By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club honored their Athlete’s of the Year and Athlete’s of the week during their meeting on November 18.

Here’s the press release:

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

Lexi, a sophomore, sets from the back row and hits from the right side up front for the back-to-back state champion Crusaders. Lexi is top ten, in all classifications, in assists with 784. She leads her team in service aces with 80 and is 3rd on the team in both kills and digs.

Lexi was also an Athlete of the Week for basketball in 2021.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Football, is senior Josiah Davis.

As the Vikings continue their pursuit of the Columbia Cup, Josiah has run for 387 yard in the first two games, averaging 8.23 yards per carry, and has scored 6 touchdowns. On the season, Josiah has carried the ball 179 times for 1189 yards or 6.64 yards per carry while scoring 15 TDs.

Josiah was a 1st team running back in the Mid-Willamette Valley Conference and a 1st team all-state running back as a junior.

Josiah has twice before been honored as an Athlete of the Week.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Senior Football Defensive Player of the Year, from Sprague Football, is Drew Rodriguez.

Drew, earned 1st team all-district honors as both a receiver and a defensive back – his second year in a row receiving 1st team honors on both sides of the ball. Drew was a four-year starter for the Olys who finished 6-5 for the season. Drew had 54 tackles including 2 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions. He also ran a fumble recovery and an interception back for two defensive TDs.

Drew was an Athlete of the Week in 2021 and earlier this season.

He will be attending Colorado State University next year and playing football for the Rams.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Senior Football Offensive Player of the Year, from South Salem, is Daschel Smith.

Daschel was the quarterback for the Saxons who finished 8-2 on the year and ranked #9. This season Daschel completed 209 of 319 passes for a 65.3% completion percentage, totaling 2,860 yards and 33 touchdowns. For his career he was 449 of 699, 63% which is 7th all-time in Oregon. He had 5,756 total yards in the air and 67 TDs, ultimately accounting for seven school records. Daschel was selected 1st team quarterback in the 10-team 6A Special District #1.

Daschel was an Athlete of the Week in 2021 and again earlier this season.

He intends to play football at a college yet to be determined.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Senior Athlete of the Year for Boys Cross Country, from West Salem, is Brady Bliven.

Brady began the season placing 3rd at the Wilsonville Night Meet in the senior race. At the Central Valley Conference meet he ran a PR with a time of 14:57.1. He followed that performance with a 1st team all-state finish at the OSAA State Championship meet in Eugene. Brady finished 7th and helped the Titans to a 3rd place team finish.

Brady was an Athlete of the Week for track and field in spring of 2022.

Brady plans to continue running in college.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Senior Athlete of the Year for Volleyball, from Salem Academy, is Aly Herber.

Aly, a team captain, played middle blocker and defensive specialist for the back-to-back State Champion Crusaders. Aly finished with 93 blocks and 326 digs, and her 678 kills ranked her with the most kills this season across all classifications.

Aly was a 1st team All-Tri-River Conference selection and a unanimous all-tournament team selection at the OSAA State Championships.

Aly has been honored as an Athlete of the Week three times – once for volleyball and twice for basketball.

Aly will be attending Northwest Nazarene next year and will be playing basketball.

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It’s very hard to win a state championship in any sport. It’s infinitely harder to win two, let alone two consecutively. Well, that’s exactly what the Crusaders have done.

Congratulations to the Salem Academy Crusaders on their second consecutive state volleyball championship.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Girls Cross Country Senior Athlete of the Year, from Sprague, is Sara Abbott.

Sara is a senior runner for the Olys. Coach Debora De Leon says “Sara Abbott completed four successful years as the Olympians top distance runner, including an outstanding conference-best 5K time of 18:23.2 at the Meriweather CC Classic Invite XC meet. She peaked perfectly this season”. Sara finished 10th at the OSAA State Championship Meet in Eugene and was Oregon’s top 6A finisher at the NXR Regional XC Championships in Boise, Idaho last weekend.

Sara has previously been honored as an Athlete of the Week for both cross country and track and field.

Sara intends to continue competing in cross country at college next year.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Sprague Volleyball, is Sarah Jones.

Sarah, a senior and captain, was the libero for the Olys who finished as Central Valley Conference champions with a 10-2 league record and a 22-10 season record. Sprague finished the season ranked #9.

In the four set win over McNary in the 2nd round of the playoffs, Sara had 27 digs. In the 1st round three set win over Lake Oswego she had 3 aces and 18 digs and had a 2.09 passing average. Sarah earned Central Valley Conference 1st team all-conference honors.

Sarah was also an Athlete of the Week in 2021.