Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Review: The Top 10 sports stories of 2009-2010

Wilsonville High School provided another year full of memories on the sports scene with several stories taking place in the 2009-10 school year

• By: Alex Tam  
• Published: 7/21/2010 2:17:55 PM

There were a lot of triumphs, and there were some heartbreaks over the course of the 2009-2010 school year in the sports scene at Wilsonville High School.

Several state trophies were won, adding to the abundance of accomplishments noted in the trophy cases at WHS.

Here are the top 10 sports stories for this past school year.

1. Girls tennis team wins state championship

When you talk about dominance since Wilsonville moved into the Class 5A Northwest Oregon Conference during the 2006-07 school year, no other team embodies that more than the Wildcats’ girls tennis team.

Wilsonville extended its winning streak in league play to 53 dual matches.
<br /> And more impressively, the Wildcats went on to win the Class 5A state championship behind their depth under coach Mike Farrell.

The team had four entrants to the state tournament, including junior Abby Farrell, who placed third at state.

The doubles team of seniors Kim Britsch and Taylor Farrell finished fourth at state.

Wilsonville’s two other entrants — the doubles teams of Hannah Anderson and Annelise Moss, and Catherine Miolla and Gretchen Jernstedt — battled their way to the state quarterfinals.

It was an impressive feat for what has developed into an elite program.

2. Girls basketball team reaches state-title game

Coach Cindy Anderson’s squad was ranked No. 2 for most of the season.

And that’s where they ultimately finished.

The Wildcats used a state-best 19-game winning streak to roll their way to the Class 5A state championship game.

Behind senior leaders Ashley Walters and Megan Arnoldy, along with junior Kellie Krueger, Wilsonville made a valiant effort to dethrone No. 1 Jefferson, but lost in the state-title game, 50-40.

However, the loss did not overshadow the team’s accomplishments and the Wildcats should be ready to make another run at it next year.

3. Boys basketball team ends another historic year

You could make a case that coach Chris Roche’s bunch were the second-best team in the state.

However, as it may, Wilsonville had the inevitable task of facing eventual state champion Jefferson in the state quarterfinals.

Jefferson won a tight contest, 49-41, in a game that many believed to be the real state-title game.

The Wildcats bounced back to take fourth place with a 44-19 victory over Summit.

The 19 points allowed set a Class 5A state tournament record.

Wilsonville finished 26-3 overall, winning the outright NWOC title for the first time in school history.

And much like the girls team, the pieces are in place to make another run next year.

4. Salzwedel state’s best, boys golf team take fourth

Senior Jesse Salzwedel couldn’t have ended his high school career any better.

Salzwedel capped his storied career with the Wildcats, taking medalist honors at the Class 5A state tournament after shooting a two-day total of 1-over par 145 (73-72) at Trysting Trees Golf Course.

He won by three strokes and helped Wilsonville to fourth place as a team, and the program’s fifth straight state trophy.

It marked a tremendous season under first-year coach Jeff Deeder, who had great depth with seniors Dillon Myers and Davis Wolfe, junior Logan Munson and sophomore Jake Jessen.

Wilsonville swept every NWOC match en route to easily winning the league title.

5. Guyler wins elusive state title

Senior Mark Guyler has arguably been the Wildcats’ best swimmer since arriving onto the scene as a freshman.

The 18-year-old cemented his legacy after winning his first individual state title in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1 minute, 57.42 seconds at this year’s Class 5A state championships.

Guyler won two NWOC titles and signed a letter of intent to swim for University of California San Diego next season.

6. Lee takes runner-up for second straight year

There is no doubting Juhee Lee’s abilities on the golf course.

While her first Class 5A individual state title has still eluded her, Lee still made her case as one of the state’s top golfers.

The sophomore took runner-up for the second straight season behind two-time state champion Caroline Inglis of Churchill.

Lee also tied for the individual league title, and will no doubt be among the favorites again for the state title next season.

7. New football coach arrives, Sommer resigns

Doug Sommer resigned following his four-year tenure as Wilsonville’s head football coach, where he led the Wildcats to three state-playoff appearances.

In his place is former Glencoe assistant coach Adam Guenther, whose strength lied within his ability to recruit players out of the hallways and onto the team.

He was expected to be the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator before taking over the Wildcats.

8. Baseball team makes return to state playoffs

After a two-year absence from the state playoffs, coach Matt Kosderka made it known that the playoffs was the ultimate goal for his baseball team this past spring.

The Wildcats responded in a big way, and made a run at the NWOC championship before settling for second place after going 19-8 overall.

Wilsonville lost a 5-4 heartbreaker in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs, but will undoubtedly make another run with a large group of returning players next spring who played a big role this season.

9. Girls lacrosse team’s revival

After cancelling the 2009 season due to lack of numbers and interest, the Wilsonville girls lacrosse team was back … and back in a big way in 2010.

Under coach Scott Chase, interest was up once again and the Wildcats made the most of it by finishing over .500 with a 9-8 record.

With a large class of freshmen this past season, and another large incoming class of freshmen, the program appears to be back and here to stay.

And with continuity, the Wildcats have the potential of doing something special over the next few years.

10. Six district titles on the track and field

It was another successful year for the Wilsonville track and field team.

With six district championships — four on the boys side, two on the girls — the Wildcats again held their own in a tough NWOC.

For the boys team, Aaron Koford won two district titles, and Andrew Booth and Dakota Rhodes each came away with one.

On the girls side, Allie Church and Holly Martz each won one district title.

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