01.10.2012 - The Owls Are Floored
Demolition began the evening of December 10th with final installation of the project on December 23rd. The Oregon Tech women played the first game on the new surface on December 27th. (photos by Kelly Caleb)  |
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — It had been run-down, neglected and, in the words of many, a “hazard” and an "eyesore."
Danny Miles Court was replaced during Christmas break, providing a sparkling new venue for Oregon Tech athletes, its students and the children in the community to shoot hoops, play volleyball, practice the many other sports of the University and just stay active.
Crews began working at Danny Miles Court immediately following Oregon Tech’s men’s basketball game versus Johnson & Wales on December 10th. Crews wrapped up two days before Christmas and the Oregon Tech women broke in the new surface with a 77-50 win versus La Sierra on December 27th.
The old floor was used for more than 35 years and Broken boards, patched areas, nails popping through, cracked finish and tape that covered holes was common, and in just 13-days was swapped for a new surface.
The OIT Baseball team provided much of the labor to remove the old floor and Bogatay Construction served as the general contractor and provided the skilled labor for the project. Quality Electric added services to the project, as did Basin Telecom in updating the wiring, while Jim Bellet provided the equipment to remove the old flooring materials
The goal, in just four months beginning in June, was to raise money to purchase and install a portable floor for $150,000, rather than replace the existing one which would cost well over $500,000. It included cost of the floor, shipping and installation. The actual costs of the project ended up being $175,000 and the difference was raised through the campaign.
"This new floor is as good a small-college basketball venue as there is in the United States," Head men’s basketball coach Dan Miles said. "The old floor was probably the worst jumping floor in the (Cascade Collegiate Conference), and this state-of-the -art floor is as good as it gets." The floor was designed by Connor Sports Flooring and was installed as a permanent portable floor.
A dedication ceremony for the new court was held on Friday, January 6th 2012 thanks to community institutions, corporations and individual donations from those around the Klamath Basin. Russ McMahon, Director of Athletic Development at Oregon Tech, along with 1,000 Win Committee chairman, Mike Moore, spearheaded the effort to see the project came to fruition. Director of Athletics, Michael Schell, said, ”Without this leadership along with support from the Oregon Tech Foundation this would not have been possible in such a short time frame.”
McMahon added “This campaign turned into a community wide party of sorts. Donors old and new flocked to the campaign with both their time and money.”
The 1,000 Win Committee, made up of a small group of donors, was the core work group for the Floor the Owls campaign and was considered instrumental in the success of the campaign. The Oregon Tech Foundation provided the lead gift that allowed the floor to be secured.
11.15.2011 - 21 Earn Academic All-Conference Recognition
PORTLAND, Ore. – 21 Oregon Tech athletes in the fall sports of volleyball, cross country and men’s and women’s soccer earned Academic All-CCC honors for their performances on the field of play and in the classroom, the conference office announced.
To earn recognition as a CCC scholar-athlete, a student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 and sophomore standing.
Jessica Bath Cross Country Health Sciences
Marie Baumann Volleyball Accounting
Gerald Davis Cross Country Mechanical Engineering
Michael Eagle Men's Soccer Civil Engineering
Kaiulani Evans-Batista Volleyball Psychology
Tracy Filley Volleyball Nursing
Loren Jessen Men's Soccer Renewable Energy Engineering
Melanie Johnson Women's Soccer Management
Brandi King Women's Soccer Nuclear Medicine Technology
Stephan Mathews Men's Soccer Pre-Renewable Energy Engineering
Amanda McMillan Cross Country Psychology
James Merkley Men's Soccer Applied Psychology
Brendon Minor Cross Country CSET (Hardware & Software)
Melinda Nalder Volleyball Dental Hygiene
Lauren Renie Cross Country Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Gabriel Rennels Women's Soccer Pre-Nursing
Hayley Smith Women's Soccer Applied Psychology
Amanda Snyder Women's Soccer Biology
Sarah Svedin Volleyball Biology/Pre-Med
Katherine Waugh Cross Country Nursing
Kayleigh Whelchel Volleyball Pre-MIT
11.14.2011 - Oregon Tech’s Parnell Earns CCC First Team Award, Svedin Honorable Mention
Joey Parnell earned first-team all-conference honors  |
PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon Tech senior outside hitter Joey Parnell (Lewiston, Idaho) was named to the volleyball all-conference first-team, while senior setter Sarah Svedin earned honorable mention accolades, the league office announced today.
Parnell led the Owls in kills, aces and finished 2nd in digs per set. In the Cascade Collegiate Conference Parnell ranked 2nd in the conference at 3.57 kills per set, 1st in the CCC with .59 aces/set and 15th in digs (2.83/set).
Svedin, meanwhile, ranked 5th in the CCC with 8.19 assists/set and was 3rd in aces (.43/set).
Senior setter Sarah Svedin was an HM all-conference selection for the Owls in 2011.  |
College of Idaho’s Whitney Brigham, the Yotes defensive specialist/libero, claimed this year’s Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year honor. Known for being a player on the floor that an opposing attacker just could not hit toward, Brigham was also named the CCC’s Defensive Specialist/Libero of the Year for the third consecutive year. The Caldwell, Idaho native averaged 6.2 digs per set during the regular season.
Eastern Oregon’s Rebecca Haight picked up the league’s Newcomer of the Year of the Year award. Haight, a junior outside hitter from Longview, Wash., finished the regular-season third in the conference with a .318 hitting percentage and third in kills per set with 3.13.
Coach of the Year honors went to Eastern Oregon’s Kaki Morehead. After a year and half absence, Morehead returned to the helm of the Mountaineers after the tragic death of EOU head coach Hailey Pearce during the summer. Morehead led the Mountaineers to a 15-3 conference mark and a third-place finish in the CCC.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Whitney Brigham, Sr., L/DS, College of Idaho
DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST/LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Whitney Brigham, Sr., College of Idaho
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Rebecca Haight, Jr., Eastern Oregon University
COACHES OF THE YEAR: Kaki Morehead, Eastern Oregon University
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name Institution Cl. Hometown
MB Megan Bartling Southern Oregon Sr. Medford, Ore.
L Whitney Brigham College of Idaho Sr. Caldwell, Idaho
L Aubrie Concannon Concordia Sr. Portland, Ore.
OH Breanna Covey Northwest Jr. Arlington, Wash.
OH Rebecca Haight Eastern Oregon Jr. Longview, Wash.
OH Sarah Holgen Southern Oregon Sr. Honolulu, Hawai’i
MH Torrey Hulsey College of Idaho Jr. Sutter, Calif.
MB Tiffany Land Corban Sr. Independence, Ore.
S/Opp Jessica Lea Eastern Oregon Sr. Prineville, Ore.
S Lindsay Mangan Concordia So. Huntington Beach, Ca.
Opp Kylee Nawahine College of Idaho So. Fruitland, Idaho
OH Joey Parnell Oregon Tech Sr. Lewiston, Idaho
L Heather Shulke Northwest Jr. Castle Rock, Wash.
S Kelsey Soos College of Idaho Jr. Santa Ynez, Calif.
HONORABLE MENTION: Ciciley Fox, Sr., College of Idaho; Clair Thiel, Sr., Concordia; Stefani Sorensen, Fr., Eastern Oregon; Dana Clark, So., Northwest Christian; Sarah Stoker, So., Northwest; Sarah Svedin, Sr., Oregon Tech.