For the second straight season, the Philomath High School volleyball team will travel to Crook County for the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. The Warriors and Cowgirls will square off in Prineville at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Philomath (9-12) and Crook County (22-6) have played several times over the years — on a few occasions in the playoffs and most of the time in regular-season tournaments. Going back 10 years, the Cowgirls have won nine straight matches over Philomath and eight of those were sweeps. The lone exception occurred in 2018 when the Warriors took a set off Crook County in a bracket match at the Mount Hood Invite.
Last season, the Warriors lost to Crook County in straight sets. The Cowgirls went on to defeat Marist Catholic in the quarterfinals before falling to Tillamook in the semis. Crook County also eliminated Philomath in the opening round of the 2015 state playoffs in straight sets.
The Warriors won the Oregon West title with an 8-2 record this season but outside of league play, the team lost 10 of 11 matches.
This is the ninth straight season that Philomath has qualified for state (not counting the 2020 COVID-shortened season).
The winner of the match will advance to the 4A tournament Nov. 8-9 at North Bend. Philomath or Crook County will take on the winner of The Dalles vs. Scappoose in the quarterfinals.
Girls soccer team to host Nov. 6
Another PHS program earning an automatic berth in the state playoffs is the girls soccer team. The Warriors finished runner-up in the Oregon West Conference and are the No, 8 seed with an overall record of 9-3-2. Klamath Union, the No. 9 seed, appears on paper to be equal to Philomath with a 9-3-1 record.
Philomath and Klamath Union are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 on the the Warriors’ home pitch.
The two teams had no common opponents on their respective schedules this fall. In the final OSAAtoday coaches poll, Philomath is ranked No. 5 and Klamath Union is No. 8.
Historically, Philomath is a mainstay in the 4A playoff field. Last year, the team advanced past the first round with a win over Molalla before being eliminated by Hidden Valley. The Warriors have advanced past the first round seven straight seasons (not counting 2020 because of the COVID restrictions).
Boys soccer playing Saturday
Philomath High’s boys will try to play their way into the 4A playoffs with a play-in appearance at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Warriors (7-5-1) earned the fourth and final home play-in spot with its OSAA ranking of No. 14 and third-place finish in the Oregon West. The team was matched up with Scappoose (4-5-5) and the game will be played at Crescent Valley High in Corvallis.
Finding past matchups between these two teams were not easy to find. A quick search appears to show that they haven’t met in boys soccer since the 2008 regular season when the Warriors played at home and took a 3-1 win. Aaron Davis, Charlie Simonds and Devan Stucki had goals in the win. The previous year, Scappoose beat Philomath, 2-1, with an own goal being the difference. Alex Voelsch scored for the Warriors in that one.
This season, the Warriors and Indians had two opponents in common. Both teams lost to Stayton — Scappoose by a 3-0 margin and Philomath by scores of 4-0 and 6-1. Against Gladstone, Scappoose lost 3-0 while the Warriors beat the Gladiators by a 2-0 count.
Overall, Philomath has had more success historically with two state titles (2012 and 2021). Scappoose, whose program didn’t start until 2000, has never reached a state title game. The Indians had their best season in 2022 with a 12-3-1 record but lost in the first round to Estacada.
Runners returning to Philomath
North Marion is hosting this year’s Oregon West Conference Championships, the annual district meet that determines which two boys and girls teams and qualifying individuals advance to state in Eugene. But the races will take place on Philomath High’s Paul Mariman Memorial Cross Country Course.
The action begins at 11:15 a.m. Saturday with the varsity girls race, followed by the varsity boys at high noon. The junior varsity races are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (girls) and 1 p.m. (boys).
Coach Joe Fulton announced the varsity lineups for the meet. For the girls, senior Adele Beckstead, freshman Cassidy Smart, senior Hallie Morrison, senior Melea Lattin, freshman Reagan Nuno, junior Lucy King and senior Hanna McDaniel will take on the home course.
In the varsity boys race, Philomath’s entries include junior Leo Pausch, junior Lukas Hernandez, sophomore Galen Murch, sophomore Jacob Hernandez, senior JJ Lewis and junior Mason Stevens.
Philomath is a perennial power in this sport and the girls will be trying to not only repeat as district champions but state champions. Newport will be the team favored to win in the boys’ race. The top two teams in each race move on to state.
Five girls and 10 boys are entered to compete for Philomath in the JV races.
The 4A State Championships are scheduled for Nov. 9 at Lane Community College in Eugene.
Kramer to play at OSU Friday
Former Philomath High basketball standout Sage Kramer will play just up the road at Oregon State at 6 p.m. Friday in an exhibition game. Kramer’s Westmont Warriors will take on the Beavers at Gill Coliseum.
Kramer, a 5-foot-10 guard-forward, led Westmont in scoring last season with a scoring average of 13.0 points per game. She was also one of the team’s top rebounders with an average of 7.0 per game and led the team in steals with 2.2 per game. She hit double digits in 23 games with a career high of 22 against Chaminade and had five double-doubles.
Westmont is coming off a 12-16 overall record in 2023-24.
Off the court this past summer, Westmont achieved full NCAA Division II membership status after a two-year probationary period. That means the Warriors will be eligible this season for the NCAA Division II playoffs.
In 2023, Kramer’s Westmont team played in Monmouth and defeated Western Oregon, 62-61.
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.
Mountain bike racers at state
Philomath mountain bike racers Cassidy Smart and Jacoby Babcock both participated in the Oregon League State Championships Oct. 20 in Prineville.
Smart, a freshman, won her category by 55 seconds over the runner-up. Babcock, also a freshman, finished a close second in a race that featured mostly seniors and juniors. Smart and Babcock both entered state with nothing but victories in all of their races this year. Both won state titles last year as middle schoolers.
Smart and Babcock compete with the Corvallis Composite Mountain Bike Team. Smart and Babcock were the biggest contributors to their team’s overall first-place win as well as in the small team division. The race featured 19 teams with 211 athletes in all participating.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
