Kennedy High athletes continue to do an excellent job in the classroom as well as on the playing fields.
All 14 Trojans athletic and activity teams turned in cumulative grade-point averages above 3.0, with ten of the teams landing in the top 10 in their OSAA classification. Ten Kennedy teams finished at 3.5 or above.
The highest-ranked team was volleyball, which tied for first in Class 2A with a 3.77 GPA. The best overall GPA was the 3.81 turned in by girls basketball, which was fifth in its class.
Here is a look at the other performances of the Kennedy teams:
• Girls cross country: 3.78, seventh
• Girls track and field: 3.73,
tied for third
• Boys swimming: 3.70, fourth
• Softball: 3.69, fifth
• Baseball: 3.66, second
• Boys basketball: 3.59, fifth
• Girls swimming: 3.53, tied for 16th
• Boys cross country: 3.51, tied for sixth
• Choir: 3.47, ninth
• Boys track and field: 3.38, seventh
• Football: 3.13, sixth
• Wrestling: 3.01, tied for 11th
“I think part of it is we have pretty high expectations for our student-athletes,” Kennedy athletic director Kevin Moffatt told Our Town.
“Our eligibility standards are higher than the OSAA’s, and so kids know they have to perform in the classroom if they want to be on the field.
“Plus we have had really good kids on the sports teams and really great parental support… And best of all, our three-sport athletes have the highest GPA average in the school. That kind of blows away the myth that kids will be too busy to do well in school if they play multiple sports. For all the success we have had on the field and court, I’m truly more proud of the academic success.”
Kennedy also won the OSAA Cup for the fourth year in a row. The award goes to the school with the best combined scores in athletics, sportsmanship and academics. The OSAA will award the trophy to Kennedy at an all-school assembly early next month.
Silverton placed both of its basketball squads in the academic top 10. The girls hoops team was fourth in Class 5A with a 3.78 GPA. The boys were 12th at 3.34. The Foxes finished 11th in the OSAA Cup rankings for Class 5A.
Fall workouts: Kennedy and Silverton athletes are pounding their way through summer camps and conditioning drills this week, with first official practices and tryouts getting underway Monday, Aug. 19. Prospective Silverton athletes with questions should contact Valerie Martinson in the athletic department at 503-873-6331, Ext. 3824 or [email protected]. Kennedy athletes should call the school office at 503-845-6128 or the athletic department at (503) 845-2703.
The first OSAA-sanctioned contest date is Aug. 29 for all fall sports other than football, which can participate in jamborees on that date. The first contest date for football is Sept. 5, but most schools, including Kennedy and Silverton, will open Friday, Sept. 6. Defending Class 2A champion Kennedy opens at Class 3A defending champion Rainier, with Silverton opening Class 5A Special District 3 play at Central.
Homer’s Classic results: More than 90 runners and walkers participated on the annual Homer’s Classic events on Aug. 4. Donovan DeWhitt of Happy Valley won the 8-kilometer covered bridge run in 26:57.0. Linda Kneeland of Bozeman, Montana, was 14th in 36:37.3 and was the first female finisher. Incoming Silverton High sophomore Carter Gauvin won the 2-mile run/walk in 11:50.4. The first female to finish was Lauren Ortega, who finished second overall in 13:49.6.
Summer baseball: Former Silverton pitching ace Colton Meyer just finished the regular season with the Corvallis Knights, a summer collegiate team in the West Coast League. The Knights started playoff action Tuesday against Walla Walla after Our Town’s presstime. During the regular season Meyer, who played this past season at Linfield College, turned in a 1-0 record with one save in 11 games for the Knights. Meyer pitched 19 innings, struck out 15 batters and carried a 3.15 earned run average.
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