The Philomath School Board during its Oct. 10 meeting approved the hiring of two coaches — Jordyn McMullen as the varsity dance coach and Salvador Garcia as the boys tennis coach. However, it turns out that Garcia was not able to take the job after all because of a change with his personal schedule and Athletic Director Mike Hood is now readvertising the position.
Gary Quandt, who has coached tennis at PHS for the past 12 years, said he would be willing to return for another season, if needed. He also said he’d be happy to serve on a hiring committee. It can be difficult to find a qualified tennis coach — it’s among the most difficult vacancies to fill. Back in August, PHS filled the girls tennis coaching vacancy with Mark Orozco, an accomplished coach who saw a great deal of success with Crescent Valley. Orozco succeeded Greg Thorson, who had been in the job for three years.
If McMullen’s name sounds familiar — she formerly competed with the Shining Stars and was an all-state dancer in 2020. The school district is currently advertising for a dance assistant coach.
Jaguars basketball relocates to Albany
The Willamette Valley Jaguars announced Monday that it will relocate its primary operations from Eugene to Albany. Formerly known as the Emerald City Jaguars, the minor league pro basketball organization continues to negotiate with Philomath High School to serve as a possible site for some home games.
Marion Clark, team owner, said he is in discussions with Greater Albany Public Schools and the Philomath School District to finalize gym availability for the 2025 season, which runs from March to June after the high school seasons are done.
Clark said the franchise’s inaugural season last year at Lane Community College was successful but he wanted to move the team to a more central location to engage with a broader audience.
“We are excited about this next step and are incredibly grateful to Lane Community College for hosting our first season,” Clark said through a news release. “We also want to thank Philomath High School for opening its doors this past weekend (Oct. 12-13) during homecoming and a special thanks to Mike Hood for making our event run smoothly.”
The team is also continuing to explore other gym opportunities, including a potential partnership with Oregon State University. Clark said Linn-Benton Community College is unavailable for the season due to plans for gym repairs. The Jaguars had approached the University of Oregon but scheduling conflicts prevented the team from using its facilities.
The Oct. 12-13 appearance at PHS for team tryouts included a kids camp that Clark said attracted about 40 youth ranging in age from 5 to 18.
Clark was in Philomath last week to chat with the City Council.
“We would like to thank the mayors of Albany and Philomath, Alex Johnson and Chas Jones, for working with us to help make this move possible,” Clark said in the news release. “We’re thrilled about the growth and support we’ve already seen and can’t wait to see what’s next for the Jaguars.”
Godwin wins another national title
Philomath resident Craig Godwin, who was featured in a Philomath News article this past summer, took first place in the 55-59 division at the USA Track and Field Masters Half Marathon Championships earlier this month in Indianapolis.
Godwin has conquered several long-distance running challenges despite suffering multiple heart attacks.
Leading up to the race, it was anticipated that the 55-59 age group would be the “most ferocious” with the 57-year-old Godwin going up against 55-year-old John Fernandez, a runner out of Ohio. That’s exactly how the race turned out.
Godwin said he and Fernandez battled “it out the whole way, on a tough, hilly course. After 13 miles of racing it still came down to me holding him off in a final sprint.”
Godwin won with a time of 1:16:11, which is a 5:49 per-mile average. Fernandez was a close second at 16:11.17. Godwin finished eighth among runners of all age groups — all seven ahead of him were younger in the 40-44 age group. He finished with a faster time than the 45-49 champion and it was a race age division record by over six minutes.
USATF calculates an age grading score, or Performance Level Percentage, which identifies runners across all age divisions who had the best performance relative to the fastest times in the world. Godwin had the top men’s age grading score of 90.90%.
The performance also earned Godwin the USATF World Class Elite Performance Award — he was the only male to secure the honor.
Coach releases swim team schedule
Philomath High coach Iliana Kaiser released the swim team’s meet schedule for this upcoming season. The lineup includes five events in the home pool.
The season opens Dec. 4 with a home dual against Kennedy. After a Dec. 7 trip to the North Marion Invite on Dec. 7, the Warriors will swim at home again on Dec. 13 in a quadrangular against Junction City, Crosshill Christian and Kennedy. Other home appearances are scheduled for Jan. 10 vs. Cascade and Kennedy, Jan. 15 vs. Marist Catholic, Stayton and North Marion and Jan. 22 vs. Blanchet Catholic and Sisters for Senior Night.
Other road trips will be Dec. 14 at Blanchet Catholic, Jan. 11 at the Albany Sprint Meet, Jan. 17 at the Sweet Home Invite Jan. 25 at another Blanchet meet. The Special District 4 meet will be Feb. 14-15 at the South Albany pool and the 4A/3A/2A/1A state meet this season is scheduled for Feb. 21-22 at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
