By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club honored Salem Academy’s Jordyn Copeland (Volleyball),McNary’s Kyle Wilson (Football), Western Christian’s Savannah Newman (Girls Soccer), North Salem’s Nelida Dalgas (Girls Cross Country), South Salem’s Addison Herber (Volleyball) and South Salem’s Diego Cruz (Boys Soccer) at this Friday’s meeting.
Here’s the Press Release:
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Salem Academy Volleyball is Jordyn Copeland.
Jordyn is a sophomore for the Crusaders who are 8-3 on the season, 5-1 in the PacWest Conference, and currently ranked #7 in 3A. In the straight set win over Santiam Christian, Jordyn contributed 11 kills, 14 digs, and 2½ blocks, and a 95% serving efficiency. She followed that with a career-level effort in the 5-set loss to Taft, where she had 31 kills on a 33% hitting efficiency, while also getting 27 digs and recording a 2.54 serve receive rating.
Coach Copeland (who also happens to be her mom) applauds, “[Jordyn’s] ability to impact every phase of the game: offense, defense, serving, and leadership…”
Jordyn was honored for both volleyball and basketball last school year.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from McNary Football, is Kyle Wilson.
Kyle, a senior, is a two-year varsity starter. He plays tight-end and linebacker for the Celts who are 1-2 on the season and broke a 30-game losing streak in last Friday’s 19-15 win over Centennial. Kyle was a major factor. He had a touchdown, a fumble recovery with a 45-yard return, an interception, and nine tackles including three for loss.
According to Coach Riddel, Kyle is a “…team leader who leads by example.”
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Western Christian Girls Soccer, is Savannah Newman.
Savannah, a junior, is a striker for the Pioneers who are 4-1-1 on the season. Savannah recorded a hat trick in the blowout 10-2 win over Sweet Home and also scored a goal in the 4-2 win over Westside Christian. So far this season, Savanah has scored 12 of the team’s 28 goals.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from North Salem Girls Cross Country, is Neli Dalgas.
Neli is a senior runner and team captain for the Viks. Neli won the Ash Creek Invitational for the second consecutive season this past Saturday in a state-leading 17:40 for 5000 meters. Her time currently leads all Oregon divisions, and she has not lost a race on the Western Oregon University Ash Creek course since September of 2023. Neli immediately ran to the lead from the gun, gapping the field by over 40 seconds at one point in the race, and ultimately winning by a margin of 35 seconds. Her time is also a new senior class 5K girls cross country record at North Salem, solidifying her as the class record holder at 5K for each grade level – 9th through 12th.
Neli, according to Coach Herrmann, “is also a 4.0 student, a dedicated musician, and highly involved in the school community at North Salem.”
This is Neli’s fifth Athlete of the Week honor for both cross country and track and field.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from South Salem Volleyball, is Addison Herber.
Addi, a junior, is a middle blocker for the Saxons who are 10-1 overall, 3-1 in the Central Valley Conference, and ranked #3 in 6A. On Saturday at the Grant Tournament, she helped South go 4-0 with 24 kills on 42 attacks giving her a hitting percentage of .452. She also led the team in serving with 7 aces and blocks with 5. In the 3-0 win over West Salem on Tuesday, Addi had 10 kills on 16 swings with no errors to hit .625. She also picked up 4 blocks and 4 digs on the night. South has been dominating in their wins where they haven’t dropped a single set.
Coach Leichty says, “Addi has been consistently playing at a high level out of the middle for us and has added a lot of versatility to our offense this season.”
This is Addi’s first Athlete of the Week honor.
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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from South Salem Boys Soccer, is Diego Cruz.
Diego, a senior, plays forward for the Saxons who are 3-1-2 on the season and ranked #13 in 6A. On Thursday the Saxon’s earned a 2-2 tie at Corvallis against the undefeated Spartans (ranked 4th in 5A). In the prior three matches Diego, who goes by “Kickz”, scored four goals and recorded an assist as the Saxon’s tied McMinnville (currently #6 in 6A) 1-1, and ran away from Hidden Valley 6-1 and Nelson 6-3.
The following is from Coach Eric Johansen:
“Against McMinnville, with the Saxons trailing 0-1 late in the game, the ball was crossed into the box by junior defender Max Sturges. “Kickz” was waiting at the far post, and he calmly nodded the ball past the keeper earning the Saxons a 1-1 tie.
Against Hidden Valley, a 6-1 win, Kickz received a through pass from senior defender Nikita Panov in the 10th minute and blasted the ball past the keeper from short range. Then in the 54th minute, Kickz completed his “brace” of goals by heading home a crossed ball, also delivered by Nikita.
And finally, against Nelson, a 6-3 win, Kickz scored our second goal on a penalty kick in the 27th minute. And in the last minute of the match, Kickz and senior midfielder Yurem Diaz wove their way through the middle of the Hawks defense and Yurem scored from close range with Kickz providing the assist.
Kickz was named man of the match in all three matches for his efforts.”
This is Diego’s first Athlete of the Week recognition.
