TCP; Cougars step up to plate

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 8
Sports

Passing by the baseball field this term may have been a confusing scene at times. Usually baseball would be seen in the spring, but fall has been busy for the men of Clackamas Community College’s baseball team as they have been hard at work keeping in shape and preparing for the spring season.

The Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges’ rules allow baseball to include a fall and winter schedule, before they start the spring season.

The fall schedule is seven weeks long with four game days planned against other schools. The rules allow baseball 12 weeks from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15 and Jan. 15 to March 1.

November and December are for conditioning only. March 1 is the first day allowed to play spring games. During the spring they are allowed 22 game days against opponents.

Returning this fall to CCC baseball are four key players:

  • Scott Myers, all-league third baseman from Kearns HS, Utah.

  • Richie McCarter, pitcher from Kearns HS, Utah.

  • Thomas Kelly, catcher from Warrenton HS.

  • Josh Combs, outfielder from Hudson’s Bay HS, Vancouver, Wash.

This fall Clackamas has a good group of freshmen recruits on campus including:

  • Joe Strand, catcher from Seattle, Wash.

  • Skyler Barkdull, infielder from Utah.

  • Trevor Achenbach, infielder from Nevada.

  • Kyle Austin, infielder from Wilsonville HS.

Clackamas has one of the fastest outfield groups in the northwest:

  • Josh McLeod, outfielder from Seattle,Wash.

  • Zach Caligdong, outfielder from Seattle, Wash.

  • Justin Sievers, outfielder from Canby HS.

Several pitchers have shined this fall, including:

  • Andrew Marquez from Milwaukie HS.

  • Kylar Heaston from Tigard HS.

  • Kennon Von Hollebeke from Connell HS, Wash.

  • Zach Carter from Post Falls, Idaho.

All information and stats provided by CCC baseball head coach Robin Robinson.

TCP; Strife ensues at Starfire Stadium

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 7
Sports

Roaring past Starfire Stadium Saturday morning in Tukwila, Wash., a train overshadowed a pugilistic battle of strategy and athleticism going on below. In the train’s shadow the women of Clackamas Community College were engaged in a battle of attrition against a strong, well balanced Spokane team.

The hard fought game ended in bitter disappointment for the Cougars with the Sasquatch ladies winning 1-0. With the victory, Spokane entered the NWAACC Championship to face the Peninsula Pirates, losing 3-2 on penalty kicks on Nov. 18.

“It’s a hard way to go out,” said sophomore forward Courtney Johnson. “I think we had to deal with the ref all game. Sometimes they’re just not on your side.”

The game was close and Clackamas had a good opportunity to win, but after the 90th minute mark had passed, their efforts were stifled not by the opposing team, but by a belligerent official call, on a negligible foul by Spokane.

While Clackamas was advancing the ball up field in amazingly dexterous coordination of teamwork, the referee decided to halt their progress by making them take a free kick over fifty yards behind the advancing ball.

Clackamas was defending well the whole game, and made consistent valiant attempts at scoring which could have eventually lead to frustrating their opponents and created a winning attack. The following result of the free kick was one of Spokane’s players standing close in front of the free kick to deflect it with a header aimed towards the Cougars side. The ball found a Spokane teammate who took advantage of the poor refereeing to score on surprised cougar defense signaling the end of the game and Clackamas’ run at the champion title.

“They did really good. I’m proud of my sister,” said Jordan Hollamon, sister of Kenzie Hollamon. “The ref call was just unlucky.”

Clackamas displayed a tank strength clinic of defense in the first half, frustrating the offensive attacks of Spokane.

At halftime the teams took cover escaping the rain under trees and tents. The scoreboard reflected the even 0-0 score. Clackamas kicked off for the second half and as the wind picked up, it seemed the Sasquatch offensive did too. With six corner kicks acquired through the campaign, the ladies of Spokane proved that they were there for a fight and wanted to score.

The Cougars had an impressive run at the NWAACC tournament, rivaled by few in the 2012 season. This season showed the consistency and dedication of the hard working women of Clackamas. With such a strong performance this year, Clackamas is sure to be even stronger in the years to come, with 13 potential returnees.

“I think they played a great season,” said Tyler Trumbull, father of goalkeeper Melanie Trumbull. “They improved and coach Janine Szpara helped a lot.”

TCP; Cougars emerge from mist to win

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 6
Arts & Culture

A quiet haze fell over Oregon CitySaturday evening as the chill of fall enveloped OCHS Pioneer Stadium. Thrust in to an alternate dimension, the playing field morphed in to a Brigadoon time warp. A giant dolphin emerged out of the mist chanting and yelling, along with him were a pod of underlings entranced by his presence.

The NWAACC women’s soccer quarterfinal game against Shoreline was a surreal event for the Cougars, ending with a spectacular 1-0 finish in the 5th minute of sudden death overtime.

“Oh my gosh, it’s such a relief,” said sophomore forward Courtney Johnson on winning in dramatic fashion. “We’ve been working hard all season and it means the hard work pays off.”

The cold weather was an added inclement.

“We knew we needed to stay warm, so constantly during warm-ups we tried to stay warm and stretch,” said Johnson. “It’s definitely a change, but I think we adjusted well.”

The Cougars began with excellent short passes and teamwork to control the ball. Then, the Dolphins picked up momentum towards the end of first half. Clackamas showed a lot of fancy footwork despite the debilitating cold. Often times the Cougars flicked the ball effortlessly, passing it behind or to their side with surprising whip kicks.

Clackamas fired off some nice attempts at the goal during the last few minutes of first half and no score had been made by either team at half time.

The Cougars were amped up with an aggressive start to the second half creating good shots at the goal early. However, the rigid cold reflected the stalemate of the battle. The end of regulation time showed no score from either team resulting in a ten minute overtime of sudden death.

“That was one of the most hard fought good efforts I’ve seen,” added head coach Janine Szpara.

Suddenly the perfect opportunity to score opened up, as Kelsie Knight passed a laser assist to Tayler Ficek, who scored! Goal!

“I was in the right place at the right time,” said Ficek of the game winner.

The home crowd erupted with cheers for the Cougars’ victory.

“They played hard all year,” said fan Dan Scharbach. “Tonight they played aggressive and when they play aggressive they win.”

The Cougars talked a lot about how much work they have put in to get to this point. Now, they are only two wins away from the ultimate goal.

“We worked really hard every day,” said Ficek. “NWAACC Champions was the goal from day one.” The Cougars advance to face Spokane in the Final Four on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash.

TCP; Timbers win Cascadia Cup

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 3
Arts & Culture

Triumphantly taking home a well-deserved Cascadia Cup trophy on Sunday, the Portland Timbers celebrated a hard fought battle to a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver, British Columbia Whitecaps.

Sunday’s game marks the third time in the last four seasons that the Timbers have captured the Cascadia Cup. Last year’s title holder was the Seattle Sounders, but Portland topped the three city championship, showing their ability to be top team in the Northwest.

Supporters of the team, known as the Timbers Army, brought big energy to the game atmosphere from start to finish, erupting in a massive explosion of cheers, chants, flag waving, and just plain hooliganry.

It was an all-out war in the stands and on the field. The Timbers wanted more than just It was an all-out war in the stands and on the field. The Timbers wanted more than just their first away-game victory of the MLS season; they wanted to again hold the title of the best team in the Northwest.

Captain Jack Jewsbury’s soaring 30-yard goal would be the winning goal of the match, careening over the Whitecaps goalkeeper’s head neatly in the upper right corner of the goal.

The Timbers defended excellently during the back and forth battle for possession of the ball, in which solid shots on goal taken by Vancouver, but the Timbers defended with urgent effectiveness.

The Cascadia Cup victory comes on the heels of a mediocre season which saw the Timbers fall in the standings early in the year, eventually leading to the dismissal of head coach John Spencer.

His interim replacement, general manager Gavin Wilkinson, has coached the team since. Wilkinson has been at the helm during each year the Portland Timbers have won the Cascadia Cup.

The Timbers win brought a much needed sense of victory to the team and Timbers Army alike. Hoisting the huge cup of a trophy high, the men of Portland soccer returned home victorious!

TCP; X-Country women run X-odus through rain

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 2
Arts & Culture

Wet and wild was the name of the game Friday afternoon, as Clackamas Community Collegehosted the Mike Hodges Invitational. Chains of runners strewn about the trail, appeared to advance effortlessly through the deluge of mist and rain.

Onlookers and passersby adorned rain gear and umbrellas. There was a playful mood in the air, with excitement for the first rain of fall and the opportunity to run in the rain. The countrycrossers stormed the trail, taking on the elements and traversing the terrain, in a dazzling display of skill, willpower and stamina.

“Runners set!” the orders from the megaphone declared, and the race literally began with a bang as the starter pistol was fired. A stampede of athletes sped down the open field, disappearing around a corner of trees and bushes to continue along the uneven course. The women’s 5,000-meter race around the cross country path began with some runners battling the cold weather while keeping up with the pack.

As the race wore on, many who had been chilly, started to warm up and enjoy the run in the rain.

“I like running in the rain,” said Clackamas’ Randi Chance as she smiled and looked up toward the misty sky.

“I run better in the rain,” said Grace Viuhkola, Clackamas’ top runner. “I don’t sweat, so it’s nice, the rain cools me down.”

This year, the ladies of Clackamas have a strong team bond. “We had a team camp at the beginning of the season that really broke the ice and helped the team feel more like a family,” said Chance.

“We have a really close-knit team this year,” said Viuhkola. “Everyone cheers each other on and it makes us a stronger team.”

The women had to overcome the obstacle of having their most successful runner, Cia Bywater, sitting out due to a foot injury. The girls shined in true Cougar cross country fashion. Viuhkola finished 12th overall with a time of 20:58, despite battling a chest cold.

“It was hard for us as a team without Cia running,” said Viuhkola. “We are looking at this race and the next at Lane, as good preparation for NWAACC Championships in a month.”

“Grace has really stepped up in the last couple weeks and shown she can be a leader on this team,” said head coach Jarret Mantalas. “She battled really hard and fought during the race.”

Chance finished second for Clackamas with a great time of 22 minutes even. “I thought I could have run faster,” Chance admitted. “I ran the course yesterday and ran it faster.”

Mantalas seemed pleased with her progress.

“Randi ran almost the same time here on a significantly harder course as she did at the Willamette Invite,” said Mantalas.

Joanna Feeney was CCC’s next finisher in 28th with a time of 22:28. Zaira Sanchez ran the firstcross country race of her life, finishing 38th in 24:20.

“It was a little bit of a shocker for her,” said Mantalas. “But, she battled and fought tough. She’s a hurdler at heart, not really a true cross country runner, but she’s starting to show it.”

Running long distances, nonstop, for extended periods of time, is no small feat. Friday was a stunning display of willpower. With excitement building for this season’s upcoming NWAACC championships on Nov. 10, there’s no better time to be paying attention to the fantastic runners of team Clackamas.

TCP; Cougars kick it up against top teams

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012
Volume 46, Issue 1
Sports

Cougar soccer is kicking in gear this fall, with six league wins out of eight games played, the girls of Clackamas hold the No. 1 rank in the NWAACC Southern Region. Pre-league games were eventful as well; the team was challenged for their first game of the year by currently undefeated, No. 1 ranked in league, Peninsula Community College Pirates. The 0-2 loss fueled the fire for a solid 1-0 win against another very successful team, Walla Walla.

Here's the current rundown for league games this season: The beginning of September brought a 0-1 loss to Shoreline Community College followed by a month-long winning streak including a 5-1 win vs Edmonds in which forward Tayler Ficek, scored four goals. The freshman forward from North Eugene High School has led the Cougars with an incredible scoring outburst so far this season. Ficek leads the NWAACC in scoring with 13 goals, only failing to score in CCC's three losses.

Two 2-0 wins against Lane Community College and Green River Community College led up to another high scoring game for the Cougars, as they dominated Southwestern Oregon CommunityCollege 5-0.

A home game against Skagit Valley Community College at the end of September produced a convincing 3-0 win with what coach Janine Szpara praised as a game with "good defense." The winning streak stretched into October, as the Cougars outplayed Clark Community College in another 3-0 home win. Melanie Trumbull, another freshman from North Eugene, has been a stalwart in goal for the Cougars, running off a streak of four straight shutouts in September. The trend of success was halted Friday by Whatcom Community College in a frustrating 0-2 loss.

Friday's home game against Whatcom was frustrating for the team because they had three solid shots on goal, one of which bounced off the goalpost in devastating geometrical defiance, signifying the last chance Clackamas had of turning things around from an awkward 0-2 score. The two goals scored by Whatcom were nothing to write home about, but were nonetheless scored. The first goal penetrated the Cougars' defense within five minutes of kickoff; as the girls from Whatcom saw an early opening and took advantage of Clackamas' slow start. The second goal came from a controversial referee call just outside the Cougars' penalty box, as a free kick was given to Whatcom and they were able to take advantage of the close proximity to score a goal.

Assistant coach Miriam Coto commented that the game was "Frustrating, and we need to step it up."

The Cougars are on the road again, and will soon be tested by two of the better league teams. If they pick up a couple wins, they should have the momentum as a team to bulldoze the remaining competition leading up to playoffs. They will have played every current No. 1 and 2 ranked team in the NWAACC, which gives them excellent experience in preparation for this year's upcoming playoffs.

The ladies of Clackamas Cougars soccer deserve support and appreciation. They are continuing the tradition of being one of the top teams in the league and are well on their way to making a good run at the NWAACC Championship this year. Join the hooligans and fans rooting for the Cougars at their next home game: Friday, Oct. 26 vs SW Oregon at 1 p.m. at OCHS Pioneer Stadium. The first round of NWAACC playoffs is Wednesday, Nov. 7.

TCP; Students walk warriors’ path through CCC

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Volume 45, Issue 24
Sports

The CCC fall schedule, which was just released a few weeks ago, includes a plethora of one-credit physical education courses. What better way to start the day or refresh between classes than a good workout? Students looking for a little more than just a workout can tread the warrior's path by enrolling in CCC's various martial arts programs.

There are many reasons to walk the warrior's path at Clackamas. Students can reap the benefits and experience success throughout their college career and life. With the Olympics coming up this summer, a very relevant success story is one of CCC's own successful Olympians.

Wrestling and mixed martial arts stand-out Matt Lindland is among the most decorated competitors to have trained in combat at Clackamas. He won an Olympic Silver Medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2000, he was the national wrestling champion in his weight class for Clackamas in 1991 and he has a professional MMA career of 22 wins and 9 losses.

"I grew up in Oregon City," said Lindland. "I knew Clackamas had a strong wrestling program and I wasn't recruited to a Division-I wrestling school so CCC was the answer to achieving that goal. Getting my two associates degrees helped me move on and winning nationals helped me gain recognition from major universities.

Lindland moved on to University of Nebraska after Clackamas, and nine years after his national championship for the Cougars, he was a part of starting Team Quest, a mixed martial arts gym that had just wrestling at first, but added other forms as it grew.

"We now offer a lot of classes," said Lindland. "I'm really proud of our younger kids programs, Tough Tots & Tykes, and we have a big teen program lately. There's about 40, same with the kids program."

The wrestling team placed fourth in the country at NJCAA national championships this year and the coaches have helped many students succeed competitively in wrestling and mixed martial arts.

"We have wrestlers that are members of Team Quest," said Clackamas head coach Josh Rhoden. "Two-time regional champion and two-time All-American Tarrence Williams, freshman Jacob Mitchell is an amateur competitor, sophomore Jake Morris competed in wrestling with us for two years and he trains at Tualatin Team Quest ... because of Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami [guest coaches and local professional UFC competitors/ wrestlers], lots of wrestlers come to CCC."

The wrestling program is by far the largest athletic program at CCC and is the only official martial arts team on campus. Rhoden also teaches a class that's open to all CCC students called wrestling conditioning, but there are more choices when it comes to classes that teach students how to defend themselves from unscrupulous fiends in dark alley ways. Other one credit courses through CCC are self defense, karate, kung-fu, aikido, and tai chi.

"I started teaching tai chi on campus four years ago then three years ago kung fu and additional tai chi off campus at Eastham," said Nick Hancock, resident tai chi and kung fu instructor. "Over half of our class are returning students. The physical fitness and peace of mind that comes with practicing arts like tai chi and kung fu — getting the time to clear your mind between studies is beneficial to academics."

Robin Robinson started teaching karate and self-defense classes at the college in 1993.

"There was already karate and self defense classes established on campus and when there were openings I was able to fill them because I was a black belt in two systems, kung fu and zazente," said Robinson. "We usually have a mix of returning students and new students in class. I would say 70 percent of students who take the class take it a second or third time. It's a cheap way to do it. Most private martial arts schools charge over $100 per month. Ours is $78 for three months."

On campus isn't the only place that credit can be earned for martial arts courses through Clackamas. Aikido Northwest, in Milwaukie, offers the opportunity to earn a PE credit as well.

"I contacted the college about six years ago to ask if they wanted to have aikido on campus; they said they'd like to have an off campus class," said Craig Fife, aikido instructor at Aikido North West. "Aikido teaches an underlying philosophy that is more valuable to a person than self-defense skills. The philosophy helps develop an awareness of how to learn and focus which all college students need. Taking a martial arts class will help students find motivation."

With so many opportunities to grow as a martial artist and a college student, it is likely that future students will continue to benefit from the programs in professional success or indirectly through philosophy and way of life. There are many opportunities to learn martial arts without the college credit as well. The CCC schedule of classes has a community schools section which features various martial arts classes that are all worth investigating. Many even offer a free first lesson.

TCP; Successful recruiting brings strength to Clackamas athletic programs

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Volume 45, Issue 23
Sports

For many years, Clackamas Community College has had success in the athletic department. Not only does the department provide positive reinforcement and opportunities to continue education for students, it also manufactures a high quality athletic product. With the last of the sports seasons wrapping up for the year, focus now turns to rebuilding and revamping each team in an effort to pick up where they left off.

Recruiting is used for sports at CCC to help gain advantage and put together a team with a strong talent base. This is just as important to junior college athletics as it is for four-year university teams. The coaching staff at Clackamas is a tireless group of enthusiasts who share their love of athletics with students and strive to help them succeed in sports and academics equally. It is not just a job to the coaching staff; it is a favorite pastime and hobby.

The wrestling program is a great asset to athletics at Clackamas. Head coach Josh Rhoden recalls, "In six years we haven't placed lower than eighth in the NJCAA National Championships (where the team placed fourth in 2012). We've got Austin Morehead, 184 lbs national runner-up this year and he just signed with OSU, the PAC-12 champs, 10th in the country."

How does the wrestling team stay on top and gain student athletes like Morehead of Sutter, California? Aside from the obvious roster building methods like signups and try-outs, recruiting lends strong leverage to teams and can help tip the competitive scales of talent and ability. Rhoden and his assistants spend a great deal of time scouring stats and data on the internet, calling high schools, attending large competitions, and general networking with students and coaches.

The wrestling program enjoys a large talent pool to choose from. Students from across the US travel to Clackamas for the wrestling program.

"We have recently been able to recruit all over the United States," said Rhoden. "We search in-state and the Portland area of course, but we've got kids from places like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Minnesota. We have a kid walking on from the state of Texas. He'd done some research and found that this is a great program and then he decided to come to Clackamas.. we can help kids with a tuition waiver — there are 16 three-term tuition waivers — that number is set by the NJCAA."

The success of individual athletes and the team helps grow the program and build a strong presence in the league as well as nationally. Being well known also helps to attract good wrestlers. "Winning the nationals helped us a bunch because now kids seek us out," said Rhoden.

Wrestling is the only sport at Clackamas that competes at the national level, but wrestling isn't the only program that benefits the college. Among the other athletic teams currently recruiting members for next season are men's and women's basketball.

"We look for players within the Northwest states, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Alaska," said women's basketball assistant coach P.J. Martineau. "Recruiting is vital. It determines how the season will go the following year."

Athletes are recruited in a number of different ways for each sport at Clackamas. Attending and hosting competitions are good examples.

"Each year the women's basketball team holds the nationally recognized End of the Trail Tournament," said Martineau. This event attracts many top ranked, talented players and is a great yearly opportunity to recruit.

The scholastic side of women's basketball is just as talented as their last four years on the court.

"In the past ten years, 90 percent of our players who played both seasons with us graduated with associates degrees," said P.J. Martineau.

As a whole, the athletic department has great ways of helping students through college. GPA expectations and requirements are monitored and guidance is facilitated by coaching staff and the athletic academic adviser.

"P.J. Martineau is the academic advisor for all the sports," said Jim Martineau, director of athletics and husband to P.J. "She helps all the student athletes and keeps them on track throughout their time at Clackamas. Our number one job is to help student athletes develop academically and athletically to transfer. Number two is winning."

A little known advantage of recruiting is finding natural leaders. A good leader can be a great asset to a team that has studentathletes playing only two seasons. There is not a great amount of time to develop the tools required for a strong team captain, so when a born leader comes along it is of great help to the team coaching staff.

When student-athletes at Clackamas perform well athletically and scholastically, it attracts more students and community support for the school. Athletic recruiting is a vital lifeline for the college.

The Clackamas Print; Mainstreaming Consciousness *WEB EXCLUSIVE*

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Arts & Culture

They've got rhythm, they've got soul. They are talented and know how to put on a great show. They are Mainstream! Following a 30-year tradition of choral jazz at CCC, this year's ensemble is a tireless group of musical warriors, dedicated to refining their craft and expressing themselves. It takes a certain breed of eccentric musician to put the type of energy and focus into something as demanding as vocal jazz. "We started recording last summer and it was a really long process of mixing: We spent two days working on 21 songs—one 10 hour day and one 15 hour day recording. The band room is wired to the recording studio, it's the biggest recording studio in the northwest," said vocalist Billy Botieff.

It's especially impressive when the end product is so stunningly immaculate. Following a performance at Clackamas High School on Monday, May 7th, Mainstream's most recent project the double CD album: "Imagine: It's easy if you try" was released Thursday May 10th. The same night Mainstream performed in celebration of the CD release at CCC in Niemeyer Center. A Mainstream performance is something wonderful to experience, the variety speaks to many generations and demographics.

Director of vocal activities, Lonnie Cline (co-founder) is CCC's only full time choral conductor, which he has been for over 30 years. He has great energy and a fun attitude while directing the jazz ensemble. Cline is a great motivator, he makes music a party rather than a task. He relates motivation and philosophy to improving specific aspects of each part of the songs and he gives emotional examples to explain how to improve aspects of lyrics.

"Mainstream is produced entirely by students, there's nobody else involved in it, so that makes it a little bit unique. The title "Imagine: It's easy if you try" is very important, it's a tribute to people who were here in the early years, like Jason Womack, and all of the students who came before last year's group that laid the groundwork for projects like this. It's also an archive of what happened that year," said Cline.

Mainstream began with Cline and Womack in the Summer of 1991. They introduced new variety for the existing vocal jazz ensemble.

"We started doing more progressive jazz, more modern stuff, as opposed to more traditional, like some ballads, R&B, even reggae. In the early years of Mainstream, there was a pianist named Chris Azorr, and he's one of the founding members of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Another past member, Paul Creighton [is the] lead vocalist for the local band Intervision," said Womack.

The CD production was completed in the choir room studio by Sacha Muller who performed in the rhythm section. He was the tracking engineer, along with the mixing and mastering engineer.

"Sacha did all the mixing and hands-on stuff, he is kind of like a master chef who takes all the ingredients and puts them together and makes a beautiful meal. The CD artwork by Diane Angelo is consummate, she's done the artwork for almost every one of our CDs over the years," said Cline.

The photography for the album release was done by a friend of Cline's named Page Baker. Since he spent so much time on it, Cline wishes to thank his wife as well.

The original arrangements on the album are mostly by Womack, with others by John Ward, Alan Yankee, Dave Cazier, Dave Barduhn and Theo Newton. The amazing rhythm section includes Paul Paresa on piano/keyboard, Wesley Mason-Schaffer on guitar, Bryan Edmiston on bass, Ryan Antoine on drums and Sacha Muller on percussion and effects.

Some interesting songs of note on the album are "Shining Star," "Night Train" and "Cruella Deville." The whimsical, lyrical, toe tapping journey through genres of the double CD leads listeners to a tranquil state of bliss. The soul and depth of the performance is a taste of the power this group has to exhibit. A live performance renders a much richer experience. If you can't make it to one of various upcoming performances such as the jazz nights at CCC on June 8 and 9, consider purchasing the elegantly mastered double CD album for $15 from any member of Mainstream or Cline himself. They are also available in the music office in Niemeyer.

TCP; Jiu Jitsu tournament coming to Randall Gym

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013
Volume 46, Issue 9
Sports

Coming soon to Randall Hall; the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships will roll out the wrestling mats for a different type of grappling competition. On Feb. 2, Clackamas Community College will be the proving grounds for Jiu Jitsu grappling competitors around the Northwest.

“We have people signed up from Idaho, Washington, California, British Columbia and Oregon,” said event coordinator Fabiano Scherner. “Northwest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu uses International BJJ Federation rules. We have refs from different gyms. Jeff Borgeois is an IBJJF ref and coordinator for the competition.”

“There are currently 55 people signed up,” said Scherner. “We expect around 150.”

The divisions include kids, adults, masters, male and female. If not ranked, (belt) division assignment goes by experience. No-Gi Rules are the same for Gi and No-Gi without grabbing clothes for No-Gi.

To score points, competitors must get takedowns, pass guard and gain crucial position for 3 seconds. A match is over if one competitor forces another to concede verbally or by tapping the mat twice with an open hand.

Certain holds and attacks are prohibited under the rules for safety, but basic locks and chokes are permitted methods of securing a victory.

“Medals and Herbalife supplements will be awarded to winners as prizes,” said Scherner. “Herbalife is sponsoring the event.”

“Another two competitions will take place this year,” said Scherner. “The second competition will follow the same format, but the third will be a different format, winners from the first two competitions compete in final matches.”

On scoring Scherner said, “Nine points for win, six for 2nd place and three for third.” The competition will also serve as a fundraiser for the CCC Wrestling team as some team members will be working at the competition.

The competition starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. It is scheduled to run past 4:30 p.m. and may go all day depending on the number of matches. It will be an interesting day to be at CCC, with such a different type of sports event.

The competition is open to enter and costs $45 for entering one division, $65 for two. The complete (projected) schedule of events and rules can be found at the event’s homepage: NWBJJ. com.