The Advocate, Issue 30 - May 27, 2016

May 27, 2016

the

Independent Student Voice of MHCC

Volume 51 Issue 30

A MOMENT OF

JUBILATION CHAMPIONSHIP WIN FOR MHCC PAGE 8

Lunch on the roof PAGE 4

Bond flop examined PAGE 2

Track star wins All American PAGE 7

“I swear anyone watching me eat this sandwhich would think I was on drugs.” - PAGE 5

2 PAGE Editorial

OPINION

2

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A post-mortem: MHCC bond in retrospect When they awoke on election day, May 17, Mt. Hood leaders and supporters hoped the $125 million MHCC bond measure for new construction and facility improvements, which the state of Oregon would have matched with an additional $8 million, would be passed by voters in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas and Hood River counties.

Instead, they headed for bed wondering, what’s next? And we at the Advocate join them.

If you have not heard about MHCC’s general obligation bond by now, the Advocate’s not sure where you’ve been, because we’ve been talking about it since last year.

If the bond measure were to have passed, the money would’ve gone towards a new Workforce and Applied Technology Center on the Gresham campus, a completely rebuilt and expanded Maywood Park campus, important facility repairs and other needed educational-related support.

Setting the bond measure effort motion last winter, MHCC’s Board of directors didn’t want to sound overly optimistic, but they were certainly enthusiastic. Members would go on to support the bond to the best of their ability – even if

board members Michael Calcagno and Sonny Yellott did warn they thought it was too soon to pursue a bond measure in May, given only a half-year to raise money and launch a successful outreach campaign.

Obviously, the board wanted to think strategically, since $8 million was on the line from the state (to be withdrawn if a bond measure didn’t succeed by 2016). And, there was early opinion polling organized by MHCC’s hired campaign consultant, P a i g e Richardson, to see which voter groups in the district might vote for, or vote against, a bond measure – plus an “undecided” voter

category.

Looking at those early polling results, slightly more voters voiced support of the college’s effort, the board was told. The Mt. Hood community viewed the college mostly

favorably, in any case, Richardson said.

The goal for the board was to aim towards those who already said “yes” on a bond attempt and to keep them there, and move additional

Graphic by Ivy Davis

undecided voters to “yes.”

It seemed to make sense to make sure to affirm the positive-minded votes, by May. But it also raised the question: What was the extent of marketing aimed at the “undecided” voters?

And why was there no marketing towards “no” voters in order to change their decision? Why not at least some attempt to change their minds?

Raising awareness for a bond measure among the community that already supports Mt. Hood is an obvious step, and is just what the supporters did. But spending more time and effort to sway “undecided” and “no” voters would probably have been a more productive way to gain crucial “yes” votes, we believe.

When speaking to The Advocate, MHCC President Debbie Derr admitted the board and bond committee knew that there were a lot of undecided voters who weren’t convinced. “...We knew that there were a lot of undecided

people and we didn’t move them to be ‘yes’ voters, and so to focus more the next time, perhaps on those undecided voters might be a strategy,” she told us.

Derr went on to say the college and its strategists wouldn’t know the exact demographic breakdown of voters and votes until sometime next month. Bruce Battle, MHCC director of marketing, agreed on the search for more specifics. “That’ll be an important part of taking a look at that and assessing... just digging into those numbers and that data and helping us steer the path,” he said.

At this point, Derr and Battle say they are determined to try again for the bond, but not for another year or so.

We noticed another significant problem in the May 17 voting results.

While the final margin in Mt. Hood’s service district within Multnomah County was relatively close – nearly 59,000 voters rejected the bond measure, 52.7 percent to 47.3 percent – the opposition was huge in Clackamas County.

To view the full unabridged story, visit: advocate-online.net

Everyday interactions can immediately affect you

Gloria Saepharn the advocate

Everyday interactions (even the minor ones) have the ability to change our day. Whether it’s someone you love, a friend or an

the advocate

acquaintance, they have the ability to make your mood falter.

There are people who express their anger, frustration and sadness freely, which may or may not affect the people in their direct environment. On the other hand, the freedom to laugh, cry of joy or celebrate another’s success are happy experiences that allows the chemicals in your brain to react in a way that makes you love being human.

Encountering a friendship that affects the way you think, breathe and view things differently can

Graphic Designers Cody Holcombe Ayla Buckner

Public Relations Manager Emily Wintringham

Arts+Entertainment Editor Adam Elwell

Photo Editor Nick Pelster

Video Editor Chuck Masi

Opinion Editor Gloria Saepharn

Video Team Members Kristina Strickland

Sports Editor Emily Wintringham

by someone’s mood, actions or verbal interactions with you or the environment around you. There can be someone you look up to who seemingly acts as if there’s nothing wrong, but deep down inside, they’re a total wreck.

Those you admire can change your day and make it better, and maybe they’ll convince you that life is dandy and wonderful, but also push you to live your life the way you want.

It’s awesome getting to know people you get along with, love and unconditionally care about, but it

can be heartbreaking when they say things to hurt you. Family members are of guilty of this, because they care and love you so much, that they don’t want to hurt you (but inevitably do, at least once). It’s just part of having to live with them that can make you go a little crazy at times, but in the end, you know they’re family and they always will be.

No matter what, emotions are what make us human and sometimes, you just have to step up to the plate and get over any anger you may have.

first-year issue

Interim Editor-inChief Ivy Davis

News Editor Matana McIntire

change you as a person.

In terms of how someone treats you, you can decide to respect someone and the way they “do things,” or you can coin them as an idiot and basically act as if you care, when you really don’t.

Sometimes, you can treat someone in a nice manner and still end up resenting them. It’s up to you to decide whether you see that person as plainly arrogant or someone who cares in a weird manner.

You, yourself, ultimately decide whether you want to be affected

Ad Manager Joseph Frantz Assistant Ad Manager London HowellFarley Copy Editor Greg Leonov Staff Writers Nicole Kaadi

Glenn Dyer Jon Fuccillo Clay Vitale Lexie Warthal Web Editor Matana McIntire Advisers Howard Buck Dan Ernst

Cover by Ayla Buckner E-mail: advocatt@mhcc.edu Phone: 503-491-7250 www.advocate-online.net #mhccadvocate Mt. Hood Community College 26000 SE Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030

The Advocate encourages readers to share their opinion by letters to the editor and guest columns for publication.

All submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name and contact information. Contact information will not be printed unless requested. Original copies will not be returned to the author. The Advocate will not print any unsigned submission. Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 600. The decision to publish is at the discretion of the editorial board. The Advocate reserves the right to edit for style, punctuation, grammar and length. Please bring submissions to The Advocate in Room 1369, or e-mail them to advocatt@mhcc.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday the week of publication to be considered for print. Opinions expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Advocate or MHCC.

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Facilities puts heads together, finds creative solution Greg Leonov the advocate

For the majority of Spring Term, staff from Mt. Hood’s Facilities Department has been working to replace the green, wood decks with a more permanent solution for the roof on top of the Central Utility Plant, underneath the wide walkway between the Student Union and the Visual Arts Gallery.

Directly below the large concrete boxes lie the boilers, chillers, and water systems for MHCC, according to Charles George, facilities management director. The boxes have long leaked, causing years of headaches for facilities department.

“When they built these boxes, I don’t think they imagined that they’d get a bunch of water going down through it – they weren’t sure how to finish up the (original) project,” said George.

A temporary deck was put in place until a plan was formulated

to finish the project. The wooden deck was not meant to be a final solution, but ended being in place for about six years. A formal replacement “had a pretty big price tag to it (about $120,000), and then without the bond funding, and other types of funding sources, (we) just kind of stayed with the wooden deck areas,” said George.

Last autumn, a student fell through one of the boards, which prompted facilities staff to began replacing boards as they broke.

“It just kind of brought it to our attention that we needed to find a solution, sooner rather than later,” said George. “With all the rain and everything, we noticed a large number of the boards were failing.

We probably had 16 boards that had started to rot out.”

George’s team pushed the issue.

“My guys came to me and said ‘we’re kind of at a point where we need to do something differently over here… It’s past replacing the boards one for one, maybe we could come up with a creative

Photo by Nick Pelster

The two main patios involved in the facilities project near the Student Union.

The protruding plastic openings are connections to the water line for the flower planters once the project is complete. Currently, the project is on hold while the college is waiting on bids from different contractors so they can fill the patios with concrete.

solution in this area that doesn’t cost $120,000,’ ” he said.

The team decided to find low-

cost solutions. They sealed the cracks under the decking, filled the boxes with lightweight “filler

material” and originally planned to put old roofing panels on top of that material, said George.

Lead MHCC groundskeeper Phil Parsley came up with the idea of fixing the water lines in the boxes, so that watering plants in that area would be easier.

When it came time to put down the roofing panels, the size was off, so the team decided to use concrete instead to cap the boxes. Currently Mt. Hood is waiting on bids from different contractors. George said his goal had been to complete the project by the end of May. “The facilities staff did the work because it was absolutely necessary,” said George. “It had gotten to a point where it was a safety issue, so we knew we had to do something... so (we) had to be creative and come up with a good solution.”

Once the project is completed, tables and chairs will be placed back on the boxes along with flower planters. So far, the cost for the project is under $10,000, according to George.

Bond fails; college moves forward Contract negotiation continues (Part 2 of 2) Greg Leonov the advocate

Though voters decided not to pass a bond measure this last election, Mt. Hood’s president remains confident there are other options to move the college forward and that efforts for another bond attempt are still a possibility, she said.

President Debbie Derr said that ongoing communication with Mt. Hood’s service district – the residents whose property taxes help support the college – is important, as she discussed the school’s response and plans following a disappointing outcome.

“We’re going to continue to connect with this community…

I mean, we met with over 100 community groups, and we have to continue to be connected with that community,” she said.

That might continue through various means such as newsletters, social media, or even community forums, she said.

Voters turned down the MHCC bond measure, by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin. The election results will not be certified until June 6, but once they are, they will be evaluated and analyzed.

“We’ll compare our results to other results within the Portland

metropolitan area,” said Derr. “So that ‘s kind of the first piece, is to go back and review what happened.”

Mt. Hood lost out on $125 million in funding for new buildings and improvements, but, besides the bond efforts (which cost a bit more than $200,000), MHCC has raised money through other channels.

“Since July, the college has brought

“We met with over 100 community groups, and we have to continue to be connected with that community,” -Debbie Derr MHCC President in $1.9 million in grant funds for programming,” said Derr.

The college is waiting on outcomes for over $4 million worth of grant funding requests. The MHCC Foundation auction last month raised over $285,000, about $60,000 more than last year’s take.

The state of Oregon would have matched $8 million to help build a new applied technology building on the main campus, which would house a mechatronics program (a field that combines mechanical, electrical, computer and other types of engineering). Even without a

new building, the program will still come to Mt. Hood through Oregon talent grants, Derr said, although a location for it is yet to be set.

“Mechatronics is going to happen, and we have no ‘new general fund money’ to do that, but we have grant money to do that,” the president said. “We know from our partnerships with business and industry that there are jobs out there.”

In her initial reaction, the bond failure was a personal blow for Derr.

“That night I was just so disappointed, and so sad. We had put so much work into it for a long time. Almost two years, and so it was pretty disappointing,” said Derr. “Then I got kind of angry. It was almost like the steps of grieving, where you’re really sad and then you’re really mad, and then you kind of reconcile.”

Derr said that even though she is still disappointed, she is working on moving forward. “That’s what I do… and bringing people together and doing a good job of learning from the failure and then having a clear idea of what we want to do next,” she said.

“We can’t just throw up our hands and give it up, we just have to keep moving forward and figure out we’re going to do it, and we will.”

Greg Leonov the advocate

Mt. Hood’s contract negotiation between the administration and the classified employees union continues to move along with some back- and-forth on salaries, healthcare, and employee performance reviews issues.

“Overall, the hard part is just keeping in mind the financial situation of the college and our president is very dedicated to having equity across all of our employee groups,” said Linda Vigesaa, Mt. Hood’s chief information officer and an administration representative in the talks.

The college and the union face some disagreements with cost-ofliving adjustments (COLAs), salary step increases, and healthcare benefits. “We were very upfront when we put forth the financials,” said Vigesaa. “We put our offering out there as far as what’s based on the total dollar amount that we had approval (for) from our president and board.”

To read the our full coverage To view on ASG’s ‘Amazing unabridged story, visit: Race’ event, visit: advocate-online.net advocate-online.net.

Regarding COLAs, as of the Advocate’s press time, the college is offering the classified employees a 1-to-3 percent increase, “so they’d be guaranteed at least 1 percent, regardless what the (actual inflation) index was,” said Vigesaa.

“They were hoping to get something that was more fixed, and more certain for the employees,” she said of the classified union side. “Their proposals have gone around having more of a set amount in there.”

Performance reviews are also still being negotiated. They are currently not mentioned in the existing labor contracts, at all. “Classified really wanted to have something on performance reviews,’ said Vigesaa.

“We are open to putting something into the (contract about) performance reviews.”

Vigesaa said that the college doesn’t want an entire evaluation process printed in the contract, “We’re very willing to put those out on the website, and we agree that we need to put more process out there,” she said.

To watch our video on the Tibetan monks who visited campus, visit: youtube.com/ MHCCAdvocate

May 27, 2016

The best brew near you Ivy Davis

the advocate Just like many other people in the PNW, I am completely addicted to caffeine. The most coffees I had in one day was seven, and the number of days in the last year that I’ve gone without drinking coffee is zero.

Like any coffee connoisseur, I have my favorite spots: Café Delirium, Black Pearl Haven, Legal Addiction, and Kombi Coffee. Even with my favorites, I still like getting out and trying new places.

Here are the ‘best of the best’ coffee shops I’ve been to lately.

Water Ave - Portland Coffee, sandwiches, pastries yum! Water Ave has a reputation for being wonderful and they are just that. The coffee company roasts its own bean, along with brewing fresh espressos. In its café, Water Ave serves a number of different coffee drinks, delicious lunch and breakfast sandwiches, and pastries, ranging from macaroons to triplechocolate brownies.

My meal contained two coffees, an egg sandwich, and a cookies-andcream French macaroon. My first coffee, a vanilla latte, was beautifully poured into a three-tiered heart shape. The second coffee, as I am unoriginal, was the same drink, but iced. Each time was to perfection, as if the baristas were mind readers and knew I liked a lot of vanilla syrup.

Though the cookies-and-cream macaroon was to die for, Water Ave’s egg sandwich was even more

5 The Advocate’s favorite cafés for your perusal

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

pleasing. I’m talking lipstick didn’t matter good. The egg wasn’t as I was expecting, being fluffy and hockey puck-shaped. It was the spring field greens, Parmesan, and herb butter inside the English muffin that really did me in. I watched myself take bite after bite of blue lipstick, not caring.

The sandwich had the lightest hint of a salty taste combined with freshtasting herbs. The words “you sunk my battleship” rang through my head as I conquered the sandwich.

I knew as soon as I took my last bite that I would have to buy this breakfast delight again, along with some of their other lunch items.

Water Ave is open every day, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s located at 1028 S.E. Water Ave., on Portland’s eastside.

Silk Espresso - Gresham I shamelessly ate a large slice of coffee cake from Silk in under two minutes while driving to the next café on my list. The coffee cake didn’t last long, but let me tell you, it was delicious. The cake was perfectly spongy and moist, topped with the mouthwatering perfection of a brown sugar cinnamon crumble.

The coffee shop also offered cookies, peanut butter crispy bars, brownies, croissants, muffins and breakfast sandwiches on bagels. Each item tempted me, my eyes betraying my wallet. I settled for just the cake and a vanilla latte. Brewing its coffee to perfection, Silk uses Stumptown Roaster for its beans. Coffee can be brewed multiple ways, such as espresso, French press, chemex, aeropress, or beehouse, along with

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Photo from Silk by Ivy Davis

the classic drip method.

Rather than being called baristas, the ladies working here go by ‘Silklings.’ The coffee shop has gone from one drive-through location to four locations and back to one, in the span of ten years. At its current home, Silk has a quaint atmosphere. The shop is decorated with brown and gray wood, industrial hardware-styled shelving and furnishing, and teal coloring splashed around the interior.

What is most amazing about Silk is that it offers a number of glutenand dairy-free foods and drinks.

Leah, the owner, said that they also choose not to charge more for milk alternatives.

The espresso shop is located on Stark and Hogan in Gresham (southwest corner), just a minute drive from the college. Silk Espresso is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Brewed Café & Pub Vancouver

The best part about this café is definitely the good-looking employees. If the barista’s looks don’t blow you away his coffee will, and if that still doesn’t work, take a look at the chef.

The shop offers a number of items, including espressos, brews, wines, sandwiches, and homemade soup.

Upon arrival, a very nice homeless man told me “the best thing Brewed has to offer is their soup.” Unfortunately I didn’t eat the soup, instead settling for a Chipotle Chicken Sandwich.

Served with a decoration strawberry and kettle chips, the sandwich came on a tin lunch tray.

My lunch included thinly sliced chipotle chicken, mayo, spinach, red onion and tomato, grilled on white bread. While at Brewed I only managed to take a few bites: This was either due to the handsome chef talking to me (I really didn’t want to get my purple lipstick smeared all over my face) or the fact that I had

already stuffed my face with coffee cake on my drive there. Either way, I found myself reheating it for dinner later that evening… literally as I write this. I swear, anyone watching me eat this sandwich would probably think I was on drugs. I found myself talking to my chipotle chicken, telling it “you’re so, so delicious.“ I also purchased two coffees, both my classic vanilla latte. This particular coffee isn’t the most difficult drink to brew compared to, say, a caramel, quad shot, half caff, soy, or macchiato. I learned that this coffee shop roasts its own bean, and through the power of Instagram stocking I saw proof of the beautiful latte art the cafe offers.

I found Brewed very delightful.

If I ever find myself in downtown Vancouver there’s no way I’d pass up the opportunity to grab coffee here, or finally try the soup.

Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Located at 306 Main St. in Vancouver.

Blumhouse should have quit while they were behind Anything but Blumhouse!

web photo

Glenn Dyer

the advocate The world has been at peace for many months. The horrors of Jem and the Holograms is far behind us and it looked like we might finally be free of the ultimate terror. But, of course, such evil cannot stay away for long: Blumhouse has returned.

From the makers of “Paranormal Activity,” “Insidious,” “Sinister” and pretty much every single slappedtogether, non-­ scary horror film from the last nine years comes THE DARKNESS. This time, they couldn’t even be bothered to come up with a decent name. “The Darkness” could mean absolutely anything! It’s not even really about

darkness, it’s about Grand Canyon ghosts. I wish I was making that up.

The worst part is that the film’s opening scene has such promise.

The camera angles and the way people refer to each other create an air of mystery and suspense. When the main kid walks into the cave where the ghosts live, you almost begin to feel a chill of actual horror, something that is a rarity in a Blumhouse picture. The next scene immediately messes it up by having the kid talking to an imaginary ghost friend, which his parents naturally ignore. Then weird and spooky things happen, nobody makes any smart choices, and the ghosts make absolutely no sense.

In other words, exactly what we

have seen a million times before.

Kevin Bacon also makes an appearance as the caring and slightly flawed father who learns something.

It’s super interesting. Oh well, at least the bacon number of all the actors has increased.

If you want my advice, stay far away from this movie. Every time you buy a ticket to a Blumhouse film, you are consenting to at least six sequels and another batch of uninspired hack pieces. If you want to watch a good horror film, go re-watch that old VHS of “Alien.”

Heck, even “The Witch” would be a preferable experience. Anything but Blumhouse!

6 PAGE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Artist uses Barbies as media advocate-online.net

TRANS TION: Venture Magazine 2016 is finished! Venture is RRROAARRGGGHH!!!!! a small, student-generated lifestyle magazine packed full of awesome.

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Vader Toread viewthe thestory, full vist: To advocate-online.net or unabridged story, visit: pick up next weeks issue advocate-online.net

2016 Venture Magazine - IT’S HERE!

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SPORTS

May 27, 2016

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Woodcock steals the show, both teams finish in fifth

MHCC NWAC Standout Performers Danelle Woodcock 1st place: 100 meters, 200 meters and women’s long jump NWAC All-American honors and the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet

Josh Turner

Left: Danelle Woodcock receives her first place award for the 200 meter Right: Josh Turner’s final leap, sticking it at 14.37m for first place in the triple jump.

Jon Fuccillo and Lexie Warthal the advocate

Woodcock earns All-American

Saints freshman speedster Danelle Woodcock stole the show during the NWAC Track and Field championship meet held at Mt. Hood Community College’s home track on Monday and Tuesday.

The Barlow High School graduate set the tone for the meet and won three events in the 100-meters (12.0), 200-meters (25.10), and long jump (18-05.75). Had the Saints team not been disqualified in the 4x100-meter dash, she may have had four medals on the podium.

For her dominating performance, Woodcock was named the Outstanding Track Athlete of

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the meet and earned NWAC AllAmerican honors.

“When I’m racing, I think about my form. I think about what I’ve been taught, and what I’ve spent countless hours practicing,” -Joshua Turner Track and Field athlete

Turner’s focus leads to success She wasn’t the only Saint to shine, as both Mt. Hood men and women squared off against their league rivals on their home turf.

Joshua Turner had an outstanding meet in his last time competing for MHCC. He blew away the field in the 110-meter hurdles, running in 14 seconds flat to shatter a 30-yearold championship meet record by knocking off .15 seconds to win the title.

Turner also won the triple jump, and finished sixth place in the long jump.

The sophomore credits his success to sharp focus.

“When I’m racing, I think about my form. I think about what I’ve been taught, and what I’ve spent countless hours practicing,” Turner said. “I am confident in the technique that I have formed, and I don’t think about fatigue.” This week, his coaching and hard practice paid off.

Turner has been talking to several four-year schools, but is still up in the air about his decision.

“I believe that many athletes here at Hood are capable of competing at the next level. At this moment, several athletes are

already there,” he said.

Though the Saints didn’t have outstanding finishes as a team in terms of points, they still had a lot of good showings in a lot of events. Mt. Hood’s women’s and men’s teams each placed 5th out of the 10 teams competing.

Lane’s men’s team won the title, while Spokane won on the womens side. The Titans tallied 275 points.

Spokane’s women finished with 215 points.

Rispler takes first in Javelin Saints Taylor Rispler won the women’s javelin with a hurl of 131’11’’, while teammate Leah Norquist finished third in the 800-meters, though she was the leader after Monday. She finished with a time of 2:19.10. “I was nervous, but the whole reason I run is for God,” said Norquist. “I want to honor Him. It’s a form of worshiping him. I raced as hard as I could and feel at peace. I’m obviously disappointed I didn’t win.”

It’s been great back-to-back years for Woodcock, the standout sprinter.

Just last year while a senior for the Bruins, Woodcock won her third straight 100-meter 6A state title at historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. The Oregonian newspaper named her the state’s female track and field athlete of the year.

“It feels great to keep the flow of championships going,” said Woodcock following her NWAC triumphs. “These wins felt bigger than the high school state championships in Eugene last year.

I had set some goals a couple weeks

Broke school record by .15 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles.

NWAC All-American honors

Brian Salgado Finished second in shot-put and picked up NWAC AllAmerican honors.

Leah Norquist Placed third and lead through the first 750 meters of the 800.

NWAC All-American

Kinnah Rhodes First in 100 meters NWAC All-American honors.

ago coming into this meet with my coach to PR and to hit those times and marks in the long jump.

“I didn’t PR, but that’s fine,” she said. Originally, Woodcock was committed to compete for the Oregon State University Beavers this year, but had a change in heart and decided to stay close to home and attend Mt. Hood.

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8 PAGE

SPORTS

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Softball wins 5th championship in 8 seasons “Ain’t no party like a Mt. Hood party, ‘cuz a Mt. Hood party don’t stop”

Players form a traditional huddle to discuss the game’s intricacies.

Clay Vitale

the advocate Road to the title The 2016 iteration of the Mt. Hood Saints – once again, NWAC softball champions, taking the title in Portland’s Delta Park on Monday – was an impressive group to follow.

The Saints unified and played as a sum of all parts each and every game, picked each other up when needed, and closely shadowed head coach Meadow McWhorter’s mantra of “family.”

At the end of each year, freshmen players assume the responsibility of team leaders as they return for the next season, and this group featured a solid core of sophomores, including first-year MHCC student and Saints ace pitcher Kayla Byers.

During the spring, before Mt. Hood’s first game, McWhorter was explaining her team’s makeup, saying, “We’ve got a really fun and talented group this year, including a really good pitcher out of Eastern Florida (State College).”

She was referencing Byers, a Hood River native who came back west to play for the Saints, and who would compile a 21-3 season record with a conference-best 1.62 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 173 innings pitched.

The team’s success didn’t solely rest on Byers’ arm, though. The offense was no slouch, led by catcher Darian Lindsey, center fielder Tiara Champ, shortstop Megan Marcy, third baseman Rachel Rutledge, and unsurprisingly, Byers. The Saints posed a threat from every spot in their lineup, and had an incredible balance of power, contact and speed. Once they mowed through conference play with a first-place South Region record of 17-3, they

were ready to put their mark on the tournament as the No. 3 seed, facing the 2013 champions and No. 14 seed Wenatchee Valley College in Friday’s opener.

The Knights were quickly dispatched by Mt. Hood, which was looking for a bigger fish to fry and found it in familiar divisional foe Lower Columbia. The Saints handled the Red Devils with relative ease during the regular season, but Lower Columbia was determined in the tournament. They pushed Mt. Hood to the brink, forcing a proverbial cornered animal to strike back for three runs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, for a 4-3 walk-off win.

Saturday presented Centralia College as the Saints’ next victim.

Byers was on her game, tossing seven innings of shutout ball and recording 11 K’s. The 5-0 win sent Mt. Hood to the semi-finals against the Royals of Douglas College. Douglas flies the Canadian flag, hailing from outside Vancouver, B.C., and the Saints came prepared with red, white and blue ribbons and cheers for America, waving little American flags in the dugout.

The competition led to a thrilling, extra-inning affair, with Douglas scoring one in the top of the eighth to go up, 4-3, where Mt. Hood had to make the next move.

And the Saints would, plating two in the bottom half for another dramatic walk-off victory, 5-4, to punch their ticket to the championship game.

The beat goes on Walking around the Delta Park softball complex Friday afternoon provided a sensory overload.

Each field was in use during the round-robin tournament, with 16 games scheduled (each team playing twice). Cheers, jeers and shouts of

Photo by Jeff Hinds

“heads!” were heard from the stands – “heads” of course, the call when a foul ball sails away from the field of play and towards unsuspecting spectators. Team chants could be heard from every dugout, as is traditional in softball, but no dugout was louder than Mt. Hood’s. Jazmayne Williams is methodical in her beats, pounding a plastic bin with one bare hand and a ball in the other, to a rhythm concocted both by popular songs and the nature of the cheer. It amps up the crowd and hypes up the dugout as the rest of the ladies get louder, willing their teammates to succeed.

“Where the Hood, where the Hood, where the Hood at?!”

“Five for Meadow” The weather played nice all weekend, allowing the tournament to run its course without delay, and Monday was no exception.

The overcast sky provided a perfect backdrop for softball, with no real wind factor to speak of. The sun decided to make an appearance only when the Saints had clinched and mobbed the circle, shining light on coach McWhorter’s fifth NWAC title in eight seasons.

Mt. Hood lived up to its own high expectations this year, going 38-8 overall, winning first place in the South Region, and securing a No. 3 seed in the tournament field of 16. Expectations often lead to heartbreak, as was the case for the sophomores and staff last year. “The goal is, win two the first day, then one a day from there on out,” said McWhorter, regarding tournament play. A simple strategy but incredibly tough to accomplish, as the level of talent across the conference is enormous. The 2015 tournament saw the Saints lose once on the first day, seating them in a bracket where they had to play more often and win

out to avoid double-elimination.

They fell just short, though, finishing second and stalling McWhorter’s impressive title accumulation, but vowed to come back and get it done this year. NWAC All-Tournament outfielder Courtney Cabana was part of last year’s squad, and said before this season began, “We’re here to take back what’s ours.”

Road to the title What an exciting group to watch. The Saints played as a unified team all year, picked each other up, and breathed/lived to head coach Meadow McWhorter’s mantra of “family.” After a successful year, they entered the postseason facing No. 14 seed Wenatchee Valley, the champions of 2013.

Photo by Jeff Hinds

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