By James Day
Stayton High School didn’t have to look too far to find a new athletic director.
Principal Alan Kirby has hired a Stayton resident, former Silverton High teacher and boys basketball coach Darren Shryock to replace Evan Brown, who resigned earlier this year.
“Probably the biggest challenge for me will be adjusting to life outside of the classroom and having my own team,” Shryock told Our Town. “My role will be different for sure. Instead of teaching and coaching kids, I will be coaching teachers and coaches. I hope to take what has worked for my team and my classroom and incorporate those ideas into the school as a whole. Stayton has a tremendous tradition, and I hope to build on that tradition. I am excited about joining Alan and (vice principal) Debi (Brazelton) on the administrative team. The potential for Stayton is outstanding; I hope to be a part of realizing that potential.”
“We hired Darren because of his ties to the community, his athletic experience, success, and philosophy, his academic background, and his ability to connect with students,” Kirby told Our Town.
“One of our goals for the athletic department is ensuring that the different programs and coaches at SHS are unified in regards to our student-athletes. We want to be sure that Stayton athletics have a positive environment where our kids can learn the values of working as a team, achieving goals and having great sportsmanship. We want our teams competing at the highest level possible and want to support our coaches in doing what it takes to give our athletes the best chance of success. I see Darren supporting our coaches towards these goals and helping our school achieve a common philosophy for athletics.”
Shryock has been at Silverton for 12 years, winning Mid-Willamette Conference championships in 2010 and 2013 while finishing third in the Class 5A state tournament both years. He will not be coaching in his new position.
“It has always been my long-term goal to be an AD,” Shryock said. “There is a lot of time away from family with that job so I was waiting until my kids were almost graduated before actively pursuing it. My youngest will be a sophomore next year, so when the opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a good time to jump in.”
Baseball and softball: The Regis baseball team made a strong run in the Class 2A-1A playoffs, advancing to the semifinals before losing 7-1 June 3 in the semifinals against eventual champion Monroe. The Rams finished second to Kennedy in the Tri-River race, but Regis ousted the Trojans in a thrilling 8-6 eight-inning quarterfinal win May 30 in Mount Angel.
Kennedy led 5-2 heading to the top of the seventh, but Regis rallied for three runs, tying the game on a suicide squeeze bunt by Bryce Piete. Tim Frith, who tripled in a run in the seventh, added a three-run double in the top of the eighth to push the Rams into the semis. Regis finished 23-6.
Cascade advanced to the first round of the Class 4A playoffs before falling 9-8 to Ridgeview of Redmond.
In softball Regis, which overcame a 1-9 start to tie for third in the Tri-River with Kennedy with a 12-4 league mark, was ousted 10-0 on May 28 by Union-Cove in the playoffs.
Stayton beat Sweet Home 1-0 on May 28 in the Class 4A playoffs before falling 2-0 May 30 in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Henley of Klamath Falls.
All-academic: Stayton and Regis turned in top 10 performances in OSAA’s spring academic listings. Stayton’s girls golf team finished tops in Class 4A with a cumulative 3.91 GPA. The Eagles’ softball team finished seventh with a 3.45 GPA. Regis took sixth in boys track and field (3.39 GPA), seventh in softball (3.56 GPA) and eighth in boys golf (3.40 GPA).
All-state: Regis baseball placed three on the second team of the Class 2A-1A all-state team. Honored were junior infielder Tim Frith, senior outfielder Colby Moll and junior outfielder Blake Minten. Cascade pitcher Mitchell Bell received honorable mention on the Class 4A all-state team.
Stayton runs: The 4th of July running events start at the Stayton Community Center on West Burnett Street at 9 a.m. and include a 3K run-walk, a 5K trail run and a 10K run. Day of the race registration costs $15 and opens at 8 a.m.
The Oregonian Cup: In the annual all-sports, all-school year competition compiled by the Oregonian, Regis finished sixth in Class 2A. Cascade was 16th in Class 4A. The standings are based on a combination of athletic success in Oregon School Activities Association competitions, academics (teams receive points for having a cumulative GPA in the top 10 in their activities) and sportsmanship (teams earn extra points for having no ejections).
Rodeo: 2014 Cascade graduate Darcie Himmelspach won the right to participate in the barrel racing event in the National High School Rodeo Association championships July 13-19 in Rock Springs, Wyo.
“I feel very blessed and excited to be able to qualify for such a thing,” Himmelspach said. “My horse Beans and I have worked really hard to get where we are today.”
Himmelspach, who will attend Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton this fall and compete on its team, estimates it will cost $3,000 for she and Beans to make the Wyoming trip. Contributions to help the young rodeo rider realize her dream and compete would be welcome. She can be reached at 503-508-8892 or darciehimmelspach@aol.com.
