The Brent name has come to mean dominance in Intermountain Conference boys basketball. Seth Brent has kept that going with his stellar play this year, leading the Cougars to a 23-1 record going into Saturday’s playoff game against Corvallis (at Mountain View 6pm). Seth’s older brother Brady was the 2008-2009 IMC player of the year and led Mountain View to a 19-4 record. Seth, at 6-7, leads the No. 3-ranked Cougars in scoring and rebounding this season. Seth took some time to answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete:

Central Oregon Athlete – Has basketball always been your main sport?
Seth Brent – Yes, Ive been playing since bitty ball in like 1st grade.

COA – Do you play any other sports?
SB -Not anymore. I used to do track and baseball, but just basketball in high school.

COA – What are your hobbies other than sports?
SB – Hanging with the guys on the team, chillin and watching movies, watching college football!

COA – Any plans yet for next year?
SB- I am going to WHitman COllege (where my brother Brady goes) and will be playing basketball.

COA – How much has having an older brother to play with helped your basketball game?
SB – It has helped so much. Seeing really what it takes to be good a year in advance. He has always been helpful with whatever it is i needed or wanted and has always believed in me.

COA – What has been the best part of this season?
SB – Just the success we have had and the growth in everybody on the team.

COA – What is your goal for the season?
SB – We want to make it to Mac Court in Eugene and compete for a state championship.

COA – what has been your most memorable game?
SB – Crook County on senior night. We decided to dress down the team manager (Ryan Soderquist, nicknamed “Q”). He played the last few minutes of the game and even got a few shots up. The smiles on his face before and after the game were something i will always remember.

COA – what are some of your best numbers you’ve ever put up in a game?
SB- I had 30 points and 10 rebounds against Madras. Had 26 points and 8 rebounds against Aloha. Then I had 10 points 11 rebounds 8 assists against North Eugene.

Summit senior Jordan Schiemer excels in two very different individual sports. Alpine ski racing and golf require two unique skill sets, but Schiemer’s success in both sports shows a lot, including that you can specialize in multiple sports (thus living the Central Oregon lifestyle). You also have to respect a guy who puts team first… as you’ll see from his answers below. Schiemer is a three-time state qualifier in golf and will be aiming for a pair of state titles later this spring, but he has a state ski title on his mind right now. Jordan was kind enough to answer a few questions for COA:

Central Oregon Athlete – What’s next on your ski racing schedule?
Jordan Schiemer – I have the State Championships this week, the 2nd through the 5th at Mt. Hood Meadows.

COA – What has been or is your racing goal this year?
JS – My goal this year has to continue to improve my skiing, and win the State Championship as a team and individual.

COA – What has been the highlight of your ski racing career?
JS – The highlight of my ski career was winning the Bronze medal overall at the 2007 Western Region JR Olympics, at Mammoth Mtn, California.

COA – How long have you been skiing?
JS – I have been skiing since I was 3.

COA – How long have you been golfing?
JS – I have been golfing since I was 5.

COA – What are your golfing goals this year?
JS – My golfing goals this year are the same as skiing. Improve my game and win the State Championship as a team and an individual.

COA – What are some of the similarities and differences of competitive golf and ski racing?
JS – Golf and Ski racing are both individual sports that can be competitive as a team. They both hold you accountable for your mistakes whereas in other team sports, you can sub someone in if you get tired. They’re opposite because in Golf you need to be relaxed and calm, and in Skiing you need to fired up and aggressive.

COA – What other sports do you enjoy?
JS – I enjoy all sports. That’s why we have SportsCenter.

COA – Any hobbies other than sports?
JS – I enjoy anything outdoors. Camping, boating, fishing, biking, all of it.

COA – What’s your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
JS – First a good long run along the River Trail or up around Tumalo Falls, then strength training at the Athletic Club.

– Photo by Tyler Orton
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, that being the case, Cole Ortega is a strong kid. A surfing accident cost him use of his fine motor movements in one arm and could have cost him his life. But Ortega hasn’t let that accident slow him down. The Summit sophomore has since played competitive golf with one hand and is focusing on his passion for snowboarding. Central Oregon athlete asked Cole a few questions:

Central Oregon Athlete – How long have you been snowboarding?
Cole Ortega – I have been snowboarding for 8 years.

COA – What sports do you enjoy other than snowboarding?
Cole – Other than snowboarding, I enjoy playing golf and soccer.

COA – What has been your biggest snowboarding accomplishment so far?
Cole – My biggest sports accomplishment was when I won the overall title for the U.S.A.S.A National snowboard competition in 2008. I placed 10th in halfpipe, and 1st in slopestyle for an overall 1st place.

COA – What is your favorite kind of riding, park, half-pipe, powder, something else?
Cole – My favorite conditions are a sunny pow days riding with my friends but I also like a good park day.

COA – What are your goals as a snowboarder?
Cole – My goals as a snowboarder are to have fun and never take it too serious.

COA – Who are your sponsors?
Cole – My sponsors are Quiksilver, Mt.Bachelor, D-Feet Socks and Side Effect boardshop.

COA – How did the accident effect your outlook on sports and life in general?
Cole – My accident made me stronger as a person, but it had a huge impact on my sport. I couldn’t play sports for almost 6 months. Now, I don’t take anything for granted because you never know what is going to happen next in life.

COA – What advice would you give to kids who are dealing with an injury or illness, based on what you’ve learned?
Cole – I would tell them to never give up and to keep a positive attitude.

COA – What’s next for you this winter?
Cole – This winter I am looking forward to getting back to the point I was at before my accident and to have fun.

Piper McDonald… expect to hear that name a lot in the upcoming years. The 13-year-old 7th grader at Sky View Middle school isn’t just fast for her age, she’s one of the fastest “women” in Bend. That’s right, when it comes to running, McDonald is fast beyond her years. Here are a few examples of what she’s done in adult races in Central Oregon:
(These are Overall results, not age group)
1st – Duel in the Desert 2009 Two Person Road (with Mike Larsen)
1st – Pilot Butte Challenge 2009 (New women’s course record)
2nd – Girls on the Run 5K 2009
2nd – Heaven Can Wait 5K 2009
Those are just a few!

Piper was kind enough to slow down and answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.

Central Oregon Athlete – How old were you when you entered your first race?
Piper McDonald – When I was 11 i entered my first race which was a 10k in Portland on 5-18-08

COA – Do you remember the first race you ever won?
PM – The first race I won my age group in was my first race and the first race I won over all female was the Pilot Butte Challange in 2008.

COA – How did you get into racing?
PM – The reason I got into running is because of my parents. I have always been into sports and have done them my whole life but even before I really got into running my parents used to keep me and my older brother’s in shape by having us do some running, every now and then and then one day I just decied that I liked running and wanted to make it my primary sport.

COA – Do you have a favorite race?
PM – My favorite race would probley be Trask Mtn. I did it one year when one of my older brother’s Jake was in it with his high school. I love it because there is big hills, mud pits, and creek crossings.

COA – What’s coming up next for you, any races planned?
PM – I have a few races planned for the future I will probley do a lot of the COCC races and I’m planning on doing the Dirty Half.

COA – What are your short and long-term goals?
PM – My goals in order are first to win cross country nationls, then to go to boarder clash all 4 years of high school, then to go University of Oregon, and then my big goal for the future is to go to the Olympics.

COA – What sports do you enjoy?
PM – My favorite type of running is cross country because there is a big range of distances and you get to run on all different tirains. Then I like track and another sport i like is cross country skiing which I do in the winter to take a brake from running but to also stay in shape.

COA – Any non-athletic hobbies?
PM – A non-athletic hobbie I have is sewing.

COA – What’s your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
PM – I have a coach named Mike Larsen who has made me the runner I am today and I could not have done it with out him. One of my favorite workouts he has had me do is a bunch of strenght exersizes where I just worked on building up strength.

The Pole Pedal Paddle is Bend’s signature sporting event. Marshall Greene has won the last four, as far as Central Oregon Athlete is concerned, that makes him a BIG deal! But Greene is more than just a dominating PPP champion. He recently took third @ the Boulder Mountain Tour and is an elite level endurance athlete. Greene was kind enough to answer a few questions for COA:

Central Oregon Athlete – Where did you grow up?
Marshall Greene – Grew up in Spokane. Ran xc for Lewis and Clark HS and skied with the club
team there, Spokane Nordic.

COA – How long have you lived in Bend?
MG – I moved to Bend shortly after graduating from Middlebury College in VT in
2004.

COA – What brought you to Bend?
MG – I came to Bend to pursue cross-country ski racing full time. For
“professional” nordic ski racers, there are only a few places in the country
with post-collegiate club teams that provide the support (financially and
technically) necessary to be succesful as a ski racer. Many of these places
are in the middle of nowhere and don’t really have anything to offer besides
the ski team. I knew that I wouldn’t be ski training all 24 hours of the
day and I wanted a place where I could live happily the rest of the day.
Bend was the obvious choice.

COA – What’s next on your racing schedule?
MG – I’m leaving for Madison, WI for a Super Tour event this weekend. After that
I’ll be heading to Europe for three weekends of racing. First weekend will
be in a Swiss national level race, 2nd weekend is a Europa Cup (the World
Cup qualifying races for Central Europe), and then the last weekend I’ll
race the Engadin Ski Marathon with 12,000 others.

COA – What’s something that most people don’t know about you?
MG – I’m incredibly forgetful. I lose and leave things everywhere –on my
honeymoon I left my passport in a taxi at the Thai/Cambodia border.

COA – As the winner of multiple PPPs you are clearly a multifaceted racer/athlete,
what other sports do you enjoy?
MG – I love participating in pretty much every sport. I still run all the time
and do some road bike racing. Mt. biking is tons of fun but a little
dangerous for me — I crash hard and often. I played baseball and
basketball growing up so I even enjoy team sports from time to time.

COA – What makes the PPP special?
MG – I would love to say that the PPP distinguishes the best all-around endurance
athlete in the area but that’s really not true. Cross-country skiing
requires so much technique that if you haven’t been doing it for a long
time, it’s very difficult to make the podium. That said, the PPP is unique
in that it challenges people to become proficient at so mnay different
sports.

What REALLY makes the PPP special is how many people all over Central Oregon
get into it. Whether they are volunteering, being a team member in an event
they’ve never tried before, or racing alone, the whole community gets into
the race. That’s pretty cool for sure.

COA – What is your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
MG – It’s hard to beat some of the trail running that is so accessible around
here. One of my favorite loops starts at the Tumalo Falls parking lot, goes
up the Bridge Creek trail up to Trail 99, and then down North Fork. It goes
through the watershed and stays green much longer into the summer than many
of the trails that start to turn to dust by June. Also Bridge Creek is a
pretty infrequently used trail and bikes aren’t allowed on it so you really
feel like you’re out there all alone. Obviously I’ve got nothing against
mt. bikers — I am one, after all — but sometimes, it’s pretty cool to have
real solitude even without having to be too far from a trailhead. I’m not
sure if I’ve ever met another group of people on it in all the times of run
it.

Cody Kohlmoos accomplished a lot in 4 years @ Summit High school:
• Finished as Summit’s all-time winningest tennis player with 75 match wins (Josh Guyer broke the record in 2009 with 76)
• First ever state boys doubles champion from the IMC (with partner Alex Walentin)
• 3-time state qualifier
• IMC champion in both singles and doubles
Kohlmoos, who was also a soccer player and ski racer in high school in a sophomore on the University of Montana tennis team. Central Oregon Athlete asked the former Storm star a few questions.

Central Oregon Athlete - What did you learn in your first year of college tennis?
Cody Kohlmoos – I have to say that the biggest thing that i learned last year was that regardless of how hard you were worked to get to the point where your at there is always someone out there working harder. You can never ease up.

COA – What are your goals for this season?
CK – My goals for this season are to move up a few spots on the team, and of course, work on my game.

COA – What areas of your game are you working on?
CK – At this point of the season i’m spending alot of time on my serve trying to get it ready but i still have to put a lot into my volleys, both backhand and forehand, which is still definitely the weakest part of my game.

COA – What was the highlight of your freshman year of college tennis?
CK – The highlight of last year would have to be traveling down to Sacramento for the Big Sky Conference Championship. We made it to the semifinals and the whole tournament just had alot of energy.

COA – What was the biggest highlight of you high school tennis career?
CK – Easy, winning state with A-Wal (alex Walentin) my junior year is my biggest highlight though a couple of those Medford Invitational tournaments would rank fairly high up there.

COA – What advice do you have for young tennis players who want to play in college?
CK – Keep working, Central Oregon is tiny in the big picture of things and there are tons of great players out there. Just because your the best in an area or region doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot.

COA – Do you have a favorite workout in Central Oregon when you are back home?
CK – Haha good question, Bachelor or one of the longboard loops i think. I guess a more tradition work out would be the river trail starting at the ACB (Athletic Club of Bend) and heading up river but nothing can ever take down being able to hop in a car for 20 minutes and ride fresh powder or cruise out through tethrow on a longboard.

- A nordic photo might have been more appropriate, but how could I pass up this pic of Zoe Roy passing through an epic cycling pileup?

Zoe Roy comes from a family that could be the poster for “Central Oregon Athletes.” Her father Rob coaches some of the best snowboarders in the world, her mother Muffy is a past Pole, Peddle, Paddle champion and her younger brother Tosch Roy is an accomplish runner, nordic ski racer and juggler. Zoe has already packed some major racing, adventures and just plain old fun times into her young life. She was kind enough to answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.

Central Oregon Athlete – What have you been up to as far as racing goes since high school?
Zoe Roy – I have been mostly ski racing since high school and jumping in the old PPP, running or biking race in the off season. After I graduated from Summit High School in 2005 I lived in Ramsau, Austria for 6 months with my family. I spent the winter skiing with a local ski club, racing, traveling, learning German, eating good chocolate and hanging out. The next year I moved back to Austria by myself, skied and raced with the same ski club and took classes at the University of Salzburg. Since then I have been going to school and ski racing at the University of Utah in Salt Lake. I’ve also raced a couple of races for the cross country running team at Utah when it has fit in with skiing.

COA – What are your racing goals this winter?
ZR – I am shooting for a top 10 result at NCAAs this year in March. But to achieve that I have to qualify first, which is hard on a deep team like Utah’s. And then I just have to race fast! After that I am hoping to go to Canadian Nationals in Whitehorse.

COA – How does Utah compare to Central Oregon?
ZR – Utah, like Oregon, is a pretty awesome state because there is so much variety. I live in Salt Lake near the mountains and can be in the desert in a couple of hours. There are a lot of fun things to do in and around Salt Lake, and its a great place to go to school, but I’m still partial to Bend. The climates are pretty similar, hot and dry in the summer, cold and snowy in the winter. Utah is hotter in the summer, I’d rather spend summers in Bend. I like how central Utah is to Moab, Tahoe and places in Montana, Colorado and Idaho. And even though I really like Mt. Bachelor, I have to admit that the snow in Utah might be a touch lighter and fluffier than Bachelors….

COA -What’s it like having such an active snow sport oriented family?
ZR – Its really fun having a family that is active and likes to do stuff outside. It gives us a lot of opportunities to do things together. Anything from skiing to snowboarding, to running, to biking, to climbing, to kayaking, to unicycling, to competing with each other in the PPP!

COA – What is your favorite Central Oregon workout?
ZR – I have a few favorite Central Oregon workouts. I love running the Green Lakes loop in the summer. Another favorite is crust cruising up into Broken Top in the spring. And riding McKenzie Pass in the spring before it is opened to cars is awesome too.

Jason Carr has been the voice of Mountain View Cougar athletics on and off for over 13 years. That number may not blow you away, unless you consider the fact that he’s 30 years old. Central Oregon Athlete caught up with the very busy Carr (you may have heard him on the Lars Larson show last week talking about Facebook’s move to Prineville – Carr works for Economic Development of Central Oregon) just in time for the big “Civil War” game on Friday, when Mountain View hosts rival Bend. You may also remember Carr from his days as a news anchor on KTVZ21 in Bend and on KEZI in Eugene

Central Oregon Athlete – How did you get started announcing games?
Jason Carr - I started announcing games in 1996, while I was a junior in high school. I was taking a media class, and former P.E. teacher, and Athletic Director, Robin Fallon, knew about my interest in broadcasting and asked if I’d be interested in announcing. It’s hard to believe, but this is my 13th year of announcing at Mt. View.

COA – What do you enjoy about it?
JC -I love the atmosphere of high school sports. There’s nothing like a high school football game under the lights in the fall, or a packed gym during a rivalry basketball game between Bend & Mt. View. You also develop relationships with the players, their families, coaches, and refs. Plus, I can get pretty intense during a game, so I get to relieve that tension through announcing! (Although, you learn to get the crowd into it without being obnoxious.)

COA – Any special memories from any particular games?
JC -There are so many it’s hard to keep track. I’d probably have to say a boys basketball game between Bend and Mt. View. I can’t remember the exact year, but it was around 1999-2000. The game was close throughout, and the gym was standing-room only. Mt. View was down by two-points with just a few seconds to go, and one of the players hit a three at the buzzer to win it. When you announce as long as I have, you’re bound to see a few games like that.

COA – When you were getting started did you ever practice away from the game, like announcing what others cars were doing while you’re driving?
JC – No, I don’t really practice that much before a game. I just drink lots of water to keep my mouth and throat moist. After working in TV for 10-years, I gained a lot of experience using my voice, and I’ve read some materials about the do’s and don’ts of public address announcing. I have to say that I listened a lot to Mike Stone, the former PA guy for the Blazers back in the Drexler era, along with Don Essig, the PA announcer at Autzen Stadium. Honestly, the biggest thing I worry about is pronouncing the kids’ names correctly, so I spend a lot of time going over the rosters. Some parents take it real personally when you pronounce their child’s name wrong.

COA – Any advice for someone who’d like to either announce or get into broadcasting?
JC – If someone is interested in broadcasting, I’d suggest taking journalism and writing classes in high school, and see if there are any internships or part-time jobs available at a local TV/radio station. I got my foot in the door at KTVZ by interning in the sports department, and then working part-time as a camera operator in the studio.

COA – Anything else to add?
JC – Even thought it’s a ton of fun, I take the job seriously. You learn quickly that some PA announcers are so over-the-top that they distract from the game. Your number one responsibility is to provide the crowd with information about the game, and make it exciting for them. If people start focusing on the PA announcer, rather than the game, you’re not doing your job.

Max Liberty-Point was known for having more than a cool name when he was a standout tennis player @ Summit high school. When MLP headed to the University of California Santa Cruz to play for the NCAA Division III powerhouse he made a name for himself in four years with the Banana Slugs that ended in an 2009 NCAA championship and All-American status. Prior to his success in college, MLP was Summit’s No. 1 player for 4 years, qualifying for State in singles 3 times and winning 2 Intermountain Conference singles titles en rout to a then Summit-record 70 career high school wins. COA caught up with MLP who is living in San Jose, California.

Central Oregon Athlete – What was the highlight of your college tennis career?
Max Liberty-Point – The highlight of my college tennis career, without a doubt, was clenching the 2009 NCAA National title for my team. For something I worked for, and dreamed about, for 4 years to culminate into that moment was utter bliss. And to share the victory and experience with a team of my favorite people pushed it beyond elation. A little overwhelming to be honest. Possibly the highlight of my life.

COA – How much did your game grow in those 4 years from high school to college graduate?
MLP – My growth was astronomical. I was sort of the big fish in a small pond there in Bend, OR. Having an entire fleet of talented teammates to practice with did wonders for me. I was no longer complacent at the top, but rather hungry on the bottom. (My rank on the team over the 4 years: #14, #10, #5, #1)

COA – What are you doing with tennis right now?
MLP – Currently I teach tennis at Courtside Club in Los Gatos, CA as well as coach a few high level juniors in the bay area. Since most of my improvement happened so recently and remains fresh in my mind, passing on what I have learned has been fairly simple and quite rewarding.

COA – Any tennis goals?
MLP – At this moment, I don’t intend to make a run for the pro circuit. I pushed so hard at the end of my college career, I’m enjoying teaching others and sharing in their journeys.

COA – What else is keeping you busy these days?
MLP – I still dabble in various web design and digital media projects. Someday I hope to combine my two passions of tennis and digital media into a career.

COA – Anything else to add?
MLP – The journey is so much more meaningful than the destination.

Ryan Powell works for the New Orleans Saints, but he didn’t watch Saturday’s Divisional championship from the sidelines. He watched the Saints hammer the Arizona Cardinals 45-14 on TV from the airport in Minnesota, where he had just arrived to scout Sunday’s game between the Vikings and Cowboys.

Powell was a standout linebacker at Mountain View high school, who went on to play and coach at Linfield. But he knew early on that his future wasn’t as a player.

“I’ve wanted to do this since I was a sophomore in high school. I knew there weren’t a lot of 5-foot-9, 200 pound linebackers in the NFL,” said Powell in a phone interview from his hotel room in Minnesota. “It’s the best job I could ever have!”

Powell spends the NFL season scouting the Saints upcoming opponents. He scouts an opponent, writes up a report, gets it to the coaching staff and gets ready to hit the road for another NFL game. This week, the Saints will be using Powell’s report to prepare for the Vikings defense (that was his scouting assignment this weekend).

Right now it’s all about who the Saints play next. But Powell also does a lot of individual player scouting during the year.

“We have a report with strengths and weaknesses on every player,” he said of keeping track of potential additions to the roster. “This year was nice, the first 6 -10 weeks of the season we didn’t make a lot of moves. Then we started getting dinged up and had to bring some guys in. That’s when it helps that you’ve scouted the guys all year.”

Before working for the Saints, Powell gained experience scouting individual players for “National” a scouting agency which provides combine information to 20 of the 32 NFL teams. “I was out on the road looking at juniors (in college) writing reports on them,” said Powell.

So while most of us play “fantasy football” Ryan Powell gets to live it. And based on the results the Saints have had so far, he’s pretty dang good at it.