It was another great year on the playing fields and courts in Columbia County, with league titles, all-star players, and even a few state championships.
Now, with the 2023-24 school year behind us, let’s take a look at the highlights from the fall, winter and spring season for Scappoose and St. Helens high school teams and athletes.
Fall
Scappoose flew the flag for the county on the gridiron, finishing tied atop the Cowapa League standings and advancing to the state semifinals where they lost to eventual 4A champion Henley.
St. Helens too saw success on the gridiron, placing fourth in the league and finishing above .500 (5-4) under first-year head coach Nik Shular, narrowly missing the postseason.
In all, Scappoose 13 players on the all-league list, led by junior defensive back Quinton Olson who was voted the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
“We’ve had a lot of really good athletes here, but some kids are just different due to their football IQ,” McNabb said. “He understands the game really well. He’s the kind of kid where you can tell him how to do something one time and he’s going to do it. He studies film and because of that really understands everything that’s going on and where people are supposed to be on the field. He’s just a really good football player and balls-out every week.”
McNabb shared Coach of the Year honors with Tillamook’s Kye Johnson and Seaside’s Aaron Tanabe.
St. Helens put five players on the first team, including Punter of the Year and first team linebacker Austin Stockwell.
Lions first year head coach Nic Shular tipped his cap to his decorated players and said each and every one were both instrumental in this past season’s success, along with laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be success going forward.
“All of these kids were seniors this season and were instrumental in our program having a winning season this year for the first time since 2016,” Shular said. “The leadership they provided and the production they had on the field will be missed and difficult to replace next year. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of seniors to have for my first year as head coach here at St. Helens.”
On the volleyball court, while both the Lions and Indians finished in the middle of the Cowapa League pack, Scappoose’s Ashlynn Komp, Peyton Travis and Aryanna Searle, along with St. Helens’ Ava Eib earned first team all-league honors.
On the pitch, the Scappoose girls dominated the Cowapa League, going undefeated and advancing to the state semifinals before losing to eventual state champion North Marion.
The Indians’ Alice Davidson won her second consecutive Cowapa League Player of the Year honor, in addition to earning first team all-state honors.
Indians head coach Bruno Zanotta nearly ran out of superlatives to describe his senior standout, touching not only on her physical attributes, but also on her intense love for the game, along with her desire to play it to the best of her abilities.
“Alice is truly a special player,” Zanotta said following the season. “Her talent, along with her speed and passion for the game, differentiates Alice (Davidson) from the rest. In my six years coaching at Scappoose, I have never seen a player with this much talent around in Oregon.”
Joining Davidson on the Cowapa League first team were her teammates; senior forward Meredith Gardner; senior midfielder Megan Earl; senior defender Peyton Lennox; and junior defender Payton Hamman.
St. Helens too was well-represented, claiming three all-league spots led by senior midfielder Piper Carlson who was joined by teammates; junior defenseman/midfielder Kallee Kester; and sophomore defenseman and goalkeeper Devon Mason.
In cross country, Scappoose’s Taiki Ogawa won the boys Cowapa League District Championship, defeating second place finisher, St. Helens’ Ben Zuschlag, by two seconds.
Ogawa went on to finish 12th at the OSAA 4A State Championshps, while Zuschlag placed 23rd.
Scappoose’s Samantha Heimbuck finished third at districts for the girls, while St. Helens was paced by Kate Leonard who placed sixth.
Winter
We’d be remiss not to start the winter sports conversation with anything other than wrestling, where Scappoose’s Maverick Heimbuck and St. Helens’ Jadyn Pense took home individual state titles.
Pense — who was both the tournament’s top-seed and the top-ranked Oregon girls wrestler at 170 pounds according to oregonwrestling.net — did what was expected of her, winning the girls 4A/3A/2A/1A title with a 3-1 decision over Cascade’s Evelyn Wirfs in the final. But despite meeting both the odds and many outsiders’ pre-tournament expectations, it was the freshman’s personal goal that helped her overcome the adversity that came along on her road to a state title, and made victory that much sweeter.
“It means a lot, actually, because I always wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps and this is the start of it,” Pense said through tears. “All the hard work I put in at practice and all the times I didn’t want to go to practice, it put a lot on my shoulders, and this pays it off.”
Heimbuck — like Pense — was also on a mission of sorts.
Last year, the Scappoose junior was upset in his opening round match of the tournament, but the then sophomore and No. 1-seed at 145 pounds chose not to quit in the wake of the disappointment, but rather regroup, going on to win four matches en route to his fourth-place finish. Heimbuck was by no means thrilled with his 2023 tournament opening round defeat, but was satisfied with his response in the wake of it.
“I was definitely disappointed, but I had to flip the switch and keep on going,” he said in an interview this past December. “I really had to respond and work my way back, which is not easy. I’m very proud that I was able to do that.”
On the basketball court, the Scappoose boys finished third in the Cowapa League and won a play-in game over Hidden Valley before losing to state runner-up Junction City in the state playoffs’ first round.
With just three seniors and a first-year head coach, little was expected of this year’s Scappoose boys basketball team. But a week removed from what was a first round playoff loss to eventual state runner-up Junction City, Indians head coach Robby Backus said there was no other way to view the season than as a success, and he communicated as much to his team in the wake of their defeat.
“The message was that although it ended in a first-round loss, this season was incredibly successful,” Backus said. “Last year, after losing in a play-in game, we finished the season 10-15 and ranked 25th. This year we got to host a play-in game and finished the season 13-11 and ranked 14th. Next year, we expect to be even better and compete for a league title and trip to the final eight.”
St. Helens finished fourth in the league and missed the postseason.
Lions junior forward Cameron Cox, along with the Indians’ Quinton Olson and Colton Sprenger earned first team all-league honors.
On the girls side, St. Helens and Scappoose tied for third place in the league standings and both earned play-in game opportunities, with the Lions advancing to the playoffs with a win over North Bend before losing to Henley in the first round.
St. Helens’ Devan Lee and D’aye Davidson, along with Scappoose’s Peyton Lennox and Megan Earl earned first team all-league honors.
Spring
For the second straight year, the Scappoose baseball team reigned supreme, winning their second straight 4A state championship.
The Indians defeated Marist Catholic of Eugene 5-4 in the state title game. The state title was Scappoose’s sixth, tying it with Madison/McDaniel with six and three behind The Dalles and Henley who each have nine.
Scappoose is only the 20th school in Oregon to ever post back-to-back titles, joining Thurston in 5A who also pulled off the feat Saturday, June 1.
For Indians head coach Cameron Webb, to be atop the all-time standings is an accomplishment that wasn’t lost on him.
“That’s the goal, to keep on going and take over first,” Webb said. “But really, we just focus on our process. What these guys bring, the work ethic they bring and the love they have for each other, if we keep doing that it’s going to take care of itself.”
As a result of their success this season, Scappoose’s Grayson Grover and Max Nowlin shared the Cowapa League’s Player of the Year award, joining four of their teammates on the list of all-leaguers.
Grover hit .391 with 33 RBI and 26 runs-scored, while accumulating a 6-1 record and 1.17 ERA on the mound
Nowlin hit .468 with 12 doubles, 22 RBI and 24 runs-scored, with a .620 slugging percentage and .523 on-base percentage.
St. Helens had five all-leaguers, led by senior Connor Weiss who was the league’s Pitcher of the Year and helped lead the Lions to a 15-9-1 overall record and state playoff berth.
Weiss was joined on the all-league team by senior outfielder Nate Nowak; senior catcher and pitcher Braden Ellis; senior outfielder and pitcher Skyler Bjornstrom; and junior catcher and infielder Zackary Edwards.
In softball, St. Helens finished in second place in the league standings, while Scappoose finished in third.
The Lions and Indians both advanced to the state quarterfinals where Scappoose defeated St. Helens, going on to fall to Pendleton in the semis.
St. Helens’ Ava Eib was the league’s Pitcher of the Year and was joined by five of her teammates on the all-league list.
Scappoose put four on the all-league list.
On the track, Scappoose’s Alice Davidson was again the headliner, winning her second straight state titles in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Davidson clinched the state title in the 100 by 0.22 seconds, clocking in at 12.32, a personal best. She needed another personal best to win the 200, crossing in 24.97.
“I’m just so grateful to have the experience and be able to be out here,” Davidson said. “I had to meet a certain point to perform. It was just a lot of pressure going into it, but I think I did well and my coaches really helped me with that.”
Beyond her individual titles, Davidson helped the 4x400 relay team of Emily Garcia Ensaldo, Taylor Bourgoine and Peyton Lennox reached the top of the podium, running a time of 4:04.94.
Lennox too did work on her own, winning a state title in the 300 Meter Hurdles event, finishing with a personal best time of 46.25 and narrowly defeating second place finisher, Joey Clark (46.40) of Hidden Valley.
St. Helens too was represented at the state championships, qualifying eight girls and two boys for the meet.
The Lion boys were led by junior Cameron Cox who placed fifth in the 110 Meter Hurdles with a time of 16.22.
Cox improved his 110 Hurdles time by more than two seconds over his best mark from the year prior.
The St. Helens girls were led by junior Kallee Kester who placed fifth in the 100 Meter Hurdles, finishing with a time of 16.25.
Not to be forgotten, the Scappoose boys golf team tied for third as a team at the 4A state championships, led by senior Tucker Olson who shot a 13-over 161 and placed seventh individually over the 36-hole competition.
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