Stayton High’s new Ty Hart Fitness Center has sprouted impressively on a piece of ground between the Eagles’ gymnasium and the football/soccer/track and field stadium.
Our Town toured the under-construction facility, with Booster Club President Randy Forrette noting that the project is on schedule and should be ready to use in the fall.
The $1.5 million facility will offer a state-of-the-art physical training component for Stayton students and athletes and also will have a large room for athletes seeking medical treatment and therapy as well as office space and storage.
“If everything keeps going the way it has, we’ll be ready for the start of school, maybe by the first of August,” Forrette told Our Town.
Forrette also noted that there are different levels of “being done,” indicating that the building could open safely if only some minor touch-up work was required.
The 60×100-foot building feels surprisingly cavernous once you are inside, with Forrette noting the series of big pieces left – drywall, painting, the HVAC system and laying artificial turf on the floor of the exercise-lifting area.
On the day I visited a pair of Booster Club members were supervising a student cleanup crew that filled a pickup bed with debris to get the center ready for painting.
“I can’t wait to see it with some color in it,” Forrette said, imagining the walls awash in classic Stayton navy and gold. The presence of multiple glass overhead doors allows a lot of natural light into the building.
Forette emphasized that not a dime of school district money is being used on the project, which is being paid for with cash donations of about $1 million plus $500,000 in labor and materials from generous local companies.
“This project is a huge compliment to our community,” Forrette said. “We’re just so appreciative.”
And the money is paying for more than just the fitness center. The entrance roads from the parking lot have been realigned and a new entrance to the football/soccer/grack stadium is part of the overall package.
Forrett said he and others in the design crew were influenced by the new entrances they saw at the redesigned Reser Stadium.
“We wanted that sort of grand entrance, that’s what we are going for,” Forrette said.
The stadium entrance set up will debut Friday, Aug. 30 when the Eagles open the football season against visiting Molalla.
The fitness center honors Ty Hart, a Class of 2012 Stayton student and athlete who died while flying a helicopter for the Marine Corps in Hawaii in 2016.
Baseball: Regis, which won Class 2A-1A’s Special District 2 with a perfect 18-0 record, dominated the all-district team. Bryson Nygren was named pitcher of the year, Max Eaton was player of the year and Kyle Baker took coach of the year honors for the Rams, who finished 22-5 overall. Also on the first-team were catcher Noah Koenig, first baseman Luke Castillo and outfielders Kollin Schumacher and Parker Bartholomew. Korben Schumacher was a second-team outfielder and infielder Rook Smith received honorable mention.
Meanwhile, in Class 4A’s Oregon West Conference Cascade placed four athletes and Stayton three on the all-district team. Jaimen Whelden was a first-team pitcher for Cascade, while pitcher Slade Hudson, outfielder Carter Condon and catcher Braden Johnson earned honorable mention for the Cougars. Infielder Oliver Hunt, outfielder Kaden Arnold and catcher Hudson Hughes received honorable mention for Stayton.
Softball: Regis pitcher Addison Bishop was a unanimous first-team all-Class 2A-1A Special District 3 choice for the Rams, who finished second in the league behind undefeated Santiam. Also unanimous picks on the first team were infielder Mayla Manning and flex player Abby Searles. Catcher Hadley Foster and infielder Abbie Kintz were placed on the second team and infielder Ava Spencer received honorable mention.
Coaching Honors: Stayton grad Anna Heuberger, the girls soccer coach at Gladstone, was named Oregon Girls Soccer Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High School Associations. Heuberger, a 2007 Eagles graduate, played college soccer at Chemeketa and Warner Pacific and earned a master’s degree from Portland State. The former head coach at Class 6A McMinnville, Heuberger is 26-7 in her three years at Gladstone, with two trips to the Class 4A state semifinals and one visit to the quarterfinals. Heuberger teaches history at Gladstone.
Honored with years of service at the May 18 banquet at Autzen Stadium were Stayton athletic director Darren Shryock (35 years) and Stayton girls basketball coach Tal Wold (25 years).
