Silverton finished 11th as a team at the Class 5A state wrestling championships Feb. 22-24 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
Leading the way for the Foxes was junior 285-pounder Brash Henderson, who dominated his weight class on the way to his first state championship. Henderson, who took second last year at 220 pounds, scored two pins and a 12-5 major decision to reach the finals, where he faced Isaac Jordan of Lebanon and scored a 3-1 victory.
The Foxes scored 67 team points, with junior Bo Zurcher taking third at 157 pounds via a fall against Jesse Hernandez in the final. Also scoring points for Silverton were Kingston Meadors (126), Ezequiel Agala-Liago (150), Mitchell Magill (175) and Ethan Graham (190).
The Silverton girls finished 20th in Class 6A-5A with 29 points, led by fifth-place finishers McKayla Bonham (125) and Ella Lulich (190). Bonham pinned Kassidy Hadden of Thurston in her match for fifth, while Lulich won by fall against Katelyn Dow of Thurston.
Earlier, the Silverton boys took fourth place with 203.5 points at the Mid-Willamette district meet Feb. 16-17 at the Salem Armory Auditorium. Perennial power Dallas ran away with the team crown with 500.5 points, 220 ahead of runner-up West Albany. Henderson and Zurcher won district titles, while Graham was 2nd, Meadors and Agala-Liago took third and Magill was fourth.
Kennedy, meanwhile, scored eight points in the boys Class 2A/1A state meet, with Julio Reyes Hernandez (120) and 285-pounder Evan Wyatt participating. Both wrestlers finished third in the district meet at Toledo on Feb. 10. Senior Isaac Berning, who finished with a sterling 27-7 record in his first season on the mat, took fifth at districts at 190 pounds, as did 175-pounder Creo Walker. Grant Bruner (165) and Angel Lopez (120) took sixth, while the Trojans finished 7th as a team with 93 points.
Swimming: Both Silverton teams finished in the top 12 at the Class 5A state championships Feb. 16-17 at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center, with coach Lucky Rogers telling Our Town “this is better than I had envisioned when the season started, so a good season.”
The boys finished with eight points, good for tenth place, with the girls totaling three points and a 12th-place finish.
Sophomore Nolan Horner took fifth in both the 50 and 100 free and broke a 1989 school record in the longer race, where he swam 50.15. Also breaking the school record was the boys 400 free relay team, which finished fifth in 3:26.22. Horner was joined by freshman Hunter Siewell and juniors Joey Walker and Carter Daniel on the record-setting relay foursome.
Sophomore Breeza Rodriguez sparked the girls for the Aqua Foxes, finishing sixth in the 100 backstroke in a personal best 1:03.42. Silverton’s 200 free relay quartet of juniors Kailea Buckley and Cordelia Bay and senior Ella Mantie and sophomore Khylee Howell also took sixth in 1:48.58.
In the Mid-Willamette Conference district meet Feb. 9-10 at the Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis the girls took second place, just five points behind champion West Albany. The boys were third behind West Albany and Crescent Valley. Horner broke the school record in the 50 free with a 22.43 while taking third. Bay (second in 100 free) and Rodriguez (second in 100 back) paced the girls, who took second despite not winning an event.
The girls went 8-0 in league dual meets, with the boys finishing 6-2. Rodriguez and Horner earned the two team MVP awards, with senior Evie Smith taking home the Dennis Downey Award for the most inspirational swimmer.
Volleyball: Silverton standout Alexis Haury signed her letter-of-intent to play in college for the University of Washington at a ceremony in the school library.
Haury, a two-time all-state pick and 2022 Mid-Willamette Conference player of the year, ended her career as the school leader in kills (season and career), aces (season and career) and the career leader in both assists and digs.
“Alexis is the most talented volleyball player I’ve had the chance to work with, but she is also one of the most humble and academic focused young women I have ever met,” Foxes coach Kirsten Barnes told Our Town.
Silverton finished 12-8 last fall and advanced to the round of 16 of the Class 5A playoffs before falling to eventual state runner-up Bend.
Boys Basketball: Kennedy finished its season 18-9 after falling to Stanfield 56-45 on Feb. 23, in the Class 2A playoffs. The loss left the Trojans one game short of a return to Pendleton for the Class 2A tournament. Kennedy finished third a year ago. The Trojans were 11-5 in the Tri-River Conference, losing twice to Regis and twice to Western Christian in the league season. Western is the top seed and Regis is No. 2 in the 2A tournament.
Umpires: The Oregon Athletic Officials Association and the Oregon School Activities Association are recruiting officials for the high school spring sports seasons. There is an immediate need for umpires in baseball and softball.
Becoming a high school official has several benefits including staying involved in athletics, maintaining good physical condition and earning money, according to OAOA Executive Director Jack Folliard.
“Oregon has an urgent need for officials in all sports,” Folliard said. “Officials provide valuable service to high schools and students, make a positive impact in the community and build relationships.”
Those interested should visit www.newofficials.org/.
