A correction was made at 4:34 p.m. Nov. 8, 2023: An earlier version of this article reported that Preston Kramer had scored 40 points and had 25 rebounds in an Oregon Amateur Basketball game when in fact it was Jacob Peters.
Postseason recognition is starting to roll in with girls soccer and football released over the past week. Philomath High has good representation on both of those teams, which are compiled through a vote of the league’s coaches.
A couple of weeks ago, the all-Oregon West volleyball team was published with five Philomath High players included. The all-conference list for boys soccer has not yet been released.
In girls soccer, the Warriors earned top honors of Co-Player of the Year in senior Kamilla Grimmer and Coach of the Year in Mat Phelps. Plus, Philomath saw four of its players make the first team, two others on the second team and three more as honorable mention. That’s nine players in all receiving all-conference recognition.
Grimmer had an exceptional season with 32 goals and 19 assists to help Philomath to a 13-3 record and co-championship with North Marion for the league title. She shared the top player honor with North Marion senior Caile Lader.
Juniors Natalie Dunn and Aspen Russell made the second team for the Warriors. Honorable mention picks included junior Sophia Bauer, sophomore Ana Candanoza and junior Kateri Pindell.
Joining Grimmer on the first team are senior Bailey Bell, junior Melea Lattin and junior Heidi Bacho. Bell finished the season with 16 goals and 22 assists to give Philomath one of the top 1-2 offensive combinations in the state. Lattin was a standout among the back four and Bacho was effective in the net as part of a defense that allowed only 0.8 goals per game with seven shutouts.
Phelps has an 84-25-10 record at Philomath in eight years at the helm with the Warriors reaching the playoffs each season.
By the way, the Oregon West’s North Marion has reached the championship game and will face No. 1 and defending champion Marist Catholic. The Huskies advanced to the finals with wins over Crook County (1-0), The Dalles (5-1) and Scappoose (3-1). The team that eliminated the Warriors, Hidden Valley, played Marist tough in the semifinals in a 1-0 result.
The championship game is scheduled to be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
All-league football team
Philomath High School had good representation on the Special District No. 3 all-league team with 10 players earning recognition at 19 positions.
Sophomore CD Nuno was named to the first team on both offense and defense. Nuno was Philomath High’s top receiver this past season and earned one of the three wide receiver spots on the first team. He was also named to the first team as a defensive back.
Two other players were selected to the first team with junior Brady Russell at guard and senior Kaden Muir at running back.
Muir earned all-league honors at three positions in all. In addition to running back, he was also a second-team inside linebacker and second-team punter.
Russell was also among those named to the second-team defense with his performance on the line. Sophomore Lake Mulberry was a second-team honoree at offensive tackle and honorable mention on the defensive line.
Nuno, Muir, Russell and Mulberry were among the standouts that helped Philomath finish with its first winning record in Class 4A since 2015. The Warriors went 5-4 and just barely missed qualifying for the 4A playoffs.
In addition to Mulberry, other honorable mention picks included senior Mason Stearns at tight end/H-back and defensive back, sophomore Rocco De La Rosa at slot and outside linebacker, junior Warwick Bushnell at wide receiver and defensive back, junior Hudson Raab at kicker and defensive lineman, junior Caleb Russell at quarterback and senior Shane Muir at defensive lineman.
Marist Catholic swept the top individual awards with junior quarterback Nick Hudson (Offensive Player of the Year), senior linebacker Aiden Hazen (Defensive Player of the Year) and Charlie Landgraf (Coach of the Year).
Fall basketball successes
A contingent of Philomath boys basketball players have been competing this fall in Oregon Amateur Basketball and the local team has fared well in a series of weekend tournaments in Salem.
The team made it to the championship game all six weekends and in those appearances, won three and lost three. Rick Bennett, who coached the squad, said it was an accomplishment with games against a lot of 5A- and 6A-level athletes.
Bennett said local players making appearances on the team have included Elijah Bush, Connor Harms, Owen Heiken, Preston Kramer, Jacob Peters, Jamin Peters, Josiah Peters and Kaden Wenger.
Jacob Peters had a highlight from this fall with a game in which he scored 40 points and had 25 rebounds.
The team will participate in another tournament this weekend at the PAC Community Center in Salem.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).