![MORE THAN A GAME. With two diving catches in the outfield, the Lions showed up defensively, aiding in their victory over the Pacers. One catch was made by Atwood, and the other by McGraw. Throughout the game, the Lions knew that it wasn’t just about their victory today. “I think [playing for cancer] makes it bigger than just a game,” McGraw said. “Knowing that you have a bigger impact in this world than just who you are as one person.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/I70A1454-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Students in the National Art Honor Society work on the Mount Hood mural on the window of SouthLake Church. The students brought a variety of paints and mixed their own custom colors. “Instead of brushstrokes, we’re doing more dabbing, because it gives [a] better impression of tree foliage, rather than looking like actual brush strokes, because if we’re painting trees, we need it to look like trees,” Crawford said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_2397-1200x900.jpg)
*WEB CONTINUATION: This article originally appeared in Volume 106 Issue 1 of our news magazine, Amplifier.
After the last standing football team is crowned the state champions, after the final round of soccer playoffs are over, after the last cross country course has been cleared, and the last set of volleyball has been scored, the high school winter sports season will finally arrive in schools across the state. This season will bring basketball, swimming, wrestling, and skiing back into the lives of student athletes.
Ski team
For skiers such as Chloe Oswald, senior, the new season means nights spent in the gym, weekends spent on the mountain, competing with her team, and pushing her limits.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, you can find the West Linn High School ski team in the weight room and on the track for conditioning. Once the weekend arrives, Oswald and the team make the journey up to Timberline Lodge, located on Mount Hood, for practice and race days.
“Friday nights, I will leave school a little bit early. I get out at 2:30, go home, get all my stuff, pack my skis in my car, my bag, and head up to Timberline,” Oswald said.
For an experienced skier such as Oswald, trips to the mountain are nothing new.
“I’ve been skiing since I was two and a half,” Oswald said. “I’d ski between my dad’s legs, he’d hold me and push me down the mountain.”
Basketball
In second grade, Kyla Buse, junior, followed in her parents’ footsteps and began playing basketball in second grade.
“I started playing because my mom told me she was going to coach, and so I played mini hoopers and rec,” Buse said.
Buse is currently experiencing tendinitis in both of her knees, but in preparation for the season, Buse and her team do open gyms and weightlifting at least twice a week, as well as sessions with their coaches.
The first events of the basketball season, such as open gyms and tryouts, are set to occur throughout the month of November.
“I’m looking forward to all the fun memories I get to make [this season],” Buse said.
Swim
For swimmer Emi Uchishiba-Hall, senior, the swim season means focusing on time management.
“I am trying to get my schedule cleared up to be able to focus on swim while also trying to stay in shape for [the] high school season,” Uchishiba-Hall said.
Balancing school, extracurricular activities, and sports can be a challenge for her. Luckily, Uchishiba-Hall has been swimming competitively for 13 years.
“I advanced quickly in my swim lessons when I was four [years old],” Uchishiba-Hall said. “So my instructor recruited me to be on her swim team.”
Last year, the team went into their district meet undefeated, going 6—0 following a win against Oregon City.
Entering her senior year, Uchishiba-Hall is ready to make the most of this swim season.
“I am looking forward to making memories with my friends and experiencing my senior season,” Uchishiba-Hall said.
