Lebanon High School sports are gearing up to get back to normal in the fall, Athletic Director Kraig Hoene said as workers replaced the turf at Heath Stadium and did seismic upgrades to the main gym.
Winter sports ended in late June with the state wrestling tournament and some final basketball games.
The Warrior boys finished in the middle of the pack with a 4-9 overall record, 4-6 in Mid-Willamette Valley Conference play.
The girls were 5-4 in league, good for fourth, and 8-7 overall.
Across town at East Linn Christian Academy, the Eagle boys finished 8-7 overall, 8-6 in league, finishing with a 65-38 loss to Harrisburg in the playoffs, which was their only non-league game.
East Linn’s girls finished third in the Central Valley Conference with a 9-5 record, and lost their only non-league game 37-25 at Lakeview in the playoffs.
Lebanon’s wrestlers sent eight qualifiers to the state 5A championship tournament, held at Cottage Grove High School and conducted by the Oregon Wrestling Association.
Two Warriors placed: Sophomore Landon Carver was fourth at 113 pounds, and junior Braydon Burton was sixth at 138.
Also qualifying for the Warriors were freshman Adriano Pereira (113), senior Andy Vandetta (120), junior Tanner Ensley (132), sophomore Isaac Reid (185), senior Jacob Jimenez (220) and senior Rafael Ramos (285).
Lebanon was 14th out of 29 teams in the final team standings
Crescent Valley, with 19 qualifiers and 10 individual state champions, along with one runner-up, won the event with 364.5 points, over Thurston (196) and Crook County (182.5).
Hoene noted that the wrestlers, who were pretty much confined to duals this season, did not get to compete in any of the big meets they normally compete in during the season, so when they went to state it was a new experience for some to be at a competition of that magnitude.
“It’s part of the process to take them to big invitationals. When you get to it at the state level, then it’s not new to us. Wrestling’s been down, by our standards, but they’ll get it back.”
Meanwhile, sports are set for normal seasons this fall, with football, volleyball, soccer and cross-country starting official practices Aug. 16.
Hoene said the artificial turf in the stadium, which is used by football, soccer and track and field teams pretty much year-round, was “starting to get a little bit ratty.” Installed in 2011, it was a couple of years outside its warranty, he said.
“With all the soccer and everything else on it, we’ve really put it through the ringer,” he said, adding that he didn’t have total cost figures, but noted that the replacement cost is nowhere near the cost of the initial installation.
The seismic upgrade in the gym has forced athletes to use the “little” gym this summer.
Registration portals will be opened up for students to sign up for athletics before fall sports practices start, Hoene said.
“We’re back on normal rotations.”
