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NHS hires
Woginrich for NHS girls basketball post
Beach,
Alaimo earn academic honors for George Fox University
CPRD offers
various summer sports camps
The 2006-2007 sports year in review
Seasons to remember |
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Area teams win a combined three state titles;
two win individual state championships |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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With thousands of shots attempted, hundreds
of takedowns, scores of pitches thrown and one draft pick, the high
school and college sports seasons are now complete in the Newberg
area.
This past season saw just about everything from the five schools —
George Fox University, Newberg High School, St. Paul High School,
C.S. Lewis Academy and Open Bible Christian School — in the area.
Coaches were hired. Coaches were fired. Teams rose to the occasion.
Others sunk. Teams experienced the highest of highs to the lowest of
lows.
Some of the best
The most dominant team in any sport in the area this year was
easily the Newberg High School boys water polo squad. The Tigers not
only won their second consecutive state title, but dominated while
doing it. They defeated Southridge 20-4 in the semifinals before
cruising to an easy 18-2 win in the finals against Westview.
Overall, the team finished 39-1 and was led by two-time state
tournament MVP Keary Schlactus. Newberg’s lone loss came in early
October when the team traveled to Lake Oswego to play Lakeridge.
The heavy majority of the varsity players didn’t even suit up for
the game and coach Jim McMaster used most of his junior varsity.
Lakeridge, though, shined and scored a narrow 7-5 win for
Newberg’s lone blemish.
The Tigers are likely to be just as dominant next season, too, and
will be the favorite to win their third consecutive state title.
They return several players from last season’s squad including Nate
Bush, Cray Rogers, Jordan Anderson, Jeff Hockema, Chase Hansen,
Casey Brown and others.
The Newberg High School girls water polo team didn’t blow as many
people out as its boys counterpart did, but it was just as
effective. The Tigers won their 14th state title in an 8-2 win
against Southridge in the finals. Adrienne Cheney was named the
state tournament’s MVP and will return next season for her senior
year.
The Tigers finished 32-5 overall last season, but none of their
losses came to any team from Oregon. All five losses came at the
hands of teams they played in tournaments out of the state.
The St. Paul High School girls basketball team also won a state
title this past season, the school’s first girls basketball state
title since 1993. Overall, the school has four state titles in girls
basketball (1985, 1986, 1993 and 2007) and five appearances in the
title game (the Bucks fell to Jordan Valley 59-55 in the finals in
1992).
This season, the Bucks were led by the Class 1A state player of the
year, Julie Drescher. The sophomore point guard, who also won the
Class 1A high jump state title during the track season and finished
second in the pole vault, did it all for St. Paul. She scored, she
rebounded and handed out assists, not to mention a memorable state
tournament performance. After she suffered a severely sprained ankle
in the opening game, she, along with St. Paul’s state title hopes,
was thought to be done. But Drescher flew from Baker City to The
Dalles to see a specialist in sports injuries. She hobbled into the
office barely able to walk, but then emerged an hour later able to
play. While her teammates managed a semifinals win against
Condon-Wheeler, Drescher returned in the finals to lead the Bucks to
a 54-49 overtime win against Joseph where she scored 20 points and
pulled down 11 rebounds.
Four Newberg High School wrestlers made it to the state finals for
the Tigers this past season. Tommy Siciliano (103 pounds), Jacob
Kaufman (112), Alec Ortiz (145) and Mitchell Sturdevant (160) all
made appearances in the Class 6A finals. Siciliano, a freshman, and
Ortiz, a sophomore, both won championships. Kaufman and Sturdevant
both had to settle for second place.
Oh so close
Several teams made terrific runs this season, but came up short.
One of the best stories of the year was that of the St. Paul High
School boys basketball team.
In the 2004-2005 season, the Bucks finished a meager 2-19 overall.
The following season, St. Paul went 5-15 overall, but this season
under first-year coach Bryce Court, St. Paul produced an impressive
18-6 overall record. The team won the Casco League district title
with a 58-55 overtime win against Country Christian to claim the
league’s No. 1 spot into the state tournament. St. Paul hosted
Lowell in the opening round and struggled offensively before it fell
59-45.
The George Fox University women’s basketball team seemed to be
playing Pacific Lutheran every time it turned around. The Bruins,
who shared the Northwest Conference title with the Lutes as both
went 13-3, finished 19-7 overall. Junior Katy Campbell was the
player of the year in the conference and Scott Rueck was voted as
coach of the year.
In their last game of the season, a second-round game in the
Division III national tournament, the Bruins faced the Lutes — a
team they had beaten three times previously. But in the tournament
game, the Bruins struggled offensively and suffered a 51-48 loss.
The George Fox baseball team seemed to be one of the top teams in
the country early in the season. The Bruins started out the season
19-1 and found themselves ranked as high as No. 5 in the country.
But after they lost a three-game series at Pacific Lutheran, the
Bruins never seemed to get back their momentum.
George Fox ended its season on a five-game losing streak with a
30-11 record. The Bruins qualified for the West Regionals, but fell
to the University of Texas-Dallas 5-3 in the opener before they
suffered a 3-0 loss to No. 2-ranked Chapman.
The St. Paul High School football team finished 11-1 this past
season after maintaining a No. 1 ranking in the state for most of
the season before the Bucks fell 52-20 to Dufur in the semifinals.
During the entire season, St. Paul first team all-state running
back and linebacker Matt Anderson leading the way, scored an
impressive 632 total points — an average of nearly 53 points per
game.
Other happenings
Several coaches left their positions. Some wanted to. Others were
forced.
At C.S. Lewis Academy, boys basketball coach Bruce Toney and girls
basketball coach Doug Scott were both fired. Neither seemingly got
an explanation as to the reason of their dismissals. When asked
about the situations, all C.S. Lewis athletic director Katie Alikin
would say is that school wouldn’t comment on personnel decisions.
Newberg High School volleyball coach Jamie Schantin resigned after
three years on the job to take a teaching position within the Salem-Keizer
School District. She led the Tigers to a state playoff appearance
this past season when they finished fourth in the Pacific Conference
with a 3-7 record. The Tigers suffered a three-set loss at Sprague
in the playoffs and finished 5-11 overall.
Also at Newberg, the longtime girls basketball coach, Marianne
Funderhide, resigned after nine years on the job. The Tigers, who
finished second in the Pacific Conference the previous season,
started out strong this year, but struggled in conference play.
Newberg went 5-5 in its first 10 games which included a victory
against Jefferson, the No. 1-ranked Class 5A team that went on to
win a state title. Newberg opened league play with a win against
McMinnville, but then fell in its remaining 14 games.
Laura Hammer took over as the coach of the Open Bible Christian
School girls basketball program and probably did more with less than
any other program in the state. Hammer had a total of six players on
the team — two of whom had never played basketball before. The
Panthers played several times with less than five players on the
floor after some had fouled out. In a memorable game against C.S.
Lewis, the Panthers had just three players on the floor but still
managed to defeat the Watchmen 38-34.
Open Bible, which finished 7-11 overall, qualified for the Casco
League district tournament where it beat Falls City before a loss to
Jewell ended their season.
A recent bright spot for Newberg was Dan Wentzell. The Tualatin
native was drafted in the 20th round (No. 630 overall) last week by
the Oakland Athletics in the Major League Baseball draft.
The recent George Fox University graduate was the Northwest
Conference player of the year as a member of the Bruins. |
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From
June 16, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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