Boys Lead the Way at the Elmira Relays

The Falcons boys Dominated 4 relay events and placed first or second 8 times in field events as they won the overall team competition at the Elmira Relays Saturday, April 13 at Elmira High School.

Meanwhile the Falcons girls team finished a distant second behind meet winner Philomath Despite placing first in four events.  Kennady Lainge led the girls, winning the triple jump with a mark of
32-06.5 as well as being a part of the first place 4x120 shuttle hurdles team, with Claire Head, Page Reichenberger and Lexie Geiger.  The Falcons won the relay with at time of 1:17.42.  Geiger also placed first in the High Jump with a leap of 4-10.  Sydney Green won the long jump competition with a leap of 13-10.5.

The Falcon boys were peerless hosts in the relays.  With Brady Nagel anchoring the 4x100 and the 4x200 runs and Riley Chambers Anchoring the Varsity DMR and 4x100 Shuttle Hurdle Relays, Elmira swept 4 relays events.  Desmond Wilson, Colton Zsiga, Brady Scroggins, Everett Greenwood, Derek Anderson, Brandon Foote, Tyler Henderson, Alex Head, and Josiah Lorenze filled out the winning relay teams. 

Lorenze had a spectacular and productive afternoon for the Falcons, not only a part of the winning 4x100 shuttle hurdle relay, but also placed 2nd in the pole vault with a jump of 11-6; second in the high jump and 3rd in the 110m hurdles. 

Other winners were Cobyn Herbert in the discus; Maisen Heide in the high jump; Ethan Yost in the long jump and Carlson Fix in the triple jump.

ONE LITTLE VICTORY; THE GREATEST THAT CAN BE (apologies to the rock band Rush)

Led by Sydney Greene's 3 three pointers in the first half and an angry, tenacious defense, the Lady Falcons managed to hold off a plucky but over matched Siuslaw squad 36-34 at Elmira High School, Tuesday January 22.  The win broke an 11 game losing streak and raised the Falcons' record to a humble 3-13.

Lady Falcons senior Sydney Greene fires a three point shot from above the key in Elmira's 36-34 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday January 22.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

However, Elmira almost let the Lady Vikings off the hook.  At one time holding a comfortable 8 point lead in the third quarter, the Lady Falcons found Siuslaw cutting into the lead with the help of a back court press and tenacious play by Brea Blankenship and 5-9 Gracie Freudenthal.  Both teams suffered from poor shooting and sloppy ball handling.

Elmira's Eden Blunt slashes to the basket in the Lady Falcons 36-34 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The key to victory however was clear.  When Maranda Hanson was on the floor, the Lady Vikings simply didn't have easy lanes to the rack, with sophomore center collecting 4 blocked shots on the evening and redirecting the several more.

Falcons front line players Maranda Hanson and Alexis White battle Siuslaw's Mia Corrine for a rebound in Elmira's 36-34 victory over the Lady Vikings, Tuesday, January 22.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The win over lowly Siuslaw doesn't reconcile a difficult, injury plagued season, but it does get them in the win column and end that treacherous 11 game string of futility.  The Lady Falcons need to covet the feeling because their next endeavor will be daunting as they travel to Coos Bay to play the #1 ranked team in the state, Marshfield on Friday night.

Lady Falcons Find True Grit; Come from Behind to Dump Sisters

Except for a sublime, impromptu moment, Elmira's girls basketball victory over Sisters was anything but a work of art.

"We have a long way to go in our execution, conditioning, and in a lot of our skill work," noted Falcon's head coach Ken Best in an email.  "But I was proud of how level-headed and focused we were."

Junior Maranda Hanson towers over three Sisters' defenders as well as Elmira's Megan Porter and Sydney Green to snatch a rebound in the Lady Falcons' 34-29 victory over the Lady Outlaws.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie

In a sluggish game where both teams shot horrendously, especially in the first half, Elmira's backcourt accounted for 61% of the Falcon's scoring, overcoming a first half deficit and pulling out a 34-29 victory in their season opener in the nightcap game, December 4 at Elmira High School.  Senior Sydney Green scored 11 points and Carly Grossmiller added 10 for the winners.

Second team 4A-Sky Em, all conference player Sydney Green goes up for an uncontested lay up in Elmira's 34-29 win over Sisters, Tuesday December 4.  Green led all Falcon scorers with 11 points.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie

Defense was the order of the day, especially in the second half where the Lady Outlaws were reduced to a meager 10 points in 16 minutes of play.  Led by defensive specialist Megan Porter, the Falcons regained the lead on the first possession of the second half and began to wear down the Sisters offense.

Elmira forward Megan Porter defends against Sisters' shooter Sydney Head in the Lady Falcons' opening night victory against the Lady Outlaws, Tuesday December 4.  Photo by Kimberly Lilly.

"Megan is the type of defender I can put on their point guard, their best shooter, or their best post," Best added.  "I trust her in every defensive situation."

The punctuation mark on the victory belonged to Cheyanne White, who provided the most scintillating, albeit inadvertent,  highlight of the night.  Breaking the Sisters press, White drove into the right side of the paint with the intention of scoring.  According to White, she realized that a defender was going to be in the way and chose to pass.  As the defender lunged, the pass bounced on a dime through the defender's legs and into the hands of the Falcons' Alexis White, who scored in one fluid motion.  It was one of three pivotal plays that sealed the victory for Elmira.

White got another assist to Porter who hit a transition lay-up.  With three minutes to play, White had a shot blocked but was able to tip it to Porter who found Green for an open baseline jumper.

"I liked our tenacity and effort," Best said.  "They kept their heads in the game and never panicked, and they seemed to having fun.  The part about having fun is important to me."

TRIBULATION TUESDAY: Three Elmira Teams go into Battle with Mixed Rusults.

All aspects of emotion and success were on display Tuesday September 25 as three Elmira squads  felt the joy and agonies of three different results.

Elmira and Cottage Grove Fight to a Draw

At Swartz Field, the boys' soccer team rebounded from a horrid 10-0 drubbing at the hands of Henley to wage a scoreless draw with Cottage Grove in the Falcons' first league contest of the year.

"I was actually very pleased with the game," head coach Ryan Chambers said in an email.  "Clearly, a win would have been nice but I felt the score was indicative of the game as a whole. It was very evenly matched and both teams played pretty well."

In one of the best defensive performances of they year, Chambers kept midfielder Riley Chambers back to patrol the middle, a strategy that flummoxed any sense of rhythm that the Lions' offense was trying to muster.  When Cottage Grove was able to pressure the goal, Jaden Palmer was laying in wait, rejecting 9 shots on goal, unofficially, and registering his third shut out of the season.

Elmira Volleyball Team Returns to Winning Ways

After absorbing a first set loss to upstart Suislaw, the Lady Falcons flexed their combined talents and won the final three games as Elmira rolled past the Lady Vikings 3-1 at Elmira High School, Tuesday September 25.  

Putting the first game behind, the Lady Falcons began to methodically carry out their game plan with Sydney Green leading the team in assists.  The beneficiaries of Green's generosity were Maranda Hanson who led the team with 11 kills and Carly Grossmiller who added 8 kills.

"It was a rough first set," commented Elmira volleyball head coach Sarah Wartenbee in an email.  "They finally started palying together and completing the plays that they are capable of.  It was nice to see."

The improvement is easy to see in the record.  After suffering a dismal rut, losing 9 consecutive sets the week before last to league opponents Marist, Junction City and Cottage Grove, The Lady Falcons have rallied to go 6-5 in sets in the last week.  This is just in time as Elmira has a road tilt with 10th ranked Marshfield, who despite being in second place in the league sport a sparkling 12-3 record going into the match.  

Lady Falcons fall at Cottage Grove

Elmira's girls' soccer team was equally scrappy as they stayed within two goals of the 11th ranked Lady Lions until the 10:00 minute mark of the second half before a third goal and a penalty kick late spelled a 4-0 loss.  

Elmira's Paige Reichenberger delivers a header in front of a Cottage Grove defender in the Falcon's 4-0 loss to the Lady Lions, Tuesday September 25 at Cottage Grove High School.  Photo Kimberly Lillie

"Cottage Grove has some very talented and fast players," noted Elmira girls' soccer head coach Rob Lee in an email.  "(they) were very aggressive getting after loose balls."  

The Lady Falcons fell behind on an inexplicable deflection off a corner kick snuck past the goal line.  However, Lee saw continued progress from his young team. 

"We defended very well most of the time," Lee said.  "(Goalkeeper) Andrah Cobb made some incredible saves to help keep the score where it was."

Goalkeeper Andrah Cobb fires the ball out of the Falcons zone during their game with Cottage Grove.  Elmira fell to the Lady Lions 4-0, Tuesday September 25 at Cottage Grove High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

Marist Catholic Rolls over Lady Falcons in Conference Opener

The 11th ranked Marist Lady Spartans finally began playing to their ranking, defeating a pesky Elmira squad 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, and 25-22).  It was the Spartans' first victory and raised their record to 1-5 on the season.

The Lady Falcons weren't able to make a serious run at Marist until the third game as the Lady Spartans kept Elmira at arms length in the first two games.   Senior Carly Grossmiller awoke in the third game sparking the Elmira rally with 6 kills.

The Falcons' Maranda Hanson goes up for a kill in Elmira's 3-0 loss to #11Marist Catholic at Elmira High School, Thursday September 13.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie 

Carly and Maranda (Hanson) had great games," head coach Sarah Wartenbee said in an email.  "My setters (Josie Dickson, Sydney Green, and Annie Carpenter) hustled tremendously and did an excellent job of taking control of the ball even if the first pass wasn't on point.  Azzy Lane did a great job serving, in the back row, and does everything that is asked of her"

However, the Falcons had no answer for 6-1 outside hitter Britney Duvall who dominated the second and third games with 9 kills in the final game including the final four Spartan points to send Marist to the shut out victory. 

Sophomore Josie Dickson serves as Mallory Bailey waits during the Falcons' 3-0 loss to Marist Thursday Septemeber 13.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie

"We have things to work on as a team and as individual team mates," Wartenbee explained.  "We have a lot of ability, but just need to put all the pieces together."