Wildcat wonderland: Wilsonville’s top prep sports moments of 2023-24

Another season of prep sports is in the books.

In other words, another year of Wilsonville dominance is complete.

After bringing home a number of collective state championships a year ago, the Wildcats did more of the same in 2023-24, continuing to separate themselves as one of the most consistent athletic programs across the state.

From the football team’s dramatic path toward a 5A championship to Avery DeVincenzi’s supernatural ability as a field thrower, it’s been a tremendous year to be a Wildcat.

So tremendous, in fact, it’s worth taking a second look:

Football team claims first state title since 2004

Somewhere in Wilsonville head coach Adam Guenther’s home is a letter written by his current quarterback, senior Kallen Gutridge.

The contents of the letter, crafted while the star senior was in sixth grade, are simple.

Gutridge wanted to first be a ball boy for Guenther, then he wanted to play quarterback under the tenured coach and help his Wildcats win a state title.

The bright-eyed youngster had big aspirations, something Guenther admired enough to stash the letter away until the right moment.

After Gutridge dealt four touchdown passes and Wilsonville trounced Mountain View 29-23 in a dramatic 2023 5A state championship win last fall, that moment may finally be upon us, seven years later.

“I’ve got that letter still and I’m gonna break it out at the banquet,” Guenther said. “I gotta go find it somewhere, but I think it’s in the game room. I think I know right where it is.”

It’s unclear how effective Gutridge’s predictive skills are outside of Wilsonville football, but when it comes to the Wildcats, the senior is a prophet.

The win on Nov. 24 marked Wilsonville's first football state title since 2004 and the first under Guenther.

It also fulfilled Gutridge’s sixth-grade prognostications, as the senior finally contributed as both a ball boy and a quarterback while bringing a state championship to his team.

At the end of a bumpy road that lasted nearly two decades for the Wildcats, Gutridge, Guenther and the rest of the program delivered.

“It’s gonna sink in a little bit more as time goes on, but right now I’m just ecstatic for these guys,” Guenther said. “I told them in the huddle before they started celebrating with their families, that this is for the crew behind them, the crew coming up after them, and tonight, this is about them.”

Rightfully so, as Wilsonville topped the Cougars in a wild, come-from-behind affair, taking its first lead with just 4:56 left in the game on a parabolic toss down the sideline from Gutridge to junior wideout Nick Crowley.

The 30-yard touchdown connection put the Wildcats ahead 29-23 for good, but not before Mountain View gave them their toughest test from a 5A opponent this fall.

“They had I don’t know how many opportunities to fold the tent and bail — start chipping on each other and turning the table — but they never gave up,” Guenther said. “We made mistake after mistake, we kept shooting ourselves in the foot, and you’ve got two choices: either you learn from it or you dwell on it, and these guys learn from it.”

Girls soccer goes back-to-back-to-back

Wilsonville took home its third consecutive girls soccer state championship on Nov. 11 , beating North Eugene 2-0 at Sherwood High School to maintain the 5A classification title.

The dynamic duo of senior Kenley Whittaker and sophomore Camryn Schaan fueled the top-seeded Wildcats in the win, recording a goal and an assist each as Wilsonville capped off its season with a jubilant victory over the third-seeded Highlanders.

“Nothing feels better than three of these,” Whittaker said, flashing her championship medal. “I feel absolutely incredible. This is just the perfect cherry on top of these last four years as a Wildcat.”

With the win, the Wildcats finished 2023 at 16-2, while North Eugene dropped to 14-3-1.

“I would not want to be a part of any other team,” Whittaker said. “This Wildcat program is just ingrained with grit and determination, and nothing is better than putting out performances like this back-to-back-to-back. I couldn’t have asked for a better high school experience.”

The Highlanders largely controlled possession throughout the first half, recording five total shots compared to Wilsonville’s one.

Still, one was all the Wildcats needed, as a Wilsonville counterattack was catalyzed by a long-ball down the right wing to Schaan in the 32nd minute. Then, Schaan played a pass to Whittaker inside the box, who took a touch and rifled a right-footed shot across the goal into the bottom-left corner.

The senior’s shot hit the left side netting, putting the Wildcats ahead 1-0 despite North Eugene’s early control of possession. From there, Wilsonville settled in and held on to win 2-0.

Girls golf earns 5A championship

The Wilsonville girls golf team took home the 5A state championship on May 14, shooting a collective two-day total of 680 to best Summit by 36 strokes at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.

The Wildcats were led by stalwart sophomore Evie Dunn, who fired a two-day total of 161 to finish fourth as an individual. On Monday, May 13, Dunn shot a five-over 77, making a clutch birdie on the par-five 16th before shooting 84 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, sophomore Layla Sidhu finished sixth as an individual for Wilsonville, recording a two-day total of 168.

The same tandem of Dunn and Sidhu led the Wildcats as freshman a season ago, each finishing in the top-four while the team took second.

Rounding out Wilsonville’s scores at Trysting Tree were Madeline Downie, Sophia Raschko and Malea Kaleikilo, who shot 175, 176 and 184, respectively.

Meanwhile, La Salle Prep finished fourth as a group as senior Sydney Anderson fired a two-day total of 171 to take eighth.

Senior Josephine Robinson, sophomore Charlotte Robinson, freshman Izzy Garlington and freshman Paisley McCoy rounded out the Falcons’ lineup, which finished with a team total of 771.

DeVincenzi, De La Motte earn track and field titles

The Wilsonville girls track and field team had a productive showing at the 2024 state championships, led by the standout performances of seniors Avery DeVincenzi and Caroline De La Motte.

DeVincenzi, who put together a dominant season as a thrower this spring, finished first in the 5A girls shot put, hoisting a toss of 41 feet, ¼ inch to best Eagle Point’s Thianna Deng by nearly three feet at Hayward Field.

“I did really well,” DeVinzenzi said. “I came out and threw 41 (feet), so right off the bat, I had it, and it was just that emotional release. I could just work on myself and work on my positions.”

DeVincenzi, who entered the meet as the top seed in the shot put, also finished second in the discus throw, recording a mark of 124-03 to finish behind only Milwaukie’s Yazmeen Brown.

With DeVincenzi’s two impressive throwing performances, the Wildcats finished second in the team competition with 58.5 total points, 18 of which came from the senior thrower.

“It’s beyond exciting,” DeVincenzi said. “The last meet of the year, to win some points for my team, it’s absolutely incredible.”

Meanwhile, De La Motte took first-place in the triple jump, traveling 37-08 ½ on her final jump to take the crown.

“I knew I wanted to have a big one on my last one; that’s usually my best. I was happy with how I was doing but I definitely wanted something bigger and was able to pop out on the last one, which was good.”

De La Motte also finished second in the long jump, adding eight more team points for the Wildcats.

With their victories in the triple jump and shot put, both De La Motte and DeVincenzi avenged second-place finishes in the same events a season ago.

“I’ve just been building up to this meet all season, and it being my senior season, I’m really glad to come out strong and finish strong,” De La Motte said. “It’s been a really fun season with all my girls and all my coaches, so yeah, it feels great.”