By James Day
The Silverton High volleyball program turned in its finest season in 40 years.
The Foxes, who finished second in the Mid-Willamette Conference, advanced to the state tournament with a 3-0 win vs. The Dalles on Oct. 31.
At state the Foxes fell to eventual state champion Summit High School of Bend in the quarterfinals and lost a hard-fought five-set match to Ashland in the consolation round.
The final eight appearance was the best showing for Silverton since 1975.
“This was such a great season,” Coach Jill Walker told Our Town. “The Lady Foxes worked hard and accomplished great things. I’m so very proud of these ladies!”
Silverton, which finished 16-9, placed three players on the first and second teams in the MWC. Kayce McLaughlin was a first-team outside hitter, while middle blocker Olivia Pavlicek and setter Ally Fennimore were placed on the second team. Honorable mention went to Maggie Buckholz – outside hitter, Rachel Renfrow – middle blocker, Megan Mannion – libero, and Annika Gulstrom – outside hitter.
“We are loosing two seniors, Ally Fennimore and Rachel Renfrow (middle blocker),” Walker said. “Both played a key role in our success this season. Rachel had some of the best play of her season during the state tournament. She really stepped up and fought for her team. Ally’s sets and court awareness are going to a challenge to replace. Both are great girls and will be missed.”
Kennedy, meanwhile, finally figured out how to deal with league rival St. Paul and rode that success all the way to the state semifinals. The Trojans, who lost to the Buckaroos twice early in the Tri-River season, downed St. Paul on the final day of the regular season Oct. 27 and then took out the Buckaroos in the Nov. 6 quarterfinals at the Class 2A tournament at Ridgeview High in Redmond.
The Trojans, in their first year under coach Jessica Schmidtman, fell to eventual champion Burns in the semifinals and finished fifth overall. It was the third consecutive year that Kennedy, which finished 24-7, has placed at state, following a fifth-place finish in 2014 and a fourth in 2013. Junior Lakin Susee was named to the second team on the all-tournament squad
Cross country: Silverton’s Maddie Fuhrman finished fifth in the girls race and the boys team turned in the best performance by a Foxes squad since 1991 at the Oct. 31 OSAA state championships at Lane Community College in Eugene.
Fuhrman, a senior, ran 18:54 to score the highest placing of her high school career and equal the highest placing for a Silverton runner at state since 1985.
“I’m happy with the way I ran although I wish the race had gone differently,” Fuhrman said. “But I’m really happy with fifth place. And it was really cool to see the boys run so well and finish so high.”
Freshman Haile Stutzman was the highest finisher for the eighth-place boys, running 17:12 to finish 39th. Also scoring for the Foxes were Sam Roth (47th, 17:28), Wolfgang Seifer (48th, 17:29), Anthony Eubank (59th, 18:02) and Hosea Catterall (63rd, 18:12).
“They should be very proud of themselves as I am,” Silverton Coach Erik Cross told Our Town. “The future looks bright and the program is growing.”
Cross also had strong praise for Fuhrman, who set a school of 18:38 for 5,000 meters earlier this season.
“She is one of the most dedicated student-athletes I’ve coached,” he said. “As accomplished as she is athletically she is equally exceptional as a teammate.”
Kennedy also turned in an excellent showing at state, with the girls taking sixth and the boys 10th. Sophomore Kaylin Cantu (seventh in 19:49) and freshman Alejandra Lopez (eighth in 19:59) led the girls effort, while senior Adrian Parra was sixth in 16:40 to lead the boys.
Also scoring for the girls were Clarissa Traeger (46th, 22:41), Ysenia Gomez (64th, 24:01) and Gabriela Cortes (75th, 25:01. Backing up Parra for the boys were Kyle Kinyon (57th, 18:44), Noe Jines (59th, 18:47), Brandon Salazar (79th, 19:24) and Brandon Rendon (97th, 20:24).
“The state meet went well for our team and I was really impressed with how we competed,” Trojans Coach Steve Ritchie told Our Town.
Ritchie noted that the girls squad featured four first-year runners and with Cantu just a sophomore, the future looks bright.
Parra missed breaking his school record by just three seconds, Ritchie said “Adrian’s consistency and big-race performance over the past four years stamps him as the top distance guy in my tenure.”
Soccer: Lady Foxes senior forward Baylie Cameron was named co-player of the year in the Mid-Willamette Conference after helping lead Silverton to a second-place finish in the conference.
Silverton lost to La Salle Prep 3-0 in the round of 16 of the Class 5A playoffs. The Falcons play for a state title this weekend.
Silverton’s Hailey Satyna and Lizzy Roth were named to the MWC first team, with Hannah Munson, Heidi Moore and Maggie Roth earning spots on the second team. Honorable mention went to Caitlin Keating and Hannah Doyle.
“Sometimes you bite the bear and sometimes the bear bites you,” Foxes Coach Gary Cameron told Our Town after the loss to La Salle.
Cameron and assistant coach Fred George led Silverton to back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Mid-Willamette Conference and the final 16 both years.
“It ends like this for every team but one, but we thought we would last a little longer,” Cameron said.
“It’s the destination, not the journey,” said Baylie Cameron. “This team has been through a lot together. We’re all for each other and there is no drama. We look out for each other on and off the field.”
“It’s been amazing to be part of this team,” said Satyna, a senior. “We’re so close, it’s kind of like we’re a family.”
Meanwhile, the Foxes’ boys soccer team also had a strong season. Silverton took third in the Mid-Willamette and won its playoff opener 1-0 against North Eugene before falling on the road to Hood River Valley 1-0 in the round of 16 to finish 7-6-3. Hood River also is in the championship match in 5A.
Ethan Crofts, Chase Ellis and goalkeeper Ethan Risby were first-team all-MWC selections for the Foxes. Crofts led the team in scoring with 10 goals. Risby turned in four shutouts and 97 saves. Kirk Martinson and Jonathan Reyna made the second team. Honorable mention went to Isaac Doyle and Aiden Bahr.
“We had a very successful season on and off the field,” Coach Kyle Calder said. “I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished. Making it to the playoffs and earning a winning record were two big goals for us this season and we accomplished them. I am excited for the future of Silverton soccer.”
Football: Kennedy, which tied Regis and Central Linn for first place in the Tri-River Conference, earned seven spots on the all-league first team. Running back Bishop Mitchell and lineman Jeremy Kliewer were named on offense, with defensive backs Mitchell and Brett Traeger linebackers Dylan Arritola and Owen Seiler and kicker/punter Angel Mendez selected on defense. Mitchell was a unanimous pick on offense and Traeger and Arritola were unanimous choices on defense.
In addition, second year Trojans coach Joe Panuke shared coach of the year honors with Dusty Burchfield of Central Linn and Kyle McGrath of Regis.
Traeger (quarterback), Seiler (wide receiver), Arritola (tight end), running back Jacob Lopez and linemen Enrique Larios and Davi Soto were on the second-team offense. Tom Schmdt and Mendez (defensive back) and lineman Kliewer made second-team defense.
The Trojans opened Class 2A playoff action with a 53-12 thumping of Irrigon on Nov. 6. Kennedy, ranked No. 4, hosted No. 6 Burns at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13 after Our Town’s presstime.
Silverton, meanwhile, ended its season at 5-5 after a 45-0 Class 5A playoff loss at Crater in Central Point. The Foxes fell behind 28-0 in the first 10 minutes and suffered another injury in an injury-riddled season, this time to emerging running back standout Perry Davis.
“We gave it our best,” Foxes Head Coach John Mannion told the Medford Mail-Tribune. “Things kind of got away from us, but it was caused by them. They won the game fair and square. I think they’ll go a long way.”
Silverton, which had to battle back from a three-game losing streak, won its final two Mid-Willamette Conference games to finish in a three-way tie for third and advanced to the playoffs via tiebreakers.
The Foxes earned four first-team spots on the all-MWC team: running back Noah Dahl, defensive lineman Jose Diaz and offense linemen Brett Miller and Owen Koger. Davis was a second-teamer at running back and defensive back, joined by punter Ian Woolsey and offensive lineman Dustin Gubbels. Honorable mention awards went to David Espe, defensive lineman; Brett Miller, defensive lineman; Ian Woolsey, linebacker; Ben Biben, linebacker, and Elijah Nielsen, tight end.
