Boys Oregon 6A State Champions - four consecutive years
Girls Oregon 6A State Champions - second time in the past three years
On November 11th, 2017, the Newberg High School boys water polo team won the Oregon 6A state championship title for the fourth consecutive year. An hour later, the Newberg High School girls water polo team also brought home the Oregon 6A state championship title - their second in three years. It's hard to put into words the emotion of watching your child, their teammates, and their coaches make a dream a reality.
Newberg has been dominating Oregon water polo since its inception in 1983. Jim McMaster, the genius who started the program in 1983, is STILL the head coach of the boy's team and the assistant coach of the girls' team. He has coached his teams to 37 state championships in 34 years. Let that sink in for a minute.
Grant has grown up in the culture that is Newberg Water Polo. The coaches place a high value on hard work, teamwork, and mentoring. The older kids help coach the elementary teams and mentor the younger players. All players are expected to volunteer at home tournaments, keep their grades up, and abide by a code of conduct that honors Newberg High School and Newberg water polo. The bar is HIGH for these athletes and they willingly step up to meet the expectation. These athletes know they are a part of something unique. They are part of a dynasty.
The year Grant started high school Newberg had just graduated an all star group of seniors from their water polo team. It created a unique opportunity for Grant and four of his friends to all earn varsity letters as freshman and help their team win an unexpected state championship with a roster full of freshmen. They earned themselves the nickname the Fab Five and it stuck. The following year, each of these boys earned a varsity letter again and played a larger role in another state championship title.
Fab Five after their junior year banquet
This year was different. All but one of the Fab Five's mentors graduated. It was time for our boys to step up and lead the team - both in the water and mentoring the younger players coming behind them. The first game of the season Grant had a hat trick (three goals in one game) and a big cheering section. The article in the newspaper mentioned every single one of the Fab Five and a role they played in the victory. The season was setting itself up to be epic.
Grant with his little buddy Payton.
Hat trick.
The Newberg fans are complacent. It's an unspoken expectation that the water polo teams will bring home the league titles and compete at a high level in the state tournament. We have very few fans that come to the games, and no cheerleaders or fan fare, which is unfortunate because water polo is so exciting to watch. But the rest of the state is not complacent when it comes to Newberg. Opponents resent our success and EVERYONE wants to beat Newberg. Our players carry the weight of this into every single game. They can't afford be complacent.
Our boys rolled through the first half of their season, beating every Oregon team they played and only losing once in the championship game of a tournament to the reigning Washington 6A state champions. Then, the unthinkable happened. Our boys went to Lakeridge High School and got beat 6-4 by a very strong, capable Pacer team. It was the first league loss for the Newberg boys' team in FIFTEEN years. It was humbling and just the reminder the boys needed that complacency is not an option.
We played Lakeridge again at home in the last game of the regular season. For the first time since I've been watching high school water polo, Newberg fans - and even cheerleaders - came out to support the athletes. They PACKED the pool deck and stands, cheering wildly and creating an electric atmosphere. It was obvious this game should be a preview of the state championship. The game was tense and close. Grant scored a goal with one second left on the game clock to help his team win 7-4, settling the score with Lakeridge.
The win by the Tigers secured a tie for the League Champions and forced a play off game to determine which team would get the number one seed going into the state tournament. Newberg scored the first goal and controlled almost the entire first half, but the Pacers scored at the end of the second quarter and the momentum shifted. The two teams battled back and forth through the last two quarters, but Pacers all-star Terran Walker put the game away with a goal in the last minute to earn a 6-5 Lakeridge victory. Both teams knew the showdown at state would be a good one.
As the season progressed, Grant's strength morphed him into a defensive specialist. He was assigned to shut down the opponent's 2 meter/hole set position. It was exciting (and a little scary) to watch him battle it out against some of the toughest and scrappiest players in the state. The stuff that is considered "legal" in water polo is cray cray. Grant had a memorable and incredible performance in the semi-final game, scoring four goals and playing flawless defense. It is a bit surreal to watch him play every second of these important games and hold his own against some of the best players in the state.
As expected, the Pacers and the Tigers both played their way into the state championship game. Both teams were hungry for victory. The Pacers were playing for their first ever state championship. The Tigers were playing for revenge and to keep their championship streak alive.
team captain getting the fans pumped
Grant being announced before the championship game.
Then scoring seconds later to set the tone for the game.
Grant guarded All-League MVP Terran Walker, and shut him down for the entire game, with the exception of one goal. Lakeridge double teamed our strong players, leaving Alex, our lone sophomore starter, open. He took full advantage of this, scoring three crucial goals and earning the game ball for his stellar performance. With less than a minute to go in the championship game, Grant scored to put the Tigers up by three goals, a margin too big to tackle with the time remaining in the game. Final score: Newberg 9- Lakeridge 7.
my boy doing his thing
getting ready for the second half
It was a tough, physical game. Well played by both teams.
final minute of the game - just before G scored to put them up by 3.
CHAMPIONS!
You did it!
#fourpeat
one happy boy
our co-captains
State Champions (but missing a ton of our players in this photo)
Five of our starters earned All State honors, including our goalie Wilson Johnson, who also took home state MVP honors.
I had a Media Pass that allowed me access to the entire pool deck to take photos. It was pretty cool to be able to record the excitement of another championship for our boys and their parents. Their senior year is going to be an emotional roller coaster for all of us. Just take a look at this little video clip that shows the emotions that go into the semi-final and championship games!
Here is a video of the goals Grant scored in the semi-final and championship game. A huge thanks to my friend Heather who took all these videos while I was taking still shots.
Well done boys. Four-peat State Champions. You earned it and we are so proud. Until next year....
Thursday was an Adventure Day. I try to take the kids on one adventure day every time they have a break from school and periodically throughout the summer. These days become more precious to me the older the kids get, because I have to ask them days in advance to set the time aside on their calendar. As it was, Grant missed swim practice and Alli missed basketball practice just so we could all go.
Mt. Hood got hit with 20 inches of fresh snow on Tuesday so we opted to head there for a day in the snow. It was a great choice since Newberg was socked in with an all day fog and it was crystal clear up at the mountain with bright blue skies. It just so happened that some of our best friends were vacationing on Mt. Hood, so we picked up Dawn and Jaci to go hiking with us. (Blake and Davis were snowboarding and John was thrilled to have the afternoon to himself).
I have never purposefully hiked in the snow before and wasn't really sure what gear we would need aside from the usual backpack full of snacks and water. When we arrived at the trail, temps were in the high twenties and the snow was abundant. We all put our snow pants and winter coats on over our hiking gear and chose to wear our snow boots instead of hiking shoes. This was the right choice, but it definitely made it slower going to hike in snow boots and full snow gear.
On a summer day, the hike to Mirror Lake is an easy 1.4 miles on a well-graded trail to the lake from the trailhead. Add maybe .25 miles to walk around the lake and you're back to your car in about 3 miles, give or take. However, in the winter you can't park at the trailhead. The closest parking was almost a mile up the highway at Ski Bowl. The extra mile to and from the trailhead along the side of the busy highway through packed snow made a normally easy hike feel excessively long. Alli forgot her backpack in the snow by the car, so she and I got a bonus 1/2 mile of hiking to retrieve her backpack before we even made it to the trailhead. #goodtimes
The little bridge you cross to start the hike
With that said, this entire day was a blast. The forest was magical. All the trees were dressed in a blanket of snow. The trail was easy to follow even though it was packed with thick snow. We trudged our way up to toward the lake, soaking in the periodic views of Mt. Hood and the magic of the snow-covered forest. We were all hot and sweaty in our snow gear, but we cooled off the second we stopped at the lake for lunch. We definitely chose the right gear for the weather conditions.
majestic trees
Dawn with the kids
Alli
Katie
Paige
Grant
Grant, who is in the best shape of all of us, forgot his backpack with food and water in the car. He was hungry and hot and hilariously whiny, laying down in the middle of the trail exclaiming, "I can't go on. I'm not going to make it." I fed and watered him, helped him to his feet, and he made it up the last few switchbacks to the lake. Grant drug his $10 sled all the way up to the lake just so he could sled back down the trail to the car. That was his favorite part.
The view of Mt. Hood from Mirror Lake was everything we hoped it would be. We sat in the snow and ate our snacks, then took a video of the kids singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Hikers on the other side of the lake heard them singing and joined in the song. After they finished singing, shouts of "Merry Christmas" rang back and forth across the lake between the two groups. ("The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.") While Grant was sledding back to the car, we girls hiked and sang every Christmas carol about snow that we could think of. It was really fun.
from the trail - that white patch is a cloud bank that had the valley socked in with fog.
by the time we got back to the car, it was twilight.
This woman is a gem... one of my best friends.
Grant being Grant.
The mountain and part of the frozen lake.
all photos copyright of Jodi Stilp Photography LLC. Do not use without permission.
Dawn and me. We had to BEG the kids to get up out of the snow and take this photo.
On the trail
copyright Jodi Stilp Photography LLC
Alli eating lunch
Aren't they cute?
frozen Mirror Lake
The trail continues up the ridge to the top of this mountain on the Tom, Dick and Harry Trail.
Selfie
Our girls are BFF's which is pretty fun considering Dawn and I spend so much time together.
We joined the rest of the Smith's at their hotel suite for a picnic dinner before heading home to tell Curt all about our day. It was another memorable "Smilp Family" Adventure and we can't wait for the next one.
