Verstappen holds off Hamilton to win Austin Grand Prix

Verstappen holds off Hamilton to win Austin Grand Prix

by | Nov 7, 2023 |

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor Look who’s done it again: Red Bull Formula 1 driver, Max Verstappen. The three time world champion clamped down on 50 career wins following the race on Sunday, Oct. 22 in Austin, Texas. Verstappen recovered from sixth place to steal the lead from McLaren driver, Lando Norris, and held Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton, to second place. Norris had managed to get ahead of Charles LeClerc — who drives for Ferrari — on a rundown in Turn One from the beginning and held a two-second lead going into Lap Two.  Going into Turn Twelve, Verstappen had caught up to the leaders, racing in the fourth place position behind Norris, LeClerc and LeClerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz. This is where Verstappen made his move to pass Sainz and take the third-place position. It wasn’t until Lap Eleven that Verstappen was able to overtake LeClerc, once again coming into Turn 12 — this turn being considered the most advantageous turn on the Austin course. By Lap 26, Verstappen was only a second and a half behind Norris.  In Lap 29, Verstappen took advantage of Norris locking up to drop into Turn 12 and secured the lead for himself — Norris was unable to return to first position for the duration of the race. Hamilton and Norris were both in close pursuit of Verstappen in Lap 33, and by this point, Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, was closing in on Sainz to take P4.  Tire changes for Perez, Sainz and Hamilton in Lap 38 meant the tide could turn for any one of these drivers, some switched their...

Cross country on a steady pace for the season

Cross country on a steady pace for the season

by | Oct 31, 2023 |

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor Western’s cross country team is holding steady on course for this season. The team secured a pair of sixth-place finishes in San Francisco on Oct. 6 — following a pair of first-place wins at their home meet on Sept. 22. Senior, Caitlin Heldt, came in seventh place to bring the women’s team to 144 points and secure the sixth-place win — Heldt completed the 6k race in 22 minutes, 0.4 seconds. For the men’s team, Freshman, Konoa Blake, finished 28, completing the 8k race in 26 minutes, 3 seconds and bringing the team to 167 points.  Heldt and Junior, Olivia Flack, had positive attitudes about their team’s success and training environment.“Our team is very competitive and I think we work very well together in practices,” Flack said. This is Flack’s second year at Western. “This is the first year overall that we actually have been able to have a big group during workouts,” she also said. She feels it helps the team environment and fuels competitiveness. “This year we’re a lot more positive in what we say to each other and ourselves,” Heldt added. She talked about how the team uses mantras and affirmations to remain positive. “We’re more competitive this year, so we’re always in packs and competing better than last year.”  Both Heldt and Flack have goals to race in Nationals and to place high in the GNAC championship race in Anchorage, Alaska and the NCAA West Regionals, hosted at home at Western.  “Zach is a great coach, he’s really good at knowing where we’re at and communicating with us,”...

What’s up next for athletics?

What’s up next for athletics?

by | Oct 31, 2023 |

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor Thursday, Oct. 19 12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Northwest Nazarene University 3 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Seattle Pacific University Saturday, Oct. 21 All Day — Cross Country @ GNAC Championships,Anchorage, Alaska All Day — Women’s+ Rugby, HOME JAMBOREE 11 a.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Montana State University Billings 1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Oregon Institution of Technology 1:05 p.m. — Football, HOME v. Midwestern State University Texas, HOMECOMING Halftime — Western Oregon Dance Team Performance 4 p.m. — Men’s Club Soccer @ Willamette University 5 p.m. — Volleyball @ State Martin’s University Thursday, Oct. 26 4 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Western Washington University 7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. Northwest Nazarene University 7 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Western Washington University Saturday, Oct. 28 All Day — Women’s+ Rugby @ Oregon State University 1 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Simon Fraser University, British Columbia 1 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. Central Washington University 1 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Saint Martin’s University 1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby @ University of Oregon 4 p.m. — Football @ The University of Texas Permian Basin Sunday, Oct. 29 All Day — Cross Country v. Stumptown Youth Cross Country Championships 2 p.m. — Men’s Club Soccer, HOME v. University of Portland Contact the author at...

Men’s soccer on winning streak

Men’s soccer on winning streak

by | Oct 31, 2023 |

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor Men’s soccer is having a smashing start to their season. After going three and two in the preseason, the team did not let this stop them. Starting conference play with a 1-1 tie against the University of Simon Fraser, British Coloumbia, men’s soccer quickly bounced back and are now on a win streak of six — three of these six games were shutouts.  These wins come as a massive improvement from the 2022 season, where the team had only two wins compared to 13 losses and two ties. This improved record means higher points on season; giving the team 21 points on the season thus far. This is 11 points higher than their total of eight points from last season.  Freshman Center Back, Olaolowua Balogun, attributed the team’s success to the tight-knit environment the team has. “We’re like a family and do everything together and no one’s left out,” he said. “Our coach treats us like family, like he’s our dad.”  Head Coach Michael Behonick started his first year of coaching for Western this season. Previously, Belhonick spent seven seasons as the assistant coach for the University of Pittsburgh men’s soccer team. Balogun has high hopes for the team this season. “I see us winning GNAC and going to playoffs and going far and better things to come,” he said. Western’s men’s soccer has recently had a limited history in terms of GNAC competition — only officially becoming an intercollegiate team in the 2022 fall season. “We had recruits come over and we treated everyone as family, even if we didn’t know...

Men’s rugby ranked 17 in Coach’s poll

Men’s rugby ranked 17 in Coach’s poll

by | Oct 10, 2023 |

Written by Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor For most, fall means back to school, football and pumpkin spice; for Western’s men’s rugby team, it means the start of a season. With an updated schedule having been released on Aug. 25, the team had plenty of time to prepare for their upper division matchups — four of their six posted matches are against division one schools. However, the team feels no sweat going into the season. Coaches polls posted to Instagram on Sept. 21 by National Collegiate Rugby placed Western men’s rugby originally at 15, until revised polls posted Sept. 26 placed them at 12 on the national level. At the start of the 2022 15s season, the team was unranked, which means this is a huge jump in favor of the team this season. This ranking additionally comes from a strong 2022-2023 full season of both 7s and 15s — these numbers denoting how many men are on the field at a time. In the National 7s Tournament, having taken place in Washington D.C. during the last weekend of April, they finished in the tenth spot nationally — after being knocked out of the tournament by Babson College, the current small college national leader.  Western men’s rugby finished their 2022-2023 season strong, winning champion titles in 7s and 15s, and have high hopes to bring in two more titles this year. This high ranking from the start compounds their hopes, as it is a favorable position and they can continuously strive to move up in the rankings. This Saturday, the rugby team faces off against Oregon State University at...

Volleyball team hits early lead with strong preseason

Volleyball team hits early lead with strong preseason

by | Oct 10, 2023 |

Western’s women’s volleyball team is currently off to a strong start to their Fall season with a record of 8-5. This week they were on the road, playing Central Washington University and Northwest Nazarene University. Western lost against CWU in three sets and won against NNU three sets to two, with a day in between for rest.  Last week, they played Saint Martin’s University, but were unable to pull out the win. The team had a slow first set, hitting 0.044% with 11 successful hits out of 45 attempts. Western had one service ace and one block, but nine attack errors and two service errors.  Both teams scored their first points off a hitting error, but it was an attack up the middle from senior Bella MacLellan followed by a service ace from sophomore Chloe Asciuotto that brought Western the energy they needed to rally with Saint Martin’s.  The first set finished 21-25 in favor of Saint Martins, but the second set was a positive note for Western — ending 25-18. The team’s hitting percentage improved, rising to a .467% with 17 successful kills out of 30 attempts. Western started in a point deficit early in the second set, but kills and errors from Saint Martin’s aided their success.  The third and fourth sets were not as successful for the wolves, with 0.21% and 0.225% hitting percentages and 12 and nine errors, for a combined 21. On the positive side, in the third set Western had 10 successful kills and two service aces, and 15 successful kills and one service ace in the fourth.  Western kill leaders were junior...

Next up for Western Athletics

Next up for Western Athletics

by | Oct 10, 2023 |

Thursday, Oct. 5  5 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Montana State University Billings 5 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Northwest Nazarene University 7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. University of Alaska Fairbanks Friday, Oct. 6 All Day — Cross Country @ San Francisco State Invitational Saturday, Oct. 7 11 a.m.  — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Saint Martin’s University 1:05 p.m. — Football, HOME v. Western New Mexico University 2 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Seattle Pacific University 2:30 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Oregon State University 7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. University of Alaska Fairbanks Thursday, Oct. 12  12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Western Washington University 3 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Central Washington University Saturday, Oct. 14  All Day — Cross Country @ Linfield George Oja Invitational 11 a.m. — Football @ Montana State University Mankato 1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Central Oregon University 2 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Saint Martin’s University 7 p.m. — Volleyball @ Western Washington University Sunday, Oct. 15  12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Tuesday, Oct. 17  7 p.m. — Men’s Basketball @ Portland State University (Preseason) Contact the author at...

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