By Sean Patterson
Canby Herald

Surprises. Dominant teams. Historic performances. All were a part of the year in sports that made the past 12 months so memorable in terms of local athletics.

Those who witnessed Eric Logsdon's run at Steve Prefontaine's 3,000-meter record won't ever forget that afternoon in Eugene.

And what of the North Marion baseball team, which went 27-2 in the spring and outclassed several "big schools" en route to reaching the Legion AAA state tournament in the summer?

Later in the year, a Canby girls cross country team became the first such CHS squad to reach the state meet in 15 years.

These were just a few of the stories that captured our attention in 2000.

Following is the Herald's rundown of the year's top 10 sports stories. Enjoy.

Logsdon makes a run at legendary Prefontaine, wins two state titles

Anyone who was there won't soon forget what they saw.

On the University of Oregon track was a tall, lanky runner from Canby, circling the oval at an unheard-of pace. Eric Logsdon wasn't just running away with a state 3,000-meter championship - he was flirting with history.

Logsdon, a senior representing Canby High School, was running faster than any Oregon high schooler had before. He was on pace to break the 3,000-meter state record set by the legendary Steve Prefontaine.

With one lap to go, he was at 7:03. The crowd roared as he dashed through that final lap, chasing history.

Logsdon didn't quite get the record, finishing in 8 minutes, 10.66 seconds (Prefontaine ran an 8:08 for Marshfield), but it was easily fast enough to win the race and put Logsdon in some elite company. It ranked as one of the top high school distance runs of all time, and it easily established a state-meet record (formerly 8:21.11).

As if that weren't enough, Logsdon returned the following day to easily win the 1,500 meters in 3:51.39, just off the state-meet record of 3:50.8.

But Logsdon wasn't quite finished. Just days after the state meet, the 18-year-old traveled to the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, Calif., and added more hardware to his collection with a win in a 3,200 national race. His time in that event was 8:47.8.

Not surprisingly, Logsdon gained national recognition for his efforts. In August, the CHS runner was selected as the 2000 Gatorade Oregon High School Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

In the fall, Logsdon embarked on his collegiate running career at the University of Oregon.

Girls cross country team makes first trip to state since 1985 season

It had been a long time coming for the Canby High School girls cross country program.

The last time the Cougars advanced to the state meet, Coca Cola was experimenting with a new formula, Michael J. Fox was hanging out in 1955 and Tears for Fears was on top of the charts.

That's right. It was 1985.

But that dubious streak came to an end on the cool, drizzly afternoon of Oct. 26, when a group of Canby girls ran away with the school's first-ever Pacific-9 Conference district championship.

Led by the winning efforts of sophomore Jean-Marie Peterson, the Cougars easily outclassed Tigard for top honors. And Peterson, with her personal-best 5,000-meter time of 18 minutes, 38 seconds, easily outclassed the field in establishing the second-fastest time in the district's history.

Clinching the win for Canby were Zoe Anton (fourth in 19:15), Jessica Johnston (ninth in 19:48), Lexi Newman (13th in 20:16) and Julie Garcia (20th in 20:55).

At state, Canby came through again by running a respectable sixth in the team race. Once again, Peterson led the charge with her ninth-place run of 19:33, an effort that earned her the distinction of being second team all-state.

N. Marion dominates foes, wins fourth league title before summer run

Another spring, another dominant season for the North Marion High School baseball squad.

Head coach Randy Brack and the Huskies have been winning for so long now, it's not a shock when they claim a league title and go deep into the Class 3A playoffs.

But 2000 was an especially memorable year for the Huskies.

Not only did the team win its Capital Conference for a fourth straight season, the boys went 27-2 during the spring season and put up some eye-popping numbers along the way.

Kory Casto, who would be named the 3A Player of the Year upon the season's completion, hit .624 with 58 RBIs while also going 12-1 as a pitcher with a 2.12 earned run average and 110 strikeouts.

The Huskies also got big performances from Tucker Brack, who had a .506 batting average with 44 RBIs and 57 runs scored, and Derek Marsh, who hit .474 with 27 RBIs.

Unfortunately, top-ranked North Marion failed to claim a state championship, falling 11-3 to fifth-ranked Philomath in the state semifinals, but North Marion wasn't quite finished.

Competing at the Legion AAA level in summer ball, many of the same players who overwhelmed the opposition in the spring propelled the squad to a berth in the prestigious eight-team state tournament in August.

In doing so, "small" North Marion had to get by several 4A schools, many of which drew from a pool of all-star players over an extensive area.

New basketball tourney brings players from all over region to Canby

For basketball lovers, it was a dream come true.

On a cool, cloudy Saturday morning in July, some 59 teams from all over the region converged on the streets of downtown Canby for the city's inaugural 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Sponsored by the Canby Rotary Club, the Nothing But Net event went off without a hitch, as teams in eight divisions filled the streets July 22-23.

Cool conditions Saturday were a welcome sight to many players, some of whom were taking the court for the first time in years - or ever. The skies cleared for Sunday's final games, but conditions were still pleasant.

In the end, the event crowned eight champions - Nation's (Division A), The Terminators (Division B), Nemyre's (Division C), Whiskey Hill (Division D), Kirsch's (Division E), Whiskey Hill (Division F), Meeters (Division G) and Davis (Ladies, Division H).

Also, Travis Newton, Sherri Dillon and Steve Renner won their respective age group's free-throw shooting contest, Benjamin Johnson took the three-point shooting event and Ammon Bemis claimed the slam dunk title.

Rotary organizers admitted the turnout wasn't as big as first hoped, however the event's success and popularity ensured it would be back in 2001, and hopefully, for years to come.

"We have no complaints -- everything went well," spokesman Tom Nolan said.

Champ enjoys a banner year, earns Canby's highest state place ever

The fact Canby High School junior Lisa Champ reached the state swimming championships came as no surprise.

It's what she did when she was there that was so noteworthy.

Swimming the 100-yard freestyle at the Class 4A championships at Mt. Hood Community College, Champ became Canby's all-time leading state placer when she touched the wall second with a time of 53.48 seconds.

It wasn't her best time - she actually swam faster at the district meet the week before - but it was quick enough to put her name on top of the Canby state list.

Only Bethany Pendleton of Hood River Valley was faster than Champ, clocking a time of 51.78 to win the event. Champ's final kick allowed her to hold off third-place winner Samara Schrimsher of Westview, who finished a mere one one-hundredth of a second behind her in 53.49.

That was only the beginning of a successful swimming season for Champ, who continued to shine on the club circuit as a member of the Canby Gators. Late in the summer, she won three of her six races and posted best times in all but one of them at the Western Zones Championships in Fresno, Calif.

And, more recently, she got that elusive Junior National time at a meet in Washington state.

N. Marion shakes off its losing reputation, reaches hoop playoffs

The Canby High School girls cross country team wasn't the only local local girls team enjoying a historic season.

For the first time in years, the North Marion girls basketball program not only had a winning season, finishing third in the Capital Conference race, they became the first Husky squad since 1984 to qualify for the state tournament.

Perhaps the biggest harbinger of things to come came when Kelley Carpenter poured in a whopping 34 points to lead the Huskies to a 68-61 overtime victory over league-champion Woodburn, which was undefeated coming in.

Then came some dramatic, last-second heroics. Playing Molalla in the opening round of the league playoffs, Kirsten Kahle hit a last-second shot that lifted the girls to a 47-46 defeat of the Indians and propelled them into the second round.

Once there, North Marion blew away Cascade 63-46 to earn a spot in the Class 3A subtournament against state power Wilsonville.

The dream of reaching the round of 16 came up one win short, as the Huskies fell 69-50 to the Wildcats, but the rebirth of the program was complete. Not since the glory days of 1983, when the Huskies won a state title, was there so much optimism in the Husky camp.

North Marion proceeded to carry that momentum into the next season, opening the year 3-0.

Canby surprises all, defends its boys league golf crown

All spring long, Tualatin was the team to beat in the Pacific-8 Conference boys golf race.

That is, until district.

Braving high winds and a surprising Dallas contingent, the Canby High School boys pulled off the upset of upsets when they successfully defended their league title in action from the OGA Members Course at Tukwila in Woodburn.

Tualatin was easily pegged as the school to beat going in. The Timberwolves had won the majority of league tournaments all year and were well ahead in the points standings heading into district.

But that all changed at district, as Tualatin folded and Dallas and Canby emerged to place first and second, respectively, and earn the district's two berths in the Class 4A state tournament.

Canby did it with consistency, as its top four players shot in the 70s the opening day and stayed within seven shots of one another on the second day. Leading the way was Canby freshman Ryan Gilmour, who fired a 78-79 - 157 to earn a spot on the league's first team.

Joining him on the state squad were Jon Warren, Aaron Smith, Shane Greig and Colin Tucker.

The Cougars, with just one senior in the lineup, didn't fare as well at state, where they settled for 13th place at Langdon Farms Golf Course. But the team's improbable league championship was arguably the biggest local sports shocker of the spring season.

Canby wrestlers get fourth, sixth at 4A state tournament

A pair of Canby High School wrestlers, Garret Miyake and Lucas Hambleton, led the charge for the Cougars at the Class 4A state tournament in Portland last February.

Wrestling at 125 pounds, Miyake won six of his eight matches to post the team's highest finish at the big event. He beat Justin Beedy of Roosevelt to open the tourney, then lost to eventual state champion Gabe Hamel of South Eugene 3-1 in the second round.

The defeat only seemed to inspire the CHS junior, who proceeded to go on a five-match win streak before losing again in the third- and fourth-place bout.

Hambleton, the team's only district champion at 112, won five of his eight matches in taking sixth in his weight. Like teammate Miyake, he dropped his second-round match and dropped into the consolation round. As a team, the Cougars wound up 17th overall, scoring 42 points.

CHS football team has big turnaround, comes within a win of state

The team didn't quite make state, but the Canby High School football season was anything but a bust.

For starters, the Cougars enjoyed a degree of respectability after suffering through a painful 1-8 season in 1999. And the team very nearly reached the state playoffs, coming within one win of doing so.

The squad opened the year 3-0 before going into a bit of a tailspin, falling to 1-3 in the Pacific-9 Conference race at one point. But rather than pack it in, the Cougars won their next two games, one of which was an impressive come-from-behind defeat of Silverton in front of a homecoming crowd.

Canby, at 3-3 in league, needed to beat Newberg in its season finale to lock up a playoff spot, but it didn't happen. Newberg won 28-8, eliminating Canby from postseason contention.

Still, with a 5-4 overall record, the Cougars had come through with a winning season.

Local cowboy Coleman emerges as Clackamas County Rodeo champion

It comes around every August, but this year's Clackamas County Rodeo was particularly memorable for one simple reason.

For the first time in memory, a local cowboy won it.

Molalla's Ross Coleman surprised everyone when he emerged the all-around winner of the competition, roping in $3,459.45 in winnings.

Coleman, a 1997 graduate of Molalla High School, earned the honor with his exploits in bull riding and bareback. He was the star attraction Saturday night, winning bareback with a score of 78 and taking the bull riding event with an 89-point ride.

The event itself again drew many of the sport's biggest names, including several former and current all-around champions on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit.

Coleman was among a handful of local competitors who did well. Among others taking part was Molalla's Matt Weishoff, who won Sunday's bareback finals with an 82 score.