With a key cheer squad member injured only a few days before the state championships, Philomath High worked through a challenging situation to earn a fourth-place trophy in this year’s competition this past Saturday at Oregon City.
As reported earlier this week, the Warriors collected hardware for the second straight year in the 4A competition with their performance in the traditional category.
Sophomore Olivia Daggett suffered a fracture in her hand midway through the previous week to force PHS cheer coach Kathy Kohler to look for a late replacement at backspot, a crucial position for lifting and spotting during stunts.
“This group of athletes has overcome so much this season — illness, dual sports, crazy scheduling, snow days, reworking the routine two days before our nationals competition and a broken hand causing another rework the night before state,” Kohler said.
Following the injury to Daggett, freshman Bailey Wilhelm, sophomore Paige Ehlers and senior Tatum Pope stepped into the base role, Kohler said, and added that sophomore Emily Garcia “has been instrumental in the overall success of the team with her ability to adapt and always be willing to try new things.”
Added Kohler, “The team’s resiliency and ability to be flexible with an open mindset set them apart from any other team I’ve had the pleasure of coaching.”
Kohler is losing seven seniors from the cheer team — Cali Cannon, Laighla Hockema, Kaylie Kohler, Lilia Leman, Olivia Rice and Zoe Ringwald in addition to the aforementioned Pope.
“Overall, I am extremely proud of this team and everything that they have dedicated to this program,” Kohler said. “My heart is heavy with sadness at losing seven seniors but a sense of pride and comfort come with knowing that they are leaving behind the examples of their leadership, skills, camaraderie and the overall history that they have made here with Warrior cheer.”
The coach looks back with pride on what those athletes have been a part of over the past few years. Last year, PHS won its first-ever state trophy with a third-place finish and then followed up with the fourth-place trophy this year. In January, the squad had a fourth-place finish in its division at a national competition in Nevada. Individually, Ringwald made the all-state team in 2022 and 2024 and the stunt group of Kaylie Kohler, Rice and Ringwald earned all-state honors in 2022.
Said Coach Kohler, “They have paved the way for the future of this program.”
In addition to those already mentioned, others in the program included junior Josey Schreiber, sophomores Erynn Kohler and Ciara Seits, and freshmen Addison Rice and Veini Taunisila.
As far as the appearance at state, Coach Kohler said it came down to the details.
“With our stunt score not being as high as we wanted, we needed to rely on the other scoresheets,” she said. “Zoe has carried the tumbling scores almost entirely and I am in awe of her every day. She has a passion and skillset that most can only dream of. On top of cheering, jumping, stunting and dancing, she had seven tumbling passes, all in two minutes!”
However, the biggest detail, she said, came down to the overall scoresheet.
“This scoresheet covers motion technique, formations, transitions, energy, cheer skills and crowd involvement,” Kohler said. “We had the highest overall scoresheet in our division.”
Philomath scored 37 out of 40 for overall routine, which was the best among all 4A teams.
“Unlike tumbling and stunting, each and every person on the floor has an impact on this score,” Kohler said. “This scoresheet is usually a struggle for teams and we have been no exception to that. But the time and effort that these kids put in made it all worth it looking at that score.”
Kramer scored 1,000th point
In a report out of Santa Barbara, California, former Philomath High hoops standout Sage Kramer scored her 1,000th point as a member of the Westmont College women’s basketball team.
The moment arrived on Westmont’s home court during Wednesday’s game against Vanguard. Kramer, a 5-foot-10 guard-forward, came into the game needing just two points to reach 1,000. According to Ron Smith of Westmont sports information, Kramer scored 90 seconds into the game.
“Mariah Brown found Kramer open at the top of the arc,” Smith wrote in an article posted at Noozhawk. “Kramer’s triple swished through the net for the first points of the game.”
Kramer became the 18th player to join Westmont’s 1,000-point club in women’s basketball.
Kramer, junior, scored 232 points as a freshman and 364 as a sophomore heading into this season. So far this season, she has 416 while averaging 16.6 points per game. With Wednesday night’s performance, Kramer now has 1,012 for her career.
In the PacWest, Kramer ranks third for scoring, 10th for rebounding (6.5 per game) and sixth for field-goal percentage (.469).
As a Philomath senior, Kramer averaged 23.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game during the team’s state title season in 2021-22. She was named the Class 4A Player of the Year in 2020 and 2022 and holds the school record for most points in a game with 51. In all with the Warriors, Kramer scored 2,105 points, second-best in the school record book only to Trisha Stevens and her 2,483 points in the 1980s.
State swimming preview
Philomath High swimmers Lucas Brandt, Kyah Weeber and Cameron McLennan will compete in individual events along with the boys and girls medley relays Friday and Saturday at the 4A/3A/2A/1A state championships at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton.
Brandt, sophomore, heads to state as the second-seeded swimmer in the 100-yard breaststroke. At last weekend’s district meet at Albany, Brandt touched the wall in 1:02.99, which is just 0.21 of a second behind Marshfield sophomore Carter McGriff, the top-seeded swimmer in the event. Catlin Gabel senior Carson Rotter and a few others also factor in, so that should be a heck of a race if all of those athletes are competing in top form.
In the 500 freestyle, Brandt is seeded third with his qualifying time of 5:06.96. The PHS standout admitted that he wanted to go up against friend Coe Dauler of Catlin Gabel in the event at state. Dauler’s qualifying time was 4:48.55 so Brandt will have some ground (or would it be water) to make up.
McLennan, junior, got under the 1-minute mark at districts in the 100 butterfly and is seeded sixth for state with a district time of 58.35. McLennan refocused his energy on this specific event over the last third of the season, so he might be peaking at the right time for a strong finish.
Junior Mason Stevens, Brandt, McLennan and senior Alex Dye are seeded eighth in the 200 medley relay. The foursome’s qualifying time of 1:49.81 is just a little more than a second behind the fifth seed. The top six advance to the finals and earn medals.
In the girls’ competition, Weeber, senior, qualified as the fourth seed in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:16.10. District champion Kirsten Sautel of Sweet Home is the clearcut favorite to win the event (1:05.84 qualifying time). Weeber will also be in the running for a medal in the 100 butterfly as the seventh seed. She qualified with a 1:09.28, which is less than a second out of the fifth spot.
Philomath’s 200 medley relay for the girls just barely slipped into the state meet field as the 12th seed after posting a time of 2:10.37 at districts. Junior Kathleen Donovan, senior Kateri Pindell, Weeber and sophomore Emma Mecham swim on the relay.
Alternates will also make the trip to Beaverton as backups to those penciled in for the relays.
Philomath will be competing in the evening sessions, which begin at 6:30 p.m. both days (the doors open at 5:30). For those planning to go, per-session tickets (adults $12, students $6) can be purchased online.
Skiers headed to state
Senior Joe Barnes and junior Ana Candanoza have both qualified for the state championships March 6-7 at the Mt. Ashland Ski Area based on their finishes in the Emerald League season standings. Barnes and Candanoza swim for the Philomath High Alpine Ski Team (often referred to simply as PHAST).
Barnes and Candanoza each qualified in both the slalom and giant slalom.
For the boys, Barnes finished second in the giant slalom season standings with 500 points behind leader Styopa Myagkov of Sisters, who had 580. And in the slalom standings, Myagkov was first with 600 points and Barnes second with 440.
Those two skiers are actually really good friends and there is an interesting connection between the two families. Styopa’s older brother, Kirill Myagkov, raced against Joe’s older brother, Luc Barnes, and they’ve also become good friends (and in fact, both live in Salt Lake City and often ski together).
Candanoza finished fourth in the slalom season standings with 261 points, just three points out of the third-place position, and was sixth in the giant slalom season standings with 250 points. Ella Eby of Sisters was the No. 1 finisher in both events.
The top 12 racers from both the boys and girls will qualify for the Western U.S. Championships, which are scheduled for March 12-15 at Grand Targhee in Alta, Wyoming. Competing at that event will be the top high school racers from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming. Barnes appears to have a solid chance at moving on to that event.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
