Sports – Page 62 – The Western Howl

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western cross country ran well at the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University in Salem. The men’s team finished fifth in scoring and the women’s team finished ninth.

Sophomore Dustin Nading finished in eighth place out of the 168 runners in the men’s race to help lead the team to its top five finish. Junior Kennedy Rufener came in sixteenth among the women, out of 189 runners.

The invitational hosted schools across NCAA Divisions I, II and III. The men’s team finished top among Division II schools.

Western Oregon hosts the next cross country meet on Oct. 7, in the second of the year’s two Ash Creek Invitationals. Wolves runner David Ribich won the first go-round, and both men’s and women’s team finished second overall.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Welcome to October

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Time’s relentless march now blows us into the cold days of autumn. Days that grow short as the nights grow cold. The leaves turn and the harvest comes in and frost thickens on fields laid bare. The fun of summer becomes as distant as the spring that preceded it.

We are now in the best month of the year for sports.

The story of the football season has begun to be told but every team still has a say in its destiny. Quarterbacks scramble like the black cats that dance along cemetery fences. Anything is still possible.

Baseball now gets very serious. The playoffs are upon us, and the end of the month will crown the World Series champion. For one month, America watches its national pastime. For one month, everyone cares about baseball.

Basketball and hockey enter the time of fresh beginnings. Fans recite contradicting prophecies in every town and city across the country, saying “This is our year.” Ultimately, the year only belongs to one team. But for the NHL and the NBA, this month belongs to all.

For rodeo fans, the PBR World Finals comes in November. Bull riders on the cusp fight to qualify for Vegas. The million-dollar, gold buckle payday is just beyond the wicked grin of the jack o’lantern.

Wolves howl and bats screech. Witches cackle and farmers buck hay. Students study and the ghosts rattle chains.

Welcome to October. Let’s play ball.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Hard times on the road

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Soccer was dismantled twice on the road as Central Washington took a 1-4 advantage and Simon Fraser won 0-6. The two game journey north saw first-year midfielder Kaili Brundage score the first goal of her Western career, while first-year keeper Caitlin Kastelic saved a combined 26 shots.

The Wolves were completely swarmed in their visit to CWU, having only three shots on goal and giving up a penalty that lead to CWU’s first goal.

Playing Simon Fraser in Canada found some more space for the Wolves, who pressured the keeper with four shots on goal in the first nine minutes of the second half. By that time, Western was already trailing 0-4. The Wolves were left unable to find the back of the net and unable to close the gap. Despite allowing 6 goals, Kastelic turned in the most noteworthy performance as she made 19 saves.

The Wolves close out their long road trip this week, against St. Martin’s.

Saturday, Oct. 9, Central Washington comes to Monmouth. Wolves soccer is currently undefeated at home. The match kicks off at noon.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Volleyball goes down fighting

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Wolves volleyball suffered two losses at home, including a nail-biting five sets against ranked Western Washington.

The Thursday match was against Simon Fraser, who came into the game with an 11-2 record. Wolves quickly shocked the visitors and surged to a 25-14 set. Simon Fraser regrouped and won the next three sets. Each set was competitive, as the Wolfpack lost by margins of 22-25, 19-25, 19-25.

Western Washington came into the game favored but Wolves put up a strong effort to force five sets. After losing a rough first set 13-25 the Wolves rallied. Momentum swung between sets, and within sets as well as the teams gained and lost leads on each other.

The Wolves faced five potential match points at the end of the fifth set before falling, 15-11.

Alisha Bettinson had a double-double, with 20 kills and 16 digs. Christie Colasudro had 22 digs as well. Colasudro was also the defensive star of the Simon Fraser game, putting up 29 digs, one of four Wolves to get double digit digs in the game. Bettinson also put up 16 while Makenna Bahrens had 11 digs and Libbie Hoene 10.

Volleyball goes on the road for the next two weeks but will be back on Oct. 20 to host St. Martin’s. The Wolves defeated St. Martin’s in their first matchup earlier this year.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Wolves beat themselves

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Wolves football got trounced 2-31 at home on Oct. 1 at the hands of Azusa Pacific University. The Wolves had more yards, more first downs and a greater time of possession but couldn’t finish against a tough APU team. Penalties and missed opportunities stacked up to keep Western from threatening in the game.

Quarterback Philip Fenumiai passed for 307 yards and rushed for another 72, emerging as the rushing leader of the game. He also took five sacks and threw two interceptions.

The game began with a promising start. APU came into the game ranked and undefeated, but were held scoreless through the first quarter. Rushes by Fenumiai and running back Malik Braxton, as well as pass completions to Keoni Piceno and Paul Revis, marched the Wolves down the field. In the opening drive, a 20-yard rush from Braxton and a 25-yard pass to Piceno were among the plays that put the Wolves into the red zone.

However, penalties pushed the Wolves back. Holding and false start calls put the Wolves out of range for kicker Jacob Bannister, whose kick went wide of the goalposts.

A forced fumble by linebacker Tafatolu Tafai, recovered by the Wolves on their own goalline, stopped APU’s first score threat and gave the ball back to the Wolves offense to start the second quarter.

Three and outs ended the half for the Wolves while the defense held APU to 10 points. The game was still in hand as the Wolves received to start the second half. A false start penalty added five yards to Bannister’s kick attempt, which went wide left.

APU piled on 14 points in a minute with a rushing touchdown and a pick six and began to pull away. The Wolves were then able to strike into the red zone before a sack, a tripping penalty and a false start lead to another long field goal try, this one missing from 42 yards.

Defensive back Austin Spencer and lineman George Swartzlander split a tackle for a safety in the fourth quarter to get the Wolves’ only points.

With the loss, the Wolves fall to 2-3 on the season. They host Simon Fraser for a chance to break .500 on Oct. 9. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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The New Year

By:Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Football

The football season began like popping a clutch. After surging forward with an upset win over Division I Sacramento State, the team stalled for two games.

The second of these losses came at the hands of FCS Montana State. Playing at an elevation 4,000 feet higher than Monmouth, against a school used to Big Sky Conference competition, the Wolves had the deck stacked against them.

“Being faced with that much adversity early in the season is great for us,” said Bo Highburger, the redshirt-sophomore linebacker who has notched 50 tackles. “It brought us closer together, but also adjusted us to compete at that higher level.”

This adjustment was evident as the Wolves came together to upset #24 Humboldt State.

At quarterback, Phillip Fenumiami and Nick Duckworth shared snaps and put up generally even passing numbers over the first three games. Both found reliable targets in wideouts Paul Revis and Wesley Gray. Fenumiami additionally rushed for 110 yards. He went solo under center in the win over Humboldt State.

Azusa Pacific comes to Monmouth on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Wolves won last year’s matchup thanks to a rushing touchdown from Fenumiami, a receiving touchdown from Revis, and a strong defensive showing. Kickoff time against the old foe is 1 p.m. at McArthur Field.

Cross Country

With three cross country meets down, Western’s runners have found their pace with some impressive outings. David Ribich in particular has proven himself to be cut from the cloth of Philippides, as he has led the men’s team to two second-place showings.

The Junior Ribich opened the season with back-to-back first place finishes, at the John Frank Invitational and in Western’s hosted Ash Creek Invitational #1. These finishes lead the men’s team to second place finishes at both invitationals.

The women’s team finished third at John Frank and second at Ash Creek #1, with senior Nicole Maurmann finishing in the top 10 in both.

The Sundodger Invitational in Seattle hosted stiffer competition for the Wolves, as the men finished in seventh place and women finished 14th. Ribich came in second in Seattle, while senior runner Kennedy Rufener headed the women’s team finishing 37th. Rufener previously turned in good results at John Frank and Ash Creek, finishing in 15th and sixth place, respectively.

Ash Creek Invitational #2 will be hosted by Western on Oct. 7. The starting gun fires at 5 p.m.

Volleyball

Volleyball opened with a rough showing at the Concordia Labor Day Tournament, losing three matches in three days. To look at this sweeping on face value would be a disservice, as most sets within these losses were kept very tight. Notably, the 0-3 loss to Embry-Riddle came with sets of 22-25, 23-25, 23-25.

Since regrouping, the Wolves have fared much better. At the D2 West Regional Volleyball Showcase, going 3-1, including two 3-0 sets, shutting out Hawaii Pacific and Chico State. GNAC competition has followed the showcase, and after falling to ranked Northwest Nazarene, the Wolves again brushed themselves off and went on to win two of their next three, rising to a 5-6 record.

Catch them in action this week, hosting Simon Fraser on Sept. 29, and be sure to wear red to the Red Out at Western Washington on Oct. 1. Both events held at the New PE Building with a 7 p.m. tipoff.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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High-scoring Higa leads the Wolves’ attack

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

There is more to the “beautiful game” than just goal scoring. Passes, dribbles and tackles paint a moving picture from one touchline to the other. And yet, at the end of 90 minutes, goals are what it all comes down to.

Coming into her senior year, Taylor Higa felt driven to make her goals count. Hailing from Manoa, Hawaii, Higa said, “I knew that my previous years weren’t as successful, scoring wise, and didn’t want to end my competitive college career like that.”

She scored two goals a season in each of her past three years. This year it only took the first two games to match that number.

She now boasts four goals and two assists on the season. To put her contributions into perspective, the team holds a 4-4 record, but if you removed the points Higa’s been involved in, the record would only be 0-4-4.

“I just want to make sure I do everything I can to be as successful as I can be for my team and then also for myself,” said Higa. She is also enjoying being positioned in the center of the field. “I feel like I’m more comfortable there. I’ve been feeling a lot more confident lately.”

In the 3-1 victory over Oregon Tech, Higa netted the first goal of gameplay and at the 87th minute linked junior Meli Cortez with a lobbing pass for an exclamation point ending. Mariah Konyn also scored an electrifying goal from outside of the box into the top corner.

Conference play opened with a home loss to Western Washington State University. The GNAC continued to stifle as MSU-Billings slowed the pace of the visiting Wolves.

“It’s still really early in the season so we’re not too worried. But we do know that we need to start getting some wins,” Higa said after the match.

They capitalized on their next chance for a win, 2-1 at home over Northwest Nazarene. Phoebe Hendry scored her first goal of the year off a Higa assist, and Konyn hit the game winner over the goalie.

Your next chance to cheer on the Wolves is on Oct. 9 against Central Washington on the WOU Soccer Field. The match will kick off at 12 p.m.\

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

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Strong showing at Charles Bowles

Welcome to October

Hard times on the road

Volleyball goes down fighting

Wolves beat themselves

The New Year

High-scoring Higa leads the Wolves’ attack

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