Athletics News
Freshman Lara Rakocevic wins state tennis championship
From the Oregonian: "With the past three girls singles champions from the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A tennis state tournament in this year’s field, it could have been a daunting situation for a freshman.
"But Catlin Gabel freshman Lara Rakocevic showed uncommon cool for someone of her age, easily winning the girls singles title Saturday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Valley Catholic’s Kaitlyn Lomartire at the University of Oregon.
"Rakocevic didn’t lose a set in four matches during a tournament that included two-time defending champion Rachael Nedrow of Oregon Episcopal and Lomartire, the 2010 winner."
Anthony Lin '09, now a senior at Duke, receives NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
From the Duke University announcement
Lin is a native of Portland, Ore., and has been a key member of the Duke fencing team over his four years. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Lin posted a career record of 181-56 as a member of Duke’s saber squad. He served as team captain as a senior, helping the Duke men post a 15-9 overall record and the sabers a 16-8 mark.
Lin is a three-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll and appeared on the Capital One Academic All-District III Team in 2011-12. A double major in neuroscience and computer science, he currently owns a grade point average of 3.855 and will graduate from Duke in May.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, as well as campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership, are evaluated.
Our Inspired Teachers: Brian Gant
From the Autumn 2012 Caller
Brian Gant, MS health and PE
Bachelor's in geography, Simon Fraser University. At CGS since 1984.
I am very fortunate, as every morning that I venture out the door I don’t see myself going to work, but instead pursuing my passion.
Athletics history video
Homecoming photo gallery
What could be better than Friday night under the lights? The Murphy Athletic Complex's Gant-Davis field is a thing of beauty when the sun sets on an autumn evening, our athletes play their hearts out, and fans flock together to cheer. Go Eagles!
Click on any photo to enlarge image and start a slide show. Thanks go to Cody Hoyt '13 for the game photos.
LS Back-to-School Night PE Video
Join a team!
We encourage all students to join a Catlin Gabel team. Each year a number of students, particularly freshmen and sophomores, hesitate to come out for sports, believing they are too inexperienced to participate. Our no-cut policy allows for everyone to participate. We provide great opportunities for students to give new sports a try. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. We hope to see you!
Upper School Athletics 2012-13 Preseason Schedule
Soccer, volleyball, and cross-country preseason practice begins on Monday, August 20.
For conditioning, skill development, and team organization, athletes planning to participate in the first fall contests are required to attend preseason practices. Athletes missing prac¬tices or arriving after the starting date will be withheld from competitions until they have completed nine practices. If teams are filled after preseason is completed, we will not add another team to accommodate late arriving athletes.
Games begin on August 30. Coaches will notify athletes in advance of any practice time changes after this point.
Once classes begin on September 6, practices are after school from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. There is no practice on Labor Day.
» Link to game and meet schedules
BOYS SOCCER
Optional camp – $100
August 13 – 17, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Required practice and team selection
Monday, August 20 – September 5, 3 – 6 p.m. (laptop orientation is on Wednesday, September 5, at 6 p.m., so practice will be earlier)
Head Coach: Roger Gantz, 503-780-3312
GIRLS SOCCER
Optional camp – $175
August 13 – 16, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Required practice and team selection
Monday, August 20 – September 5, 9 – 11 a.m.
Head Coach: Lisa Unsworth, 503-593-1173
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Optional conditioning – free
August 6 – 9, 9 – 10:30 a.m. and 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Optional camp – $100
August 13 – 16, 4 – 7pm
Required practice and team selection
August 20 – 23, 3 – 7:30 p.m.
August 24, 3 – 6 p.m.
August 27 – 29, 4 – 6p.m.
August 30, first game at home vs. Astoria
Head Coach Sanjay Bedi, 503-348-0380
CROSS-COUNTRY
Optional practices
Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. for interval session. Meet at the gym.
Saturdays at 9 a.m. for 3-6 mile run. Meet at the bottom of the Leif Erickson Trail on NW Thurman Street
Monday August 13 - 24th annual Oak Hills pre-season run, swim, and ice cream social 7 – 9 p.m.
Required practice
August 20 – September 5
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:30 – 11 a.m.
Head Coach: John Hamilton, 503-645-7198
Notes for All Athletes
Students should have their own footwear properly broken in by the opening day of practice to avoid blisters. Wear athletic clothes suitable for the weather. Soccer players should bring water bottles to carry with them to the field. It is wise to start some conditioning well before August 20 in order to build fitness gradually. This will help avoid muscle soreness and injuries.
Family medical and emergency contact forms must be submitted online before the first day of practice. Update or approve your forms online. Also, all 9th and 11th graders must complete the pre-participation physical examination with their physicians and turn in the required paperwork before the first day of practice. State law requires the school to have the forms on file before students may practice. The forms are available in PDF format at the bottom of this page. Please call the Upper School office at ext. 315 if you have any questions about the forms.
For questions or clarification about the athletics program please email or call Sandy Luu, athletic director, at luus@catlin.edu or 971-404-7253.
Longtime soccer coach Brian Gant interviewed on Portland Timbers website
Senior Mariah Morton wins long and triple jump championships, girls 4x400 team wins at state
In addition to winning two state championships as an individual competitor, Mariah was also a member of the championship 4x400m relay team along with freshman Adele English, senior Cammy Edwards, junior Fiona Noonan, and sophomore Gabby Bishop.
The girls 4x100m relay team took 2nd place with runners Mariah Morton, Adele English, Cammy Edwards, junior Audrey Davis, and freshman Talia Quatraro.
Cammy Edwards placed 2nd in both the 300m hurdles and the high hurdles.
Junior Hannah Jaquiss placed 3rd in the 3000m and 7th in the 1500.
Junior Mckenzie Spooner placed 6th in the 3000.
Junior Hannah Rotwein placed 6th in the 1500.
The girls track team came in 2nd at state.
Senior Parris Joyce took 3rd place in the boys 800.
Senior Eli Wilson Pelton placed 6th in the high hurdles and 7th in the 300 hurdles.
Junior David Lovitz took 8th in the high jump.
Sophomore Ian Smith, Eli Wilson Pelton, Parris Joyce, David Lovitz, sophomore Chris Belluschi, and junior Cody Hoyt placed 7th in the 4x100 relay.
Senior Kate Rubinstein took 2nd place at the state tennis tournament.
Senior Andrew Salvador took 2nd place in tennis.
The doubles tennis team of junior Evan Hallmark and senior Sammy Lubitz finished 3rd at state.
The boys tennis team took 2nd place at state.
Chris Skrapits named district coach of the year
In his first season as head track and field coach, Chris was selected tops in the district.
Girls track team wins district championship
The district meet saw standout performances and personal records for a number of students. The boys placed 3rd – their best showing in years – and 17 students are advancing to state.
Middle School track meet photo gallery
Thank you, Carolyn Heymann, for the photos!
Chris Skrapits selected assistant coach of the year
The Oregon Athletic Coaches Association has selected eighth grade science teacher and ace cross-country coach Chris Skrapits as the assistant coach of the year in Oregon for all sports categories in the 3A classification.
PE teacher and coach John Hamilton submitted this nomination:
Chris came to Catlin Gabel in 1996. He had been a cross-country runner during high school and college. Not long after starting to work on our campus he connected with me to see if he could participate in our team workouts. He became a frequent participant in many of our on campus sessions, and eventually began to join us for trail runs.
In 2004 we lost our assistant coach, and invited Chris to become an official part of our program. He was more than ready, and eagerly accepted the offer. Having him become a permanent member of our [coaching] staff has proved to be a huge boost to the program on many levels. He helps me organize the overview of the full season training schedule. He in charge of all our team warm-up drills prior to all training and racing sessions. This means his voice is the only one that the racers hear as they enter the chute on race day. He has continued to be an active participant in most of our training sessions and leads all the abdominal work at the end of each training session. I will ask him to step out of a session when I need his help with timing, or watching for form and tactical adjustments we might want to make. The entire team loves the energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience, and the joy he brings to the team.
During the eight years Chris has been with the team we have grown from 24 participants to 38, a 55% increase. More than 14% of Upper School students are on the cross-country team. During Chris’ tenure as assistant coach, the program has achieved a level of success that we had never before experienced. The team won seven out of eight district titles. Racing in Eugene at LCC, the Catlin Gabel team has finished in the top two for consecutive years, runners-up four times, and state champions four times.
Creating Positive Change in Our Athletes
From the Winter 2011-12 Caller
By Sandy Luu, Catlin Gabel athletics director
Catlin Gabel. In my career I have seen many coaches who taught physical skills—but thought that the development of character would just naturally arise from being part of a team. To develop athletes of character, we need to intentionally teach the skills that will help them make choices based on beliefs and principles. Our job is to build habits in our athletes that will help them make tough choices, and to consistently follow through with them.
sports. After my father died when I was in 8th grade, one of the many changes in our lives was that I had to go to a new high school as a freshman, in our town near Sacramento, California. I had just grown five inches and turned from a confident athlete who was a leader on the court to a nervous, awkward new kid on the block. After the first volleyball practice, the coach cut me from the team, saying, “Sandy, unfortunately, you don’t have a future in volleyball.” He didn’t know about the difficult transitions I had gone through; he was only worried about having the best team out on the court. I learned that I had to be resilient and not feel sorry for myself. If I was going to make it happen, I had to work hard. I ended up playing junior and senior years on the varsity team (and also played basketball and softball) and received a scholarship to play at Concordia University. If I had listened to that first coach and stopped playing the sport I loved, my life would be very different today. I want to make sure we don’t have any kids who are made to feel the way I did. In one of the schools where I worked before Catlin Gabel, we had a sports team that was dysfunctional on and off the court. We made a difficult decision to replace the coach. I told the new coach that I hoped to see character growth as his number one priority. After losing the first three games, he came into my office, dispirited, slumping in his chair. I assured him that the team would improve as soon as he helped them learn to be better friends and teammates. Over the next two years, he helped them grow into one of the best teams that school had ever seen. He held them accountable for any negative behavior and taught them how to be good basketball players, but more importantly, to be athletes of character.
Girls basketball team win featured in Portland Tribune
Ski program information
Carefully review this article, download the emergency medical form posted at the bottom of the page, and register online with Mt. Hood Meadows.
The Catlin Gabel ski bus runs on six Saturdays: February 4, 11, 18, 25, and March 3 and 10.
This Catlin Gabel ski program is supervised by faculty members from all divisions and lessons are taught by Mt. Hood Meadows ski and snowboard instructors. The program is open only to Catlin Gabel students in 5th through 12th grades. The transportation fee for the six week program is $150, payable by check to Catlin Gabel. Lift, lesson, and rental fees are payable to Mt. Hood Meadows through their online registration.
Transportation and supervision
Catlin Gabel buses transport participating students to and from Mt. Hood Meadows. The bus drivers are Catlin Gabel employees. Chaperones ride each bus and are available in the lodge at most but not all times.
Buses leave Catlin Gabel campus at 6:30 a.m. sharp. At the end of the ski day, the buses leave Mt. Hood Meadows at 3:30 p.m., returning to Catlin Gabel by 5:30 p.m.
All students must return via the Catlin Gabel bus unless alternative transportation is prearranged by parents/guardians. Chaperones must receive a note signed by a parent/guardian detailing the alternative transportation arrangements.
Drop-in skier information
Transportation and supervision are available to skiers who can only attend one or two Saturdays. However, we recommend signing up for the full program if you plan to ski more than twice because the unused days on the tickets are good until the end of the ski season.
The drop-in fee is $30 payable in cash or check on the day of attendance. Drop-in skiers must purchase their own lift and/or lesson tickets. Please rent equipment in advance in the Portland area. Beginning and first-season skiers are not permitted to use the drop-in system.
The Catlin Gabel emergency medical form is required for all drop-in skiers. Extra forms are available in each of the division offices and posted at the bottom of this page. The form may be filled out ahead of time or brought with the skier on the day of attendance. We cannot accept phoned in permission.
Registration
Four forms are due to Kathy Sloan inthe Upper School by Friday, January 13: the Catlin Gabel medical release form posted below, the Mt. Hood Meadows release form, the Mt. Hood Meadows medical form, and, if renting, the Mt. Hood Meadows rental form. The Mt. Hood Meadows forms will be sent after you complete their online registration.
There are two separate components to registration.
You must do both by Friday, January 13!
Complete the Mt. Hood Meadows online registration as follows:
1. Go to www.skihood.com/go
2. Enter the GO code for Catlin Gabel in the GO code Box. Our GO Code is: 1024713.
3. Select the package you wish to purchase. Grades 5-8 are “Trailblazers,” grades 9-12 are “High School.” Trailblazers MUST sign up for lessons. This is a Catlin Gabel requirement.
6. Check out.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email and the Mt. Hood Meadows forms mentioned above.
Complete the Catlin Gabel medical release form at the bottom of this page and return the following in hard copy to Kathy Sloan in the Upper School:
- Mt. Hood Meadows medical form
- Mt. Hood Meadows release form
- Mt. Hood Meadows rental form (if renting)
- Catlin Gabel emergency medical release form (download from this web page)
- Check for $150 made payable to Catlin Gabel.
Financial aid is available directly through the ski bus program for students who need it and are committed to attending all six weeks. This financial aid does not come through the admission and financial aid office. Please contact Kathy Sloan directly to inquire about financial aid. To apply, send an e-mail with your request to sloank@catlin.edu indicating how much financial support it would take to make the program affordable for you.
Program guidelines – read these carefully!
- Be on time. Please arrive at 6:15 a.m. to load skis and get seated on the bus. The bus leaves campus promptly at 6:30 a.m. and returns to Catlin Gabel by 5:30 p.m. Parents/guardians, please be on time to pick up your skier(s) at the end of the day.
- Lessons are required for all participants in 5th through 8th grades. They are optional for high school participants. Lessons are approximately two hours. Prior to and after lessons, participants are “free skiing.” Although program rules require skiing with a partner, participants are not supervised by chaperones while on the slopes.
- Skiers are required to travel both directions on the same bus. There will be chaperones on each bus and in the lodge at most but not all times. In the morning, buses drop students at the lodge, and at the end of the ski day students walk to the buses parked in the parking lot by 3:15 p.m. Failure to return to the bus on time causes worry and delay for everyone. Late skiers could be dropped from the ski program the following week.
- All skiers are expected to honor the rules and regulations governing the use of lifts, slopes, and lodges as posted by Mt. Hood Meadows. Failure to comply will result in dismissal from the program.
- All skiers are expected to honor the rules and regulations of Catlin Gabel School in terms of our drug and alcohol policy. Failure to comply will result in dismissal from the program.and disciplinary action taken at school.
- We strongly encourage all skiers and snowboarders to wear helmets although this is not mandatory. In addition, wrist guards for snowboarders will help prevent wrist injuries.
- Loading and unloading equipment and cleaning the bus at the end of the day is everyone’s responsibility. No one should leave the campus until the buses are empty and cleaned.
- Concern for others is an essential part of the ski program while on our way to and from Mt Hood Meadows and while at the ski area. We have been justifiably proud of the Catlin Gabel students in the past and have had numerous great seasons. We hope you can be a part of the best season yet!
We ask all students and parents to join in our commitment for the safest and most enjoyable ski program possible.
Ski program leaders: Kathy Sloan, Len Carr, Chris Bell, Peggy McDonnell, Bob Sauer, Larry Hurst, Paul Monheimer, Aline Garcia-Rubio, and Spencer White