SWIMMING
Swim teams represent well at State Championships
I
n the state’s most competitive meet, the Taft 7-12 swim team outpaced several schools and brought some well deserved hardware back to Lincoln City after the State Championships. The Tigers sent several swimmers to the 2020 State Swim meet in Beaverton on Feb. 21-22, including three relay teams and two swimmers competing individually. “Altogether with the relays, swimmers and some alternates, we took 13 out of our 25-member swim team to state,” head coach Lissa Parker said. Competing against 20 other 4A/3A/2A/1A schools, the Tiger swimmers showed up ready to compete by clocking personal best times on the opening day of the meet. However, only the top six swimmers qualified for the finals on day two. The Taft girls were represented by Ella Knott, Napy Meyer, Lesley Lagunes and Sammy Halferty in the girls 400-yard freestyle relay. The group finished with a time of 4:14.11, which landed them in 12th place. “The girls relay team was lucky to get in as an another relay dropped out, so they did not expect to advance very far but they still dropped quite a bit of time and tried their best, so it was nice that they were able to participate,” Parker said. “Their relay pre-districts overall dropped 15 seconds in the course of two weeks.” The boys relay team of Sam Cortes, Jose Segura, Dylan Barrera and Mugen Evenson represented Taft in the 200-yard medley relay. The team swam a 1:50.83 in the preliminary trials, just missing out on a spot in the finals. “The boys 200 IM relay narrowly missed
qualifying for finals by less than a second, and if they had been given a chance to swim in finals their final time would have garnered them a 5th place finish,” Parker noted. Although they missed out on a finals berth in the 200 IM relay, the same group of boys competed in the 400-yard freestyle relay, and they competed well. Facing off with the likes of powerhouse teams like Newport, Marshfield, St. Mary’s and others, the Taft boys swam a swift time of 3:35.03 in the prelims, just edging out Marshfield for second. “The most exciting race of the whole meet was the qualifying 400 free relay for the Taft boys,” Parker said. “They were able to garner a second place going into finals and it was just a very exciting moment for everyone on the team.” In the finals, Marshfield and St. Mary’s were a few seconds quicker, and surpassed Taft, who placed fourth at 3:36.25. In the individual events, Evenson and Cortes both competed in the boys 200-yard IM. In the prelims, Evenson made a big leap forward to place 10th at 2:17.79. “Mugen, as a freshman, was able to go from 12th place in the 200 IM up to 10th,” Parker said. For Cortes, he swam a 2:07.93 in the prelims and a 2:07.69 in the finals to solidify his spot in the third place among a competitive field of swimmers. Cortes also swam well in the boys 100-yard backstroke, placing 7th in the prelims and just missing out on a finals position. “We are also very pleased to see Sam do as well as he did in his second year going to state and getting a third place in his 200 IM,” Parker said. “Overall we ranked 10th out of 20 teams for the boys.”
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BASKETBALL
Taft boys show growth during season of adversity
T
he Taft 7-12 boys basketball team battled injuries throughout the year and ended with a 4-15 overall record and played a tight game with Clatskanie in the first round of this year’s league playoffs. Senior Lucas Hindman received Second Team All-League honors while teammate Trenton Fisher was an honorable mention to round out Taft’s awards on the basketball court. In Taft’s final home game against Rainier, the team recognized its four seniors on the team this season: Jordan Hall, Eli DeMello, Fisher and Hindman. “We’ll miss their leadership and their passion,” Andy Morgan said of his seniors. “They’re all good kids, fun to be around and work with
Trenton Fisher
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everyday. In my two years here, they’ve helped build a foundation for the program.” Although both the final two games of the season ended in losses to Clatskanie 74-71 and 64-55, Taft had a pair of highlight performances from their seniors. In the first game, Hindman was red hot from the three-point line and poured in 28 points in the game. “Lucas had some injuries this season and has at times been pretty critical of himself, so to see him get hot from outside was really great to see,” Morgan said. In the final game, the sharpshooting Hall had a career game by scoring 30 points for Taft, most of which came in the first half of the contest.
Girls basketball makes great strides during long season
T
he last two basketball seasons, the Taft 7-12 girls basketball team accumulated just five wins. This year, in a single season, the Lady Tigers doubled that win total and won a league playoff game for the first time since the 2016-17 season. After dropping a home game to Rainier on Feb. 11, a team Taft had beat twice already in the 2019-20 season, the Lady Tigers learned that they would be traveling to Rainier for the first round of the Coastal Range League Playoffs. Taking the long trip on Feb. 17 and having lost to the Columbians on Senior Night just a few days before, Taft entered the game with some extra energy. “There was added motivation, in that we didn’t play well against them the week prior and in losing to them, we lost our opportunity to get a home league playoff game,” head coach Jake Tolan said. In a competitive game throughout, the home town Columbians seemed to have the upper hand on Taft for most of the game. However, the fighting spirit of the Tigers never let up and the girls were able to knock down some late game free throws to get them into overtime and eventually in the winning column. “Two things stood out to me the most: Our team’s resiliency and execution toward the end of regulation and overtime,” Tolan said. “We trailed most of the game, but continued to work hard and made some crucial free throws at the
end.” Taft prevailed for a 43-40 overtime victory to advance to the second round. Senior Autumn Ellis led the way for the Tigers by tallying 16 points while teammate Claira Tolan chipped in nine. The win put Taft in a second round matchup with Warrenton the following day, once again having to make the long bus trip. An exhausting overtime game the night before, coupled with a long trip up the coast caused Taft to start slow in the first half of the game. Warrenton went on to win 38-20, ultimately putting an end to Taft’s season. Losing just three seniors from this years roster, the girls basketball team should be loaded up with talented and experienced players going into future seasons. The Taft coaching staff is hoping to utilize the summer schedule to improving and gaining confidence for the 2020-21 season. The three seniors: Emma Coulter, Autumn Ellis and Brooke Orendorff, were commended by the team for their effort throughout their years in a Taft jersey. “We will be losing three seniors who have given a lot over the past four years to our program,” Tolan said. “I think what we will miss the most from our seniors next year is their on and off the court leadership. They will be greatly missed next year.”
Tiger Sports Recap • 3
FOOTBALL
Homecoming win highlights up and down season for Taft football
I
t was cold, wet and a big time Homecoming victory for the Taft 7-12 football team Oct. 8. The Tigers doubled up their Homecoming and Senior Night festivities during the last home game of the season against Willamina. The Tigers scored early and scored often in the first half. First on a long run on fourth down by junior JJ French to give Taft a 6-0 lead, then on a senior Logan Gilleo run after a drive that included long runs from him, breaking multiple tackles. Taft led 14-0 after the first quarter. During stormy conditions, ball security is often the key to victory. Throughout Friday night, the Tigers made a point of protecting the football. “Limiting turnovers was definitely a point of emphasis all week in practice,” coach Jake Tolan
said. “I really feel having two days prior to Friday in similar weather conditions up on the grass field really helped us prepare.” Gilleo would find the end zone again in the second quarter after a long run, shaking off Bulldog defenders. As the offense continued to roll, the defense was a stonewall, giving up hardly any yards and forcing Willamina into tough positions. “Besides getting a shutout, I was most impressed with how many three-and-outs we had and limiting Willamina to very few offensive yards on the entire night,” Tolan said. “Our entire defense played well Friday and the kids were aggressive and physical all night.” Midway through the second quarter, junior quarterback Fco Ramos found senior Trenton Fisher for a long touchdown pitch and catch as
Logan Gilleo
Taft showed they could run and throw in any weather. During the second half, the Tigers continued to pound the Bulldog defense in the running game, racking up 381 yards on 48 carries throughout the night. Doing the bulk of the damage was the tandem of Gilleo and French. Gilleo carried the ball 21 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns and French had 140 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. Ramos not only passed the ball well, he also ran it effectively, tallying 104 yards on nine carries and a touchdown. Taft won easily 50-0. Prior to the game Taft recognized its 13 seniors including Gilleo, Fisher, Jordan Hall, Tristan Beach, Trenton Hall, Arnaldo Ortiz, Micah Davis, Alec Bosworth, Elin Fitch, Jace Phippen, Tyrese Hellman, Bane Brown and Tony Garcia.
CROSS COUNTRY
Taft runners hold their own at State Championships
I
t was a special season for the Taft 7-12 cross country team. After numbers were low to begin the year, the Tigers continued their streak of sending a boys team to the State Championship while also sending their first girls runner in a decade. The Tigers took to the State course at Lane Community College on Nov. 9. First up was senior Autumn Ellis, who competed as an individual in the 5,000 meter 3A/2A/1A girls race. Facing a field of 85 runners, Ellis turned in a respectable time of 21:54.80 in her final race of her career to place 38th overall. Next up, the boys team ran against nine other 3A schools and ended up placing eighth
4 • Tiger Sports Recap
Brooke Orendorff
collectively. Senior exchange student Matias Vesma was the top Tiger finisher at 17:19.90 to place 18th overall. Senior Lucas Hindman placed 30th with a time of 18:02.40, followed by junior Rafael Perez Del Valle at 19:05.50, which placed him at 49th. Sophomore Brayan Mateo was 53rd, senior Hunter Lundstedt was 54th, freshman Cooper Fitch was 61st and freshman Eli Jones was 63rd to round out Taft’s efforts. “We have athletes from every walk of life,” coach Eva Ahumada said. “Coaching is definitely my favorite part of my work day. They are a truly great group of kids. I am proud to be a part of their lives and excited to see what the future holds for them.”
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WRESTLING
Taft has historic weekend at State Tournament T aft 7-12 wrestling coach Robb Ellis took a young group of five to the State Tournament this year, not sure what to
expect. What he and the rest of the state saw was something that exceeded everyone’s expectations. The ‘Five Alive,’ as they’ve been dubbed, took to the OSAA State mats on Feb. 28-29 at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Portland. The Tigers pitted Riley Ellis, Jose Flores, Jace Phippen, William Calderon and Arnoldo Ortiz against a competitive 3A classification. Wrestling at 113 pounds, Flores started off the tournament with a bang for Taft, upsetting top seeded Asher Hall from Irrigon (12-7 decision) in the quarterfinals “He dominated the match and really turned a lot of heads,” Ellis said. Flores kept the momentum going by easily defeating Caleb Perez of Santiam Christian by a 13-4 major decision to advance to the finals. In the finals, Flores met a familiar opponent in Blake Runion of Amity. Both juniors, Flores and Runion have formed a friendship over the years and it was fitting that Flores’ incredible tournament run would be capped off with a battle against a district foe. In the end however, Runion earned a 16-9 decision after scoring a couple of late points in the final seconds of the match. “Jose wrestled with a lot of heart and really attacked his opponents,” Ellis said. “Other coaches and the crowd were shocked and he drew a lot of compliments from his opponents.” In the 152-weight bracket, Riley Ellis was forced to prove his worth after being somewhat overlooked among a competitive field of
Jace Phippen wrestlers. Riley drew a tough first match against Kyler Wells of Sutherlin, who carried a 27-3 overall record and had beat Riley earlier in the season. This time around, Riley was dominant and pinned Wells in just over two minutes of work. For Coach Ellis, it was not only a proud moment for him as a coach, but as a father as well. “I am super proud of my son Riley,” Coach Ellis said. “He greatly improved as the season went along.” After his big win in the quarterfinals, Riley faced Anthony Moulton of Burns. A scary moment occurred early in the match, as Moulton lifted Riley in the air, planting
Riley Ellis him onto his head. The match was stopped and unnecessary roughness was called on Moulton, which resulted in a point for Riley and disqualification for Moulton. Riley advanced to the finals, but was declared to have a concussion and was medically ruled out for the tournament, resulting in a second place finish. Other Taft wrestlers who fell short of the finals included Arnoldo Ortiz at 126 pounds, William Calderon at 145 pounds and Jace Phppen at 285 pounds. In his final high school tournament Phippen had a weekend to remember. As a two-time state qualifier, Phippen upset the 3rd seed from Santiam Christian with a first round pin in the
quarterfinals. He then went to the semifinals against a Dayton wrestler who beat him at districts. “Jace wrestled much better this time and kept the match very close but ended up losing,” Coach Ellis said. “His next match to try and place was against the 2nd seed who was upset earlier from Brookings-Harbor. Jace fought very hard and only lost 5-2. He came up just short of placing 4th. Jace will be missed he has had great work ethic.” As a team, Taft placed 10th overall among 3A schools thanks in part to the 27 combined points from Flores and Riley. The final result gave Taft their highest finish in team history after setting the record at 16th last year.
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Tiger Sports Recap • 5
VOLLEYBALL
Young Taft volleyball squad looks to bright future T
he Lady Tigers volleyball team had one of its best seasons in recent memory. Taft finished 7-13 overall with a 4-4 record in league play. Their stellar play gave them a spot in the district playoffs where they defeated Rainier 3-1 before losing to Willamina 3-0 in the second round. “We have a crazy young team that’s only going to get better the longer they play together,” head coach Kelsey Hart said. “We’re definitely in a great position to continue our upward trend of improvement.” The Tigers may have a young team, but they were not lacking in talent. Three Taft volleyball
players earned All-League honors, led by sophomore Lily Hatton, who was named First Team All-League. Freshman Natalie Gates was named to the Second Team, while junior Keeara Harmon was given an Honorable Mention to round out Taft’s season awards. Taft’s season was highlighted by several victories over league foes Clatskanie and last year’s league champs Rainier. “We had a good idea about what Rainier would throw at us, and what to do to defend against it,” Hart said after their last win over the Columbians. “The girls executed our game plan beautifully.”
Lily Hatton
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BOYS SOCCER
Boys soccer makes history in 2019 season I
n the 2019 boys soccer season, the Taft 7-12 Tigers had an undefeated regular season, won the District Championship, claimed eight post-season awards and made it to the semifinals of the OSAA State Playoffs. Saying it was a historic year for Taft soccer may be somewhat of an understatement. “I can’t say it enough about how proud I am of these boys,” head coach Ryan Ulicni said. “They have truly shown what a team can become and what they can accomplish when you put in the effort, believe in yourself and never give up.” Taft’s round one win over Central Linn put them in a second round game against Riverdale Nov. 9. Riverdale eliminated the Tigers from the quarterfinals in the 2017 State Playoffs and was coming off a 1-0 victory in the first round. In the first half, Senior Edson Fuentes got the Tigers on the board with a goal that gave Taft a 1-0 lead going into the half. In the second half, Riverdale scored on a scramble at the net that saw the ball trickle in after some physical play. After that, the momentum shifted in favor of
the visiting Mavericks. “We have experienced this before and talked about it greatly in practices on how to get ourselves back into playing the game the best we know how,” Ulicni said. “It was fantastic to see the team pull together and bring it back under control. A game like this being so endto-end packed with action and fouls it was only going to take one moment to change it.” And that moment came late in the game when the Riverdale goalkeeper got out of position, allowing Fuentes to sneak behind him, receive a long pass and punch it in for the game winning goal. Taft then went on to face eventual State Champion Catlin Gabel in the semifinals. It was a battle between two unbeaten teams when the Tigers traveled to Catlin Gabel, just one game away from the State Championship. The home team would score several goals early on in the contest, en route to a 6-0 victory. The Tigers will lose several seniors from this year’s squad including Player of the Year and team captain Edson Fuentes, who was a lethal
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Estib Hernandez scorer all year and defender and team captain Estib Hernandez, who was a key player on the backline. Additionally, Ulicni said he will miss the uniqueness, energy and speed of role player Kaden Wright. “He split his time between track and soccer,
but could also make an impact jumping into the pace of the game,” Ulicni said. “I will always feel like I should have given the seniors more, but I am honored to share the accomplishments we had this year.”
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Tiger Sports Recap • 7
GIRLS SOCCER
Lady Tigers win league playoff game, narrowly miss State
W
ith one win needed to reach the State Playoffs, the Taft 7-12 girls soccer team fell just short against Dayton in the District Playoffs. The Lady Tigers traveled to Salem Academy Tuesday, Oct. 29, to play the host Crusaders in the first round of the Special District 2 playoffs. The two teams were deadlocked at 0-0 early on before sophomore Saige Ulrich delivered a timely pass to junior Avery Nightengale, who converted the goal to give Taft a 1-0 lead going into halftime. In the second half, Nightengale played the role of facilitator and found senior teammate Sammy Halferty for a goal, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead. With a two goal advantage, Taft remained in complete control and easily turned away each attack by the Crusaders. “Defensive was solid, no viable attacks by SA’s offense,” coach Joey Arce-Torres said. “Chloe Peterson made life miserable for their top scorer. She had a great match, along with Jaelyn Olmeda and Saige Ulrich.” The Lady Tigers met the Dayton Pirates at Salem Academy Nov. 2 in the second and final game of the Special District 2 Playoffs. After getting numerous attempts at goals in the first half, Taft was unable to convert after
Ella Knott
fourth in the league. Despite falling short of their goal, Taft did collect several post season awards, including the team Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive season. In her final year, senior Sammy Halferty was named Player of the Year in the Special District 2 to go along with her First Team All-League honor. Other awards included a Second Team All-League award for Avery Nightingale, as well as Honorable Mentions for Chloe Peterson, Delayna O’Daniels and Corey Van Damme. Taft had five seniors on the roster, which included Halferty, Corey Van Damme, Ella Knott, Fatima Lupercio and Autumn Ellis. “I am so proud of those seniors, especially Sammy and Fatima who played all four years and were significant leaders from June to October, they will be dearly missed!” Arce-Torres said.
double-digit shots on goal. Dayton took one shot all half and made it to give them a 1-0 advantage at halftime. “Impressive play all around,” Arce-Torres said of the game. “Second half saw similar results. We were unable to get that equalizer and then Dayton got a second goal that sealed the deal.” Dayton took a 2-0 victory and earned a spot in the State Tournament, while Taft placed
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