By James Day
The Regis boys and girls basketball teams both are undefeated in Tri-River Conference play and ranked in the top three in the state at the halfway point of the league season. The boys are 13-5 overall and 7-0 in the Tri-River, one game ahead of Central Linn and are ranked No. 3 by the OSAA. The Rams’ girls team is 16-1 overall and is one game ahead of 6-1 Kennedy in league play. Regis is 7-1 against teams in higher classes, with its lone loss to Valley Catholic. The Rams are ranked No. 2 by the OSAA.
Scio’s girls (11-7 overall, 6-1 in league) lead the way in the PacWest-North.
Cascade’s boys team is 15-1 overall and ranked No. 2 behind North Valley in the OSAA’s Class 4A rankings. But that lone loss was an Oregon West Conference defeat at the hands of Newport. Stayton and Philomath are tied for the league lead at 2-0. The Cougars are 1-1. The Cascade girls team is 2-0 in Oregon West play, one game ahead of four teams, including 1-1 Stayton. The Cougars are ranked No. 5 in Class 4A by OSAA.
In other news:
The Cascade High football team, which turned in a sterling first season under new coach Steve Turner, had three athletes earn Class 4A all-state honors.
Senior Justin Kruse was named to the first team as a defensive lineman and to the second team at center.
Senior Cody Crawford was a second-team pick at quarterback and an honorable mention choice at linebacker.
Junior offensive lineman Caylan Stark earned second team honors.
The Cougars finished 10-2 in 2012, earning a share of the Oregon West Conference title and advancing to the Class 4A semifinals before falling to eventual champion Baker 35-29 in triple overtime.
Oregon State junior swimmer Crystal Kibby, the former Cascade High athlete, placed in the top three in three events in the Beavers’ Jan. 19 dual meet vs. Utah in Salt Lake City, one day after posting a pair of wins against BYU in Provo. Kibby’s win against Utah came in the 200-yard breaststroke. She nearly topped her best time of the season in that event, but her 2:19.95 was good enough for first place and she won by more than 1.5 seconds. Kibby also pulled in a third place in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.12 and a second in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:08.85. In the BYU meet Kibby won the 100 breast in 1:05.50 and the 200 IM in 2:06.25. She won both races by more than four seconds.
Senior Javier Topete of the Oregon West Conference champion Stayton boys soccer team was named first time all-state for Class 4A. Topete led the team in scoring with 17 goals and led the Eagles in scoring in three of his four seasons at Stayton. “He has the ability to put a team on his back and from a standpoint of defending him it has to be a team effort,” said Eagles coach Chris Shields. “He along with our other three seniors will be difficult to replace.” Stayton won the OSAA Class 4A title in 2010, advanced to the semifinals in 2011 and made it to the quarterfinals in 2012.
Sublimity resident and former Stayton High athlete Chris Purdy ranks first on the Linfield men’s swimming team in the 200 breast with a mark of 2:26.36. Purdy, who transferred to Linfield from Chemeketa Community College, is third for the Wildcats in the 200 IM at 2:20.47.
Stayton’s Emma Englehart, meanwhile, is fifth on the Linfield women’s swimming team in the 100 back (1:20.66).
Former Scio athletes Haley Guest and Codi Shull are playing their freshman seasons at Chemeketa Community College. The 5-8 Guest is averaging 4.4 points per game, with a high of 18 Dec. 28 vs. Treasure Valley. The 5-6 Shull is averaging 3.8 points per game and is second on the Storm with 18 3-pointers. The Storm are 10-8 overall and 3-2 in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges South Division through games of Jan. 19.
Former Stayton standout Courtney Cremer is in her first season as an assistant coach for the Willamette University women’s basketball team. Cremer, who also serves as a business operations assistant in the Willamette athletic department, played at Portland State from 2007-2011 after helping lead Stayton to the OSAA Class 4A state title in 2007.
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