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Salem Academy’s Lindsey Larsen (15), left, and Blanchet’s Sophia Poole (15) fight for the ball on the floor in the Blanchet vs. Salem Academy girl’s basketball game at Salem Academy High School on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2015.

Producing suffocating defensive pressure is one thing for a basketball team.

Doing that for the entirety of a 32-minute game against the No. 1-ranked team in the state is a different challenge.

Blanchet Catholic School’s girls basketball team went deep into its roster to keep No. 1-ranked Salem Academy in a physical contest the whole game, and the Cavaliers hit seemingly every clutch basket in the fourth quarter to upset the Crusaders 56-43 in a PacWest Conference game Thursday night.

“It’s tough, and that’s when we’ve been successful is doing that because teams will get tired,” Blanchet coach Ron Hittner said. “The nice thing this year is we’re pretty deep.

“We can go nine or 10 deep with our young kids so they can come right in, and most teams aren’t able to do that. Good teams go six or seven maybe, but we can keep our kids fresh and we can maintain.”

Blanchet (10-4, 3-0) takes early possession of the top spot in the conference over Salem Academy (12-2, 3-1).

It was the first time Blanchet beat Salem Academy since the conference playoffs in 2012.

“It’s been a while since we beat them,” said Blanchet senior Johanna Counts, who scored 16 points. “It’s been a long time. We can’t get too excited. We have to stay focused on the rest of the season.”

Blanchet led 11-2 in the first quarter after a three-point play by Erin Estabrook and was up 25-16 late in the second quarter.

Aimee Smith’s lay-in early in the second half cut Blanchet’s lead to 25-22, but Blanchet pulled the lead out to 33-24 on a 3-pointer by Counts with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

The Cavaliers got a lot of baskets in transitions and were aggressive going to the hoop, resulting in going 25 of 37 from the free-throw line.

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Salem Academy’s Aimee Smith (5) stretches for the ball between Blanchet’s Erin Estabrook (24) and Ana Coronado (23) in the Blanchet vs. Salem Academy girl’s basketball game at Salem Academy High School on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2015.

“We don’t have the size to go inside and pound it in very much so we really have to rely on getting some fast-break buckets during the game, otherwise we’re going to have trouble scoring,” Hittner said.

Salem Academy cut Blanchet’s lead to 40-37 on a 3-pointer by Eva Hardy with 6:15 left.

With the Cavaliers leading 44-39 with just under three minutes left, junior Sophia Poole nailed a 3-pointer in the corner in transition.

Poole finished with 15 points, and was big at the free-throw line, going 4-for-4 in the final two minutes.

“She didn’t hit a lot of shots early, but the nice thing is this year she’s got a little bit of help so we got other players who can score,” Hittner said. “If she misses that shot, it’s not the end of the world for us.

“In the fourth quarter she was clutch with free throws, handling the ball, defense, that 3 she hit in the corner was huge because that was just a huge momentum piece there when she hit that one.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Blanchet 56, Salem Academy 43

Blanchet: Johanna Counts 16, Sophia Poole 15, Coronado 9, Campbell 7, Estabrook 3, Collier 3, Phipps 2, Hittner 1, Sullivan. Totals 14 25-27 56.

Salem Academy: Aimee Smith 16, Em. Hardy 11, Ev. Hardy 8, Holman 2, Brown 2, Standridge 2, Baker 2, Holman, Larsen, Campbell. Totals 17 7-13 43.

3-point goals: Blanchet 2 (Counts, Poole); Salem Academy 2 (Ev. Hardy 2).

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St. Paul’’s Logan Robinson and Regis’s Kirsten Koehnke battle for the ball as Regis defeats St. Paul 40-29 in a Tri-River Conference game on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in St. Paul.

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Regis’s Camille Dickey (No. 3) and Emma VanVeen guard St Paul’s Elizabeth Brentano as the Rams defeat St. Paul 40-29 in a Tri-River Conference game on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in St. Paul.

ST. PAUL – When a basketball team can play good enough defense to can hold an opponent to one point in a quarter, you’re going to win a lot of games.

Regis High School’s girls basketball team built a 10-1 lead against St. Paul after one quarter Friday and didn’t allow the Buckaroos a field goal for the first 12 minutes on its way to a 40-29 win in a Tri-River Conference game.

“I just thought we had a lot of energy from the start,” first-year Regis coach Stuart Alley said. “We came out, we were focused, locked in, and we made a couple shots. That helps drive your energy on defense.

“We just were working really hard, and the intensity was there. It helped that they missed a few shots, but it was a great start.”

The kind of defense Regis is playing is reminiscent of its defense from when it won five consecutive state championships from 2010-14.

The Rams are playing smart defense and are outworking their opponents.

“I think that defense is definitely a team sport, and when you have 11 girls getting ready to work every single practice to get better then you improve,” said senior Emma VanVeen, who scored 12 points.

A Regis team that came into the game No. 7 in the OSAA’s power rankings improves to 13-2 and 3-1 in the tough Tri-River, while dropping St. Paul to 10-5 and 3-2 in the Tri-River.

Regis lost a heartbreaking conference game a week ago to last year’s state champion Western Mennonite and plays top-ranked Kennedy in another conference game Tuesday.

When you play in the Tri-River, there are no easy games.

“I think every single game we grow as a team and each game we try to take what different things that we can learn and work on them in practice the next week to improve on, and we’re just ready for the next game,” said Regis senior wing Abigail Frith, who scored eight points.

A Regis team that was outsized limited the touches of the ball of St. Paul senior post Emma Coleman and limited her to eight points in the game.

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St. Paul’s Griselda Vargas-Ayala and the Buckaross fall to St. Paul in a Tri-River Conference game on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in St. Paul.

The Rams did it with a tough man-to-man defense that kept the St. Paul posts out of the equation most of the game.

“You could see how bad they wanted it, but the first quarter we just couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” St. Paul coach Dave Matlock said. “I give them a lot of credit. Their defense is really phenomenal. They’re a very good defensive team.

“They took Emma out of the equation early. She didn’t get as many looks tonight, and she still had eight, but not what she’s been having, and Cassidy (Merten) kind of struggled a little bit tonight. We still need to get her back on the offensive side.”

After the big first-quarter lead, the most St. Paul was able to cut into Regis’ lead was to seven points at 34-27 on a baseline drive by McGwire Smith with 5:03 left.

But Regis went on a 6-0 run – including four points by Camille Dickey – and led 40-27.

“I think their defensive intensity is they’re motivated,” Alley said. “They drive themselves. It’s a great group of girls, and every day in practice they come ready to work hard. Tradition is part of it, but they just have that built into them, and we encourage it all along.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Regis 40, St. Paul 29

Regis: Emma VanVeen 12, Frith 8, Dickey 6, Chamberland 5, Rickman 4, Koehnke 3, Moll 2. Totals 13 5-10 40.

St. Paul: Emma Coleman 8, Stone 7, Vargas-Ayala 4, Brentano 3, Coleman 3, Robinson 2, Smith 2, Merten. Totals 12 5-14 29.

3-point goals: Regis 3 (Frith, Chamberland, Koehnke); St. Paul 0.

NOMINATIONS NEEDED

Do you know someone who should be nominated for the Statesman Journal’s fan voting awards to be announced during the Mid-Valley Sports Awards?

Courage Award: Recognize an athlete who exhibited leadership during difficult or sensitive times.

Heart and Desire Award: Nominees for this award are the ones who show up and give maximum effort and support the team, even if they are sitting on the sidelines.

Comeback Player Award: Honors an athlete who returned to competition from an injury or other situation that forced him or her to miss significant playing time.

Fan Experience Award: Recognizes the area’s most outstanding school sports environment, shining a spotlight on the bands, cheerleaders, dance squads and fans.

Let us know at MidValleySportsAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.

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South Salem’s Khalid Thomas (left) is averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game this season.

A year ago, Khalid Thomas was in an awkward situation.

For most of his life he was the best player whenever he stepped onto a basketball court.

But for the first time, Thomas was sitting on the bench of the South Salem High School boys basketball team with no hope of getting in a game.

The 6-foot-7, 190-pound junior is not only on the court for the No. 6-ranked Saxons now, but he has asserted himself this season as a dominant post presence by averaging 16 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting and eight rebounds a game.

“I think he’s been a lot more physical and more aggressive,” said senior Gabe Matthews. “I think he’s been attacking the rim and taking the shots he needs to take and he’s been able to get to the hoop easy.

“He’s been able to post up. He’s just kind of a versatile player in a sense, and it just helps him out a lot. He can do anything he wants on the court.”

But a year ago it was like he didn’t exist.

Transferring to South Salem from West Salem – where he played as a freshman – was difficult on its own, but he was academically ineligible for the first semester of his sophomore year.

That he missed the first half of the season showed significantly when he finally got on the court midway through the season.

He played an increasing role as his sophomore season progressed, but he never found his place.

“He came into an already established team, heavy on the senior class and we were guard oriented and he came in at 6-7, hadn’t played yet, senior-oriented team and he’s only a sophomore,” South Salem coach Tyler Allen said. “It wasn’t really a recipe for confidence building that year.

“He started against South Medford. Played very timid. Kind of played undersized although he was up there with the rest of the guys, and that was strictly confidence.”

If his past issues weren’t enough to motivate Thomas academically, last summer he got another reason to get his grades up.

Last summer he joined I-5 Elite for AAU basketball and while playing at a big tournament in California he was offered a scholarship to play basketball at Montana.

“That day I knew that as soon as I got back home it’s grades first,” Thomas said. “As soon as I got that offer I got serious. Ever since then that’s why I’m busting my butt in class and trying to get better.”

Though Thomas usually was the biggest player on all of his basketball teams growing up, he didn’t start out big.

Born six weeks premature with a collapsed lung, Thomas weighed four pounds, 14 ounces and was in an incubator for a time.

“To see him at 6-7 when he was itty-bitty like that, it’s a little bit of a shock,” said Thomas’ mother, Nikki. “He was going to be fine, he just had a little rough start.”

A basketball had been in Thomas’ hands pretty much since he was born, but becoming a physical presence on a basketball court is a new thing.

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South Salem’s Khalid Thomas (20) is fouled by West Salem’s Jordan Lind (21) in the second half of the West Salem vs. South Salem boy’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. South Salem won the game 81- 61.

This fall, he played football for the first time.

Thomas was a wide receiver who didn’t play much at the beginning of the season, but had an increasing role as the season progressed.

When South Salem’s basketball team played Oregon City – the school to whom South Salem’s football team lost – Thomas scored 21 points and was a force.

“Last year I wouldn’t have gone through contact like that,” Thomas said. “This year, I enjoyed going through contact like that.”

Though Matthews, a four-year starter, is the unquestioned and vocal leader on the team, Thomas has made his mark.

With South Salem (13-2, 7-0 Greater Valley Conference) being post oriented with a starting lineup including the 6-3 Matthews and 6-11 Christian Russell, Thomas mostly plays the three spot and has a better outside shot than you might suspect – he is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range in limited attempts.

But his impact is most felt in the paint.

Few players have been able to consistently beat him out for rebounds.

“I knew he could rebound, he had great timing, but at the beginning of the season he wasn’t rebounding as I knew he was capable of,” Allen said. “He’s not just rebounding now, he’s getting rebounds he has no business getting. He’s rebounding like a man.

“He just sets the tone for the possession. And then when he gets it in the offensive flow, he puts forth the effort to get that possession. He’s been fun to watch. I have to remind myself that he’s only a junior. He’s got a huge upside.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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Western Mennonite’s Colby Williams (11) goes for the basket in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015. Western Mennonite won the game 59-48.

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Western Mennonite’s Johnny Williams (10) moves past Columbia Christian’s Levi Morris (0) in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015. Western Mennonite won the game 59-48.

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Western Mennonite head coach Gary Hull calls out to his team in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

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Western Mennonite’s Matthew Hull (23) waits for a chance to shoot the ball past the defense of Columbia Christian’s Zach Barbarick (2) in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

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The Columbia Christian bench reacts to a play in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

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Western Mennonite fans celebrate a buzzer-beater shot in the first quarter of the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

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Western Mennonite’s Niko O’Neill (21) moves around Columbia Christian’s Zach Barabarick (2) in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

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Western Mennonite’s Colby Williams (11) goes for two points past the defense of Columbia Christian’s Michael Moultrie (22) in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

At this point in the season, the Pioneers don’t care how pretty or ugly the wins are.

Western Mennonite High School’s boys basketball team defeated Columbia Christian 59-48 in a non-league game Monday for its seventh straight win.

It didn’t matter so much that the Pioneers let the Knights back into the game after a 19-point halftime lead.

Western Mennonite (11-5) just keeps winning.

“People keep asking me like how does it feel to be ranked so high in state, but I don’t even care,” said senior guard Colby Williams, who scored 17 points and had three assists. “I just want to get to (the state tournament in) Pendleton.

“So I don’t care about who we play next week or how many games we’ve won in a row. I just want to keep winning one game at a time. Our schedule’s so hard we could lose to anybody.”

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Western Mennonite’s Colby Williams (11) goes for the basket in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015. Western Mennonite won the game 59-48.

Western Mennonite leads the Tri-River Conference and is No. 2 in the OSAA’s Class 2A power rankings.

With a ridiculously tough non-league schedule, the young team has progressed quickly and is a threat at the state level again.

“It’s a young team, we have one senior and the schedule we set was to be as tough as we could make it with the best teams we could play,” Western Mennonite coach Gary Hull said.

“There’s two ways that could go: That could go ouch, that could bite you, or else as you groom them and try to get them ready to handle every situation we’ll be playing, you hope that the strength of the schedule will play off.”

In the first quarter, though, Columbia Christian (10-5) exploited its height advantage and was tied with Western Mennonite at 10 after a rebound basket by Zach Barbarick with 3:09 left in the first quarter.

But the Pioneers used pressure defense and quick play in transition to keep the Knights on their heels for a 9-2 run to lead 19-12 after one quarter.

“We started pressing them and so we got a lot of steals and they were getting really frustrated and so they kept fouling us,” Williams said.

“That helped a lot because they had good offensive players, but they kept getting fouls on them and three of them fouled out by the end of the game. They were turning the ball over and we kept executing off of that.”

Western Mennonite kept pressing in the second quarter and was aggressive to the basket resulting in 20 free throw attempts in the first half, and Drew Berkey’s buzzer-beating rebound basket put the Pioneers up 40-21 at halftime.

Columbia Christian slowly worked its way back into the game and cut Western Mennonite’s lead to 49-42 with 4:29 left on a rebound basket by Levi Dalzell.

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Columbia Christian head coach Vince Hicks talks to player Hunter Endresen (3) in the Columbia Christian vs. Western Mennonite boy’s basketball game at Western Mennonite High School in Salem on Monday, Jan. 18, 2015.

But the Pioneers know how to close out games and kept aggressive.

Simeon Hess scored 14 points and had nine rebounds as the Pioneers outrebounded Columbia Christian 47-46.

“First of all the kids really did a great job of really being very active and aggressive on their defense,” Hull said. “I thought our hands were aggressive. We were getting some great hustle plays.

“The second half we kind of stopped playing the way that got us there. We had some quick transitions, some nice ones up to Simeon Hess. It really was nice seeing 6-3 leading the way.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Western Mennonite 59, Columbia Christian 48

Columbia Christian: Zach Barbarick 19, Dalzell 18, Morris 8, Endresen 3, Heiner, Lowrey, Wetherald, Blake, Bishop, Moultrie. Totals 17 14-25 48.

Western Mennonite: Colby Williams 17, Hess 14, Gray 7, O’Neill 5, K. Hull 5, Berkey 5, M. Hull 3, Domes 2. Totals 19 20-40 59.

3-point goals: Columbia Christian 0; Western Mennonite 1 (K. Hull).

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Stayton sophomore Jerry Daniels (25) competes for the rebound against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.

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Stayton junior Cade Nau (2) goes up for a basket against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.

STAYTON – The Eagles have all of the elements necessary to be a good basketball team.

Stayton High School’s boys basketball team has a talented, athletic senior class and a strong group of younger athletes that give the team depth.

But when any team allows an opponent to shoot 52 percent from the field, it’s going to be hard to win games.

Newport shot 22 of 42 from the field and blew open a four-point halftime lead to a 43-26 advantage in the third quarter and a 51-38 win Tuesday against Stayton in the Oregon West Conference opener.

“Usually the defensive end is something we pride ourselves on, and come game time, I have quite a bit of trust and faith,” Stayton coach Joe Kiser said. “We gave up 28 points in the first half, and I thought that was a lot.

“For us, we’ve been holding teams, good teams, to 17, 19, 20 in the first half when we’re fresh and on the same page. That was a high number. We can talk and drill and rep as much as we want, but you’ve got to have guys go out and do it.”

The season doesn’t get any easier for Stayton (6-7, 0-1) as it moves into a conference season that includes top 11 teams in the OSAA’s power rankings in Philomath, North Marion and Cascade.

But the first half of Tuesday’s game should give the Eagles reason for hope.

Stayton briefly led at 7-6 in the first quarter after a lay-in by Everett St. Clair.

Newport led 22-14 after an eight-point run by Dennis Lancaster, but the Eagles responded by closing out on defense, getting up the court in transition and making shots.

Kyle Schwarm’s 3-pointer with 1:28 left in the first half capped a 12-4 run and cut Newport’s lead to 26-24.

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Stayton senior Everett St Clair (10) goes up for a basket against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.

“We were fine,” Kiser said. “We were down four, but four points in basketball is not much. We just came out flat (in the second half), I thought. We didn’t execute offensively. They kind of went on a stretch where we really settled. We weren’t going for boards and, boom, they just transitioned and they broke it open.”

Newport went on a 10-0 run to start the third quarter and was hot from the field as Stayton cooled off.

The Eagles shot 26 percent (13 of 50) from the field for the game, including 19 percent (5 of 26) in the second half, while Newport consistently beat Stayton in transition and got good looks from the field.

“I think Newport is the most physical, tough team we’ve played all year,” Kiser said. “They’re a good group. They were the better team. I thought they played much more as a team than we did tonight. That’s probably our biggest downfall right now is not being great teammates and not taking ownership for mistakes. It’s hard to win that way.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Newport 51, Stayton 38

Newport: Dennis Lancaster 14, Thurber-Blaser 10, K. Blaser 8, C. Blaser 5, Hanrahan 5, Beaudry 4, Ponciano 3, Gravelle 2, Imbler-Bremner, Gonzales. Totals 22 1-2 51.

Stayton: Matthew Lindemann 11, Nau 7, Diehl 6, Schwarm 5, St. Clair 4, Weeks 3, Daniels 2. Totals 13 8-11 38.

3-point goals: Newport 6 (Lancaster 2, K. Blaser 2, C. Blaser, Ponciano); Stayton 4 (Nau 2, Schwarm, Lindemann).

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Stayton senior Matthew Lindemann (14) shoots for three points against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.

NOMINATIONS NEEDED

Do you know someone who should be nominated for the Statesman Journal’s fan voting awards to be announced during the Mid-Valley Sports Awards?

Courage Award: Recognize an athlete who exhibited leadership during difficult or sensitive times.

Heart and Desire Award: Nominees for this award are the ones who show up and give maximum effort and support the team, even if they are sitting on the sidelines.

Comeback Player Award: Honors an athlete who returned to competition from an injury or other situation that forced him or her to miss significant playing time.

Fan Experience Award: Recognizes the area’s most outstanding school sports environment, shining a spotlight on the bands, cheerleaders, dance squads and fans.

Let us know at MidValleySportsAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.

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Brothers and coaches Ben and Travis Brown. Ben, on the left, is the girls basketball coach at Salem Academy, and his brother Travis coaches the boys team.

When boys and girls basketball teams at the same high school have success at the same time, it is usually coincidental.

At Salem Academy, the many connections between the teams have helped to foster a culture of success.

The teams have the unique distinction of having brothers as head coaches of the teams – Ben Brown is the girls coach and younger brother Travis Brown is the boys coach – but they also have a lot of connections beyond that.

“I think it’s really cool how close the two teams are around here, and it’s just like a great atmosphere to be around how the coaches are so close and how we have the bond with the girls team,” Andrew Baker said.

“It’s not just like two separate programs, but we’re all kind of together. We cheer for each other, we support each other in all we do. It’s just a cool environment around here.”

Salem Academy’s girls team has a 14-2 record, 4-1 in the PacWest Conference, and is ranked No. 2 in the coaches poll; Salem Academy’s boys are 13-3, 3-2 in the PacWest and ranked No. 7 in the coaches poll.

The success of one team builds off the other.

“I think it kind of helps motivate us,” said junior guard Colton Daniels. “If they’re doing well, then we want to do well. If we’re doing well, they want to do well.

“I think that it’s kind of like we have a war going on between us to see who wins the most games and goes the furthest. I think it’s a competitive nature between the two of us that really pushes us.”

That the coaches are related is only the tip of the iceberg of the relationships between the teams.

Ben’s daughters Sydney (a sophomore) and Grace (a freshman) play for the girls as do their cousins, Emma Hardy (a senior) and Eva Hardy (a sophomore).

Ben’s wife, Jolyn Brown, is an assistant coach for the girls team. Brandon Hardy, the Browns’ brother-in-law, is an assistant coach for the boys.

“We’re sitting around at Christmas and we’re watching game film or we’re scouting teams,” Travis Brown said. “We’re just a huge basketball family, and it starts with my dad. It just never stops with us.

“We do a big trip every year with the family – we go to like Sunriver, Eagle Crest – and we’ll spend a week over there. We all stay in the same house, our whole family, 16 of us go, or now 17 of us go. It makes it a lot of fun because we talk about what we’re going to do with our teams next year.”

Those aren’t the only family connections.

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Salem Academy head coach Ben Brown talks to his players in the Blanchet vs. Salem Academy girl’s basketball game at Salem Academy High School on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2015. Blanchet won the game 56-43.

There are two sets of siblings between the teams with senior Andrew Baker and sophomore Hallie Baker, and senior Ryan Smith and sophomore Aimee Smith.

And Travis points out there are three couples of boyfriend/girlfriend between the teams.

“It’s fun because we get to celebrate together,” Emma Hardy said. “Like we both won our Christmas tournament that we had a few weekends ago, and it was nice that we both had that success and we just got to do it together.”

The current generation of Hardy and Brown children attended Crosshill Christian until four years ago when Emma was about to enter high school.

The family’s deep connections with Salem Academy was part of why the children ended up there.

“They had just started their high school and we wanted our girls and boys to have a bigger high school experience, you know, football games, just a bigger atmosphere,” Ben Brown said.

“Instead of trickling them out one at a time once they got to eighth grade and coming over here, we all decided, all six kids, we all decided to come over here.”

Dana Swartwout, the great grandmother of the current generation of Brown and Hardy children was in the first class of students to attend Salem Academy for all four years of high school when the school first opened in 1945.

Various great uncles and cousins went to the school – great uncle Clyde Brown was the boys basketball coach in the late 80s – Travis Brown played basketball at the school in the early 2000s and Ben Brown was an assistant for the boys basketball team about that time.

When their children transferred to Salem Academy both of the Brown brothers took positions as assistant coaches with the girls basketball program.

Ben Brown took over as coach of the girls team a year ago and guided the team to the PacWest Conference championship and a second-place finish at the state tournament.

Travis Brown is in his first full season as coach of the boys, though he was the interim coach during the team’s state postseason run when it placed fifth in state a year ago.

“I think it’s a good thing because they can work together on stuff, like as far as doing stuff with the girls team and the guy’s team, and there’s families with a boy on the team and a girl on the team,” said senior Shelby Holman.

One of the goals for both of the teams is to have them both reach the point where they qualify for the state basketball tournaments every year and are considered state powers.

To that end, there are large groups of talented younger players on each team.

“Our sophomore group is really big, like we make up a lot of the team, and they have a big junior group,” sophomore Aimee Smith said. “They have a lot of good bonding in the team. We’re really good at playing together.”

Go to any Salem Academy basketball game – boys or girls – and the other team will inevitably take up a large portion of the crowd for the game.

They have a legitimate interest in the game.

“Other teams, it seems like they’re very distant, but our programs unite just enough to get work done,” Sydney Brown said. “Some teams, they only hang out during the sport that they’re in, but even with the boys and the girls, we all like talk to each other and we’re all really good friends outside of sports.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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Sydney Hunter (left) was chosen as the Statesman Journal athlete of the week.

Sydney Hunter is the definition of hard to defend.

The junior has a rare combination of size – 6-foot-1 – plus athleticism ,combined with the ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter as well as inside.

Hunter scored 19 points in Tuesday’s 53-42 win against West Salem and scored 17 points in Friday’s 69-16 win against McKay.

She was chosen as the athlete of the week by readers of the Statesman Journal through online vote on the Statesman Journal’s Facebook Page.

Hunter is the younger sister of Oregon State standout Deven Hunter.

She, and the rest of the athletes of the week, will be honored during the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center. Terry Bradshaw will be the keynote speaker.

For tickets and more information on the event, go to MidValleySportsAwards.com.

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West Salem’s Ahmed Muhumed has been named the Gatorade State Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year for Oregon.

Ahmed Muhumed found a way to keep winning after he finished racing for the season.

West Salem High School’s junior superstar was awarded the Gatorade State Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year for Oregon on Friday.

“It is amazing,” Muhumed said. “I feel really, really amazed by the people who have helped me to get here. I don’t even know any other feeling that compares to the feeling that I got this morning when I first heard of it.

“I actually wasn’t expecting it, to be honest. I know there are all these other great athletes who actually deserve the same that I did. This morning when I received it, I broke down into tears. It was amazing.”

Muhumed won the OSAA Class 6A state championship this fall, completing the 5,000-meter distance in 15:38 to become the first state champion in cross country in the school’s history.

Muhumed was far from finished running after his high school season was completed, and those postseason races gave his profile a push.

West Salem’s Ahmed Muhumed wins 6A state championship

He placed fourth in the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional championships in 15:36.8, third in the Nike BorderClash 17 in 15:39 and was 40th at the Nike Cross Nationals in 15:44.30.

So he could compete in the postseason races, the families of teammates Hunter Mosman and Logan Devilbiss took him to Idaho and Portland to compete against the best runners in the nation.

It wasn’t coincidence that Mosman was one of the first people he met when he came to West Salem in the middle of his freshman year.

“He was my training partner, I could say. He’s helped me so much with a lot of things,” Muhumed said. “(Teammate) Hunter Schiess was a phenomenal guy. He’s a great guy and he pushes me and the other guys as well … all the varsity guys such as Brennen Le Bel, Fabian Elizondo, who is a very great guy and has pushed us so much, and Logan Devilbiss was one of those guys that has improved so much from last year to this year.

“I’m really blessed with people around me who want to help me achieve all the things that I want to do in life. Without them, none of it would be possible.”

Muhumed is the second athlete from West Salem to win a Gatorade athlete of the year honor.

Ahmed Muhumed leads West Salem to GVC team championship

The other was Brett Smith, who was selected as football player of the year in 2010.

“The fact that I’m a junior and I have another chance to do it again and maybe get a national one, it tells me if I’ve won now, it tells me with more work, more hard work and more focus, I can do better and get better,” said Muhumed, who won his second consecutive Greater Valley Conference championship this fall.

“I really appreciate Gatorade and all the people that have gathered this stuff to recognize my work and other people’s works as well.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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McNary senior Madi Hingston (21) passes to a teammate in a game against McMinnville on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 at McNary High School in Keizer.

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McNary junior Sydney Hunter (32) shoots for three in a game against McMinnville on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 at McNary High School in Keizer.

KEIZER – The Celtics are demanding attention.

McNary High School’s girls basketball team racked up its fourth straight win, a commanding 53-34 victory against McMinnville on Friday night.

The Celtics finish the first half of the Greater Valley Conference season with a 12-4 record, and in second place in the conference at 7-1. They are ranked No. 8 in the Class 6A coach and media polls.

“Now that we’ve proven ourselves each game, I think it’s well deserved that we get that respect because we are second in league,” said senior Kaelie Flores, who scored 11 points. “You would think that we would get more respect and acknowledgment.”

But when a team is in the same conference as last season’s state champion and No. 1-ranked South Salem, it is bound to get overlooked.

The Celtics feature one of the most dynamic players in the state in senior guard Madi Hingston, two skilled and experienced senior posts in Reina Strand and Flores, an impossible-to-guard junior guard/post in Sydney Hunter and an exciting sophomore wing in Kailey Doutt.

And that’s just the starting five.

“The great thing about our team is that we have so many scorers and so many people that can have awesome games any night so it’s nice to have Sydney, Kaelie, Reina, Kailey Doutt to fall back on if I’m not hitting my shots,” said Hingston, who scored 17 points.

Hingston, who has signed to play in college at Seattle Pacific, unquestionably sets the tone for McNary.

She was 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range Friday, but more importantly is setting the tone defensively.

“The change with her has been her defense, and she’s capable of being even better than she is,” coach Derick Handley said. “She could be a shutdown defender if she really committed to it. She’s starting to show flashes of that. And when we don’t have a weak link on defense, we’re good.”

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McNary senior Reina Strand (42) pushes up against a McMinnville defender on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 at McNary High School in Keizer.

McNary, which came into the game No. 10 in the OSAA’s power rankings, played stellar full-court zone and half-court man-to-man defense in the first quarter and led 18-4 shortly into the second quarter on a fast break lay-in by Kaelie Flores.

McMinnville (11-5, 5-3) made a run to cut McNary’s lead to 22-11 before Doutt’s rebound basket put the Celtics up 10-2 at halftime.

The Grizzlies made another run in the third quarter and cut the McNary’s lead to 35-21 on a 3-pointer by Hannah Smith.

But the Celtics went on a 10-0 run, and the game was never close after that.

“We are still working on the consistency part of it,” Handley said. “We show flashes where we can be a great team and we take a few plays off and we allow a team to scrap. And I think tonight was the epitome of that. We build a lead, we played hard, we played great defense, and then we let them claw them in a little bit.”

The next logical step McNary needs to make is to reach the 6A state tournament.

The team hasn’t done that, or won a state playoff game for that matter, since 2010.

It’s something that looms large on the team’s three talented seniors and the rest of the team.

“To help them get to the state tournament, that’s an amazing experience, and not many teams get to do that so that would be really good for our team and a confidence builder for the following years,” Doutt said.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

McNary 53, McMinnville 34

McMinnville: Alix Williams 10, Heuberger 8, Rhoads 5, Fox 4, Smith 3, White 3, Reeser 2, Miller 2, Hudson, Chaufty, Legard, Mehlhoff. Totals 14 4-7 34.

McNary: Madi Hingston 17, Flores 11, Strand 11, Doutt 8, Hunter 4, Schmidt 2, Montano, Downer, Koenig, Lao, Hawley. Totals 22 5-9 53.

3-point goals: McMinnville 2 (Smith, White); McNary 4 (Hingston 3, Strand).

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South Salem’s Evina Westbrook (22) moves with the ball past West Salem’s Kayla Bain (25) in the West Salem vs. South Salem girl’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.

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South Salem’s Hannah Hersh (14) tries to pass the ball past West Salem’s Kayla Bain (25) in the West Salem vs. South Salem girl’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.

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South Salem’s Simone Leaks (30) is boxed in by West Salem’s Tayler Gunesch (2) and Brenna Redman (12) in the West Salem vs. South Salem girl’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.

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West Salem’s Cari McCrae (32) looks to pass the ball against South Salem’s Tori Swanson.

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South Salem’s Jordan Woodvine (10) and Simone Leaks (30) and West Salem’s Riley Gunesch (33) and Jenna Markel (31) all go up for a rebound in the West Salem vs. South Salem girl’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday.

Jordan Woodvine didn’t feel like she started the season as well as she wanted.

South Salem High School’s 5-foot-11 senior wing wasn’t always the scoring presence she had been her first three years at the school.

It’s apparent she’s back.

Woodvine scored 24 points to go along with Evina Westbrook’s 21 points as the No. 2-ranked South Salem girls basketball team remained undefeated in the Greater Valley Conference with a 62-45 win against West Salem on Tuesday.

“Yeah, I might get bummed if I actually don’t score much, but I have to look on the bright side and see like, did I help with assists, did I help with my rebounds, was I good on defense,” said Woodvine, who has signed to play in college at Boise State.

“I feel like I’ve been picking it up the second half of the year, starting with the McNary game I felt like I started picking up and finding my place on the court as a senior.”

When Woodvine is at her best is when she and Westbrook, the standout junior point guard, are in the open court.

Though the Saxons run set plays to get the two involved together in the halfcourt game, when they’re on a fast break they’re almost unstoppable.

“You just kind of like feel it where other teammates are,” Westbrook said. “She just kind of reads what I do, I read what she does. We just go back and forth. We complement each other really good.”

South Salem improves to 16-1 and 9-0 in the GVC with its sixth straight win while dropping West Salem, which was without leading scorer Delaney Henery, to 12-5 and 6-3 in the GVC.

A Saxon team that is aiming to win its second straight OSAA Class 6A state championship dropped to No. 2 from No. 1 in the OSAA’s power rankings despite sweeping the first half of its conference season.

“It’s really important, but we really don’t have any control over it,” South Salem coach Nick McWilliams said. “We played the toughest schedule we could over the preseason. That’s kind of holding us off a little bit, and the fact that West and McNary are highly ranked teams, that helps a lot.

“We could play a lot better, but we’re just not as consistent as I’d like to see. At times we look brilliant and at other times we let teams back in. Just trying to be more consistent.”

The Saxons led 20-6 early in the second quarter after Woodvine’s first basket of the game, but West Salem battled back and closed South Salem’s lead to 35-30 early in the third quarter.

But South Salem went on a 15-4 run – including eight points by Woodvine and five by Westbrook – to take a commanding 50-34 lead.

Westbrook has taken pride in getting more players involved in the offense this season.

It’s worked as Tori Swanson and Dani Harley have emerged as legitimate scoring threats every night.

“I think my job, especially as a point guard, is to make sure everyone is getting some love from the ball,” Westbrook said.

“I’m going to have my shots and have my points and everything, but as my job I want to make sure everyone is at least getting shots up, feeling confident, so when we play better teams everyone is not as nervous.”

But when Westbrook and Woodvine are combined they are a lethal duo.

Whether it be the back-door passes or the drive-and-kick passes, the all-state players work in perfect sync and lift South Salem to a higher level.

“I think we read each other really well,” Woodvine said. “We know our open looks. We know what one another does. She knows my moves, I know her moves.

“And just practice and chemistry between the both of us. The way we work and how hard we work on the court together. It’s like a little dynamic duo, a Lebron and Kyrie thing.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

South Salem 62, West Salem 45

West Salem: Brenna Redman 15, Rabago 11, T. Gunesch 10, Markel 4, McCrae 3, Bain 2, R. Gunesch, Mumford. Totals 18 9-16 45.

South Salem: Jordan Woodvine 24, Westbrook 21, Swanson 6, Leaks 6, Harley 5, Hersh, Hicks, Huston, Winder. Totals 23 10-15 62.

3-point goals: South Salem 6 (Westbrook 3, Woodvine 2, Harley).

NOMINATIONS NEEDED

Do you know someone who should be nominated for the Statesman Journal’s fan voting awards to be announced during the Mid-Valley Sports Awards?

Courage Award: Recognize an athlete who exhibited leadership during difficult or sensitive times.

Heart and Desire Award: Nominees for this award are the ones who show up and give maximum effort and support the team, even if they are sitting on the sidelines.

Comeback Player Award: Honors an athlete who returned to competition from an injury or other situation that forced him or her to miss significant playing time.

Fan Experience Award: Recognizes the area’s most outstanding school sports environment, shining a spotlight on the bands, cheerleaders, dance squads and fans.

Let us know at MidValleySportsAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.

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Cascade senior Alyssa St. Peter is the Statesman Journal athlete of the week.

Alyssa St. Peter is good at pretty much everything.

But there’s a reason why her future is in basketball.

The 5-foot-10 senior guard for Cascade High’s No. 1-ranked girls basketball team scored 10 points in Tuesday’s 70-29 win against Philomath and 21 points on 5 of 5 3-point shooting in Friday’s 72-22 win against Newport.

She was chosen as the athlete of the week by readers of the Statesman Journal through online vote on the Statesman Journal’s Facebook page.

St. Peter has committed to play basketball at George Fox.

She was a first-team all-Oregon West Conference selection in volleyball this fall just as she was first-team all-league in softball and basketball as a junior.

St. Peter, and the rest of the athletes of the week, will be honored during the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center. Terry Bradshaw will be the keynote speaker.

For tickets and more information on the event, go to MidValleySportsAwards.com.

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Salem Academy’s Taden Swing swims the men’s 100 yard butterfly at a swim meet at Philomath High School on Thursday. Swing came in second place with a time of 1:01:07.

PHILOMATH – Taden Swing has the perfect name for the baseball player he once was.

Now that the Salem Academy High School senior is a swimmer, and a pretty good one, he needs a nickname or something.

Swing won the 100 backstroke (1:00.82), was second in the 100 butterfly (1:02.25) and swam on the winning 200 medley (1:52.09) and 200 free (1:39.02) relay teams in Salem Academy’s dual meet against Philomath on Thursday.

Considering he’s in his second full year of swimming competitively, his ascension in the swimming world is staggering.

“I definitely don’t think it was surprising,” said Salem Academy senior Keira Supple, who won the 100 backstroke and was second in the 50 free (27.15) Thursday. “He’s been training so hard ever since freshman year.

“At first he couldn’t swim as much because he had surgery on his elbow, but he had been training for years before. It was definitely no surprise how well he’s performing, and I think you’re going to see more of him at state as well.”

Swing wouldn’t have swam competitively if he hadn’t injured the elbow in his right arm prior to his freshman year at Salem Academy.

It took three surgeries to reattach the muscle and fix a broken growth plate in that elbow.

He took up swimming at the urge of teammate Emma Boles – with significant prodding from others – for rehabilitation purposes.

“My freshman and sophomore year I only swam like three to four meets total,” Swing said. “I couldn’t even use my arms. I just used it for meets a little bit.”

Last year, when he was finally healthy for the first time in high school, he was a breakout star for the Crusaders in the pool.

He qualified for the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A state swimming meet in four events and placed fourth in the state in the 50 free.

“Here I am looking at colleges for swimming,” Swing said. “I never thought that breaking my elbow would work in a way like this. God works in crazy ways sometimes.”

Swing made a pretty good comeback in baseball, too.

He a first-team all-PacWest Conference and third-team all-state outfielder as a junior.

Though he hopes to pitch this year, he understands his future is in swimming.

“He hasn’t even began to tap into the potential that he has,” Salem Academy coach Maria Robertson said. “We’re hoping college swimming is going to happen and I’m really excited to see what happens with a college coach with him to push him even harder.”

Also for Salem Academy’s boys against Philomath, Joel Westby won the 50 free (26.47) and 400 free (5:40.31), Jack Ryan Smith won the 100 free (57.20) and the Crusaders won the 400 free relay.

Salem Academy’s girls swept all three relays, Sarah Kenyon won the 200 IM (2:48.58) and Molly Gallager won the 500 free (5:40.31).

The Crusaders placed fifth in the state last year and with a deep roster and accomplished senior class – led by Supple, Salem Academy’s first state champion a year ago – has aspirations of winning its first district championship.

“I think it’s probably like the biggest chance we’ve ever had,” Robertson said. “We’ve added some really fast girls. We have some girls who started swimming who are really fast, which is awesome, and then our classic girls who have been here for all four years.

“We’ve got depth and speed so I think we have quite the chance of winning. It will be tough. Sweet Home is fast. They have good swimmers. It’s our best girls team we’ve ever had, by far.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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Salem Academy’s Taden Swing swims the men’s 100 yard backstroke at a meet against Philomath High School in Philomath on Thursday.

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Salem Academy’s Kiera Supple swims the women’s 100 yard backstroke at a meet against Philomath High School in Philomath on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016.

NEW EMAIL NEWSLETTER: The Statesman Journal now has in a newsletter signup module near the bottom of the homepage at statesmanjournal.com. Click which newsletters you want in your inbox. Each Monday and Thursday evenings, get a round up of high school and college sports. You’ll get recaps and previews from sports reporters Bill Poehler, Pete Martini and Gary Horowitz along with interesting national sports news.

NOMINATIONS NEEDED

Do you know someone who should be nominated for the Statesman Journal’s fan voting awards to be announced during the Mid-Valley Sports Awards?

Courage Award: Recognize an athlete who exhibited leadership during difficult or sensitive times.

Heart and Desire Award: Nominees for this award are the ones who show up and give maximum effort and support the team, even if they are sitting on the sidelines.

Comeback Player Award: Honors an athlete who returned to competition from an injury or other situation that forced him or her to miss significant playing time.

Fan Experience Award: Recognizes the area’s most outstanding school sports environment, shining a spotlight on the bands, cheerleaders, dance squads and fans.

Let us know at MidValleySportsAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center. Deadline extended through Feb. 15.

MID-VALLEY SPORTS AWARDS

Discount tickets are on sale for the June 7 awards banquet at the Salem Convention Center with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw as the keynote speaker. Tickets are $50 through Sunday, but increase to $65 afterward. Go to MidValleySportsAwards.com for tickets and more information.

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Amity senior Lindsay McShane shoots a free throw in the last 10 seconds of the game against Dayton at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Amity won 46-42 after a close game.

AMITY – The Warriors earned the lead Friday night.

All they could do to keep it was hope.

Amity High School’s No. 5-ranked girls basketball team led No. 1-ranked Dayton 44-42 with four seconds left when Amity’s Lindsay McShane fouled Dayton’s Shawnie Spink.

Putting last year’s 3A state player of the year to the free-throw line with the potential to tie the game is not usually a good strategy.

“When we played them over there, we were down by four or five points, and she got to the line and was 7-for-7,” Amity coach Reg McShane said.

Spink missed the first free throw then intentionally missed the second one – and missed the rim in the process – to give Amity the ball back and enough time for Madelynn Krotzer to seal a 46-42 West Valley League win by hitting two free throws.

The win improved Amity to 15-5 and into a tie at 8-1 for first place in the West Valley with last year’s state champion Dayton (17-3).

For Amity it also avenges a 48-36 loss to Dayton from the first time the teams played this season and gives the Warriors a win against their rivals.

“It puts us in a good position for playoffs, and it just shows that we can beat the team that won it all last year, so we have the potential to do the same,” said Lindsay McShane, who scored nine points.

Dayton was aggressive on defense early and forced Amity to shoot from outside to keep the game close.

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Amity girls basketball players celebrate after defeating Dayton 46-42 in a close game at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016.

The Pirates led 17-12 on a Shawnie Spink lay-in in the second quarter, but Allie Steele’s 3-pointer right after halftime put Amity up 24-22.

“They were kind of shutting down our inside people after the first half, and they were just being aggressive when we came out,” said Krotzer, who scored 10 points.

The teams swapped the lead 11 times in the second half.

McShane hit a 3-pointer – her first of the game –with 1:52 left to give Amity its largest lead of the game at 41-37.

But Spink hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and Kalina Rojas – who finished with 18 points – hit two free throws to give Dayton a 42-41 lead with 24 seconds left.

Amity’s reserve guard Morgan Croxford hit an awkward baseline drive with 12 seconds left to take the lead back for good at 43-42 and Lindsay McShane hit the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation to go up 44-42.

It wasn’t always pretty – Amity was 15-for-59 from the field – but knocking off the top team in the state doesn’t have to be.

“It was huge, and like I said, that’s been the way it has been for us this season,” Reg McShane said. “We’ve had somebody step up and sometimes it’s somebody you don’t expect, but our kids played pretty doggone good defense for that entire defense.

“I feel like we can play with anybody when we play the way we can play, and tonight what we did is we didn’t lose our head down the stretch and do something that put us in a bad situation.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Amity 46, Dayton 42

Dayton: Kalina Rojas 18, Spink 10, Hop 8, Ray 4, Fluke 2, Cisneros, Moore, Hill. Totals 14 10-22 42.

Amity: Madelynn Krotzer 10, McShane 9, Worthington 8, Steele 7, Howard 6, McClean 4, Croxford 2, Dumler 2. Totals 15 9-18 46.

3-point goals: Dayton 2 (Hop, Spink); Amity 4 (Krotzer, Howard, Steele, McShane).

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Amity senior Madelyn Krotzer comes down with the rebound in a game against Dayton at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Amity won 46-42 after a close game.

NEW EMAIL NEWSLETTER: The Statesman Journal now has in a newsletter signup module near the bottom of the homepage at statesmanjournal.com. Click which newsletters you want in your inbox. Each Monday and Thursday evenings, get a round up of high school and college sports. You’ll get recaps and previews from sports reporters Bill Poehler, Pete Martini and Gary Horowitz along with interesting national sports news.

NOMINATIONS NEEDED

Do you know someone who should be nominated for the Statesman Journal’s fan voting awards to be announced during the Mid-Valley Sports Awards?

Courage Award: Recognize an athlete who exhibited leadership during difficult or sensitive times.

Heart and Desire Award: Nominees for this award are the ones who show up and give maximum effort and support the team, even if they are sitting on the sidelines.

Comeback Player Award: Honors an athlete who returned to competition from an injury or other situation that forced him or her to miss significant playing time.

Fan Experience Award: Recognizes the area’s most outstanding school sports environment, shining a spotlight on the bands, cheerleaders, dance squads and fans.

Let us know at MidValleySportsAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center. Deadline extended through Feb. 15.

MID-VALLEY SPORTS AWARDS

Discount tickets are on sale for the June 7 awards banquet at the Salem Convention Center with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw as the keynote speaker. Tickets are $50 through Sunday, but increase to $65 afterward. Go to MidValleySportsAwards.com for tickets and more information.

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Amity players embrace after a close game in which they beat Dayton 46-42 at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016.

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Amity senior Jamie Stull pushes up against Dayton senior Keon Blanco at a game at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Amity won 81-58.

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Amity senior Jamie Stull grabs the rim as he scores a basket against Dayton at a game at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Amity won 81-58.

AMITY – Jamie Stull may be the most improved basketball player in the state this season.

In his first three years on Amity High School’s boys basketball team, he was easy to overlook.

Everyone in the soldout crowd at Amity saw the 6-foot-3 senior wing’s improvement Friday night.

Stull scored 28 points, including hitting three 3-pointers, as No. 3-ranked Amity dominated rival and No. 1-ranked Dayton 81-58 in a West Valley League game.

“It’s all passion and motivation, that’s how I look at it,” Stull said. “I don’t ever want to settle, and as soon as I feel like I’m comfortable, that’s when you got to push yourself even harder. That’s a great life goal, and that’s also a great basketball skill.”

Stull came into Friday’s game averaging just under 20 points a game and has been a terror when combined with senior guard Lance Nelson – who also scored 28 points – in the backcourt for Amity.

“He’s the most improved kid in the state,” Amity coach Justin Amaya said. “He knows it was his senior year and he put in more work this offseason than any kid at Amity because he wanted to be at Coos Bay.

“He didn’t feel good about last year. He was inconsistent. This year he’s one of the top four players in our league.”

Amity accomplished a few things with the upset against its rival.

The Warriors (17-3) beat last year’s Class 3A state champion and avenged a 67-63 loss to Dayton from earlier this month.

But Amity also created a logjam atop the West Valley League standings as now Amity, Dayton (16-4), Horizon Christian and Santiam Christian are all tied at 7-2 in the league.

“We have this mission and it’s the state championship,” Nelson said. “And every game we play is a step into that mission. When we had a pregame in the locker room, it was all about believing.

“I think everyone tonight, it showed, believed that we could come out here and beat this team. I don’t think anyone would guess we would win like that, but it’s a cherry on top.”

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Amity players, fans and coaches look to the referee for a ruling at a game at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Amity won 81-58.

A combination of fullcourt defense and intensity got the Warriors to a quick start.

When Lance Nelson thundered down a dunk to give Amity an 11-5 lead with 4:47 left in the first quarter, the Warriors showed that they were ready.

“Early on I thought the difference was Kolton Rohde,” Amaya said. “He had five points early and when he plays well, we do really well. He does the little things. Every (team) has a glue kid, he’s our glue kid, and that’s why I started him this year over Devin McShane.

“I want Devin to come off the bench and be that spark, that sixth man. Kolton rebounds well, he’s long and lanky, so now I start four kids over 6-3. At the 3A level, that’s pretty tough.”

Zach Bernards scored 26 points for Dayton, but the Pirates were never to get back into the game.

Amity led 46-29 at halftime and didn’t let up.

“We let a few go, but that doesn’t mean we can’t close games,” Nelson said. “We’re going to come out from now on and we’re all business.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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Dayton senior Zach Spink drives past Amity defense at a game at Amity High School on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. Amity won 81-58.

Amity 81, Dayton 58

Dayton: Zach Bernards 26, Spink 9, Lewis 8, Nowlin 7, Ashley 4, Blanco 2, Rhea 2. Totals 21 14-16 58.

Amity: Lance Nelson 28, Jamie Stull 28, Weigart 6, Graham 5, Rhode 5, McShane 4, Stearn 3, Hatch 2, Wilson. Totals 28 16-23 81.

3-point goals: Dayton 2 (Bernards 2); Amity 9 (Nelson 4, Stull 3, McShane, Rhode).

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Sprague wrestlers Evan Spragg, left, Michael Murphy and Daniel McClung during practice Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Salem, Ore.

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Sprague wrestlers Evan Spragg, left, Michael Murphy and Daniel McClung during practice Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Salem, Ore.

The senior night festivities at Sprague High School’s final home dual meet of the season last week against West Salem were short.

That’s because the youth movement on the team has made the Olympians one of the top teams in the state again.

With a roster made up of over 23 freshmen – highlighted by No. 2-ranked Daniel McClung – and a large group of sophomores – including No. 4-ranked Michael Murphy – the Olympians are 6-0 in Greater Valley Conference dual meets and ranked No. 10 in the state.

“They’ve made a huge impact,” junior Evan Spragg said. “Michael Murphy and Danny McClung are hard workers, and we are partners. We push each other to the max, and I think that’s a big contributor to their success.

“We have a really young team, and it’s nice having the numbers because of diversity among your partners.”

The common thread among the underclassmen who are having success is that they wrestled with the Salem Elite Wrestling Club.

They all did well at the youth levels and that connection binds the young group.

“I mean yeah, it’s cool that we’ve all wrestled together before, but it’s also cool that we’re all in the same room now, practicing at the same time every single day,” McClung said.

Even in the upperclassmen, there are some relatively inexperienced wrestlers in juniors Dane McKinney, Nathan Rediger and Seth Rediger.

All three are relative newcomers to wrestling with McKinney in his second year of wrestling and the Rediger twins are in their third year.

Nathan Rediger is ranked No. 13 in the state.

“There’s a variety to our youth and how you would define that,” first-year coach Nolan Harris said. “There’s no mistaking whether it’s by grade or by experience we’re pretty young and people saw it coming in and I think that’s how some people are looking at it.”

While Sprague’s two seniors – No. 10-ranked heavyweight Jacob Nelson and No. 12-ranked Justin Vasquez-Ellis – are among the best in the state, it’s the underclassmen who have brought excitement to the team.

Beyond the quantity of underclassmen, what makes the group exciting is what they’ve already accomplished.

McClung placed second at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions and Murphy was fourth.

“Having coach Harris as the freshman football coach got a whole bunch of those freshman come out,” said freshman Landon Davis. “That’s pretty exciting to have 30 freshmen in the room.”

Sprague’s two star freshmen – Murphy and McClung – have become standouts in different ways.

McClung is a year-round wrestler who puts his focus on wrestling.

He was a standout at all the youth levels and emerged as soon as he came into high school and is 30-6 this season with 18 pins.

Even his loss in the finals at Reser’s was a motivator.

“Success and defeat both drive you to work harder,” McClung said. “Losing every once in a while pushes me to work harder, but success also keeps that drive alive and makes me want to work even harder.”

Murphy is a three-sport athlete who has made an immediate impact.

Beyond being a varsity wrestler and baseball starter as a freshman, he made a big impact in football in the fall.

Murphy is 29-8 with 15 pins.

“I looked up to Sprague wrestling,” Murphy said. “It’s always been at the top of its league. I want to keep that tradition going.

“And I know that our coaches are working us hard enough to keep that going where I think that we’ve got a really tough room right now and we’re working hard. I think we’re working the hardest.”

Where Sprague’s district champion team of last year was led by the upperclassmen, this team’s success at the higher levels of the state will be dependent on the underclassmen.

“I don’t need to wait my turn to be a senior to do something good, and that’s what I think a lot of the kids in the room are realizing that we can all contribute even though we might not have as much experience as some of the juniors and seniors from other schools,” Davis said.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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West Salem senior Tayler Gunesch

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Dayton softball coach Rob Umbenhower leaves his team’s huddle at the pitcher’s circle in the OSAA Class 3A state championship game on Friday, June 5, 2015.

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McNary sophomore Marissa Kuch

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McNary senior Giorgio Corrieri

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Sprague freshman Daniel McClung

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South Salem sophomore Anna Despain

Dayton High softball coach Rob Umbenhower was named Section 8 Coach of the Year for softball by the National Federation of State High School Association Coaches Association.

Section 8 includes Alaska, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming.

Umbenhower, in his 16th year as head coach at Dayton, coached Dayton to a 27-5 record and its third state championship in the spring.

Umbenhower is the No. 7 winningest softball coach in Oregon history with a record of 410-144.

He will be honored at the May 21 Oregon Athletic Coaches Association Awards Banquet.

Athletes of the week

Marissa Kuch, Giorgio Corrieri, Anna Despain, Daniel McClung and Tayler Gunesch were honored as athletes of the week by the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club on Jan. 29.

Kuch, a sophomore on McNary’s swim team, won the 50 and 200 freestyle races against Sprague and holds school records in the 200 and 500 free.

Corrieri, a senior exchange student on McNary’s swim team, won the 100 free and 100 backstroke against Sprague.

Despain, a sophomore for South Salem’s swim team, is undefeated this season, including winning the 200 free and 100 breast against North Salem. She owns the school record in the 500 free.

McClung, a freshman on Sprague wrestling team, is ranked third in the state and placed second at the Larry Owings Invitational and Reser’s Tournament of Champions.

Gunesch, a senior point guard at West Salem, scored 12 points, had five assists, five steals and five rebounds against McMinnville and had 13 points, six assists, five steals and six rebounds against West Albany.

The group meets most Friday mornings during the school year at Goudy Commons at Willamette University. For more information, contact Don Kerzel at don@kerzels.com.

Baseball

The South Salem Saxons JBO Tryouts will take place Feb. 20-21 at South Salem High School.

Midget age level players, ages 9 and 10, will try out from 9-11 a.m. Feb. 20 and from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Feb. 21.

Junior age level players, those 11 and 12, will try out from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Feb. 20 and from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 21.

Senior players ages 13 and 14 will try out from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 20 and from 9-11 a.m. Feb. 21.

For more information, go to the Saxon JBO website http://www.leaguelineup.com/saxonbaseball.

Banquet

Central High School will recognize the top athlete from each sport at the Panthers Awards Dessert from 4-6 p.m. on June 4.

The cost is $5 and proceeds will go to purchasing plaques for the athletes.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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McKay senior Tristan Reedy

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Sprague junior Teagan Quitoriano

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North Salem freshman Ian Carlos

Seven West Salem High athletes signed or committed to play a college sport in a ceremony Wednesday.

Paige Amador committed to play softball at Lewis & Clark.

Markus John signed a letter of intent to play football at Western Oregon. John, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound senior, was a first-team all-Greater Valley Conference selection as a junior.

Jonathan Terleski signed to play baseball at Linn-Benton. Terleski, a pitcher and outfielder, was a first-team all-GVC player as a junior.

Matt Lester also signed to play baseball at Linn-Benton. Lester is a left-handed pitcher.

Jacob Kizer signed a letter of intent to play football at Washington. Kizer, a 6-5, 235-pound tight end, was a first-team all-state player at defensive line as a junior.

Hunter Mosman signed to compete in cross country at Western Oregon. Mosman placed fifth in the GVC and 32nd at the 6A state meet as a senior.

Jake Thompson committed to play football at George Fox. Thompson, a 6-3, 260-pound tackle, was a second-team all-GVC player as a senior.

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West Salem senior Andrew Kauffman

Signings

Football: Sprague senior Anthony Nunn signed with College of the Siskiyous. Nunn, a first-team all-GVC and honorable mention all-state running back as a senior, rushed for 1,620 yards and 28 touchdowns on 259 carries as a senior.

Soccer: North Salem senior Alicia Maciel signed a letter of intent to play at Chemeketa. Maciel is a midfielder and forward.

Track and field: Amity senior Brady Baughman signed a letter of intent to compete at Mt. Hood. Baughman placed second in the West Valley League and seventh at the 3A state meet in the 800 as a junior last season.

Soccer: McNary senior Michaela Sanchez signed to play at Chemeketa. A defender, she was an honorable mention all-conference selection as a senior.

Football: Dayton senior Matthew Shouldis signed to play at Western Oregon. Shouldis was a first-team all-West Valley League selection at defensive end as a senior.

Honors

Santiam Christian senior Hunter Bain was named a finalist for the Scholar/Athlete Awards by the Portland Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Bain, a senior linebacker and quarterback, was a first-team all-state defensive player this season for the 3A state runner-up Eagles.

He is one of 16 finalists who will be honored at the group’s banquet Feb. 28 at the Red Lion Hotel-Jantzen Beach.

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South Salem senior Vincent Villarreal

Athletes of the week

Tristan Reedy, Vincent Villarreal, Teagan Quitoriano, Ian Carlos and Andrew Kauffman were honored Feb. 5 as athletes of the week by the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club.

Reedy, a senior swimmer for McKay, set a personal record in the 100 breaststroke against Forest Grove and swam on the winning 400 free relay team.

Villarreal, a senior wrestler for South Salem, is 19-1 this season wrestling at 195 pounds.

Quitoriano, a sophomore guard for Sprague, scored 36 points in a win against West Albany and 21 points against McKay. For the season he is averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Carlos, a freshman wrestler for North Salem, is 19-1 this season, placed first at the Pacific Coast Championship and was third at the Coast Classic.

Kauffman, a senior swimmer for West Salem, is a two-time district champion in the 200 freestyle and the returning champion in the 500 freestyle.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

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The Blanchet bench celebrates a play in the Colton vs. Blanchet boy’s basketball game at Blanchet Catholic School in Salem on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016.

By some measures, No. 4-ranked Blanchet Catholic School’s upset of No. 3 Colton won’t mean a ton.

Yes, the win puts Blanchet into a tie with Colton for the lead of the PacWest Conference, but it probably won’t have many implications toward the state postseason.

What it does show is that the Cavaliers are legitimately among the best boys basketball teams in the state.

Blanchet started strong, answered every run in kind and never trailed in a 56-44 upset against the Vikings at home Tuesday night in a PacWest Conference game.

“Tonight we had a pretty simple game plan, we wanted to limit their 3’s and just take care of the basketball and just play smart,” Blanchet coach Scott Cantonwine said.

“I thought that every time they made a run, we answered it somehow. Every time we made a turnover, we created a turnover, fortunately got a stop on defense so consequently we had a good run.”

Blanchet (18-5) snaps the 11-game winning streak of Colton (20-3) and creates a tie with a 10-1 record for first place in the PacWest with each team having one conference game remaining.

“We just outplayed them this game, I think, and it’s a big exclamation point going into state and get us going before that,” said freshman RJ Veliz, who scored 14 points.

Blanchet played a tough nonconference schedule this season – all of the team’s five losses came to teams in the top five in the OSAA’s power rankings.

Beyond the conference standing implications, the Cavaliers’ win against Colton establishes the team among the state’s elite 3A teams.

“Obviously we had a pretty good schedule this year, and we knew that, we wanted that,” said senior Ben Bartch, who had 15 points. “And we felt like this one especially proved to each other who we are going into our league tournament and the state tournament and that kind of stuff.”

Colton won 58-50 when the teams played Jan. 19, but this time Blanchet tried something different defensively.

The Cavaliers started the game with a full-court press and transitioned to a zone defense in an attempt to limit the Vikings from 3-point range.

“We used that same zone against Salem Academy and it worked against them, too,” said senior Nate Cantonwine, who scored 15 points. “The goal against Salem Academy was to stop the shooters so why not do it tonight, too?”

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David Anderson cheers for the Colton Vikings in the Colton vs. Blanchet boy’s basketball game at Blanchet Catholic School in Salem on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016.

Blanchet led 27-20 at halftime, but Colton got hot and Garrett Collins’ fast-break lay-in cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 27-25.

But every time in the second half that the Vikings cut into Blanchet’s lead, the Cavaliers answered.

Veliz and Harry Witwer-Dukes hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Blanchet led as much as 44-34 in the third quarter after a floater by Veliz.

The potent, experience backcourt of Cantonwine, Witwer-Dukes, Veliz and Nicholas Orlandini hit seven 3-pointers, including four in the third quarter.

“We have really experienced guys who play and I think coming down and just having confidence and just letting it fly, we knew that if they hit a 3 or had a lay-up or something, we knew we could come down and score,” senior Ryan Scanlan said. “We knew we could, we just had to get stops and build a lead.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 881-8545 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Blanchet 56, Colton 44

Colton: Garrett Collins 11, Nation 10, Raasch 9, Basargin 8, Davis 2, Jones 2, Wallaert 2, Knott, Ryan. Totals 18 3-9 44.

Blanchet: Ben Bartch 15, Nate Cantonwine 15, Veliz 14, Scanlan 6, Witwer-Dukes 3, Orlandini 3, Collier. Totals 17 15-23 56.

3-point goals: Colton 5 (Nation 2, Basargin, Collins, Raasch); Blanchet 7 (Cantonwine 3, Veliz 2, Witwer-Dukes).

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Silverton’s Blake Cosgrove (13) stretches for the basket in the Corvallis vs. Silverton boy’s basketball game at Silverton High School in Silverton, Ore., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.

SILVERTON – Playing defense was a struggle at times for the Foxes.

But they did when it mattered.

The No. 8-ranked Silverton High boys basketball team played tough in the fourth quarter to upset No. 6-ranked Corvallis 57-54 Wednesday night in a Mid-Willamette Conference game.

The Foxes held Corvallis to two field goals in the fourth quarter and a 3-point attempt by Ben Rodgers came up short with 1.9 seconds left.

Silverton’s current six-game winning streak has put the team back into the conversation of the top teams in the state.

“At the start of the year I feel like we were playing not to lose, but I feel like the last four or five games we’ve been playing with a lot more joy, and that just helps us,” said Silverton senior Sam Roth, who scored 15 points.

Silverton (14-6) moves into a tie with Corvallis (14-6) for first place in the Mid-Willamette Conference at 8-2.

A couple weeks ago, it seemed unthinkable that the Foxes would be in this position.

“It’s been tough all season long,” Silverton coach Steve Roth said. “I think the weight of expectations has weighed heavy on us through all of the season.

“I think we’re getting over it and just playing more freely now. I don’t think we’re as good as we need to be yet, and I think we’ll be better hopefully.”

Silverton led 26-17 after a Blake Cosgrove basket off an assist by Sam Roth with 4:56 left in the first half, but Corvallis went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 26.

A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Julian Downey gave Silverton a 29-26 lead at halftime.

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Silverton’s Riley Haben (10) shoots the ball in the Corvallis vs. Silverton boy’s basketball game at Silverton High School in Silverton, Ore., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016.

Corvallis got hot from 3-point range early in the second half then got baskets in the transition and built up a 44-38 lead off Rodgers’ lay-in with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We had trouble defending all night,” Steve Roth said. “They made us look silly for much of the game, running their stuff. They just run their stuff really well, they’re patient and pass the ball really well.”

Silverton went on a quick 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers by Downey, to lead 50-45 and never again trailed.

Downey scored 20 points, including six 3-pointers in the game.

“He’s in the gym all the time and he’s grown up shooting and he’s done a really good job of working hard all the time,” Sam Roth said. “I think he’s prepared for it. I think he just loves it, he loves the fourth quarter.”

Cosgrove converted a three-point play with 3:57 left to give Silverton a 53-50 lead and hit a fast-break basket off an assist by Roth with 2:14 left to put the Foxes up 57-52.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Silverton 57, Corvallis 54

Corvallis: Matthew Davis 18, Rodgers 13, Humphreys 7, Zalesky 5, Beaubien 4, Schmidt 4, Ellenson, Demello. Totals 20 7-14 54

Silverton: Julian Downey 20, Roth 15, Cosgrove 13, Martinson 4, Dahl 2, Haben 2, Larinov 1, Nielsen, Shippen. Totals 22 6-9 57.

3-point goals: Corvallis 5 (Rodgers 3, Zalesky 2); Silverton 7 (Downey 6, Cosgrove).

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North Salem High School freshman wrestler Ian Carlos (left) practices with teammate Adan Ramos (right) on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2015.

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North Salem High School freshman wrestler Ian Carlos on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2015.

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North Salem High School freshman wrestler Ian Carlos on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2015.

It takes a special wrestler to disprove the theory that a freshman must have an acclimation period when they transition to high school wrestling.

Ian Carlos has.

A freshman at North Salem High School, Carlos is 26-1 this season and ranked No. 3 at 126 pounds by Richard Rockwell going into the Greater Valley Conference district wrestling meet Friday and Saturday at Forest Grove.

“He just grew up really fast,” said senior teammate Adan Ramos. “From one year to another it was just a way different Ian, a lot stronger, a lot harder to wrestle.”

That’s not to say Carlos hasn’t had a learning curve.

There was the time he didn’t make weight for North Salem’s dual meet against Sprague.

“Going from kid’s wrestling to high school wrestling, it’s a big change, a lot more cutting weight,” Carlos said. “I remember not wrestling for one tournament so I could get my grades up. I won’t let that happen again.”

Though Carlos is a phenomenon in the high school wrestling world, he is well known in youth wrestling.

He has been wrestling since he was 3 years old and spent most of his youth wrestling with Salem Elite Wrestling Club.

“He’s physical,” said Sprague freshman Daniel McClung, who is ranked No. 2 at 113. “He just doesn’t give up and he keeps going.”

Raised in a wrestling family, Carlos trained extensively with his father, Ruben Carlos, who now coaches outside of high school for Hot Shots Wrestling.

The foundation Carlos built from all those years wrestling with Salem Elite is paying dividends in high school now that his strength has caught up with his skill.

“It did. It really did,” Carlos said. “They started me off pretty good. My dad gave me that big jump from that level to this level.”

For a guy who won the state championship at 102 pounds when he wrestled in the middle school state tournament last year to be up to the 140 pounds that he weighed Monday – “I’m kind of chubby,” he says – is a significant transformation.

In other words, he doesn’t look like a freshman.

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North Salem High School freshman wrestler Ian Carlos on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2015.

“Since we knew he was going to be so competitive coming in, we made sure to get him into a weights class first semester, and he’s been hammering out on the weights,” North Salem coach Andy Pickett said. “I think the resistance training combined with all the cardio stuff has compiled together.

“It was a really cool transformation because even this summer he looked a little chubby, vs. now he looks kind of like a man.”

The one criticism is that he and North Salem didn’t compete in a number of the state’s most highly regarded regular season tournaments such as the Reser’s Tournament of Champions or the Oregon Classic.

That doesn’t dim the expectations of him at the GVC district meet or the OSAA Class 6A state wrestling tournament.

“He’s already faced most of the guys, and although we didn’t go to Reser’s or the Classic, we saw a bunch of the tough guys there, then we went up to another 32-man tournament in Washington and saw most of Washington’s toughest kids, and Ian handles himself at high levels,” Pickett said.

“When he’s going up against high level opponents, he handles himself the same. We’re expecting him to go out there and win, along with picking up pin points along the way.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

District wrestling meets

Greater Valley Conference: Friday-Saturday at Forest Grove

3A Special District 3: Friday-Saturday at Scio

2A/1A Special District 3: Saturday at Gilchrist

District swimming meets

Greater Valley Conference: Friday-Saturday at McMinnville Aquatic Center

Mid-Willamette: Friday-Saturday at Osborn Aquatic Center, Corvallis

4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 3: Friday-Saturday at South Albany