Kennedy High’s volleyball team completed a near-perfect season Nov. 9 with a 3-0 victory against Central Linn in the Class 2A state championship match at Ridgeview High in Redmond.
The Trojans, who won with match scores of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-18, captured the first volleyball state title in school history and finished 33-1. The previous top finish for the program was second
in 1991.
The lone loss this season was to Sweet Home, which finished second in the Class 4A tournament. Kennedy finished 16-0 in the Tri-River Conference without losing a set. The Trojans finished the season with an 87-8 advantage in sets won.
Kennedy opened the state tournament with a 3-0 win vs. Bonanza and added a 3-1 victory against Portland Christian in the semifinals.
Sophia Carley was named the player of the match for Kennedy in the finals after registering 18 kills and 3 blocks. Also turning in strong performances were Ellie Cantu (25 assists, 7 digs and 6 kills), Ibeth Gomez (11 digs and 8 assists), Elise Suing (10 digs), Hailey Arritola (9 digs) and Emma Beyer (8 kills). Also participating in the championship game were Kelsey Kleinschmit and Meah Carley. Also on the roster are Hallie Postma, Lydia Berning and Emily Cuff.
Carley was a unanimous first-team all-tournament choice, while teammates Beyer, Arritola and Cantu were named to the second team.
Football: Silverton, which plays Scappoose on Friday, Nov. 15 in the Class 5A quarterfinals after Our Town’s press time, placed seven players on the first-team Special District 3 all-star squad.
Named on offense were quarterback Jordan McCarty, offensive linemen Spencer Von Flue and Tashaun Treat and wide receiver Grant Buchheit. Named on defense were lineman Hayden Roth, linebacker Owen Magill and defensive back Tyler Pfeifer.
Roth and Nathan Kuenzi took second team honors at running back, along with tight end Zach MacBean, defensive linemen Von Flue and Treat and defensive back Van Fessler. Receiving honorable mention were MacBean on the defensive line, linebacker Caden Smith, defensive back Austin Ratliff, offensive linemen Tanner Ellsworth and
Jackson Clements and wide receiver Casey Brooks.
Boys cross country: Silverton took seventh at the Class 5A state championships Nov. 9 at Lane Community College in Eugene. The Foxes scored 188 points and trailed only Ashland, Crater, Crescent Valley, Wilsonville, The Dalles and Crook County.
Trevor Ortega finished 17th in 16:21.1 to lead the Foxes. Also scoring were Jadon Mansur (23rd, 16:30.5), Jonathan Hansen (44th, 17:02.5), Carter Gauvin (52nd, 17:12.2), Andrew Fronza (60th, 127:34.4), Colin Allen (74th, 17:57.6) and Sam Ellingson (77th, 18:08.7).
Girls cross country: The Kennedy girls, meanwhile, also took seventh at state, scoring 170 points in the Class 3A-2A-1A competition, trailing only Burns, Union/Cove, Catlin Gabel, Bandon, Lakeview and Neah-Kah-Nie.
Leading the way for the Trojans was Cassie Traeger, who finished 25th in 21:10.0. Also scoring for Kennedy were Kylee Rodriguez (30th, 21:25.5), Aleks Eyles (40th, 22:01.1), Whitney Lopez (53rd, 23:19.6), Mikayla Schaecher (62nd, 24:14.;2), Gisell Juarez (69th, 25:16.5), Haley Kline (72nd, 25:21.0).
Boys soccer: Silverton turned in a 9-3-3 record in the Foxes’ first year under new coach Marty Limbird and advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Silverton took second in the Mid-Willamette Conference with a 5-1-2 mark and thumped Ridgeview in the first round of the playoffs before falling 1-0 at Wilsonville in the quarters.
Foxes forward Britton Ullan, who scored a school record 21 goals, and playmaking midfielder Cory Garlinghouse were named to the All-Mid-Willamette Conference first team. Defender Trysten Wertz and midfielder Brandon Rodriquez earned second team honors, while defender Victor Lopez and goalkeeper Owen Cote received honorable mention.
Girls soccer: Silverton turned in a sparkling 4-0-1 run down the stretch in the league season to earn fourth place in the Mid-Willamette. The Foxes lost 2-1 to Churchill of Eugene in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs and finished 6-6-2 overall.
Ellie Schmitz was named to the all-league first team, with Chloe O’Connor and Monica Guerrero earning second-team slots and Alexa Lanning and Annika Rogers receiving honorable mention.
Boys hoops: Silverton has landed in the prestigious Capital City Classic tournament for the second time in three years. The Foxes finished third in 2017, losing only to Mater Dei of San Diego.
Silverton opens Dec. 18 at 5:30 p.m. against Sherwood. A win there means a quarterfinal appearance Dec. 20 against either Thurston of Springfield or Ranchgo Christian of Temecula, California. Rancho Christian features Evan Mobley, one of the top recruits in the nation.
The tournament runs through Dec. 23, with all games at Willamette University in Salem.
Alumni update: Ex-Foxes cross country runners Haile Stutzman and Jori Paradis continue to shine in their freshman years at college. Stutzman, now at Huntington University, on Nov. 10 became the first freshman to win the Crossroads League championship, running a personal best 24:51.9 for 8K at South Bend, Ind.
Paradis, meanwhile, ran 23:18.5 for 6k to finish 136th and help lead Concordia of Irvine, California, to 15th place in the NCAA Division II West Regionals in Monmouth.
Winter update: The first sanctioned practice date for winter sports basketball, swimming and wrestling is Monday,
Nov. 18. The first-contest date is Dec. 4.
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