By Jeremy Mcdonald

Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club honored Salem Academy’s Aly Herber (Volleyball), South Salem’s Tristan Olvera (Boys Soccer), North Salem’s Nelida Dalgas (Girls Cross Country) and West Salem’s Jack Meier (Boys Cross Country) for the Week of September 30

Here’s the Press Release:

The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from Salem Academy Volleyball is Aly Herber.

Aly, a senior and team captain, is a middle blocker for the #1 ranked and defending state champion Crusaders. Aly is an all-around player who never leaves the court for the Crusaders who are off to a 9-0 league record, 14-2 for the season. In her games thus far Aly leads the team with 352 kills and 38 solo blocks. She also has the most service aces – 40. Playing from the back row, Aly has the second highest dig count on the team with 171.

Coach Melissa Holman says, “[Aly] has a genuine love for her teammates, respect for her coaches, a fun disposition that makes her a blast to coach and watch compete. Her Christian faith is evident in the way she carries herself and in her character.”

This is Aly’s third Athlete of the Week honor. She has previously been honored for both volleyball and basketball.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from South Salem Boys Soccer is Tristan Olvera.

Tristan, a junior and team captain, is a midfielder for the 4-3 Saxons. Tristan scored a brace (2 goals) in the Saxons 4-1 win over Cleveland on September 9th. With the team down one – nil early in the first half, Tristan converted a penalty kick in the 25th minute to level the score. He completed his brace in the 73rd minute when he received the ball “at about the penalty spot with only the keeper to beat.” As coach Eric Johansen stated – “Tristan doesn’t miss from there.”

Two games later, versus Corvallis, Tristan scored the first goal in the 2-1 home win over the Spartans. Receiving the ball on the left side, he slotted past the keeper in the 16th minute of the first half to knot the score at 1-1.

Tristan leads the team in goals scored (3) and points (6) for the season so far.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from North Salem Girls Cross Country is Nelida Dalgas.

Neli is a freshman runner for the Vikings who broke North Salem High School 9th grade cross country record in her first real cross country race. She is also currently ranked 3rd in the district. She finished with a time of 20:15:08 versus South Salem and 19:14:07 at the 5K Northwest Classic at Lane Community College.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from West Salem Boys Cross Country is Jack Meier.

Jack is a junior. He won the junior race at the Wilsonville Night Meet with a time of 9:02.4, defending his win last year as a sophomore. Jack finished 3rd at Ash Creek with a personal record time of 15:19.6. and 5th at the Northwest Classic, leading his team to a 3rd place finish. This past weekend – at Nike Portland – Jack finished 7th overall with a PR of 15:15.6 leading the Titans to a 2nd place overall finish in the Jim Danner Championship race. He currently sits 1st in the Central Valley Conference, 3rd in 6A, and 6th in the state in the 5K.

Coach Dalton Lindsey says, “Jack has been one of my favorite people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and coaching. [He] continues to find a way to push me day in and day out as a coach. Jack shows up to practice every day with the desire for improvement and is up for whatever workout we may throw at him. Jack is such a fierce competitor, he steps on the line and he’s ready for a race. Seeing what he has accomplished so far this season is really something special and he’s only a junior!…I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Jack!”

This is Jack’s fourth Athlete of the Week award. He has previously been honored for both cross country and track.

High school sports matter.