Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2007)
The INDEPENDENT, January 4, 2007 Vernonia Sports Report by Ben Schorzman WRESTLING Vernonia High School Wrestling is back for another year, and under second year head coach Dominic Nardelli, they are rolling over opponents of all sizes. With the help of coaches Chris Wolf, James Brookins, and Doug Dennis, through the end of December the team is a combined 10-3 in dual meets and they have placed high in all their tourna- ments. They started early with a tournament in Banks, featuring some of the top teams from Oregon, including Willamina, Dayton, St. Helens, Toledo, Banks, and new league rival Rainier. On the way to the championship they beat Banks, Toledo and Rainier. The Log- gers haven’t beaten Banks since before Coach James Brookins, so it was another milestone for a Vernonia team that is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the new- ly established 3A Lewis & Clark League. The team’s next test was a home dual meet versus 4A Seaside and Camas. In the first match versus Camas, the boys wrestled hard and easily beat Camas 54-24. But the match that the whole team was look- ing forward to was with the Seagulls of Seaside. For the first time in a long time, Vernon- ia was not invited back to the Pac Rim Tournament held by Seaside, and the wrestlers and coaches all felt slighted. “There was definitely a lot of motiva- tion for us to go out and kick their butts,” were Coach Nardelli’s words on the subject. And kick their butts they did, with a huge 60-21 stomping of the Seagulls. We can probably guarantee a return to the Pac Rim next year. These early successes set the Logger machine rolling, and the boys went on to place second at the Jefferson Tour- nament, only 13 points out of first place. The team represent- ed very well, placing 14 wrestlers in the top four. Fol- lowing this came a strong showing at a tournament in Amity, and then a huge meet at the Northwest Duals at West- view High School. The NW Du- als were set up so school class didn’t matter and a 6A team could wrestle a 2A team. Ver- nonia did indeed wrestle bigger opponents, and again proved that Logger Wrestling is on the upswing. With a 5-3 record, the team got a chance to prove themselves against larger teams such as Liberty and Parkrose. Overall they beat Liberty, Banks, Parkrose, Neah-Kah-Nie, and Grant. With these five wins, the boys suf- fered their first dual meet de- feats, all to larger opponents. Tualatin, Century and Cleve- land beat Vernonia, but with all of those teams being 6A or 5A, Vernonia should be proud of their strong performance. Coach Nardelli really loves the support from the community as well. “It’s nice to go places and compete for the top spot. We’re only going to get better. The size of the Vernonia supporters is growing. The community is definitely showing their sup- port. It’s nice to see a packed crowd on Dual night. Even down at Jefferson we had a big crowd. It’s nice to have a cheering section for those kids.” When asked about surprises from the season so far, Coach Nardelli emphatically stated that there weren’t really any. “Everyone has just been wrestling solid. The middle school program has really helped. They’ve been wrestling tough, and everyone is listen- ing and buying into what this program is all about. Two years Please see page 10 Start your Winter Ball search here. Dianna’s Formal Affair Wedding dresses and more, wedding invitations, formal and casual attire, dyeable shoes. 33555 E. Columbia Ave. Lorelei Village, Suite 211 Scappoose 503-543-0291 Hrs: Tues-Fri 10-5:30 Sat 10-4 www.diannasformalaffair.com TUXEDO RENTAL, FORMAL & CASUAL DRESSES, JEWELRY & MORE Page 9 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a monthly column with Vernonia schools information. It is written by various staff members. This month’s column is by Superintendent Kenneth Cox. A Sense of Community A new year is upon us and the old one left us with some distinct memories. Per- haps the most re- cent event was the wind storm and re- sulting power out- age that occurred Vernonia Sports Home Game Schedule Wrestling Thursday, Jan. 4, against Nestucca & St. Helens at 5 pm Varsity Basketball Boys Tuesday, Jan. 9 against Warrenton at 7:30 pm Tuesday, Jan. 16 against Clatskanie at 7:30 pm Girls Same as Boys above except game time is 6:00 pm JV Basketball Boys Girls Same as Varsity except games at 4:30 pm Same as Varsity except games at 3:00 pm Brought to you by The INDEPENDENT
