Eagle girls notch two league basketball wins
East Linn Christian’s girls finished the first week of Valley Coast Conference play with a pair of wins over Crosshill Christian (43-26) and Toledo (50-33).
On Saturday, Jan. 17, at home against Crosshill, a game that had been rescheduled due to illness, the Eagles got serious against the visitors’ Zoey Baker, a 6-4 senior who is regarded as one of the best players in the division, if not the state.
“She makes her presence known on any court she’s on,” Coach Sierra Carrier said. “I had a steady rotation, from Maci Modderman to Bailey Kramer, helping make sure she was covered on the inside and for her to get nothing easy.”
East Linn’s girls delivered, she said.
“We had the inside locked down and any one of my guards were on the outside ready to help pick away any loose balls that came their way.”
Maya Van Dyke finished with 15 points, three rebounds and two steals to pace East Linn, while Bailey Kramer added 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Audrey Garber had five points and three steals.
On the road at Toledo Jan. 15, the Eagles faced their first league opponent of the season.
“We had to quickly switch directions from preparing for Crosshill to Toledo, who are very different teams, dynamically,” Carrier said. “Our girls were ready for league games to start so they came out hot.”
She said East Linn is “starting to click,” adding that “my favorite part about coaching this team is they are never satisfied. They know that more work is to be done if they want to come out on top this year.”
Kramer racked up her first double double of the season, scoring 11 and pulling down 18 rebounds, along with five steals for East Linn. Abby Arber led the team with 12 points, with Modderman contributing 10, along with six boards, and Maya Van Dyke adding six points, with seven rebounds and six steals.
East Linn hosts Central Linn Tuesday, Jan. 20, and plays at Monroe Friday, Jan. 23.
East Linn boys off to 2-0 start in league
The Eagles battled to a 73-67 home win over Crosshill Christian on Saturday, Jan. 17, after opening their Valley Coast Conference campaign with a 65-54 win over Toledo on Thursday.
Game stats were not available at press time.
East Linn hosts Central Linn on Tuesday, then plays Lowell at home Wednesday before traveling to Monroe Friday, Jan. 23.
‘Very good showing’ for Lebanon swimmers
Against Central and Dallas at the Dallas Aquatic Center Jan. 13, Lebanon’s swimmers came away with multiple individual and relay wins.
Both the girls 200 Medley Relay team of Molly Basting, Orianna Buczko, Anouk Ricketts and Allison Bergmann (2:18.16), and the boys team of Boston Bormann, Michael Kluttz, Grant Basting and Jack Johnson (1:56.43) won their events.
The girls 200 Freestyle Relay team of Brooklyn Davis, Samantha Walsh, Ricketts and Buczko were winners (2:05.36), as was the boys 400 Freestyle Relay team of Johnson, Basting, Daniel Tyler and Chase Herb (4:01.55).
Individual winners for the Warrior girls were: Buczko in the 200 Freestyle (2:16.73) and the 100 Breaststroke (1:19.41, a 1.99-second personal best); Basting in the 50 Free (29.31, a 2.01-second PR) and 100 Butterfly (1:22.79); Davis in the 200 Individual Medley (2:47.68); and Walsh in the 100 Backstroke (1:22.95, a .94-second PR).
Individual winners for the boys were Kluttz in the 200 Free (2:14.64) and the 100 Breast (1:17.20, a 4.92-second PR); Johnson in the 200 IM (2:25.69, a .11-second PR) and the 100 Back (1:05.23, a 2.51-second PR); and Borgmann in the 50 Free (24:21).
“This was a very good showing for our students,” Coach Joe Andrews said. “Several of our swimmers had some significant time drops, which aligns with what we expected coming off the holiday break.The work we do every day is paying off.”
He noted that several relay spots are up for grabs as the Warriors head toward the district meet in February.
Lebanon posted a total of 24 personal bests, Andrews said. Other boys who PR’d were Samual Williamson, Alex Colling, Paul Bloedel, Herb, Carson Kolling Yago Ruano Perez and Alex Kolling. Also PRing for the girls were Erika Stephens, Hailey Guiterrez, Ricketts, Erika Stephens and Rylie Noonchester.
The meet was a good road rehearsal for the Warriors, who have competed mostly at home this year.
“This allowed the students to get a repetition on how to travel and prepare to swim fast under different circumstances,” Andrews said. “Several of the team have experience with this through their experience in past years and with the club team, but it is one variable that each experience can help ensure performance when it counts.”
Lebanon hosts South Albany on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and West Albany on Jan. 27.