2023 Year in Review — Sports: January to March

JANUARY

Jan. 7 — Seniors Caleb Blackburn and Ben Hernandez, sophomore River Sandstrom and freshman Riley Barrett won their weight divisions and the Warriors took first place at the King of the Hill tournament at Pleasant Hill.

Jan. 10 — Philomath High swimmers competed in a small event in the home pool and looked forward to the annual District Sprint Meet the coming weekend in Albany.

Jan. 10 — The boys basketball team played for the first time in 12 days and despite a less-than-perfect outing was able to take care of Estacada on the road, 59-41.

Jan. 10 — The girls basketball team went on a 26-4 run in the second quarter en route to a 68-30 victory at Estacada.

Jan. 13 — The swim teams competed in a tri-meet at Newport with the girls first and the boys third.

Jan. 13 — The girls basketball team came through in the fourth quarter to defeat Madras, 53-42.

Jan. 13 — All five starters scored in double figures and the boys basketball team beat Madras, 72-27.

Jan. 13-14 — The wrestling team went up against some of Class 4A’s best competition at the Oregon Classic in Redmond and came away with three wins and two losses in the duals tournament.

Jan. 14 — Competing at Albany Community Pool, the Warriors had one victory and a dozen top-four finishes in the District Sprint Meet.

Jan. 19 — PHS fall sports athletes on all-state teams included first-teamers Teddy Benbow and Mateo Candanoza in boys soccer and Kamilla Grimmer in girls soccer. 

Jan. 19 — The Dance Drill Coaches Association announced its all-state team and two Philomath High athletes were among those chosen — seniors Morgan Gross and Stella Neville.

Jan. 19 — The wrestling team won 18 of 23 on-the-mat bouts and swept a pair of duals at North Marion.

Jan. 20 — Philomath High’s Allison Neelands, Kathleen Donovan, Kellen Houchin and Carrson Hirte all had victories in a four-school meet at Sweet Home.

Jan. 20 — The boys basketball team remained unbeaten in Class 4A with a 64-20 road rout over Newport.

Jan. 20 — The girls basketball team opened Oregon West Conference play with a 54-37 victory at Newport.

Jan. 21 — Philomath High’s wrestlers had to settle for second place at the Santiam Christian Screamin’ Eagle with a squad out of Washington snagging the top team trophy in a close finish.

Jan. 24 — In a three-school meet that came down to the final event, Philomath High’s girls swim team defeated Stayton by the closest of margins on an afternoon that featured recognition of the program’s seniors. The boys swam against Kennedy and won by 60 points.

Jan. 24 — Doubling the score in the first half on visiting North Marion in an Oregon West Conference game, the Philomath High girls were well on their way to what ended up as a 50-29 victory.

Jan. 24 — The boys basketball team led 45-16 at the break and went on to an 80-37 win over North Marion, an opponent that came into the PHS gym with a 12-1 record.

Jan. 26 — Squaring off on the home mat against Cascade and Cottage Grove, Philomath High wrestling coach Troy Woosley soaked up more intel on the level of competition seen among the Special District 2 squads.

Jan. 27 — The girls basketball team worked on various facets of its game in a 58-16 victory over Sweet Home.

Jan. 27 — The boys basketball team stumbles early but ends up crushing Sweet Home, 59-21.

Jan. 27 — The Philomath Legends Club inducts Darleen Faxon and Colene Lamberty during a basketball halftime ceremony at PHS.

Jan. 28 — Philomath senior Ben Hernandez, freshman Riley Barrett and senior David Griffith emerged unscathed from the Tod Surmon Mid-Valley Classic at West Albany.

Jan. 28 — Senior Carrson Hirte took first place in two events at the Blanchet Catholic Invitational and both the Warrior boys and girls placed fifth in the team standings in the program’s final meet before districts.

Jan. 31 — The girls basketball team remained unbeaten in Oregon West Conference play with a 38-30 road victory over Stayton.

Jan. 31 — The No. 1-ranked boys basketball team took care of Stayton, 52-42, to set up a showdown against No. 2 Cascade a few days later.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 1 — The wrestling team defeated Newport and lost to Sweet Home in a duals meet on the Huskies’ home mats.

Feb. 2 — The girls basketball team had a rough night on the offensive end in a 34-23 loss at Cascade in a battle for first place in the Oregon West Conference.

Feb. 2 — Cascade withstood a furious second-half comeback by Philomath on its home court in an Oregon West battle between the top two ranked boys basketball teams in Class 4A. A late free throw turned out to be the difference in a 50-49 final.

Feb. 4 — The wrestling team came out of the Sherwood Invitational with three individual champions and a fourth-place team finish.

Feb. 6 — The boys basketball team overcame a slow start and went on a 29-0 run to dominate Newport, 65-26.

Feb. 6 — The girls basketball team put together a solid performance to get back in the win column with a 41-28 final over Newport.

Feb. 9 — Philomath High’s boys rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit, worked through the loss of two starters in the fourth quarter and made pivotal free throws to pull out a 53-52 basketball victory at North Marion.

Feb. 9 — The girls basketball team rolled to a significant early advantage to put North Marion on its heels en route to a 58-20 victory on the Aurora school’s campus.

Feb. 10 — Wrestling in the home gymnasium under the spotlight in a single-mat dual, Philomath High School’s 63-17 victory over Central featured nine pins, two technical falls and a major decision.

Feb. 11 — Philomath High’s girls swim team placed in several events at the Special District 4 meet at Albany Community Pool to finish third in the final standings behind only Sweet Home and Stayton and ahead of nine other schools.

Feb. 11 — Glancing up at the electronic scoreboard after finishing the 100-yard backstroke, Philomath High’s Carrson Hirte reacted to his time by slapping the water hard. But the Warriors senior was not angry. It was a moment of excitement after discovering that he had bettered his own school record in the 100-yard backstroke by more than a full second.

Feb. 13 — The Philomath High School boys and girls swim teams together qualified in five events for this week’s Class 4A/3A/2A/1A State Championships in Beaverton based on times at last weekend’s district meet.

Feb. 13 — The boys basketball team took care of business on the road with a 53-20 victory on the road at Sweet Home.

Feb. 13 — The girls basketball team sprinted out of the gate in both the first and third quarters in a 64-18 victory at Sweet Home.

Feb. 16 — On a Thursday night in the PHS gym, the boys basketball team appeared to be on its way back to living up to a No. 1 ranking in a 60-38 victory over Stayton.

Feb. 16 — In a game that seemed to drag on for long stretches with officials blowing their whistles for 35 fouls and numerous traveling calls, the girls basketball put up an exceptional effort on defense and found a way to score key points in the second half in a 34-15 victory over Stayton.

Feb. 18 — An effort to upgrade the high school’s baseball and softball fields has started to take shape with the Philomath School Board giving the thumbs up to a group that wants to start raising money to install turf.

Feb. 18 — Philomath senior Carrson Hirte ended his high school swim career on a high note by winning two medals at the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A State Championships in Beaverton.

Feb. 18 — Philomath High School qualified 10 wrestlers for the Class 4A state tournament out of the Special District 2 Tournament at Cascade — Porter Compton, River Sandstrom, Caleb Blackburn, Riley Barrett, Lake Mulberry, Ben Hernandez, Gradin Fairbanks, David Griffith, Lukas Hernandez and Chase Ringwald.

Feb. 20 — Visiting Cascade broke open a close game in the second quarter with an 18-1 run and went on to defeat Philomath in an Oregon West Conference girls basketball matchup, 58-33.

Feb. 20 — Piling up points behind a high shooting percentage and a barrage of 3-pointers, Cascade clinched first place in the conference with a 64-61 boys basketball victory over Philomath in front of a packed gymnasium.

Feb. 20 — Longtime junior varsity boys basketball coach Eddie Van Vlack coaches his final game.

Feb. 24 — Following a 7-1/2-hour ordeal to get from Philomath to Portland because of snowy highway conditions to compete in a state wrestling tournament that was reconfigured into a single day of matches over 13 hours, Philomath was able to collect enough points for a top-10 finish.

Feb. 27 — The girls basketball team buried the opponent early with a 19-0 run to open the game and went on to a 59-27 victory over St. Helens to advance to the Class 4A state playoffs.

Feb. 27 — Suiting up against a group of Warrior standouts from the past, the boys basketball team got in some needed minutes on the hardwood before turning its attention to the Class 4A playoffs.

MARCH

March 3 — PHS seniors Cole Beardsley and Ty May for the boys and senior Abigail Brown and freshman Emily Taunisila for the girls were recognized with first-team all-league basketball honors.

March 3 — Philomath’s girls basketball team came from behind on the road to beat Marist Catholic in the first round of the 4A playoffs, 46-39.

March 4 — The boys basketball team defeated Hidden Valley in the first round of the 4A playoffs, 65-40.

March 7 — The Shining Stars, Philomath High’s dance and drill team, features 11 athletes on this year’s squad, which has a new head coach in Stefanie Larson.

March 9 — The boys basketball team built a double-digit lead in the second quarter and held off all Crook County challenges in the second half for a 54-43 victory in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

March 9 — The girls basketball simply ran into a very good team in the Class 4A quarterfinals in Forest Grove. Gladstone shot out to an early lead, survived a Philomath threat in the second quarter and ended up with a 59-38 victory.

March 10 — The PHS girls regrouped in the state basketball tournament for a 57-37 victory over Crook County to earn a shot at winning a top-four trophy.

March 10 — Philomath High’s boys basketball team will get another shot at Cascade. The Warriors and Cougars both won in the semifinals to set up an all-Oregon West final in the Class 4A state championship game. Philomath knocked out Henley, 45-37, and Cascade followed with a 66-53 victory over Junction City.

March 11 — The girls basketball team finished the season on a high note at the Class 4A state tournament by defeating Henley, 54-50, to earn the fourth-place trophy.

March 11 — Cascade had all of the answers in the season’s third meeting against boys basketball rival Philomath in a 61-52 win in for the Class 4A state title.

March 12 — Winning the district team championship last season and placing fifth at the state tournament, the Philomath High girls tennis team returned a solid lineup of players that should do some good things on the court this spring.

March 12 — The boys tennis team returned its top two singles players in Dawson Beckstead and Andrew Leonard heading into the season.

March 14 — Slipping to its first sub-.500 record since 2016 last spring, the Philomath High softball team finds itself at a bit of a crossroads. So heading into the season, third-year coach Travis King said the program has veered into a new direction and he believes an improved team culture could lead to more victories.

March 14 — The softball team finally saw live pitching and finally played on its home field but ended up with a 15-0 loss to Lebanon, one of the better teams in Class 5A.

March 14 — In a major early-season test for the girls tennis team, the Warriors pushed defending state champion Catlin Gabel to the limit on the road but had to settle for a 5-3 loss.

March 15 — Finishing last season with an 8-2 record in May, an outright league title and advancement to the Class 4A semifinals, the Philomath High School baseball program wouldn’t mind picking up right where it left off.

March 15 — Philomath High senior Dawson Beckstead plans to take a deep breath and enjoy his final season with the boys tennis program.

March 15 — The girls tennis team swept the singles matches and split in doubles for a 6-2 victory at Lebanon.

March 16 — Junction City twice rallied from 10-run deficits to defeat Philomath, 17-16, in a wild nonconference softball game.

March 17 — Falling on the home court against visiting Silverton, the girls tennis team finished its first week with a 1-2 record. But don’t feel too bad for the Warriors with Greg Thorson’s squad taking on some of the top tennis talent in the state.

March 17 — The boys tennis team defeated its second straight Class 5A opponent with a 5-3 victory at Silverton.

March 17 — With the Philomath High baseball season opener canceled because of poor field conditions, head coach Levi Webber wanted his players to experience the type of conditions they would see on game day along with needed work on pitching, hitting and fielding.

March 17-18 — Philomath High’s Shining Stars dance team competed at the state championships in Salem and placed fifth in jazz and seventh in hip hop.

March 21 — The boys and girls track teams head into the season with not only off-the-chart participation numbers but strong athletes capable of scoring points in most events. The Warrior girls will be trying to repeat as Class 4A state champions and the boys anticipate putting up a challenge as well with a strong presence in Eugene.

March 21 — Junior Ahnika Tryon makes an effective appearance in the circle for Philomath’s softball team in a loss to The Dalles.

March 21 — South Albany edges Philomath on a tiebreaker in boys tennis.

March 21 — In a 6-2 victory at Class 5A South Albany, junior Bailey Bell and sophomore Adele Beckstead both rolled to 6-0, 6-0 victories over their opponents.

March 21 — The baseball team opened its season in Adair Village with a 10-7 loss to Santiam Christian.

March 22 — The girls tennis team won seven of eight matches in a victory over Dallas. The Warriors swept all four singles matches and the top three in doubles.

March 23 — Former Philomath High softball standout Kaili Saathoff is off to a great start with Linfield this spring with a .508 batting average through 16 games.

March 23 — Lightning delayed Philomath’s season-opening track and field meet’s start by a full hour and the final events didn’t wrap up until past 10 p.m. but Philomath High competed in the Mid Valley Dental Invitational at Dallas.

March 23 — The Philomath High School girls tennis team swept a pair of duals on the coast with a 6-2 victory over Marshfield and 7-1 win over North Bend.

March 23 — The boys tennis team took care of business on a road trip to the coast with victories of 8-0 over North Bend and 6-2 over Marshfield.

March 27 — The baseball team pulled out an 8-7 victory over Marshfield on the first day of the Newport tournament at Frank Wade Park.

March 27 — The softball team came up short in a pair of games on the first day of the North Medford Spring Break Tournament with losses of 9-5 to Pacheco (California) and 14-11 to Class 5A Ashland.

March 28 — The softball team notched its first win of the season with a 14-11 victory over Brookings-Harbor on the second day of the North Medford Spring Break Tournament.

March 28 — The baseball split a pair of games on the second day of the Newport Tournament with a 3-2 loss to Hillsboro followed by a 13-3 win over Valley Catholic.