Following is a brief round-up of the whereabouts and some achievements of Sweet Home High School alumni competing in college sports:
Cassandra Schumacher (graduated 2006), a senior at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, finished 66th overall and fourth for the Urban Knights at the PacWest Cross-Country Championships, held Oct. 27 at the Kahuku Golf Course in Oahu, Hawaii. Academy of Art, which received full NCAA certification last summer, qualified for the Nov. 3 NCAA West Regional, also at the Kahuku course.
Pioneering an ART U Athletics department that received full NCAA certification this past summer, members of the Urban Knights men’s and women’s cross country teams are fresh off the Pacific West Conference Championships (Oct. 27) and will be the first to compete in the postseason. Schumacher placed 141st overall and fourth for the Urban Knights, running the 6K course in 25:51.
Olivia Johnson (2011), a sophomore cross-country runner at Corban, was 40th overall and third for the Warriors at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships hosted by Warner Pacific at Lents Park in Portland on Nov. 3, running 19:51. Corban finished eighth.
Zane Wise (2009), a senior offensive guard and center at Willamette University, was named to the All-Northwest Conference Honorable Mention Football Team after the Bearcats finished 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the NWC, good for third place, during a difficult schedule that featured six road games and four at home. Their only two losses were road games at nationally-ranked NCAA Division III playoff participants Pacific Lutheran and Linfield.
Tiffany Miller (2012), a freshman setter at Southern Oregon University, played 57 sets and 20 digs in 16 matches for the Raiders, who finished 19-11 after falling to Eastern Oregon in the Cascade Collegiate Conference playoff semifinals.
Freshman Jasmin Yoder (2012), playing midfielder for Hesston College in Kansas, scored two goals for the Larks, who finished the season 9-10.
Northwest Christian College sophomore Isaiah Blake (2011), who played soccer at both Sweet Home and East Linn Christian Academy during high school, was recognized as a All-Cascade Collegiate Conference Scholar-Athlete this fall. The Beacons finished 3-14-1 for the season, including a double-overtime 2-2 tie against Corban. Blake played in 15 of those games, but did not score. Freshman Chris Carpenter appeared in one game this season.
Junior Jayce Calhoon (2010) has become a “leader” of the University of Wyoming swim team, according to the school’s website, after helping the Cowboy 800-yard freestyle relay team to a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championship and a school-record time of 6:31.62. Individually, in the 200 backstroke he placed third with time of 1:46.79. In the 200 back preliminaries, Calhoon swam the fastest time in UW history of 1:46.47.
In the 500 freestyle at conference, Calhoon set a personal-best time in the preliminaries of 4:29.53. In the 500 free finals, he placed seventh with a time of 4:30.00. He set another personal-best time in the 400 individual medley preliminaries swimming a 3:57.54. He went on to record another seventh-place finish in the finals with a time of 4:00.00. For the season, he earned two First Team All-MPSF honors in the 200 back and as a member of the 800 freestyle relay squad. He also earned second-team honors in the 500 freestyle and 400 IM.
Last summer, Calhoon earned a spot in the U.S. Olympic Team trials in the 200 backstroke, where, despite being ill, he swam a long course personal-best time of 2:07.66.
On Nov. 10 he helped the Cowboys to their first dual meet win of the season, over Air Force in Colorado Springs, winning the men’s 100 back in 51.73 and the 200 backstroke in 1:51.19.
Kieran Schaefer (2010) is a junior swimming for Seattle University.
The Southern Oregon wrestling team, with two former Huskies on its roster, kicked off its season Nov. 7 with the Black and Red Intrasquad Dual Nov. 7. Sophomore Brock Crocker (2011), wrestling at 157 pounds, pinned Kyle Riggs, formerly of Lowell, in 3:35. Freshman Scottie Stockman (2012), wrestling at 133, lost by a 9-4 decision to Joe Hitchison (Sequim).
Sophomore Kris Newport (2011) is wrestling at Southwestern Oregon Community College.
In basketball, Gavin Kauffman (2011), will be a 6-4 sophomore wing this year after leading Chemeketa Community College – a team that included nine freshmen – to the finals of the NWAACC Tournament last March and a 22-8 record.
Drew Emmert (2010) has moved on to Graceland University in Iowa, after playing two years at Hesston College in Kansas.
Graceland, in Lamoni, Iowa, is a NAIA school that finished 20-11 last year.
A 6-2 junior guard, Emmert helped Hesston to a 15-15 record last year that concluded with an NJCAA Region VI playoff loss to Brown Mackie College.
“I am excited Drew has decided to be a Jacket,” said Graceland head men’s basketball coach Jeffrey Hamilton. “He will bring experience and a defensive toughness that we need. He is a team guy and will be a good fit in the program. Drew can play both the off guard and small forward positions, and we are expecting him to fill a need left by our graduating seniors.”
Emmert is majoring in education, with a minor in coaching.