheered on their kids, and after two days of pre- liminaries and finals, there were successes to be counted both in and out of the water. While the capacity of the Daugherty Center to host such an event — now and in the fu- ture — was a big takeaway, the Cottage Grove Lions swimmers and their Special District 4 peers The North Douglas boys’ basketball team started the 2019-20 sea- son with a roster com- prised of half freshmen and half seniors. They went just 5-4 in their non-league games. Questions abounded ear- ly. Now, they’re Skyline league champions. After fi nishing the season by winning 11 of their fi nal 13 games, the Warriors (17-8 over- all, 11-1 league) took on a talented Days Creek team (15-10, 11-1) on Mon., Feb. 17 in a tie- breaker game that would determine the league winner as well as the top seed in the Skyline North for league playoffs. North Douglas prevailed, winning 39-30, and ce- mented themselves as the Skyline’s top dogs in 2020. “I did some research,” said head coach Tyler Vancil after the game. “The last time North Douglas won a league title in basketball was in the 2010-11 season and before that it was 1995. So, this is only the third time in 25 years.” In recent years, the boys team has often found themselves in the back seat, as the girls’ basketball program fi nds success year after year, but, having never won a league title of their own since joining the Skyline in 2014, the Warriors saw an opportunity as their team began to come together more and more throughout the season. “I brought it to their attention at the start of practice last week and let them know that this is our biggest week yet,” Vancil said. In order to earn their championship, the road wasn’t exactly easy and, for much of the last week, the road was ex- actly where they spent their time. The Warriors traveled to Riddle (16-4, 9-2) last Friday, won, then the very next day made a two-and-a-half hour trek to Aloha to take on third-ranked Life Chris- tian (23-1, 17-1) where they narrowly lost, 46- 41, in impressive fash- ion. Then, on Monday they were off to Umpqua Valley for the neutral-site tiebreaker game. “That’s one of the things we talked about See SWIMMING 4B See WARRIORS 2B PHOTO BY NICK SNYDER/CG SENTINEL Ema Gardner and Gracie Arnold hug after clinch- ing the Sky-Em title. Matty Ladd walks towards the bench to celebrate with her teammates. Districts go swimmingly (Clockwise from top left) James Kelly competes in the 200 individual med- ley; Mikayla Baird performs the but- terfly; Kassidy Poetzl and Kajsa Merz cheer on their teammates; Iverson Bascue sets a state qualifying time in the 100 backstroke; boys from various schools get ready to begin their race. NICK SNYDER/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Lions’ swim team qualifi es 12 swimmers for state, including four relay teams, four boys, and eight girls By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com For what was perhaps the biggest high school swimming event in Cottage Grove’s history, things couldn’t have gone much better. On Fri. and Sat., Feb. 14-15 the Cottage Grove Lions swim team and the revamped Warren H. Daugherty Aquatic Center hosted the Special District 4 District Swimming Champion- ships for the first time. With 10 teams, hundreds of swimmers, plus friends and family, hosting such a large- scale event was no easy task. But, the facility was a hit, both Lions teams earned top-three finishes and everything went off with nary a hitch. “Especially considering we lost power [before the start] and it was our first time running dis- tricts, it did go very well,” said head swimming coach Tyson Pilling. “People had a really good time and they loved the pool. Lots of good feedback and the space was just great. It didn’t seem like there were quite as many people as there actually were.” The pool deck was packed with athletes and spectators and coupled with humidity rising Athlete of the Week Warriors edge out Days Creek, win league North Douglas boys claim just their third title in 25 years nsnyder@cgsentinel.com www.dfw.state.or.us/RR See ODFW 3B CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT 942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM Queens of the jungle ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING R EPORT ATTENTION ANGLERS – WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS! Whether you’re out after trout or bass, steelhead or salmon, surfperch or rockfish, we’d love to see photos of your adventure. When you submit your photos to ODFW they could appear on our website or signs, or in social or brochures. What a great way to share your experience with others! BEST BETS FOR FISHING • It’s prime winter steelhead fishing on the north and mid- coast, and rivers should be in great shape for at least the early part of the weekend. • The Sandy and Clackamas rivers also will be prime for good winter steelheading. • Some anglers have been catching their limits of hatchery steelhead on the South Umpqua. • Several waterbodies along the mid-coast, and in the Willamette and SW zones will be stocked with trout this week. • Trout fishing has been good (and for big fish, too) in Priday, Krumbo and Malheur reservoirs. • And for something a little dif- ferent, check out the wiper fishing in Ana Reservoir. • Some extra large trout (three pounders) will be stocked in several north Willamette water- bodies: Henry Hagg Lake (500), St, Louis Ponds (500), EE Wilson Pond (500), Sheridan Pond (150) and Willamina Pond (150). MID COAST LAKES Stocking of the mid-coast lakes has begun for the 2020 season. Last week several of the mid- coast lakes were stocked. Check the stocking schedule online for dates and locations of lakes that have been stocked so far this year. Lakes that are scheduled to be stocked in February include: Alder, Dune, Carter, Lost, Elbow, Cleawox, Munsel, Siltcoos, This- sel Pond, Big Creek Reservoirs, Olalla Reservoir and Devils Lake. SIUSLAW RIVER: winter steel- head Winter steelhead fishing has improved on the Siuslaw as the river continues to drop into • B1 Th is week’s athlete of the week is North Douglas freshman Ray Gerrard who scored a team-high 13 points in their Skyline-clinching win over Days Creek. Ray Gerrard, along with several other fresh- man, has been a key contributor in his team’s league-title season. The future is bright for Warriors basketball. COURTESY PHOTO
