Club sports are winding down this spring. In its second year, Thurston flag football ended its season undefeated at 14-0 with a league title. Last year, they finished third in the league.
“It was a whole lot of fun,” said head coach Justin Starck. “We really enjoyed it. The girls were a pleasure to work with.”
The Colts were invited to the state championship on Saturday, May 17, at Barlow High School in Gresham. However, the Colts declined due to a time conflict with the Thurston school prom. South Eugene and Pleasant Hill will be representing their league instead.
Last year, Creswell was the only team invited to represent the local area after going undefeated in league. The Bulldogs headed to Beaverton, where Nike Headquarters hosted the 2024 state championship. They faced off with defending champion Banks and fell 30-6, ending their inaugural season as a program.
For 2025, there will be a 16-team bracket for the championship with first rounds on Wednesday or Thursday. The remaining eight teams will travel to Gresham for quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
“I think it’s overtaken boys volleyball in terms of numbers and the number of schools participating,” Starck said. ”I mean, it’s very popular. It’s growing fast, and I just hope that OSAA votes to adopt it as a full-fledged sport. If not, then I don’t know what kind of future it has, because it’s expensive, and it puts the burden back on the student athletes and the families and the coaches to fundraise the money to have a season. We were really fortunate to have some sponsors who helped us pay for all of our expenses.” …
Oregon High School Equestrian Team (OHSET) state championships concluded last week and the South Valley district finished third overall. Representing Creswell, Addilyn Moore placed fifth in the Figure 8 and shared sixth in Barrels. Also, the Creswell team (Moore, Olivia Halley, Lexi Scott, Lydia Cox, and Kelcei Dumas) scored ninth in the Freestyle Fours. Representing Pleasant Hill, Reagan Dockery took seventh in the Saddle Seat Equitation. Wylie Blake took third in Break-away Roping. Blake and Eva Haney took eighth in Working Pairs. Anna Cole took third in Showmanship and placed ninth in Trail Equitation for Springfield. She also shared fifth in Western Horsemanship.
Oregon Hanmadang
The sixth annual Oregon State hanmadang was held at MacArthur Court at UO. Martial arts school MooDo Taekwondo of Eugene placed third overall this year (4 gold medals, 3 silver, and 9 bronze).
Commitments
Macy Taylor committed to Division II Ferrum College to play flag football and soccer. Starck said this is the first time in Thurston’s history and Oregon high school history where a girls flag football player has been offered a scholarship. … Colt Eily Asher of Thurston wrestling committed to Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. … Otis Hitt of Cottage Grove’s football team committed to George Fox Univeristy at Division III on Monday. Gavin Grogan committed to Division III Lewis & Clark College.
McKenzie Days covers sports for The Chronicle.
