With the kickoff of the high school football seasons we're glad to report that Rogue Credit Union is teaming up with Table Rock Sports again this year for the Touchdown Club to support North and South Medford athletics. $10 per touchdown and $3 per 3pt field goal in basketball season. Earning money through athletic achievement! 549C District Athletic Director Fred Kondziela and RCU Community Engagement Manager Benji Fargarson updated us on Tee It Up Southern Oregon on how the funds help the District meet rising costs. And how this promotion fits perfectly with Rogue Credit Union's approach to supporting the communities they serve.
Medford high and U of O graduate Tommy Smith continues to rack up the trophy's on the golf course. After a decade on the professional scene, Tommy is challenging for USGA Senior amateur titles these days from his home in Florida. With his Dad Dane on the bag last week Tommy claimed his third straight Junior Senior title at the Southern Oregon Golf Championship on his old home course at RVCC. We caught up with Tommy Wednesday for a visit and learned his son is a professional caddy on the PGA Tour. Check the interview to learn more!
It was great to welcome Jeff Rodgers back as my Wednesday co-host of Tee It Up Southern Oregon for the fall season ahead. Jeff has brought us some of our top interview guests and came out of the gates with a big one, The Voice of the Ducks Jerry Allen. We talk with Jerry about his Southern Oregon days where his broadcasting career took flight, his 30 years of calling Ducks Football and Basketball, and some great memories along the way. Enjoy!
If you talk 3A high school football in Oregon the conversation starts with the Cascade Christian High School these days. The two time defending State Champion Challengers take a 26 game win streak into as tough a season opener as you could ask for today against Vale. Head Coach Jon Gettman starts his 15th season at the helm after replacing Andy Maurer, who Gettman played for at CC. A clear focus on building good teams and good young men continues on Gettman's watch. Catch our Friday interview from Tee It Up Southern Oregon below and catch the game vs Vale live at tablerocksports.net at 2pm Saturday...and remember it's archived there for you on demand.
Oregon Duck football fans tuning into the radio broadcasts this year will hear an SOU Alum and former Raider football player as the sidelines reporter for Jerry and Jorgy. Dusty Harrah got a start doing Crater football and basketball games with Table Rock Sports and broadcast partner Brian Greig. An internship at 1080 The Fan Sports Radio in Portland got his foot in the door, and a few years later Dusty headlines a 12-3 M-F show with Danny Marang. Even with two media gigs Dusty coaches football at Banks High School with the Braves. A great segment on The Ace this week, check it out to find out how Dusty and Jerry Allen share a Southern Oregon connection. Please us Sept 4 at 1pm on The Ace for our feature interview from Jeff Rodgers with the voice of the Ducks Jerry Allen.
How do you top an undefeated NAIA Women's Wrestling championship campaign that was your third straight NAIA Title in three years? If your SOU Senior to be Carolina Moreno you add the Ad Rutschman Oregon Women's Small College Athlete of the Year award to your collection! The fourth SOU Woman to bring home the award since 2018, Moreno is ramping up her mat schedule as the summer winds down with an NAIA 4 peat in mind.
South Medford Football head coach Bill Singler is suiting up for his 27th season at the helm of the Panthers and is going strong. Bill was a member of the 1969 Medford Black Tornado State Championship team (3 TD catches in the 27-0 win) and a three year starter at Stanford University as a player. His first 18 years of college coaching took him far and wide before returning him to the Rogue Valley with a stint at SOU as OC, and landed at South in 1998 where he put down deep roots. Let's check in on the 2024 Panthers as they get set to open at Lake Oswego Friday. Streaming coverage from Lake O will be live on tablerocksports.net.
High school football openers are here Friday including the season opener for Seth Womack and the Crater Comets. Football has taken Coach Womack literally around the world and now back to the Rogue Valley after a previous stint at Eagle Point. Coach Womack told Kyle Clements and I that he has a great roster and staff in place that hopes to challenge Thurston's grip on the Midwestern League title. And build on a playoff appearance in 2023, a season that closed with some momentum and promise for year two. Catch the Comets game at Marshfield live Friday night on tablerocksports.net.
Match play gets underway Thursday at the 95th Southern Oregon Golf Championship. A full field in all divisions will be showcased with Finals matches Monday. Spectators are welcome all week to come out and watch some great golf and to stick around for the live music, food, and fun with post match parties Wednesday through Saturday. While the tournament is nearly 100 years old it's the first one for RVCC General Manager Rick Shultz. We checked in with Rick Monday as the final details were being put in place!
With the Ducks, Beavers, and High School football teams kicking it off this week fans from Southern Oregon will be making some trips up I-5 North. Golfers on said trips would do themselves well to make time for a stop at Fiddler's Green in Eugene. Some year end bargains can be had, and it's a perfect time to shop for apparel for the wetter months ahead. Owner Al Whalen has the details in our August update.
The Ace was excited to welcome the new Athletic Director at Rogue Community College to the John L Scott studio today. Also entering her sixth season as the founding Coach of the Osprey's Women's Volleyball program Christine has some new challenges ahead but is well equipped to carry the RCC Athletics mission going forward. We learned a lot in our visit with Christine today as you will in our interview segment.
Pickleball in Southern Oregon is featured on Tee It Up Southern Oregon to start out week this Monday, August 19th. Deann Winter and Chelsea Broesder from the So. Oregon Pickleball Association update us on the sports popularity and growth and how the SOPA helps grow the game. And then Jay Campbell, Jeff Lang, Jason Broesder, and Leaf Jensen bring us the players point of view on what led them to Pickleball as an timely option for some former basketball players :)
Tee It Up Southern Oregon Wednesday co-host Jeff Rodgers brought some of our most memorable interviews to the show in our first six months. After our summer hiatus, Jeff returns September 4th with a blockbuster! The Voice of the Ducks Jerry Allen joins live at 1:08pm. We will talk about Jerry's Rogue Valley roots, his fantastic run with Jorgy and the Ducks, and the excitement for the Big 10 challenges ahead. AM 1300, FM 107.9, and streaming live at theacesportsradio.com.
College fall sports seasons open soon for our SOU Athletic teams including Women's Soccer who open at home Thursday August 22nd against Simpson. Head Coach Jenni Rosenberg starts her 11th season at the helm. A former Ashland high soccer player Jenni played for the first Raiders Women's team in 2000 for one season before heading to California, but destiny called her back to Ashland to become the Raiders Head Coach and it's been a perfect match. CCC Champs in 2016, NAIA national tournament appearances and wins. An annual contender now. And prospects for another great season ahead.
Congratulations to Jay Campbell and the Crater A Legion summer baseball team on bringing home the Oregon State Championship and making a strong showing at the NW Regionals in Roseburg last week. Mason Snopl and Tanner Keith are two top pitchers from the 40 game summer schedule just completed and were key in the big games at state and regionals. Solid defensive players and hitters as well, these two will return for Crater in the spring with some great experience gained, and exemplify the depth that was key to Crater's 2024 Legion run.
The call is out for new Football Officials to join the local Rogue Valley Association. With a priority on younger candidates to get in the mix! Commissioner John Campbell stopped by Tee It Up Southern Oregon Monday with details on how to get started and registered through the OSAA and then connect with the Rogue Valley Association to get trained up and into action. The OSAA has raised pay rates for officials making it a great time to look into some part time work between the lines...and help keep the games going for our youth through high school football teams.
A remarkable 2024 track season for NCAA Women's shot put champion Jaida Ross concluded in Paris today with a remarkable 4th place finish in the Olympic Women's Finals. Cheered on by family, friends, and fans at a watch party at Lava Lanes today, Ross opened with a strong 19.28 effort which was good for third place through most of the finals. A Chinese thrower hit 19.32 late to deny Jaida a bronze medal by 4 centimeters. An inch and a half. North Medford Track Coach Piet Voskes saw the athletic potential in Ross as far back as junior high and nudged her to try out track and field. Coach Voskes stopped by The Ace after the finals to shine a light on this rising star on the world stage and what is ahead next year and beyond leading up to the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
WIth another impressive showing by the Mens and Womens USA Swim teams at the Olympics in Paris, perfect timing to check in with our Rogue Rapids and the summer competition schedule. The Ace is excited to introduce you to Bri Chamberland and Alex Titianu who had some standout performances at the State meet recently, and Head Coach Jeremy Gregory updates us on other summer highlights. Jeremy also shares some memories from his opportunity competing in 4 events at the US Olympic Swimming Trials during his competitive days.
A impressive group of high school wrestlers from our area have been taking on other top juniors at regional and national events the past four months. South Medford wrestling is writing some exciting new chapters with Coach James Schumack, and three of his top performers, Bridger Foss, Corbyn Schumack, and Brody Foss all got some great experience at a number of top meets since the high school season ended. They joined us today for an update, right on time with Olympic wrestling getting underway this week.
Early high school football openers are 4 weeks from this Friday August 2. 5 Salem schools combine with North, South, GP, and Sheldon for a new 9 team conference this year. A new OSAA football playoff system this year. It's a lot to get to work on but Kyle Clements and Pete Belcastro got us started today with a visit from North Medford FB Head coach Nathan Chin. Here's a great starting point for our HS Football coverage and get ready to hear from our other HC's in our Ace radio range in the weeks to come.
