As the fall sports season comes to a close, here’s a look at what the La Salle teams accomplished.

Football:

This football season was full of changes and growth. The La Salle football team moved leagues from the 5A NorthWest Oregon Conference to the 4A Special District 2. Moving divisions gave the team lots of opportunities and room to grow. Senior Cam Zielsdorf reflected on the season, recalling a rough start but huge progress as the season continued. “We played teams like Estacada and Woodburn that were big wakeups,” Zielsdorf said. 

When thinking about the team bonding opportunities they have had, the trip to George Fox University over the summer stands out most to Zielsdorf. “That was a ton of fun,” he said. Zielsdorf also noted that he thought it was the best off-the-field experience he had this past season. 

The football team finished off their season with a league record of 2-3 and a with an overall record of 2-7. They ended the season ranked 28th in 4A after taking on new challenges in an unfamiliar league with the guidance of their head coach, Mr. Dustin Janz. 

Volleyball: 

La Salle volleyball made waves this season with an overall record of 20-6, with head coach Ms. Anna Dillard leading them to their success. Senior Olivia Maulding described the season as having gone “really well,” she said. “I think we made a lot of improvements, and we grew a lot closer together over the season.” Maulding noted that their best game was against Willsonville. “That was the best we played all season,” she said. 

According to Maulding, the team has a close bond. A time that the team especially got closer was on senior night, Oct. 19. “Senior night was probably the best because we do the locker room reveal,” she said. “We [also] went to dinner as a team before our game.”

The team finished out their league games with 14 wins and two losses, which earned them the rank of sixth in 5A. As the team entered the playoffs, they made their way to the quarterfinals round where they fell 0-3 against Crater. “It didn’t end how I’d say we wanted it to, but in the grand scheme of things, it went very well,” Maulding said. 

Boys Soccer: 

The boys soccer team is no stranger to success. They won seven of their eight games during league play. Coached by Mr. Monty Hawkins, the boys’ overall record was 12-1-3. By the end of the season, they were ranked third in 5A, and in the playoffs, the boys won enough games to make the quarterfinals. During the game, they went into overtime and lost to McKay 1-2. 

As senior Owen Nichols recalls moments from the season, he views the road to playoffs as “humbling.” One of the team’s goals this season was a “three-peat,” Nichols said, which includes winning three consecutive championships. Although they were unable to accomplish that goal, there were lots of opportunities for growth and bonding this season. One of Nichols’ favorite moments was on the trip to Bend at the beginning of the season, where the girls and boys soccer teams participated in a bus ride dance battle. 

Overall, Nichols believes that the team had a great season. “We worked hard and got as far as we could so I am proud of the boys.”

Girls Soccer: 

This season, the girls soccer team soared through league games, winning seven and only losing one. Their streak didn’t stop in the league, as the girls’ overall record this season was 10-4-2. With Mr. Andrew Frazier as their head coach, the girls earned their rank of ninth in 5A.

Throughout the season, the girls were able to have fun while working hard. Senior Emelia Warta described one of their team bonding events: a team sleepover. At the beginning of the season, the girls sat around a campfire and played truth or dare. “[I] feel like that just really bonded us close together,” Warta said. 

With a large amount of success, the girls got their ticket to the playoffs. “We had a very difficult playoff bracket so we just went in and worked super hard,” Warta said. La Salle girls soccer kept up a winning streak until the quarterfinal round of playoffs, where they lost to Summit 1-2. 

“I think we ended the last game knowing that everyone put everything they had out there,” Warta said. 

Cross Country:

Senior Raphael DeLeon thought this year’s season went really well. He described that the team had a big turnout, and a lot of new freshmen joined.

The team had great success this season. “Everyone performed really well, a lot of us PR’d, so we broke our own personal records,” DeLeon said. 

This season, both the girls and boys placed fourth in districts. For the boys, sophomore Gordon Thomas was able to place 17th in the district meet with a time of 17:27.3. The girls had two members placed in the top ten at districts. Sophomore Kari Yatsushiro placed ninth with a time of 20:45.9. Sophomore Maya Crimin set a personal record and placed second with a time of 19:20.3, which secured her a spot in the state meet.

The fastest times run this season were by junior Sean Snow and Crimin. Snow ran a time of 17:09.4 at the Meriwether CC Classic. Crimin’s fastest time was her PR at districts. At state, Crimin ran a time of 19:36.7, which earned her 18th place. To close out the season, the girls’ team placed tenth at the state meet.