Mount Hood

Multiple GNAC champions earn honors on home track during Outdoor Championships

By Rachel Shelley
 Staff Writer
Photos by Rachel Gosney
Photos by Rachel Gosney

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The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships were held this past weekend on the Wolves home turf to showcase the outdoor track season as well as giving those going a chance to prepare for the National meet.

The first highlight came from Emmi Collier who became the first Wolf to win an individual title in the shot put since 2006. Her lifetime personal best came Friday, May 8, en route to win the shot put with 13.89 meters.

Jeremy Moore was able to step on the podium Friday after a 45.34 mark in the discus to give him a second place finish overall.

For the runners, preliminaries took place Friday. Rochelle Pappel raced the 100-meter hurdles, qualifying for finals in 14.46 seconds. Laura Patrick raced the 100 to qualify for finals in 12.36.

In the 400 hurdles, seniors Audrey Hellesto and Laura Knudson raced to keep their season alive, qualifying for finals in 1:04.31 and 1:04.96, respectively.

The men’s side included Aaron Whitaker finishing the 400 in 49, finishing seventh and qualifying for finals. Standout first year Cody Warner earned a spot in the finals in the 100 with 10.67 and the 200 in 21.68, taking second in both events.

Kaleb Dobson raced the 400 hurdles, winning his preliminary race in 54.18. In the 800, All-American Badane Sultessa, Josh Dempsey and Josh Hanna all earned spots in Saturday’s finals. Sultessa won the prelims with a time of 1:51.46.

On Saturday, senior Rebecca Laible defended her individual title in the triple jump with 11.79 meters. She won the event by 1.50 inches and also achieved a season-best to end her career at Western. Kylie Reinholdt took third in the event with 11.69, a life-time best.

Stephanie Stuckey raced the 1,500, placing third in 4:35.26. Emily Wetherell threw a lifetime best mark of 48.70 in the hammer throw while Amanda Short and Sheila Limas De La Cruz finished third and fourth, respectively, in the javelin. They both threw lifetime bests in 44.12 and 44.04 meters, respectively.

The men took home two individual titles when Sultessa won the finals of the 800 in 1:52.31. He became the Wolves’ third 800 champion since 2011. First year David Ribich took home his first conference title in the 1,500 in 3:50.58, a lifetime best.

Warner finished in second place in the 100 after finals while Dobson finished second in the 400 hurdles after the finals race.

The men’s team finished with 88 points in the conference standings, placing fourth overall after the two days. The women’s team placed fifth with 62 points.

The last opportunity to race during this outdoor season takes place on May 21-23 in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. The Wolves will wait for the announcement of what times qualify to earn a spot in the meet.

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.

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