The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/673930
Page 6 April 29, 2016 Sports Brianna Zotea Staff Writer This year's Special Olympics had many schools and students from our region participate in the daylong event. One of the schools that participated was Evergreen Middle School. Bethany Belton, a seventh grader, is an athlete who participated at this event for 2 consecutive years said, "My favorite event was throwing." One of Belton's Special Education teachers, Mrs. Lukens, was also involved for her second year. Mrs. Lukens shared, "My favorite part of Special Olympics is watching the students succeed and be happy, comfortable, and accepted." Transportation is always a factor when planning a large event including multiple schools. Mrs. Lukens commented on this, "We are from Cottonwood which is a convenient fifteen minute drive for the athletes to make on the bus. In effect of us being so close, the athlete's parents are able to attend this event." Another school that was involved was Olive View Elementary from Corning. Janice Aisenbrey is a special education aid who had 11 students come from their school. She explained her thoughts on having the event at RBH, "I loved it all and it was my first year and I'm very impressed. I loved having it here because it is a bigger campus." More athletes that joined us are the Anderson Cubs totaling 13 students. An aid from this school, Stevie Lakey, also commented on RBH hosting the event, "I loved it being here because there is a big field that accommodates everyone and we have a lot of fun every year." This event wouldn't be able to function without the support of helpers and the booths. The main booth is where everyone goes to get registered, gets their packets, and if they need to receive any nursing. One of the workers at this booth was Sharon Sinclair who has been a part of this for 20 years. When asked about the importance of the event, she said, "It's very important because everyone, the helpers and adults, learn a lot from the athletes and they learn a lot from this event as well." One of the RBH student helpers this year was Alyson Drury, junior, who has been at this event for three years. When asked about her experience during the event she said, "I helped a little boy named Mason who did two running events and a throwing event. His favorite part was the fire engine that made noise and had lights. Her favorite part was seeing him succeed and smile." Not all student helpers are paired with athletes. The fire fighting class had their students help set up the event and they helped with the food. Our own Special Education teacher Mrs. Drake, was interviewed about the event. She said, "It went great! After all of the hours and hours of preparation behind the seasons, the event pretty much runs itself. It wouldn't work without all of the amazing support. My favorite part is watching the athletes compete a dance. I love seeing the parents smile and watch their kids having the time of their lives. It's great to see the community come together." Tymberlyn Bealer Editor in Chief V. baseball performs well at home versus P. V. Boys golf swings for a solid end Hanne Dittner Staff Writer Joe Mills/Bluffer Wesley Clawson, Junior, Starting Pitcher, hitting a line drive to left field in the beginning of Tuesday nights win at home over Pleasant Valley. Bluffer/ Joe Mills Special Olympics brings participants closer Spartan's Coach of the Issue Stan Twitchell: Gentlemen's Tennis This edition's Coach of the Issue is Stan Twitchell, who is the Red Bluff High School boy's tennis team. Mr. Twitchell has been coaching the boy's tennis team for 7 enjoyable years. Twitchell also played tennis in high school here at Red Bluff. This year's tennis season had a lot of improvement throughout the year considering they have a very young team. Mr. Twitchell also coached basketball for 15 years at Red Bluff High School. The 2016 Red Bluff High School boys golf has been working hard on their skills throughout the season to better improve themselves individually and as a team. They are coached by Ron Kuwata, and they practice three days a week for about an hour and a half. During practices, the boys hit range balls along with putting and chipping greens. When asking Kaden Cantrell, a freshman with five years of experience, how the team is doing he replied with "We are getting better even though we are not the best, but we are attempting to get there." Kaden added that they all need to practice on their tee off shots, so he tries his best to go on the course on his free time to better improve his weaker areas. "I did not know what to expect in the beginning when golf first started, but it actually turned out to be pretty great," said PJ Sarmanto, a freshman with two years of experience. One of the challenges that the Red Bluff golf team has to face is taking too many strokes to make it in the hole, which results in them scoring low. Dawson Hopper, a freshman, mentioned that if everyone improved on their scores, then they actually might have a chance of making it to masters. When asking Dawson what his personal goal is he responded with "I want to shoot low 80's because that is really good." Overall, the team is getting stronger and they are all trying their best which is crucial at this point in time. Our very own Red Bluff High School's Varsity baseball team has gotten off to a flying start. Led by four seniors, Ryan Gamboa, Lane Pritchard, Owen Swarthout and Bryce Sinclair, our boys are looking to repeat as section champions following last years strong season. With a record of 15 wins and only 6 losses overall, and 6 wins and 2 losses in league, the team has a fairly optimistic outlook on this upcoming season and their shot at repeating for the title this year. When asking Tanner Tweedt, sophomore, what he was looking forward to most this season, he replied with "I am looking forward to winning games and playing with my friends." Tweedt has been playing since he was 5 years old, 11 years. He plays in the catcher position. What are your team›s weaknesses? This was one of the questions that came up during the interview. Tanner answered with "Our team could definitely work on our offense." However, the team has excelled in pitching and defense, which showed strong in Tuesday night's game against P.V., where they held the Vikings to four runs. The Red Bluff High School boys team is coached by Sanders, and they have their next game tonight against Pleasant Valley, with first pitch at 4:00 . Bluffer/ Joe Mills Story By Abby O'sullivan