2015 Year in Review

Henry Perez crossed home plate on a wild pitch and the Braves defeated the D-Backs 11-10 to capture The Dalles Little League Minors championship.

Coming in relief in the top of the second inning, Cardinals pitcher Isaac Anthony shut out the Indians to lead the Cardinals to a 12-2 win in five innings to bring home The Dalles Little League Majors championship trophy.

The Indians drew six walks, but were held hitless.

Anthony struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced, including the final three.

Since 1970, John Howey had been a staple in the Maupin community, as a coach, teacher, parental figure and a positive influence to any and every one he came across.

This past Father’s Day, the South Wasco County High School gymnasium was filled to capacity with well-wishers saying their final goodbyes, while sharing many anecdotes, jokes and stories of an important figure who passed away in his home at the age of 67.

He was the 2002 1A Coach of the Year in track and field the same year he led the Redside program to a state championship.

From all of the sports played in Oregon that season, Howey also earned the 1A classification’s Coach of the Year honors.

On the gridiron, Sherman High School graduates Kevin Hart, Brett Evans and Blake Evans, and Dufur graduate Nick Little represented their schools and programs in the Eight-Man All-Star Football game in La Grande.

After the game, Kevin Hart was honored as the Best Offensive Player for the East and Blake Evans was awarded the Best Defensive Player for the East.

The Dalles Concrete found a way to win its fifth consecutive North Wasco County Parks and Recreation adult softball title.

The Sandbaggers pounded 18 hits and broke open an 11-all tie with a nine-run fifth inning to surge past Nelson Tires 21-14 in the championship game.

During their five-year reign, the Sandbaggers have a 110-8 record, finishing the 2015 campaign, 19-2.

Also on the softball field, through several tournaments and 42 games played, the Cherry City 12U Crush posted a 31-11 record for the 2015 season and earned an Oregon ASA 12U State Championship in Albany with a perfect 5-0 record.

Playing for a state championship, The Dalles 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars never quit in West Linn and that resolve paid off as TD scored two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to come from behind and edge the host team, 10-9.

While facing top dancers from all over the Pacific Northwest, including Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the Beginning and Intermediate groups representing The Dalles Dance Academy ended up earning the highest scores out of all the groups.

Hannah Kortge was recognized by the judges for her stage presence and Aidan Telles picked up a judge’s award for his hip-hop performance.

Darlene Davis is now part of an illustrious class of bowling enthusiasts.

Davis, of The Dalles, was named as a United States Bowling Congress Oregon State Hall of Fame winner for Meritorious Service at a banquet held in Medford.

She joins 2005 Hall of Fame inductee Steve Byers and 1995 winner William ‘Bill’ Otto as the only local community members to earn such recognition.

Every year for the past 13 years, the annual Pig Bowl event brings communities, families and police officers together for a common goal – to raise funds for individuals in need.

On Sid White Field in The Dalles, Tana Slawson and Lila May Schow were honored on an emotional night.

Schow, 5, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 12 after a three-year battle with a rare form of childhood cancer called Neuroblastoma.

In 13 years, the Pig Bowl organization has raised more than $200,000 and the money goal of between $25-to-$30,000 was met, as both families received checks for $14,500 in a ceremony taking place at Westwind Frame and Gallery.

The Dalles High School cheerleader Taylor Sugg placed seventh overall, earning a spot as the 2015 Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association All-State Individual team.

Sugg, a senior and former state champion dance participant, competed against a field of 120 boys and girls.

Only 28 were selected into the finals and Sugg was top-10 in a group of 19.

FALL

Avery Cardosi, Paige McLeod and Caela Dunagan each tallied top-10 finishes and the trio of Molly Nelson, Emily Morin and Bailey Nearing posted solid top-20 times to lead The Dalles girls’ cross country team to its second consecutive district title in a race taking place at Sorosis Park in The Dalles.

At the Bulldog meet in Portland, the level 4 Riverside Gymnastics team took second place, while level 3 dominated with first place honors.

Hailey Birch and Saige Brennan were all-around champions in their respective divisions, Brennan claiming top level 3 scorer in the entire meet.

Armed with courage and spunk, Dylan Vaivoda received the “Bulldog” award for her aggressive bars routine.

Eight-year-old Sydney Stanley shone on bars too. She won a level 3 championship with her score of 9.75.

On vault, four Riverside gymnasts were champs in their age groups. Ava Krentz and Hope Pipkin tied for first in the meet, with scores of 9.75 each.

Audrey Hinatsu captured fourth place at the Women’s Junior Olympic Level-9 Western Gymnastics Championship.

Hinatsu earned a 9.475 for second place on bars, added a 9.35 for second place in her beam routine and on the floor, she pulled off a score of 9.2.

She finished her circuit on vault with a 9.05 and an all-around 37.075.

After squandering a 2-0 lead in their Big Sky Conference district opener against Dufur in what turned out to be a five-game loss, the South Wasco County Redside volleyball team stormed back from a 2-1 deficit in their third-place match with wins of 25-14 and 15-8 in the final two sets to defeat Condon-Wheeler and preserve a state berth for the first time since 2005.

The Dufur volleyball team won 18 matches, but lost in five games to Ione in the Big Sky Conference volleyball title match.

Dufur beat Echo in a state sub-round, but finished just shy of a state berth in Redmond after a five-game loss to Powder Valley.

The Dalles volleyball team won 22 matches in a top season under coach Neticia Fanene, as they finished in second place in the Columbia River Conference.

TD beat Parkrose in its state sub-round, but missed out on a state berth in Hillsboro after losing in four games to Silverton.

The Dalles senior standout Lori Cimmiyotti ended her high school career in unchartered territory – As one of a select few athletes to earn Conference Player of the Year honors and all-state recognition.

A first for The Dalles High School volleyball since current head coach Neticia Fanene picked up those accolades for the 2005 season.

Cimmiyotti, a second-team all-state winner, led the Riverhawks to a top-6 ranking, 22 match victories, 59 set wins and she was also the team leader in every statistical category, as she was named TD’s Most Valuable Player.

Bailey Keever rallied the Rangers from a 14-point deficit with two rushing scores and two conversion runs to lead a stunning 74-72 comeback victory over No. 2-ranked Yoncalla in an OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires 1A Football State quarterfinal football game.

In the next round, Dufur was down two points with 32 seconds left and the ball at their own 36-yard line.

Keever dropped back, found sophomore Hagen Pence, who made at least one Perrydale defender miss and won a race to the end zone to give the Rangers a 42-38 victory in the state semifinals.

After back-to-back come from behind wins to get to the state championship game, Dufur took a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter at Kennison Field in Hermiston and held on to defeat Crane 36-32 to win the school’s seventh state championship.

Keever led the Dufur Ranger football team to an 11-win season, was a Big Sky Conference first team winner and captured the high school’s seventh state title.

For those accolades, the junior quarterback was named the state’s 1A Player of the Year.

Along with the Dufur quarterback, Regan Shira (Adrian), Bryson Shira (Adrian), Keenan Bailey (Perrydale), Will Shaw (Yoncalla), Marques Parazoo (Chiloquin), Mitchell Cole (Hosanna Christian) and Jackson Stallard (Powers), were under consideration.

With his award, Keever is the first Dufur football player to earn POY honors since Jason Reed in 2006.

Since 1987, Dufur head football coach Jack Henderson has been known for one thing – winning.

This past season, Henderson fielded a roster of nearly 30 players, led by Player of the Year Keever and first-team all-state sophomore lineman Ian Cleveland, and ended the year with eight consecutive wins enroute to a seventh state championship.

Henderson was recently voted as the 1A Coach of the Year.

In his 28 years, Henderson has a record of 230-86 for a .727 winning percentage, and his seven state titles (1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2015 is now tied for first.

Sherman football players Jacob Justesen and Maverick Winslow were also named to the 1A all-state team for leading the Huskies to six wins and a state playoff berth.

Shane Proctor covered three of his final four bulls to score a third-place average finish and third in the final PRCA standings at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Proctor rebounded from a 0-for-5 blanking at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in late October to ride 5-of-10 at the Thomas & Mack Center for a total pay day of $113,385. That triple-digit haul – $43,154 of which came from his average check – allowed Proctor to finish third in the world with $202,398.