February 21, 2017
To: School Board Members of LCSD
Re: February Board Report Athletics and Extracurricular Activities
This has been a busy month for La Center HS Athletics and Activities. To start off with, our
cheerleaders did a little kids cheer camp during the week of January 23rd. We had about 30
little girls learn a few cheers and practice
them during the week. Then at halftime of
the boys’ basketball game against Castle
Rock, they did their cheers in front of the
fans. This was a great event for the little
girls and the event helps to support our
cheer program to help offset some of the
cost of their uniforms.
This next information does not deal directly with our schools, but it is about two of our students
at the high school. Katelynn Hurley is a freshman and just won the Miss Rodeo for Southwest
Washington. She will be traveling all over our great state to make appearances at different
rodeos. Maddie Geil was just named Miss Clark County. She is a junior and has been a manager
for the football team for the last 3 years. Congratulations to both of them!
On February 11, our Honor Society students did a stuffed animal drive for kids that are sick at
Doernbecher’s Children Hospital. The high school students in National Honor Society created a
few hours of fun for elementary aged kids.
In order to participate, a child needed to
bring in a new or slightly used stuffed
animal. The fun activities that the HS
students organized included, face painting,
bingo, cake walk, yard games such as
cornhole, and a movie could be viewed
with popcorn. Both of my sons attended
this event and had a great time. The
National Honor Society students and Julie
Croskrey did an excellent job in preparing and accomplishing this event. They were able to
collect over 30 stuffed animals for their cause.
The La Center High School Chess Team is currently tied for 1st place in their division of the PDX
Chess League. One of their most impressive victories came against Jesuit HS. They will face
Lincoln High School on Wed, Feb 22, to decide who will be league champs of their division. The
team will then head to the Washington State Chess Tournament in Issaquah on March 3 and 4.
We look forward to their results as the team has strengthened each year.
The image below was sent to me by the Woodland Middle School Athletic Director, Angela
Campbell. It is a screen shot of a Facebook post from Jeff Flanagan, who is the MS C-team Boys’
BB Coach. Our team had a 9 point lead going into the 4th quarter, and our team had not won a
game yet this year. We ended up losing this game, but the interaction and conversation by our
players to the Woodland coach and players was amazing. It created quite the buzz between our
two communities. I received numerous messages asking if I had seen this post and to be sure
and to tell the coaches thank you. A huge thank you needs to go to Tom Rice, Greg Hall and Rick
O’Neil for their coaching and for their leadership in the MS Boys’ BB Program.
The HS Unified Basketball Team finished their season on February 11 at the district tournament
in Battle Ground. Even though they did not qualify for state, there were some great successes
this year. For instance, we were able to host league games this year thanks to some great
volunteers on the girls’ basketball team and the flexibility of the Community Education
Department in order to allow us to use the middle school gym along with the high school gym.
We had basketball games starting at 9 AM on January 28 and they played until around 1 PM.
The schools that participated included Washougal, Battle Ground, Prairie, Skyview, Camas,
Heritage, Hudson Bay, Kelso, Mountain View, and Union. Another success was to see the
growth in our athletes. Athletes are the special needs students, and partners are the regular
education students that practice and play in the games. One last success I will share occurred in
the first game of the district tournament. The team battled and played hard to win a very close
game, 42-41. According to the coaches, the team played together very well and made some
huge shots.
The wrestling team has finished their season. We had 12 boys and 3 girls qualify to the regional
tournament. This is more than we have had in the last 4 years. Unfortunately, we only had 2
boys qualify to the state tournament, which is better known as Mat Classic. This is by far my
favorite WIAA state event. We are one of only a few states that combines all classifications in
the same building for the state tournament. They put 24 mats on the floor of the Tacoma
Dome. The picture below is the parade of champions that they do before the medal round of
matches (medal rounds include those wrestling for the top 8 placings). This is a very well
attended event.
Robel Grove won his first match at state, 11-3, despite being sick. Unfortunately, he lost his
next two, which means he was not able to place at state. Jeffrey Mayolo pinned his first
opponent in the 1st round. He then had a tech fall against his next opponent, 16-0. Jeffery’s
semi-final match was one of the best matches I have seen, and that number is quite a few. He
ended up winning in the 3rd overtime, 10-9. The finals match did not go so well, as he was
pinned in the first round. However, being 2nd in the state at 152 lbs. is quite the
accomplishment. Congrats on this finish, Jeffrey Mayolo.
The HS Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Teams have had
huge success this year. Both teams have qualified to
the state tournament in Yakima, Mar 1 – 4. The boys
finished as co-champs of the Trico League with King’s
Way, and 3rd in the district tournament. The girls were
Trico League and district champions for the 2nd year in
a row. They will head to Mt. Vernon High School this
Saturday, Feb 25, to compete against Lynden Christian
in the regional round. The boys head to Yakima this
weekend to face Zillah High School on Saturday, Feb
25, for their regional game. Since both teams were
ranked in the top 8 of the new RPI system, these games
are for seeding purposes only. If they win, the team will
receive a first round bye. If they lose, they will play on
Wednesday, Mar 1, in a loser out game in Yakima.
Respectfully Submitted,
Matthew Cooke
K-12 Director of Athletics and Activities