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St. Paul native will be added to WOU Athletic Hall of Fame |
By Amanda
Newman, Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail Amanda at
anewman@eaglenewspapers.com
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Angela (Ernst)
Capps, a 1987 St. Paul High School graduate who grew up playing
basketball in Newberg, will be inducted Sept. 7 into the Western
Oregon University (WOU) Athletic Hall of Fame.
“I was beyond honored,” the 1993 Western Oregon graduate said of
her nomination. “Having only played there one year ... it’s a huge
honor.”
Capps, who played Junior Tiger basketball in Newberg as a child,
played for four years at SPHS, where her team won two state
championships. She was named a district All-American and a member of
the state all-tournament team.
She
attended Oregon State University for three years on a full
scholarship and transferred to WOU her senior year.
“It was a pretty negative situation junior year,” Capps said of her
OSU team, which lost five players throughout that year. “I was to a
point where I really hated basketball.”
Capps described the WOU basketball program as “very positive,”
saying, “My coach was awesome about getting me back on track ...
loving the game and loving life.”
At WOU, she averaged 20.1 points per game, the third highest total
in the school’s history. She shot 63 percent from the field, setting
a school record that still stands.
In 1991, Capps was named a Kodak first-team All-American, a NAIA
second-team All-American and the NAIA District 2 player of the year.
During her senior year, Capps decided to become a teacher. After
graduating, she served as an assistant coach at WOU for one year
before accepting a coaching position at Amity High School.
She coached basketball at Myrtle Point High School for 10 years,
then moved to Redmond, where she teaches physical education at Elton
Gregory Middle School and coaches the eighth grade girls basketball
team. Capps also coaches track, volleyball and a competitive
basketball tournament team.
And she still plays basketball.
Capps participates in a women’s city league in Redmond. This year
she played on the same team as her two younger sisters — a first,
due to large age differences. The team won the league championship.
“There are so many life lessons that you learn (through
basketball), about teamwork and giving,” Capps said. “I got to see a
lot of the U.S. ... and make a lot of friends.”
She listed her two greatest basketball memories as going to the
national tournament while at Western Oregon and “winning
back-to-back titles at St. Paul” — a feat which has not been
duplicated since.
However, the mother of three daughters expressed the most amazement
at the way events can repeat themselves.
“I’m coaching my daughters now and it’s just amazing,” she said,
explaining that her daughters have sometimes been coached by her own
former coaches. “It’s amazing how things come full circle.”
Seven other athletes and two teams will be inducted into the WOU
Hall of Fame this year, along with an individual honored for
meritorious service. |
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From
Aug. 11, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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