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JUL/AUG 2019
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NEWS|
WOODWARD WRECKTANGLE
OPENS IN BEND
The Woodward Wrecktangle is an outdoor, ninja-style obstacle course built for kids and
adults and designed with an edge only Woodward can create. Serving up ten unique
and fun-filled obstacles, it’s impossible not to have the best time ever as you’re compet-
ing with your friends to
make it through. Progres-
sive course options allow
participants to choose their
own route to match their
ability level and improve
with each run. Use skill,
strength, creativity, and
determination to com-
plete the entire challenge.
Wrecktangle is open seven
days a week at the Old
Mill.
SENIOR RUNNER BRUCE ANDERS
BATTLES BACK FROM SERIOUS
INJURY, PLACES 2ND AT NATIONALS
P: David J. Hood
Three years ago, both of Bruce’s Achilles tendons
snapped almost simultaneously. Even as a person who
has broken lots of body parts in various accidents
and bad decisions, it was the most sickening feeling.
Bruce had two surgeries, one on the left, immobilized
for months, and then on the right, again immobilized.
His goal was to be recovered enough to get back
on a track and compete in the 2018 Oregon Senior
Games. Each state has biennial Senior Games where
50+ athletes converge from every corner to compete
in a host of sports. On 50 tracks across the country in
June 2018, ex-Olympians, ex-Division I and II college
athletes, and recreational beasts all would convene,
gunning for a podium spot, which would earn them
the right to represent their state and compete at the
2019 National Senior Games the following summer in
Albuquerque.
Bruce felt barely ready to compete in the Oregon Games by June. Amazingly he won
the 400 and 800 meter races. Not only had he achieved a monumental goal, but he had
earned the right to join Team Oregon at the US National Senior Games competition in
Albuquerque in June 2019. Bruce placed second in the 400 meters with a state record
58.40 seconds.
From the moment he entered the care system, he was encouraged, challenged, beaten
down, built back up, and eventually, rehabilitated to the point where he could run competi-
tively in the sport that has sustained him all of these years. Bruce cannot thank enough
the caregivers who empowered him to strive and heal.
UPPER DESCHUTES WATERSHED
COUNCIL HOSTS RIVER CLEAN UP
River Clean Up is hosted by Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and is on July 27th.
There are two events planned for this year. One is PADI’s Women’s Dive Day Elk Lake
Clean Up on July 20th, 2019 and the other is the River Clean Up on July 27th.
PADI’s Women Dive Day Elk Lake Clean Up is an annual clean up in July at Elk Lake in
their main day use area. This event is open to any certified diver.
The River Clean Up is hosted by Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and is on July 27th.
Last year there were 28 divers in the water with divers starting at Bill Healy Memorial
Bridge and getting out by Tumalo Creek Kayak Shop, they pulled out roughly 2000 lbs of
trash! A customer requested they look for a wedding ring in a specific section of the river
and one of the divers actually found the ring. If people want to help, the council is looking
for additional help.
WOODWARD MOUNTAIN PARKS,
THREE NEW LIFTS, RENOVATED
SUNRISE LODGE, MORE PARKING
COMING FOR 2019-2020 SEASON
Woodward Mountain Park,
a thoughtfully planned
and animated network
of Woodward-designed
featured terrain zones that
leverage the unique terrain
and flow of each mountain
and offer a fun and intuitive
on-mountain experience, is
coming to Mt. Bachelor this
winter!
On the heels of bringing
the Woodward Wrecktan-
gle to Bend this summer,
Woodward Mountain Parks
are also an extension
of Woodward, an experiential action sports company owned by POWDR along with Mt.
Bachelor, and are built to empower and inspire the next generation of action sports and
stoke the passions of the most passionate athletes.
The Mt. Bachelor Woodward Mountain Park will consist of different themed on-mountain
experiences that vary in difficulty, include featured terrain offerings, and focus on inclusiv-
ity and creativity, therefore welcoming guests of all ages and abilities. The Mountain Park
will have a base area learning zone and the park will work its way down the mountain
through artfully constructed routes. You can choose your own adventure and set your own
pace based on skill level or interest level.
As conditions allow, the Mt. Bachelor Woodward Mountain Park will be open every day, to
all guests and is included in the price of your regular lift ticket or season pass.
For the 2019-20 season, along with Woodward Mountain Park also comes expanded
learning terrain served by three new lifts, significant updates to Sunrise lodge, and
improvements to parking and guest access to the mountain which will make it easier to
enjoy winter adventure at Mt. Bachelor. Check our Facebook page and follow @mtbach-
elor on Instagram or @mtbachelor on Twitter for details
CHRIS HORNOR JOINS NBC AS
COMMENTATOR FOR TOUR DE
FRANCE
Chris Horner, the only American Grand Tour Cham-
pion of the last 29 years, will make his Tour de
France commentary debut with NBC Sports next
month. Horner, who became the oldest Grand Tour
winner at the 2013 Vuelta a España at age 41, will
be part of NBC Sports’ traveling studio coverage
of the Tour de France, hosted by Paul Burmeister,
with retired American cyclist Christian Vande Velde
reprising his role. Bob Roll will move from the
studio to call the action with Phil Liggett for the
Tour that starts July 6. Liggett’s longtime partner,
Paul Sherwen, died Dec. 2 at age 62 after being
involved in 40 Tours de France.
Horner made his NBC Sports commentary debut
for Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 28.
Horner, a 2012 Olympian, competed in seven
Tours with a best finish of ninth in 2010. His
Grand Tour career ended at the 2014 Tour, but he
still rides, having done the Cascade Classic in his
native Oregon three weeks ago.
BRIMSTONE BOULDERS CLIMBING
GYM TO OPEN IN HOOD RIVER JD PLATT CONTINUES INNOVATION
BY RE THINKING SUP
Hood River finally gets the climbing
gym they deserve. Brimstone Boulders
will be located at 616 State Street.
The church is under renovation and
will soon house the gym in the historic
Asbury M.E. Church, originally built in
1896. JD Platt is always thinking about how to
improve fun. His whole adult life has been
about having fun and bringing others
along for the ride. JD took his athletic
skills and style from the breakdance
floor to the ski slopes as a racer. Once
snowboarding caught his eye he never
turned back. As he continued to progress
the sport with others he came up with
his own trick, the “Lean Dracula”. After a
sixteen year career as a pro snowboarder,
JD was looking to reinvent himself again.
JD grew up with dogs and loved being
around them. His next move was to build
an entertainment company based on
athletic dogs, The K9 Kings Flying Dog
Show was born. To this day JD entertains
crowds all over the US and often can be seen in the Central Oregon area.
Climbers, founders, and visionaries
Conor Byrne and Jen Altschul are the
team behind the new facility. Conor
started climbing in college at Central
Washington University, while he earned
a degree in flight technology. He never
turns down a trip to Smith, Yosemite
or City of Rocks, but when he’s not
climbing, Conor flies small, fixed-wing
airplanes, teaches other people to fly,
skis, and mountain bikes.
Jen started climbing and skiing at age
ten when a femur fracture meant she
couldn’t run, or play soccer or basket-
ball. Jen competed as a member of
Stoneworks Junior Climbing Team through middle school and high school, then launched
a nine month climbing road trip around the states out of the back of an ‘88 Volvo wagon.
Jen moved to Seattle to wrap up a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing, then stayed
in the big city another six years to work as a producer for The Dirtbag Diaries podcast
Finally, she lured Conor to Hood River to start a climbing gym.
The new gym will open in the Fall of 2019 and will be a bouldering only gym. The gym will
have plenty of kids programs after school, summer camps, birthday parties, and a youth
climbing team. There will be a small assortment of traditional fitness equipment (cardio
machines and weights), yoga classes and aerial classes with Arwen Ungar of Empowered
Movement Aerial.
“Looking to have fun” and keep his fitness up JD started paddleboarding. Sure enough as
JD got more into paddleboarding the ideas started to flow. JD went for it, and started JD
SUP three years ago with the intention of innovation from the get go. First, he decided on
all inflatable boards. He designed a dog “paw perch” so that dogs or kids have some-
thing to grab onto and sit higher for a better view. The board models consist of K9 Tour,
Expedition, Freestyle, and Yoga. Other unique features include retractable fins, ergonomic
shapes for functionality to paddle however you please, core technology for high wear-
resistance, and fusion technology for lightweight boards. Now, the innovation continues,
bringing people together on the water with the one and only connection system of its
kind. Great for yoga class, the connection system keeps the boards connected and stable.
The system can actually let two people paddle together attaching two or more boards
together. All these products are available at: jdsup.com or @jdsup on Instagram.
ALEX MARTIN COLLEGE OF IDAHO
TYLER JONES 2018-19 GREAT NORTH- SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
WEST ATHLETIC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE
OF THE YEAR
Tyler Jones spent his Western Oregon career as a key player on some of the Wolves’
biggest successes in cross country and track and field over the last four years. The
senior from Bend, was a success both on the track and in the classroom. Conference
athletic directors have recognized that combination with the selection of Jones as the
2018-19 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Jones is the first Western Oregon student-athlete to be selected to receive one of the
conference’s top honors for student-athletes and it is the latest award for an athlete
who will graduate in June with a 4.00 cumulative GPA as a double major in business
and mathematics. A Second Team Academic All-American in 2018, Jones stands a solid
chance of repeating that honor when the 2019 team is announced on June 26.
Jones earned all-conference honors by placing fifth with a time of 24:53.0 over 8,000
meters on his home course at the Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon. Two
weeks later, Jones earned All-West Region honors with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA
West Region Championships in Billings, Montana. With a time of 31:12.85 over 10,000
meters, Jones was one of six GNAC athletes to place in the top-10.
The placing at regionals earned Jones an individual berth to the NCAA Division II Cross
Country Championships. He went on to place 60th with a time of 33:56.8, which ranked
fifth among GNAC competitors in the race. On the track, Jones was a point-scorer for
the team in both conference meets. He finished seventh in the mile at the GNAC Indoor
Track and Field Championships, clocking a time of 4:19.69. He advanced to the NCAA
Championships as a member of the Wolves’ distance medley relay team, which finished
in ninth place.
In addition to being just the first Western Oregon student-athlete to be named GNAC
Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Jones is the fifth cross country or track and field athlete to
be named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Bend’s Alex Martin is College of Idaho Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2018 NAIA
Cross Country season, as announced on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross
Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
On the track, he recorded his third All-America honor of the season, placing fourth in
the finals of the 5,000-meters to lead the College of Idaho on the final day of the NAIA
Men’s Track and Field National Championships. Martin, a Junior, was in the lead pack
throughout the race, finishing with a season-best time of 14:45.67 – adding his first
outdoor track All-America honor to a pair of cross country and an indoor accolade.
Martin finished fifth at the NAIA XC Championships this past November. It was a strong
season for Martin as he also finished third at the Cascade Conference Championships
and fourth at the William Jessup Warrior Invitational.