A Mount Angel JBO squad has won a state title for the second consecutive season. The program’s Junior American squad finished a 4-0 run through this year’s tournament with an 11-1 win against the Spartans in the championship game at North Clackamas Park. The team’s Midget American squad, including many of the same players, was a state winner a year ago.
The 2023 squad outscored foes 61-27 during the tournament, downing the Spartans 13-10, Milwaukie 25-20 and Scio 12-6 before the repeat win vs. the Spartans in the title matchup. Pitchers Ethan Berning and Blake Panuke teamed up to limit the Spartans to just one run in the finale.
Joining them on the roster are Hayden Jones, Will Hitz, Peyton Traeger, Jackson Sellin, Lincoln Hoffer, Connor Rich, Malachi Banducci, Joseph Pratt and Ismael Vaquera. The team was coached by Nathan Pratt, Joe Panuke and Michelle Dehut-Ellis. Hayden Traeger served as the bat boy.
Two-time state champs on the roster included Blake Panuke, Malachi Banducci, Connor Rich, Jackson Sellin, Lincoln Hoffer, Joseph Pratt and Hayden Jones.
Volleyball: Kirsten Barnes is the new volleyball coach at Silverton High. This is not a new position for Barnes, though, who coached with the Foxes from 1996 to 2010 while serving as the head coach for 11 years, including a total of eight Pac-9 or Mid-Willamette Conference titles.
Barnes wears hats almost too numerous to count, including teaching and coordinating in the school’s Career Technical Education (CTE) department, real estate work and volunteering with the American Red Cross. Pursuit of her doctorate played a role in her decision to step back from coaching in 2010. She said it was the pursuit by Foxes athletic director Andy Jones that led her to return to coaching.
“Mr. Jones asked me to consider coming back to coach several times this spring, and as I thought about it, I realized that I would enjoy that challenge and missed many of the aspects of coaching athletic teams,” Barnes said in an email exchange with Our Town.
Barnes added that “it’s an open-ended assignment. The girls have had several coaches for one year and need some stability to help them continue to improve. They haven’t had a coach who is on staff in many years, and I hope that will also help them transition from summer to school and day-to-day life at school. There is an advantage to being at school each day and seeing what is going on, before student-athletes get to practice.”
The Foxes were 23-5 last year and advanced to the Class 5A state tournament under coach Reilly Rosecrans. There were eight underclassmen on the 2022 roster, including setter Alexis Haury, the Mid-Willamette Conference player of the year.
“On paper, there are potentially eight returning volleyball players on the varsity team,” Barnes said, “but there are also a lot of players who played on developing teams within our system last year that are coming along strong and will challenge upperclassmen for roster spots on the team.”
The community interest is there. Barnes reported that more than 160 third through 12th-graders signed up for the team’s summer camp.
“I see a lot of really great things happening as the girls drill and play together, and many of our players have been working hard during the offseason to improve,” she said. “It makes for a very competitive tryout to make the team. We are excited about the future of Silverton volleyball and expect to have a strong team.”
Running: It was a family affair Sunday, Aug. 6 at the annual Homer’s Classic runs. Amid moderate temperatures, high clouds and even a few sprinkles, Gonzaga University runner Tommy O’Neil won the men’s 8-kilometer run over the Gallon House Bridge in 25:49, more than four minutes ahead of Johnathan Kintz, a senior this fall at Kennedy High. O’Neil’s mother, Deanna, a long-time Homer’s Classic participant who signed up for the race in January, ran 33:34.7 to finish fourth overall and win the women’s division by more than four minutes. Kennedy runners took the top spots in the 2K event, with Jeremiah Traeger capturing the race in 13:43.5. Rachael Kintz was third overall and the first female finisher in 15:10.7. A total of 110 runners and walkers participated in the event, whose proceeds benefit cross country and track and field programs in Silverton and Mount Angel.
Submitted Photo
Lord Gets Scholarship: Silverton High 2023 graduate Avery Lord was one of five Oregon students who received $1,000 scholarships from Citizens Bank. All applicants participated in a hosted visit with a local Citizens Bank branch and the winners were selected based on their essays describing what they learned about community banks and their benefit to local economies.
The other winners were from Lakeridge, Gladstone, Santiam Christian and Oregon City.
Lord, who will attend the University of Southern California in the fall with hopes of earning a doctorate in occupational therapy, also served as a co-captain on Silverton’s girls soccer squad, which finished third in the Mid-Willamette Conference and advanced to the Class 5A playoffs.
