The Siskiyou Family YMCA will be offering a wide variety of summer sports camps for 2008. The camps will be conducted by a collection of high school and elementary school coaches from around the county. The camps are designed to accelerate the process of learning skills in basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, and soccer, as well as emphasize the importance of recreation for people of all ages.

“We are excited to be offering a variety of programs to the community this summer. One of the comments we hear from families is that ‘there is nothing to do around here.’ The YMCA is striving to disprove that idea and help create an atmosphere in our community centered on the importance of recreation in youth and adults!” said the YMCA’s Scott Eastman.

There will be two levels of basketball camps for girls and boys. The camp for seventh – ninth graders takes place Tuesday, June 24 – Thursday, June 26, from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. The cost is $50 for non-members, and $35 for members. The third – sixth grade camp takes place Monday, July 7 – Thursday, July 10, from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. The cost is $60 for non-members, and $40 for members. (more…)

PLYMOUTH – Siskiyou County was well represented at the Wrangler Junior Rodeo held May 17 – May 18, at Plymouth, CA.

Etna’s Will Johnson won the Chute Dogging competition, and finished third in Tie Down. C.J. Cash of Grenada was second in Bull Riding, and teamed up with Sterling Humphrey (McArthur) for second in Team Roping. Fort Jones resident Linda Johnson took third in Girls’ Breakaway Roping.

Linda Johnson and Will Johnson also teamed up to finish fifth in both Team Roping and Ribbon Roping.

COTTONWOOD – Yreka Miner Zach Stoner came in as the favorite to win the 400m race at the Northern Section CIF finals, held at West Valley High School last Friday, and he didn’t disappoint his fans. Coming into the final turn, Stoner had control of the race, and smoked his closest competition by nearly a second, running a 49.36. Stoner was also part of the fourth place Yreka 4×400 relay team, which included Manny Barragan, Ryan Pyles and Paul Gillingham.

Yreka’s head track coach Orlyn Culp was selected as one of two North Section Honor Coaches—track’s equivalent of coach of the year.

Etna’s Skyler Schneider battled an injured knee as well as the competition to finish second in both the High Jump (6’4”) and the 200m (23.20). Perhaps the biggest positive surprise for Siskiyou County athletes was a stellar performance by Etna frosh Emily Loogman. Loogman, despite coming in with a low seeding time, took third in the 110 High Hurdles.

Royce Autry was the top finisher for Mt. Shasta High School, finishing third in the 100m (11.19). The only other Siskiyou County top-three finisher was Zack Boyd from Tulelake in the 300m Intermediate Hurdles (41.04).

Stoner will move on to compete in the state finals this Friday at Cerritos College. Stoner has the eighth fastest 400m time in the state this season at 48.87. Nico Reaves from Lincoln High School in San Diego has the quickest time at 47.33.

For complete results go to athletic.net

YREKA – Yreka Miners Sara Jones and Ryan Pyles are the recipients of the KSYC Miner Boosters Scholar Athlete of the Year Award for 2008. Each student athlete received a $400 scholarship.

The scholarships were awarded at the 47^th Annual Yreka/Montague Rotary Top 100 Program, held at the Yreka Community Theatre, last night. KSYC on-air personality Bob Martin presented the awards. In addition to the scholarships, Jones and Pyles will have their names added to a perpetual trophy located in the YHS office.

Jones played soccer and softball at Yreka High School. She was instrumental in the Lady Miners reaching the semi-finals of the NSCID D-IV playoffs. Pyles participated in track and field, and soccer. He is part of the Miners’ 4×400m relay team that has the best time in the North Section, as well as being Yreka’s top defensive soccer player.

The Miner Boosters are a group of businesses that support broadcasts of Yreka Miners football, and girls and boys’ basketball, as well as contributing to the scholarship fund. KSYC radio has coordinated the Miner Booster Program for the past several years. The station’s new Consultant/General Manager Lee Jamison feels that high school athletics is an important building block for the future.

“In today’s ‘mile a minute world’, there is nothing that touches the past and the foundations of America as much as high school sports do. It connects us with the past players and champions, while giving us the building blocks for future generations,” said Jamison. “Competitive school sports is still the top activity that we can supply to our youth along with their education. We at KSYC are happy to be partners in Miner Boosters.”

The Siskiyou Family YMCA has a full schedule of youth programs for summer. Among the highlights are a teen overnight rafting trip, and a beginning kayak clinic.

The teen overnight rafting trip runs from Saturday, July 12 – Sunday, July 13. Planned activities along the way include a hike up to a beautiful waterfall, munching at the Klamath River Pizza House, and a night camping at Paradise Point. And, of course, there will be two days of whitewater rafting on the Klamath River below Happy Camp. Cost for the trip is $50.00.

Another opportunity for whitewater adventure is the beginning Kayak Clinic on Saturday, July 26. Yreka is within an hour and a half driving distance of three of the top 15 recognized whitewater runs in the United States. The clinic will be conducted on the Klamath River. The cost is $40.00 for YMCA members, $60.00 for non-members, and is open to people high school age and above.

The YMCA will also be offering multiple family and private rafting trips during the summer. Call the YMCA at 530-842-9622 for details or to sign up.

Last Friday, Yreka Miner Zach Stoner won the NSCIF D-I 200m (22.57) and 400m (48.87) championships, and teamed up with fellow Miners Manny Barragan, Ryan Pyles, and Kyson Culp to win the 4×400 Relay (3:26.77). Culp placed third in the Triple Jump (42’00.00).

For the Yreka girls, Gina Davis won the Pole Vault (9’06.00), and Carrie Turner placed second in the Triple Jump (34’09.00).

At the D-I junior varsity level, Yreka’s Kevin Jorgensen won the 1600m in 4:44.95—a time that would have been good enough for third place at the varsity level.

Mt. Shasta had three winning male athletes in Division III. Royce Autry won the 100m (11.24), placed second in the 200m (23.37), and third in the Long Jump (20’03.00). Ramon Rubio won the 3200m (10:42.88), and finished second in the 1600m (4:52.17). Ryan Cazneaux won the 110m High Hurdles (16.23). Mt. Shasta also won the 4×100m Relay. (more…)

ETNA – The Shasta Cascade League champion Etna Lady Lions began their NSCIF D-V championship quest with a pair of wins on Tuesday. In round-one, fourth-seeded Etna smoked the thirteen-seeded Mercy Warriors 7-0. Then, after twelfth-seed Hamilton upset number-five Liberty, Etna downed Hamilton 4-3 in nine innings.

Against Mercy, the Lady Lions put up their first run in the bottom of the second inning. With one down, Paige Finley doubled, and moved to third base on a failed pick off attempt by Mercy’s catcher. Finley scored via a Kacey Munson sacrifice bunt.

In the bottom of the third, Tracey Thackeray got the offense rolling again, when she wound up on second base, after an error by the Mercy right-fielder. Chloe Papazian followed with a walk. Nicole Luiz singled to drive in Thackeray and make the score 2-0. Papazian went to third on the hit, and Luiz advanced to second on the throw. Eli Pynes drove in Papazian and Luiz with a single, giving Etna a 4-0 lead, after three innings.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Beth Langford reached on an error by the Mercy pitcher. Ashley Parry reached on an error by the first baseman. Langford moved all the way to third on the error. Langford scored on a sacrifice fly by Thackeray, and Parry moved to third base. Parry scored on a wild pitch. Papazian singled, but was erased when Luiz reached on a fielder’s choice. Pynes singled, moving Luiz to third base. Luiz scored on a wild pitch. (more…)

SUTTER – The Yreka Miners accomplished much more this season than just about anyone expected—except, maybe the Miners themselves. Yreka, after starting the season 6-13 and 0-2 in the Northern Athletic League, won seven of its last eight league games to win the NAL, and earn a three-seed in the NSCIF D-II playoffs.

The Miners also won their first round playoff game against West Valley to reach the semi-finals for the second year in a row. In the semi-finals they fell to Sutter, 9-0. While the loss likely stings, the league championship and the way the players fought this season is a point of pride for Yreka Coach Jason Freitas.

“The way we started, we could have easily just cashed it in, but we did what hasn’t been done in 40 years (in Yreka). We won back-to-back league championships,” said Freitas. “We proved a lot of people wrong. You like to have the kind of kids that want to prove people wrong, and will work hard to do it.”

Yreka High School’s Students of the Month are chosen by the entire department based on recommendations by individual teachers. The criteria for selecting students are outstanding academic achievement, good study habits and dedication to academic achievement.

Students of the Month for April

Ag/Natural Resources
Olivia Duncan, 9
Kalina Betts, 9 (more…)

YREKA – The Yreka Lady Miners advanced to the semi-finals of the NSCIF D-IV playoffs with a 6-4 round-one win over the Willows Honkers, on Tuesday. Yreka (15-14) will travel to Wheatland (14-13-1) to take on the second-seeded Lady Pirates, on Thursday, May 15. Wheatland beat Mt. Shasta in round one, 12-2.

The Lady Miners got the offense working early, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Loren Young led off the game with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a Sara Jones ground out. With two outs, Ashlie Smith smacked a ball of the left-center field fence for an RBI double. Smith went to third on a passed ball. Amber Sinnott walked. Sinnott stole second base, and Smith went home on the throw to second.

Willows responded with a run in the top of the second. Brooke Hofhenke singled with two down. Kristin Acosta picked up an infield single, and Hofhenke moved to second. Lauren Guerra singled to drive in Hofhenke, cutting Yreka’s lead to 2-1. (more…)

YREKA – The College of the Siskiyous held their sixth annual Hall of Fame and Athletes of the Year banquet on Saturday night. There were five individual inductees, as well as the entire 1977 Eagles football team.

James Gerald (Jerry) Edwards was a member of the Eagle family from 1959-1981, and retired as the Dean of Student Personnel. Edwards was “very supportive” of COS sports. He passed away in 1983.

Frank Holguin was the COS Equipment Manager from 1987 – 2002, and continues to volunteer his time to assist with the COS Athletic Department.

Jiggs Sage played baseball at COS from 1962-64. In 1963, Sage was the Eagles’ MVP, and was on the Golden Valley Conference First Team list. In 1964, Sage received Honorable Mention from the GVC.

Jessica (Saltzman) Fields competed in volleyball, basketball, and track from 1999-2002. She made the GVC All Conference team two years in volleyball. In basketball, Saltzman was MVP of the GVC, All State First Team, and was selected for the All-Tourney team at the California Community College State Championships. She was also the GVC high jump champion, and finished second in the state. In 1999, Saltzman was named to the Pepsi Scholar Athlete Honor Roll. She went on to play basketball and track at Chico State where she set a new high jump record, and was named to the All American Division II Team. (more…)

YREKA – The Yreka Miners started a little slow in their first round NSCIF D-II baseball playoff game against the West Valley Eagles, last Friday. Yreka gave up three runs in the first two innings, and trailed 3-1 going into the bottom of the third. The Miners, however, exploded for five runs to take a 6-3 lead, and then shut down the Eagles the rest of the way. The Miners added a run in the sixth inning to make the final, 7-3.

Kurt Lorenzini roped a line drive home run to help lead the Miners’ offense. Lorenzini was 3-4 for the game, with two runs, and two RBI. Joe Wilson went 2-3, with a run, an RBI, and two doubles. Clint Amaral was 1-3, with a run and an RBI. Devin Howard doubled, drove in a run, and went 1-3. Andrew Ward dominated the last five innings the game from the hill, and notched the complete game win (7IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, BB, 11K).

Yreka head coach Jason Freitas was pleased with his squad’s overall performance, and excited about the hitting of a couple of his players in particular.

“Lorenzini is on fire. He hit a rocket home run, and went 3-4. And, Joe Wilson is beginning to hit well,” said Freitas.

For the second year in a row, the Miners won the Northern Athletic League crown. For the second year in a row, they’ve won their first round playoff game. For the second year in a row, they will face the Sutter Huskies in the semi-finals. Last year, the Huskies beat the Miners in Yreka, 9-7, in nine innings. Sutter went on to win the section title. This time the third-seeded Miners (14-14) will travel to second seeded Sutter (24-5), on Tuesday, May 13.

YREKA – Several Yreka Miner varsity track athletes will be moving on to the division finals next Friday, at Enterprise High School, after placing in at least the top three finishers at the Northern Athletic League track championships last Friday.

Zach Stoner won both the 200m (22.37) and the 400m (48.97). Kyson Culp won the Triple Jump (42’04.75) and finished second in the Long Jump (20’08.75). The boys’ 4×400 relay team also took first with a time of 3:35.79 (Manny Barragan, Kyle Walton, Kyson Culp, Zach Stoner). (more…)

ETNA – It probably didn’t go quite the way the Etna Lion squad would have liked on Friday, but an ugly 6-3 win gets you the same place as a perfect 10-0 win—the next round. At the end of four full innings, the third-seeded Lions hadn’t allowed a hit, but were trailing 2-1 to a scrappy sixth-seeded Chester Volcano team. At no point in the game did it seem like the Lions had total control, but in the end the win is all that really matters.

Etna was first to have a runner in scoring position when Greg Monday led off the bottom of the first inning. But a strikeout and a pair of fly balls later, the threat was thwarted.

Chester’s Thomas Porter led off the top of the second with a walk. After a Volcano strikeout, Daniel Burt also took a free pass, and Porter moved to second base. Lion pitcher Clint Johnson then added two more “Ks” to make it three in the inning.

The Lions had their leadoff hitter at second for the second inning in a row, when Trevor Kendrick doubled. This time, Etna capitalized when Kendrick moved to third on a Taylor Pehle-Munson 4-3 ground out, and then scored on a sac-fly by Trevor Eastlick, giving Etna a 1-0 lead after two. (more…)