Summer Sports Shorts
Oregon golf champ from Keizer finishes well in a national tourney, Ironman in Salem
In the dog days of summer, there are still some sports events to chat about. Here are a pair of items with a decidedly local link.
State golf champ, McNary’s Colby Sullivan, ends big HS tourney in top 20
Colby Sullivan—Oregon’s 2023 6A prep boys golf champion—performed very well in the National High School Invitational July 17-19 at PGA Headquarters in Frisco, Texas.
Sullivan—who played for McNary HS and is headed to Southeastern Louisiana University in the fall— shot rounds of 79-69-73, and finished tied for 19th out of 310 players (5 over par). He was actually ranked 205th in national prep rankings coming into the tournament.
“After my first day (shooting a 79—7 over par), I was in a tie for 139th place,” says Colby.
“My good rounds on the second and third days helped me jump over 100 places into the top 20.”
On hand for the Texas event to support Colby were his McNary coaches Brad Lomax and Nathan Bauer, and his former Celtic teammate Elijah Clendening.
Colby isn’t done with national competition. Sullivan just booked another airline flight, after he received an invitation to play in the USGA Boys Championship at the Daniel Island Golf Club in South Carolina August 24-29. Clendening will join Sullivan, serving as his caddy for the tournament.
Colby says he was surprised by the invitation, and is thrilled about the extra chance to compete against the top golfers in his age group.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity to keep the pedal down and show off some more talent before going off to college.”
Tri-Athletes invade Salem this weekend
If you drive around downtown Salem on Sunday, you will likely encounter the area’s biggest athletic event of the summer.
The third Ironman 70.3 Oregon competition returns with thousands of tri-athletes taking part in the running-biking-swimming event. The competitors will take part in a 1.2 mile swim down the Willamette River, a grueling 56 mile bike ride running from South River Road to the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge in south Marion County, and a 13.1 (half marathon) run that meanders through Brown Island Park and over the Peter Courtney-Minto Island bridge.
The Ironman event isn’t the only one attracting thousands of people. The annual Salem Art Fair & Festival—celebrating this 74th year—is also being held over the weekend, taking up considerable space in Bush’s Pasture Park. The two happenings will be interfering with the normal flow of car traffic all over the city.
For the Ironman, there will be lane closures all along Front Street and segments of Commercial Street, especially south of Trade Street. The biking event will involve a winding route that starts at Riverfront Park, with turns onto Commercial Street, Mission Street, Saginaw Street, Owens Street and South River Road… eventually making its way to the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge—and back.
Residents along the race course have received warnings about the impact of the event on their neighborhoods. Those attending the race have been directed to the city of Salem’s website (cityofsalem.net) and their parking link for places to find free parking options locally.
Attendees can also meet at Riverfront Park, but cannot use the Riverfront bridge into Minto Brown Park—as it will be closed to all but the competitors in the run.
Motorists are being encouraged to use 12th Street to make their way into South Salem, avoiding Front Street and Commercial Street if at all possible.