By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

Salem Academy’s Alex Willcoxen (Girls Golf), Blanchet Catholic’s Carson McNally (Baseball), McNary’s Colby Sullivan (Boys Golf), South Salem’s  Neha Srinivasan (Girls Tennis), South Salem’s Noah Scharer (Baseball), and Sprague’s Sara Abbott (Girls Track and Field) were honored by the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club for the Week of April 14.

Here’s the Press Release:

Salem Sports and Breakfast Club (since 1954) 

Les Schwab (since 2013) Athletes of the Week 

April 14th, 2023

The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Salem Academy Girls Golf, is Alex Willcoxen.

Alex is a 9th grader at Salem Academy. Alex won her first two golf tournaments of the year. The first was at Agate Beach shooting a 47, tying for second overall amongst boys and girls. And the second tournament was at Spring Hill shooting a 97.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Blanchet Catholic Baseball, is Carson McNally.

Carson, is a sophomore for the Cavaliers who are currently 9-0 in conference and 13-1 overall on the season and ranked #4. Carson pitched a no-hitter against Culver while striking out 9. For the season, he is 3-1 with a 1.15 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and opponents are hitting .125. Offensively, McNally is hitting .414 with a .605 on base percentage.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from McNary Boys Golf, is Colby Sullivan.

Colby is a senior for the Celts and one of the top prep golfers in Oregon. Picking up right where he left off last year, so far Colby has:

Shot 75 and tied for 2nd in a field of 75 at the Tigard/Tualatin Pre-Season Showcase at Tualatin Valley Country Club;

Shot 69, finished 1st in a field of 61 at the Siuslaw Invitational at Sandpines;

Shot 79, finished 2nd in a field of 25 at the Central Valley Conference Tournament #1 at McNary Golf Course;

Shot 75, finished 1st in a field of 24 at the Central Valley Conference Tournament #2 at Illahe Hills Country Club.

Colby has twice before been an Athlete of the Week.

Next year Colby plans to attend and play golf at Division 1 Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA. in the Southland Conference.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from South Salem Girls Tennis, is Neha Srinivasan.

Neha, a senior, is a multi-sport athlete who has upped her tennis game significantly over the last two years. She is currently undefeated on the season and has played:

#2 doubles vs. Forest Grove winning 6-2, 6-1;
singles vs. Cleveland winning 6-3, 6-3;
#2 doubles vs. Canby winning 6-0, 6-4;
#3 singles vs. West winning 6-2, 6-2;
and was leading at #3 singles vs. Sprague 6-5 when it was rained out.

Neha is an International Baccalaureate student who is involved in multiple school and community groups including Deca and Hosa where she has competed at the national level.

She hopes to attend Dartmouth or Rice and has already been accepted to other prestigious universities. She will be studying pre-med.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from South Salem Baseball, is Noah Scharer.

Noah is a sophomore outfielder and right handed pitcher for the Saxons who are currently 10-2 on the season and ranked #10. In three games last week, all against top ten teams, Noah hit .667 including two doubles. He also stole two bases and scored five times. At one point, he reached base successfully in eight consecutive plate appearances.

In the game against Mountain View on Saturday, with the Saxons trailing 5-3, Scharer took the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning, with one out and the bases loaded. He threw just one pitch, getting a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. In the top of the 7th he hit a double off the wall in straightaway centerfield to spark an improbable 3-run frame to put South in the lead, 6-5. He went back out onto the mound in the bottom of the 7th and promptly sent the heart of the Cougars’ lineup down in order to seal the win.

Earlier in the week, with the game tied 2-2 in the top of the 7th against Roseburg, Ryan started a 2-run rally by hitting a 1-out double into the left field corner.

Through 10 games Noah is hitting .441 with 5 doubles, a home run, 7 RBI, 9 stolen bases, 4 walks, and 13 runs scored. On the mound, he has yet to allow a run in 2.1 innings.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Sprague Track and Field, is Sara Abbott.

Sara, a senior for the Olys, is currently #3 in the 1500 and 800 meters in Central Valley Conference and #1 in the CVC in the 3000 meters. Sara is a captain of our team and a leader of our distance group. Coach Brent Charles describes Sara as “a class act on both the track and in the classroom”.

Sara has previously been honored as an Athlete of the Week for both cross country and track and also was our Senior Athlete of the Year for Girls Cross Country.

Sara will be attending Utah State and continuing her running career next year.

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Recognizing excellence through high school athletics.