Sports

Junior Jawon Turner never expected to be a conference champion for the Oregon boys track and field team.

So it would make sense that he was surprised to jump a foot ahead of Milton senior Brock Krebs to claim the triple jump title Tuesday at the Badger South Conference meet at Oregon High School.

“I was very shocked,” said Turner, who reached 42 feet, 6 1/2 inches. “I came out jumping not too well at first but somehow managed to pull it off. ... I didn’t believe it at first.”

Turner hadn’t done the triple jump before this year, and he had to not only learn the event, but also had to get better every week in order to compete.

Turner had to go through long hours of practices with coaches.

“They were very specific drills to help get our feet forward, head back and not up too high,” he said. “It was a lot of technical stuff but was also mental.”

Sophomore Carson Torhorst and freshman Grant O’Donnell may not have a lot of postseason experience, but it didn’t show Wednesday in the Badger South Conference Golf meet at the House on the Rock Golf Resort. 

Torhorst (75), playing in his second conference meet, and O’Donnell (77), making his tournament debut, finished third and fourth overall, respectively.

That play, which helped Oregon finish fourth overall in the meet with a 337, coupled with the conference dual season also earned both golfers a spot on the All-Badger South Conference list. Torhorst was No. 6, while O’Donnell was No. 7.

For Torhorst, he said it meant a lot to medal with Stoughton’s Henry Klongland (76) and Madison Edgewood’s Johnny Decker (73).

The last time junior pitcher Logan Laski faced Stoughton, he was on the losing end of a one-run game.

Oregon baseball head coach Kevin Connor said he knew that Tuesday’s game against the Vikings would be just as close as Laski took the mound once again.

This time, Laski shut down Stoughton, and the Panthers used a four-run sixth inning to top Stoughton 4-0.

Junior Will Reinecke started the scoring with an RBI bunt single. Junior Austin Adams added an RBI on a fielder’s choice, while senior Simon Maurice capped the inning with a two-run double.

Stoughton never reached third base.

Oregon (3-7 overall, 3-6 conference) was only the second team in the Badger South to knock of first-place Stoughton (8-6 overall, 6-2 conference) this season.

“If we can keep battling and getting some clutch hits like we did tonight, then we can play with anyone,” Connor said.

Laski went all seven innings and allowed three hits. He struck out two.

Panthers head coach Ned Lease knew entering Friday’s Stoughton Invitational that the Panthers were in for a big test – perhaps their biggest to date. Oregon showed no signs of wilting under the pressure though, winning the meet, which was pelted by constant rain, with 114.5 points.

Only four points separated second-place Sun Prairie (98), who finished 16.5 points back from Oregon, and the host Vikings (94). Waunakee rounded out the top three with a score of 97.

Once again the Panthers’ sprint relays led the way as freshman Lucas Mathews, sophomores Brock Buckner and Lucas Knipfer and junior Jawon Turner took both the 4x100 (45.71) and 4x200 (1:35.46) relays.

Oregon continued to get strong showings from its underclassmen sprinters as Buckner (11.66) and Mathews (11.80) finished third and fourth in the 100-meter dash.

Young is one word to describe the Oregon boys golf team this season. Rebuilding is another.

Head coach Ben Cowan said that the Panthers are primed for success in 2014 and 2015 – when he said he expects the best team in school history, or at least one as good as the 2000 squad that made state.

But with only two seniors on the squad this season, there have been flashes of potential, as seen by No. 1 sophomore Carson Torhorst’s 4-under par 32 against Monona Grove on May 1 at The Oaks Golf Course.

The Panthers lost 150-167, but Cowan said that is the Carson he knows.

“(Carson) puts a lot of pressure on himself to play well,” Cowan said. “He has been at that No. 1 spot half of last year and all of this season, so he expects to play well – maybe a little too much pressure on himself. But he really broke out at The Oaks … blew the field away.”

Panthers’ head coach Ben Conklin was hoping for a slightly better showing than Wednesday’s 5-2 loss at Waunakee’s Ripp Park last Wednesday.

Despite the loss, there were plenty of reasons for Conklin and the Panthers to remain optimistic, including what the Warriors already did earlier this season, defeating Oregon’s Badger South Conference rival Madison Edgewood 5-2 earlier this season.

“We hung in there, but they were just a little better up and down the lineup,” Conklin said of the Warriors, who have won four of the last five Badger North Conference titles.

Coming off a rather surprisingly close 4-3 win at Monroe the day before, the Panthers were only able to pick up wins at No. 3 singles and doubles.

Dakota Tollakson took his 3 singles match 6-4, 6-3 against junior Bradley Pagnucci, while juniors Brady Behrend and Jackson Wilhelm added a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 victory at 3 doubles.

Becky Temple, the wife of former Oregon High School head coach Gene Temple, passed away on May 9, 2012 from a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Becky Temple was a “hockey mom” to many of the community hockey youth, including alumnus Ben Cowan, and helped out when she could.

So this year, the Labatt Blue Alumni Hockey Tournament at Oregon Community Sports Arena is honoring her by attempting to raise $10,000 or more for the UW Carbone Cancer Center Pancreas Cancer Research Fund with the tournament, May 10-12, and a 9 p.m. Saturday concert in a Bucky’s Rental Tent by the arena.

For Cowan, who helped organize the event, this means a lot more than just reunions and good times with friends. He remembered Becky Temple always being at tournaments when he was younger, and her husband Gene coached him from when he was eight years old.

Things looked bright for the Oregon girls soccer team during a sunny Tuesday contest at Verona.

The Panthers were up one goal with three minutes to play, and time was ticking away. But then Verona freshman Shelly Wing struck.

Wing split the Oregon defense with a pass up the middle of the field to freshman Ellery Roark in the 78th minute, and Roark finished the play with a fast roller past senior goalie Brit Peckham to tie the game.

That 1-1 score remained after two overtimes.

“We got caught defensively, got caught out a place,” Oregon head coach Julie Grutzner said. “(Wing) had a nice touch, and (Roark) had a nice finish.”

Oregon struck first in the 70th minute after senior forward Annie Zavoral found junior midfielder Eliza Neidhart’s head. Neidhart smashed the ball into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Oregon boys tennis squeaked out a 4-3 Badger South Conference dual meet win Tuesday at Monroe.

With all of the cancellations, it was the team’s first match in a week-and-a-half, and the rust showed.

Alex Onesti cruised 6-2, 6-1, which proved the exception rather than the rule.

The Panthers saw two of the other three singles matches go to a third set, while freshman Drew Christofferson needed to hold on 6-2, 7-6 (7) to prevail at 4 singles.

Dakota Tollakson picked up the team’s other singles win at No. 2, 2-6, 6-2,6-2, while Jackson Schneider fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 atop the lineup.

Brady Behrend and Jackson Wilhelm added a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles to clinch the match, while No. 1 and 2 doubles both lost highly contested matches.

“Winning at Monroe is always tough. They compete hard,” Panthers head coach Ben Conklin said. “We didn’t play very well overall.” 

After losing a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning at Monroe, the Oregon baseball team loaded the bases in the eighth only to come away with no runs.

The Panthers weren’t about to let that happen again in the ninth.

Junior pitcher Logan Laski (2-for-5) and junior designated hitter Jere Bauer each picked up RBI singles, and Laski later scored on  a double steal.

“Being able to come out on top after a game after all the tight ones during the year was huge because none of them have gone our way so far,” head coach Kevin Connor said. “We were always a basehit or a walk away from winning a game, but tonight we got it.”

Senior shortstop Simon Maurice finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while junior center fielder Austin Adams was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a double.

Laski picked up the win. He went eight innings and allowed one earned run on nine hits. He struck out seven and walked one.