Games for the Throne of the Northwest Conference Begin
The crisp, chilly air is rolling into Forest Grove, sending fans indoors to the warmth as the fall sports wrap up their seasons—and winter sports heat up for their seasons, including women’s and men’s basketball, swimming, and wrestling.
Time to make a splash
Winter sports seasons officially begin on Friday, November 4, when the men’s and women’s swim teams travel to George Fox for their first meet. Both teams look to improve their final season standings from last year, finishing 9th in the conference. The Men’s team-best ranked time was in the 200-meter fly with a finish of 2:00.41, which locked in an 11th rank in the top finishes for the season last year Hung Huynh. For the women’s team, Alexandria Moehnke had the highest-ranked time in the 50-meter freestyle in the previous season for the Boxers with a finish of 24.21, earning her a 6th-ranked time in the conference. Head coach Beth Wittle looks to lead her teams to rack up PRs this winter to improve on last year’s season.
Hoops are Here
Men’s basketball begins on Tuesday, November 8, where they take on Portland Bible at home to kick off their season. Justin Lunt is coaching his fourth season after leading the team to their best record since the 2013-14 season last winter. The team hopes to keep up its high-flying offense, which finished in the top three in the Northwest Conference last year. Jacob Bolger returns to the court as a senior; he was the leading scorer from last year, averaging 15.8 points per game.
The path to the championship game for the women’s basketball team begins. But they intend to change the ending this time. The team made it to the 2022 Northwest Conference Championships, only to lose to Whitman University in the final.
The talented squad is eager to win the conference and has a history of overall success. They kick off the season on Wednesday, November 9, at home against Montana Western. The team previously went 12-4 in the conference and looks to improve the impressive record. They will be looking to fill the void after losing last year’s Northwest Conference player of the year, Camy Aguinaldo. Keep an eye out for Junior Brilie Kovaloff, the team’s second-leading scorer last season, with an average of 15.3 points per game, to take over the lead in scoring for this year’s team.
Just pin it!
The mats will be hit competitively for the first time of the season in McMinnville at Linfield University on Thursday, November 10. Head coach Zach Binkerd will lead the team in his second season. This year, the team has grown in numbers, with nine women on the squad and 14 men. Look out for Sagel Bush, the returning junior on the women’s team who qualified for the national tournament last year. This year’s teams will have one lone Senior, the team’s 220 pound wrestler Loudyn Reese. — Zander Breault
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