Wildcat Roundup: Four to be inducted into Hall of Fame; swimming, wrestling, men's basketball begin seasons
The inductees are Amanda (Attleberger) Strahm, Aaron Boehme, Kevin Schjei and Billy Maxwell.
Attleberger was an ’08 graduate and a four-time first-team all-Northwest Conference honoree in softball. She was a member of four straight NWC title teams and NCAA Division III playoff teams, including two that advanced to the national finals. Attleberger was a key contributor on Linfield’s 2007 NCAA championship club, holds 12 top 10 career records and owns six top 10 single-season marks.
Boehme, a two-time NWC Offensive Player of the Year, D3football.com All-American, Linfield Most Valuable Player and graduate from 2010, quarterbacked Linfield to a pair of conference championships and piloted the ’Cats to the national semifinals in 2009. He ranks fourth all-time in single-season offensive years and sixth in career passing touchdowns. After graduation, Aaron spent 12 years as a member of the Linfield football coaching staff.
Schjei was a three-year letter winner in baseball as a member of the class of ’02. He continues to hold the career record for highest batting average of .446 more than 20 years after his graduation. As a senior in 2002, his 74 hits established a new Linfield single-season record, the same season he received second-team ABCA All-America recognition. Kevin twice earned first-team all-NWC honors at third base.
Maxwell, a class of 1924 graduate, is the 11th individual to be enshrined for meritorious service. A man who did a little bit of everything in support of Linfield Athletics, Maxwell will be honored posthumously. He ran scoreboards during home games for more than 50 years, helped raise funds for Wildcat teams, drove team and fan buses, and served as president of the McMinnville Quarterback Club. He was a fixture at most all Linfield athletic events.
Football
Junior quarterback Luke McNabb earned the NWC Offensive Player of the Week honor for the second consecutive week after going 19 for 23 and throwing for 313 yards and seven touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 77-14 victory over Puget Sound on Saturday.
McNabb has thrown for 1,915 yards and 22 touchdowns in his first season heading Linfield’s offense.
The Wildcats finish their season against Willamette University on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Maxwell Field.
Swimming
Linfield men’s and women’s swimming began their season on Nov. 1 at Willamette, with both teams taking down the Bearcats.
The men won 104-98, while the women secured an 118-86 victory.
The women’s team captured eight wins in 11 races, with senior Kirsti Keppo responsible for three. The meet opened with the 50-yard freestyle, where Caley Haydu claimed first with a time of 25.69, edging out the next three swimmers from Willamette. Taila Patterson rounded out the point-scorers in fifth.
Three events later, Keppo made her first appearance since last season’s Northwest Conference Championships, where she earned Co-Swimmer of the Year alongside teammate Sarah Arpag. Keppo showed no rust, claiming the title in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:36.75, nearly 16 seconds faster than the next best swimmer.
Keppo went back-to-back, returning with a win in the 1,650 freestyle by over 15 seconds. The Wildcats would win out from there, with Kira Etheredge dominating the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:09.66 and a winning margin of seven seconds. Ruby Bentz took third, grabbing three points for the ‘Cats. Etheredge also won the 100-yard butterfly. Her 1:00.25 was three seconds faster than the Bearcats’ best. Patterson and Bentz also placed in the event.
Keppo’s third win was in the 400-yard individual medley, earning a six-second margin with a 4:56.15, while Manda Reso earned fourth in the race. Both closing relays were won by the ’Cats, as Sarah Arpag, Caley Haydu, Chloe Lazaraton, and Taila Patterson won the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Lastly, the team of Sarah Arpag, Kira Etheredge, Caley Haydu, and Chloe Lazaraton won by three-tenths of a second in the 20-yard medley relay.
On the men’s side, the Wildcats won six events. Carson Washburn and Jack Sappington placed in the 100-yard freestyle, with the former winning by less than three-tenths of a second over a Bearcat swimmer. Washburn’s time of 49.58 earned the ‘Cats their first points of the season.
Rocco Veile led the way in the 200-yard freestyle, cruising to a time of 1:49.05. Elijah Ng placed fourth amongst the field with a time of 1:00.53. After Willamette responded with two more wins, just beating out Kai Laitinen of Linfield, the ‘Cats earned the top-three spots in the 100-yard backstroke. Samuel Postlewait finished first at 55.83, while Andrew Seale took second with a 58.96. Ng rounded out the top-three swimmers with a 1:00.91.
Veile and Andrew Lee combined for the top two finish in the 100-yard butterfly, with Veile earning a three-second margin over Lee for the title. In the closing relays, the team of Veile, Washburn, Sappington, and Lee worked together to beat the Bearcats team and win the 200-yard freestyle relay by over five seconds. Postlewait, Ivan Tontchev, Lee, and Washburn beat the Willamette team in the 200-yard medley relay.
The ’Cats followed up the success with victories in their first home meet of the season on Nov. 7.
Hosting Pacific University, each team earned their second-straight sweep. Men’s swimming won each event to a 102-29 victory, while the women’s team handled the Boxers, 99-78.
Wrestling
Linfield men’s and women’s wrestling saw action on Nov. 9, competing in the Mike Clock Open, hosted by NWC rival Pacific. It was the men’s first taste of live duals,and the women’s second, following a 42-5 team loss against Division II Simon Fraser University in the Simon Fraser Duals in Burnaby, British Columbia on Nov. 2.
For the men, in the 133-pound bracket, four Wildcats competed, with Carson Jackson finding the most success. Jackson dominated in his first match, winning by 14-1 major decision. He then fell to his opponent from Oregon State but bounced back with a 3-0 win by default. His day came to an end after a second loss, but he started the season with one of Linfield’s best records at 2-2.
Dean Smith and Duke Wentzel also competed at 133 pounds, both going 0-2 on the day. Jacob Moore won his first match, pinning his opponent at the end of the second period, for a 17-3 win. He was pinned in his next two matches, ending his tournament with a 1-2 record.
At 141 pounds, McMinnville alum Max Vander Meide also went 2-2 in his season debut, pinning his opponent just 50 seconds into his first match of the morning. He fell via technical fall in his second match, but bounced back by pinning his opponent in his third match of the day. Vander Meide’s day ended when he was pinned early in the second period of his fourth and final match.
Damon Gasilosl fought hard in his first match, but was pinned at the end, although the match was 4-3. He bounced back with a 7-0 win via fall in the first match on the left. Gasilosl’s day was cut short, winning his final match 7-3, but was pinned midway through the first period.
Both Alfonso Tapia and McMinnville alum Lucien Lefebvre wrestled at 174 pounds, both starting the season 0-2. Heavyweight Adrian Clark rounded out the ’Cats lineup, falling via pins early in his two matches.
For the women versus Pacific, at 103 pounds, Jessica Cottings fell in her first match of the day but returned with a pin in her next match. Cottings’ pin came 1:48 into the match, where she was leading 10-1 at the time. She finished her day with a third match, ending in a 13-2 technical fall to her opponent from Treasure Valley. Cottings earned seven points for the Wildcats’ team score.
At 131, Ashley Swanson fell in both of her matches, first via fall and finishing her day with a technical fall. Cadence Fineran also competed in the 131-pound bracket, winning her first match with a pin just 1:16 into the match. Fineran’s day came to an end, falling in her next two matches.
Cassidy Jones-Mowen also started off with a win, pinning her opponent and taking the 4-2 result to advance in the bracket. Jones-Mowen battled hard in her next two matches but was unable to keep up with her opponents from Pacific and Eastern Oregon, falling late in her final match. Jazmyn Seely competed for the ‘Cats at 160 pounds, unable to score in two pins early.
Karina Yoder won her opening-round match at 160 pounds, a dominant 14-4 technical fall victory three minutes into the match. Her run was cut short, falling 6-0 in the second round and then 10-0 in her final match of the day. Ayana Medina dropped her first match at 160 pounds, and although she was leading 6-4 against her final opponent of the day, she was pinned at 2:57, cutting her run short.
Mens Basketball
After an 89-70 loss on Nov. 8 to NAIA Bushnell in Eugene, the Wildcats’ mens basketball team responded with its first victory of the season, a 79-75 inching out of the University of La Verne at home on Monday.
It was the first win for Linfield’s new head coach, Elijah Gurash.
Linfield outscored La Verne 38-31 in the first half and held on despite La Verne outpacing the ’Cats 44-41 in the second half. Senior guard Dayton Magaña led with 24 points.
Linfield athletic events can be streamed at flocollege.com/schools/6469740-linfield-university.
Article written with the assistance of Chase Fisk and Linfield Sports Communication.
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