Mount Hood

Women’s basketball won’t go down without a fight

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Coming off of a loss to Concordia, Western’s women’s basketball found themself in a familiar place — desperately in need of a win. After losing on Jan. 22, the Wolves sat just below .500 on the season. Their away match in Billings, Montana on Jan. 26 was a must win if Western wanted to pull their season’s record to even.

During the first quarter, the Wolves looked out matched. The Yellowjackets were relentless and deadly accurate in their shooting. Western’s offense seemed to keep gasping for air with a shot scored every few possessions, but Montana State Billings kept the pressure on. The Wolves found themselves buried in a double-digit hole at the end of the first quarter.

The gap between the teams was narrowed slightly by the Wolves midway through the second. Bringing the lead to only single digits highlighted that the Wolves would not just roll over to Montana State Billings. By the end of the first half, Western trailed by nine.

The glimmer of hope that Western had before the half was quickly squashed minutes into the second half. Throughout the third quarter, the Yellowjackets nailed shot after shot. By the beginning of the final quarter the Wolves found themselves down by 20.

Entering the forth quarter, the game was all but over. Montana State Billings clung to an over 20 point lead. However, the Wolves weren’t done competing. Although the game was all but lost, Western kept pushing. With less than seven minutes in the game the Wolves outscored Montana 23-10 to bring the score to 65-53 when the final whistle was blown.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Men’s Basketball falls to Northwest Nazarene

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After a huge win over Central Washington on Jan. 24, the Wolves continued their road stint against Northwest Nazarene University. The Nighthawks sat just above the Wolves in the GNAC standings at second place. With a chance to move ahead in the conference, the Wolves took to the court on Jan. 26.

In the opening minutes of the first half, the Wolves pulled ahead of the Nighthawks. However, this lead was short lived. What was once a multiple possession lead was quickly erased as Northwest Nazarene shot ahead. As the minutes ticked away on the first half, Western fell deeper and deeper into a hole with seemingly no way to fight back. At the half, the Wolves were down by 14.

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Wolves again fell victim to precise shooting and suffocating defense. The Wolves looked outmatched and out-classed as the Nighthawks put the pedal down and began to run away with the game. Finally, with the final half reaching the midpoint, the Wolves fought their way to a single-digit deficit. Unfortunately, this seemed to only be a minor speed bump to the Nighthawks as they quickly shot back ahead.

In the waning minutes of the match, Western again had brought the game to only being a few points down, but the match was all but over. Western hadn’t seen the lead beyond the opening minutes of the first half and as a result lost 70-78. The Wolves remain at third in the conference and still have chance at a postseason.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

The history of Western’s wrestling program

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Oregon Normal School campus, Monmouth, Oregon, fall of 1927, a handful of bright eyed and hopeful Normal School men looked to bring a new sport to the campus. A small school with only a couple of sports and no mascot became host to one of Oregon’s first wrestling programs. These men started what would be known later as the “Neck Snappers,” the “Back Breakers” — the Monmouth Mat Men.

At the start of the new school year, a group of Normal school men gathered together to start a wrestling team. In its first year as a program, the team never saw a match outside of friendly intra team sparring on the Normal school campus, but in the years to come, the rag tag group of fighters started to develop a reputation.

Great Depression era Oregon was host to only a handful of colleges with wrestling programs. This lack of teams meant the Monmouth Mat Men were forced to bout with untraditional opponents. Ranging from local Portland YMCA’s to Corvallis High school, the Mat Men were ready to take on anyone.

The 1930’s Lamron, Western’s newspaper at the time, was packed full of the weekly action of the wrestlers, and in some cases, showcased the brutality of the sport. It was common to find infirmary updates highlighting the names of wrestlers. From twisted ankles to broken ribs, the Mat Men cemented a reputation of being hardened fighters. But come 1991, there was one opponent that no man could defeat.

Western Oregon State College campus, Monmouth, Oregon, winter of 1990, a team of 27  Western Oregon State College wrestlers began their season as normal. Coaches began to plan for the upcoming meets, wrestlers worked to get in peak condition, and only 20 miles away in a Salem government building, a new measure was making its way onto the upcoming ballot.

Measure 5 aimed to make changes to the property taxes and public school funding within the state. However, these changes would be devastating to a nearly 65 year old program. Rumors started to stir around campus that if Measure 5 was passed, a slew of programs across the campus would be cut. On the rumor mill’s chopping block — was the once mighty Mat Men.

Despite the possibility of losing their team, the Wolves still fought valiantly every meet. As the season grew on and the Oregon state ballots began to be tallied, the wrestlers never surrendered.

In November of 1990, election results started being published — Measure 5 was officially passed. With the new measure over property tax becoming law, school officials had difficult decisions to make.

Despite the new instability of their future, across campus in New PE gym, there was only one fight on the mind of the Mat Men — the National Championship. Four wrestlers were invited to take the trip to Butte, Montana: sophomore Dan Ward, junior Dennis Moore and first-year Jason Ingram. Unsure of the future of their program, the wrestlers geared up and headed out. But little did they know, this would be the last time they, or anyone, would don the red and black singlet for the Wolves.

Upon arriving back home, the Western Star, formerly the Lamron, ran a short, but blunt, message in Volume 2 Issue 17 from Feb. 28, 1991 — “… wrestling had been cut at WOSC in the wake of Measure 5.” The team had decades of seasons full of hard fought wins, but in the fight that mattered most, the Wolves fell short. The 1990-1991 season was the last season of wrestling was recognized as varsity sport. Today, wrestling survives as a club sport on the Western campus.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of omeka.wou.edu

Women’s basketball’s losing streak is snapped

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Coming off a double digit loss in their last home game and their second loss in a row, the Wolves needed to right their ship if they wanted any hope of a postseason. Sitting at eighth in the GNAC, Western was desperate for a conference win on Jan. 19. In the first of two Western home games in the night, the Wolves took the court against last place Alaska Fairbanks University.

From the first tip off it was evident that Western was playing at a much higher level than the Nanooks. A swift 10 point run took the Wolves to a double digit lead before Alaska Fairbanks scored a single point. A three pointer and a pair of jumpers helped the Nanooks narrow the margin to five, but this was no worry for the Wolves. The first quarter finished as it started, with Western on top by 10.

The second quarter turned into a shooting gallery for Western. Layups were followed by three pointers which were followed by jumpers, then followed by more layups. There seemed to be no answer by the Nanooks for Western’s relentless shooting as the Wolves kept extending their lead.

After the half, what was once considered a basketball game devolved into an all out massacre. Western’s deadly offense pushed the lead to higher and higher margins. Starting the half with a whopping 25 point lead, the Wolves blew past the defense of the Nanooks to finish the 3rd quarter with an immense 37 point lead, more than doubling the score of Alaska Fairbanks.

The 4th quarter saw the Nanooks show some signs of life by bringing the lead back to only 29 points by the end of the game. But the game was seemingly over before it started. Western snapped their losing streak and finished the night on top with a final score of 79-50. Their next home match is Feb. 7 against Western Washington University.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Men’s basketball win a Saturday night fight

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After a disappointing at home loss to the 23rd ranked Saint Martin’s Saints on Jan. 17, the Wolves suited up for their next in-conference opponent Seattle Pacific on Jan. 19. The men’s team took the court after the finish of the women’s game for alumni night. While the Falcons weren’t nationally ranked, the Wolves were still up against a tough opponent.

Western got off to a slightly rocky start with a pair of missed shots and a Seattle Pacific layup, but bounced back quickly with a three-pointer to hop in front of the Falcons. The lead was only held for a few moments by the Wolves as the Falcons sank another shot to pull ahead.

With the Wolves missing back to back threes, Western started to see the offense of Seattle Pacific take advantage. A four-point Falcon lead was quickly brought back to just a one shot game by the Wolves before Western quickly sank another shot to tie. Both teams duked it out shot for shot with each other as the lead never expanded beyond four points.

After a six minute run of being without the lead, a layup finally brought the Wolves back on top. But that lead would only last for a few moments before being snatched back by the Falcons. The game started to take on the theme of a heavyweight bout with both teams trading blows. As one side took the lead, the next possession would end with the opposing team on top. After a grueling 20 minute half, the Wolves left for the locker room down by four.

Right out of the gates of the second half the Wolves again brought the lead back to only a single point with a deep three. But a Falcon’s three would bring their lead back to four. Following the back and forth nature of the games, the Wolves fought back to a tie with a pair of free throws and a layup.  

After another over five minute stint trailing, a Western three-pointer put the Wolves back on top. This would be the Wolves first lead since the 2:30 mark in the first half. But this time, the Wolves weren’t ready to give it up.

Deadly outside shooting from the Wolves helped extend their lead to five, the largest margin of the game. Just like the first half however, the Falcons knocked the score back to even. Only 10 minutes remained and the score kept switching between being a slight Western lead to a deadlocked tie.  

Finally, with only seven minutes left to play, the Wolves took a lead that stuck. A barrage of Western shots helped push the lead to six before a final last second push from Seattle Pacific shrank the score back to a single point lead. With only a second to play, a pair of free throws put the Wolves just out of reach.

In a game that had nearly 20 lead changes, the Wolves finished the night on top 73-71. The gripping action of the night showed Western has a lot of fight left late in the season. After the win over Seattle Pacific, the Wolves climb to third in the GNAC standings, sitting just below Saint Martin’s and Northwest Nazarene. Western travels to play Central Washington University for their next match on Jan. 24.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Men’s Rugby’s hard work pays off

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

In the final match of fall term on Nov. 3, the Men’s Rugby team left the field after their lopsided victory over Willamette University unsure of the future. The team knew their only chance at playoffs was to win the bid for hosting the National Small College Rugby Organization’s Challenge Cup Pacific Coast Regional Championships. While they finished their fall season with back to back blow out wins, the loss in their first match on Oct. 7 against reigning conference champions Central Oregon Community College may have kept them out of the playoffs. But little did they know, massive news was in the making.

During the winter break, the national rankings were posted on the NSCRO website. Consisting of over 240 Men’s clubs, Western had never before found themselves ranked inside the top 40. However, due to their outstanding play, the Wolves were nationally placed at 30. This national ranking was especially notable as no varsity or other club sport team in the 2018-19 school year had been able to achieve an honor such as this.

But despite this historic achievement, the men of Western rugby remained fixated on the end goal of playoffs.

“We’re not trying to make it a big deal of it,” said head coach and Western alumni Sean Pomeroy. “We’re at the bottom of the rankings, we want to be up higher, so we’re trying to stay focused.”

This focus is of the utmost importance for the Wolves as alongside their news of a national ranking, it was announced that Monmouth would play host to the Challenge Cup Pacific Coast Regional Championships. Before leaving for winter break, the players and coaches were unsure if a post season would be in the picture due to only one team from the conference being invited to the challenge cup. But after the news that their bid to host was accepted, the playoffs would be be on the Wolves’s home turf, giving them an invitation to participate.

“If we didn’t host (the challenge cup) we wouldn’t have been in,” mentioned Pomeroy. “We started to hit our stride toward the end of the season… so we’re going to use this opportunity to turn some heads and show why we are nationally ranked.”

The NSCRO Challenge Cup Pacific Coast Regional Championships is set to be held March 30 and 31 on the intramural field on Western’s campus. With the winner of this tournament receiving an automatic bid to the National Championships, the Wolves are hoping they can use the home field edge for one last push.

“We want to see these stands filled. Our boys always play better with big crowds so we hope we can use the home field to our advantage,” finished Pomeroy.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Winter term sports preview

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”]
[fruitful_tab title=”Lacrosse”]

Feb. 9 1 p.m. @ UC Davis

Feb. 10 1 p.m. @ University of Santa Cruz

Feb. 16 5 p.m. vs. Seattle University

Feb. 17 1 p.m. @ Humboldt State University

Feb. 24 1 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 9 6 p.m. vs. Western Washington University

Mar. 16 1 p.m. vs. University of Portland

Mar. 22 6 p.m. @ Pacific Lutheran University

Mar. 24 1 p.m. vs. CU Denver

[/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Men’s Rugby”]

Jan. 16 6 p.m. @ Oregon State University

Feb. 2 1 p.m. vs. University of Oregon

Feb. 9 3 p.m. @ Pacific University

Feb. 16 1 p.m. @ University of Washington

Mar. 2 11 a.m. vs. Eastern Washington University

Mar. 3 1 p.m. vs. Pacific University

Mar. 30-31 National Small College Rugby Organization Challenge Cup Pacific Coast Regional Championships in Monmouth, Oregon

[/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Women’s Soccer”] Feb. 9 1 p.m. vs. Portland State University [/fruitful_tab]
[/fruitful_tabs]

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”]
[fruitful_tab title=”Baseball”]

Feb. 8 2 p.m. @ Lewis and Clark State

Feb. 9 12 p.m. @ Lewis and Clark State

Feb. 9 3 p.m. @ Lewis and Clark State

Feb. 10 12 p.m. @ Lewis and Clark State

Feb. 14 12 p.m. @ Fresno Pacific

Feb. 15 3 p.m. @ Fresno Pacific

Feb. 15 6 p.m. @ Fresno Pacific

Feb. 16 11 a.m. @ Fresno Pacific

Mar. 2 12 p.m. vs. Montana State Billings

Mar. 2 3 p.m. vs. Montana State Billings

Mar. 3 12 p.m. vs. Montana State Billings

Mar. 3 3 p.m. vs. Montana State Billings

Mar. 9 12 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 9 3 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 10 12 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 10 3 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 16 1 p.m. vs. Concordia University

Mar. 16 4 p.m. vs. Concordia University

Mar. 17 1 p.m. vs. Concordia University

Mar. 17 4 p.m. vs. Concordia University

Mar. 22 3 p.m. @ Northwest Nazarene University

Mar. 22 6 p.m. @ Northwest Nazarene University

Mar. 23 1 p.m. @ Northwest Nazarene University

Mar. 23 4 p.m. @ Northwest Nazarene University

Mar. 27 2 p.m. vs. Lewis and Clark University

Mar. 30 1 p.m. vs. Saint Martin’s University

Mar. 30 4 p.m. vs. Saint Martin’s University

Mar. 31 12 p.m. vs. Saint Martin’s University

Mar. 31 3 p.m. vs. Saint Martin’s University [/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Softball”]

MSUB Desert Stinger Classic

Feb. 1  4:30 p.m. vs. Colorado Christian University

Feb. 1  7 p.m. vs. Cal State Monterey Bay University

Feb. 2  4:30 p.m. vs. UC San Diego University

Feb. 2  7 p.m. vs. Hawaii Pacific University

Feb. 3  11:30 a.m. vs. Chico State University

Dixie State Tournament

Feb. 15  3:30 p.m. vs. St. Edward’s University

Feb. 16  10 a.m. vs. Adelphi University

Feb. 16  12:30 p.m. vs. St. Edward’s University

Feb. 17  12:30 p.m. vs. Adelphi University

Feb. 17  3 p.m. vs. Dixie State University

PFX Athletics Tournament

Mar. 1  9:30 a.m. vs. Kentucky Wesleyan University

Mar. 1  11:45 a.m. vs. Missouri University St. Louis

Mar. 2  9 a.m. vs. Findlay University

Mar. 2  11:15 a.m. vs. Minnesota State University Mankato

Mar. 3  9 a.m. vs. Tiffin University

Mar. 3 11:15 a.m. vs. Malone University

Mar. 4 6:15 p.m. vs. The College of Saint Rose

Mar. 9  12 p.m. vs. Simon Fraser University

Mar. 9  2 p.m. vs. Simon Fraser University

Mar. 10  12 p.m. vs. Western Washington University

Mar. 10  2 p.m. vs. Western Washington University

Mar. 13  1 p.m. vs. Northwest Christian University

Mar. 13  3 p.m. vs. Northwest Christian University

Mar. 16  12 p.m. @ Montana State University Billings

Mar. 16  2 p.m. @ Montana State University Billings

Mar. 17  12 p.m. @ Montana State University Billings  

Mar. 17  2 p.m. @ Montana State University Billings

Mar. 23  1 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 23  3 p.m. @ Central Washington University

Mar. 24  12 p.m. @ Saint Martin’s University

Mar. 24  2 p.m. @ Saint Martin’s University

Tournament of Champions

Mar. 29  2 p.m. vs. Sonoma State University

Mar. 29  4:30 p.m. vs. Cal State East Bay University

Mar. 30  2 p.m. vs. San Francisco State University

Mar. 30  5:30 p.m. vs. Stanislaus State University

Mar. 31  9 a.m. vs. California State University, Dominguez Hills

[/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Track and Field”]

Jan. 12 @ UW Indoor Preview

Jan. 25 @ Husky Invitational

Jan. 26 @ Husky Invitational

Feb. 8 @ Husky Classic

Feb. 9 @ Husky Classic

Feb. 15 @ GNAC Championships

Feb. 16 @ GNAC Championships

Feb. 23 @ SPU Final Qualifier

Mar. 2 @ Willamette Opener

Mar. 8 @ NCAA Championships

Mar. 9 @ NCAA Championships

Mar. 9 @ Pacific Invitational

Mar. 17 @ Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open

Mar. 23 @ Willamette Invitational

Mar. 28 @ SF Distance Carnival

Mar. 29 @ SF Distance Carnival

Mar. 29 @ Stanford Invitational

Mar. 30 @ Stanford Invitational

Mar. 30 @ SF Distance Carnival

[/fruitful_tab]
[/fruitful_tabs]

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

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