By most standards, back-to-back second-place finishes in the state playoffs are reason to celebrate. But when the bar is raised, as is the case with the Hood River Valley boys water polo program, a bitter taste sometimes lingers with being “runner-up”.
Former Hood River Valley High School track and field standout Jestena Mattson was selected to represent the 2022-2023 USA Bobsled National Team at the upcoming World Cup competitions. Mattson ran for the Division 1 Fresno State Bulldogs, where she earned multiple Mountain West conference championships in the heptathlon and pentathlon competitions. Her senior year she was also named to the All-American second team for her performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The Hood River Special Olympics Swim Team participated in the Northwest Oregon Regional Competition Sunday at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton. It was the first competition Special Olympics Oregon has held in three years due to the pandemic and the athletes were excited and anxious to get back to some social interaction and competition against teams of developmentally disabled athletes from Clackamas, Clatsop, Multnomah, Wasco/Sherman, Washington and Yamhill counties and the High Desert region.
A confident and enthusiastic The Dalles High Riverhawk squad, guided by second-year coach Darcey Hodges, started girls basketball practice Nov. 14 with the hopes and expectations it will be enjoying success on the court this season.
White Salmon-Bingen doesn’t have the large player base enjoyed by many youth soccer programs statewide, but sometimes small packages of organization, passion and skill can produce huge results.
