Mount Hood

Four Wolves drafted history made

Paul F. Davis | Managing Editor

Four Western baseball players, center Jared McDonald and pitchers Alex Roth, Austin Crowson and Koty Fallon, made history on June 3-5 by becoming the largest class of Western baseball players to be signed in a single MLB draft.

Jared McDonald, a senior, was majoring in exercise science and was picked first out of the four. Mcdonald was picked in the 19th round as the 584th pick to the Oakland Athletics. McDonald spent his first two seasons at Grand Canyon University; while at Western, he was given the title of All-GNAC twice, finished his senior season 6th in conference with 54 hits, 4th with 46 runs scored, 5th with 9 home runs, 7th with 39 RBI, 4th in slugging percentage at .611 and finished his time at college tied for third all-time most home runs with 18.

Alex Roth, a junior, was majoring in biology and was drafted in the 21st round as the 634th pick to the Pittsburgh Pirates. During his junior season at Western, Roth became the GNAC Pitcher of the Year and also earned a place on the First Team All-GNAC. Additionally, he became the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Pitcher of the Week and GNAC Pitcher of the Week when he struck out 15 players  in seven innings on March 30, 2019 against Saint Martin’s. These 15 strikeouts made history at Western and set the single-game record for most strikeouts, tying the GNAC record with five other pitchers.

Austin Crowson, a junior, was majoring in criminal justice and was drafted in the 39th round as the 1170th pick to the Philadelphia Phillies. Crowson only played for Western for a year and earned First Team All-GNAC honors. Crowson also won National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pitcher of the Week after throwing a no-hitter on April 25 at Concordia. Crowson also threw two additional complete game shutouts.

Koty Fallon, a senior and the only player to spend four years at Western, was majoring in communications and was drafted in the 39th round as the 1170th pick to the San Diego Padres. During his final season at Western, Fallon made 12 appearances and had a team best 0.66 ERA. During these appearances, he struck out 20 in 13 innings and only allowed  one run all season.

In the next few months, the four players will find out which development teams they will get sent to. But for now, fans at home are excited to say that this year’s draft team was historic.

 

Contact the author at pfdavis14@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of WOUWolves

Final intramural leaderboard of Spring Term

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

Soccer

Co-Rec, Tuesday-Thursday Evenings

  1. Look ma, no hands! (6-0)
  2. Los Linguistas (5-1)
  3. Dunder Mifflin (4-3)
  4. Your Goalie’s Nightmare (3-2)
  5. Head Game Strong (3-4)
  6. Grace & The Funky Bunch (1-6)
  7. Team World (0-6)

 

Softball

Co-Rec Sunday Night League

  1. Broke Bat Mountain (5-0)
  2. benchwarmers (4-1)
  3. Swingers (4-1)
  4. Misfits (2-3)
  5. Always Going Deep (2-3)
  6. Masterbatterz (1-4)
  7. Dunder Mifflin Inc. (0-5)
  8. Wait for it…. (0-5)

Co-Rec Thursday Evening League

  1. Basic Pitches (4-1)
  2. Soft balls (4-1)
  3. Bad Apples (4-2)
  4. The One Hit Wonders (1-4)
  5. Rolling Bunts (1-4)

Men’s Monday Evening League

  1. Opihi Lickahz (5-0)
  2. Rippin Magoos (3-2)
  3. Dirty Ball Bags (2-3)
  4. Blue Ballers (0-5)

 

Volleyball

Co-Rec Competitive — Monday/Tuesday Evenings

  1. Killah Hawaiians (7-0)
  2. Bumpin’ (4-3)
  3. Meow Down (3-5)
  4. Wait for it…. (0-7)

Co-Rec Recreational — Monday/Tuesday Evenings

  1. Incomprehensibilities (8-0)
  2. Scott’s Tots (7-2)
  3. Work for sets (3-5)
  4. I’d hit that (1-7)

Co-Rec Recreational — Wednesday/Thursday Evenings

  1. Spiked Tea (5-3)
  2. The Agents (4-3)
  3. S.S.F.F.F.A.F.F. (0-7)

Men’s/Women’s — Wednesday Evening

  1. Joey’s Men’s VB Team (6-1)
  2. Bumping balls (3-4)
  3. Ball Busters (3-4)
  4. Meet the Blockers (3-4)
  5. Mas Hits (3-5)

 

Rugby

Co-Rec Flag Rugby

  1. How does one rugby?? (1-0)
  2. Bangahz Only (0-1)

Open Flag Rugby

  1. Idk what’s going on (3-0)
  2. Hook Those Balls (1-2)
  3. Balls Out!! (0-2)

 

Spring Golf Tournament

  1. Wakem (39)
  2. Wanderscheid (39)
  3. Dodd (41)
  4. Nowack (41)
  5. Moore (41)
  6. Weaver (43)
  7. Johnson (45)
  8. Brooks (46)
  9. Chimienti (48)
  10. White (49)
  11. Halle (51)
  12. Minniti (51)
  13. Reynolds (51)
  14. Benavides (55)

 

Flag Football Tournament

  1. Show Me Your TDs (3-0)
  2. 9 HC’s (2-1)
  3. Tightest ends (1-2)
  4. Rollin with Mahomies (0-3)

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Hall of Fame: Club Sports

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

This year proved to be a successful one for Club Sports — each team had something to be proud of, and each had players worth recognizing. The coaches of each sport were asked to nominate their top player and their top rookie of the year; here is a look at the female and male athletes that were chosen, along with the reasons that their coaches nominated them, in the words of their coaches.

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Male Player of the Year

Joey Caver

Sport: Rugby

Class: 2019

Performance: “Joey is a strong athlete. He works very hard at practice and on game-day. He

runs hard, he tackles well and he motivates people around him to be better. I played with Joey during my time here and now I am his coach, but even as a first-year he always had a drive to get better everyday. From when he first came out, to the year he had this year, he made a massive change. It was a pleasure having him as a teammate, and as a player.”

Character/Work Ethic: “Joey is a very humble person. He puts in the work without fussing and drives people around to push themselves through the hardships. I mentioned more above

before I read this question.”

Achievements in the Sport: Selected first team all conference; he was selected to play for the NorCal All-Star team; he was selected to join the Pacific Coast All-Stars

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Joey Caver is also a mentor for at risk middle school children.

Female Player of the Year

Amber Haslinger

Sport: Soccer

Class: 2020

Performance: “Amber started with the team when the club was formed … She has always exceeded the expectations and goals given by myself or one of the other coaches. Fellow players look towards her as one of the leaders in the team — she’s not a vocal leader, but instead an actions-speak-louder-than-words leader. Amber has been one of our most consistent forwards throughout this season and last season as well.”

Character/Work Ethic: “Amber has always been a hard worker on and off the field. She is always one of the first players to arrive to practices and games. Amber will make any of her teammates feel welcomed and will always make sure that her teammates are doing okay if she notices them not acting the way they normally do.”

Achievements in the Sport: Co-Captain; scored 9 Goals so far this season, 5 last season; contributed three goals during the OSU tournament where the team earned 3rd; part of the NWCSL Small School Division Championship Fall 2018

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Works at the Child Development Center on Campus; recently completed her licensure exams to be part of the ED Program

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Male Rookie of the Year

Jonathan Williams

Sport: Lacrosse

Class: 2022

Performance: “Johnny led the team in total points and in goals scored as a first-year. He also was very important to our transition game and consistently improved defensively.”

Character/Work Ethic: “His work ethic is second-to-none. Even though he could rely solely on his athleticism and probably be better than most, he works hard every day in practice and

never complains. He is also very encouraging of his teammates which I think speaks to his character.”

Achievements in the Sport: Williams was named 1st Team All-League Midfield; he scored 58 goals and led the team to Semi-Finals in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) Tournament; Williams was named Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) 3rd Team All-American

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Williams also helped lead practice for West Salem High School during their preseason workouts early in winter of 2019.

 

Female Rookie of the Year

Hannah Greene

Sport: Soccer

Class: 2020

Performance: “She will give maximum effort in practices and games. Has always risen to the

occasion during big games and tournament play this year … has become one of the first players I will pencil into the starting 11 team sheet week in, week out; due to her being one of the most consistent defenders but being as well a versatile player where she can step into the center midfield or forward role when needed.”

Character/Work Ethic: “Hannah is a hard worker … she has a high soccer IQ, she will give opinions or suggestions to myself or one of the other coaches that we may not see during the game that she might see as a pivotal observation that can help in us winning that specific game. Hannah will always play with high intensity. ”

Achievements in the Sport: Two goals, three assists this year; part of the team that won the NWCSL Small School Division Championship fall 2018; part of the defensive backline that has helped in only conceding 10 goals and having an extraordinary goals-against average of 0.935 this season

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Assistant coach for the Girls’ soccer program at Central High School; part of semi-pro team, CFC Atletica

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Photos courtesy of Andy Main

Hall of Fame: Varsity Athletics

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

Each athlete below was chosen for a number of different reasons, including their stats for this season, their stats for their entire career at Western and the records they made while here. Take a look at the trading cards below for the top athlete per sport.

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Baseball

Jared McDonald: #10

Position: Catcher

Class: Senior

Stats: First Team All-GNAC; tied for third all-time in program history with 18 home runs and 6th in career slugging percentage

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Softball

Haley Fabian: #12

Position: Pitcher

Class: Senior

Stats: All-time most wins (41); All-time most saves (5); First Team All-GNAC accolades

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Track & Field

Olivia Woods

Events: 4×400-meter relay; 800-meter

Class: Senior

Stats: All-GNAC Outdoor – 4×400 (3rd); six school records including fastest times in both track seasons for the 400 and 800.

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Basketball

Riley Hawken: #32

Position: Forward

Class: Junior

Stats: GNAC Player of the Week in December; led the team with 11.8 points, 6.4 rebounds/game; No. 2 in the GNAC with 1.8 steals/game

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Track

Curt Knott

Class: Sophomore

Events: 800-meter, 4×400-meter relay

Stats: 2019 All-GNAC Indoor – 800 (2nd); 2019 All-GNAC Indoor – 4×400 (3rd); No. 30 nationally in 800

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Volleyball

Morgan Haskett: #3

Position: Outside Hitter

Class: Junior

Stats: All-GNAC Honorable Mention; Started every match; Finished 13th in the conference

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Cross Country

Grace Knapp

Class: Junior

Season Stats: Academic All-GNAC; Earned No. 5 all-time fastest in school history at 17:33.58

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Football

Bo Highburger: #44

Position: Linebacker

Class: Senior

Stats: All-time leader in career tackles (326); All-time leader in unassisted tackles (182); Three-time first team All-GNAC selection

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Cross Country

Tyler Jones

Class: Senior

Stats: 2018 Academic All-GNAC; Recipient of Elite 90 award for the 2018 NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championship

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Basketball

Natalie Delonge: #42

Position: Center

Class: Junior

Stats: Second Team All-GNAC; Led the team with 15.1 points/game; Ranked No. 4 in the GNAC in scoring

[fruitful_sep]

Soccer

Jacky Beristain: #20

Position: Defender

Class: Senior

Stats: All-GNAC Second Team; started each match; Played all 1,559 of the team’s minutes

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Photos courtesy of WOUWolves

Western Rugby All-Stars reigned victorious

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

On the weekend of May 25-27, three Western Oregon Rugby All-Stars headed to Houston, Texas to battle it out and see which regional team would come out on top. A week prior to this game, the men were already aware that seniors Alex Treat and Joey Caver would be two of the All-Stars. However, another surprise arose just days before they were set to travel to Houston: senior Matt Cornish, who originally tried out, was invited to join.

Although he didn’t make the team initially, upon review, they decided he would be an asset to the team. So, he accepted. Cornish, Treat and Caver were ready for what was to come. But, they weren’t the only representation Western had. Their head coach, Sean Pomeroy, was invited to help coach for their Pacific Coast All-Star team. All four faces of Western headed out to Houston.

Streamed live, friends and families were able to watch the game from the comfort of their homes. Taking place at Aveva Stadium, which is the home of the Major League Rugby’s Houston SaberCats, fans were able to keep up with the action as the boys headed to the pitch.

The first match that the Pacific Coast Grizzlies played in saw the Grizzlies taking on South. At half, the game was tied 7-7. But ultimately, Pacific Coast came out on top, 29-7.

The second game that the Grizzlies played in had them matched up against Mid-South. Once again, the Pacific Coast team proved themselves winners, shutting out Mid-South completely, 36-0.

The temperature was heating up along with the competition as the Grizzlies took on the North East Rhinos next. The Rhinos couldn’t hold their own against the Grizzlies, and in the end, Pacific Coast came out victorious, 39-7.

Up next, the Grizzlies had to face the Lonestar team — whoever came out on top here would be sent to the Championship. The game was close; at half, the score was all tied up at 0-0. But, the Grizzlies pulled through, shutting out another team, 17-0. This meant that they’d be a finalist in the Championship, where they’d be paired against the Rhinos once again.

Last year, the All-Star Championship saw the Grizzlies versus the Rhinos. For the second year in a row, the two teams took the pitch. From the start, the game was neck and neck. At half, the Rhinos had the upperhand, sitting at 10-7. However, the Grizzlies weren’t ready to give up. They managed to hold the Rhinos to that same score until the end, bringing the final score to 40-10 — the Grizzlies were victorious.

The Pacific Coast All-Stars are the 2019 NSCRO National All-Star Tournament Champions; Treat, Caver and Cornish, along with Coach Sean, were able to come back to Monmouth knowing they made their hometown proud.

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Malina Foley

“The Motown Throwdown” follow-up

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

On April 26, 2017, The Western Journal published a story titled “The Motown Throwdown,” written by our then Sports Editor, Burke De Boer. The story delved into the tradition that occurred each Spring at Western, then called Oregon College of Education, called the TKB Smoker. Hosted by the self-titled group Tappa Kegga Beer, the TKB Smoker was an annual, student-run boxing tournament that existed throughout the ‘70s. It ended for unknown reasons. But before the tradition could die out, it left one boxer famous for his tenacity in the ring: Lee Reed.

On May 7, I received a phone call from a man named Dave Clarke. He told me that he actually knew Lee Reed — and he had a lot of stories to share with me. So, he was kind enough to tell me all the memories he could recall of Reed, as a fighter and as a friend.

Clarke first heard of Reed through his brother, Robert. Robert attended Western Oregon State College in 1979, and when he came home, he told Clarke all about something called the TKB Smoker.

“He told me about a really “kick ass” guy he’d seen fight in the campus smoker — a guy named Lee Reed. Robert told me that he’d seen Lee knockout a couple of guys in less than a minute,” Clarke said. “My brother also told me that Lee taught a Taekwondo class on campus.”

From then on, Clarke wanted to become a martial arts sensation. He came to Western in 1981, and noticed a flyer posted near Barnum Hall advertising a class taught by Reed. So, he went to the Taekwondo class and met Reed first-hand.

“Class was very difficult, and Lee was demanding but always fair and interested … I just about worshipped him at the time,” Clarke said. “I didn’t get to know Lee better until I was in class for a few months.”

As Clarke began getting to meet Lee outside of his classes, he noted that Lee was a bit of a partier. Lee would host get-togethers at his apartment, where he’d cook for everyone. Clarke recalls the memory of one party.

“One day I was standing in Lee’s kitchen … he asked me to hold still for a second, so I did. He kicked off the flip-flop sandals he usually wore and did a perfect spinning wheel kick to my face. I could feel the bottom of his foot skim the top of my nose. This was in a space that was probably four feet wide — amazing,” Clarke recalled. “After that, he put his sandals back on and smiled at me. He said, ‘I just wanted to see if I could still kick a person as tall as you in the face.’”

When Clarke hosted parties, he felt lucky if he was able to find a few spare moments with Lee to get to know him better. It would be at one of these parties that he really began to understand Lee.

“He told me he was an orphan in Korea, and that he had to learn to fight to survive. He said … the other students would always want to fight him because of his mixed heritage.”

However Lee reached the point he was at now, Clarke only had kind words to share about him.

“Lee was always attentive to me, never once looked down on me , Clarke explained. “I sparred with Lee a few times. One time a backfist I threw touched Lee’s cheek. He paused and said, ‘That’s one of the best backfists I’ve ever seen — you should throw more of those.’”

Unfortunately. Clarke didn’t have any other information about why the TKB Smoker did come to an end, nor information on where Lee ended up. However, he knows that his memories of Lee will not fade.

“He remains in my memory as the most physically talented individual I’ve ever known,” Clarke concluded. “He was a great instructor, and I’ll always be glad to have known him.”

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photos courtesy of WOU Archives

Q&A: Lacrosse’s Jonathan Williams named MCLA 3rd Team All-American

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

This year, first-year lacrosse player Jonathan Williams, an exercise science major, was named 3rd Team All American under the MCLA. This is the first time since 2015 that a player has achieved an All-American ranking; a feat that Williams was able to accomplish in just his first year on the team, and first year in college. I was able to sit down with him to discuss what the season looked like for him.

 

When did you start playing lacrosse, and why?

My freshman year of high school. My brother started playing his freshman year, and he’s three years older than me. He started playing because his friend recruited him because we didn’t have that many players on the team. I was still playing baseball at the time, in middle school, but I went to a few games and watched him play, and I was always really interested in it. My freshman year I was like, ‘yeah this is what I want to do,’ instead of baseball.

 

How do you feel that the season has gone for you?

I think it went pretty solid. I think there’s some improvements that need to be made, but I think we’re right on the edge of being an upper-level team. When the season started, we were playing in California against top-ten teams. We played two games over the weekend, and I had five goals … I was thinking, ‘Okay. Two or three goals a game — doesn’t sound that bad first season.’ And then, I got into league play and it was five, six, the occasional seven (goals). So I thought, ‘If this is how the rest of the season goes I’ll be feeling pretty good.’

 

How did you find out you were chosen for the All-American team?

I woke up to a text at like 9 a.m. … from Coach Dan It was actually just a screenshot of my name on the list. I was still just waking up … so I had to go back and look at it a few times to make sure it was real.

 

What was your reaction when you realized that it was real?

I was pretty excited. Not as excited as I was expected to be, I guess. The third team part sound weird to me … but it was still really cool to realize that of everybody in the nation I was in the top percentage of them.

 

What does the future of WOU Lax look like?

We had a really strong freshman class this year … we’re getting I think six or seven more freshman this year … so we have a lot of young guys and really good talent. We just need to get them all together and on the same page and I think we’ll be pretty solid for the next few years.

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photo by Caity Healy

Softball: A 2019 wrap-up

Paul F. Davis | Managing Editor

While most students were in class thinking about what they wanted to do the upcoming weekend instead of listening to their professors, Western Oregon’s Softball team was making history. The Wolves’s Softball team tied Western’s all-time best win/loss record with 33 wins and 18 losses — a record which was set in 2008. This near record-setting performance also earned seven players the title of all-GNAC: 1st team — Ayanna Archeneaux and Ryanne Whitaker; 2nd team — Tyler Creach and Cheyanne Rimmer; Honorable Mention — Kennedy Coy, Hayley Fabian and Maddie Mayer.

This led Western to earn the No. 2, in their seventh consecutive appearance, in the GNAC Championship.

The tournament was double elimination and started on May 2, lasting through May 4. It was located at Porter Park on the campus of Concordia University in Portland.

The Wolves started off by competing against the No. 3 seeded Concordia. On May 2, Concordia put the pedal to the metal, won its first-ever game at the GNAC Championships and beat the wolves with ease, 5-0.

The next make-or-break game was played against No. 4 seeded Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on May 3. The Wolves were, again, held scoreless, 0-3. Concordia scored two runs in the opening inning and ended any shifts in the score by scoring the final point of the game in the sixth frame.

After two consecutive losses in the GNAC Championship, all Western could do was wait to see if they would be invited to NCAA DII Softball championship. Spoiler alert — Western was selected and was given the No. 4 seed in the Western Region. Two other teams from the GNAC, which marked the first time in conference history three teams had been selected for the tourney, would also to get the chance to be national champions.

Western’s first game of the national tournament was played on May 9 against the San Francisco State Gators located at Eagles Field on the campus of Concordia Irvine. Western then lost, 3-6.
The following day, May 10, Western beat both Concordia Portland, 1-0, and then the San Francisco State Gators, 1-0, at Eagles Field to avoid elimination. This was made possible by first-year Maddie Mayer’s once-in-a-lifetime performance, delivering two showstopping shutouts which allowed Western to sneak into the finals.

Playing against the host team, California Irvine, on May 11, Western was going into its fourth game in three days. In what would be Western’s final game, the three-day-stretch proved to be too much for the historic Wolves. Western lost 0-5. With the season now over, the softball team can come home proud that not only did they help make history, but they proved that they are one of the best of the west.

 

Contact the author at pfdavis14@wou.edu

Photo by Paul F. Davis

Athlete Profile: At the pitcher’s mound with Haley Fabian

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

This spring, Haley Fabian, a senior business major, took her final year at Western as an opportunity to prove herself on the field as a fierce competitor. She earned First Team All-GNAC accolades, and she was a D2CCA All-West Region Second Team member; on top of this, she set a Western all-time career record for most wins this season, and as the season came to a close, she was tied for No. 2 in the GNAC with a 2.55 earned-run average. As an athlete, she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Being the furthest that our softball program has gone… I think that’s a really cool way to end your senior year, Fabian said. “I’m really proud of it, and I feel like I can leave happy.”

Her experience with softball dates all the way back to when she was 8 years old, when she grew up in Wenatchee, Washington. At the time, her sister was playing both softball and basketball, and Fabian knew she wanted to follow in her footsteps. So, she began the sport that she’d eventually excel in.

Living in Wenatchee, a town that she described to be known for its agriculture, Fabian always had something to do.

“I played sports… I would go boating since the Columbia River goes right through it,” said Fabian. “I’d go hiking a lot over there.”

Being known for her immense skill on the softball field as a pitcher, I was intrigued by the fact that she mentioned playing multiple sports, rather than just the one she broke records in this season.

“I played basketball up until the end of my sophomore year of high school, but then I just stuck to softball,” Fabian explained. “I loved softball more than I liked basketball. And softball is kind of like a year-round commitment, so I was doing that year-round… travelling.”

When it came time to begin looking at colleges her junior year of high school, Fabian was attending a camp on Western’s campus when she became enamored by it.

“I did a camp here for softball,” said Fabian. “I kind of heard about the program — I heard about Coach Sarge — so I came to the camp and I loved the campus. I did a tour and I knew I wanted to come here.”

Though she’s been playing softball for the majority of her life, there was never a single point where she considered taking a break or leaving.

“This was the only sport where I was like, ‘this is the one I’m going to stick with forever,’” Fabian said. And by sticking with it, she explained that it had taught her a lot of life skills.

“I feel like it taught me to handle different situations,” she said. “It also taught me to not take life so serious, too. Even though it’s just a game, you create memories and friendships … it taught me to cherish those teammates that I have and the friendships I have with them.”

Now that the season as wrapped up, finding time for herself is something Fabian isn’t entirely used to. But, there are some go-to activities that she enjoys now that she does have some extra time.

“I like to be with my family and my friends — especially my family. I like to travel with them and go visit them wherever they are,” Fabian explained. As for time with her friends, she noted that they often take a day to go to the beach, or explore around Salem or Corvallis when they get the chance.

With her business degree, Fabian hopes to pursue a career that, in some way, involves her love for clothing.

“I like clothes,” said Fabian. “Especially athletic clothing. So if it could be with Nike or Lulu Lemons or Adidas or something like that … creating a product would be really cool.”

Before she was a business major, though, her dream careers looked a little bit different.

“I wanted to be a teacher. I think every kid wanted to be a teacher,” Fabian mentioned. “And then there was a point where I wanted to be a dental hygienist.” But ultimately, she chose business because, as she said, “a lot of schools have it and I feel like there’s a lot I can do with it.”

As for her future, Fabian knows she will be continuing with softball being a part of her life in some way as she moves to Coos Bay, Oregon.

“I have actually talked to the softball coach at (a community college) there and I’m hoping to … be an assistant coach,” she explained. “So we’ll see — I definitely plan on staying with the sport as of right now.”

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photo by Paul F. Davis

IndyMo Runners creates community, offers way to stay active

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

For those looking to get active with low commitment, to get to know their community or simply wanting something to do two nights a week, the Independence Community Engagement Manager, Ramón Martínez, has the answer. He has spearheaded a group called the IndyMo Runners, a group meant for people in both Independence and Monmouth to come together, socialize and run or walk together.

“It’s a social group,” Martínez said. “It’s not about ‘who can finish the route first?’ It’s something where people can just come out, step out the door and do something fun with the community. It’s a great way to meet folks that you don’t see on a day-to-day basis.”

Originally, the group was titled the Indy Brunch Runs. Martínez, who is also the HEAL coordinator, which stands for Healthy Eating Active Living, established the Indy Brunch Runs when he realized the community was lacking a running club. However, an idea was proposed by someone in the group to also include Monmouth in their activities. So, as a way to bridge the two communities together through running and walking, he decided to change the name and add an additional running spot in. Thus, IndyMo Runners was born.

“I definitely want to emphasize this … all levels are welcome to our group,” Martínez said. “You don’t have to have prior running experience. You can start of walking, or you can do a run-walk combination. And something else I want to emphasize is that no one gets left behind in our group.”

For those that are interested in checking it out, Martínez wanted to make it clear that the group is both very inviting and supportive. Ultimately, the goal is to make those there feel comfortable and welcome.

“If folks have never came out to our group, we want to make sure that they’re very well-versed in the route. And … we want to be able to help them build up to their goals,” he said. “You don’t have to have all the fancy running gear … just come out with some comfy shoes.”

IndyMo Runners meets twice a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m. by Main Street Park in Monmouth, and Saturdays at 10 a.m. by Riverview Park in Independence. To stay updated on what they’re doing, visit meetup.com/IndyMoRunners, or contact IndyMoRunners@gmail.com.

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ramón Martínez

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