Starting the bottom of the seventh inning down 7-2, the Columbia Gorge Hustlers battled back with a dramatic comeback to clinch a league title, as Baily Hajicek smacked a three-run triple to tie the score at 7-7, and after a walk to Michael Armstrong, Josh Johnson executed an RBI squeeze bunt, which plated Hajicek for the winning run in CG’s 8-7 win and two-game sweep over Hillsboro.
The victory not only clinched a league crown but gave the Hustlers a No. 1 seed entering state action.
The Hustlers racked up a 29-17 overall record, a Zone 2 championship and a 1-2 finish at the American Legion State Tournament in North Bend.
At the Big Sky Conference district volleyball tournament in Echo, No. 14 SWC won its 22nd game of the year after defeating Dufur and Sherman, both in four games, to take hold of a second straight district championship.
South Wasco County, the district’s No. 2 seed, beat Dufur 25-14, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-16 in an opening-round matchup to vault into the title match.
On the opposite side of the bracket, the No. 4-seeded Sherman Huskies took a 25-18 loss in the first game, but then reeled off three straight wins by scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-17 to advance to the Big Sky Conference championship.
Against Sherman, SWC cruised in the first two sets by margins of 25-4 and 25-11, before Sherman responded with a 25-23 victory to force a fourth set. The Redsides then put the finishing touches on their second consecutive Big Sky crown with a 25-19 decision.
Both teams were unable to advance to the state site in Redmond, however, as Sherman lost to Damascus Christian, while SWC lost four sets in second-round state-sub round play.
During the year, The Dalles girls soccer team started 0-4, but then went 4-1-2 in the middle of the season, before wrapping things up at 0-3-2 for a 4-8-3 record to snag third place in the Intermountain Conference and a state berth.
Across the board, TD boys’ soccer posted better numbers, improving on wins by one, adding 16 goals scored, double 2017’s total (8), and the defense surrendered 22 goals, a sharp decline from 48 last season.
Just as the girls improved, the boys soccer squad finished with a 6-6-3 overall record, 6-2-2 league and scored four more goals (35) and gave up 16 fewer goals (28) than during the 2017 campaign (44).
In cross country races, The Dalles’ Emma Mullins, Hanna Ziegenhagen, Tressa Wood and Liz Tapia all turned in top-13 finishes to help The Dalles girls’ cross country team earn a state berth, and Samuel Alvarez was runner-up for the boys’ lone state representative in the Intermountain Conference Cross Country Championships held at Barnes Butte in Prineville.
In Eugene for state running at Lane Community College, Alvarez placed 19th out of 93 runners, and on the girls’ side, Mullins capped her solid career in 20th place, Ziegenhagen claimed 35th and The Dalles girls’ cross country team posted 242 points to finish ninth out of 13 schools.
The Dalles Middle School had 11 fifth-through-eighth graders selected to represent the football program and community on the Football University Oregon Screamin’ Eagles all-star showcase game in Yakima, Wash.
Along with Owen Withers were fellow seventh graders Andre Niko, Malcolm I’aulualo and Anthony Jara.
Selected for the eighth-grade squad were linebacker Marquies Sagapolutele, Kade Wilson, Alo Dawson-Heka, Manatu Crichton-Tunai, Mynoah I’aulualo, and Evan Baldy.
The youngest athlete to grab a spot was fifth grader Jonah Ofisa.
The Athletics East Running Club had 15 participants step up in a major way at the USATF Oregon Association Junior Olympic State Championships in Salem.
At regionals, 10 runners were able to preserve their trip to Reno, Nev. for the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships.
There, the AE program finished in 13th place out of 19 teams.
Juan Diego Contreras and Friedrich Stelzer became just the second and third All-American cross country champions after their top-25 finishes.
Stelzer placed 14th overall in the 17-18-year-old division, 33rd in the 15-18 category, Nick Caracciolo hustled to 69th in his classification and 117th in the 15-18 group, David Wring grabbed 93rd and 164th place, Spencer Coburn placed 104th (17-18) and 187th (15-18), and Gavin Cates was in 121st place (17-18) and 212th (15-18).
Contreras and Taylor Fox opened AE’s racing slate in the 13-14-year-old classification at 4,000 kilometers, with Contreras garnering 20th place, while Fox ended up in 40th place overall on the Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Course.
In the 15-18-year-old girls division, Emily Johnson finished 113th, Caitie Wring wrapped up her 5k run in 118th place, and Liz Tapia hit for 133rd place.
Samuel Alvarez and Emma Mullins competed at the Foot Locker West Regional Cross Country Meet at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. and had solid efforts.
Alvarez placed 81st out of 412 in the junior boy’s category and Mullins received a medal for finishing in the top-48 after ending up 24th in the 239-person senior girl’s division.
TD cheer’s three stunt teams had solid performances, Nathan Nañez placed sixth individually out of 18 in the boys’ division, and Emily Adams ended up sixth out of 40 individual girls and was chosen as a member of the 5A All-State team in cheer competition held at Thurston High School in Springfield.
The Dufur football team gave up 167 yards and touchdowns on four of St. Paul’s first five possessions to fall behind by a 32-30 halftime score at the 1A state championship.
In the second half, the Dufur defense limited St. Paul to 30 yards on 20 plays with Abraham Kilby blocking a punt for a safety and Tanner Masterson returning an interception 17 yards for the eventual game-winning score in a 38-32 comeback victory at Hillsboro Stadium.
With the victory, Dufur locked in its 10th championship in program history and fourth in a row.
Since 2015, the Rangers have gone 49-3, including a current 33-game winning streak.
In a rare feat for any sport, Dufur running back and linebacker Asa Farrell earned first-team all-league and first-team all-state honors on both sides of the ball, to go along with Big Sky Conference Player of the Year and 1A All-State Player of the Year recognition this season.
On the heels of a 1A state championship and undefeated 13-0 record, Dufur head football coach Jack Henderson was named as the 1A All-State Coach of the Year, adding to his Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year award.
With a career record of 269-87, the veteran coach moved into the top-10 on the state’s all-time wins list, behind Dayton coach Dewey Sullivan (352-84-2).
The Dalles senior wrestler JR Scott tallied five consecutive victories to capture first place in the 195-pound division at the Tyrone S. Woods Memorial Tournament in Oregon City.
The Dalles swim team kicked off its first meet of the season with 10 top-5 finishes, including two wins by Kendall Webber, a runner-up outcome from Hannah Haight and a second-place time from the girls’ 200-yard relay squad at the River City Invitational held in Scappoose.
Webber earned her first win in the girls’ 500-yard freestyle and she was victorious in the 100-yard backstroke event.
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