Mount Hood

Graduating senior athletes

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the spring season for athletes across the country to be canceled — a lot of these athletes being seniors and ready to graduate. Below is a list honoring the senior Wolves here at Western. A huge congratulations and recognition of your hard work is in order. Note: some athletes listed below may come back for an eligible season.

Men’s Baseball: Mitchell Hulse, Hunter Johnson, Blayze Arcano, Tyler Brandenburg, Alan Vasquez, Cam Nowack, Connor McCord, Cole Carder, Logan Hatley, Nathan Bonck, Justin Dolezal and Joshua Mcintyre.

Women’s Softball: Chandler Bishop, Nicole Miller and Kennedy Coy.

Men’s Basketball: Jaylyn Richardson, Dalven Brushier, Riley Hamilton and Jaquan Horne.

Women’s Basketball: Shariah Green.

Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field: Justin Crosswhite, Stephen Fey, Sawyer Heckard, Derek Holdsworth, Zach Kanelis, Hunter Mosman, Max Carmona, Adam Alnazer, Dominic Giordano, Austin Goldstein, Curt Knott, Mitchell Kruse, Nick Sieber and Chris Steffey.

Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field: Rachel Bayly, Danel Camacho, Grace Knapp, Cassie McKinney, Grayson Burke, Olivia Jimenez and Kendra Zimmerdahl.

Men’s Football: Braelen Evans, Tyler Reid, Nico Jackson, Ty Currie, Joey Roos, Derek Parnell, Nate Proctor, Aaron Turner, Joseph Gonzalez, Anthony Kennison, Court Hammond and Tyrell Cummings. 

Women’s Soccer: Alex Qualls, Kaili Brundage, Kaitlin Poe, Jacky Beristain, Isabelle Creighton and Selene Konyn.

Women’s Volleyball: Allie Spear and Sianna DeCarli.

Contact the author at hgreen18@wou.edu

Photo by Hannah Greene

2020 Summer Olympics canceled due to COVID-19

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

Every four years, the most elite athletes come together to compete, to represent their countries and, most of all, to win gold. This summer, July 23 through Aug. 8, 2020, would have been the 29th Summer Olympics, having started in 1880. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Olympics have been postponed for the first time ever. The Olympic Games will now be held on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan — Asia’s fourth time holding the games.

Because of COVID-19 and the rescheduling of the Olympics, the competitors have been put in an odd position. It has especially put a strain on the mental preparation of the athletes, as well as their training schedule and goals to peak at certain times. On another side, this postponement has given these athletes extra time to prepare — allowing for more improvement, focus and honing in on specific areas to be able to compete in 2021 at their highest performance. 

Although fear dominates these uncertain and harsh times, the teams from around the world have continued to stay positive and use their platforms to help keep their fans positive and patient. 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Online Wolves’ Athletics auction to support athletes

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

This year marks the 34th annual Western Oregon University Athletic Auction. This event was created and implemented to benefit the current and future athletes and athletics of Western Oregon University. The goal for this year is to raise $100,000, and as of May 26, almost $34,000 has been raised. On May 30 at 7 p.m. (PST), a live event will be held where viewers can watch the live auction. 

Every item sold and donated through the auction will go directly to and support the athletics here at Western. Through their site, https://wolvesauction2020.asimobile.net/#/index, supporters are able to create an account to bid during the auction or watch the live event for free, scroll through and view the items available to auction, purchase raffle tickets and virtual tickets, register for regular updates and even “Raise the Paddle for Student-Athletes” — money pledges from $100 to $5,000.

The items being auctioned range from signed jerseys to signed footballs, from a brand new Traeger Pro 22 smoker to a tour at the Rogue Hop Farms. 

After a year cut short for Western Athletes, this auction delivers an excellent way for fans to support their hometown heroes and help propel them and future stars into their upcoming seasons.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Online workouts for Western students and community

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

With the recreational department closed, along with all other athletic facilities, working out and staying in shape is a little more difficult — luckily Western offers options for students and the Western community to work out at home. These classes are available through the Health and Wellness Center, giving full-time enrolled Western students free membership. For Western community members, a free trial period is offered with the options between a daily pass or a term membership which costs $108 per term and $105 for the summer term.

Registering is quite easy and risk free; by emailing hammerlez@wou.edu “Add Me,” your information is then verified and an email confirmation is sent with instructions on how to register for a fitness class.

Campus Recreation Assistant Director, Zachary Hammerle, is the creator and initiator behind having online fitness classes for Western, giving students and the community the option to continue to workout from the safety of their own home. 

For the rest of spring term, classes will be offered until May 29 with an unknown schedule for the summer term. Currently, multiple class options are there to choose from like yoga, meditation, zumba, spin and more.

There are many other free options out there for students and community members to join to stay active and interactive, while keeping a safe distance. Instagram offers a safe way to workout, giving users access to Instagram Live, where followers can join a profile’s live stream — this has also worked with live music events and gaming. Orangetheory, a popular workout studio, offers free 30-minute daily workout routines that are available to anyone. Youtube, another great source for free at home workouts, offers endless videos of workouts that people are able to view and follow easily.

Most free at-home workouts take into consideration that not everyone has access to a lot of workout machines, making the workouts focused on bodyweight training — strength training workouts using one’s own bodyweight — and resistance-type exercises. 

And now, with the capabilities of Zoom, FaceTime, Instagram Live and more, working out together is easier than ever.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photo by Hannah Greene

Esports available through Campus Recreation

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

Due to COVID-19, not only were Spring Varsity and Club sports put to a halt, but the recreation department had to stop all Intramural Leagues as well — resulting in the creation of the Esports League. 

“We researched and talked about an expansion into Esports for a while. We wanted to make sure we knew how to effectively run an Esports league, and if Esports fit into the Campus Recreation mission and values. You could say we fast tracked the implementation when the pandemic arrived, but I’m happy to say they have gone well,” stated Andy Main, the Assistant Director of Campus Recreation Intramural and Club Sports, on the decision to proceed with Esports leagues. 

As of right now, there are multiple leagues offered for both Xbox and Playstation 4 including FIFA 20, NBK 2K20 and Madden 20. 

“We’ve tried to stick to games that at least one of our Intramural Supervisors had experience playing,” said Main on the decision of which games and leagues to have — this way they could be confident in what they were doing.

Currently there are five people working on the leagues to ensure quality and capability, including Main and four Intramural Supervisors: Shariff Youngblood, Noah Jones, Jonny Watt and Sarah Texter. Each Intramural Supervisor works on the league from the start to the finish, actively managing each aspect — GroupMe conversations have been started to keep all participants up to date and to make sure everyone follows the rules and how the matches are set up. GroupMe has also helped the Intramural Supervisors by giving feedback, allowing for improvements to newer leagues. 

“Some of the difficulties we’ve had at WOU with the leagues is being able to get more people to sign up, it’s a small school and sometimes people don’t know we offer some things,” stated Shariff Youngblood, an Intramural Supervisor, on the subject of helping create the Esports leagues.

Right now through May 24, students are able to join the leagues for Madden 20 on PS4 and Xbox, which can be done through IMLeagues. For more information and regular updates, follow the Intramural Sports page on Instagram, wou_imsports.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Andy Main

UFC, first professional sport to air during pandemic

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

COVID-19 put a temporary end to all athletics; NBA, soccer, baseball and more. On May 9 the Ultimate Fighting Championship 249 was held in the VyStars Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida — the first sport to come back during the pandemic. 

Many changes had to be made to ensure COVID-19 would not intervene with the event, including testing the fighters and their corner team before allowing them to travel and fight; no mingling of any sort was allowed and daily temperature readings and symptoms checks were also imposed. The fight was televised so fans were able to view it, but physical presentation was not allowed, making a different atmosphere for the fighters to have to compete in — especially for athletes who feed off of the crowds reactions. 

To start the card was Ryan Spann versus Sam Alvey in the Light Heavyweight bout, followed by Bryce Mitchell versus Charles Rosa in the Featherweight bout. In the Welterweight standoff between Vincente Luque and Niko Price, Luque took home the win with a TKO — a technical knockout where the referee has to step in due to a fighter not protecting themselves. Following the Welterweight came the women’s Strawweight bout where Carla Esparza fought Michelle Waterson, with Esparza winning by decision. Four more fights took place after the women’s match before the final three events — Aleksei Oleinik versus Fabricio Werdum, Anthony Pettis versus Donald Cerrone, Greg Hardy versus Yorgan de Castro, and Jeremy Stephens versus Calvin Kattar. The next match, Heavyweight, where Francis Ngannou knocked out Jairzihno Rozenstruik in the first twenty seconds of round one. Afterwards the Bantamweight Title was on the line, where Henry Cejudo took the title with a TKO against Dominick Cruz during the second round. For the final match of the card and fight of the night, Tony Ferguson fought Justin Gaethje for the Lightweight Interim title — temporary — due to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the current Lightweight title holder, being stuck in Russia. During the fifth round Gaethje finished Tony Ferguson by TKO, winning the main event of the night. Although Gaethje defeated Furguson to win the Interim title he will now face Nurmagomedov for the Lightweight supremacy. 

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos courtesy of John Raoux Photography

Club Sports Coaches of the year; Arias and Sato

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

“A coach is someone who can give correction without resentment,” – Coach John Wooden

This year, along with our Rookies and Players of the Year, The Western Howl presents the Club Sports Coaches of the Year. 

 

Male Coach of the Year

Jorge Arias

As a volunteer coach, Arias not only invested his time, but also his passion for the sport. Arias was able to bring the team together and create a solidified unit — leading the team to the All Conference Title. This was Arias’ first year coaching a University Club Sports team ever, adapting each day and always putting forth his dedication. 

“We would love for this coach to be recognized for all the hard work he has done for our soccer community here (at Western),” said the President of the Men’s Club Soccer team, Juan Perez.

 

Female Coach of the Year

Jennifer Sato

Sato stepped onto the pitch ready to educate and get the team to the championships. Sato has shown her commitment to the team and each individual player, motivating and encouraging the team to always improve, while also pushing them to reach new heights. Due to the COVID-19 virus, the Women’s Rugby team was unable to compete in this year’s championships; however, this only drives the team’s determination for next year, ready to do what Coach Sato directs. “Sato has done an excellent job as a coach and I look forward to seeing the impact she will have on next year’s team,” said President of the Women’s Rugby team, Nelly Blancas.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of George Arias

Photo by Hannah Greene

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