Here are the most popular posts of the past month:
• Bend Basketball Trick Shots
• 2010 Oregon high school XC preview
• Jesuit girls XC train in Central Oregon
• 2010 Oregon prep volleyball preview

Anyone out there watching the US Open? Let’s hear some predictions!

Here are mine:
Men’s Singles – Roger Federer def. Rafael Nadal
Women’s Singles – Venus Williams def. Maria Sharapova
Men’s Doubles – Bryan brothers
Women’s Doubles – Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs

Mountain View junior-to-be Jessica Wolfe is the second fastest returning cross country runner in Class 5A. She finished third at last year’s state meet and is one of a handful of standout runners on the girls side here in Central Oregon. She was kind enough to take a break from her back-to-school activities and answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.

Central Oregon Athlete – How long have you been running competitively?
Jessica Wolfe – I’ve been running competitively since 6th grade, so as of this year, it’ll be six years.

COA – What was the highlight for you last XC season?
JW – Well, the highlight for last season would definitely be the 3rd place finish at state. Haha, in the hypothetical state race, I was ranked as 12th, so finishing 3rd absolutely blew me away!

COA – Can you share some of your goals for the season?
JW – As far as goals go, I’d really like to start running in the 18-minute zone. I really just want to go fast, and enjoy doing so.

COA – Do you play any sports other than XC?
JW – I’m not really coordinated enough to do many other sports than running, but over the winter I do yoga/pilates and spinning (indoor cycling).

COA – What do you like doing besides sports?
JW – Besides sports I love art (painting, sketching, sculpting), music (I play the piano and clarinet), reading and writing (indeed, I am a book geek), and being with awesome people.

COA – What is your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
JW – My favorite workout in Central Oregon would most definitely would be Pilot Butte repeats. I love how when you do 3 or more on a consistent basis, people start to know your name and cheer you on; it’s pretty fun.

COA – Do you have a favorite XC race?
JW – I absolutely LOVED the Ashland race. It was the most beautiful trail I’ve ever ran on, and last year my teammate (Mkhaila Thornton) ran on each other’s tail the whole time; making it possible on the huge down hill to do the “rollercoaster”, which involves sticking your arms in the air and screaming. So, not only did we have a great time running, but we also finished 1st and 2nd, with our team coming in 1st.

COA – Anything else to add?
JW – As far as running goes, Central Oregon is the absolute best!

State Meet Results
2009 – 3rd, 19:19
2008 – 8th, 19:32

Intermountain Conference Championships
2009 – 5th, 19:39
2008 – 4th, 19:30

You’ve got to love Portland!!!

Here are some helpful links for basketball in Bend, Oregon:
• High Mountain Hoops
• All Stars Basketball Academy Bend
• Summit High School Boys Basketball Team
• Central Oregon Hot Shots
• Mountain View Boys Basketball Team
• Mountain View Girls Basketball Team

I’m stoked to see U of O’s new basketball arena. The closest I’ve come is looking at all the visuals up in the Casanova Center.

The Oregonian’s John Hunt writes that: Oregon basketball: Matt Court scoreboard beginning to take shape

A four-person team scramble @ Aspen Lakes to benefit Bend youth ministry ONTRACK.

Raffle Prizes!
Prizes for Low Gross Foresome.
Prizes for Longest Drive, Longest putt and Closest to the Hole.

Cost:
$150 / player
$500 / foresome

Includes:
Round of Golf at the beautiful Aspen Lakes Golf Course!
Fantastic Lunch!
A Ticket for the Raffle!
A chance to win AMAZING PRIZES!
After play Snacks and Dessert!

Colt Lyerla of Hillsboro is a beast, but he may not be the beast that a magazine has him listed as being. I was recently looking at a national ranking of the top prep football players in a magazine and was a little shocked when I saw that they had Lyerla (the 2009 5A offensive player of the year) listed at over 500 pounds. Oh, he’s big… but not that big. He’s well over 200 pounds, but not quite 500 No doubt is was a typo, but it was one of those typos that makes you do a double take. Not like adding an extra digit (which is obviously wrong), but the kind where someone who was not familiar with the player might be like, “wow, who is this monster?”

Lyerla has to miss his team’s first game of the season, but look for him to have another monster year.

I had the good pleasure of hearing Bruce Brown (of Proactive Coaching) speak recently at Summit High School in Bend. If you are a coach, you need to know who Bruce Brown is. He is a traveling speaker and author on the subject of coaching sports… and he knows what he is talking about.

A friend of mine played for him and assures me that he is the real deal and what he presents is backed up by his years of coaching and shaping countless young people’s lives. I was really impressed with what I heard him say.

This wasn’t Brown’s first time speaking in Central Oregon, and I’m sure it won’t be his last. You really should catch him next time he does.

Oregonlive.com 5A top 10 preseason football poll:
1 Sherwood
2 West Albany
3 Marist
4 Jefferson
5 Crescent Valley
6 Mountain View
7 Bend
8 Churchill
9 Hermiston
10 Corvallis