By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
On Friday, the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club honored North Salem’s Cruz Romero (Boys Soccer), Sprague’s Brooke Friesen (Volleyball), West Salem’s Sophia Cooley (Volleyball), West Salem’s Koen Campos (Football) , North Salem’s Jakai Phillips (Football) and North Salem’s Heliana Romerio (Girls Soccer) at this past Friday’s meeting.
Here’s the Press Release
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Boys Soccer, is Cruz Romero.
Cruz, a junior, is a first-time goalkeeper for the Vikings who are 1-1-1 on the season. Cruz, a first-time goalkeeper, has stepped up, allowing just one-goal in three games in the young season. He came up with 3 huge saves in the 2-0 win over Thurston and another 4 saves in the 0-0 tie versus #7 ranked Forest Grove.
Coach Medina says, “Cruz knew he had huge shoes to fill when he was selected as this years varsity goalkeeper and has not disappointed. Although he has a very quiet demeanor, when the whistle blows Cruz steps up to the plate. The Vikings haven’t allowed a goal in either game, and he was the key.”
This is Cruz’ first AOTW honor.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Sprague Volleyball, is Brooke Friesen.
Brooke, a junior captain and third year varsity starter, plays setter and opposite for the 6A #1 ranked Olys who are 2-0 in the Central Valley Conference and 10-0 on the season. In the first conference win, a 3-0 win over McNary, Brook had 31 assists, 5 digs, and 2 blocks. In the Central Catholic Tourney she had 14 kills, with a .737 hitting percentage, 3 aces, 50 assists, 8 digs, and 4 blocks. And in their impressive 3-1 win over then-undefeated South Salem, she had 5 kills, 2 aces, 28 assists, 6 digs and 3 blocks.
This is Brooke’s third AOTW honor.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from West Salem Volleyball, is Sophia Cooley.
Sophia, a senior and team captain, is a setter for the Titans who are 7-5 on the season and 2-0 in conference. In their conference opening win over North Salem, Sophia served 7 aces, had 14 assists, and 7 digs.
Coach Scott Coons says, “Sophia brings a strong voice to our team on the court. She is a solid leader and growing quickly as a steady presence on the court.”
This is Sophia’s first AOTW honor.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from West Salem Football, is Koen Campos.
Koen is a senior and team captain for the Titans who are 2-0 in the young season. A returning first-team all-conference running back, Koen helped lead West to a 26-16 win over Sprague. He had 25 carries for 142 yards, averaging over 5½ yards per carry. Koen rushed for 3 TDs and added a 42-yard kick-off return for a total of 4 scores.
This is Koen’s second AOTW recognition.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Football, is Jakai Phillips.
Jakai, a senior, is a running back for the Viks who are 2-0 in conference. North opened the season with a 49-32 win over South Salem to retake the traditional Mayor’s Cup trophy. Jakai rushed for 352 yards on 27 carries (a 13 yard average), recording 5 rushing touchdowns. He also had an 85-yard kickoff return for a TD. In total he scored 6 TDs and ran for 468 all-purpose yards. Jakai’s all-purpose yard performance places him fifth in the Oregon all-time state records, the highest yardage since Aloha’s Thomas Tyner (who played for both Oregon and Oregon State) set the record of 643 back in 2012.
This is Jakai’s first AOTW award.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Girls Soccer, is Heliana Romerio.
Heliana, a 9th grader, plays forward for the Vikings who are 1-1-1 on the year. In the first home game of the season, Heliana had a hat-trick, scoring 3 of the team’s 4 goals, helping North to a 4—2 victory over Lebanon.
This is Heliana’s first AOTW honor.
