Mount Hood

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

Paving the road to the championship

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Men’s basketball clinched a spot in the GNAC Championship tournament after a triumphant week in Monmouth.

The Wolves beat two conference rivals, first topping Alaska 68-61 and then Alaska Anchorage 89-71.

The seven point win over the Nanooks came as the result of a powerful second-half performance. After trailing by as much as seven in the first half, the Wolves regrouped. They came out the second half down by five. The Wolves took the lead with a three pointer by JJ Chirnside at 13:45.

Sophomore guard Malik Leaks scored a game-high 17 points, his most points scored in the season.

The Saturday game saw the Wolves take the lead with the opening basket and never give it up.

The 89-71 win over Alaska Anchorage featured four Wolves with double-digit points: Ali Faruq-Bey scored 22, Tanner Omlid scored 19, JJ Chirnside scored 10 and Demetrius Trammel contributed 11 points off the bench.

The high powered win moved the Wolves within one game of Alaska Anchorage’s second-place seed in the Championship.

The last game of the regular season is against MSU Billings on Feb. 25 in the New P.E. Building. The game tips off at 7 p.m.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

The tide turns in Hawaii

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Wolves softball found its rhythm after a week in Hawaii. After losing both games of their first double header to Hawaii Pacific, they went on a four-game win streak over the rest of the week with wins over Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii.

The games against Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 13 were high scoring affairs, where the Wolves lost 6-10 and 6-8.

First year pitcher Chandler Bishop came out to pitch in the fourth inning of the first game. Wolves held a 6-5 lead at the time. Hawaii Pacific put up five points in the final three innings to grab the win and gave Bishop the loss.

Sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian opened the second Monday match with three quick strikeouts. Junior outfielder Zoe Clark homered in the second. Again, until the fourth, Western Oregon led.

Fabian gave up six runs in two innings before being relieved by senior Sammi Cadwallader. The loss was Fabian’s third of the season.
“We started the week out on a very low note,” said Ku’ulei Siolo, senior catcher. “But I think that fired us up. We went into each game ready to take care of business, and that’s what we did.”

On Feb. 15, the Wolves delivered a pair of blowouts to Chaminade, winning 11-2 and 12-4.

Fabian pitched a complete game to open the doubleheader, which also saw the Wolves slug away three home runs. Senior shortstop Kelsie Gardner scored three runs off of five at-bats in the first game.

The second game began with power, as the Wolves racked up eight runs over the first two innings and continued in style on the way to the second big win.

The week of doubleheaders closed out at BYU-Hawaii, where the Wolves again dominated. The first game finished 9-3 and the second 11-0.

Fabian picked up her second win of the season and Cadwallader improved to a 3-0 record.

Zoe Clark had four RBIs and two runs over the course of the day.
The 6-5 Wolves travel to Caldwell this weekend to face the College of Idaho.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves impress at ​GNAC Indoor Track Championships

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Wolves athletes traveled to the conference indoor track championship at Boise State’s Nampa facility. They came home with conference titles, new school records and NCAA qualifiers.

Junior David Ribich won two conference titles, claiming top spot in both the mile race and the 3,000 meters.

“After last year’s finish, I got second by 0.01,” Ribich told GNAC TV. “I just wanted to come out and run my own race. If I was going to come out and get second or third it was going to be because of me.”

Senior Josh Dempsey recorded another Western Oregon championship, winning the 800 meter contest.

Sophomore Dustin Nading was second in the mile, behind teammate Ribich. Ribich crossed at 4:10.01, while Nading finished right behind him at 4:10.93.

Dempsey was joined by two Western Oregon runners on the 800 meter podium. He won the race with a time of 1:52.47, and was followed in short order by Nading at 1:54.32 and sophomore Michael Chin at 1:54.94.

Sophomore thrower Brandon Bowen posted a personal best in shot put with a throw of 14.9 meters.

The points racked up by the Wolves lead the men’s team to a second place finish, pulling 82 points on championship Saturday.

The women’s team also performed well, totaling 25 points on their way to winning ninth place.

First year student Grayson Burke, sophomore Olivia Woods and juniors Megan Rose and Suzanne Van De Grift made up the 4×400 team that came in fifth place and set a new school record time of 3:51.18.

Van De Grift also had an NCAA provisional time in the women’s 800 meter, finishing at 2:13.92 for fifth place.

The Saturday finals came after a Friday of qualifiers, in which Van De Grift set a new school record at the 800. She ran it in 2:10.88, coming in second place, on the first day of competition.

Junior sprinter AJ Holmberg also set a Western Oregon record, running the 400 meter in 48.40.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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