The Cascade High volleyball team, state Class 4A champions a year ago, came within one match of repeating. The Cougars, who battled injuries and lineup tweaks, went undefeated in the Oregon West Conference but fell 3-0 in the state title match to top-ranked Marshfield.
“This season has been one for the books, that’s for sure,” Cougars coach Cristina Williams said.
Early in the season Cascade lost senior outside hitter Lucretia Benolken to a knee injury, forcing Williams to insert some younger players into the lineup. Senior Meah Carley was shifted to the new position of setter.
“Meah is a natural,” Williams said. “She is an athlete and made it look so easy. She hands down is one of the best setters in the state. She was a huge part of our offense.”
Carley was named OWC player of the year and Williams coach of the year after their 10-0 league season. Benolken won honorary player of the year honors, a distinction usually set aside for an injured player.
Annabelle Peterson, Jadyn Daviscourt and Bella Oliver of Cascade were named to the first team, with Kamryn Sande and Tayler Kamm receiving honorable mention.
Benolken was able to return to the squad in the second half of the season and she also participated in the state tournament. Cascade, the No. 2 seed, blanked Henley in the quarterfinals and Mazama in the semis before falling to Marshfield. Carley, Peterson and Daviscourt were named first-team all-tournament, with Benolken landing on the second team.
Stayton, which finished 9-10 and lost in the 4A play-in round to La Grande, placed Lydia Bielenberg on the OWC first team, Molly Schotthoefer and Kaley Sitton on the second team and Laina Atiyeh and Mercedes Comstock on the honorable mention list.
Football: Stayton finished second in the OWC at 5-1 and was 7-3 overall after bowing out to Pendleton in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. The Eagles captured 16 slots on the all-OWC team, eight on offense, seven on defense and one specialist.
Offensive honors went to Cody Leming (1st team QB), Ty Borde (1st team RB), Jace Aguilar (1st team WR) and Gabe Erickson (1st team tackle) as well as Travis King (2nd team slot back), Brock Hubert (2nd team TE) and honorable mention players Tanner Starbuck (slot back) and Mason Maurer (guard).
Defensively, Hubert and brother Kale Hubert were honored on the 1st team at defensive line and inside linebacker, respectively. They were joined by outside linebacker Borde and DB Starbuck. Second-teamers included lineman Chance Ellingsworth and DB Bishop Smyzd, with DB Aguilar earning honorable mention.
Leming also was named all-OWC punter.
Cascade, 4-6 after it ended the season with a playoff loss at La Grande, earned 13 spots on the all-star squad. Karsten Sande was a first-team slot back, Jacob Bell was 2nd team at RB and four members of the Cougars’ offensive line – Brayden Scott, Evan Fitzgerald, Teagen Allen and Cole Records, were named to
the second team.
Tight end Jackson Walsh earned honorable mention. On defense, Cascade’s Trenton Wymore at inside linebacker and Sande at DB earned first-team slots. Lineman Brayden Lekkerkerker was on the 2nd team, while lineman AJ Xiong and DB Gaje Nicholson received honorable mention. Sande was a second-team specialist at kick returner.
Regis, which tied with Colton for the Tri-River Conference title, earned 19 slots on the all-league squad, led by defensive player of the year Thomas Bischoff, who also earned first-team mention at linebacker.
Kollin Schumacher was a two-way first-teamer at quarterback and defensive back for the Rams. Also on the first team were WR Tim Crowell, offensive lineman Casey Voltin, kicker Luis Perez-Villegas and defensive lineman Cody Ditter. On the second team were TE Ditter, DB Crowell, Perez-Villegas at running back and LB Luke Bischoff.
Earning honorable mention were Perez-Villegas (punter and linebacker), DB-WR Noah Koenig, WR Charlie Miller, center Thomas Bischoff and defensive lineman Mark Nusom.
The Rams, under first-year co-coaches Alex King and Joe Manibusan, finished 9-2 overall and advanced to the Class 2A quarterfinals before falling 8-6 to Heppner.
Boys Soccer: Stayton went through the regular season undefeated before falling to Oregon West Conference rival North Marion 3-2 in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
The Eagles, who finished 12-1-3, won the league title with a 7-0-3 mark, ahead of 6-0-4 Philomath and 4-3-3 North Marion. Stayton had beaten the Huskies twice, by 1-0 and 3-0 scores during the league season.
The Eagles placed eight players on the OWC all-star squad, and coach Chris Shields earned coach of the year honors. On the first team for Stayton were Ismael Esparza, Jesse Wright, Owen Samuell and Omar Garcia. Angel Garcia and Luis Mejia were placed on the second team, with Kevin Aceves and Addison Samuell earning honorable mention.
Cascade, which finished 7-7-2 overall and lost to No. 2 Henley in the first round of the 4A playoffs, earned four slots on the all-star squad. Bryan Cortez was named to the first team, Sam Horne and Jacob Hampton were placed on the second team and Spencer Horne received honorable mention.
Cross Country: The Stayton girls squad took second at the Oregon West Conference meet and then finished fifth at the Class 4A state championships. Leading the way for the Eagles was Haley Butenschoen, who took second at the district meet and 11th at state. Hope Bridge was a solid No. 2 runner, taking third at districts and 12th at state. Makaila Kuenzi of Cascade took 37th for the Cougars after a 4th place finish at districts.
Cascade took 12th in the 4A boys meet after qualifying second at the OWC district meet. Ethan Kuntz took 28th to lead the Cougars at state. He was sixth at districts.
Clara Person of Regis, running as an individual, took 25th in the Class 3A-2A-1A state meet after finishing third in the district meet.
Alumni Watch: Jordan Farr, the former Cascade and Corban University goalkeeper, was in goal for San Antonio’s 3-1 win against Louisville City in the United Soccer League championship match on Nov. 13 at Toyota Field in San Antonio. Farr, who played with the Charlotte Eagles, the Portland Timbers U23 and the Indy Eleven before joining San Antonio FC, was named USL goalkeeper of the year.
The USL is one step below Major League Soccer, the top rung of American soccer.
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