Mount Hood

Varsity sports summer season catch up, what you missed

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Men’s Football started Fall Term with 125 total points, averaging about 31.25 points per game, equivalent to about four touchdowns. In the game against Azusa Pacific on Sept. 21 — our first GNAC conference opponent — the Wolves put up the fight for a win, making their record 1-2. It was a touchdown-difference game with the Wolves finishing at a 42-36 score. 

The team moved on to Saturday, Sept. 28 and played Central Washington University, bringing home another win to make their record a 2-2. In the past, Central Washington has put the Wolves to quite a test, beating them twice during conference play last year by nearly five touchdowns per game. This is the first win against Central in Ellinsburg since 1998.

Coming up — Oct. 5 the Wolves play at home against our neighbor Canada, Simon Fraser. 

The team will face a new opponent — Oct. 26 against the Mustangs from Midwestern State Texas, and will no longer be competing against Humboldt State University as they have left the GNAC conference.

The men’s and women’s Cross-Country teams, who are consistently successful at Western, began their seasons with strong performances at the first annual Ash Creek Invitational. The women placed second overall behind Division I University of Oregon, keeping strong throughout the entire race to stake eleventh-place, fifteenth-place and seventeenth-place. The men placed eleventh overall with an average time of 21:04, comparatively to University of Oregon’s 17:58. 

To continue their streak, at the Sundowner Invitational, both men and women placed in the top five. Their next race is not far from home at Willamette University on Oct. 5.

New year, new coach, new team? Women’s Soccer gained a new head coach, Kasey Bingham,  who is turning the program around. They started off their season strong with three consecutive wins before two losses to Adams State University and Cal State Monterey Bay, losing only by one goal each game. The team faced one tie and continued to heat up with two wins at home game matches, finishing in overtime against California State Dominguez Hills. This past week, Sept. 26 and 28, the Wolves left home to start their conference play against MSU Billings ending in a 1-0 loss and a 1-1 tie against Northwest Nazarene. 

Will women’s soccer continue to only win at home, or will they bring their A-game on the road?

Women’s Volleyball started their season slow with many hiccups, losing eight games and winning only two. GNAC started early for the volleyball team on Sept. 17, resulting in a loss against Concordia. Following that loss, the Wolves continue to lose their conference games, holding a record of 0-4. Their next home matches are Oct. 10 and 12 against Alaska and Alaska Anchorage.

Women’s softball is currently preparing for season that will begin Oct. 12 against Clackamas Community College.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Club sports are back in session for fall

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Western Oregon offers a variety of club sports, some being Tier I — competitive play with seasons and multiple games/tournaments — and Tier II which do not normally compete and are more of a gathering of people with similar interests. Western has many teams returning hungry for more wins, championships and titles. 

Men’s Rugby returns this season after an extraordinary year full of victories and achievements. This team has a strong tradition of success and recognition across the pitch; they are nationally ranked 30 out of 240+ teams. Men’s Rugby is an excellent choice for anyone looking to step on the gridiron and battle it out.

Women’s Soccer is back and ready for more grueling battles, hopefully able to put away a win against the only team that beat them in their previous season: University of Oregon Gold. This is Women’s Soccer first year as an IFC funded club team, thanks to the hard work and perseverance of graduated player and club founder, Haylie Shinsato. 

Men’s Lacrosse, another highly successful club sport at Western, returns this year after a national ranking with multiple individual honors. They begin practicing this fall to prepare for their season during Spring Term. 

Along with these fall teams are Women’s Rugby, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Volleyball, Men’s Basketball, the Rock Climbing Team, and Dance Team which performs at halftime during every home football game. 

Tier II club sports include a running, tennis and wrestling team. 

For those looking for something active with no big time commitment or a lot of traveling, club sports is the way to go. Some club sports are free to join while other teams fundraise throughout season to help with any costs that may be needed. Club sports offer a way to exercise, have fun and meet great people while being a part of the school and getting the chance to rep Western’s red and black proudly.

For more information about club sports, how to join, teams schedules and more, visit wou.edu/campusrec/programs/club-sports/ or follow their social media pages on Instagram. Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

 

Four Wolves drafted history made

Paul F. Davis | Managing Editor

Four Western baseball players, center Jared McDonald and pitchers Alex Roth, Austin Crowson and Koty Fallon, made history on June 3-5 by becoming the largest class of Western baseball players to be signed in a single MLB draft.

Jared McDonald, a senior, was majoring in exercise science and was picked first out of the four. Mcdonald was picked in the 19th round as the 584th pick to the Oakland Athletics. McDonald spent his first two seasons at Grand Canyon University; while at Western, he was given the title of All-GNAC twice, finished his senior season 6th in conference with 54 hits, 4th with 46 runs scored, 5th with 9 home runs, 7th with 39 RBI, 4th in slugging percentage at .611 and finished his time at college tied for third all-time most home runs with 18.

Alex Roth, a junior, was majoring in biology and was drafted in the 21st round as the 634th pick to the Pittsburgh Pirates. During his junior season at Western, Roth became the GNAC Pitcher of the Year and also earned a place on the First Team All-GNAC. Additionally, he became the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Pitcher of the Week and GNAC Pitcher of the Week when he struck out 15 players  in seven innings on March 30, 2019 against Saint Martin’s. These 15 strikeouts made history at Western and set the single-game record for most strikeouts, tying the GNAC record with five other pitchers.

Austin Crowson, a junior, was majoring in criminal justice and was drafted in the 39th round as the 1170th pick to the Philadelphia Phillies. Crowson only played for Western for a year and earned First Team All-GNAC honors. Crowson also won National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pitcher of the Week after throwing a no-hitter on April 25 at Concordia. Crowson also threw two additional complete game shutouts.

Koty Fallon, a senior and the only player to spend four years at Western, was majoring in communications and was drafted in the 39th round as the 1170th pick to the San Diego Padres. During his final season at Western, Fallon made 12 appearances and had a team best 0.66 ERA. During these appearances, he struck out 20 in 13 innings and only allowed  one run all season.

In the next few months, the four players will find out which development teams they will get sent to. But for now, fans at home are excited to say that this year’s draft team was historic.

 

Contact the author at pfdavis14@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of WOUWolves

Final intramural leaderboard of Spring Term

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

Soccer

Co-Rec, Tuesday-Thursday Evenings

  1. Look ma, no hands! (6-0)
  2. Los Linguistas (5-1)
  3. Dunder Mifflin (4-3)
  4. Your Goalie’s Nightmare (3-2)
  5. Head Game Strong (3-4)
  6. Grace & The Funky Bunch (1-6)
  7. Team World (0-6)

 

Softball

Co-Rec Sunday Night League

  1. Broke Bat Mountain (5-0)
  2. benchwarmers (4-1)
  3. Swingers (4-1)
  4. Misfits (2-3)
  5. Always Going Deep (2-3)
  6. Masterbatterz (1-4)
  7. Dunder Mifflin Inc. (0-5)
  8. Wait for it…. (0-5)

Co-Rec Thursday Evening League

  1. Basic Pitches (4-1)
  2. Soft balls (4-1)
  3. Bad Apples (4-2)
  4. The One Hit Wonders (1-4)
  5. Rolling Bunts (1-4)

Men’s Monday Evening League

  1. Opihi Lickahz (5-0)
  2. Rippin Magoos (3-2)
  3. Dirty Ball Bags (2-3)
  4. Blue Ballers (0-5)

 

Volleyball

Co-Rec Competitive — Monday/Tuesday Evenings

  1. Killah Hawaiians (7-0)
  2. Bumpin’ (4-3)
  3. Meow Down (3-5)
  4. Wait for it…. (0-7)

Co-Rec Recreational — Monday/Tuesday Evenings

  1. Incomprehensibilities (8-0)
  2. Scott’s Tots (7-2)
  3. Work for sets (3-5)
  4. I’d hit that (1-7)

Co-Rec Recreational — Wednesday/Thursday Evenings

  1. Spiked Tea (5-3)
  2. The Agents (4-3)
  3. S.S.F.F.F.A.F.F. (0-7)

Men’s/Women’s — Wednesday Evening

  1. Joey’s Men’s VB Team (6-1)
  2. Bumping balls (3-4)
  3. Ball Busters (3-4)
  4. Meet the Blockers (3-4)
  5. Mas Hits (3-5)

 

Rugby

Co-Rec Flag Rugby

  1. How does one rugby?? (1-0)
  2. Bangahz Only (0-1)

Open Flag Rugby

  1. Idk what’s going on (3-0)
  2. Hook Those Balls (1-2)
  3. Balls Out!! (0-2)

 

Spring Golf Tournament

  1. Wakem (39)
  2. Wanderscheid (39)
  3. Dodd (41)
  4. Nowack (41)
  5. Moore (41)
  6. Weaver (43)
  7. Johnson (45)
  8. Brooks (46)
  9. Chimienti (48)
  10. White (49)
  11. Halle (51)
  12. Minniti (51)
  13. Reynolds (51)
  14. Benavides (55)

 

Flag Football Tournament

  1. Show Me Your TDs (3-0)
  2. 9 HC’s (2-1)
  3. Tightest ends (1-2)
  4. Rollin with Mahomies (0-3)

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Hall of Fame: Club Sports

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

This year proved to be a successful one for Club Sports — each team had something to be proud of, and each had players worth recognizing. The coaches of each sport were asked to nominate their top player and their top rookie of the year; here is a look at the female and male athletes that were chosen, along with the reasons that their coaches nominated them, in the words of their coaches.

[fruitful_sep]

Male Player of the Year

Joey Caver

Sport: Rugby

Class: 2019

Performance: “Joey is a strong athlete. He works very hard at practice and on game-day. He

runs hard, he tackles well and he motivates people around him to be better. I played with Joey during my time here and now I am his coach, but even as a first-year he always had a drive to get better everyday. From when he first came out, to the year he had this year, he made a massive change. It was a pleasure having him as a teammate, and as a player.”

Character/Work Ethic: “Joey is a very humble person. He puts in the work without fussing and drives people around to push themselves through the hardships. I mentioned more above

before I read this question.”

Achievements in the Sport: Selected first team all conference; he was selected to play for the NorCal All-Star team; he was selected to join the Pacific Coast All-Stars

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Joey Caver is also a mentor for at risk middle school children.

Female Player of the Year

Amber Haslinger

Sport: Soccer

Class: 2020

Performance: “Amber started with the team when the club was formed … She has always exceeded the expectations and goals given by myself or one of the other coaches. Fellow players look towards her as one of the leaders in the team — she’s not a vocal leader, but instead an actions-speak-louder-than-words leader. Amber has been one of our most consistent forwards throughout this season and last season as well.”

Character/Work Ethic: “Amber has always been a hard worker on and off the field. She is always one of the first players to arrive to practices and games. Amber will make any of her teammates feel welcomed and will always make sure that her teammates are doing okay if she notices them not acting the way they normally do.”

Achievements in the Sport: Co-Captain; scored 9 Goals so far this season, 5 last season; contributed three goals during the OSU tournament where the team earned 3rd; part of the NWCSL Small School Division Championship Fall 2018

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Works at the Child Development Center on Campus; recently completed her licensure exams to be part of the ED Program

[fruitful_sep]

Male Rookie of the Year

Jonathan Williams

Sport: Lacrosse

Class: 2022

Performance: “Johnny led the team in total points and in goals scored as a first-year. He also was very important to our transition game and consistently improved defensively.”

Character/Work Ethic: “His work ethic is second-to-none. Even though he could rely solely on his athleticism and probably be better than most, he works hard every day in practice and

never complains. He is also very encouraging of his teammates which I think speaks to his character.”

Achievements in the Sport: Williams was named 1st Team All-League Midfield; he scored 58 goals and led the team to Semi-Finals in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) Tournament; Williams was named Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) 3rd Team All-American

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Williams also helped lead practice for West Salem High School during their preseason workouts early in winter of 2019.

 

Female Rookie of the Year

Hannah Greene

Sport: Soccer

Class: 2020

Performance: “She will give maximum effort in practices and games. Has always risen to the

occasion during big games and tournament play this year … has become one of the first players I will pencil into the starting 11 team sheet week in, week out; due to her being one of the most consistent defenders but being as well a versatile player where she can step into the center midfield or forward role when needed.”

Character/Work Ethic: “Hannah is a hard worker … she has a high soccer IQ, she will give opinions or suggestions to myself or one of the other coaches that we may not see during the game that she might see as a pivotal observation that can help in us winning that specific game. Hannah will always play with high intensity. ”

Achievements in the Sport: Two goals, three assists this year; part of the team that won the NWCSL Small School Division Championship fall 2018; part of the defensive backline that has helped in only conceding 10 goals and having an extraordinary goals-against average of 0.935 this season

Other Noteworthy Achievements: Assistant coach for the Girls’ soccer program at Central High School; part of semi-pro team, CFC Atletica

[fruitful_sep]

Photos courtesy of Andy Main

Hall of Fame: Varsity Athletics

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

Each athlete below was chosen for a number of different reasons, including their stats for this season, their stats for their entire career at Western and the records they made while here. Take a look at the trading cards below for the top athlete per sport.

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Baseball

Jared McDonald: #10

Position: Catcher

Class: Senior

Stats: First Team All-GNAC; tied for third all-time in program history with 18 home runs and 6th in career slugging percentage

[fruitful_sep]

Softball

Haley Fabian: #12

Position: Pitcher

Class: Senior

Stats: All-time most wins (41); All-time most saves (5); First Team All-GNAC accolades

[fruitful_sep]

Track & Field

Olivia Woods

Events: 4×400-meter relay; 800-meter

Class: Senior

Stats: All-GNAC Outdoor – 4×400 (3rd); six school records including fastest times in both track seasons for the 400 and 800.

[fruitful_sep]

Basketball

Riley Hawken: #32

Position: Forward

Class: Junior

Stats: GNAC Player of the Week in December; led the team with 11.8 points, 6.4 rebounds/game; No. 2 in the GNAC with 1.8 steals/game

[fruitful_sep]

Track

Curt Knott

Class: Sophomore

Events: 800-meter, 4×400-meter relay

Stats: 2019 All-GNAC Indoor – 800 (2nd); 2019 All-GNAC Indoor – 4×400 (3rd); No. 30 nationally in 800

[fruitful_sep]

Volleyball

Morgan Haskett: #3

Position: Outside Hitter

Class: Junior

Stats: All-GNAC Honorable Mention; Started every match; Finished 13th in the conference

[fruitful_sep]

Cross Country

Grace Knapp

Class: Junior

Season Stats: Academic All-GNAC; Earned No. 5 all-time fastest in school history at 17:33.58

[fruitful_sep]

Football

Bo Highburger: #44

Position: Linebacker

Class: Senior

Stats: All-time leader in career tackles (326); All-time leader in unassisted tackles (182); Three-time first team All-GNAC selection

[fruitful_sep]

Cross Country

Tyler Jones

Class: Senior

Stats: 2018 Academic All-GNAC; Recipient of Elite 90 award for the 2018 NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championship

[fruitful_sep]

Basketball

Natalie Delonge: #42

Position: Center

Class: Junior

Stats: Second Team All-GNAC; Led the team with 15.1 points/game; Ranked No. 4 in the GNAC in scoring

[fruitful_sep]

Soccer

Jacky Beristain: #20

Position: Defender

Class: Senior

Stats: All-GNAC Second Team; started each match; Played all 1,559 of the team’s minutes

[fruitful_sep]

Photos courtesy of WOUWolves

Western Rugby All-Stars reigned victorious

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

On the weekend of May 25-27, three Western Oregon Rugby All-Stars headed to Houston, Texas to battle it out and see which regional team would come out on top. A week prior to this game, the men were already aware that seniors Alex Treat and Joey Caver would be two of the All-Stars. However, another surprise arose just days before they were set to travel to Houston: senior Matt Cornish, who originally tried out, was invited to join.

Although he didn’t make the team initially, upon review, they decided he would be an asset to the team. So, he accepted. Cornish, Treat and Caver were ready for what was to come. But, they weren’t the only representation Western had. Their head coach, Sean Pomeroy, was invited to help coach for their Pacific Coast All-Star team. All four faces of Western headed out to Houston.

Streamed live, friends and families were able to watch the game from the comfort of their homes. Taking place at Aveva Stadium, which is the home of the Major League Rugby’s Houston SaberCats, fans were able to keep up with the action as the boys headed to the pitch.

The first match that the Pacific Coast Grizzlies played in saw the Grizzlies taking on South. At half, the game was tied 7-7. But ultimately, Pacific Coast came out on top, 29-7.

The second game that the Grizzlies played in had them matched up against Mid-South. Once again, the Pacific Coast team proved themselves winners, shutting out Mid-South completely, 36-0.

The temperature was heating up along with the competition as the Grizzlies took on the North East Rhinos next. The Rhinos couldn’t hold their own against the Grizzlies, and in the end, Pacific Coast came out victorious, 39-7.

Up next, the Grizzlies had to face the Lonestar team — whoever came out on top here would be sent to the Championship. The game was close; at half, the score was all tied up at 0-0. But, the Grizzlies pulled through, shutting out another team, 17-0. This meant that they’d be a finalist in the Championship, where they’d be paired against the Rhinos once again.

Last year, the All-Star Championship saw the Grizzlies versus the Rhinos. For the second year in a row, the two teams took the pitch. From the start, the game was neck and neck. At half, the Rhinos had the upperhand, sitting at 10-7. However, the Grizzlies weren’t ready to give up. They managed to hold the Rhinos to that same score until the end, bringing the final score to 40-10 — the Grizzlies were victorious.

The Pacific Coast All-Stars are the 2019 NSCRO National All-Star Tournament Champions; Treat, Caver and Cornish, along with Coach Sean, were able to come back to Monmouth knowing they made their hometown proud.

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Malina Foley

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