HRV boys water polo
Hood River Valley’s boys varsity water polo team won their first state title Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis. The Eagles defeated Parkrose High School 12-6 in their third match-up of the season.
David Robinson, head coach for the Eagles, said the team’s selflessness contributed to their success.
“The overriding success this year was driven by teamwork and team unity,” Robinson said. “I told the boys it would come down to who wanted it more and my seniors assured me that would be them.”
Five team members received honors after the game.
Senior Connor McElwee was named state MVP and first-team All-State, senior Jed Little earned first-team All-State goalie, seniors Pen Paphanchith Corbett Blackman made first-team All-State while senior Saylor Sundby made second-team All-State.
HRV girls water polo
Hood River Valley’s girl’s varsity water polo team defeated West Albany 9-3 and won its third state championship Nov. 16 at the Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis. Kellie Dunn, head coach for the Eagles, said the team was really excited about the possibility of winning their third title before the match.
“We were definitely feeling confident, but we defiantly weren’t underestimating our opponent,” Dunn said. “West Albany had won the state championship last year and we lost to them in the finals. So, we really did want to go in and make a big statement against them. It was a good chance for us to kind of avenge that loss from last year and we really wanted it.”
Eagles who scored are senior Faith Ocheskey with four goals, junior Madaket Greeleaf with three and junior Olivia Sumerfield and senior Kathryn Guadagnuolo with one each.
Ocheskey was awarded the all-state MVP. Greenleaf, senior Jenni Ruggles and Sumerfield earned a spot in first-team All-State. Junior Sarah Arpag made it into second-team All-State.
HRV boys cross country
During the fall, Hood River Valley’s boys cross country team had a great season. In the Intermountain Conference championship, HRV took third place with 47 points behind Crook County with 46 and The Dalles with 42.
Top finishers include senior Omar Quintana, coming in at sixth place with a time of 16:57.62, freshman Elliot Hawley in seventh two seconds later, and senior Braeden Blakeney taking ninth place at 17:08.
In the Ultimook Race Nike Invitational, the team took first place with 88 points in front of College Park who had 108 and West Linn and Shelton both with 118 points.
Sophomore Josh Haynes placed fourth with a time of 17:14.24, Quintana in fifth at 17:18.62 and sophomore Joshua Humann in 19th place at 17:58.70.
HRV girls cross country
Hood River Valley’s girls varsity cross-country finished last year in first place in the Ultimook Nike Invitational at district, and in second place in state.
In the Ultimook Nike Invitational the girl squad lead the leaderboard with 31 points in front of North Salem who had 64 and Skyview at 113.
Junior Frances Dickinson came in first with a time of 19:16.03, freshman Brinna Weiseth in third place with a time of 20:00.20 and senior Evelyn Nunez in seventh at 20:18.12
During their district championship stint, the Eagles took first place with 24 points. The Dalles came in second with 69 points and Crook County in third with 89 points.
Seniors Josephine Dickinson took first place with a time of 19:31.19, Lottie Bromham took third at 19:38.37 and Frances Dickinson in fourth at 20:01.89
The Eagles took second place in state with 71 points behind Corvallis at 67 and in front of Wilsonville at 73 points.
Josephine Dickinson came in fifth at 18:22.40, Frances Dickinson in sixth at 18.29.20 and Bromham in 13th place at 18:59.
Horizon boys basketball
Last season, Horizon Christian School’s boys varsity basketball team made it into the playoffs. Lead by head coach Darrin Lingel, the Hawks closed the season with a 19-8 record and where ranked fourth in 1A schools.
The Hawks’ worst loss was against Sherman High School for third place in the playoffs. But the team did have an eight-game winning streak during the season.
Currently, the team has won two of its seven games and will be back in action Friday, Jan. 4 as they host St. Stephenson Academy at 4 p.m.
Lingel believes the young team has potential they just need experience and game time to play at their highest level.
HRV boys soccer
For the past seven seasons, Hood River Valley’s boys soccer team has made it into the playoffs. Last season, they ended with a 10-5-2 record and were ranked seventh in 5A schools.
In their best performance, the Eagle squad swept Redmond 11-0.
During the playoffs, HRV beat West Albany 3-0 at home but were knocked out of the tournament by Ashland 2-0.
Of the 24-man, team Zach Marble, Ben Fick, Leo Urenda, Julio Ramirez, Jonathan Garcia, Fabian Magaña and Jonathan Moreno are graduating and will not return next season.
Jaime Rivera, head coach, said this was the youngest but most mature team he’s ever coached.
HRV boys basketball
Hood River Valley’s varsity basketball team ended their 2018-2019 season ranked 14th among the state. The Eagles’ playoff run was ended by La Salle as they lost 63-49.
The team, however, did have a nine-game winning streak.
Currently, HRV has a 5-3 record. Players who have been a force this season are senior Noah Webster, junior Ian Searcy and sophomore Emanuel Romero.
Head coach Christopher Dirks said a few upcoming games will serve as tests and will help determine the team’s proficiency.
The Eagles return to the court Friday, Jan. 3 as they host Reynolds High School at 6:30 p.m.
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