By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.– The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club honored Talhaya Powers (Girls Basketball), McKay’s Sarahi Chavez (Girls Wrestling),McNary’s Max Blanco (Boys Wrestling), North Salem’s Icela Sanchez Rodriguez (Girls Wrestling) and Sprague’s Emerson Long (Boys Basketball) for the Week of February 11.

Here’s the press release

he Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Basketball, is Talhaya Powers.

Talhaya, a senior, plays wing for the Viks. Talhaya led the Vikings to a 46-41 overtime league win over South Albany on Friday. She scored 19 points, had 10 assists, and 10 rebounds, as well as three pivotal steals. She also was 7 for 9 from the free-throw line hitting both attempts in overtime to secure the Vikings the win.

Congratulations Talhaya from the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club!

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from McKay Girls Wrestling, is Sarahi Chavez.

Sarahi is a freshman wrestler for the Scots. Sarahi pinned her way through the district tournament beating some of the top ranked girls in the state while helping McKay win their very first girls district title. Sarahi is currently 21-2 after the district tournament and became McKay’s youngest district champion.

This is Sarahi’s second AOTW recognition.

Congratulations Sarahi from the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club!

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from McNary Wrestling, is Max Blanco.

Max is a sophomore wrestler for the Celts. Max went 4-0 on the weekend on his way to a 1st place finish at the Joe Stewart Invitational at Putnam HS. Max had 3 wins by technical fall, and one win by pin. Coach Sam Martin added, “Max did not give up a single offensive point this weekend. He had 3 points scored on him and all were because he allowed his opponent to escape. It was a dominant performance by last year’s 5th place finisher as he prepares for our district and state tournaments.”

Congratulations Max from the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club!

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Girls Wrestling, is Icela Sanchez Rodriguez.

Icela is a junior wrestler for the Viks. Icela took first place at the regional tournament in dominating fashion by pinning every single one of her opponents. No opponent even made it into the third period against Icela, including her finals opponent who she pinned in the first period. Coach Andy Pickett added, “She has been an amazing leader for us and advocate for girls wrestling. She is a great role model because she strives for perfection in the classroom as well and hopes to achieve straight A’s again second semester. I cannot say enough good things about Icela.”

Congratulations Icela from the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club!

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Sprague Boys Basketball, is Emerson Long.

Emerson, a senior and captain, plays guard for the Olys who are 9-1 in league. Coach Jordan Graneto described Emerson’s contribution to the team. “Emerson is tasked with guarding the other team’s best player every single night. He regularly exerts incredible energy taking on these tough defensive assignments and excels at this, because this is what the team needs from him to be successful. In our game against Mt. View Emerson guarded the 8th leading scorer in the state (who is averaging 20.0 PPG) and held him to 9 points. This has been a regular occurrence throughout the course of the year as Emerson has held some of the best guards in the state under their averages and forced them into inefficient shots. In this same game Emerson hit a huge 3 pointer to put us up late in the 4th quarter. While Emerson does not score the most points on the team, his defensive intensity/intelligence, leadership, and ability to make timely plays late in games is a big reason why we have had some success this year. Emerson is a team captain and will be a nominee for defensive player of the year at the end of the year. I am so proud of the way Emerson represents our basketball program on and off the floor.”

Congratulations Emerson from the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club!