THE MAIN EVENT: BASEBALL
THURSTON VS. SHELDON
■ What2know: Thurston (28-3 record in 2023) vs. Sheldon (15-14 record in ’23) at University of Oregon’s PK Park. … Wednesday at 7 p.m.
■ Leading off: The Colts baseball team, reigning Class 5A state champs, begin their 2024 campaign where they won last season’s state title. The Colts face off with Sheldon at PK Park to open the season for the third straight season. Last year, the Colts won the season-opener 9-1. It’s likely one of Thurston’s star pitchers in junior Connor Molony or sophomore Grady Saunders will get the opening-day start.
All-League Basketball
BOYS BASKETBALL
Class 5A Midwestern League
Co-Coach of the Year: Blaine Liberatore, Thurston
Player of the Year: Nate Stiffler, Jr., Thurston
1st team: Nate Stiffler, Jr., Thurston.
2nd team: Noah Blair, Jr., Thurston
Honorable mention: Jayden Robinson, So., Springfield. Walker Bonar, Sr., Thurston
Class 4A Sky-Em League
2nd team: Cole Kishen, Sr., CGHS
Honorable mention: Trevor Cooper, Fr., CGHS. Gannon Leach, Sr., CGHS.
All-Defense: Cole Kishen, Sr., CGHS
Class 3A Mountain Valley
Player of the Year: Gavin Inglish, Jr., Pleasant Hill
1st team: Gavin Inglish, Jr., PHHS. Landen Melvin, So., PHHS. Tyler Whitson, Jr., Creswell
2nd team: Matt Nguyen, Sr., PHHS. Riley Smith, Jr., Creswell
Honorable mention: Cole Baker, Sr., PHHS. Asher Parsons, Sr., Creswell Carson Williamson, Sr., Creswell
All-Defense: Matt Nguyen, Sr., PHHS. Carson Williamson, Sr., Creswell
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class 5A Midwestern League
Co-Coach of the Year: Joe Williamson, Springfield
Co-Player of the Year: Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam, Sr., Springfield
1st team: Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam, Sr., Springfield. Diamond Wright, Jr., Springfield. Darissa Romero-Ah Sam, So., Springfield
2nd team: Bridgette Nault, So., Thurston
Honorable mention: Kayla Morris, Sr., Springfield. Sailor Hall, Fr., Springfield. Kimora Wright, So., Springfield. Bailey Tovey, Sr., Thurston. Payton Tovey, Fr., Thurston
Class 4A Sky-Em League
1st team: Jaylee Lima, Sr., CGHS
2nd team: Mariah Bailey, So., CGHS
Honorable mention: Payton Anlauf, Sr., CGHS. Summer Lebow, Sr., CGHS. Makya Alsup, So., CGHS
All-Defense: Jaylee Lima, Sr., CGHS
Class 3A Mountain Valley
Coach of the Year: Paxton Miller, Pleasant Hill
Player of the Year: Claire Crawford, Jr., Pleasant Hill
1st team: Claire Crawford, Jr., PHHS. Lauren Bailey, Sr., Creswell. Dakota Carson, Sr., Creswell
2nd team: Raigan Obie, Sr., PHHS. Brooke Weimer, Jr., PHHS. Karsyn Stapleton, Fr., PHHS
Honorable mention: Elliette Kinney, So., Creswell. Kylie Leonard, So., Creswell
All-Defense: Chloe Halgren, Sr., Creswell. Raigan Obie, Sr., PHHS
CONFERENCE CALL
Weekly notes from around our area teams’ conferences:
Crater girls, Junction boys finish 2nd
The Class 6A, 5A, and 4A basketball seasons all came to a close last weekend, with two teams from our area conferences grabbing second overall.
In Class 5A girls, the No. 2-ranked Crater Comets took down defending champion No. 7 Springfield in the quarters and No. 6 South Albany in the semifinals. In the state title game against No. 1 Silverton, the Comets led 43-26 with just over five minutes to play in the third. Silverton finished the quarter on a 20-5 run to pull within two heading into the fourth quarter.
Silverton’s Kyleigh Brown hit two free throws with 4 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT, and Olivia Boyd hit the second of two free throws with 0.3 seconds in OT to give Silverton the 61-60 win. Co-league player of the year Sage Winslow finished with 22 points and 5 steals for Crater and was a unanimous 1st-team all-tournament member.
In the Class 4A boys bracket, the second-seeded Junction City Tigers beat No. 7 Henley in the quarterfinals and rival No. 6 Marist Catholic in the semis before falling to No. 4 Baker 75-58 in the state title game.
The Tigers lost four all-state members from last year’s 3rd-place team, but still found a way to make the state title game thanks to the play of seniors Keivon Riley and Cooper Rothenberger, who both earned all-tournament honors. Riley averaged 18.3 points and 5.3 assists across the three tournament games, and Rothenberger averaged 12 points a game.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
RESULTS
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Thursday, March 7
■ (2) Crater 55, (7) Springfield 39
Friday, March 8
■ (7) Springfield 71, (3) Corvallis 64
Saturday, March 9
■ (7) Springfield 72, (8) Mountain View 53
SCHEDULES
BASEBALL
Friday, March 15
■ Willamina at Creswell, 4 p.m.
■ Brookings-Harbor at Pleasant Hill, 4 p.m.
■ Woodburn at Springfield, 4 and 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 16
■ Klamath Union at Cottage Grove, 1 and 3 p.m.
Monday, March 18
■ Thurston at Summit, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 19
■ Cottage Grove at Glide, 4 p.m.
■ Creswell at Siuslaw, 4:30 p.m.
■ Harrisburg at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20
■ Crescent Valley at Thurston, 4 p.m.
■ Springfield at South Albany, 5 p.m.
Thursday, March 21
■ Dayton at Cottage Grove (Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Stadium), 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Thursday, March 14
■ West Albany at Thurston, 4 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Amity, 4:30 p.m.
Friday, March 15
■ Toledo at Creswell, 4 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Cascade, 4:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, March 18
■ Cottage Grove at Springfield, 3 and 5 p.m.
Tuesday, March 19
■ Creswell at Siuslaw, 4:30 p.m.
■ Harrisburg at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at South Albany, TBD
Thursday, March 21
■ Mazama at Cottage Grove, 3 and 5 p.m.
■ Wilsonville at Thurston, 4 p.m.
TRACK & FIELD
Wednesday, March 20
■ Pleasant Hill, Springfield, Thurston at Springfield Meet, 3:45 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at CG Icebreak, 4 p.m.
