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Off to med school: Former Foxes wrestler Izaak Tobin paces OSU squad in GPA

James DaySometimes the statistics don’t really matter. Sometimes it’s what you do off the playing field that ultimately counts. And what you make of your opportunities.

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Izaak Tobin Karl Maasdam

The record shows that Izaak Tobin, a two-time runner-up at the state wrestling tournament while at Silverton High, was 17-16 in his career at Oregon State, with a 2-2 mark in his just-concluded senior year. The Beavers compete at the highest level of college wrestling and won five consecutive Pac-12 championships from 2012-16.

Although disappointed in the wrestling portion of his college experience Tobin graduated with a degree in exercise and sports science and was the top academic performer on the Beavers squad his final two years.

“He’s one of the best team guys I’ve ever had,” OSU coach Jim Zalesky told Our Town. “If you could buy stock in him you would. When these kind of kids graduate you really miss what they meant to the team. He always battled and made the top guy (at his weight) better.”

Tobin also faced some academic challenges before righting the ship. Early in his OSU career he was emphasizing wrestling instead of schoolwork and one day found himself sitting there with a 2.65 grade-point average and his medical school dreams on the rocks.

Tobin called it his “mid-college breakdown,” but with the help of his girlfriend at the time, who told him to believe in himself, Tobin battled his way back and achieved top academic standing on the wrestling squad. He consistently turned in a GPA above 3.5 and got a part-time job tutoring other student-athletes.

He’s planning to take the MCAT medical school qualifying exam June 1 and then will work during a “gap year” before heading to med school. He hopes to work in the emergency field, citing the heartbreaking incident at Silverton in 2011 when a Dallas wrestler died on the mat after winning a match.

“I want to have the knowledge and skills to make a difference in a situation like that,” said Tobin.

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Cade Roth

Signings: All-state and all-state tournament performer Cade Roth has signed to play college basketball at Westmont in Montecito, California.

Roth, a 6-5 senior, averaged 18 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the Foxes, who finished 25-2 and took fourth at the Class 5A state tournament. Roth also was Mid-Willamette Conference player of the year after leading Silverton to a perfect 14-0 league record.

Westmont won out among six other California schools because of Roth’s liking for the Warriors’ coach, John Moore, and the school’s physical therapy program.

Cade Roth told Our Town that one of the reasons he is pursuing a career in physical therapy is because he has had so much experience with it. Roth tore a knee ligament before his junior year and broke his pelvis right before the end of school last year and also has two broken collarbones and a broken ankle.

“I had physical therapy after every injury,” he said. “They helped me so much and I want to give back.”

Luckily for the Foxes his injuries always took place away from the high school season.

“In all four years of Silverton basketball I never missed a game.” Roth said, “but I missed 60 percent of my AAU games.”

Roth signed his letter to attend Westmont at an April 19 ceremony on campus that also featured five other Foxes. Spencer Clements and Kobe Garcia signed to play football at George Fox. Brooke McCarty (basketball) and Colton Meyer (baseball) are headed to Linfield. Cross country runner William Sisley will join Roth at Westmont.

Track and field: The Kennedy track program, a perennial contender at both the district and state level, has another fine crop of talent turning in top marks.

Junior Hallie Sprauer, who transferred to Kennedy from Horizon Christian, broke the 20-year-old triple jump record by recording a 34-8 mark, more than a foot beyond the 1998 distance of 33-7 set by Renee Eder. Sprauer ranks No. 1 in Class 2A in the event while also participating in the high jump, the 4×100 relay, the long jump and the discus.

Also performing well for the girls squad are distance runner Alejandra Lopez, throwers Makayla Massey, Lilly English and Abby Frey, multievent standouts Emma Beyer and Hailey Arritola. Junior Lily Flud has soared 9-8 in the pole vault, 8 inches better than the school mark.

Top boys performers include sprinters Emorej Lynk and Micah Porter, 400-800 runners Jannick Schneider and Luke Hall, thrower Nick Suing and freshman vaulter Gianni Velazquez.

The Trojans are missing some key pieces, however. Kaylin Cantu is sitting out the track and field season with knee problems, while promising hurdler Carlos Saravia is out with a dislocated shoulder.

The injury bug also has hit the coaching staff. Steve Ritchie, in his 20th year with the program, is using a padded sling after recent surgery to repair a shoulder injury.

Silverton, meanwhile, also has some athletes listed on the state charts. Savannah Reilly is tied for second in Class 5A in the high jump (5-2), while Natali Tomlin is fourth in the triple jump (34-10), Jori Paradis is sixth in the 800 and the 4×400 relay squad of Paradis, Addie Schmitz, Katie Sinn and Ellie Schmitz ranks fourth. On the boys side Isaac Rush is fourth in the pole vault (13-9).

Hospital run: The Silverton Heath Fun Runs are May 12, with the 1-mile kids run getting underway at 8 a.m. and the 5-kilometer run/walk at 8:45 a.m. The event, which goes back to 1983, charges $7 for the 1-miler and $17.50 for the 5K. Registration is available until May 11 at noon at www.racenorthwest.com

Bowling: Silverton bowler Jace Kincaid came within one pin of a perfect game while bowling in a high school singles tournament in February. Kincaid, a senior whose average has improved from 120 to 158, left just the 7 pin on his final ball for a 299 score after bowling 11 consecutive strikes. Kincaid, Ryan Galvez, Madi Burton Jessica Moreno and Korina Chadwick advanced to the all-stars at districts, while Burton also has earned a spot in a junior tournament in Texas in July.

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