Bend sophomore Jenna Mattox had an amazing Fall last year. She was the top placing freshman in the Class 5A state cross county meet and led her team to a 5th place finish, but that wasn’t all she did last Fall. She also won a state championship with the Lava Bears soccer team. Mattox is at it again this fall playing both sports and looking to join her older sister Kimber as an individual cross country state champion. She took some time from her very busy schedule to answer some questions for Central Oregon Athlete:

Central Oregon Athlete – How busy is your Fall as a two/sport athlete?
Jenna Mattox – It’s been pretty busy but my coaches have been great about allowing me compete in both sports. We plan my week of workouts ahead of time.

COA – Any special moves to balance soccer and XC, like morning runs or anything like that?
JM – I try to make up missed workouts on my own.

COA – How are the two sports different for you?
JM – They have some similarities but cross country allows me to strive for personal goals as well as team goals.

COA – What’s it like to have a family with such a strong running tradition at Bend High?
JM – Having my older brother and sister having success for Bend High as well as my cousin Ryan Douglass, I’m more motivated to push myself.

COA – What are your goals this soccer season?
JM – To improve my skills and have fun, while helping my team reach their goals.

COA – What are your goals this XC season?
JM – Help Bend High make it to state by improving my times. I would love to run at border clash again.

COA – What do you like to do when you aren’t playing sports?
JM – I love to hang out with family and friends. I enjoy all types of crafts and baking.

COA – What is your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
JM – I love hill repeats on Pilot Butte, but probably my favorite workouts are “Kyle Will” workouts (strength training).

COA – What has been the highlight so far of your young sports career?
JM – At the district meet last year after our team had worked so hard, realizing we had earned a spot at the state meet.

Don’t you think it’s time to start talking about high school football?!

Here’s all the games when Central Oregon football teams play each other.

September
10 – Madras @ La Pine
17 – Sisters @ Madras, Crook County @ La Pine
24 – Summit @ Redmond, Madras @ Crook County
October
1 – Redmond @ Bend
8 – Summit @ Bend, Redmond @ Mountain View
15 – Mountain View @ Summit
22 – Bend @ Mountain View, Summit @ Crook County, La Pine @ Sisters

Here’s how the playoff race looks going into the final week of Intermountain Conference girls basketball.
Bend 8-3 – Crook County, Mountain View and Summit games are all that stand between the Lava Bears and an IMC championship.
Hermiston 7-4 – Finishes with two of three games @ home.
Mountain View 7-4 – The Cougars didn’t make the playoffs last year. Finish with two out of three on the road. Need to notch a road win for sure!
Madras 6-5 – Sitting in fourth after finishing with a 5-9 record last year. Finish with two of their three games against Hermiston.
Summit 5-6 – The reigning IMC champions are sitting @ fifth, but they can help their cause by winning out. A game @ MV is followed by home games against Crook County and Bend.
The Dalles-Wahtonka 4-7 – Two of three vs. Pendleton. That’s good for TDW seeing as Pendleton is in last place… but just a game behind TDW.
Crook County 4-7 – A down year after finishing 10-4 for second in the IMC last year.
Pendleton 3-8 – Not looking good for Pendleton’s playoff hopes.
Full IMC standings – Oregonprepsports.net

Mountain View 10-1 – 30 points by Seth Brent in big win over Madras moved the Cougars to a 6-game win streak. They are 20-1 overall.
The Dalles-Wahtonka 8-3 – Has lost a game to MV, Summit and Hermiston. But also gave MV it’s only loss of the year.
Pendleton 6-4 – Impressive 15-5 overall record.
Summit 6-4 – Last two games have gone into overtime, 3 of last 5 have gone to overtime.
Madras 5-6 - Despite losing to MV by 11, the White Buffaloes are playing well.
Bend 4-7 – Has lost 3 games in a row. Needs to win out to finish league at 7-7.
Hermiston 3-7 – Tied for the second leading scoring team in the IMC.
Crook County 0-10 – Next year’s move to 4A could be a big boost for the Cowboys.

Today’s games:
Crook County @ HERMISTON 12:45pm – Hermiston needs to bounce back to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Summit @ PENDLETON 12:45pm – The winner takes sole possession of third place.

Bears are tops in IMC
Bend beats Madras for sole possession of conference lead – By Beau Eastes / The Bulletin

The Intermountain Conference race remains wide open. Here is a quick update for each team.
BEND (3-2) – Big win @ home over Madras last night. Huge week ahead playing host to Summit Tuesday and @ MV on Friday.
• Bend vs Madras article – By Beau Eastes/The Bulletin
CROOK COUNTY (0-4) – Has yet to win a game this season, has a tough one today with Pendleton.
HERMISTON (1-4) – Beat Crook County for its first IMC win of the season, now @ Summit today.
PENDLETON (3-1) – Coming off a big win @ Summit, plays today @ winless Crook County.
MADRAS (1-4) – Has lost 3-streak IMC games. Hosts TDW Tuesday and then is @ Pendleton on Friday.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (4-1) - Saw its 14-game win steak broken by The Dalles-Wahtonka. Has a chance to bounce back @ Crook County on Tuesday before the big civil war game against Bend on Friday.
SUMMIT (2-2) - Has already played the top three teams in the IMC, going 1-2 against them. Big game today @ home against Hermiston.
THE DALLES-WAHTONKA (4-1) - Came to Bend twice this week and left with two big wins. Takes a 3-game win streak into Tuesday’s game @ Madras

Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell, reunited with Brett Favre, hopeful of a second shot at Super Bowl – By Aaron Fentress, The Oregonian

The No. 2-ranked Cougars beat No. 10 Hermiston 58-54 @ Hermiston (5-6, 0-2 IMC) to improve to 2-0 in the Intermountain Conference. Mountain View plays @ Summit (5-7, 1-0 IMC) in a big game that COA will be @ the game, so look for a full recap.

The Storm have a challenging week ahead by playing host to No. 18 The Dalles-Wahtonka (8-3, 1-0 IMC) on Tuesday and No. 2 MV on Friday.

Kyle Brown had one of the best high school football seasons ever by a Central Oregon running back this past fall. He ran for a Bend Lava Bear record 31 touchdowns on his way to earning first-team All Intermountain Conference and second-team All State. He finished the season with an eye-popping stat line of 1,707 yards on 189 carries for an average of 9 yards per carry. Born and raised in Bend, the senior is looking forward to a big track season this Spring:

• Central Oregon Athlete – Do you play any sports other than football?
• Kyle Brown – I run track, the 100 200 and i long jump.
• COA – What are your hobbies and interests?
• KB - I like to make music.
• COA – Do you have plans set for next year?
• KB – I want to play college football and I’m just waiting to make my decision.
• COA – How were you able to find your way into the End Zone so many times this season?
• KB – I had alot of good blocking upfront with and with the fullbacks.
• COA – What’s the best part about playing Lava Bear football?
• KB – The best part is the tradition and the coaching.
• COA – What’s next for you as far as sports go?
• KB – Right now im lifting and running getting ready for track.

This is a tough one, so many great runners this decade. So I’m starting with Central Oregon and I’ll post the rest of the state tomorrow. I’m only giving 5 instead of 7 because I can’t decide from the rest… too close to call.

CENTRAL OREGON INDIVIDUALS
• Lane Neely, Bend – 2000 big-school state champion. Only boys individual state champ of the decade for C.O. (15:35 @ State)
• Kenyan Neuman, Summit – 4 years of awesome. The original Summit star paced the Storm for the first four years the school existed. 4-time individual state qualifier, 3-time IMC champion! (PR – 15:24)
• Pat Madden, Summit – 4-time state qualifier. IMC district placing: 1st as a senior, 2nd as a junior, 7th as a sophomore, 2nd as a freshman. (PR -16:01)
• Dylan Coleman, Bend/Summit – IMC champion as a senior top runner for two different schools in Bend. (PR – 15:35)
• John Hinman, Bend – 6th at state 2001 with a time of 15:50.

Honorable Mention: Tosch Roy, Summit; Andy Tronson, Mountain View; Mark Leckband, Summit; Ryan Martinez, Mountain View; Matt Davis, Mountain View; Tim Badley, Bend; Jacob Marx, Bend

CENTRAL OREGON TEAMS
• Bend 2001 – Big-school state champs. Coached by Randy Dalzell.
• Bend 2000 – 2nd @ big-school state. Coached by Bob Latham.
• Summit 2005 – 2nd @ big-school state. Coached by Dave Clark