McKenzie Sports Report – October 16

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The McKenzie Varsity Volleyball team hosts Triangle Lake on Tuesday, October 14. Match time is set for 6:00 pm. The Eagle team travels to Siletz on Thursday, October 16, to participate in a three-way match. The Eagles first match is with Siletz Valley and scheduled for 3:00 pm. The second match is versus Eugene Christian and starts at 4:30 pm.

McKenzie travels back to Siletz for a single match on Tuesday, October 21 and that match will start at 6:00 pm.

The McKenzie Varsity Cross Country teams travel to Harrisburg on Thursday, October 16, to participate in the Harrisburg Challenge. The Girls Varsity 5,000 meters race will start at 4:45 pm and the Boys Varsity 5K will start at 5:30 pm. A Girls and Boys Junior Varsity race precedes the Varsity races, and that will start at 4:15 pm.

The McKenzie Varsity Six-man Football team travels to Days Creek on Friday, October 24. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 pm.

New Day Shines At Old Mill XC Invitational

“Fantastic Day” At The Track

Oh my, oh my! What a day at Aaron and Marie Jones Community Track! Last Saturday, October 11, marked the first home McKenzie High School Cross Country meet in a dozen years. Yes, it’s been 12 years since the Eagles ran on a 5,000 meters race in their own backyard. On Saturday, the McKenzie Community Track and Field and McKenzie High School collaborated (and celebrated) to host five high school, five middle school, and 1 primary school team, as they participated in a newly reconstructed 5,000/3,000 meters cross country course on the Aaron and Marie Jones Community Track and adjoining Three Sisters Meadow properties.

It was pointed out, that it took a “village” to successfully pull this meet off, and that certainly is the truth. Construction work provided by Zach Nastasiuk Contracting, Sunny Willis/BioBuilders, Chad Sperry/Breakaway Promotions and Gravel Grinders, McKenzie Watershed Council and Oregon Woods, and Virgil Kropf/Brush Creek Transport, chips donated by Ken Brown and Rexius Landscaping, course design and layout by Kelly Sullivan and Matt Barreau, hand labor by many parents and community members, and meet volunteer help by many positive and willing folks.

The meet started with a combined Boys and Girls Middle School 3,000 meters race. Theo Waters, a 7th grade student from Lowell, won the first race of the day, running a time of 10:37.19 minutes. McKenzie’s Conrad Drake, also a 7th grade student/athlete, finished second in 11:39.14 minutes.

Mapleton 8th grade student Hadley Foster finished first in the Girls Middle School race, running a Personal Record 14:07.39 minutes. Glendale 6th grader Aliah Templer took second in 22:38.39.

Earlier it was mentioned that one primary team was entered. A second grade runner from Thurston ran the 3,000 meters along with the Middle School athletes. Chase Barreau, according to his father Matt Barreau, loves running and competition, and personally chose to race this day. Remarkably, this young athlete finished tenth out of thirteen runners, posting a time of 15:30.86 minutes, a Personal Record. And then, he took off for home to compete in a soccer match!

Mapleton senior Natalee Stevens, who toured the course in 21:42.93 minutes, won the Girls Varsity 5,000 meter race. McKenzie senior Myra Dion finished second in 22:41.49 minutes and Eagle sophomore Zyla Drake took third place with a finish time of 22:55.62 minutes. McKenzie sophomore Claire Weiss finished tenth in 28:33.07 minutes.

The Varsity Boys 5,000 meters race featured McKenzie senior Will Meister taking top honors, winning the distance race in a time of 18:26.45 minutes. McKenzie teammate Cylas Sughroue finished second in 19:14.65 minutes and Eagle senior Allen Acevedo finished his race in fourth place, 19:38.10 minutes. Mohawk senior Corbin Dalton snuck in between his Eagle competition to claim third place, posting a time of 19:30.90 minutes.

McKenzie and Glendale were the only two complete teams competing this day and McKenzie won the team competition with 19 points while Glendale finished with 36 points. There were no complete Girls teams. Note: To qualify as a complete team, a team must have a minimum of 5 runners competing in a race. A team may enter a maximum of 7 runners in a race with the lowest 5 times from that team qualifying for the team score.

Dion Third At Lebanon Open

Drake And Meister Finish Fourth

McKenzie Eagle Myra Dion established a new Personal Record on her way to a third place finish in the Varsity Girls 5,000 meters race at the Lebanon Open XC meet, last Wednesday, October 8. The meet was held at Seven Oak Middle School in Lebanon. Dion’s new PR time of 22:11.26 minutes placed her behind winner Addy Wisner of South Albany, who set a new PR time of 21:09.69 minutes and second place Austyn Hartwig of Triangle Lake, whose time of 21:12.23 minutes was also a PR.

Eagle teammates Zyla Drake finished fourth in 22:14.36 minutes and Claire Weiss finished 28th in 26:58.53 minutes. Weiss’ time was a season record as the sophomore runner continues to improve following an early season injury.

Senior Will Meister finished fourth in the Varsity Boys 5,000 meter race finishing in 18:18.90 minutes. Chase Fulleton of South Albany won the race in 17:39.11 minutes. Eagle freshman Cylas Sughroue set a new PR time of 19:01.95 minutes to take home a 7th place finish. Allen Acevedo finished in 12th place with a PR time of 19:30.50 minutes and Liam Acevedo followed suit with a PR time of his own, 20:57.64 minutes and a 19th place finish. William Valtinson captured 20th place with a time of 21:19.78 minutes and Cyrus Bennett was 30th at 26:09.01 minutes.

Mustangs Wrangle A Win Over Eagles

The visiting Mohawk Mustangs stubbed their toes in the first set at McKenzie last Tuesday, October 7, and lost 21-25 to their old rivals. But Mohawk cinched up the spurs and tightened down their hats to sweep the next three sets and put a claim on the match win. The second set score was 25-13, third went down 25-8 and the fourth set finished 25-7.

Mt. West Coastal Teams Clobber Visiting Eagles

The McKenzie Varsity Volleyball team traveled to the Coast Range Alsea Wolverines last Thursday, October 9, for a Mt. West League match and while over in that neck of the woods also played a match versus the Eddyville Charter Eagles.

McKenzie opened with the Wolverines and Alsea defeated their upland foe in three straight sets, 25-18, 25-16, and 25-14. In the second match, Eddyville Charter won the first set 25-19, and held McKenzie off in the second set 25-21. McKenzie won the third set 25-15 but dropped the fourth and deciding set 25-21.

With the three losses this week, McKenzie is tied sixth in Mt. West League play with Mapleton and Siletz Valley, all sitting at 3-9. Triangle Lake is still unbeaten against MWL opponents, 11-0, followed by Mohawk in second at 9-2, Alsea third at 9-3, Eddyville Charter fourth at 8-5, and Crow/Northwest Christian Academy fifth at 7-5. Eugene Christian is seventh at 1-12.

North Lake Rains On Eagle Homecoming Parade

Well, everyone knew it would be a wet Homecoming night on the McKenzie at Wade Thomas Field. And wet it was indeed. At one point one fan was heard thinking they saw a worm rowing a boat off the field.

Being from the Eastside of the Cascades, the North Lake Cowboys aren’t as accustomed to the Westside liquid sunshine and when the visitors looked up at the halftime score-clock, they found themselves trailing an inspired Eagle crew, 12-6. Homecoming can do that sometimes for the home team and actually that’s supposed to be the point. Rally the home fan base, fuel a rabid student body, electrify the night skies and crown a new monarchy! Oh yeah, dance the night away and celebrate the home victory.

McKenzie’s game plan worked well half the night and then the Cowboys found a heater in the locker-room at halftime and came out hot. North Lake scored the last 47 points of the game and rode out of Finn Rock the Homecoming spoilers. With the win, North Lake sits in third place in Special District 3 standings at 3-1. Elkton and Powers are tied at the top with 3-0 records and Gilchrist follows North Lake in fourth place at 2-1. Crow is fifth at 1-2 and Days Creek and McKenzie follow tied for sixth at 0-4.