Fall high school sports start practice
■ The fall sports season officially began on Monday as high schools around the state started practice, though most will be scheduling around the heat this week.
Multiple area teams will be on display before the season starts, mainly the Cottage Grove Lions. CGHS will have its annual Meet the Lions event on Friday, Aug. 18. There is a parents meeting at 5 p.m., and at 6 p.m. there will be a free BBQ along with each sports team competing against one another. At 8:30 p.m. the football team will play its Blue and Gold Game.
The Springfield Millers will unveil their system under new head coach Frank Geske in a scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 19. A parent meeting at 4 p.m. will be followed by the scrimmage at 5 p.m. and a BBQ afterwards.
Creswell to unveil new field
■ Creswell High School is hosting a turf launch party for their football field on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. Creswell spent the summer making some much-needed upgrades to Markley Field, and will unveil those updates on Tuesday. Attendees will be able to win prizes, grab a popsicle, and check out the turf installation at the event.
Hayward selected for ’26 World Athletics U20
■ TrackTown USA released the following on Monday, announcing that Eugene has been selected to host the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships. Eugene previously hosted the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships.
“The World Athletics Council has today confirmed the host cities for three future World Athletics Series events at its meeting in Budapest, ahead of the World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital.
At the 231st Council meeting, the World Athletics Road Running Championships has been awarded to San Diego, USA, for ’25 and to Copenhagen, Denmark, for ’26.
The 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships will be held in Eugene. The Council has also reinstated Lima, Peru, as the host of the World U20 Championships in ’24.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “We are grateful that so many great cities around the world are interested in hosting our events and we’re delighted with the quality of the candidates we have had to choose from to host these World Athletics Series events over the next three years. The standard of bids is so high that we would like to encourage those who were not successful today to continue talking to us about staging future events.””
Ducks, Beavers start season in top 25
■ The Preseason AP poll was released Monday for college football, with back-to-back defending champions Georgia ranked No. 1. The Oregon Ducks start the season ranked No. 15 as they return one of the top QB-RB duos in the country in Bo Nix and Bucky Irving, both of whom were named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year preseason watch list.
Meanwhile, the Oregon State Beavers start the year at No. 18 coming off their first 10-win season since 2006. The Beavers added multiple important transfers, including Clemson QB transfer DJ Uiagalelei and Nevada transfer Grant Starck, a Thurston alum projected to start the season at right guard.
DRIFTERS FINAL LINESCORE
Sunday, Aug. 6
Yakima Valley 2, Springfield 1
Yakima Vall. 000 000 002 – 2 7 0
Springfield 000 000 001 – 1 6 1
WP-M. Goldberg LP-A. Goldensoph
Yakima Valley: 2B-C. Colyer. HBP-B. Maguire. HR-O. Egan. RBI-Z. Blaszak, O. Egan. SB-O. Egan, C. Colyer. Team LOB-9.
Springfield: HP-C. Crist. RBI-C. Calnon. Team LOB-6.
WEST COAST LEAGUE FINAL STANDINGS
South Division
Team W L GB
Corvallis 39 15 –
Cowlltz 33 21 6
Ridgefield 33 21 6
Portland 28 26 11
Bend 25 29 14
Drifters 22 32 17
Yakima Vall. 20 34 19
Walla Walla 20 34 19
North Division
Team W L GB
Victoria 38 15 –Wenatchee 37 17 1.5
Bellingham 35 18 3
Kelowna 31 23 7.5
Nanaimo 26 28 12.5
Edmonton 18 36 0.5
Port Angeles 13 41 25.5
Kamloops 12 40 25.5
