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Tall Bucks eye hoop hardware
Bigger, stronger George Fox readies for
season
Huge freshman class to play big role for
Bruins
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Yurkovich signs with Oregon |
The NHS senior signs a letter of intent for a
scholarship to throw the javelin for the Ducks |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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Newberg High School senior Rachel
Yurkovich signed an early letter of intent Monday to attend the
University of Oregon on a full-ride javelin scholarship.
Joe Boutin, javelin coach at NHS, said seeing an athlete sign prior
to the start of track season is a first for him.
“It’s the first time in my 40 years ... that somebody signed
early,” he said.
Yurkovich said for her, it didn’t make sense to wait any longer to
sign. She knew she wanted to attend Oregon.
“I knew for a long time,” she said. “It’s a good place for me, a
good situation and a good coach.”
Along with several state champions, Boutin coached 1980 NHS graduate
Lynda Hughes, an Olympian in 1984 and 1988, who didn’t sign early.
Yurkovich is taking everything in stride.
“I’m relieved,” she said. “It was never very stressful or anything,
but it’s good that I won’t have to worry about it in the future.”
The defending state champion in the javelin, Yurkovich is the No.
1-ranked high school girl javelin thrower in the country. Her best
throw is 161-feet, 11-inches.
But what makes Monday’s event impressive was that Yurkovich has
only thrown the javelin for two years. Her freshman year Yurkovich
was a pitcher on the NHS softball team. Her sophomore year, she
tried out for the javelin and went on to place second at the Pac-9
Conference district meet and second at the state meet.
She won the Golden West Invitational, a meet of high school
all-stars from around the country, during the summer between her
sophomore and junior years and was ranked No. 2 in the country by
Track and Field News. Yurkovich also holds the sophomore and junior
state records in the javelin.
Her junior year, Yurkovich won the district meet and the state
title, setting a state record in the process. She finished third at
the U.S. Junior National meet and placed 16th at the Olympic Trials.
Boutin said he can’t wait to see what Yurkovich does as a senior.
“It’s exciting,” he said.
Now signed, Yurkovich said she has no pressure on her for the
upcoming track season and she’s relishing the prospect.
“I love that,” she said. “I had fun during the summer with the
track meets, but it’s just good to know I don’t have to win every
meet to get colleges to look at me. It’s nice to have that cushion
there that I don’t have to do well all the time. My life has always
been like that and finally I’m kind of relieved it’s not like that
anymore.”
Yurkovich was one of the most heavily-recruited athletes in
Newberg’s history. She received packets of information from Texas A
& M, UCLA, Tennessee and Washington State, along with every Ivy
League school. In all, she received more than 75 letters of
interest from different schools. But when it came down to the end,
it was a few things that enticed Yurkovich to become a Duck.
“It’s close enough where I don’t have to come home, but also close
enough where I can come home,” she said. “It’s a good location
overall.”
Another major factor was throwing coach Lance Deal, Yurkovich said.
Deal helped revitalize the career of fellow NHS graduate Sarah
Malone.
“He’s a great guy and I trust him,” she said. “I think he’ll be
able to show me a lot and I’ll be able to achieve a lot because of
it.”
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From
Nov. 20,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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