Mount Hood

Cross country on a steady pace for the season

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

Western’s cross country team is holding steady on course for this season. The team secured a pair of sixth-place finishes in San Francisco on Oct. 6 — following a pair of first-place wins at their home meet on Sept. 22.

Senior, Caitlin Heldt, came in seventh place to bring the women’s team to 144 points and secure the sixth-place win — Heldt completed the 6k race in 22 minutes, 0.4 seconds. For the men’s team, Freshman, Konoa Blake, finished 28, completing the 8k race in 26 minutes, 3 seconds and bringing the team to 167 points. 

Heldt and Junior, Olivia Flack, had positive attitudes about their team’s success and training environment.“Our team is very competitive and I think we work very well together in practices,” Flack said. This is Flack’s second year at Western. “This is the first year overall that we actually have been able to have a big group during workouts,” she also said. She feels it helps the team environment and fuels competitiveness.

“This year we’re a lot more positive in what we say to each other and ourselves,” Heldt added. She talked about how the team uses mantras and affirmations to remain positive. “We’re more competitive this year, so we’re always in packs and competing better than last year.” 

Both Heldt and Flack have goals to race in Nationals and to place high in the GNAC championship race in Anchorage, Alaska and the NCAA West Regionals, hosted at home at Western. 

“Zach is a great coach, he’s really good at knowing where we’re at and communicating with us,” Flack said about their head coach Zach Holloway — this is his first year as head coach, after four seasons as Western’s assistant coach.

“He’s very young, so I feel like it’s very easy to talk to him and I feel like he understands us,” Heldt said.

Flack was also among the 21 cross country runners named for the GNAC All-Academic Honors. To receive this honor, athletes must have a grade point average of at least 3.2 and have competed on an official course during the 2023 season. Three students on the list had a 4.0 GPA: Juniors Josie Ackerman, Kaitlyn Kruse and Rami Dear — Ackerman and Kruse had both been on the honoree list the previous year. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

What’s up next for athletics?

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

Thursday, Oct. 19

12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Northwest Nazarene University

3 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Seattle Pacific University

Saturday, Oct. 21

All Day — Cross Country @ GNAC Championships,Anchorage, Alaska

All Day — Women’s+ Rugby, HOME JAMBOREE

11 a.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Montana State University Billings

1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Oregon Institution of Technology

1:05 p.m. — Football, HOME v. Midwestern State University Texas, HOMECOMING

Halftime — Western Oregon Dance Team Performance

4 p.m. — Men’s Club Soccer @ Willamette University

5 p.m. — Volleyball @ State Martin’s University

Thursday, Oct. 26

4 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Western Washington University

7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. Northwest Nazarene University

7 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Western Washington University

Saturday, Oct. 28

All Day — Women’s+ Rugby @ Oregon State University

1 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Simon Fraser University, British Columbia

1 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. Central Washington University

1 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Saint Martin’s University

1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby @ University of Oregon

4 p.m. — Football @ The University of Texas Permian Basin

Sunday, Oct. 29

All Day — Cross Country v. Stumptown Youth Cross Country Championships

2 p.m. — Men’s Club Soccer, HOME v. University of Portland

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Men’s soccer on winning streak

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

Men’s soccer is having a smashing start to their season. After going three and two in the preseason, the team did not let this stop them. Starting conference play with a 1-1 tie against the University of Simon Fraser, British Coloumbia, men’s soccer quickly bounced back and are now on a win streak of six — three of these six games were shutouts. 

These wins come as a massive improvement from the 2022 season, where the team had only two wins compared to 13 losses and two ties. This improved record means higher points on season; giving the team 21 points on the season thus far. This is 11 points higher than their total of eight points from last season. 

Freshman Center Back, Olaolowua Balogun, attributed the team’s success to the tight-knit environment the team has.

“We’re like a family and do everything together and no one’s left out,” he said. “Our coach treats us like family, like he’s our dad.” 

Head Coach Michael Behonick started his first year of coaching for Western this season. Previously, Belhonick spent seven seasons as the assistant coach for the University of Pittsburgh men’s soccer team.

Balogun has high hopes for the team this season. “I see us winning GNAC and going to playoffs and going far and better things to come,” he said. Western’s men’s soccer has recently had a limited history in terms of GNAC competition — only officially becoming an intercollegiate team in the 2022 fall season.

“We had recruits come over and we treated everyone as family, even if we didn’t know who the person was, it’s a good environment to be in and everyone’s welcome,” Balogun said.

Against Western Washington University this last Thursday, men’s soccer won 2-1, officially bringing their win streak up to six. Both of Western’s goals were scored in the first 20 minutes of play and within five minutes of each other.

Junior transfer, Gabriel Silva, scored off an assist from Sophomore, Alex Gringon, and Junior, Andres Labate. Five minutes later, it was Gringon who scored the final goal for the team, assisted by Junior, Moises Cisneros, and Freshman, Yahir Ocampo.

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Men’s rugby ranked 17 in Coach’s poll

Written by Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

For most, fall means back to school, football and pumpkin spice; for Western’s men’s rugby team, it means the start of a season. With an updated schedule having been released on Aug. 25, the team had plenty of time to prepare for their upper division matchups — four of their six posted matches are against division one schools.

However, the team feels no sweat going into the season. Coaches polls posted to Instagram on Sept. 21 by National Collegiate Rugby placed Western men’s rugby originally at 15, until revised polls posted Sept. 26 placed them at 12 on the national level. At the start of the 2022 15s season, the team was unranked, which means this is a huge jump in favor of the team this season.

This ranking additionally comes from a strong 2022-2023 full season of both 7s and 15s — these numbers denoting how many men are on the field at a time. In the National 7s Tournament, having taken place in Washington D.C. during the last weekend of April, they finished in the tenth spot nationally — after being knocked out of the tournament by Babson College, the current small college national leader. 

Western men’s rugby finished their 2022-2023 season strong, winning champion titles in 7s and 15s, and have high hopes to bring in two more titles this year. This high ranking from the start compounds their hopes, as it is a favorable position and they can continuously strive to move up in the rankings.

This Saturday, the rugby team faces off against Oregon State University at home on the turf fields. Coming off a 5-39 loss against Boise State, they hope to add a win under their belt this next week. Updated coaches polls posted on Oct. 3 placed them at 17, following their loss at Boise. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Volleyball team hits early lead with strong preseason

Western’s women’s volleyball team is currently off to a strong start to their Fall season with a record of 8-5. This week they were on the road, playing Central Washington University and Northwest Nazarene University. Western lost against CWU in three sets and won against NNU three sets to two, with a day in between for rest. 

Last week, they played Saint Martin’s University, but were unable to pull out the win. The team had a slow first set, hitting 0.044% with 11 successful hits out of 45 attempts. Western had one service ace and one block, but nine attack errors and two service errors. 

Both teams scored their first points off a hitting error, but it was an attack up the middle from senior Bella MacLellan followed by a service ace from sophomore Chloe Asciuotto that brought Western the energy they needed to rally with Saint Martin’s. 

The first set finished 21-25 in favor of Saint Martins, but the second set was a positive note for Western — ending 25-18. The team’s hitting percentage improved, rising to a .467% with 17 successful kills out of 30 attempts. Western started in a point deficit early in the second set, but kills and errors from Saint Martin’s aided their success. 

The third and fourth sets were not as successful for the wolves, with 0.21% and 0.225% hitting percentages and 12 and nine errors, for a combined 21. On the positive side, in the third set Western had 10 successful kills and two service aces, and 15 successful kills and one service ace in the fourth. 

Western kill leaders were junior outside hitters Bailee Hartsook, Sarah Strus and Madison Hornback. Hartsook had 12 kills, and Strus and Hornback both had 11. Strus was also a service ace leader, along with junior setter Laney O’Neil and sophomore middle blocker Chloe Asciuotto. Strus, Hartsook and Hornback were also point leaders for the night, scoring 13, 12 and 11.5 points. 

Western’s next home game is Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. against the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the New PE Building and will be streamed live on Western Athletics YouTube.

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Next up for Western Athletics

Thursday, Oct. 5 

5 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Montana State University Billings

5 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Northwest Nazarene University

7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. University of Alaska Fairbanks

Friday, Oct. 6

All Day — Cross Country @ San Francisco State Invitational

Saturday, Oct. 7

11 a.m.   Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Saint Martin’s University

1:05 p.m. — Football, HOME v. Western New Mexico University

2 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Seattle Pacific University

2:30 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Oregon State University

7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. University of Alaska Fairbanks

Thursday, Oct. 12 

12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Western Washington University

3 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Central Washington University

Saturday, Oct. 14 

All Day — Cross Country @ Linfield George Oja Invitational

11 a.m. — Football @ Montana State University Mankato

1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Central Oregon University

2 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Saint Martin’s University

7 p.m. — Volleyball @ Western Washington University

Sunday, Oct. 15 

12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Simon Fraser University, British Columbia

Tuesday, Oct. 17 

7 p.m. — Men’s Basketball @ Portland State University (Preseason)

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Headline: Champions vs. champions

Analyzing the National Cheer Association’s College Daytona performances from Navarro and Trinity Valley

Jude Bokovoy | Lifestyle Editor

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

 

This article contains spoilers for competition results and season two of “Cheer.”

Navarro cheer team is one of the most well known collegiate cheerleading teams in the U.S. Navarro can be easily recognized by their sparkly red and black uniforms, incredible stunting abilities and team spirit. In 2020, Netflix released a documentary about Navarro’s road to reach the National Cheerleaders Association National Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida, called “Cheer.” The show and the team’s execution of their routine was a major success. Navarro was named the 2019 National Champion in Daytona’s advanced large coed junior college division. 

Daytona is NCA’s Collegiate Dance and Cheer Competition. To be able to participate in Daytona, each team needs to qualify by either getting bid on at an NCA camp or approved by sending in a video. Cheerleading teams come from all over the country to experience and compete in the notorious Daytona.

This January, the second season of “Cheer” was released that included their rivals, Trinity Valley Community College. Throughout the season, they went back and forth showing how each team prepared for Daytona, as well as the ups and downs throughout the season. Both teams were incredibly talented and had viewers on their toes, wondering who was going to be the 2021 National Champions. TVCC ended up placing first, stealing Navarro’s national title. 

Although both of these teams are located in Texas, they couldn’t be more different. Days before Daytona, many competing teams performed a showcase of their routines for their friends, families and fans. At TVCC’s Daytona showcase, the camera crew made it clear that they were only focused on certain individuals, by exclusively filming certain cheerleaders as they were executing their skills. Their routine was extremely tumble heavy leaving viewers in awe, however it seemed they were more focused on the individual spotlight rather than working as a team. It didn’t go unnoticed that many of them did not smile during the duration of their performance. 

The Navarro routine was team-based. Everyone had a smile on their face and they were energetic while performing their fluid routine. Navarro’s baskets and transitions were jaw dropping. As always, their choreography lit up the mat. What these two teams had in common were the high magnitude of tumbling, stunts and ambition. 

This year TVCC decided to enter into the advanced small coed division, meaning that they did not end up competing against Navarro. During the weekend of April 6 – 10, NCA’s Daytona provided each team two days to perform their routine twice in hopes of taking home a trophy. 

Throughout TVCC’s day one performance, their tumbling was clean but the stunts were not. There were many shaky dismounts, two stunts needed to be saved and the center group for their main pyramid fell. TVCC made a comeback on day two; their team jump combo was level throughout the team, the baskets were very high and the center tumbler had lots of energy. Unfortunately in the same middle stunt group, the flyer slipped during the pyramid. While making their final exit on day two, each member of the team did actions towards the crowd of an “I’m the best” mentality, iconic of the individualistic mindset that is rampant in TVCC.

On the other hand, Navarro blew it out of the park for both days’ performances. On day one, their beginning tumbling sequences were intense, all of their pyramids were executed well and included elaborate transitional stunts. On day two, all of their one-man stunts were solid; they nailed their first jump combo of a toe touch to a b-twist and they performed choreography with enthusiasm. The only notable flaw from Navarro was during one of their pyramids in which well known athlete Gabbi Butler slipped but regained balance while doing the choreography. When Navarro left the mat on day one and two they all hugged each other and exited as a supportive team.

At the end of the day, both TVCC and Navarro executed their intense routines very well. Both included elaborate baskets, jump combinations, tumbling and pyramids; because of their determination and skill Navarro and TVCC went home as the 2022 National Champion for their respective divisions.