2012 Sandblasters Tryouts
Youth baseball players age 19 or under who are interested in playing American Legion ball this summer are being invited to tryouts at Siuslaw High School over two weekends later this month or in early June. Three Rivers Sandblasters coach Dave Deutschmann will return this year, he says all prospective players will have to go through tryouts at noon on May 26th and 27th; or June 2nd or 3rd. The Sandblasters will be playing a 33-game regular season schedule over eight weeks. Deutschmann, a former Junction City High School and Western Oregon University standout says American Legion baseball can be “extremely helpful” to a player wishing to gain exposure. He said college coaches and even Major League Baseball scouts routinely come to games to watch prospects.
Siuslaw Athletic Hall of Fame
Seven former high school athletes, one administrator and a state championship team will be the second group of inductees into the Siuslaw Athletics Hall of Fame August 4th.
Bob Hylton and Larry Ulrich were two members of the 1966 State 2A Cross Country Championship team. Both had other significant accomplishments during their four years at Siuslaw. Other inductees: Stephanie Osburn; Tammy Courtney; Teri Gortler, Jef McClellan and Delbert Reavis Sr. Former principal and superintendent Glenn Butler will be honored as well for his role in ushering in the modern era of Siuslaw athletics.
The 2012 Siuslaw Athletics Hall of Fame inductees are:
• Stephanie Osburn (1980-1984). Led Siuslaw in scoring in basketball from 1982-84, helping Siuslaw to win the Far West title and reach the state play-offs all three years, including fourth place in 1983 and second place in 1984. She was named the Far West Player of the Year in 1984.
In volleyball, she was a key server as a freshman and served 20 of 30 points against Newport as a sophomore, including 11 aces. She led Siuslaw in scoring that season, averaging 11 points and seven aces per match. She was named to the far West All-Star team in 1982, 1983 and 1984.
Osburn also competed at state in golf.
She went on to earn a basketball scholarship to Arizona State, where she was a four-year letter winner, and Academic All American. After graduation, she coached at the University of Oregon, Oregon State, Vanderbilt and Louisville, guiding 14 players into the WNBA drafts and coaching NCAA teams to the “sweet 16” and final four.
• Bob Hylton (1963-1967). Was a member of the 1966 boys cross country 2A championship team, finishing second at state individually that season. As a sophomore, he finished second to Steve Savage in the school’s first “perfect” cross country score (against Newport).
In track, he was a member of the 1965 team that finished second at state in the 880 relay (1:32.6).
In 1967, Hylton was third at state in the mile race (4:21.1) and ran on the state championship mile relay team (3:27.5), which set a 2A record with his split of 53.0.
Hylton also lettered in basketball, and was a member of the 1967 team that went 20-2, setting the best record in school history.
• Tammy Courtney (1982-1986). An eight-time state champion in track, Courtney was one of the top point scorers in all three of the team’s state championship titles between 1984 through 1986.
Courtney was the district and state long jump champion from 1983 through 1986, including a mark of 18-10 in 1986 that tied the 2A’s second best mark in recorded history.
Courtney was also a member of the three-time state championship 4×100 relay team (1983, 1984 and 1986) and is the current school record holder in the long jump (18-10), 4×100 (48.43, a 4A state record), the 400-meter race (57.7) and the 4×400 (4:04.7).
In 1986, Courtney was ranked among the top five long jumpers in the U.S.
That same year, in only her third 400-meter race of the season, Courtney finished second at state with a time of 57.91.
• Teri Gortler (1982-1986). A nine-time state champion for Siuslaw, Gortler was also a member of the three-time state championship track team (1984 through 1986). She also was the 100-meter and 200-meter state champion in 1985 and 1986 (12.75 and 25.53), as well as a member of the state championship 4×100-meter team in 1983 and 1984.
Currently, Gortler is on Siuslaw’s top-10 list in 10 events, including the school record holder in the 100-meter (12.1) and 4×100-meter (4:04.86).
In 1984, Gortler set the class 2A 4×100 record (with Courtney) with a time of 49.26, breaking their own record set in 1983.
In basketball, Gortler led Siuslaw in scoring in 1986, averaging 12 points per game and helping Siuslaw advance to state after finishing second in the Far West.
The Viks went 19-4 that season and reached the final eight. Gortler was a member of the All-State team, averaging 15 points per game at the state tournament.
In 1986, Gortler, along with Courtney, accounted for 56 of Siuslaw’s 64 points as the Vikings won the 2A state track crown.
In the second — and only — cross country race of her career (1984), Gortler finished 14th at state.
• Larry Ulrich (1963-1967). A member of the 1966 boys 2A state championship cross country team, Ulrich showed promise in 1965 when, as a sophomore, he finished third to Steve Savage in Siuslaw’s first “perfect” score (against Newport) with his time of 14:4.2.
He was also a member of the second-place track team that year and was third at state in the 880 (2:04.7).
In 1966, he was a member of the Coast League championship track team, finishing seventh in the 440-yard and 880-yard events. he is currently the school record holder in the 880.
In cross country, he was fifth on the district championship team.
Ulrich went on to be the high-point scorer for Siuslaw at the 1967 state track meet, scoring 22.5 points and anchoring the state championship mile relay team (3:27.5) for a 2A record. He also claimed the state title in the 440 and 880 races (50.4 and 1:56.3), all with only 20 minutes of rest between events.
• Jef McClellan (1975-1979). Quite possibly the best quarterback in Siuslaw history, McClellan holds eight records in the Siuslaw football stat books. Between 1976 and 1978, he led Siuslaw to the straight district titles. His sophomore season, he threw 13 touchdown passes as the starting quarterback as the Viks reached the state 2A quarterfinals.
In 1977, McClellan averaged .547 percent in passing, going 104-for190 in attempts and chalking up 1,682 passing yards for 14 touchdowns.
McClellan was a four-sport athlete, helping the basketball team reach the state tournament in 1977 and 1978.
In baseball, he was an All-League outfielder and batted .475.
In track, McClellan ran the 440-meter relay, pole vaulted his way to the state meet in 1976, and threw the javelin for seventh place at state in 1977.
He went on to be named an All-American in football at Southern Oregon.
• Delbert Reavis Sr. (1955-1959). Known as one of the state’s toughest halfbacks, Reavis was ultimately a four-sport standout for Siuslaw, including basketball, track and baseball.
In the 1957 football season opener against Myrtle Point, Reavis ran for touchdowns of 65 yards, 83 yards and caught a 15-yard pass for his third touchdown of the game. A week later, against Waldport, Reavis scored three more touchdowns, on a 10-yard run, and catches of 15 and 20 yards.
But he was just warming up.
Against Newport, Reavis scored 6 touchdowns to left the Viks to a 37-36 win. That same year, he scored 21 touchdowns in nine games, accounting for 133 points.
Reavis also was a force in basketball, averaging 14 points per game during his sophomore season.
His junior year, he lettered in baseball.
• Glenn Butler (Siuslaw superintendent, 1974-1994).
Glenn Butler is credited with ushering in the modern era of Siuslaw sports, supporting the creation and development of expanding programs, including women’s programs while he was the school’s principal at Siuslaw between 1968 and 1974.
An avid sports enthusiast, Butler helped create the current infrastructure for Siuslaw sports, including modernizing existing facilities.
He was also the 1977 Rhodo Dunes Men;s Golf champion with a 75-80-155.
• 1966 state championship boys cross country team.
Members include Bob Hylton, Larry Ulrich, Tim Savage, Mark Savage, Greg Wells, Kim Larson and Ev May.
The Siuslaw Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Aug. 4, beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the Florence Events Center.
