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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2007)
The INDEPENDENT, July 5, 2007 Page 11 VHS Sports Report by Gordon Jarman, Athletic Direc- tor, Vernonia High School. With the completion of the Spring Sports Dessert, held May 30 in the Vernonia High School Gym, the spring version of Vernonia Athletics comes to a successful end. The sports of Track, Golf, Baseball, Equestri- an and Softball were all repre- sented in post-season play. Several individual athletes were recognized as all league performers on Wednesday night they were: Tim Prpich for golf, Colton DeWitt for track, both first team all-league, as well as McKenzie Carr and Stephanie Carr who set a team record in the Bi-Wrangel event for the Equestrian Team and represented Vernonia at state competition in that event. In baseball Senior Brent Thompson and Sophomore By- ron Schorzman were first team all-league and Juniors Jeramey Lende and Cody Davis were second team all-league selec- tions. In softball the loggers placed several girls on the vari- ous all-league teams. Joreigh Landers, Brittany Lindauer, Mi- randa Nutting and Christina Sohler were first team hon- orees, while Brittney Paden and Nandi Van Meter were sec- ond team all-league selections. To round out the all league rep- resentatives for the Lady Log- gers, Danielle Robb was se- lected as an Honorable Men- tion all league performer and Head Coach Lindsey Dunkel was selected as co-coach of the year for the league. In a fit- ting reward for her outstanding career at Vernonia, Joreigh Landers, for the fourth year in a row, was selected as the player of the year for the Lewis & Clark League. Team Reports: In Golf, Tim Prpich won a trip to the state tournament by fin- ishing in the top of the District One Golf Tournament. Tim was the first golfer from Vernonia in several years to qualify for state and, being only a sopho- more, he will be back for the next few years to lead the resurging Loggers golf pro- gram. The golf team finished with twenty athletes, the largest turnout in many years. Coach Rod Devine looks forward to next year’s team with several returning lettermen and younger golfers with experi- ence vying for the Varsity team. In Track and Field, Colton DeWitt was first in the Lewis & Clark League, District One track meet in the shot put. His effort put him in the state track meet, held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, May 18 and 19. Competing in the state meet was a first for Colton and he represented the Log- gers well, placing ninth, just 0.5 inch short of the eighth place finisher and a state medal. Ac- cording to Head Coach Byron Brown, this year’s turnout was one of the largest in many years for Vernonia. With sever- al underclassmen returning, such as Matt Hunt, Blake Moeller, Samantha Lee, Caleb Rice and Kevin Cook, the fu- ture for Track and Field at Ver- nonia looks bright. In Baseball, the team strug- gled the first part of the season and was plagued by a smaller than normal turn-out. They ral- lied during the second half of the season, behind the pitching of Cody Davis, the fielding of Byron Schorzman and the bat- ting of Brent Thompson, to place fourth in the league and earn a spot in the league play- offs. They faced a tough team the first round. Rainier had beaten the Loggers three times during the regular season. In the playoffs it looked as if Ver- nonia would turn the tables on the Columbians, leading ten to two after four innings. It was not to be, however, and the home town Rainier nine came back to score twenty runs and emerge with a twenty-two to twelve vic- tory. That ended the season for the Loggers. There were some bright spots this year – the fielding of Luke Johnston and the hustle of Bud Normand, Jeff Paleck and Patrick Peets were among those highlights. How- ever, the emergence of fresh- man sensation Alex Lende as a pitcher was one of the better performances this year. Coach Steve Schorzman has several talented young ball players re- turning and looks to be in the league play-offs again next year and perhaps make it to the next round, which would be the state play-offs. In Softball, the Lady Loggers continued their domination of the softball ranks at the three A level. They started strong and finished strong. The Vernonia team finished the year third in the conference which put them in the league play-offs at Clatskanie and, after disman- tling Warrenton in the first game of the playoffs, they de- feated the host Clatskanie team, earning a spot as the second team representing the Lewis & Clark League in the state tournament. In the first round of the state tournament the hometown team hosted a strong Umatilla Vikings team. They soundly defeated the Vikings and moved on to the second round of the state play- offs to compete against Valley Catholic on the Valiant’s home field. The game was very tight throughout the contest, but the fourth inning proved to be the Loggers undoing, as some timely hits and some untimely errors allowed the Valiants to score four runs in the inning and, after seven complete in- nings, the final score was Val- ley Catholic 4 and the Lady log- gers 0. That ended the season for the Lady Loggers, who graduated several seniors who were instrumental in providing the spark that set the stage for continued softball success for future Logger teams. These seniors will all be missed as they move on to their future, which for the younger Vernonia softball teams, looks great with returning players picking up where these departing Loggers left off. Vernonia will be looking for a new head coach to lead future teams as Head Coach Lindsey Dunkel announced her resignation to take a teaching job in her home town of Scap- poose for the upcoming year. Ever thought of becoming a host foreign exchange student family? ASSE International Student Exchange Programs (ASSE) is seeking local host families for international high school boys and girls. These students are 15 to 18 years of age, and are coming to this area for the up- coming high school year or se- mester. These personable and academically select exchange students are conversant in English, are bright, curious and anxious to learn about this country through living as part of a family, attending high school and sharing their own culture and language with their newly adopted host family. The exchange students ar- rive from their home country shortly before school begins and return at the end of the school year or semester. Each ASSE student is fully insured, brings his or her own personal spending money and expects to bear his or her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in nor- mal family activities and lifestyles. The students are well screened and qualified by ASSE. Families may select the youngster of their choice from extensive student applications, family photos and biographical essays. Students and families are encouraged to begin corre- sponding prior to the student’s arrival. For more information on be- coming a host family, call toll- free: 1-800-733-2773. There are hundreds of students to choose from, so call – and be- gin the process of selecting your new host son or daughter today! Adopt a Pet Columbia Humane Society in St. Helens has a variety of wonderful pets available for adoption. Find the pet that’s right for you in the shelter at 2084 Oregon St. Monday through Saturday, 11 am. to 5 pm. 503-397-4353 Ace is a very friendly Shepherd/Husky mix, looking for his own boy to wrestle with! He would make a good family dog, if you think Ace will fit in with your family come give him a visit!! The Columbia Humane Society is a No-Kill non-profit shelter dedicated to helping friends find each other since 1985. New Bikes, Accessories, Service Work & Parts 503-429-0762 This Adopt a Pet is Sponsored by: New Location in Vernonia! Senator Betsy Johnson At corner of Bridge & Madison 832 Madison avenue
