In The News: Newberg honors its best coaches, athletes

Written by: Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic 

Gaby Aihara and Chase Pothier bring home Most Outstanding Senior Athlete awards from annual sports banquet

Volleyball star Gaby Aihara and three-sport standout Chase Pothier took home the headline awards as Newberg High School’s most outstanding senior athletes for 2016, but in many ways this year’s all-sports banquet was about recognizing those who work behind the scenes and often go unnoticed.

Athletic director Tim Burke said the school’s group of head coaches really pushed to recognize assistant coaches this year, so he felt it was fitting that three were honored at the annual awards ceremony June 1 at the high school.

Newberg not only handed out an assistant coach of the year award for the first time, recognizing longtime wrestling coach Dave Barich, but also honored assistants Lee Curry and Keith Marshall with the OSAA Award of Excellence, which is designated for individuals who demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship, ethics and integrity.

Barich is retiring after 40 years with the wrestling program, during which time he has not only helped lead the middle school program, but served as the de facto equipment manager, video coordinator and records keeper for the high school program and Newberg Mat Club.

In presenting the award, head coach Neil Russo also credited Barich for being his personal psychologist and counselor, sounding board, filter and voice of reason over the years.

“He was my mentor in many, many ways, but most of all a tremendous friend,” Russo said. “The award says ‘2016 Assistant Coach of the Year,’ but this is long overdue. This award reflects a lifetime of service to Newberg wrestling, the Newberg athletic program and the entire Newberg community.”

Although their tenures don’t extend as far back as Barich’s, Curry, who assists with both boys and girls lacrosse, and Marshall, who is the right-hand man for both cross-country head coach Bruce Sinkbeil and head track coach Brandon Ramey, have been performing many of the same functions for their teams in recent years.

Curry is a staple of the lacrosse programs, often spending four hours a day on the practice field during the season and countless more supervising conditioning sessions or attending parent meetings in the offseason, leading Burke to call him a “true ambassador for the sport of lacrosse.”

“Lee is someone that exemplifies everything that not only our programs want to be, but NHS wants our students to be,” Burke said at the event. “Whenever students are having trouble off the field Lee is the first coach that asks to sit down with them and talk about the issues at hand and what the student can do to solve the problem.” 

Marshall has been running the show at Newberg track meets for years and Burke credited him for almost single-handedly creating and putting together the school’s first-ever invitational meet, the Chehalem Track and Field Classic, this spring. He also oversaw entries and placements when the Tigers hosted the district track meet and has stepped up to be the announcer at the district cross-country meet for years simply because no one else seemed willing to do it.

“These are all things other coaches shy away from, but Keith gladly accepts,” Ramey wrote in his nomination. “There is no way our program could achieve without his commitment and dedication, and I’m positive I couldn’t be the coach I am without him.” 

In naming her 2016 Head Coach of the Year, Burke also noted that it is long overdue that cheerleading coach Lisa Berg receive the respect and recognition she is due, not only for her team’s success on the mat, but its tireless efforts to support other sports programs and the community as a whole.

“Carolyn started all of that and Lisa kept some of that support system in place and that service to community in place, then honed in on the competitive cheer,” Burke said. “How can you argue with four consecutive state titles and three national titles? She’s a first-class lady and it’s about time.”

In presenting the Carolyn DeCrevel Award for character and citizenship, head water polo coach Jim McMaster noted that Claire Boenisch was never the star on his teams, but always put the team’s needs above her own.

“I felt really honored,” Boenisch said. “It was really cool to see that he had noticed things I had done and worked for. Things I didn’t even realize I was doing he took notice of. That was a really cool moment.”

Devin Russo, a pillar on the football and wrestling teams the past two seasons, was the male recipient of the DeCrevel Award. He was lauded for his leadership skills and plans to wrestle at Southwestern Oregon Community College before transferring to Oregon State to pursue a career in education and coaching.

“We talked before the awards ceremony and the first time she met me I was a month old at the district wrestling tournament wrapped up with my mom,” Russo said of DeCrevel. “I’ve been around sports in this town for a long time and I’ve always had so much respect for what she’s done, so it’s nice to be honored with the same respect that she has with her name. I feel some of that is coming down to me.”

Aihara, who became Newberg’s first-ever first-team all-state volleyball selection as a senior and will compete for Central Washington University next year, found it a bit surreal to be called on stage as the female Most Outstanding Senior Athlete after attending the awards event for years.

“I’ve always wanted to win one of these awards, ever since I was a freshman,” Aihara said. “It’s shocking and definitely humbling to actually do it now.”

Pothier, who was named Three Rivers League Lineman of the Year and honorable mention all-state in wrestling as a senior, was also caught a bit off guard by his award, but was proud that his hard work paid off in the end.

He earned nine varsity letters during his career and was one of eight seniors — along with Jacqueline Baca, Jay Byers, Ben Fox, Hayley Hensley, Jakob Holter, Caleb Rauch and Abby Reohr — honored for participating in a sport in every season for all four years at NHS.

Baca and Reohr were also joined by Jacob Krebs and Megan Tarmichael as recipients of $1,000 scholarships furnished by the NHS Booster Club.