Daniel, Author at The Western Howl

Distance runner Stephanie Stuckey at the OSU High Performance Photo by Rachel Gosney — Distance runner Stephanie Stuckey at the OSU High Performance
Photo by Rachel Gosney

By Rachel Shelley
Staff Writer

Western track competed at two separate meets in preparation for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Meet, the Oregon State High Performance Meet and the Mt. Hood Track Festival.

Just 20 miles down the road, the Wolves traveled to Oregon State to set multiple personal records before conference. Emily Wetherell started it off for the Wolves, throwing a personal record of 45.72 meters in the hammer throw, finishing 11th overall.

Justin Larson took third with his javelin throw of 61.06 while Aaron Whitaker would take home a season-best and first place in his section of the 400-meter dash, finishing in 49.21 seconds, giving him eighth overall.

Jeremy Moore threw a season-best with 14.88 in the shot put, finishing 11th overall. Cody Warner would finish second overall with 10.68 in the 100.

In Gresham, the team would set 14 personal records in the final meet before conference. Nine personal records were set by the women’s team, with Alecia Falck starting it off with a PR in the discus and hammer throw with 38.68 and 34.51, respectively. Leah Nicklason would also throw a personal record in the discus with 36.47.

Megan Rose would then set a personal record in the 400 in 59.67 seconds, right behind Suzanne Van De Grift who also would post a season best time of 59.43. Laura Knudson set a personal record time of 1:05.16 in the 400-meter hurdles, winning the event while Felicia Covey would win the following section of the 400 hurdles with her personal record time of 1:07.76. Rebecca Laible won the triple jump with a season best mark of 11.68 meters.

For the men, five personal records were set in four different events. in the 1,500 meter, Josh Dempsey won section two in 3:57.60. Lucas Clark and Chris Mudder would set their PRs in the discus with 38.92 and 37.53, respectively. Kegan Allen threw 45.24 in the hammer throw – a personal record – while Jacob Kantola would jump 6.36 in the long jump, his personal record.

Badane Sultessa would earn a NCAA Division II provisional time, the second Western runner to do so, and became number 20th in the country in the 800 with a time of 1:51.13, placing second in the race.

The team will now race at the GNAC Outdoor Championships held Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, at McArthur Field starting 2 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

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Softball:

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship softball championships were held April 30 through May 2 in Yakima, Washington. Western’s softball team ended their season after a 3-8 loss to Western Washington University. Western Washington advanced to the championship game and lost 5-9 to Montana State Billings.

In other news, the softball team announced that their elite competition camp will be held June 22-24 at Western’s softball field. The elite competition camp is intended to enhance and improve the skills of high school students and prepare them for a higher level of competition. For more information, go online to www.wouwolves.com.
SOFTBALL:

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Ten players earn Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors

PHOTO BY OLIVIA DeJANVIER First baseman Nathan Etheridge (#12) at bat in game one against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, May 2. — PHOTO BY OLIVIA DeJANVIER
First baseman Nathan Etheridge (#12) at bat in game one against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, May 2.

By Jacob Mitchell
Staff Writer

Western’s baseball team had a solid weekend of play, as they went 3-1 in a four-game series against fellow GNAC competitor, Northwest Nazarene University. Their only loss in the series came by way of a nail biting, extra-inning slugfest in game three (7-8).

Junior Adam Bloom led the Wolves offensively this past weekend, with a combined 6-for-8 at the plate with one run scored and two RBIs.

Seniors Matt Taylor and Marcus Hinkle hammered out five hits apiece in their final games at home for Western. Senior Michael Sherwin recorded a pair of home runs in game one, and had a pair of RBIs to match.

It was announced Monday from the GNAC head office that Western had 10 baseball players named to the GNAC Team.

Senior Jesse Pratt was named Pitcher of the Year and Brady Miller was awarded Freshman of the Year.

Along with Pratt, seniors Garret Harpole and Taylor, juniors Shawn Domke and Nathan Etheridge were named as members of the first team.

Second team selection included Miller, junior Garrett Alvarez, juniors Darrien Moran, and Cody Sullivan, while earned honorable mention honors.

Pratt and Taylor were unanimous selections on this year’s first team, while Harpole and Taylor were veterans as they earned the same awards last season.

The team traveled to Billings, Montana Thursday to play in the GNAC tournament. The Wolves lost their first game to NNU, 3-2.

At the time of publication, the Wolves were playing against No. 1 seed Montana State Billings. A loss in this double-elimination tournament would end their season.

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NFL Bound

By Kyler Freilinger
Freelancer

For four years, Western wide receiver Tyrell Williams entertained football fans as one of the best players in Western’s history. Following the NFL Draft, Williams signed a contract with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent and became the eighth Western player in school history to join a NFL pre-season team.

In the 2014 season alone, Williams had 51 catches, 8 touchdowns and a grand total of 950 receiving yards. During his pro day at Oregon State, Williams recorded a 4.42 and 4.44 second 40-yard dash, 39.5-inch vertical jump and a 6.55 second 60-yard three-cone drill.

When asked about his pro day results, Williams said he was happy and that it was a good day.
Williams said he chose the Chargers because he liked the receiving coach and the coaching staff.

He also said he really liked the facilities and the surrounding area.

Although he was partial to the Chargers, Williams added there were other teams that contacted him including the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots. He was invited to a workout session with the New England Patriots.

Williams will depart May 14 for a four-day rookie mini-camp. After the mini-camp Williams plans to return to Western to finish school then “take off again, for good, after classes are over.”

“Trying to make the team is the main thing. I’m going to do whatever is asked of me. Keep my head down and keep working,” said Williams of his future NFL plans.

Williams will be graduating at the end of spring with a major in exercise science.

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Strolling through Yard Shows

“The Stroll” is the dance of choice by Western and Oregon State Greek life members who participated in Wednesday’s Yard Show. PHOTO BY MATT COULTER — “The Stroll” is the dance of choice by Western and Oregon State Greek life members who participated
in Wednesday’s Yard Show.
PHOTO BY MATT COULTER

By Jenna Beresheim
Staff Writer

Amassed in a flock of vibrant colors and distinguishing markings, sorority sisters and fraternity brothers clad in representative garb gathered in the Werner University Center plaza April 6 for Spirit Week.

The event was known as a Yard Show, where various members from the houses get together and “stroll,” a form of dancing where contestants line up and perform a coordinated dance in that line. Lines ranged from three people long to over 12.

Six houses showed up to this competition, hosted by Omega Delta Phi – a Western fraternity that started the event last year after attending one hosted by Oregon State University.

“It was really fun and we wanted to do it again, make it a tradition,” said Kevin Alejandrez, a third year sociology major and president of Omega Delta Phi. “It’s just a fun way to hang out with each other and dance.”

This Yard Show has a main focus on having fun and hanging out, with competition taking back seat to mingling with friends. Even a sorority from OSU, Gamma Alpha Omega, came to this event.

“We come back to support Greek unity at WOU,” said Courtney Calleros, a biology senior from OSU and president of Gamma Alpha Omega. “It takes a lot of time and effort to put on these events.”

Alejandrez said they hope to continue this throughout the years, allowing the houses to get together and have fun, mingled with a little healthy competition.

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“No Days Off”

From left to right: performers Belaf, Ruslan, and John Givez of the group Dream Junkies PHOTO BY EVELINA RAMIREZ — From left to right: performers Belaf, Ruslan, and John Givez of the group Dream Junkies
PHOTO BY EVELINA RAMIREZ

By Evelina Ramirez
Staff Writer

“Their lyrics touched my heart; they give knowledge to the crowd, and [they] say things as they are in the world,” said business major Diana Flores.

Music group Dream Junkies came to Western Tuesday, May 5, in honor of Spirit Week, to perform soulful spoken word rap and energetic hip-hop music.

Dream Junkies consists of performers John Givez, Beleaf, and Ruslan.

Born in Southern California and raised in the North San Diego County, rapper Givez stays true to his South California roots and merges hip-hop and R&B to create a unique listening experience.

To help promote the event on Tuesday, performer Beleaf visited Valsetz dining hall and passed out fliers to students with the group’s performance information.

“He gave my friends and me a flier to go see his show and some of my friends and I ended up going,” Flores said.
Student Activities Board director and interdisciplinary major Cheyenne Standing-Elk said, “Something we noticed on campus is that we don’t have rap and R&B performances, and we wanted to bring him because we really liked him.”

Campus Greek life took part in organizing the event.

“Omega Delta Phi got involved, and they provided the Dream Junkies with a hotel,” added Standing-Elk.

Some of the songs the Dream Junkies performed were “Black Sugar,” “No Days Off,” “West Side Blues” and “Out of It.”

“I’ve never heard them before so it was different, but overall I really liked it because they were really fun to listen to,” said public health major Olivia Ramirez. “I like that they spread a positive message.”

After the performance, the Dream Junkies had their merchandise on sale, which included: t-shirts, CDs, and hoodies. To get updates from the Dream Junkies, check out their social media accounts @ruslankd, @beleafmel, and @johngivez or visit kingsdreament.com for more information.

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WOUstock rocks the weekend

By Amanda Clarke
Staff Writer

Students flocked to the Grove to enjoy a day of sun, music, and carnival games during WOUstock.

The event was held Saturday, May 2, and was put on by the Ackerman Hall Government. The General Assembly, Triangle Alliance, Residence Hall Association, Weekend Wolfpack, and Green Team helped sponsor.

KWOU DJed the event with music from the 60s and 70s, as well as more modern music. At 2 p.m., live singer Keenan Welsh Richmond, a senior music major, sang covers of the Beatles songs including “Day in a Life” and “Blackbird” as well as “Here Comes the Sun.”

“I’m a really big fan of their music,” Richmond said.

There were multiple events including a sack race, a bounce house race, face painting, a backdrop where people could take their pictures to be put on the WOUstock Facebook page, volleyball, tie die, a dunk tank to dunk RAs, and prizes given away through a raffle.

There was also a carnival and barbeque in the Grove outside of Ackerman as well as the various activities the students could participate in.

“I really enjoyed the dunk tank and the face painting,” said Ashley Flores, a junior pre-psychology major.

A potato-sack race to the finish line between two students at the Grove. Photo by Shannen Brouner — A potato-sack race to the finish line between two students at the Grove.
Photo by Shannen Brouner

Flores added that she enjoyed the event because of “the atmosphere. It was really welcoming to everyone.”

From 7-10 p.m., there was a bonfire by the library where participants could make S’mores.

Prizes included “a sustainability basket, a beach basket, a movie basket, an academic basket, and a WOU basket full of WOU gear,” said Sophie Owings, a first year communication major.

The Ackerman Hall government president and first year theatre major, Matt Miller, helped to coordinate the event.

He said that there were “way more [people] than we expected,” and that it was more successful than any of the volunteers could have hoped.

This is the third year for the WOUstock event.

Miller said they took what was done in previous years, “and modified it to make it more successful.”

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

Accessibility Public Records Privacy Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.

Track racks up personal records at OSU and Mt. Hood meets

Softball:

Ten players earn Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors

NFL Bound

Strolling through Yard Shows

“No Days Off”

WOUstock rocks the weekend

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