BOYS BASKETBALL
RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove lost to No. 2 Marshfield 60-49 last Tuesday. Nathin Lemon led the way with 19 points and 5 rebounds against the Pirates. Following him was Landon Vaughn with 10 points. Young talent Trevor Cooper owned the boards with 11 rebounds for the Lions. The Lions then hit the road to Junction City where they lost to the Tigers 62-49. Cooper had a double-double against the Tigers with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Following him was Josh Bruner with 11 points.
■ Creswell lost the chance for a higher seed, losing to Sisters 56-53 in the Mountain Valley tournament last week. It was still a high-scoring game for Co-MVC Player of the Year Tyler Whitson, though. He came away with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Following him was sophomore Mason Schartz with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
■ Pleasant Hill earned the No. 1 state seed against Sisters 51-42 in the Mountain Valley tournament last week. Leading scorers were Riley Smith and Landen Melvin with 13 points each. Gavin Inglish had 12 points.
■ Springfield lost to Thurston 60-28 on Tuesday. Thurston’s Nate Stiffler led the Colts with 20 points. Noah Blair had 12 points and Lucas LaBounty had 10. Springfield’s Vinnie Trinka carried the Millers with 19 points. The Millers then lost to Ashland at home 59-53 on Friday.
PREVIEWS
3A PLAYOFFS
#10 SEED CRESWELL (16-9)
■ Tipping off: After losing to Sisters last week in the Mountain Valley tournament, Creswell earned a No.10 seed, starting with a second-round game on the road. The Bulldogs travel almost five hours to face the Riverside Pirates on Saturday. The No. 7 Pirates have the home-court advantage and a more experienced team. High-scoring senior Tyler Whitson and high-energy sophomore Mason Schartz will need to rally the Dogs for this one.
#2 SEED
PLEASANT HILL (23-3)
■ Tipping off: With a newly earned Mountain Valley Conference title and a #1 state seed, the Billies have a smooth foundation for their transition into the 3A playoffs. They earned a second-round home game on Saturday, when they’ll battle against either the No. 21 Warrenton Warriors or the No. 15 Scio Loggers.
5A REGULAR SEASON
#30 SPRINGFIELD (0-21)
■ Tipping off: The Millers play the Crater Comets on Friday in their final game of the season. They lost by 18 points in their previous meeting, 80-62.
#3 THURSTON (19-3)
■ Tipping off: The Colts play their last scheduled Midwestern League game on the road. They’ll face the Ashland Grizzlies on Friday. Despite a previous win and the Colts’ almost perfect record in the league thus far, the Colts aim to improve their playoff seeding. Expect Nate Stiffler, Lucas LaBounty and Noah Blair to make their last rounds and light up the scoreboard.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove lost to Marshfield 60-39 last Tuesday. Junior Makya Alsup led the Lions with 16 points and junior Mariah Bailey recorded 9 points. The Lions then traveled to Junction City, losing to the Tigers by a 33-point margin, 51-18. Alsup led the Lions again with 9 points and 9 rebounds and Bailey scored 5 points. The Lions are 0-11 in the Sky Em League after a 2-6 conference season last year.
■ Pleasant Hill won the Mountain Valley tournament and grabbed the No. 1 state seed in its league last week. It started with a 54-48 win against Sisters on Wednesday, where Cheyenne Green led with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Teammate Karsyn Stapleton followed with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Then, the Billies won their rematch against Creswell 45-25 on Friday.
■ Springfield dominated Thurston 68-27 last Tuesday. The Millers finished the Midwestern League 2-0 against their crosstown rivals this season. Mylah Wilson recorded 24 points and 3 rebounds against the Colts. Standout player Darissa Romero-Ah Sam followed her with 22 points and 7 assists. The Millers then skated past the Ashland Grizzlies on Friday, winning by almost a 75-point margin 94-23. Sailor Hall turned in 29 points and 8 rebounds for the Millers. Ikunaday Filipe recorded 17 points and 7 rebounds. Thurston is on track for finishing fifth in the Midwestern League at 4-6 and Springfield trails No. 1 Crater in second place at 9-1 in the league.
PREVIEWS
3A PLAYOFFS
#12 SEED
CRESWELL (17-8)
■ Tipping off: The Bulldogs earned a No. 12 seed for the 3A playoffs. They start with a second-round road game on Friday against the No. 5 Jefferson Lions. The Lions and the Bulldogs are evenly matched, with the Bulldogs having nine losses this year and the Lions with eight. The Bulldogs struggled offensively in their last game. If they are to go to state, Mila Nguyen, Elliette Kinney, and Raelee Green will need to leave everything on the court.
#6 SEED
PLEASANT HILL (20-7)
■ Tipping off: The Billies earned a second-round home game on Friday, where they’ll face No. 11 Burns (18-7). With similar records overall in their leagues, this will be a challenge for the Billies. Fortunately, they have the advantage of their home court. Watch for Cheyenne Green, Claire Crawford, Karysn Stapleton, and Brooke Weimer to lead Pleasant Hill.
5A REGULAR SEASON
#18 THURSTON (9-13)
■ Tipping off: The Colts finish the Midwestern League this Friday on the road. They’ll play the Ashland Grizzlies. The Colts are shooting for a third- to fourth-place spot in the Midwestern League.
WRESTLING
RECAPS
■ Pleasant Hill won the Boys 3A-Special District 3 Championship last weekend, finishing with 250 team points. Jack Quinones (106) took first in his weight class and his teammate Dean Scott (106) followed with a second-place finish. In the next weight class, Bryson Boyles (113) grabbed first and Rangle Marquess (113) took second. Following him, Nolan Perkins (120) took fifth place, and Jonah Stiner (138) placed fourth in his weight class. In the 144-pound weight class, Boone Marquess earned first place. Jace Harris (150) took home second in his weight class. Vedder Anderson (157) was the champion in his class. In the 165 weight class, Kaidan Berhow achieved fifth place. In the last weight class of 285, Ryder Swaim took home first.
■ Creswell took home fourth at the Boys 3A-Special District 2 Championship last weekend, recording 141 team points. Lyosha Mitchell (126) was the champion in his weight class. In the 132-weight class, Coleman Breslaw took third while Hunter Lowell grabbed fifth. Sawyer Domard took home fifth in the 138 weight class. Javier Bautista (157) placed fifth. Maverick Wells finished second in the 175 weight class, and Andrew Terry took second in the 190 weight class. Lastly, Brandon Church finished fourth in the 285 weight class.
■ Cottage Grove earned fifth at the Boys 4A-Special District 2 Championship last weekend with 165 points overall. Raphael LaCount (106) took second in his weight class. In the 113 weight class, Mario Lengele and Alanzo Mitchell both placed eighth. Jeffrey Conklin (132) finished third. Ben Miller (138) received sixth. In the 144 weight bracket, 4A cross country champion Carter Bengtson placed third and Jacob Palluck finished sixth. Jayden Davis earned fourth and Grimly Owens grabbed sixth in the 150 class. In the 165 bracket, Luke Fery took home fourth and Lincoln Krasinski was sixth. In the 175 weight class, Clayton Dewitt took third while Ronin Soulard grabbed sixth. In the 190 bracket, Mason Barnett was fourth and Shawn McKinnon was eighth. In the 215 weight class, Caleb Bruner shared eighth with Seth Hill.
OSAA STATE SWIMMING RECAPS
■ Thurston boys won third with a team score of 35 points at the OSAA 5A Swimming State Championships last weekend. Thurston girls received eighth with a cumulative score of 11 points. Madelyn Del Castillo won an individual title in the 200 freestyle (1:52.91). Junior Quinn Devenport was second in the 50 freestyle (21.38) and third in the 100 free with a (47.44). Following him was freshman Wakyo Sanders, taking home third in the 200 individual medley (2:01.49) and fifth in the 500 freestyle (4:59.74).
■ Cottage Grove girls placed eighth (13 points) at the OSAA 1A-4A Swimming State Championships and boys (4) took 15th. Previous state champion Avery Bengtson finished second this year in the 200 individual medley (2:14.18) and third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.99
