Nick Frost, Gary Hilgendorf, Cedar Panella, and William Craft earned the gold medal for the 3-on-3 basketball tournament during the 2024 Special Olympics Oregon Winter Regional Games tournament at Medford on March 9. The team is coached by Ron Gernhardt and John Baker.
Cottage Grove’s individual skills athlete – Mari Macauley – earned a silver medal. Coach Holly Bahr said she “was very proud they did so well in their first competition.” (Photo, Pg. 8)
The powerlifting competition took place at Philomath High School on April 6. This was a new event for Cottage Grove athletes, who were coached by Randy Mahan, an experienced powerlifter and coach.
The athletes participated in the deadlift and bench press competitions. Chip Gernhardt received two ribbons and a gold medal for overall performance in his division. Robert Brooks and Ryan Britton both received a silver medal in the bench press, a bronze medal for the deadlift and a first-place finish for their divisions. Ian Miller took second place in the deadlift and bench press, along with a gold medal for his division.
Contact Bill Dowell at 541-517-7945 for more information or if interested in becoming an athlete or volunteer, go to: SOOR.org/cottagegrove. The application process can be completed online.
State Hanmadang returns to Keefer Center
■ The 5th annual Oregon State Hanmadang (OSH), a martial arts skills tournament and expo, is returning to the Bob Keefer Center in Springfield for the second consecutive year. The Hanmadang is organized by Tim Greathouse, a seventh-degree black belt in Taekwondo and owner of MooDo Taekwondo in Eugene.
OSH, which will take place on May 3 and 4, announced the two honorary guests for the 2024 expo already. Grandmaster Sang Chul Lee will be the international guest. Lee was the U.S. National Olympic Taekwondo head coach from 1979-88, and was the Olympic head coach in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Also set to be honored is Herb Perez, a Grandmaster and 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist.
More info: oshanmadang.com.
Prefontaine Classic brings top competitors
■ TrackTown USA officials announced last week more headliners for the Prefontaine Classic, which is returning to Hayward Field on May 25. The women’s 800m will be a rematch of the 2023 World Outdoor medalists, with Mary Moraa (Kenya), Keely Hodgkinson (Great Britain), and Athing Mu (U.S.A.) all facing off.
Meanwhile, the women’s 3000m steeplechase will feature reigning World Champion Winfred Yavi (Bahrain) and world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech (Kenya). The 800m and 3000m steeplechase headliners join the Bowerman Mile headliners: Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway), Yared Nuguse (U.S.A.), and Josh Kerr (Great Britain).
Tickets can be found at preclassic.com/tickets.
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