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Articles written by john r mcneil ii


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  • Smith and Sanchez are district champs

    John R McNeil II|Feb 10, 2016

    Jacob Smith and Renford Sanchez came home from the Central Washington South District Tournament with gold medals. In the 113-pound weight, Smith defeated Gary Rios-Lopez of Kittitas by pin, then in the championship round took on Bryce Martinez of Warden. Martinez challenged Smith and took the contest into overtime, when Smith scored enough to come away with the gold medal. Sanchez swept the field at 220. In both of his matches, Sanchez pinned his opponents in the first round. In the first...

  • Raiders lose last regular season games

    John R McNeil II|Feb 10, 2016

    Raider Boys Basketball ended the regular season with two losses last week. The first loss Feb. 2 came at home against the number-one Brewster Bears, the next on Feb. 4 in an upset loss to the struggling Okanogan Bulldogs in Okanogan. At home against the Bears for Senior Night, the Raiders were out of sync to start the game. “We had a tough night trying to get our offense started,” Head Coach Mario Adams said. “We were not ourselves this night, which is unfortunate playing against a top team as Brewster.” The Bears jumped out early and stayed...

  • Ladies finish season with a split

    John R McNeil II|Feb 10, 2016

    The Lady Raiders won a close game Feb. 2 at home against Brewster, then lost big to the number-one Okanogan Bulldogs on Thursday night. The split left the Lady Raiders with an overall win-loss record of 13-6 and a league record of 11-3. With the tiebreaker that was decided before the season, the Lady Raiders are the number-three seed from the North to the coming District 5/6 2B Basketball Tournament. Feb. 2, at home for Senior Night the Lady Raiders had to fight hard from the tipoff to the end of the game. Brewster grabbed a large lead at the...

  • Wrestling ready for Districts

    John R McNeil II|Feb 3, 2016

    Raider Wrestling finished up the regular season at home Saturday with the Central Washington South mixer, as seven Lake Roosevelt wrestlers won matches, with 11 pins and two decisions by points against five other teams. LR competed against White Swan, Riverside Christian, Kittitas, Warden, and Mabton to decide seeding for the district tourney. In the 43 matches contested, the Raiders wrestled 15. Kaleb Horn at 106 pounds, Jacob Smith at 113, Tony Nichols and Trevor Circle at 132 won all the...

  • Raiders keep on rolling

    John R McNeil II|Feb 3, 2016

    Raider Boys Basketball travelled to Manson and Tonasket last week and continued to win. With the wins the Raiders are one step closer to sealing up second in the North. Now Lake Roosevelt needs to come away with a win this week to secure the number-two seed from the North and face Kittitas in Eastmont Middle School starting at 6:45 p.m. Feb. 10 for the first round of the district tournament. At Manson Jan. 26, the Raiders did not allow the Trojans the opportunity to upset them. LR took control of the game and came away with a 29-point win,...

  • Lady Raiders extend win streak to six

    John R McNeil II|Feb 3, 2016

    The Lady Raiders defeated two teams to propel themselves toward the top of their league last week. The Lake Roosevelt girls are looking to be either the number-two or -three seed from the North into the district tournament coming up at Eastmont. At Manson on Jan. 26, the Lady Raiders were able to pull ahead and stay ahead. The Trojans did not come back into it, yielding a final win for LR, 49-24. Then on the Friday in Tonasket, the Lady Raiders faced a Tonasket squad looking to end a losing streak. LR and Tonasket went back and forth, but the...

  • Raiders retain 10-5 overall

    John R McNeil II|Jan 27, 2016

    LR Boys Basketball improved their overall win-loss record to 10-5 after winning two of the three games last week. The Raiders lost in double overtime to Oroville at home Jan. 19 after leading by as much as 15 points over the Hornets. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 56. In the first overtime, both teams took turns leading until they finished OT at 63 all. In the second overtime, Oroville got hot and scored 18 points to Lake Roosevelt's nine to gain the victory with a final score...

  • Lady Raiders get their groove back with four-game win streak

    John R McNeil II|Jan 27, 2016

    The Lady Raiders won all of three of their games last week, increasing their present win streak to four in a row. "We have played some decent ball with some of the changes we are making at this time," Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said, "things we feel have helped us get our groove back. We're not scoring a bunch of points, but we are playing together a lot better, which has led to improved play all around." In the first contest of the week, Lake Roosevelt took on the Hornets of Oroville at home...

  • Wrestlers gear up for postseason

    John R McNeil II|Jan 27, 2016

    In two matches last week, Raider wrestlers used wins to warm up for a a mixer they'll host this weekend in Coulee Dam to settle scores, break ties and meet new opponents. At Okanogan Jan. 19, and in the Coyote Classic in Kittitas Jan. 23, Raiders wrestled in the final tuneups for the Central Washington South mixer on Saturday, which is where the coaches will decide the district tournament seeding. At Okanogan, the Raiders wrestled 10 matches, all against the Bulldogs. Five Raiders wrestled two...

  • Raiders continue win streak

    John R McNeil II|Jan 20, 2016

    The Raiders are on a three-game win streak after sweeping their opponents last week. The wins put the Raiders firmly in second place in the Central Washington 2B North with a one-game lead over the Liberty Bell Mountain Lions. LR canceled a game at Pateros Saturday due to weather conditions. On their home court Jan. 12, the Raiders held off the Bulldogs to win for the first time in four years over Okanogan. The Bulldogs could not find a rhythm and the Raiders exploited this for points. In the second half, the Bulldogs did put together a...

  • Jacob Smith continues to win tournaments

    John R McNeil II|Jan 20, 2016

    The only senior wrestler on the Lake Roosevelt team, Jacob Smith, continued to win tournaments as he took the gold at the Sgt. Justin Norton Invitational at Rainier on Saturday. “Jacob Smith … had four pins on his way to the championship,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. Smith took the championship in his weight class in the face of stiff competition among 18 teams. Smith moved down from the 120-pound bracket to wrestle at 113 for the first time this season. He swept the field to take first place, pinning Spillman of Klahowya, Buyas of Chela...

  • Ladies snap losing streak

    John R McNeil II|Jan 20, 2016

    After losing three in a row, the Lady Raiders snapped that skid at Liberty Bell last Thursday, prevailing by one point over the Mountain Lions. “One and one for the week,” pointed out Lady Raiders’ Head Coach Wallace Pleasants, “with a very tough home loss to Okanogan and a good road win against Liberty Bell.” The team lost the chance to improve that record when games scheduled for Saturday at Pateros were canceled due to a winter storm. When Lake Roosevelt hosted Okanogan Jan. 12, the Bulldogs were in the driver’s seat from the opening tip...

  • Raiders in second place in North

    John R McNeil II|Jan 13, 2016

    Raider Boys' Basketball ended a three-game week in second place in the Central Washington 2B North standings with a win over Waterville Saturday. Right now the Raiders' win-loss record stands at 6-4 overall and 4-1 in league play. They are tied with Liberty Bell for second in league standings. Lake Roosevelt made short work of the Tonasket Tigers Jan. 5 in Coulee Dam. The Tigers were never in contention as the Raiders racked up another win, 64-45, over Tonasket. This set up the game Jan. 7 at...

  • Lady Raiders are 6-4 overall for the season

    John R McNeil II|Jan 13, 2016

    The Lady Raiders won one and lost two basketball games last week in the first of two three-game weeks in a row. The Lady Raiders defeated Tonasket at home on Jan. 5 by the final score of 51-39, which improved Lake Roosevelt's league win-loss record to 4-0. Then on Thursday LR traveled to Brewster to take on the number-three Lady Bears, who were looking to come back from a 40-point loss to Okanogan. LR stayed in the game, but the Lady Bears built too much of a lead for LR to overcome. Brewster...

  • Wrestlers bring home two gold medals

    John R McNeil II|Jan 13, 2016

    Of the seven wrestlers Lake Roosevelt sent to the Charger Invite in Springdale Saturday, four placed at the tourney, including two who came home with weight bracket gold medals for first place. As a team, LR finished fourth overall, with 91 points. “We continue to show improvement every time we compete,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. “Saturday was a great day of wrestling. … We saw wrestlers from nine schools that we hadn’t already competed against this season.” At 120 pounds, Jacob Smith scored some solid wins enroute to his fifth tournament...

  • Wrestlers grapple at two tournaments

    John R McNeil II|Jan 6, 2016

    Raider wrestlers took part in two tournaments over the holiday break, with all Raiders placing in their nine-school home tourney, and several winning or placing against 14 teams in Warden. Lake Roosevelt hosted the 13th annual Powerhouse Tournament Dec. 29 at Gailord Nelson Gym, where nine of the eleven teams invited traveled to Coulee Dam to take part. Selkirk and Warden did not show. Okanogan took first overall in team points. LR finished fourth behind Omak and Rainier. All seven Raiders who w...

  • Raiders win one, lose two

    John R McNeil II|Jan 6, 2016

    The Raider boys over the holidays won a league basketball game and competed strongly against larger schools in the Eagle Holiday Classic at West Valley High School. At home against Manson, the Raiders won the league game Dec. 18, defeating the Trojans 58-39. “We learned a lot in this game,” Raider Head Coach Mario Adams said, “and that was to make sure every possession was run perfectly with our new offense and playing scrappy defense.” He said the Manson Trojans played determined and were well coached, but a turning point came in the third qua...

  • Ladies win two

    John R McNeil II|Jan 6, 2016

    The Lady Raiders won two of the three basketball games they played over the holiday break. The first, at home against the Manson Trojans Dec. 18, was a 52-32 victory. LR took the momentum of that win into the week of practice that preceded the Eagle Holiday Classic at West Valley of Spokane Dec. 28-29. In the first game of the tournament, the Lady Raiders took on the Riverside Rams of the Northeast A League. The Rams are experiencing a down year and only scored four points in the first quarter. LR also struggled to score as the halftime score...

  • Raiders slam Mustangs

    John R McNeil II|Dec 23, 2015

    Raider Basketball jumped out early and controlled the game all the way through to the end. The Bridgeport Mustangs were never in the game. Lake Roosevelt jumped out in the first quarter to a 16-4 lead. The Raiders’ offense exploded in the second quarter, scoring 27 points while holding the Mustangs to just seven. At halftime, the score was LR 43, Bridgeport 11. In the third quarter, the game slowed down, and each team scored fewer than 10 points. The score at the end of the third was LR 51, Bridgeport 13. In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs and...

  • Lady Raiders get big win over Fillies

    John R McNeil II|Dec 23, 2015

    The Lady Raiders won with a big margin over the Bridgeport Fillies in a Dec. 16 basketball game, improving their overall win-loss record to 3-1. Lake Roosevelt took control of the game early and never let go of the lead. The final score was LR 60, Bridgeport 20. On Friday, the Lady Raiders were at home to take on the Manson Trojans, who were looking to rebound from their big loss to the Okanogan Bulldogs. The Trojans have won two games by a margin of less than five points. The Star will report details of that game, which occurred after an...

  • Raiders start season 2-1

    John R McNeil II|Dec 16, 2015

    The Raiders boys basketball season started last week with a two-game win streak before losing on Saturday to the Warden Cougars. Lake Roosevelt had defeated the Hornets at Oroville on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 68-65, and two days later took down the Entiat Tigers 76-58 in front of a home crowd in Coulee Dam. With two wins, the Raiders were confident going into the game against the Cougars and showed good effort, according to Raider Head Coach Mario Adams. "Effort-wise, I thought we competed at a high...

  • Ladies open season with wins

    John R McNeil II|Dec 16, 2015

    The Lady Raiders opened their basketball season last week with two wins before losing to Warden at home on Saturday. Two of the first three games were close, with the game decided by only a few points. LR now looks to carry the early momentum into the second week of the season. At Oroville Dec. 8, the Lady Raiders held off the Hornets for a narrow win, 41-38. Then at home against the Tigers of Entiat on Thursday, the Lady Raiders won by a double-digit margin, 45-32. The Warden Cougars came to...

  • Raiders off to good start at Davenport

    John R McNeil II|Dec 9, 2015

    Lake Roosevelt wrestling competed in the first tournament of the season at Davenport Saturday, where the Raiders held their own and impressed the coaches in their first outing. "We had a good start and wrestled well for this early part of the season," Head Coach Steve Hood said. The team had one senior, one sophomore and four freshman wrestling at the tournament. "They all wrestled hard and up to their potential for this point in the season," Hood said, noting his young, light Raiders were 12-7...

  • Seven Raiders named to all-league football squads

    John R McNeil II|Nov 18, 2015

    LR Football finished the season with its best winning percentage since 2004 and its closest to state playoffs since 2003. With these improvements came the greatest number of Raiders at the end of the season named to all-league squads in many years. “Our football team started the year in June with one goal and two expectations,” Head Coach Geary Oliver said. “Our goal was to compete to the final buzzer in every game, and our expectations were to have fun and self-respect.” Oliver attributes the high number of all-league selections to the players...

  • Three Lady Raiders named to all-league squads

    John R McNeil II|Nov 18, 2015

    Sean Garvin, Jocelyn Moore, and Kayley Duclos were all named to the Central Washington 2B North All League Volleyball Squads last week. Garvin was named to the first team by the league’s coaches, while Moore and Duclos earned an honorable mention. “All three girls that were nominated for all-league were consistently my stat leaders throughout the season,” Head Coach Kasey Garvin said. “I’m proud that (Sean) received a first-team honor again this year,” Coach Garvin said. “She puts in a lot of time in the off-season, and the league coache...

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