By James Day
The Silverton High School dance and drill team has continued the superb record for the Foxes in OSAA competition this school year.
The Foxes took second in the Class 5A small division of the state championships, held March 18-19 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
Silverton, which won the 2014 championship, finished with 80.53 points, trailing only champion The Dalles, which scored 81.56.
Add it up: That’s a state title for boys basketball, second-place finishes for football and dance and a sixth-place trophy for girls basketball. Not a bad start to the school year, huh?
Long-time Silverton dance Coach Paula Magee said dropping down a spot from last year was not an issue for her squad.
“This is a very highly trained team who take competition very seriously,” Magee told Our Town. “Truly there wasn’t much disappointment at all. The team was thrilled to bring a second place state trophy home to SHS.”
Magee noted that the team had to battle through a technical snafu during its finals program.
“There was a small glitch at the beginning of our music causing brief confusion among the dancers as to whether they should continue dancing or stop and wait for the music to restart,” Magee said. “Because of their training they all recovered flawlessly, going on to improve their scores from first round and give an inspiring performance. The judges all commented on the team’s professionalism and superb technique which made the girls all but forget about the miscue.”
Nine members of this year’s squad took home gold medals last season. They are: India Bosshardt, Maddy Hulett, Nicole Finch, Chelsea Godon, Jena Hendrix, Emma Freauff, Sierra Lowry, Alina Stratton and Chryssi Wagner.
Also participating this season were Autumn Parsons, Brenna Beyer, Abby Hulett and alternates Kati Haskell, Elizabeth Wallace, Jenna Slater, Natalie Reutov and Mikayla Hamilton.
Magee, who also coached the Foxes to state titles in 1999 and 2000, was assisted by Emily Sword and Alex Reese.
“This team was able to accomplish in the two weeks leading up to state what would take most teams two months,” Magee said. “Through all of the hard work and countless hours practicing, these girls formed some amazing bonds and made memories that will last a lifetime.”
Girls hoops: The Lady Foxes won one game and lost two in the state tournament after sharing the Mid-Willamette Conference title with Corvallis.
“It was a great year for the Lady Foxes,” second-year Coach Tal Wold told Our Town. “The girls were very easy to coach and were great teammates to each other. We really progressed as the season went along. I think that is going to happen when you have six freshmen and sophomores in your top nine.”
The Foxes, who finished 19-9, lost their quarterfinal match, 41-40, to Corvallis but stayed alive with a 54-42 victory against Pendleton. Silverton then lost 53-43 to Springfield in the game for fourth place.
“I really did not think one way or the other on a state run,” Wold said. “However, as the year went on I did sense there was something special about this group. They competed so hard and gave such a great effort that I was hoping for them they would create some special memories.”
Foxes junior Alia Parsons and freshman Maggie Roth both were named to the all-tournament second team. Parsons, the Mid-Willamette player of the year, was shut out in the quarters against Corvallis, but rallied strongly with 14 points against Pendleton and poured in 26 more vs. Springfield to finish sixth in the tournament in scoring.
Roth, meanwhile, had her fingerprints all over the scoresheet. She averaged 9.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.7 assists while hitting 8 of 11 free throws.
“I have not thought about the future too much.” Wold said. “I have been trying to soak in the special memories and feelings I have for this team. We graduated six great seniors and lost (Sequoia Rysdam) our senior captain (to injury) at Thanksgiving, so how they came together was special.”
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