Spring term athletics event

Spring term athletics event

Check out the spring schedule for Western athletics Mollie Herron | News Editor Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu Come support our athletes by attending some of our home games this term and keep an eye out for our away matches further below! Home games: April 8 – Track and Field vs John Knight Twilight (mens and womens) April 22 – 1 p.m. baseball vs Northwest Nazarene University April 23 – 12 p.m. baseball vs Northwest Nazarene University April 23 – 12 p.m. softball vs Western Washington University April 24 – 12 p.m. softball vs Western Washington University Away games: April 8 – 12 p.m. baseball at Montana State University Billings April 9 – 11 a.m. baseball at Montana State University Billings April 13–16 – Track and field at Mt Sac Relays April 14–16 – Track and field at Bryan Clay Invitational April 14–16 – Track and field at Long Beach Invitationals April 15 – 12 p.m. baseball at Central Washington University April 15 – 2 p.m. softball at Northwest Nazarene University April 16 – 12 p.m. baseball at Central Washington University April 16 – 12 p.m. softball at Northwest Nazarene University April 19 – 4 p.m. baseball at Bushnell University April 21–23 – Track and field at Oregon Relays April 29–30 – Track and field at Oregon State High Performance April 30 – 1 p.m. softball at Central Washington University May 1 – 1 p.m. softball at Central Washington University May 5 – 1 p.m. baseball at Saint Martin’s University May 6 – 1 p.m. baseball at Saint Martin’s University...

From influencer to boxer

From influencer to boxer

Why social media influencers are swapping careers Mollie Herron | News Editor Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu Social media influencers seem to be everywhere these days. Because of their ability to rapidly grow their platforms, influencers have been able to make unexpected career leaps. Some have gone from YouTubers to professional musicians; Instagram models to full-time fashion designers; or, in more recent and somewhat confusing news, vloggers to highly competitive boxers. Popular influencers like Logan and Jake Paul, KSI, Austin McBroom and Bryce Hall have all pursued careers in boxing. While they did not all succeed, the new boxers did manage to attract a lot of attention and brought more viewers to the sport. The most notable of the new boxers are Logan and Jake Paul. They have taken the boxing world by storm by booking fights against popular fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.  So, why are these influencers starting to box instead of sticking with their usual creator content? One factor pushing for more influencer matches is money. People like Logan and Jake Paul are making millions and are able to earn even more for every match and rematch they schedule. It is suspected that this is why many of the matches end in a draw, as they can easily earn more through holding a rematch. Forbes estimated that Jake Paul made $40 million from participating in three matches in 2021. The training and preparation it takes to become a boxer is also an opportunity for more content creation. Many of the influencers making this strange career transition have been on the internet...

Western Wolves baseball team wins against the Saint

Western Wolves baseball team wins against the Saint

Wolves win 3 of their 4 games against Saint Martin’s Saints Mollie Herron | News Editor Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu Western’s baseball team faced off against the Saint Martin’s Saints on April 1 and 2.  The Wolves split with the Saints on Friday, winning the first game 9-2 and losing the second 3-2. The next day the Wolves had a clean sweep and beat the Saints 2-1 and 8-0. Mike Peterson pitched eight of the nine innings of the first game in the sun and allowed only 2 runs from the Saints in the fourth. Top scorers of the game included Justin Herzog, Anthony Zellner and Spencer Weston. Herzog led the team with 3 runs with Weston and Zellner scoring the second most at 2 runs each. Levi Cummings and Jacob Maiben both had 1 run in the bottom of the fourth inning to get the Wolves at an 8-2 lead before Herzog scored the final run of the game in the seventh.  The second game was a pitchers battle as both teams were low scoring. Our own Wolves only had two hits and 2 runs, one each by Herzog and Derek Maiben. Unfortunately, those 2 runs were not enough and the Saints scored the final run of the game at the top of the fifth. On Saturday, the Wolves had a slow start as the Saints scored an early lead of 1-0 in the first inning and continued to hold it until the fourth inning. At the bottom of the fourth Derek Maiben and Logan Ho each scored, putting the wolves at a 2-1 lead. The Saints...

New basketball team created in Salem

Salem Capitals are earning their top spot in the West region of The Basketball League Mollie Herron | News Editor Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu In mid to late January of 2022, tryouts were held for what would become Salem, Oregon’s first professional basketball team. The Salem Capitals are a part of the West Conference of The Basketball League, a fast growing league of 42 teams across the states. As of now the team is undefeated and scoring in the low hundreds almost every game.  When the team plays at home, the crowd is filled with the player’s families and community members there to support the new city team. Team owner, Jason Conrad, who can be recognized by his dapper attire and the fact that he is seven feet tall, always goes out of his way to involve the children that are running about. During timeouts, halftime and in between quarters, Conrad invites the kids to compete for prize money and fun items. The team clearly loves what they are doing and seem to be each other’s biggest fans. The team’s biggest cheerleader is probably one of its own forwards, Dominique Lawrence, who can be seen yelling and dancing whenever he is not on the court to support his teammates. People that are watching the Capitals play for the first time are often drawn to Western alumni center Vincent Boumann’s presence. While not quite as tall as the team’s owner, Boumann stands at 6’10” making him a force to be reckoned with on the court, especially at tip-off. Each player brings their own set of skills to the team,...

Upsets destroy the perfect brackets

Unpredictable upsets and pairings leaves the title of national champions to anyone Mollie Herron | News Editor Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu  March is over, which means the infamous NCAA Division I basketball tournament, March Madness is coming to an end. On April 4, 2022 the championship game for men’s basketball will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana at Ceasar’s Superdome. The women’s teams will play their championship game on April 3 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Every year, competitions are held to see who can make the most correct guesses as to who will win each game of the tournament. Large brackets are filled out and entered into different game websites where winners are awarded prizes or money.  The NCAA tracks the “perfect brackets” that people fill out this year, but unfortunately there are no perfect brackets left. The competition started with 20 million brackets that were filled out online for the men’s tournament, but after just the first day the number dropped to 192. With University of Richmond beating University of Iowa, New Mexico State University beating University of Connecticut and Saint Peter’s University beating University of Kentucky in huge upsets, only those 192 were left in the competition for the perfect bracket. The upsets continued and started taking down brackets, and after the University of Notre Dame took out University of Alabama, there were only four brackets left until Iowa State University beat Louisiana State University and there were officially no more perfect brackets.  For the women’s tournament there are also no more perfect brackets after starting with over 1 million. After their first...

Inside the Dugout

A glimpse at Western’s dugout culture Mollie Herron | News Editor Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu  Anyone who has attended a college softball or baseball game has noticed the energy that comes out of the dugouts while teams are playing.  Dugouts were originally created so that spectators seated behind the team area could see over them. They were lower than the stands behind them because it was cheaper to dig deeper than it was to raise the stands behind them to see home plate. Despite coming from a very simple and non-team related reason, dugouts have become an important part of the game of softball and baseball. Western’s teams are no exception to the general trend of dugout energy and ring out loudly with support. While their teammates are at bat or pitching, the rest of players are constantly yelling and cheering as a way to encourage their team or distract their opponents. Western’s baseball team generally shouts louder than softball, though most of their cheering is just yelling, but it is exciting nonetheless. The softball players seem to be more organized in their cheering based on what has just happened in the game. They do this in the form of chants or even songs they sing while replacing a key word with the name of the player. Senior pitcher Reilly Tidwell said, “I think communication and support from the dugout is a huge contributing factor to successful games. The last 4 years I have been able to recognize just how many perspectives there are to the game.” Her time spent on the field and in the dugout has...

Graduating senior athletes

Graduating senior athletes

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor The COVID-19 pandemic caused the spring season for athletes across the country to be canceled — a lot of these athletes being seniors and ready to graduate. Below is a list honoring the senior Wolves here at Western. A huge congratulations and recognition of your hard work is in order. Note: some athletes listed below may come back for an eligible season. Men’s Baseball: Mitchell Hulse, Hunter Johnson, Blayze Arcano, Tyler Brandenburg, Alan Vasquez, Cam Nowack, Connor McCord, Cole Carder, Logan Hatley, Nathan Bonck, Justin Dolezal and Joshua Mcintyre. Women’s Softball: Chandler Bishop, Nicole Miller and Kennedy Coy. Men’s Basketball: Jaylyn Richardson, Dalven Brushier, Riley Hamilton and Jaquan Horne. Women’s Basketball: Shariah Green. Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field: Justin Crosswhite, Stephen Fey, Sawyer Heckard, Derek Holdsworth, Zach Kanelis, Hunter Mosman, Max Carmona, Adam Alnazer, Dominic Giordano, Austin Goldstein, Curt Knott, Mitchell Kruse, Nick Sieber and Chris Steffey. Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field: Rachel Bayly, Danel Camacho, Grace Knapp, Cassie McKinney, Grayson Burke, Olivia Jimenez and Kendra Zimmerdahl. Men’s Football: Braelen Evans, Tyler Reid, Nico Jackson, Ty Currie, Joey Roos, Derek Parnell, Nate Proctor, Aaron Turner, Joseph Gonzalez, Anthony Kennison, Court Hammond and Tyrell Cummings.  Women’s Soccer: Alex Qualls, Kaili Brundage, Kaitlin Poe, Jacky Beristain, Isabelle Creighton and Selene Konyn. Women’s Volleyball: Allie Spear and Sianna DeCarli. Contact the author at hgreen18@wou.edu Photo by Hannah...

2020 Summer Olympics canceled due to COVID-19

2020 Summer Olympics canceled due to COVID-19

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor Every four years, the most elite athletes come together to compete, to represent their countries and, most of all, to win gold. This summer, July 23 through Aug. 8, 2020, would have been the 29th Summer Olympics, having started in 1880. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Olympics have been postponed for the first time ever. The Olympic Games will now be held on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan — Asia’s fourth time holding the games. Because of COVID-19 and the rescheduling of the Olympics, the competitors have been put in an odd position. It has especially put a strain on the mental preparation of the athletes, as well as their training schedule and goals to peak at certain times. On another side, this postponement has given these athletes extra time to prepare — allowing for more improvement, focus and honing in on specific areas to be able to compete in 2021 at their highest performance.  Although fear dominates these uncertain and harsh times, the teams from around the world have continued to stay positive and use their platforms to help keep their fans positive and patient.  Contact the author at...

Online Wolves’ Athletics auction to support athletes

Online Wolves’ Athletics auction to support athletes

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor This year marks the 34th annual Western Oregon University Athletic Auction. This event was created and implemented to benefit the current and future athletes and athletics of Western Oregon University. The goal for this year is to raise $100,000, and as of May 26, almost $34,000 has been raised. On May 30 at 7 p.m. (PST), a live event will be held where viewers can watch the live auction.  Every item sold and donated through the auction will go directly to and support the athletics here at Western. Through their site, https://wolvesauction2020.asimobile.net/#/index, supporters are able to create an account to bid during the auction or watch the live event for free, scroll through and view the items available to auction, purchase raffle tickets and virtual tickets, register for regular updates and even “Raise the Paddle for Student-Athletes” — money pledges from $100 to $5,000. The items being auctioned range from signed jerseys to signed footballs, from a brand new Traeger Pro 22 smoker to a tour at the Rogue Hop Farms.  After a year cut short for Western Athletes, this auction delivers an excellent way for fans to support their hometown heroes and help propel them and future stars into their upcoming seasons.   Contact the author at...

Online workouts for Western students and community

Online workouts for Western students and community

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor With the recreational department closed, along with all other athletic facilities, working out and staying in shape is a little more difficult — luckily Western offers options for students and the Western community to work out at home. These classes are available through the Health and Wellness Center, giving full-time enrolled Western students free membership. For Western community members, a free trial period is offered with the options between a daily pass or a term membership which costs $108 per term and $105 for the summer term. Registering is quite easy and risk free; by emailing hammerlez@wou.edu “Add Me,” your information is then verified and an email confirmation is sent with instructions on how to register for a fitness class. Campus Recreation Assistant Director, Zachary Hammerle, is the creator and initiator behind having online fitness classes for Western, giving students and the community the option to continue to workout from the safety of their own home.  For the rest of spring term, classes will be offered until May 29 with an unknown schedule for the summer term. Currently, multiple class options are there to choose from like yoga, meditation, zumba, spin and more. There are many other free options out there for students and community members to join to stay active and interactive, while keeping a safe distance. Instagram offers a safe way to workout, giving users access to Instagram Live, where followers can join a profile’s live stream — this has also worked with live music events and gaming. Orangetheory, a popular workout studio, offers free 30-minute daily workout routines that are available...