Mount Hood

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

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.

Softball:

PHOTO BY KYLER FREILINGER
PHOTO BY KYLER FREILINGER

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:

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.

NFL Bound

By Kyler Freilinger
Freelancer

Tmoney

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.

Placing players above the law: understanding the NFL Draft boycott

By Conner Williams
 Opinion-Editorial Editor

On last Friday’s episode of ESPN’s “Olbermann,” host Keith Olbermann called for a boycott of the upcoming National Football League Draft and the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao boxing match. The decision stemmed from the fact that Floyd Mayweather has had multiple convictions of domestic violence, yet he is still allowed to fight and make hundreds of millions of dollars in his sport. In addition, Jameis Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner out of Florida State University expected to be drafted in the early first round this year, was brought up on charges last year of rape and sexual assault. Regardless, the prosecution decided not to press charges, for whatever reason. Olbermann is sick of seeing this type of behavior in professional sports go unchecked and unregulated. Athletes seldom see penalties for similar actions resulting in more than a suspension from a few games and a fine amounting to a little less than pocket change. So, Olbermann has publicly announced that he will be boycotting the two upcoming events and that he will not be covering anything to do with them on his show.

I, for one, am right there with him.

I played football for ten years before I realized that I no longer had a passion for the game. It took me far too long to admit to and validate the inherent physical and mental dangers that loomed over me throughout my athletic career. It took me far too long to grow tired of the brutal mentality that was required to be successful in the sport. I was fed up with being regarded as a higher standard of human because I had the physical ability to violently triumph over others. I was no longer willing to risk my long term physical and mental health for temporary glory. After extensive personal research on the horrifying effects of concussions, and the subsequent complete lack of responsibility by NFL officials on the matter, I decided to walk away from the game. Being a football player was how I chose to identify myself for a long time, and I wish I would have realized my fallacies long before I finally did.

Football has long since been regarded as a strong representation of what a young man is to expect to come in his life. Football supposedly prepares one for the challenges of life through the physical and mental trials of the game. It apparently teaches such values as discipline, teamwork, mental toughness, and selflessness.

I don’t see much of those values being represented by today’s professional players.

I do, however, see plenty of cases in which mindless gladiators are unable to “turn off” the violent switch with which they play the game. Too many times does their violent and aggressive behavior carry over to their off-the-field lives. I have grown tired of the seemingly endless cases of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and, in the rare but not unheard of circumstance, murder.

This complete lack of morality has made me fully lose interest in the sport. I no longer support or encourage the viewership and support of the NFL and its affiliates.

This is not to say, however, that there aren’t some good eggs in the bunch.

J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans and Marcus Mariota of the Univeristy of Oregon Ducks are the first names that come to mind of exemplary role models. They are active givers in the community and they set great example for young children of how to be respectful, humble, and compassionate people.

These types of players, however, are few and far between. The league is overshadowed by a absolute lack of scruples, and I no longer have any desire to support the sport with my money and viewership.

Baseball clinches post-season berth

By Jacob Mitchell
 Staff Writer

Western’s baseball team is fresh and ready to play after a week off of conference action. The Wolves clinched a post-season berth after finishing with two wins in their five-game series with Montana State Billings.

Western is 18-10 in conference play (23-22 overall) with two more conference games yet to be played before the GNAC championship on May 7. The Wolves are tied for first place with Montana State Billings but hope to come out on top at the end of the season. Whichever team comes out at number one will host the GNAC Championship tournament in May.

The Wolves now set their eyes forward to hosting a two-game series against Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. The Wolves are 11-2 playing on their home diamond and pose a real threat to Northwest Nazarene.

But just because they had a week off does not mean the Wolves haven’t been training hard for their upcoming games.
“With a bye week we were able to get some intra-squads in this weekend,” head baseball coach, Kellen Walker said.

“We had arms available and getting guys in those live situations is the closest you can get to replicating a game this time of year.”

The Wolves kick off the series in Idaho against Northwest Nazarene University at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 1.

SOFTBALL UPDATE

Four Western softball players were named to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team: outfielder Amanda Evola, infielder Kelsie Gardner, infielder Destiny Kuehl and pitcher/infielder Jourdan Williams. Evola, Gardner and Kuehl were named to the All-GNAC First Team and Williams was named to All-GNAC Second Team. Evola is the third player in Western’s softball program history to be named to the All-GNAC First Team four consecutive times.

Western’s final GNAC regular season games against the Central Montana Yellowjackets, scheduled for Sunday, April 26, were canceled due to rainy weather conditions. Because the games will not be made up, Western will enter GNAC Championship play as the No. 4 seed. The Wolves were scheduled to play No. 1 seed Saint Martin’s University on Thursday, April 30. At the time of publication, Saint Martin’s was leading 3-1 at the bottom of the second.

Four meets bring out the best in Wolves

By Rachel Shelley
Staff writer

The men and women’s track team split up this past weekend to take on four separate meets along the West Coast in California and Portland.

At the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific, Kaleb Dobson started the meet with a win in his section of the 110 meter-hurdles in 15.37 seconds, finishing 13th overall. Bailey Beeson ran a personal best and ninth all-time program history mark in the 800 in 2:14.07. Kenny Klippel threw a personal best in the shot put with 14.01 meters, improving his mark by 0.06 meters.

In the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif., 1,500 competitors Rachel Crawford and Sam Naffziger both hit personal records with Crawford running 4:34.93 and Naffziger, 3:51.76. Crawford’s time puts her third all-time in program history for the Wolves. Naffziger’s time placed him eight all-time for the Wolves program history and earned him a provisional time for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships.

“It feels good to have a provo,” said Naffziger. “It makes me feel really good that all my hard work is paying off. It motivates me to keep working hard to improve my time and get into the national meet.”

Stephanie Stuckey also competed in the 1500, finishing in 4:40.28. Josh Hanna and Badane Sultessa finished the 800 in 1:51.62 and 1:51.74, respectively.

The following day, the Wolves competed at the Beach Track & Field Invitational, hosted by Long Beach State. 23 personal bests were run on Saturday.

Beeson and Crawford raced towards lifetime bests in the 800 with 2:13.67 and 2:17.80, respectively.

“Mentally, it was huge for me to finally see improvement from all the work I’ve been putting in,” Beeson said. “The last eight races in a row I had run within .3 seconds of the same time which was so frustrating. Nothing huge happened in the race that led me to the time, I was just feeling good and able to hang on to the girl in front of me.”

Kylie Reinholdt and Kathryn Kaonis set lifetime bests in their events and Suzanne Van De Grift ran a season best. Reinholdt ran 13.11 in the 100 while Kaonis threw 32.03 in the discus.

Josh Dempsey set a lifetime best in the 800 on the men’s side in 1:54.16. Kegan Allen would throw 41.69 in the discus, earning him a 10th place overall in the GNAC ranking and a lifetime best.

Back in Portland, 16 lifetime bests were set with the women’s side taking care of nine and the men’s posting seven.

Sylvia Dean threw two lifetime bests in the shot put and hammer throw, both top 10 finishes. She threw 10.94 in the shot put for a sixth place finish and 40.77 meters in the hammer throw for eighth place. Nicole Anderson ran a lifetime best in the 800 in 2:23.31, finishing eighth behind Amanda Ditzhazy who also ran a lifetime best in the 800 with 2:20.89, placing sixth overall. Sara Madden ran 1:07.78 in the 400 hurdles for a fourth place finish while Lauren Hiland also posted a lifetime best mark of 5.10 in the long jump.

In the shot put, two lifetime bests and two season bests were set on the women’s side. Leah Nicklason joined Dean for a lifetime best throw of 11.53 meters, finishing third overall. Allison Cook and Emily Wetherell posted season best marks with throws of 11.29 and 10.39 meters respectively, for fourth and 10th place overall. Wetherell also had a lifetime best in the hammer throw, tossing 45.10, finishing third overall. Sheila Limas De La Cruz would throw her lifetime best in the hammer throw with 42.19, winning her flight and placing fifth overall.

Dustin Camarillo and Chris Mudder each set two lifetime best marks. Camarillo finished the 100 in 11.87 seconds before finishing second overall in the 110 hurdles with 15.81. Mudder threw 34.56 in the discus, winning his flight and then 33.73 in the hammer throw.

Frank Calzada threw a lifetime best in the shot put, placing ninth overall with 12.58. Lucas Clark finished sixth in the hammer with a lifetime best of 40.66. Gabriel McKay also posted a lifetime mark of 12.64 in the triple jump while Rihei Grothman’s lifetime best in the 110 hurdles put him just behind Camarillo with 16.17 seconds.

Finally, Joe Soik would run a season-best in the 1500 meters in 4:12.38, just 0.03 seconds behind his lifetime best.

The Wolves slow down for their last week before GNAC championship on May 8-9. The Titan Twilight at Lane Community College was hosted on Thursday, April 23 and the GNAC Multi Championships will be hosted in Lacey, Wash. on April 27-28.

Senior Sunday

By Jacob Mitchell
Staff Writer

Western’s softball team celebrated Senior Day this past Sunday by sweeping conference competitor Central Washington University in a close two-game series.

With two wins, the Wolves hope for a playoff berth remains alive, and the Wolves go up three games on the Wildcats of Central Washington, with both teams scheduled for four more regular season games.

The Wolves offense was spearheaded by the bat of Amanda Evola, with five hits in eight at-bats, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Evola’s efforts earned her GNAC player of the week honors.

Zoe Clark and Kelsie Gardner added to the Wolves’ offense with four and three hits, respectively, while Clark equaled Evola with two RBIs.

Jourden Williams picked up her seventh win of the season on the mound in game one, pitching a complete game and giving up only a solitary run.

In game two, the Wolves were led by the arm of Alyson Boytz, finishing the weekend with two, one-run victories.

This coming week, the Wolves will be traveling to Montana for a four-game series to take on fellow GNAC competition Montana State University Billings for the first time this season.

“This past week our focus has really been mainly on our hitting, defensively we have been strong both pitching wise and fielding,” Evola said. “These past few weeks our girls have really come together with the bats and have been producing offensively as a unit much better, but we place the focus there because it is such a critical part of the game, and we want all the insurance runs we can get.”

The Wolves are 20-25 in regular season play, and 12-8 in GNAC contests. The Wolves need to win at least one game against the Yellowjackets in order to clinch the fourth and final spot in next month’s GNAC Tournament.

In the event of a three-way tie for the final playoff spot between Western Washington, Western, and Central Washington, the Wolves would still advance to the postseason, thanks to its single win against Saint Martin’s earlier this season.

The Wolves are slated to start the series off Friday, April 24 at 1 p.m. in Billings, Montana.

A highlight of success

By Jennifer Halley - Copy Editor

A looming 6 feet 6 inches and 260 pounds, Andrey Avgi – known by his friends, family and the Western community as Andy – catches anyone’s attention as he walks through the door. He’s used to people looking up at him and gawking at his height. But Avgi’s height is not the only thing people notice about him.

Avgi is an animal on the basketball court. He proved that during this year’s basketball season, ending it strong as he became the only Wolf ever selected onto the NCAA All-American Basketball Team.

This is something he is not used to people staring at him for.

Simply put, being selected onto such a prestigious team “feels awesome,” Avgi said. “It actually caught me by surprise,” he added. “I didn’t think that I would be getting any other awards after my all-region awards.”

Well, he did. And he deserves every award he won. Avgi scored over 1,000 points this season, as well as being ranked third in GNAC for scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game. Additionally, he was ranked 10th in the conference for rebounding and third in field goal percentage, while also being named Player of the Year.
Pretty impressive, right?

“I definitely couldn’t have done it by myself; my teammates and coaching staff have the biggest part in my success,” Avgi said. “It isn’t just an individual award, even though only one person gets it. “

Another person he credits to his success? Girlfriend Dana Goularte, another one of Western’s successful athletes.

“Me and Andy met our freshman year here and have dated for three years,” Goularte said. “I love watching him play and have such a successful season.”

She added: “It was tough when we both were in season playing because we were busy and traveling but it was nice because we both understood the importance of putting in the time to our sport.”

Having a partner who is also deep in the basketball world helps this powerful pair not only stay on common ground, but “she knows what I am going through,” Avgi said. “I can talk to her about anything, and she would understand,” he added.

No achievement comes without definitive struggle, though and for Avgi, he stared that monster in the face a number of times.

“I had a appendectomy that took me out for a week,” he said. “That had to be the biggest struggle this year because it wasn’t basketball related and I had no control of that. “

Staying healthy and tending to injuries – making sure they didn’t get worse – were also some issues Avgi dealt with throughout the “long, exhausting” season.

On the court, Avgi is serious, determined and focused on winning. Off the court?
He’s a normal 22-year-old from Woodburn, a lover of burritos and fishing, and is the youngest in a family of three boys.

“It may seem like he’s a serious person on the floor but off the court, he is always joking around and is always making me laugh,” Goularte said. “He is one of the kindest people I know.”

Cherene O’Hara, a senior Communications major, echoed this when she said: “You get this really chill vibe [from him]; he seems really down to earth.”

She said Avgi would sit in the back of class, quietly saying “thank you” to everyone as they congratulated him on all his awards.

“Humble,” O’Hara added as an afterthought. “He’s very humble.”

Aside from friends, his girlfriend and coaches, family has been a huge influence on Avgi’s basketball career so far, another group of people he gives credit to.

“I would always watch my older brother John play when I was younger, and he was a big help in my development,” he said. “Also, my mom is important because she would make sure I got to every practice and games. She would always be there for support.”

Every athlete has their special ritual they do in order to prepare for the big game; for LaMarcus Aldridge: it’s tossing talcum powder into the air at the scorers’ table. For Avgi: he comes to the courts well before the game starts and gets a feel for the rims; it helps him get into the mindset of the night.

And to help him stay motivated throughout all the stress, exhaustion and pressure of the season?

“I hate to lose in anything [and] I love to win.”

Seems pretty basic, but for a dedicated athlete like Avgi, staying motivated is the biggest factor in whether or not he does well.

Basketball has ended. Avgi’s drive has not.

“I will just train in the off season and get better for the next season,” he said.

He added: “Just a big thanks to all the fans and everyone that came to our games. It is nice to have a big following. We really do appreciate it.”

Warner Leads Wolfpack

The Wolves captured four individual titles at their annual home meet, the John Knight Twilight hosted at McArthur Stadium on Friday, April 10.

Freshman sensation Cody Warner would win the 100-meter in just 11.00 seconds before winning the 200 in 22.09 seconds, his fourth sweep in the 100 and 200 events of his debut season for the Wolves. Warner was also a part of the third place finish in the men’s 4×100 meter relay team and placed sixth in the triple jump with a 12.60 meter leap.

The next two to capture their individual titles were Badane Sultessa and Kaleb Dobson.

Sultessa, the 800 All-American, won the 800 in 1 minute, 51.88 seconds. He then ran a leg of the men’s 4×400 team to help them to their third place finish.

Dobson also competed in four events on Friday in his debut season as a Wolf, making appearances on the 4×100 and 4×400 teams, finishing second in the 400 hurdles, running towards a 55.63 finish and picking up his individual title in the 110 hurdles, winning in 14.95 seconds.

Emmi Collier added two top-five finishes in the shot put and hammer throw. She finished second with 13.57 meters in the shot put and fourth in the hammer with a 47.01 mark, a personal record. Sam Moore also won the first flight of the shot put with 11.75, placing 10th overall.

Rebecca Laible placed second in the triple jump with 11.27, and Amanda Short would throw 40.20 in the javelin to place third.

Western alumni also came out for the yearly event. Former Wolf Landon Burmingham finished fourth in the men’s 200 in 22.85 before finishing fourth in the 400 in 50. 24. Most recent alumnus, Brady Beagley, finished first in the men’s 3,000 steeple in 9:12.88 while on the women’s side, former Wolf Jessica Harper won the 3,000 steeple in 11:39.93. Former Wolf Janna Vander-Meulen placed second in the women’s 100 hurdles in 15.02.

The Wolves have a busy weekend ahead as there are three meets spanning from Thursday, April 16 to Saturday, April 18. The Oregon Relays will be held in Eugene from Thursday to Saturday. The Mt. Sac Relays Thursday and Friday in Walnut, California and the Lewis and Clark Open on Saturday in Portland.

Hitting it out of the Park

By Jacob Mitchell - Freelancer

Western’s baseball team (18-19) had a busy few days this past weekend, playing a four-game series against Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent St. Martin’s University (13-22).

Western would come out with a perfect 4-0 record on the weekend, keeping them atop the conference standings at No. 1. The series win came days after a victory over National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics powerhouse Lewis and Clark State College of Idaho (27-10).

Day one saw two more wins by the Wolves (7-1, 3-2), with junior Darrien Moran pitching for the duration of the game.

Moran’s pitching was top notch as he allowed one earned run on six hits to go along with a game-high tying six strikeouts, while picking up his fourth win of the season.

Adding to Moran’s success was junior Cody Sullivan and senior Matt Taylor, who both hit two triples; they would end up leading the Wolves at the end of the series with three hits apiece.

Day two of the series would go just as well for the Wolves, as they picked up two more wins for Western (13-4, 6-5). Pitcher Brady Miller took the mound and went 2-0, racking up his latest win for the Wolves.

The Saints could not handle the Wolves hitting game one, as Western breezed by for an easy 13-4 victory. The next day was a different story, with the wolves winning with a walk-off single by senior Michael Sherwin.

Western returns to the field Friday, April 17, when the Wolves open a five-game series against Montana State University Billings, starting with a suspended game from mid-March beginning at 1 p.m. at Dehlar Park in Billings, Montana.

Track divides team to succeed in three meets

By Jack Armstrong
 News Editor

Western’s track and field team split their athletes between three separate events this past weekend: the San Francisco Distance Carnival, the Stanford Invitational, and the Linfield Jenn Boyman Invitational.

The Wolves saw the most success at the San Francisco Distance Carnival. Junior shot putter Emmi Collier won her event overall throwing 12.96 meters, beating the competition by more than four inches. Men’s shot putter sophomore Jeremy Moore finished
third in his division with a throw of 14.81.

Freshmen hurdle runners Kaleb Dobson and AJ Holberg set season best times in the 400-meter hurdles. When asked about the preparation required of hurdle runners, fellow
freshman Rihei Grothmann said: “we do a lot of technical warm ups, like bounding and other exercises targeting our specific events.”

Grothmann was quick to point to the increased intensity of college track training.
“The training has definitely intensified from high school levels, but so far it has been fun,” Grothmann said.

Grothmann placed 13th overall in the 110 hurdles at the Linfield Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational. The Linfield event resulted in six athletes setting personal bests. Sophomore Amanda Ditzhazy broke the five-minute mark for the 1,500, a career first for Ditzhazy who finished 9th overall.

Another freshman duo attending the Linfield Invitational, Alecia Falck and Sheila Limas De La Cruz, also posted season and career highs in the hammer toss, hitting 36.40 and 39.06 meters respectively.

The Stanford Invitational saw junior Badane Sultessa finish third and junior Josh Hanna finish sixth in the 800. Senior Rebecca Laible placed ninth in the triple jump while first-year Cody Warner finished ninth in the 100-meter dash finals.

The Wolves track and field will compete Friday, April 10, beginning at 2:30 p.m. at the annual John Knight Twilight event. The meet takes place on McArthur Field in Monmouth. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for non-WOU students, and free for WOU students.

Baseball matches rival

By Jacob Mitchell
 Freelancer

Western’s baseball team played a 4-game series last weekend, April 3-4, against preseason front runner Central Washington University, coming out 2-0 on Friday, but finishing Saturday at 0-2. Senior Jesse Pratt was named GNAC Pitcher of the Week after he pitched a one hitter in Friday’s win.

Western took game one Friday, April 3, in Ellensburg, Washington (3-2) over division rival and preseason favorite CWU.

Junior Darrien Moran pitched the opening five innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits, to be relieved by freshman Brady Miller and junior Jacob Storedahl. Western would go down 2-1 early in the game, only to battle back with two runs of their own to win 3-2.

Pratt tossed a season best one-hit game in the second game Friday, with Western’s blowout second win of the day (10-0) over Central Washington. The offense was spearheaded by juniors Nathan Etheridge and Cody Sullivan with a combined five hits each, as Etheridge went a perfect 4-for-4 in game two and Sullivan collected four RBIs and scored three runs by the end of the contest.

Day two of the series was a loss for the Wolves as they fell three runs to six in game one, and followed suit in game two by coming up short in a tough 4-9 loss to CWU.

The Wolves’ bullpen combined to allow two runs (one earned) on four hits over the final 6 innings with Domke registering a team-high two strikeouts; unfortunately, it was not enough for the W and the Wolves fell short.

Western will host Saint Martin’s University at home for a four-game series, starting Saturday at 1 p.m.

SOFTBALL SPLITS

By HAUNANI TOMAS
 Editor-in-Chief

Undeterred by losing in their first game, the Wolves pulled out a victory in the second game of their double-header against Saint Martin’s University to split in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Friday, April 4 at Lacey, Washington.

Although Western (15-22 overall, 7-5 GNAC) lost 5-9 to SMU in game one, the Wolves fought to beat the Saints in their second game to win 6-1.

“We had a few crucial errors during the first game that got them on a roll. [SMU is] a hard team to stop when they get going,” said pitcher Jourdan Williams.

Western remained scoreless for the first two innings of game one, until outfielder Amanda Evola scored a single RBI at the top of the third inning. The Saints led at the top of the third 2-1 thanks to a two-run home run hit by infielder Alyssa Slate.

Catcher and infielder Elaine Sperry tied the game 2-2 at the top of the fourth inning by hitting a double RBI. However, the Saints extended their lead by five at the bottom of the fourth.

Although infielder and outfielder Lexi Jennings hit a home run that also brought Williams home, the Wolves were still chasing to catch the Saints, lagging by three points 4-7 at the top of the fifth.

At the top of the seventh inning, Williams scored a single RBI to conclude game one.

Evola attributed Western’s game one defeat to a hitting deficit.

“If we can’t produce at the plate, we won’t win games,” said Evola.

And produced they did.

The Wolves maintained a three point lead throughout the first and second innings thanks to a two-RBI single hit by catcher Ku’ulei Siolo in the first and a home run by Jennings in the second.

Western allowed SMU one point in all of game two. At the bottom of the fifth, pitcher and infielder Sam Munger would be the only scorer for the Saints, attributing a single RBI.

“Our hitting was off during game one,” Evola said. “Once we were able to string some things together, we pulled out the win in game two.”

At the top of the seventh inning, the Wolves increased their lead by two to win the game 6-1.

“We had great defense and kept the momentum pretty much the whole game,” Williams said.

Williams, who pitched for the entirety of game two, said that she “hadn’t pitched for about three weeks” prior to their match-up against the Saints.

After their split against the Saints, Western prepares to take on their next GNAC opponent: Western Washington University. In their last game against the Vikings, the Wolves split to win game one and lose in the latter.

Team leaders Evola and Williams, acknowledged the speed of WWU’s batters.

“We’ve been working on our defense and being quick [be]cause [WWU] have some fast players. We’ve done a lot of hitting and worked quite a bit on the outside pitch. After last weekend, [we] have improved quite a bit with that pitch,” said Williams.

Evola also mentioned the team’s increased focus on batting.

“After playing WWU for the first time, we know we have to hit to be able to win the game. Most of our practices have been geared toward hitting and overall making us all confident at the plate,” said Evola.

The Wolves will play the Vikings for the second time in GNAC play on Saturday, April 11 at Bellingham, Washington.

Sultessa races into Western record books

By Rachel Shelley
Staff Writer

Three Wolves competed at the Indoor National Track meet in Birmingham, Alabama as Badane Sultessa raced towards becoming the third NCAA Division II Indoor All-American
in Western’s track and field history.

Sultessa finished the preliminary 800 meter as the top ranked runner finishing in 1 minute, 0.73 seconds Friday, March 13, setting himself up to join former Wolves Zeke Van Patten and Chris Olsen who became NCAA Division II All-Americans in the 800 in 2009 and 2013, respectively.

On Saturday, March 14, Sultessa finished fourth in 1:51.36, becoming an All-American and came within 0.66 seconds of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record which he set during his preliminary performance, also a lifetime best in the event.

“It was a great experience and makes me want to work harder to become a better athlete,” Sultessa said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to race at the National meet, and I attribute hard work to my success.”

Brady Beagley ended his last season as a Wolf racing the mile at nationals. In the preliminaries, Beagley finished 12th overall in 4:14.84 during the first heat, finishing fourth in his heat.

“The indoor national meet was where my eyes have been set for the last eight months,” Beagley said. “It is the only reason I decided to extend my schooling another two terms. I wanted to end my career at Western with a nationals experience in all three of the sports I have competed in at least once and with this final indoor season I accomplished just that. I am very happy with my career as a Western Oregon student athlete, and cannot wait to use what I have learned from this institution in my future endeavors starting with the assistant cross country/track and field coaching position I have been appointed,” Beagley said.

Stephanie Stuckey competed for the women in the mile. Coming off a personal record to qualify for the national meet, Stuckey finished ninth in 4:54.79, another personal record, and qualified her for finals the following day. In the finals, she raced towards a 5:00.85 finish in her first ever appearance at nationals.

Quick off the blocks

By Rachel Shelley
 Freelancer

The outdoor track season wasted no time with four quick meets to start the season, the first three in Gresham and the Willamette Invitational hosted in Salem.

The Wolves brought home three individual titles the first meet, as Zach Holloway, Josh Hanna and Emmi Collier won their respective events.

Holloway won the steeplechase in 9 minutes, 32.71 seconds, edging the competition by over 30 seconds.

Hanna brought home the 800-meter title in 1:54.14, winning by 0.79 seconds.

Collier won the shot put with the fifth farthest toss in program history of 13.10 meters. She also placed second in the hammer throw in 42.88 meters.

The Wolves improved the following weekend, bringing home four individual titles from the Rose City Preview.

Cody Warner, David Ribich and Peter Zalk dominated their events. In the headwind, Warner raced to the 100 and 200 victories in 10.98 and 22.10, respectively. Ribich raced to
a time of 3:55.30, winning the 1,500 while Zalk cleared 4.05 meters in his first-ever pole vault performance for the Wolves, beating his competition by over four inches.

The women saw two second-place finishes when Bailey Beeson raced to a time of 2:15.84 in the 800 and Kylie Reinholdt finished behind an unattached competitor in the triple jump with 11.04 meters.

Sam Moore competed as the only Wolf at the Mt. Hood Multi-Events during the third weekend of the season. She finished with a total of 3,982 points in second place at her first-ever heptathlon.

The seven-event meet covered two days, leaving Moore 74 points ahead of second place after day one. The two days included the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, the 200, long jump, javelin and the 800.

Moore won Section 2 in the 100 hurdles in 16.23, and then earned a GNAC provisional mark in the high jump clearing 1.57 meters, placing second in that event.

“Multi-event athletes are so unique in the fact that they are so kind and “It was my first heptathlon and many of the girls helped me with my high jump steps or javelin, because I’ve literally never thrown it before. It’s like you’re surrounding by teammates and that’s a really unique experience,” Moore said.

During the Willamette Invitational, the Wolves finished with five individual titles. Rochelle Pappel, Badane Sultessa, Kaleb Dobson and Warner all took home title with Warner again sweeping in the 100 and 200.

Pappel won the 100 hurdles, beating five Alaska Anchorage runners in a time of 14.51. Dobson won his first-ever collegiate individual title in the 110 hurdles in 15.22 while Sultessa brought his success at Indoor Nationals to the outdoor track, winning the 800 in 1:52.65, the eighth fastest time in program history.

The Wolves will split up for their next meets on April 3-4 at four different locations along the West Coast including the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California, SF State Distance Carnival in San Francisco, Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational in McMinnville and Spring Break Open in Portland.

Swing into Spring

By Jacob Hansen
 Staff Writer

BASEBALL

Western’s baseball team continues a hot streak to begin spring term. The Wolves started the season 2-11 but have rallied to 14-16 and 10-15 in the Great
Northwest Athletic Conference.

For the first time during conference play, the Wolves claimed the win in a four-game series. During their last game, senior Garret Harpole cranked his team-leading fifth home run to keep the Wolves on top.

One of Western’s top athletes, pitcher Jesse Pratt, was named GNAC pitcher of the week. He has earned wins in all of his last three games. He scorched the Yellowjackets of Montana State Billings, the top-ranked offense in GNAC, not allowing a single earned run. He struck out six batters March 13 for an 8-1 win. Pratt is tied for the most wins
among pitchers in the GNAC and looks to take the lead soon.

Last Friday, the Wolves split a double header with Northwest Nazarene University, as they were lead by senior Matt Taylor who scored a run and recorded an RBI. Additionally, Pratt recorded five strikeouts in the game. It was a team effort as junior relief pitcher Jacob Storedahl came in and quickly got the final three outs, earning his second save of the season. The two teams would face each other again the next day in Nampa, Idaho.

In the first game, the Wolves relied on four pitchers to seal the deal but couldn’t quite get the job the done as they lost 3-1.

NNU had an impressive pitching squad that held Western to one run in the first seven innings.

In the final game the Wolves attempt at the win took five pitchers but again was not enough in their 10-6 loss. Western had tied the game at 6 in the top of the sixth but was quickly stopped in their tracks as the Crusaders scored four points in the bottom of the inning.

In non-game related news, senior third baseman Garret Harpole was featured as a guest on the GNAC Insider. Harpole ranks in the top five for runs scored, home runs and RBIs in the conference.

The next contest for the Wolves will be on Friday, April 3, against Central Washington University in Ellenburg, Washington. The two double headers will be all GNAC play as Western tries to topple the preseason favorite Wildcats.

SOFTBALL

Over spring break, Western’s softball team took home Consolation #1 title at the 14th annual Tournament of Champions in Turlock, California.

The Wolves were lead by pitcher Sammie Cadwallader as she not only closed out several games for Western, but also opened games throwing heat and backing down batters. The
team was lead offensively by sophomore Kelsie Gardner with a perfect 3-for-3 performance in final game to end the tournament with two straight wins.

The final game was a payback win after losing to Academy of Art University in extra inning game. Amanda Evola and Jourdan Williams both smacked two hits to help out with the
win, also going past regulation innings. The hero of the game, pinch-hitter Amy Anderson, registered a two-out RBI double in the top of the seventh inning. Sealing the deal, Evola hit home Emma Alfonso putting the Wolves 3-1.

During the tournament, Cadwallader was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference pitcher of the week. She allowed only five runs in 20.1 innings on the mound. Her arm has been notorious around the league for striking out many top hitters. So far, she has made six starts in 12 games, with a record of 2-5 in 36 innings.

Western returns to the field April 2, with a doubleheader against Western Washington University at home.

Western will be wearing all pink in their cancer awareness game, honoring people that have been affected by the illness.

The past few weeks, Western players and coaches have been collecting names of anyone that is currently battling cancer has survived cancer, or has passed away from cancer.

They will hang the names around the softball complex. All ticket purchases and donations will go towards a cancer support group on campus.

Dancing with Wolves

By GUY PERRIN
Staff Writer

The men’s basketball team will make their debut in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament when they take on number-one seed Azusa Pacific University Friday, March 13.

The Wolves, who made their first-ever appearance at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament, earned an at-large bid from the selection committee thanks to an impressive 23-6 regular season record in the.

“I am looking forward to our first game, and that is all what’s in my mind,” said forward Andy Avgi, who was voted GNAC Player of the Year.

Despite the upset in the GNAC conference tournament semifinals to rival Western Washington, Western will play in the NCAA D II tournament.

The Wolves got 29 points from Avgi but couldn’t quite catch up after Western Washington used a 21-10 scoring run in the firsthalf to take a nine-point lead into halftime.

On a 10-game winning streak, the Vikings shot an incredible 61 percent from the field to hold off Western in the second half to claim the 88-79 victory and advance to the final.

“The motivation is always there but what the loss did was make us beg for a second chance,” said guard Devon Alexander. “Now that we got a second chance, every little detail is crucial. When we heard our name called, the whole team went bananas because we know how big this is for us as a team and university.”

Despite the loss, the NCAA tournament selection committee deemed the Wolves regular season performance worthy of a spot in the Big Dance. This will be Western’s second time facing Azusa Pacific this season. Previously, the Cougars prevailed 81-74 in a back and forth contest.

The Wolves have already shattered expectations this season.

In addition to their GNAC tournament debut and a berth to the NCAA tournament, the Wolves earned three post-season individual awards: Avgi, GNAC Player of the Year; guard Julian Nichols, Newcomer of the Year; and head coach Brady Bergeson Coach of Year.

“It’s been an amazing year so far,” Nichols said. “It’s an honor to have received the award, but I could not have gotten it without my teammates and coaches believing in me, and all the hard work that’s been put in.

First year here and making it to regionals — it’s always been a goal of ours. We’re looking to take it one game at a time and simply enjoying the moment.”

Baseball takes series

By RACHEL SHELLEY
Sports Editor

Wolves’ baseball defended home plate this past weekend, hosting a four-game series against Great Northwest Athletic Conference Central Washington, only giving
up one game to improve their conference record to 6-2.

The first game of the series began Saturday, March 7, starting off in the second inning with two runs by the Wildcats. CWU scored again in the third, leaving the
Wolves scoreless until the fifth when infielder Marcus Hinkle singled to left field to bring in infielder Jake Whisler. The Wolves did not score for the rest of the game, giving the Wildcats a 4-1 advantage after nine innings.

Saturday’s loss “was a combination of not sticking to our plan offensively and then having some very timely hitting,” Whisler said. “They might not have hit balls
hard, but they got base hits with runners in scoring position, and that’s something that we couldn’t do from the offensive side of the ball.”

In game two of the double-header Saturday, CWU got on the board quickly with three runs in the second inning. Pitcher Jesse Pratt was on the mound for the Wolves and did not give up another run for the rest of the game.

The Wolves went into a seven-run inning in the bottom of the third with just seven hits, using CWU’s errors. Outfielder Matt Taylor brought home the first Wolf to score on his infield single.

Catcher Michael Sherwin tied the game 3-3 with a single before first baseman Nathan Etheridge ripped a two-run double. Infielder Garret Harpole added a RBI double, extending the lead to 6-3. CWU committed its third error of the inning, to bring home the Wolves’ final run. Pratt held CWU without a hit over the last
five innings, allowing just one runner to first in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.

Sunday, March 8, the Wolves swept CWU in their double header, 17-6 and 5-3 with a combined 5-for-7 performance at the plate with seven runs batted in by Harpole.

“Offensively we committed to our approach at the plate,” said head coach Kellen Walker. “Even when we weren’t rewarded with results, our guys didn’t waiver from our plan. We got some quality outing from our pitchers as well that gave our hitters a chance to settle in.”

Western put 17 runs on the board during game one Sunday, starting the bottom of the first with eight – the second time this season the Wolves have scored 17 runs. Outfielder Cody Sullivan went 4-for-8 with four other Wolves, infielder Austin Hamilton, Taylor, Etheridge and outfielder Cody Poznanski, all adding three hits during the two victories of the day.

“Guys are starting to understand the importance of every pitch and also the ability to move on to the next pitch no matter the previous result,” said Walker.

“We are getting closer to putting together complete competitive weekends, which is challenging when you are playing four games in two days against quality opponents.”

The Hamilton and Poznanski duo drove in nine of the 22 runs on the day. The pair, along with Harpole also accounted for 73 percent of the RBIs during both victories.

“We all really worked on staying committed and bought into the plan; when we did that, good things happened,” Harpole said. “I was just thinking about seeing the
ball and trusting all the work we put in during the week.”

The Wolves will welcome Montana State University Billings March 13 at 1 p.m. for a double header and continue the series through Sunday, March 14 at 12 p.m.

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