Benny Westcott
Sweet Home High School senior Adaira Sleutel won’t have to choose between basketball and volleyball next year, having signed Friday, April 29, to play both at Linn-Benton Community College.
The ceremony took place in the commons area at Sweet Home High School.
“I have loved both sports so much equally,” she said. “I’ve gone back and forth between which one I like more. I couldn’t decide. When I realized it could be a possibility [to play both in college], I had to jump for it. And when Linn-Benton gave me that possibility, I knew it was going to be great.”
“It’s pretty cool to go to college and play one sport, let alone two,” Sweet Home athletic director Dan Tow said. “It’s always exciting to watch our student athletes go places after high school and compete in athletics.”
Sleutel will join three former Husky teammates on the LBCC volleyball team: Shelbey Nichol, Graci Zanona and Savannah Hutchins. Last season, the trio helped the Roadrunners win their first Northwest Athletic Conference championship in any women’s sport. The squad went undefeated (16-0) in NWAC South Region play and 32-2 overall.
“I felt as though it was a really good fit for me, school-wise and athletically,” Sleutel said. “Obviously, there’s three girls there that I played with previously. There was already good chemistry. I went and visited the team, and they were all awesome people. I had a great connection with [Head Volleyball Coach Jayme Frazier], and it just felt like the right fit.”
“We’re really excited to have her, to add to our already very successful team,” Frazier said.
The LBCC women’s basketball team finished fifth in the NWAC at 7-9 in conference action and 15-11 overall.
Sleutel also spoke with Chemeketa Community College representatives. However, she said, “When LB reached out, it felt right.”
She didn’t plan on becoming a college athlete until this year.
“COVID-19 and everything messed up my plans,” she said. “I was going to go into the military, but I didn’t want [the COVID-19 vaccine]. So college sports actually became an option, and I kind of swooped in at the last minute and stole a spot.”
This year turned out to be a stellar time for Sweet Home athletics. The seventh-ranked Class 4A volleyball team wrapped its season at 9-3 in Oregon West Conference play and 12-6 overall, then fell in the state quarterfinals to eventual champion Cascade. Sleutel was named First Team OWC as a middle blocker.
Her senior basketball season was positively historic. The Huskies posted their first 10-victory season in three decades (placing fourth in league competition at 6-7 in league and 11-14 overall) and their first OSAA playoff appearance since 1992.
Sleutel was named second team All-League, as well as her team’s most inspirational player; she also received a Coaches Award for leadership, integrity and coachability. She finished her career with 254 points and 11 points per game, plus 268 rebounds, 41 assists and 35 steals.
Sleutel looks forward to the college-sports atmosphere and “being on a team with experienced people who are all there for one common goal – and that’s to get to the championship.”
“I want to improve athletically and as a person as well,” she continued. “This will help me decide which sport I want to continue on with after, if I even want to continue to play sports.”
Sleutel recognizes how unique two-sport athletes are at the collegiate level.
“I have a great opportunity to play both,” she said. “Not many people get that, and I’m super grateful for it.”
Her determination helped propel her to this point.
“There have been days where I just don’t want to get out of bed or do my homework,” she said. “Extreme discipline has helped me out a lot.”
“She’s always asking what she can do,” Sweet Home Head Volleyball Coach Mary Hutchins said. “She’s never satisfied. Adaira never gives up. She is so determined. She stays after practice, and she is a perfectionist.
“She wants to be the best at everything she does. And if she sees someone doing something better than her, she wants to do it too. She will ask and do whatever she can to try to make that happen. She is so passionate about what she does and so fun to coach.”
“One of the things that impressed me the most was her leadership and how hard she worked,” Sweet Home Assistant Girls Basketball Coach Nick Tyler said. “Adaira sets extremely high goals and holds herself to a high standard.”
Sleutel intends to major in agriculture at LBCC. She even has some ideas about what to do with that degree.
“To get land it’s either really expensive, or you marry into it. So I’m going to marry into it hopefully,” she said with a laugh.
In the meantime, she’ll spend much of her spring competing for the Huskies in yet another sport: softball, where she plays first base. After that, it’s a safe bet you can find her in LBCC’s gymnasium, making new memories with familiar faces.