Out on the football field, there are fourth and fifth graders running around in mini bulldog uniforms. Recently, the cheer team has took coaching a step further and have a new team of cheerleaders called the little bulldogs.
Students at west have a wide variety of people who inspire them, some look up to athletes that play professionally while others look up to family close to them. Role models help athletes have a direction in which to strive and have goals to set for themselves.
Even though some may have never met their role models personally, they still have a connection with them personally. They still help them out by simply playing their sport and doing what they do best.
Inspirations can change for some of these athletes but their are also some that have kept there inspirations the same for a couple of years.
Xavier Cabrera Junior
Junior Xavier Cabrera Argueta grew up playing baseball with both his uncle and grandpa.
Cabrera’s favorite sport is track, but the sport he is best at is baseball.
One of Cabrera’s memorable moments in baseball was when he played in the little league in sixth grade and after having played for awhile, he began getting better and improved his ranking.
His inspirations have shifted as he has been trying out different sports.
“It’s changed by meeting new people and through different sports, like switching my focus to different sports because I’d like to focus on baseball, [but] now [my focus is] just on track and cross country,” Cabrera said.
He saw his uncle playing baseball once and was inspired. “It was really cool. It’s indescribable. You gotta see it and feel it to be able to understand it,” Cabrera said.
Natalie Tidwell Sophomore
Sophomore Natalie Tidwell has been participating in sports her whole life and is currently playing basketball, though last year she also did volleyball and track.
Tidwell is inspired by her parents as they have helped her to be the best athlete she could be.
“They push me to be my best self. They know what I’m capable of,” Tidwell said.
But as she has grown up, the encouragement has expanded from just her parents cheering her on to coach Shawn Stinson as well.
Coach Stinson has been one of Tidwell’s sources of motivation since her freshman year as he knows her work ethic well, and other girls on the basketball team like Sophomore Payton Starwalt, Sophomore Karley Martitrano, and Junior Cate Kurth know this as well.
“During a summer ball game, he told me to just be confident and let my shot fly, and I hit 10 [three-point shots],” Tidwell said.
Lucian Sukhdeo Freshman
Freshman Lucian Sukhdeo started watching the NFL three years ago when he was in middle school. He was interested in watching football, but what really stood out was Myles Garrett, a defensive end on the Cleveland Browns.
Sukhdeo was inspired by Garrett’s skill and techniques and joined West Albany’s football team as a defensive end. Sukhdeo appreciates the effort that Garrett puts into football, and tries to follow similar patterns that the Browns player does on the field.
“[My inspiration] stayed the same. He really stuck out to me ever since I started. I never really had any aspirations to play anywhere else,” Sukhdeo said.
Garrett’s story felt more personal to Sukhdeo, making connections to their lives.
“He came up, he didn’t really have much,” Sukhdeo said, “He was kind of nerdy, had glasses, it stuck out to me, so it felt like something I could relate to.”
Bailey Blevins Freshman
Freshman Bailey Blevins joined softball in fourth grade when her cousin convinced her to. She joined and played first base, taking after her inspiration Kiko Romero, a former Corvallis Knights player.
Blevins studied everything about softball with a goal in mind, to be as good as Romero. “He started baseball at a young age, [and I’ve seen] how much he’s grown, now playing with the New York Yankees.”
“I saw how good he was, and I was like, ‘I could be that good,’” Blevins said. “So I sat and watched a lot of softball, and I was like, ‘I could be like that.’ So now it’s been my goal to work toward.”
Blevins has been a fan of Romero for around six years, ever since she went to her first baseball game. Romero went up first and immediately got the out for his team. Blevins was shocked, wondering how Romero was able to do it that quick in the game.
“It’s really cool to see how I could have gone from softball, to being college, or being something big too,” Blevins said. “I always think about that when I go out there, that I could be one of those people.”
Gavin Aguilar Senior
Senior Gavin Aguilar started playing basketball when he was around five. It was his first sport and holds a special place as he has continued throughout high school.
His favorite achievement this year has been his team’s victory .
“We won league for the first time in my high school career at West, obviously,” Aguilar said. “That’s pretty cool.”
After high school, Aguilar would like to continue playing basketball. He is still finishing up the basketball season, then is looking to go to college after graduation.
“I look up to everyone in my family, they’re all mentors and I try to be like them,” Aguilar said.
Aguilar’s inspirations have stayed the same over the years as he has admired his family members.
“They inspire me because they just push me to be a better person every day,” Aguilar said. “That’s just kind of what you need.”
Aguilar’s familial relationships have motivated him through tough shortcomings and losses.
“When we lost in the state game, and they just pushed me, even when I was down, we had another game the next day and they encouraged me not to let the loss affect me,” Aguilar said. “[They] just inspired me to want to win today.”
Stats
- The West Albany basketball team was able to get 4th place in the state in the 24/25 season
- They finished the season off with a 22-7 record
- They were able to beat both the #1 seed Caldera and #2 seed Thurston
- West Albany became the conference champions for the 24/25 season
