Mount Hood

Distance medley relay sets national record

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western Oregon runners won a national championship and set a national record at the Division II Indoor National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.

The men’s distance medley relay team had a photo finish victory, beating Adams State across the finish line by .001 second. The team, composed of juniors David Ribich, AJ Holmberg and Josh Dempsey and sophomore Dustin Nading, set another school record in a record-setting indoor track season for the Wolves.

Their final time of 9:40.144 set the new benchmark for NCAA Division II.

The championship final came after a Thursday qualifier that saw Western Oregon advance in all five competitions. The team then went five for five again, earning All-American marks across the board.

Ribich and Nading both ran the men’s mile qualifier, coming in first and ninth, respectively. They went on to both garner points for Western Oregon on title day. Ribich had a third place finish with a time of 4:06.72. Nading finished right behind Ribich with a time of 4:06.85 for fourth place.

Josh Dempsey qualified for the 800 meter race with a second place finish on Thursday. He completed the Saturday race in 1:51.20 to claim sixth place.

The four finishes brought the Western Oregon men’s team 24 points, bringing them to a tie for sixth place with Azusa Pacific.

Two Western Oregon women were competing in Birmingham, as junior Suzanne Van De Grift and sophomore Olivia Woods both ran the 800 meter.

Woods previously claimed the school record in the 800 meter at the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier on Feb. 25. Van De Grift then set the new record in the preliminary with a time of 2:09.63.

The championship race saw Van De Grift extend her school record with a fifth place finishing time of 2:09.10. Olivia Woods finished sixth place with a personal best 2:09.26.

With only two runners competing, the women’s team recorded seven points to finish in 29th place.

The championship weekend concludes the 2017 indoor track season. Western Oregon track and field now sets its sights on the outdoor track season, which opened on March 4.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves swat Yellowjackets

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ Editor

After a month of rain delays stalled the start of the season, Wolves baseball opened conference play with a double header demolition job of Montana State Billings.

Wolves won the first game 9-4, with junior pitcher Brady Miller recording the win. They took the second game 3-2, with a win for senior Elias Bodella and junior Cam Walker getting a save.

The games continued on March 6, where the Wolves pulled off an 8-7 win and were in the process of throttling the Yellowjackets a fourth time until snowy weather postponed the game. It will pick back up in April, with the Wolves holding a 7-0 lead in the sixth.

The March 4 meet up was the first time the Wolves got to play a game since the Feb. 16 trip to San Diego. That’s a 16-day bye week. While Montana State Billings had 10 games to warm up their season, the Wolves had only been able to play four, with the rest of their schedule canceled or postponed.

The day opened with junior fielder Jacob Martinez being walked in the first at-bat and soon scoring a run off designated hitter Joey Crunkilton’s RBI double.

Martinez was again walked in the third inning, and ultimately scored his second run on a sacrifice fly from junior third baseman Nyles Nygaard.

Runs continued to pour in throughout the later innings. Junior second baseman Jay Leverett batted in runner Koty Fallon in the sixth, and was shortly batted in for a run of his own.

The seventh inning saw Crunkilton score on a Nygaard single, and again an RBI was repaid when Nygaard was batted in by a Leverett double.

Miller’s efforts on the mound over the first six innings allowed only one run as he struck out nine Yellowjackets.

Nygaard had a run and three RBIs off two hits in the game. Jay Leverett recorded the same statline. Outfielders Martinez and Brock Pradere each scored two runs off of three at-bats.

“It felt a little unusual being out there at first because our season started so awkwardly,” Joey Crunkilton said. “We responded the best way we could’ve anticipated and I think we’re in a good spot going forward.”

The second match of the first day was a more defensive affair.

While the Yellowjackets recorded nine hits, the Wolves’ defense was able to hold them to only two runs.

A Crunkilton triple in the first inning put him in scoring position, and he was batted in by Nygaard. Sophomore first baseman Koty Fallon and sophomore catcher Justin Wakem were both ran in by first year shortstop Hunter Johnson in the sixth to clinch the 3-2 victory.

The high scoring third game saw seven different players score to contribute to the 8-7 victory.

“We prepared for the games the same way we’ve been doing all year,” Crunkilton said. “Our practices are high energy and competitive as we look to improve every day.”

The Wolves visit Concordia this weekend for two days of double headers.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Men’s basketball makes last stand

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Going into the GNAC Championship Playoffs, Western Washington was the only school in the conference to be nationally ranked, taking number 15 on the NCAA’s Division II table.

Though lacking the national recognition, the Western Oregon Wolves held the number three seed, and were ranked tenth overall in the western region.

Junior forward Tanner Omlid’s double double of 22 points and 11 rebounds helped guide the Wolves over Montana State Billings in the first round of play on March 2.

The 72-61 win over the Yellowjackets advanced the Wolves into the next day’s semifinals. The matchup against Alaska Anchorage. The number two seed Seawolves had the opening round bye and were fresh to face the Wolves.

But the Wolves would prove themselves to have the most stamina as they would ultimately seize victory at the end of three overtimes.

Omlid again had a double double, with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the first GNAC tournament game to ever go to overtime.

A 7-0 run from the Wolves in the middle of the third overtime proved decisive, when junior guard Ali Faruq-Bey put up four points and sophomore guard Malik Leaks hit a three. The seven points were the difference in a 91-84 scoreline that sent Western Oregon to the Saturday night final.

The Wolves had met Western Washington twice during the regular season and were destroyed both times.

But the Wolves were also the reigning champions, who had fought their way to a chance to defend their title.

The game was an even balance, the two sides changing leads a total of eight times.

Junior guard Demetrius Trammell scored a career-high 33 points to help keep the game always at hand for the Wolves.

The final minutes saw Western Washington take the advantage, on a run of scoring eight points while the Wolves could only put up two. A missed three-point attempt by Trammel in the final two seconds was the end of the game, and Western Washington pulled off the win, 71-69.

The championship loss spelled the end of the men’s basketball season, as Western Oregon was not voted into the Division II tournament.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

​Dispatches from the sports desk

By: ​Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
​Sports​ ​Editor

On Feb. 12, the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans.

Pelicans shooting guard Buddy Buckets was ejected in the first half, for the very first time in his career, for elbowing Kings All Star DeMarcus Cousins in the groin.

Eight days later these two players were among the deals of a stunner of a trade between the two teams.

I’ve been a huge fan of Buddy since his Oklahoma days. How could you not be? Oklahoma’s always been a football school but for three years Buddy Hield made it a basketball school, and won every player trophy he could.

Then he got drafted by New Orleans.

A team called the Pelicans, with uniforms that look like a junior college team and were already busy squandering the immense talents of Kentucky legend Anthony Davis?

It’s hard to get excited about New Orleans.

Of course, it’s not like Sacramento was giving their own Kentucky legend the help he deserved. Since 2010, “Boogie” Cousins gave his heart and soul to the Kings without a single playoff appearance to attest to his efforts.

Boogie has boot scooted. His loss, of course, is a blow to the fanbase.

As Western Oregon alum and Sac-area native Declan Hertel said to me, “I haven’t followed Sacramento basketball in years, but even I knew that trade was b——t.”

But now Buddy Hield is a King.

Still breaking into the squad, Buddy hasn’t started a game yet. Six games off the bench have lead to a 13.2 points per game average out of 24.5 average minutes. These are both improvements on his time in New Orleans. His 16 points against the Denver Nuggets were the difference, as the Kings won 116-100.

His field goal percentage is .528, and he’s sinking .480 on his three-pointers.

Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive had his reasons for the trade. Like many before him, Ranadive has compared Hield to a young Steph Curry.

“Steph Curry, he’s a different animal,” Hield told Bleacher Report. “I’m Buddy Fresh. I’m Buddy Love. I’m just me. I’m just Buddy.”

If Buddy Buckets unlocks this potential in the NBA, he will explode. But for now, “just Buddy” is doing work.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Track team dominates Willamette Opener

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer​
Sports​ ​Editor

The Western Oregon track and field team blew out the competition in their first outdoor meet of 2017.

The Willamette Opener was hosted by Willamette University. The Wolves’ men’s team topped their table with 60 points, a 24-point advantage on second place Corban. The women’s team also won their table, totaling 48 points, which was 12 points ahead of second place University of Portland.
The women’s team swept all throwing competitions.

Wolves cleaned house in women’s javelin, taking the top three spots. Junior Amanda Short’s event winning distance of 148’7” was a personal best as well as fifth on the Western Oregon all time list. Junior Sheila Limas De La Cruz came in second with 139’9” and first year Halie Korff took third with 131’2.25”.

Senior Rachael Huffman won the shot put with a distance of 42’1.5”, a new personal best and ninth on the Western Oregon all time list.

Huffman won women’s discus with a throw of 136’3.75”. Korff came in third, her own throw recorded at 122’2”.

Sophomore Alecia Falck’s 147’7.5” hammer throw took top honors. Junior Sylvia Dean came in third and Short placed fourth to add another point to the Western Oregon tally.

“Our throws team opened up the outdoor season just how we anticipated,” Huffman said. “All of our throwers are chasing big marks and we are well on our way to accomplishing that. I’m personally excited for us to keep this ball rolling as we continue to move through the season/”

Men’s throws saw junior Brandon Bowen win shot put with a lifetime best of 49’7’.

Junior Keegan Allen, Bowen and sophomore Logan Baker took second, third and fourth at discus respectively.

Keegan Allen also won the men’s hammer throw, chucking it 139’2”.

Wolves runners were short staffed, as many headlining runners are competing in this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track Championship in Alabama. But the runners available worked to prove how deep the talent goes on the team, consistently taking top three places.

Junior Codi Blodgett won the men’s 100 meter with a time of 11.04, while first year Devon Fortier finished at 11.20 for second place.

Senior Sara Madden won both women’s hurdling events, completing the 100 meter in 16.14 seconds and the 400 meter in 1:06.41.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Six more Wolves qualify in last chance meet

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Western Oregon runners took advantage of Seattle Pacific’s final NCAA indoor qualifier by posting six provisional times and recording a new school record.

Three of these were recorded in the women’s 800 meter. Sophomore Olivia Woods crossed the finish line first, at 2:10.14. Her event-winning time set a new school record. She was soon followed by junior Suzanne Van De Grift, with a time of 2:10.57 and junior Megan Rose with a time of 2:13.18.

Junior Kennedy Rufener then ran the women’s mile in 4:57.01 to be the fourth Western Oregon woman with a provisional time. The time places her third in the school’s record books.

Sophomore Dustin Nading won the men’s mile race, recording a provisional time of 4:05.22.

Senior Josh Dempsey, who won the GNAC title for the men’s 800 meter on Feb. 17, shaved two seconds off his time to bring Western Oregon its sixth provisional finish. He ran the 800 in 1:50.94.

The NCAA Division II Track & Field Championship will be in Birmingham, Alabama, March 10 and 11.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Dispatches from the sports desk

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

It looks like we’ll be getting a massive crossover fight as Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. signal they’ll be meeting one another.

Both camps have confirmed that a deal is in the works, and Mayweather told ESPN that they are getting “very, very close.”

But would the 40-year-old retired boxer with an unblemished 49-0 fight record have his first ever mixed martial arts bout against the UFC’s biggest draw and current lightweight champion? Read that sentence again and you tell me.

Given McGregor’s strike-heavy style, a boxing match is the obvious answer, and that’s what the two have been ca
mpaigning for. This leads many to forecast a beatdown of the Irishman. I’m not inclined to agree. McGregor’s long history as a brawler is what earned him a reputation in the first place.

If Conor McGregor does lose, then he loses to one of the most notable boxers in history. All he has to do is put up a good fight and it will be a victory for the McGregor brand.

Even failing this, McGregor will be winning at the bank. His disclosed UFC earnings, disregarding any bonuses or sponsorships, are $9,542,000. The guaranteed salaries being floated for this fight? 100 million for Mayweather and 15 million for McGregor.

Amidst its world-touring spectacle, it can be easy to forget that the UFC promotion is actually small potatoes in the context of professional sports. Perhaps McGregor feels he’s outgrown the promotion. In fact, he’s already launched his own, following the Mayweather model. But UFC are ready to fight tooth and nail to keep their star on their side, and without their permission, the idea of this fight is going nowhere.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

On to the tourney

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Men’s basketball won the final home game of the season and will enter the GNAC title tournament as the third seed.

The win came in the form of a 72-56 thumping of Montana State Billings.

Four players scored in the double digits, as Tanner Omlid hit the team-high 17 points, Ali Faruq-Bey and Demetrius Trammell each scored 11, and senior Evan Garrison scored 10 points in the last regular season game of his Wolves career.

The Wolves defense held Montana State to a .315 shooting percentage on the night.

The Wolves play Montana State again on Thursday in the first round of the GNAC Championships. The quarterfinal matchup will be the third time the teams play each other this year, after splitting the regular season series with a win a piece.

The tournament plays in Lacey, Washington. The other quarterfinal matchup pits St. Martin’s against Concordia. The top two seeds are Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage, and both have earned byes with automatic berths into the Friday semifinals.

The tournament promises thrills, as Western Oregon has played balanced against the other top teams this season. The only exceptions are Western Washington, who swept the Wolves, and St. Martin’s, whom the Wolves swept.

The tournament winner qualifies for the NCAA West Regional, which includes two other conference champions and five at-large bids in the eight-school playoff. At last rankings, Wolves were on the cusp of qualifying, ranking tenth.

Coming off the heels of the big win, Western Oregon at least has the psychological advantage over Montana State Billings.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Top performers of the year for women’s basketball

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Shelby Snook, junior guard, was the Wolves’ biggest contributor this year, leading the team with 339 points and 84 assists. She averaged 13.6 points per game.

 

Jasmine Miller, junior forward, scored 257 points this season and also tallied a team-high 137 total rebounds and 17 blocks.

 

Kaylie Boschma, sophomore guard, grabbed the most steals this year, racking up 31. She also scored 211 points and grabbed 115 rebounds.

 

Despite only appearing in 22 games, junior guard Sydney Azorr scored the third-highest points tally of the year, racking up 220, with 28 assists and 94 rebounds.

 

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

 

A different competition for women’s rugby

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

The women’s rugby team saw its championship streak come to an end at the hands of Western Washington.

From 2014 to 2016, the Wolves three-peated as league champions. But a tougher 2016-17 season has seen Western Oregon fail to qualify for regionals to compete for their title.

But their season won’t be ending prematurely either.

“Because of how we played and were able to hold our own, we have been invited to play in the Small Colleges National Tournament in Southern Oregon,” said Maddi Fagnani, a junior lock who has also played half on occasion this season.

“We played with heart for the full 80 minutes, even when we had to play down two players,” said Madeline Turner, senior, president of the club. “I am very proud of my team and cannot wait to see how this club continues to grow.”

“Western Washington and us have been battling back and forth for four years,” Fagnani added. “This year just wasn’t our year. And that’s okay. Do you know why? We have beaten them with a majority rookie team the past two years. This year we are building our program up and will be fired up even more for next year.”

Wayne State College from Nebraska were last year’s Small Colleges Champions. The 2017 tournament begins April 1. Whether the two champions will face remains to be seen.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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