Photo by Steve Wilkowske

Marilyn Wood, principal at Eccles Elementary School, sits on one of the school's aging roofs last week. New roofs will be built at Eccles if a proposed $30.8 million bond measure receives voter approval next month.

By Sean Patterson

If one match could be used as a measuring stick, than Friday's Canby girls tennis victory over Silverton spoke volumes on just how much the team has improved in one season.

The Cougars didn't just beat the Foxes, they shut them out 8-0 while losing only three sets. And this against a team they had tied twice in 1999.

But unlike last year, when Canby's doubles teams shouldered most of the load, the singles players are proving equally strong this spring.

"That's been the big difference - the success of our singles players," said head coach Mike Vaught, who watched his team improve to 4-1 in league with two wins in three matches last week.

"Last year, we were relying heavily on our doubles teams to carry us. Now, we're typically getting between one and three singles wins each time out. That's the key to winning matches."

On Friday, Wendy Watson, Rachel Greiner, Kim Erskine and Kerry Vaught each cleaned up in singles, winning the first through fourth matches, respectively.

In doubles, the host Cougars were just as dominant, as the pairs of Andrea Beck/Karina Parker, Nicole Lundgren/Whitney Rotrock and Tori Beck/Justine Rhodes all won without much trouble.

Canby even won the close one, with Lindsey Guenther and Anna Rotrock teaming up for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 comeback at second doubles.

It was the second win in three days for the Cougars, who dumped Forest Grove 5-3 last Wednesday at CHS.

On that afternoon, Watson was an easy winner at first singles (6-1, 6-4); Greiner won her second match in straight sets (6-3, 6-2); and the pair of Andrea Beck and Parker cruised 6-1, 6-2.

To clinch it, Tori Beck and Rhodes made quick work of their opponents at No. 3 doubles, winning 6-0, 6-0. The girls also won the second doubles match, 6-2, 6-4, behind the play of Guenther and Whitney Rotrock.

Previously, Canby met its match in Tualatin, falling 2-6 Monday on the road. Only Andrea Beck and Parker, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 winners at No. 1 doubles, and Whitney Rotrock and Lundgren, 6-2, 7-6 victors at No. 3, managed wins for Canby.

The girls figure to run into two more tough opponents this week, with McMinnville (April 11) and Dallas (April 13) due up on the schedule. CANBY BOYS: Like their girl counterparts, the boys won two of three matches last week.

Friday at Silverton, Canby won every singles match in straight sets, with Matt Snyder (6-2, 6-1), Colin Millison (6-4, 6-3), Josh Stinson (6-2, 6-0) and Brent Stewart (6-2, 7-5) doing the honors.

Canby survived two close calls in doubles but still managed to win all four contests, making for a convincing 8-0 shutout.

"The team really bounced back from our loss to Tualatin (April 3)," head coach Myra Brown said. "It was nice to see us win like we did Friday, especially considering the fact we mixed up our lineup a bit."

Doubles winners that day were Bobby Brown/Brian Stuhr (7-5, 5-7, 7-5), Lucas Howard/Reggie Stegmeier (6-3, 6-1), Alex Evans/Jarret Hamstreet (5-7, 6-3, 6-4) and Ben Sigler/Nate Krytenberg (6-4, 6-1).

Two days before, a shorthanded Forest Grove team was no match for Canby, which won three of five matches played.

Stinson was a 6-4, 6-3 winner at third singles; Stegmeier won a tight 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 match at No. 4; and the doubles pair of Brown and Stuhr didn't lose a single game.

The Vikings, with only six players, had to forfeit the third and fourth doubles matches.

Against Tualatin, only Millison, a 6-1, 6-3 winner at No. 4 singles, and the pair of Howard and Tien Tran, 6-3, 6-2 winners at fourth doubles, emerged victorious over the always-strong Timberwolves.

The Cougars are home for both their matches this week, hosting McMinnville Tuesday and Dallas on Thursday.

Going into last week, members of the Canby High School baseball team were fully aware they would be going up against two of the better Pacific-8 Conference teams on their schedule.

It came as no surprise, then, that the Cougars found themselves in a pair of tight ball games that ultimately wound up as one-run contests. Unfortunately, neither went the Cougars' way.

Friday against Tualatin, Canby played flawless defensively and got superb pitching from reliever Josh Cushing, only to fall 3-2 on a bright, sunny afternoon at CHS.

The Cougars spotted the Timberwolves a 3-0 lead in the fourth before mounting a rally of their own in the fifth. After Steve Young started it with a single, Marco Zamora reached on a walk and a fielder's choice moved Young over to third.

Garret Miyake followed with an RBI grounder and Ross Crooks delivered a second run with a double to score Jake Norquist.

But that was all the offense Canby could generate, as the team went down in order in the final two innings.

"We hit the ball hard and we only had two strikeouts as a team," Canby head coach Marty Hunter said. "If the ball bounces our way, we win this ball game. But that's baseball."

The loss dropped Canby to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in Pac-8 play heading into a Monday away game with McMinnville. In other games last week, the Cougars beat Newberg 8-4 on Wednesday and dropped a tough-to-take 4-3 decision to the league's preseason favorite, Forest Grove, Monday at home.

Unlike Monday's loss, the team played clean both Friday and Wednesday, making the opposition earn everything they got. CHS didn't commit an error Friday and endured only one bad inning - a three-run fourth - as pitchers Brett Fuge and Cushing kept the Timberwolves within reach.

Tualatin put together four hits in that inning, three of which came after two were out.

"That's just a tough break for us," Hunter said. "They had a guy on, then we get two out before they get a hit, a walk, another hit and a double."

Two days before, the Cougars were the ones picking up the clutch hits in the late innings, as Young connected for a two-run homer in the sixth to break a 3-3 tie.

Canby added three more insurance runs in the inning, with Cushing delivering an RBI on a ground out and another run crossing on a botched dropped third strike. Jess Driggers capped things off with an RBI single to score Nate Dawson.

The rally made a winner of Cushing, who improved to 4-0 by scattering eight hits, striking out a pair and walking two in six innings. Crooks closed the door by coaxing a game-ending double play in the seventh.

For the game, Young, Crooks and Driggers each had two hits.

On Monday, it was shoddy defense that spelled the difference against Forest Grove, as Canby committed four errors in the final two innings to blow a 3-0 lead.

The Cougars jumped ahead on Fuge's RBI single in the second and Cushing's two-run hit in the fifth, but the defense couldn't hold off the Vikings. The visitors scored three times in the sixth and won it with an unearned run in the seventh.

Fuge went the distance on the mound and finished with six strikeouts, three walks and four runs allowed.

"We played a lot better at the end of the week than we did Monday, so that's encouraging," Hunter said. "The kids are working hard and playing well. We just had a couple of tough breaks this week."

Canby is home for Silverton Wednesday and visits Dallas on Friday. Both games begin at 4:30 p.m.

A pair of school track and field records took a fall at North Marion High School last week, as Erin Gerhardt and the 1,600-meter boys relay team put their names in the books with solid performances at two different meets.

Thursday in a four-way meet in Pleasant Hill, sophomore Gerhardt bettered her own mark in the 3,000 by a wide margin, clocking a time of 11 minutes, 19.5 seconds to win the event. That was some 13 ticks faster than her previous mark (11:32.4), set last year.

It was the second running mark to fall within a week, as the foursome of Abel Garza, Alex McGladrey, Kevin Krieger and Ryan Krause teamed up to dash the 1,600 in 3:37.99 at a four-school meet in Woodburn on April 3. That erased the record of 3:39.3 that had stood for 16 years.

"The kids continue to come along nicely, and it was nice to see us get these records," North Marion head coach Jim Bean said. "The biggest problem of late is finding enough practice time. We're looking forward to getting back to one meet a week so we have a little more time to rest up and prepare." The North Marion boys finished second in both meets last week.

On Thursday, Eric Griffiths, Jason Ellingson and Sam Vanderbeek each won two events in helping the Huskies score 76.5 points, behind only Elmira's 84.

Sweet Home was third with 57 and host Pleasant Hill fourth with 45.5.

Griffiths was the main man in the middle distances, running the 1,500 in 4:18.9 and the 800 in 2:07.2 for victories in both.

Also on the track, Vanderbeek claimed wins in the hurdles races with his 17.6 time in the highs and 45.6 mark in the intermediates.

Leading the way in the field was Ellingson, who threw the shot 44 feet, 7 inches and the discus 124-4.

The squad also picked up points from runner-up finishers Krieger, who went 17-10 1/2 in the long jump; Richard Nelson, who ran the 3,000 in 10:52.7; Greg Jorgenson, who hurled the discus 113-6; and Seth Sumetz, who ran the 100 in 11.7 seconds.

The girls didn't fare as well, scoring only 14 points. And the majority of those came from Gerhardt's record-breaking 3,000 run.

Elmira won both the boys and girls competitions, scoring 146 points on the girls side to easily outclass Pleasant Hill (52) and Sweet Home (52).

In Woodburn last Monday, the Husky boys took second in the five-team field, finishing with 92 points to Sherwood's 124. Banks was third (71), Woodburn fourth (53) and Blanchett of Salem fifth (24).

In addition to the 1,600 relay, North Marion picked up wins from Vanderbeek in the high (16.9) and intermediate hurdles (42.9), Griffiths in the 1,500 (4:24.3) and Ellingson in the discus (130-10).

In other events, Krause was second in the high jump (5-6), Sumetz took second in the 100 (11.9) and Griffiths was the runner-up placer in the 800 (2:07.4).

The girls were again led by Gerhardt, who won both the 800 (2:35.9) and the 1,500 (5:19.2). Marissa Lapp also placed in two events, throwing the shot 30-2 1/2 for first and the javelin 83-3 for second, and Mary Kahle was second in the high hurdles in 18.8 seconds.

Those results accounted for most of North Marion's 51 points. Woodburn won the meet with a 104 total, followed by Sherwood at 94 and Banks at 87.

The Huskies will be in Molalla this Thursday for the Capital Conference relays meet, set for a 3:30 p.m. start.

By Sean Patterson

A quality tournament gave the Canby boys golf team both a challenge and a nice break from league competition last Thursday at Willamette Valley Country Club.

In the end, Jesuit emerged the victor out of the eight-team field, defeating Centennial in a one-hole playoff, while the host Cougars took fifth with a 422 total.

Even the individual race came down to a playoff, as Jesuit's Michael Stewart beat out Adam Martin of Bend and Kyle Sultzer of Centennial after the three players finished at 2-over-par 74.

"It was a quality field of golf teams - most likely, at least six of these teams will end up at the state tournament," Canby head coach Matt Sprague said. "We didn't play well, but this tournament provided a break in the pressure atmosphere of league competition, and I'm not too concerned that we let down a little.

''We have four league matches left, and our goal is to be one of the two teams that qualify for state. As long as the boys don't lose sight of that, we'll be okay.''

Jesuit and Centennial both wound up at 393 through 18 holes, requiring the two schools to engage in a one-hole, five-man playoff, which Jesuit won 21-22. Bend was third at 408, followed by Hood River (414), Canby, Lincoln (423), West Albany (429) and Sprague (incomplete).

Leading the way for Canby were Jon Warren (82) and Ryan Gilmour (83). Close behind them were Shane Greig (85) and the pair of Aaron Smith and Robert Fisher (both 86). The event was played in rainy, windy conditions.

Three days before, the Cougars again wound up second to Tualatin in a Pacific-8 Conference match at WVCC.

Led by Gilmour's 77, the Cougars scored a 316 to beat out Dallas (321) and Newberg (322) for the runner-up spot. Tualatin won the competition for the third straight week with a 305.

"I was very pleased that as a team we are dropping our score," Sprague said. "There was not a bad score among our varsity five. It was good to see Aaron shoot well again - we need his talent and experience if we are going tomake a run at a state qualifying position."

Smith was close behind Gilmour with a 79, and teammates Warren (80), Greig (80) and Colin Tucker (82) were within a couple shots of one another.

As a bonus, for the second straight week, Canby's jayvee squad fired the day's lowest collective score, with Kyle Greer, Fisher, Austin Elliott, Jason Enyart and Tyler Thompson doing the honors.

CANBY GIRLS: Canby again placed third in its Pac-8 match, finishing with a 432 team total to trail Tualatin (390) and Tigard (410) in action last Monday from Michelbook Golf Course in McMinnville.

Amber Kallstrom and Adrienne Giger both shot 106s to lead the Cougars, while teammate Angela Carroll was one shot behind them at 107. Jean-Marie Peterson (113) and Emily Reif (124) rounded out Canby's top five.

It marked the second straight week the Cougars were third in the Pac-8 race.

The girls are home twice this week, playing host to the Pac-8 field on Monday at Willamette Valley Country Club and entertaining three other schools at an invitational Thursday beginning at 1 p.m.