St. Helens High School volleyball – Taylor Albertson

Congratulations to St. Helens High School for winning the 2014 5A Oregon State Volleyball Title today. Ashland High School lost to St. Helens just last week when I took this photo. Taylor Albertson was the star on that night for St. Helens, and the same was true today. She had 26 kills and 8 blocks in just four sets today. Her stats were probably similar against Ashland.

Some things to consider…

What if all of Ashland’s wins in tournaments had counted instead of just all of their losses? What if the state rankings were done based on complete data? What if Ashland’s wins against higher ranked teams meant something in the rankings? Instead, Ashland was stuck with a poor seed which meant the Grizzlies had to play the eventual state champion on the road in the single-elimination round of 16.

Ashland beat (on the road) teams that eventually came in 3rd, 4th, and 6th in the state. Ashland also beat Crater at home (and Crater will end up with a Top 8 ranking). Ashland never played the teams that came in 2nd and 5th.

So maybe Ashland would have finished near the top had they been given a fairer chance. Oh well; there’s always next year.

November 8th, 2014 | Tags: Nikon 85mm f/1.8 g lens, Nikon D750, sports photography, volleyball | Category: outside of ashland, people | Comments Off on Taylor Albertson leads St. Helens to state title

SOU football – Joseph Lealofi

@SOU_Football @SOURaiders

The Raiders won their 9th game of the season, tying their previous record of most wins. They still have a regular-season game to go (and hopefully four post-season games after that). Lealofi picked up a fumble and ran with it for a touchdown in today’s victory.

November 8th, 2014 | Tags: football, JOSEPH LEALOFI, Nikon 300mm f/4.0D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor Lens, Nikon D600, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography | Category: people | Comments Off on Southern Oregon 45, Montana Tech 33

Ashland High School soccer keeper Tejas Leie Heyden

Thanks, in large part, to a heroic effort from Tejas this past Wednesday night, the Grizzlies will be playing again today in Woodburn. The AHS goalie held Liberty scoreless through regulation and two OTs. To top it off, he block two of their first four penalty kicks to send Ashland on to the next round of the Oregon state playoffs.

November 8th, 2014 | Tags: ashland high school, Nikon D750, soccer, sports photography, Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Nikon | Category: only in ashland, people | Comments Off on OSAA 5A Boys Soccer Quarterfinals

SOU volleyball – Paulla Pinheiro

@SOURaiders @RaiderVB @paulla_op

Tonight’s come-from-behind victory against 3rd place Concordia had a familiar feel to it. The Raiders were down 2 games to 1 after getting hammered in the third set by Eastern Oregon University a little over a month ago. The same thing happened earlier this evening. With a flair for the dramatic, they came roaring back this time too for a five-set nail biter.

A win Saturday night (in Ashland @ 5 p.m.) means a bye in the first round of the Cascade Conference playoffs next week.

November 8th, 2014 | Tags: Nikon 85mm f/1.8 g lens, Nikon D750, paulla pinheiro, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography, volleyball | Category: only in ashland, people | Comments Off on Raiders win!

Southern Oregon University wrestlers Brock Gutches and Max Hane

@SOUWrestling

#2 SOU faces off against #10 Menlo following the volleyball game. Brock Gutches is ranked #1 in the country. The excitement may come at the end of the evening when two, Top-5 heavyweights (Scott Brasil and Clayton Burtis) go at it.

November 7th, 2014 | Tags: brock gutches, Nikon 85mm f/1.8 g lens, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography, wrestling | Category: only in ashland, people | Comments Off on SOU wrestling tonight

Ashland High School volleyball – Jordan Tilley

@JordanTilley505

Congratulations to Jordan Tilley and Hope Baldrica for being chosen all-league in their final year at Ashland High School. Hope will be playing volleyball at Colorado Christian University next year.

November 7th, 2014 | Tags: ashland high school, Nikon 85mm f/1.8 g lens, Nikon D750, sports photography, volleyball | Category: only in ashland, people | Comments Off on 2014 Class 5A Midwestern League girls volleyball all-league selections

SOU volleyball – Championship weekend

November 7th, 2014 | Tags: Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography, volleyball | Category: only in ashland, people | Comments Off on Southern Oregon University volleyball tonight and tomorrow night

Pilot Rock from Soda Mountain

Today’s photo shows a different side of Pilot Rock. The view of Pilot Rock from Ashland or I-5 heading north from California are the more common vantage points. Today’s photo is from the east. We hiked a few miles from the Hobart Peak trail head on Soda Mountain Road to the Soda Mountain lookout last month. There is also a 9-mile trail on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from near this location to Pilot Rock.

November 6th, 2014 | Tags: hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, pilot rock, soda mountain | Category: nature, outside of ashland | Comments Off on Pilot Rock from Soda Mountain

Patty Griffin crowd at a “Live at the Armory” show (Ashland, Oregon)

@LiveAtTheArmory

More shows at the Historic Ashland Armory are coming up. Check out the calendar here.

November 5th, 2014 | Tags: AF-S Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED lens, concert photography, Historic Ashland Armory, national register of historic places, Nikon D750 | Category: only in ashland, people, places | Comments Off on Live at the Armory