Photo by Sean Patterson

With the encouragement of her father Mike (top), Rebekah Rudometkin successfully executes a squat in the Canby High School weight room. Although relatively new to the sport, she has already made herself known in school and at the regional level.

By Sean Patterson
of the Herald

Rebekah Rudometkin doesn't have any secrets when it comes to powerlifting.

In fact, even she has a hard time explaining just why she is so successful at it. In her words, it's just a matter of going out and "doing it."

It's a simple philosophy that, pardon the pun, carries a lot of weight.

"I really don't know why I'm doing so well," she says with a shy smile and a shake of her head. "Like I said, I just go out and do it. I have no idea how."

Rudometkin, a 16-year-old who just finished her sophomore year at Canby High School, has already broken the school record in the squat, successfully negotiating 350 pounds on May 25. The former record was 335.

And, last week, she established a personal best in the bench when she hoisted 155 pounds. It was well short of the school record of 215, but she believes she can get there with a little more training.

But as satisfying as school records are, Rudometkin isn't content with simply putting her name on a plaque in the CHS weight room. She also wants to prove herself at regional and national competitions.

She has already won a competition at the regional level, taking first place in her weight and age group in Edmonds, Wash., on May 20. On that occasion, she recorded a 290 in the squat, a 140 in the bench press and a 280 in the deadlift for a 710 total.

That effort was enough to qualify her for a national competition in Indiana next year.

"I was happy with how it went, but I could have done better in the squat," she said. "I had a 340 but they didn't count it because I lifted a finger.

That disqualified it, but I was still able to meet the national qualifying standard (610)."

Ultimately, she wants to become a national champion.

"I'd like to get the national squat record (355) for my age group, and I'm five pounds under it right now," she said. "I also have a goal to get a 1,000 total for the three lifts - a 400 in the squat, a 400 in the deadlift and a 200 in the bench.

''It'll be a challenge, but I'm going to go for it. I'm working hard to get there.''

What makes Rudometkin's story so amazing is the fact she's only been doing this eight months. In wake of knee and arm injuries suffered in other sports, she opted to give powerlifting a try when she started her sophomore year.

By October of last year, she was at 185 in the squat. From there, she progressively got better at a remarkable rate.

"It didn't just happen," she says. "I had to work at it all the time. I work out both at school and at home, and my dad (Mike) really helps me train. He's like my coach."

Before making the trip to nationals next year, Rudometkin plans on taking part in another regional event in Edmonds, Wash., in October. There, she will try to break the U.S. squat record in the 16- and 17-year-old, 198-pound age group.

The U.S. record of 341 1/4 pounds is definitely within sight.

"I've done 350, but it's not official until you do it at a competition like this," she explains. "I'll keep working out at school over the summer, and I will train at home every day but Sundays."

After all, even the strongest of the strong need a little break every now and then.

For members of the Canby High School softball team, a May 26 playoff loss in North Eugene probably had a familiar ring to it.

After all, it was the Highlanders who eliminated the Cougars from the Class 4A playoffs last season.

And it was the same pitcher, sophomore Amy Harris, who shut Canby down - this time to the tune of one run on three hits. The end result: A 3-1 North Eugene victory in the second round of the state playoffs.

Talk about deja vu.

"It was tough to lose to them again, but at least this time we played well throughout the game and didn't give them anything," Canby head coach Greg Herman said. "I honestly believe that if we had scored another run or two after tying it up, we would have gotten to them. You could tell they were shaken up when we got on the board."

Canby, the No. 2 seed out of the Pacific-8 Conference, fell behind 1-0 in the third inning before knotting things up in the top of the fifth.

After Lisa Ash started the rally with a single, Lisa Allen grounded to third and moved the runner over. Lindsay Burke then slapped a ball to right that was fielded and thrown wildly to first in an attempt to force her out.

Ash, taking advantage of the overthrow, was able to scamper home and tie it up.

Unfortunately, the Midwestern League champions managed to score two runs in the last of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. The big blow was a two-run double by Dani Jodoin over the head of center fielder Shelly Steinke.

Harris, who shut the Cougars out 3-0 in the opening round of state last spring, scattered three hits to outduel Canby senior Joanna Barstad. The CHS right-hander wound up striking out five and allowing seven hits in an admirable effort.

The loss left Canby with a 23-5 record for the season.

"The kids did an outstanding job all year," Herman said. "We have nothing to be ashamed of."

The Cougars passed their first-round test with a 1-0 shutout of Reynolds on May 23. North Eugene, meanwhile, advanced all the way to Saturday's 4A championship final and beat Central Catholic 1-0 to cap a 27-3 season.

Led by the topflight swimming of Brandan Mantei and Megan Schuh, the Canby Gators placed 14 swimmers in trophy-winning positions at the Olympic-style David Douglas Sextathalon meet May 20-21.

The Sextathalon, held at David Douglas High School in Portland, compares to the Decathlon in the Olympics, with the exception that it is only six events and the lowest combined score (fastest times) is the goal. Each swimmer participates in the same six events as all the other swimmers in their age group, and the swimmer with the lowest total time is the winner.

Taking home a gold first-place trophy, Brandan Mantei dominated the Boys 9-10 age group by taking first place in all but one of his events. He won the 50-meter freestyle, backstroke and butterfly events, and took first in both the 100 free and individual medley. In doing so, he dropped eight seconds off his best times in both 100 events. The only race he didn't win was the 50 breaststroke, where he finished a close second.

Receiving a silver second-place trophy, Megan Schuh was a master of consistency, finishing with three second places, two fourths and a fifth in her 8-year-old Girls bracket. She placed a close second in the 25 back, 50 free and 100 IM, and garnered fourth-place finishes in the 25 freestyle and breaststroke.

Most impressively, Schuh dropped time in all her events, taking 49 seconds off her 100 IM, 16 off her 50 free and 13 off her 25 breaststroke. Her fifth-place came in the 25 butterfly.

Jacob Keil also brought home silver, finishing second in the Boys 11-12 age group. He took second in four events - the 50 fly and back and 100 free and IM. He also finished fourth in the 50 free and breaststroke and shortened his times by more than seven seconds in both the 100 free and IM.

Meanwhile, Amy Burnham placed fourth in the Girls 9-10 category, posting five fourth-place finishes and a seventh place. She took over 14 seconds off her time in the 100 IM.

Also, fifth place in the Girls 9-10 bracket went to Shauna Cooper, who managed to get that placement in four of her events while taking 13 seconds off her 100 IM mark. Hannah Garcia rounded out the top placers for the age group with a seventh place. In other action, Alex Smithey placed ninth in the Girls 11-12 group.

In boys competition, Dean Mischell managed fifth overall in the 9-10 age group. He took second in the 100 freestyle and had two fourth-place finishes, knocking 40 seconds off his 100 IM time.

In other events, Nathan Krettler took ninth in the 8-and-under group, and Joshua Garcia got eighth among 11- and 12-year-olds while Justin Krettler took ninth and Lucas Gabriel 11th. Corey O'Brien finished ninth in the 15-and-overs, and Andrew Blackman finished 12th in the 8-and-unders.

Also swimming well for Canby were Karri-Ann Benthin, who improved her 100 IM time by 25 seconds, and Kevin Larkins, who did the same in the 200 IM. The Peachey brothers, Matthew and Daniel, both improved their 100 I.M. times significantly, combining to drop 65 seconds total.

Also, Nicole Schuh dropped 37 seconds in her 100 IM, while Kelsey Priest knocked 18 seconds off her time in the same event. Kaitlin Logan took 12 seconds off her 100 freestyle, and Laurance Koenig did the same in the 200 IM. Robert Street set a personal best in the 100 backstroke, improving six seconds in that event.

The other highlight of the meet were the inner tube races held after the final events had concluded. While the final results were being tallied, athletes were kept busy by participating in relay races using inner tubes.

The idea is to go as fast as possible but to remain in contact with the tube at all times - a task easier said than done.

The Splash, an Under-14 A girls softball team featuring several Canby players, kicked off the summer in winning fashion last week.

Tuesday night, the girls defeated the Sandy Fireballs, a 16U B team, by a 7-5 count as the defense rose to the occasion with some outstanding plays.

For starters, center fielder Katie Peters made two running catches, and teammates Aubree Petit and Jeeni Schantin combined for some spectacular plays in the infield.

The most impressive inning defensively came in the final one, when Peters sprinted backwards to snag the first out in center.

The next batter blooped a shot just over the pitcher's head that Petit nearly caught. She recovered in time to grab the ball and throw a bullet to first baseman Rachael Wood, who stretched for the second out.

After a hit, the next batter drove a hard-bouncing grounder just to the first base side of second, which Schantin dove for and back-flipped to Petit for the force.

Also contributing were catcher Maria Madeira, who kept baserunners in check with her quick throws to second and third, and pitcher Erinn Hogan, who struck out one, walked four and scattered 10 hits.

Offensively, the Splash belted out eight hits, with Sarah Boatright leading the way by going 2 for 2. Schantin was 2 for 3 and Petit, Peters and Regina Raines all contributed singles. Leah Bungo belted out a triple.

The first Splash score came in the bottom of the first inning, when Schantin hit a ball past the pitcher. Madeira moved Schantin around to third with a sacrifice drag bunt, and Schantin scored after escaping a rundown between third and home.

More recently, the girls defeated the Clackamas Rebels 7-3 on Thursday.

Led by Madeira and Rikki Smead's 2-for-3 outings, the Splash dominated offensively. Madeira and Smead also had two RBIs each.

Other Splash members contributing hits included Petit, Schantin, Bungo, Peters, Boatright and Raines. The Splash's big inning came in the fourth, when Petit got on base from a throwing error and was advanced by Schantin's hit.

Madeira then scored her on yet another hit, Smead ripped a single to left center to score Schantin, and Bungo had a deep sacrifice fly to score Madeira.

Finally, Peters ripped a single to score Smead, then scored on a fielder's choice.

On the mound, Schantin pitched a solid game, picking up 11 strikeouts and allowing one hit while walking four.

The girls also took part in a weekend tournament, however results were not made available by press time.

This season, the Splash has moved up an age division (from 12U to 14U) and a classification (from B to A). The team elected to play in the 16/18U league to push skill development.