Announcer (00:01): Highlighting the amazing stories from inside the North Clackamas School District. This is the Proud To Be NCSD podcast hosted by longtime principal and current community relations director, Curtis Long.

Curtis Long (00:14): Well ask any North Clackamas high school student athletes or thespians or musicians or choir performers and they'll tell you the season or the culminating performance doesn't always conclude with a storybook ending. An actor occasionally misses a mark, a singer or musician misses a note. Injuries happen on the field or court and rarely does a cast or ensemble or athletic team finish the season as the best in the entire state. But on this final two part edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, before Spring Break, we're celebrating an NCSD team whose season wrapped up less than two weeks ago with the most storybook ending anyone could ever write. Now

Radio Announcer (00:51): Back to Mogul, the senior point guard dribbles it across will South Medford foul no they won't Davidson with it in the front court. The Clackamas Cavaliers...for the first time in the history of this school, will cut down the nets at the Chiles Center!

Curtis Long (01:06): Yes, our main characters in this story are the magical members of the Clackamas High school girls basketball team, who weren't the top ranked team in Oregon entering the state tournament, but ended their storybook season as state champs. But this is a story that started back in November and December, a journey these teammates will always remember, sophomores, juniors, seniors, a team from all different classes. Their love for each other showed by making extra passes the wins piled up and a championship seemed achievable. Even the radio announcer said...

Radio Announcer (01:37): For the next two years, this Clackamas team's gonna be unbelievable

Curtis Long (01:39): The clock ticked down and the calves were champs of their sport and their coach?

Radio Announcer (01:44): Korey Landolt has to feel good. She's emotional at center court.

Curtis Long (01:47): Yes. We'll use this two-part podcast as this story's epilogue, the coach and two players are here...so let's have a dialogue. A season that ended with lots of happy tears. The girls basketball state champions are the Clackamas Cavaliers. Here to talk about the ups and the downs and all the hard work...Coach Korey Landolt and seniors Rhyan Mogel and Eliza Buerk. In part one, right before Spring Break we gave you just a small buzzer beating bite of our interview with the coach and these two super seniors including their interests off the basketball court.

Rhyan Mogel (02:20): People might not know I kind of have like a little bit of a countryside. Mm-hmm <affirmative> like I like my cousins are kind of into horses and stuff like that, which is how I was when I was little.

Curtis Long (02:28): In today's part two, we dribble down memories of the regular season that saw the team lose four games in December. I know

Korey Landolt (02:35): I know that when we came back home we played four games in four days and there was adjustments that needed to be made every day

Curtis Long (02:41): To the final seconds of that state championship game. When one of our seniors headed to the free throw line with a chance to seal the school's first ever state championship.

Rhyan Mogel (02:50): I wasn't super nervous about it. I think I knew it would help our team and I think help calm everybody down if I could put 'em in.

Curtis Long (02:57): Stay calm! Part two of this state championship edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast tips off right now.

Curtis Long (03:05): So Korey, how about you? You once played at Clackamas High School, now you've just coached your alma mater to a state title, but there's a lot more to your life than basketball coaching. Tell us a little bit about you.

Korey Landolt (03:14): Well, I'm a mom of two kids. I have two middle schoolers, so my household is quite sassy right now. My daughter Tatum is playing basketball currently and Rylan is playing baseball. So I'm looking forward to getting outside and hopefully the weather will cooperate soon and we'll watch some nice baseball games in the sun.

Curtis Long (03:32): Now does older sister go to little brothers baseball games willingly?

Korey Landolt (03:36): She loves watching baseball. So she's kind of a weirdo. Yeah, no, she, she loves and she talks, she doesn't play softball, she, but she talks about what he's doing or what he's not doing as if she knows what's going on. So she's very confident in telling him what he should be doing.

Curtis Long (03:50): So Rhyan, Eliza, what's it like playing for Coach Landolt and what will you remember most about playing for her?

Rhyan Mogel (03:56): Korey is like off the court you can go into her classroom and just kind of hang out, talk basketball and like probably more of just like the relationship than anything.

Eliza Buerk (04:04): Absolutely. I think Korey's kind of like a role model for all of us and a mentor and we will frequently just go into her class kind of unannounced and during the season we were talking to her like before her class about plays and about just kind of how we wanted the season to go. I think I'll definitely remember more off the court stuff than on the court as well.

Curtis Long (04:20): And we'll talk more about that championship game a little later. But let's go back to the beginning of the season, way back November, December. Did you always think this was a reasonable goal for this team?

Rhyan Mogel (04:29): I always knew, even like my sophomore year knowing the group that was coming in, Korey and I would talk about just like the opportunity we had coming up the next couple years and I think once that group finally came in it was just really cool to be able to play with them and just kind of like experience that whole thing with a really talented group of girls that for me that I've known for a really long time. So it was just, it was a lot of fun and we knew the opportunity we had from the very start

Eliza Buerk (04:54): For sure from the start I was thinking at the beginning of the season I would be shocked if this season doesn't culminate in a state championship for us. And obviously there's a lot of other ways for us to measure success just with our growth as a team. But that was definitely kind of the accomplishment that we were all aiming for and this year we were all able to rise to the occasion and get that done.

Curtis Long (05:14): Now you lost four of your nine games in December. Now granted they weren't teams from Oregon and you were playing some elite competition in a California holiday tournament, but what did you learn from those games?

Eliza Buerk (05:23): I think we learned a lot about our weaknesses. A lot of those games we were winning at halftime or really close and then third, fourth quarter came around and we kind of just collapsed and we didn't know how to keep going even though we had been winning. And I think that having our weaknesses be kind of exposed early in the season allowed us to come back to Oregon and really focus on what we knew we needed to work on in order to be the best team we could be.

Korey Landolt (05:47): I know that when we came back home, we played four games in four days and there was adjustments that needed to be made every day and without having any practice time there was a long list of things that we needed to kind of fix and work on uh, when we got back home. But when we were in Arizona there was competitiveness within every single one of those games and I thought it was really good for us and the girls like had to step up to a new place and be challenged and that was something we were able to build on when we got back home and we were able to fix some of those things we weren't really doing very well when we got back.

Curtis Long (06:19): Now your last loss was the Camas on December 29th and you never lost another game. That's 22 in a row. How do you keep that focus for basically three full months?

Rhyan Mogel (06:27): I think a lot of it has to do with the type of players we are and like knowing that we have bigger goals and trying to stay logged in. But uh, another part of it is having Korey there to kind of keep us grounded cuz it is super easy. Like when you're in the gym every single day with the same people, it's easy to kind of lose focus and it's important to have a leader who's there to keep you focused, keep you grounded and hold you accountable. And I think that was a big thing for us was kind of Korey taking on that role for us and helping hold us accountable.

Eliza Buerk (06:56): And after having won so many games in a row, it would've been really easy for us to get complacent and I think that last year we kind of did, but this year we all knew what we wanted, like how we wanted this season to end and we didn't forget that throughout the entire season and I think that was what really set us apart from last year's team.

Curtis Long (07:13): And that was gonna lead me right to my next question because you look at some of those 22 wins and some are by 50 points, more than 50 points...when you're that dominant, how do you balance wanting to get better while showing sportsmanship on the court? And I think Korey, that was a big thing for you is we are beating this team by 40 plus points but we still wanna show class and be a classy opponent.

Korey Landolt (07:31): Yeah, we definitely had to find a good balance of making sure that everybody got the minutes that they needed to throughout conference play no matter who our opponent was but also to find other things to work on within those blowout games. But we, I think we did a really good job of, and the players stepped up to this challenge was to be really competitive in practice. Sometimes our practices were more competitive than the games that we were playing in conference.

Curtis Long (07:59): I wanna talk a little bit about practice for Eliza and Ryan. What's a typical Clackamas Cavalier practice look like under Coach Landolt? Now I've known her for a while and she comes across very nice, always smiling. Gotta imagine though the competitive fire comes out a little bit in practice from her and from all of the people on the team.

Rhyan Mogel (08:16): Well I kind of mentioned that she took on that role of holding us accountable and that came in a way of like sometimes she just straight up like if you guys aren't gonna focus, you're not gonna take it seriously. Like you can just leave. Mm-hmm <affirmative> like if we're not going to maximize our time there's no point in wasting it. So I think she'll joke around and she'll have fun with us but she's also one to keep us focused too and that was, that was a big part of our practice was just her taking on that role.

Curtis Long (08:41): Did you ever feel like as the two seniors on the team that you took on some of that role as well leading this team?

Rhyan Mogel (08:46): Yeah, I think so. I think we have a lot of respect for each other. Like across the board it doesn't really matter what your age is, it's kind of like all of us at different times took on that role and I think a lot of it comes from seniors but also just everybody kind of embracing that and if you want to be successful like we were at the end of the year, like you have to be okay with sacrificing just the kind of messing around and fun for like being serious and getting things done.

Curtis Long (09:13): And I wanted to ask you guys about that as well because being the two seniors, obviously you're not always the leading scorers on the team, you're not always the ones with the ball the whole time. But it seemed like for your team, you guys didn't really care who scored the points, who had the assists as long as you came out on top at the end, very unselfish play for an observer in the bleachers.

Eliza Buerk (09:31): Well I think at the end of the day, the only thing that's important is that we win because when you win it's as a team it's not one person that like shows up as oh they won one more game than the rest of the team regardless of how much they scored. And every single person on this team just bought into the idea of okay we're gonna win and lose as a team. Like whatever we do it is as a team every single day. And I think that having that mindset as a unit really helped with nobody really caring about how much they scored or how many highlights they had or kind of those things.

Curtis Long (10:01): And Korey, these two leaders, what are you gonna miss most about them, your two seniors that are moving on?

Korey Landolt (10:07): Um, everything <laugh>. Um, there, there was multiple times where both Rhyan and Eliza in practice would kind of take over or mention something or bring something to my attention and they were willing to kind of step out and do what was best for the group. They're unselfish players. I think a lot of it started with them and, and everybody else did a good job of following their lead. It really isn't easy. We were a team that you had a lot of kids that could do that could score the ball but I think they saw the bigger picture of making the play even if it wasn't that individual being the one that scored that they were happy being a part of the play.

Curtis Long (10:40): And Eliza and Rhyan, you mentioned this a little bit before but you have some very talented younger players on this team. Sophomores one of course Jazzy getting a lot of recognition as a Gatorade player Of The Year and I don't think for you two there was ever any jealousy that comes in or ever any, gosh I wish that was me. You were happy to have her as a teammate and integrated those sophomores right away into your team.

Rhyan Mogel (11:01): Yeah, I think uh, it's just really cool to be a part of a team with so much talent and across the board like there's a lot of just skilled players and people that are fun to be around in general and then like to add someone like Jazzy, like she's really like a generational type of player and she's gonna go on and do some really cool things. So to have somebody like that and be a part of kind of the start of her journey just is like, it's something like you'll look back on and be like in awe of and she's just a really good person off the court too. It doesn't feel like, oh like some celebrities on the team, right? Like it's just Jazzy. So <laugh>

Curtis Long (11:36): Like just Jazzy.

Rhyan Mogel (11:36): Yeah, so I mean players like that. And then also just like I said, the entire team, so much talent. It's just really cool to be a part of.

Curtis Long (11:44): And Rhyan mentioned so much talent on the team Korey, was it hard for you to find minutes for all these players? Obviously you have some players off that bench that could start for most teams in the state.

Korey Landolt (11:53): I think that was always a big challenge. I mean trying to navigate the season and make sure that everybody felt valued in their own right and just knowing that like there's only five people that can play on the court at once than only 32 minutes in a game and I would feel bad a lot if if certain kids didn't get more minutes and I wore that, that guilt. Sure. Um, after games as well. But at the end of the day, like I didn't have a lot of players get upset about those kinds of things or at least they kind of were really unselfish and kept it to themselves and just gave in to whatever was best for the team at that moment.

Curtis Long (12:26): And I would assume that those players who maybe didn't get in as much as maybe they wanted to, gave it everything they had in practice and helped the team get better.

Korey Landolt (12:33): Always. Yeah. Yeah. We had, we had a pretty good culture going. They knew the expectation that if we wanted to win something big at the end of the season or compete for a state title then we were gonna have to give up some things and sacrifice some things for ourselves for the greater good of the team.

Curtis Long (12:49): Eliza and Rhyan, what will you remember most about the regular season before the state tournament? We'll get to that next.

Eliza Buerk (12:54): I think what I'll remember most about the regular season is just the camaraderie that we built throughout it. It didn't really matter if we were playing one of the lower level teams in our league or the best team in our league like day in and day out. We just supported each other and we got really close as you would imagine throughout the four month season cuz we're, we're here every single day like in really close quarters. And just kind of building that chemistry throughout the regular season that kind of carried over and really helped us out. And the post-season is something that I for sure won't forget.

Rhyan Mogel (13:22): Yeah. Kind of just to go off that, like she said, the camaraderie was a huge part for us, like walking down the halls, other students like we'd kind of, they'd make fun of us a little bit like, oh, it's the basketball cult

Curtis Long (13:32): Make fun of you?

Rhyan Mogel (13:33): It's the basketball cult. They're, you never see one of 'em alone. They're always with another basketball girl and like, it is funny to look at from the outside, but it's like you need that to be able to accomplish something great at the end. It's like you have to like each other and I think everybody really does and everybody really loves to spend time with each other. And that showed all throughout the year where we were always together.

Curtis Long (13:54): And you mentioned before Rhyan, we were talking about Jazzy Davidson and sometimes you would say, oh "That's just Jazzy." Is there a certain player on this team that took a brunt of the teasing or uh, was someone that got picked on more than another? Eliza said it was pretty equal across the board.

Eliza Buerk (14:08): I think that everybody kinda dished it out and took it a little bit. We have a lot of people on our team who like to crack jokes, not necessarily at the expense of others Sure. But kind of directed at other people. But it was never anything like mean or obnoxious or over the top. Like we kept it

Korey Landolt (14:25): Funny yet respectful.

Eliza Buerk (14:27): Yeah. We, we kept, we kept it light when we were doing that and I don't think there was any one person that necessarily took more than anybody else.

Curtis Long (14:32): So there was no, one of the younger players had to carry all the bags or Oh. Uh, had to do the extra exercise....like...

Korey Landolt (14:40): I had to carry the bags most of the time. <laugh>

Curtis Long (14:41): Korey had to carry the bags...the coach had to carry the bags?

Rhyan Mogel (14:44): I mean we have team managers that Yeah, they come in and they show up to every single practice and they kind of help us out, out with stuff like that, which it's like, I don't know if people even notice them, but they do a lot for us. I think you'll, you'll see 'em in some of the team pictures and they, they kind of helped us out with stuff like that, which is like, I think everybody's really appreciative of that.

Curtis Long (15:02): Yeah, shout out to Jayden Digregorio who was a former Spring Mountain Hawk. I remember when I was a principal of that school and she came in as a little first grader. It was fun to see her, fun to watch her. She's fun. Like she was actually a pretty good player as a youngster. So it's fun to see her not necessarily play but be a part of the team and, and be a part of. That's really fun to see.

Korey Landolt (15:19): Both her and Jodi did an excellent job of just helping. They got our gym ready every day after school and helped the girls get water and ran our music. Getting

Eliza Buerk (15:28): Most importantly ran our music

Korey Landolt (15:30): And her music.

Curtis Long (15:31): If you're ever short players, did the managers have to come in and fill in?

Korey Landolt (15:33): They would, they would rebound for us. Okay. But yeah, no, they, they didn't, they didn't wanna get down and dirty like that. They were definitely observant <laugh>.

Rhyan Mogel (15:41): Yes.

Curtis Long (15:42): All right. Let's jump ahead to the state tournament held just a couple of weeks ago. You take the Chiles Center court for the first time and the Clackamas students, the Clackamas community, they showed up. What was it like to play in front of that crowd?

Rhyan Mogel (15:52): It was pretty cool to get to play in front of people who have been there for us all year long. You know, like a lot of the seasons are a grind even like, especially for us but also for the fans who they come out and they support us anyway. And so I think it was really cool to get to play in front of them like kind of on a big stage and then in the end get to bring it home for a community that was there for us the entire season.

Curtis Long (16:14): Did you ever find yourself looking up there and say, oh I, I know who that is. I hear that one

Eliza Buerk (16:19): <laugh>. I think the only time I actually like paid any attention to our student section or processed anything that they were kind of doing or saying was during the national anthem the first game cuz we were facing them. And I looked up and I was like, whoa, there's a lot of people here right now that's really cool. Like to be able to have people of all different backgrounds show up to support us is really something special. And there were a whole bunch of like younger like underground teams and youth kind of development teams that would show up to our games and they were like, ask for our autographs after. And I think that being able to kind of foster that community within clmi of women's basketball athletes and fans is something that's really special and unique.

Curtis Long (16:55): Korey, how about for you looking up in the student section and maybe where if you're looking out where the parents are and, you've got a lot of acquaintances in the community who were probably there who don't even have kids in the high school yet, what was it like for you?

Korey Landolt (17:06): Yeah that was really special, especially in that state tournament game. There was a lot of Clackamas alumni and and Clackamas community people that that just kind of came out and like my kids' friends' parents and families came out. Like it was just really fun to, to be able to kind of bring a community together like that. I, I know post covid and we didn't play in front of a lot of people at all last, the last two years and, and just to kind of see like full stands again and kids getting involved and kids choosing to come spend their own money and wear a certain color and paint their body or paint their face <laugh>. It was just kind of fun to like see kids let loose like that and just be there for their community. And we felt the love.

Curtis Long (17:44): Didn't you say that you heard from uh, some of your former players who were there?

Korey Landolt (17:48): Oh yeah. Like there was, there was people that reached out that were wishing us luck and you finally got there like, you know, your team's amazing. Just like tons of compliments and encouragement that we felt at least I felt before and during obviously at the Chiles Center. And then lots of, lots of congratulations afterwards.

Curtis Long (18:06): We've reached halftime of this state championship edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast part two. So far we've recapped an incredible regular season that saw the Cavs win 22 games in a row before heading to the state tourney. Up next, how are Rhyan, Eliza, and Coach Korey feeling the night before the state championship game?

Eliza Buerk (18:26): I think I took an ice bath and was watching film on South Medford. Just kind of seeing how they played

Curtis Long (18:32): And what's it like still to hear this magical moment?

Radio Announcer (18:36): The Clackamas Cavaliers for the first time in the history of this school, will cut down the nets at the Chiles Cener!

Korey Landolt (18:43): I get goosebumps hearing that. Like hearing out fans go nuts in the crowd.

Curtis Long (18:48): You'll go nuts too during the second half of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast,

Radio Announcer (18:53): Korey Landolt has to feel good. She's emotional at center court.

Curtis Long (18:57): Right after this.

Commercial Narrator (18:58): Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay in a rewarding career. The North Clackamas School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or substitute teacher apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire before and after afterschool caretakers, custodians and bus drivers in North Clackamas. We promise it won't take you long to learn why our employees say they're proud to be in NCSD. Apply today on the North Clackamas school district website or call 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000. That's 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000.

Curtis Long (19:53): Okay. You win your first two games, you blow out Beaverton by 25 in game one, you hold on in a close one against Jesuit 39 34 to send you to the championship game. What's going through your minds Friday night knowing you're in the state championship the following afternoon?

Eliza Buerk (20:05): Friday night for me was all just about recovery and watching film. Like I had just gotten beaten up by Kendra Hicks earlier, so I was just kind of trying to avoid any bruising, avoid any soreness that might've come from guarding her that day. And I think I took an ice bath and was watching film on South Medford, just kind of seeing how they played. I think I watched the South Medford Beaverton game because they kind of have like similar styles and so trying to see how they matched up was what I was focused on that evening.

Rhyan Mogel (20:32): For me it's a lot of kind of just mentally locking in and I, I also watched film a couple different games, kind of see tendencies, how are they gonna press us. Um, just kind of know what I was in for, uh, in terms of like how they would show up and then just kind of like, all right, like once it was there it was like just getting ready and you know, getting yourself kind of hyped up for it. And so for me a lot of it was like just mental mentally locked.

Curtis Long (20:58): Alright, let's talk about that championship game. It tips off and do you remember who scored the first bucket of the game?

Eliza Buerk (21:02): I think it was me

Korey Landolt (21:04): A three

Korey Landolt (21:04): A three from Z.

Eliza Buerk (21:05): I think it was left corner three

Radio Announcer (21:08): Whip it around the perimeter swing swing. Now back to Barhoum head fakes a three drives left, kicks out a three on the way for Buerk is down. Clakamas leads three-nothing.

Curtis Long (21:17): So Eliza, what are you thinking about after that first shot goes in?

Eliza Buerk (21:20): You know, honestly nothing like, there's not a whole lot going through my head during games. It's all just kind of like trusting what I've done and what we did in practices. But I know that there were three or four games towards the end of the season where the opening shot every single time for our team was a made left corner three from me. And so I think that just kind of settles everybody down a little bit and it's just like, okay, you know, we're gonna do what we do best here. We're gonna play the same game. Yeah, it's a different court. Yeah, it's a different environment but that doesn't matter. Like our game plan is still the same. We're gonna come out here and just play how we know we can.

Curtis Long (21:50): So that left corner three to start a game is not anything new for you guys that that's happened before...

Eliza Buerk (21:56): Kind of accidentally <laugh> It was it like it wasn't, we didn't run a set or anything. Right. It was just how it happened. And I think that's kind of funny.

Curtis Long (22:02): Now, you hadn't played South Medford this season, Korey, how do you scout a team that plays five hours away? You had a chance to watch them a little bit during the tournament. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, did you have to rely on their tournament games or did you have some help from other teams that had seen them? How do you scout a team that you hadn't seen very much?

Korey Landolt (22:16): Yeah, we hadn't, we had plenty of film on South Medford, uh, nowadays with technology and streaming and everything. We were able to find a handful of games. We looked back at games from the PIL tournament and some of their conference games and just kind of compared the things that they did and their, their likes and tendencies and we didn't have much time to prepare. We had an hour walkthrough before we went to the Chiles Center that day. So I counted on our kids to do their own work, which they did. Um, they watched their own film as well and kind of came in with a good game plan and just kind of knowing if we're at the end of the season we have to do what we do and trust what we've done all season. And, and they, they did a great job with that.

Curtis Long (22:55): Now for our listeners who maybe don't know how that works, when you say that the players are watching film, is that something that you two can dial up on your computer or on your phone or how does it get to you? How do you see video of the other team?

Eliza Buerk (23:05): Usually it's just on our Hudl accounts. Okay. Like, I don't know how it works, but the coaches will find the film and upload it for us and then we just log into Hudl and click the play button and then we have like a whole bunch of fancy features that we can use. We usually just press play and let it run. Right.

Rhyan Mogel (23:20): Well and they'll also, I know Coach Fisher I think did it a lot of times, but he would go through and clip and do playlists and I know he spent a lot of time doing that for us mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So then he'd email it to us and we were able to, if we had extra time sit in class and watch that like...

Curtis Long (23:35): Oh Rhyan, I don't know if you should admit to that. <laugh>,

Korey Landolt (23:37): There's some downtime. Yeah.

Curtis Long (23:39): So you're watching film in class sometimes in between In between.

Korey Landolt (23:42): It's a great use of time.

Rhyan Mogel (23:44): Yeah. I mean once the work's done. Yeah.

Curtis Long (23:45): Got your work done. I'm gonna watch the film. So Coach Fisher is putting those things together so I can imagine for you and for him that's a lot of late nights putting those things together.

Korey Landolt (23:53): Yeah, he, he got really good at kind of isolating plays and, and helping out with that. Sometimes it is nice to just kind of watch a, a full quarter or a full half and see how they sub and the things that they do and the adjustments that they make too.

Curtis Long (24:06): That game was closed throughout. What made South Medford so tough?

Rhyan Mogel (24:08): I think, uh, south Medford is a really talented team and they thrive off of pressure. Like they're really looking to turn you over and then get out and run. And so a big part of that was for us, like watching those, that film and kind of seeing how they like to press. And I think for a lot of us we're used to presses. It's happens a lot during club season and so you've kind of seen at this point in our high school careers, you've seen like most presses mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So it was just kind of like, all right, watch it on the film, see what they come out with. And then it's like, just trust each other. It's like nobody needs to go in and break the press themselves. Like we know how to break a press together and just being there for each other and kind of getting through that piece of it.

Curtis Long (24:49): You mentioned before the film and I, I'm interested in this. Did they run things exactly how you had seen them? Did you get out on the court and say, oh I've seen this before?

Eliza Buerk (24:57): They definitely did and I was watching the Beaverton-South Medford game, which was earlier in the season during the PIL Classic and I think they got a little better at executing what they were doing, but at its core it was the same stuff that I had seen and it really helped just kind of recognize, okay, this is, this is what they do so we're gonna do what we do. And then from there it's just trusting each other.

Curtis Long (25:16): I hear from both of you and from coach and I think I would hear from your other players just a sense of calm, you're very confident in what you're able to do. We're not gonna get rattled, they're gonna press us. We know how to break a press. Was that a theme throughout the season? You guys always seem very calm and very confident in your ability and what you're able to do.

Korey Landolt (25:33): I think for them and for us as coaches, you know, just kind of talking about composure and talking about you know, what they're trying to do to you and we know what, what we need to do instead and to not get all rattled. We had a couple turnovers that could have ended in buckets but we hustled back. I mean so so just kind of that like not give up attitude and just kind of knowing like we're gonna get hit in the mouth and we can't overreact to it. Right. Our highs too highs or our lows too low and and just kind of stay composed throughout and I thought that they did a really good job executing that.

Curtis Long (26:03): Aright. 37 seconds to go. Clackamas leads by six and who's going to the free throw line to try to extend your lead?

Eliza Buerk (26:09): Rhyan Mogul (whispering)

Korey Landolt (26:11): <laugh> Numer two.

Curtis Long (26:11): Ryan goes to the line...

Radio Announcer (26:13): Called in by Clackamas and a foul on South Medford Ryan Mogul the five nine senior, will shoot one and one on the other end. 37 seconds left. It is Clackamas 52 South Medford 46.

Curtis Long (26:25): What do you remember about being at the line at that time?

Rhyan Mogel (26:27): I knew I needed to put in my free throw. It was like a lot of people say you'll hear it all the time like free throws win games and like I wasn't super nervous about it. I think uh, I knew it would help our team and I think help calm everybody down. If I could put 'em in

Radio Announcer (26:42): Rhyan Mogul six of seven at the free throw line today. Front half of one and one is good. Clutch by Rhyan Mogel. Make it seven of eight. She leads all scorers with 17 points. You just cannot say enough about this University of Portland bound senior guard.

Curtis Long (27:00): Now what are you thinking? Does your mindset change a little bit now that the first one has gone right through?

Rhyan Mogel (27:04): Yeah, you never wanna miss the front end. So we did a lot of stuff in practice like one in one situations. So I think once that goes in it's like all right, like we're good. You know, just put, put another one in.

Curtis Long (27:14): Rhyan's free throws make it an eight point game with about 30 seconds left. So let's skip ahead to the final seconds now. I know we heard this before, but let's play it again. Courtesy of the O S A A Radio Network.

Radio Announcer (27:24): Now back to Mogel. The senior point guard dribbles it across Will South Medford foul? No they won't. Davidson with it in the front court...the Clackamas Cavaliers for the first time in the history of this school will cut down the nets at the Chiles Center! Tears of happiness and sadness on both sides as the state championship banner will head to the Mount Hood Conference. The Cavaliers of Clackamas and their head coach, a longtime Cavalier, Korey Landolt has to feel good, she's emotional at center court, a former player for this team bringing home a state title

Curtis Long (28:02): All three of you. How do you feel hearing that still today?

Korey Landolt (28:06): I get goosebumps <laugh> hearing that super like good memories that we'll have for a long time and like hearing our, our fans go nuts in the crowd and just kind of thinking about the joy that I saw, you know, when the relief that I saw on my players' faces and that moment is big

Curtis Long (28:23): Now I was watching you from the sideline. I was the announcer for that game. I saw you and you held yourself together 'til it about got down to 8, 7, 6. Was it then that you knew this was coming?

Korey Landolt (28:33): Yeah, I definitely didn't feel comfortable for a really long time <laugh>. And when we got into that last possession and we had it and you kind of just saw everybody go, this is what it is, I think I grabbed Dylan <laugh> and she's like, why are you grabbing me? You know, I was just like this is the thing. Like we won and um, and we accomplished something big and and then it was time just to move on and celebrate.

Curtis Long (28:53): And Eliza and Rhyan for you guys, when those final seconds tick off and the crowd's going crazy and your teammates are running out on the floor, what's going through your mind?

Korey Landolt (29:00): I think I started crying <laugh>. Um, I'm not entirely sure but I just know that it was this huge like wave of everything that we did for the last four or five months. Like this is what we did it for and it was every single thing that we did was worth it. And it was really just like the culmination of every single person on that team buying in to our goal and believing in it and trusting each other. And that was just an incredible feeling to know that it all paid off for me.

Rhyan Mogel (29:27): It was like a lot of relief. I think there was a lot of pressure that we put on ourselves just knowing the potential we had and with such a special group. Like we felt there was like no real reason we shouldn't get it done but it's still like it's a lot, lot. It's a big tournament and to get it done and have like the last couple seconds go off, it was just finally like you could relax cuz there was no relaxing for the weeks leading up. Sure. It was all about were you gonna land in the playoffs? What seat are you gonna be, you know, every single game's gonna be a grind, everyone's coming for you. So like it was really stressful for the last couple weeks but it was just super fun and I'm really glad that we kind of got to end it the way we wanted to.

Curtis Long (30:05): The Clackamas Cavaliers, the 2023 girls basketball state champions of Oregon. Rhyan Mogel, Eliza Burke, coach Korey Landolt, as we start to wrap things up, I've got one question for each of you. First the two seniors. Rhyan, let's tell our listeners what's next for you?

Rhyan Mogel (30:17): I'll be going to play for the University of Portland

Curtis Long (30:20): So how does it feel winning that championship on the court that you're going to be on for the next four years?

Rhyan Mogel (30:25): Yeah, I know it was pretty cool, a lot of people were asking me that and it was like, it was cool, especially because they had such a good season. They won the West Coast Conference, they got to play in the tournament and to be able to come into a culture that's already been established like that, it, it's feels really special. And I'm like, I'm thankful for that opportunity.

Curtis Long (30:43): So have you been able to meet some of your future teammates and be a part of the program already?

Rhyan Mogel (30:48): Yeah, I think I've been, I live close to campus so I've been able to get down there on some visits and been able to watch practice or get out to their games. So that's been cool. And then you also have Lainey who I've played against since I was little, so we know each other, which is cool to be able to go in with a freshman that I already have a bit of a relationship with.

Curtis Long (31:07): Lainey Spear by the way, from Beaverton High School. So you'll go in as teammates now. Do you think they'll be a little trash talking Clackamas versus Beaverton?

Rhyan Mogel (31:14): No, I think, I think it's on to the next. I think we're, I think we're gonna that lie.

Eliza Buerk (31:18): I honestly, I would love to see you try trash talk Lainey though. Like trash talk anybody like I, I would love to have you miked up during your game.

Korey Landolt (31:25): Rhyan's a quiet soul.

Curtis Long (31:25): Rhyan Mogel's not a trash talker

Eliza Buerk (31:28): She just wears it on her face. No, but I feel like, I feel like if you really had to, you can make somebody cry. <laugh>.

Curtis Long (31:33): Oh, and we forgot to mention Ryan was also named in the tournament. First team,

Radio Announcer (31:38): First team all conference now announced it is Rhyan Mogel who was downright spectacular today, the player of the game in my opinion here in this championship game, 18 points and five rebounds.

Curtis Long (31:48): How did that announcement make you feel when you're standing over there getting the medals and the trophies and all of a sudden your name is announced?

Rhyan Mogel (31:54): Yeah, that was really cool. I was so happy for my team and for like what we had just done, but then to get that recognition and to go stand next to some other players who are so talented themselves, it was, it was just pretty cool.

Curtis Long (32:06): What's next for Eliza Burke?

Eliza Buerk (32:08): I'm gonna be going to Davidson College in North Carolina to continue my career.

Curtis Long (32:11): How many times have people referred to that college as the college that Steph Curry went to?

Eliza Buerk (32:16): Every single time. (Laugh)

Eliza Buerk (32:18): Every single time. Yesterday I was at work and I was talking to somebody and they're like, oh are you a, do you go to the University of Portland or Portland State? And I was like, no, I'm actually in high school. I go to Clackamas but I'm gonna be Davidson College next year. And they were from North Carolina so they're like, oh, like that's a really good school. And I was like, oh thanks for not saying like the, the school that Curry went to, but before I could even say that, the other guy goes, that's where Steph Curry went! And I was like, like no! Like no! But also, yes. And it's really cool. Like there's a lot of opportunities to work with the Curry family through basketball and I'm something I'm really excited for.

Curtis Long (32:47): So Eliza being out here in Oregon, what made you land on Davidson on the east coast?

Eliza Buerk (32:52): It was definitely not what I was planning on doing. Um, I'm very much a homebody and I thought that basically since I was eight years old I was gonna be going to the University of Oregon regardless of if I played or not. And I think what drew me towards Davidson was just the relationships that my entire family built with their coaching staff. They really made it an emphasis like that. I know that I'm a person before I'm a basketball player and they understand that if you can't function as a person, you're not gonna be able to function on the court. And they really prioritize mental health and physical health as well. The head coach there, Gayle Fulks, just told me that I should take a, a couple weeks off before like make sure nothing is hurting before I get into like the next phase of my training. And just knowing that I kind of have that support system already and the encouragement to do what's best for me really drew me to Davidson.

Curtis Long (33:40): So we'll have to work on a non-conference game between Davidson and the University of Portland. Could they somehow swing that on one of the two coasts? How could we swing that?

Eliza Buerk (33:47): I did ask them that while I was on my visit. I was like, so is there any way that like you guys are on the west coast ever specifically Portland or Oregon and they said that they do actually try and schedule a non-conference game against the home teams of most of their athletes. Oh cool. Do have a lot of international players like from Canada and Australia. So obviously we can't do that but there's also a lot of kids from like Georgia and West Virginia and just kind of places that are closer to Davidson. But I'm hoping that we will be able to, if not the University of Portland, just somewhere in Oregon so I can come home and my family can see me play cuz they're not gonna be able to a whole lot in person.

Curtis Long (34:22): No, I think I know someone else who will be right there watching you play...

Eliza Buerk (34:24): And Korey!

Curtis Long (34:24): Yep. I think so...

Korey Landolt (34:25): I wanna come!

Curtis Long (34:25): And Korey finally for you, you've been a pillar of this Clackamas community as a teacher, a coach, a mom. What's next for you this spring and for Clackamas basketball looking ahead?

Korey Landolt (34:35): Oh, we just kind of get back into planning mode for summer and for next season. We're already talking about our next season schedule. And tournaments and all of that stuff. So, so we're just in planning mode now and definitely have taken some time to enjoy and will take some time to enjoy the, the accomplishments of this group and plan a banquet and look to celebrate and do all that stuff.

Curtis Long (34:56): And I know you're a baseball mom with your youngest mm-hmm <affirmative>, so it'll be nice for you to just kind of sit in the stands or sit off to the side and just watch.

Korey Landolt (35:02): Yeah, my, my kids give uh, a lot of mom time up during the season so Sure. Uh, the springtime especially is a time where I try to get out of the gym and really try to reconnect and engage in the lives of my children.

Curtis Long (35:16): I'm sure they understand. I'm sure your husband and your kids understand what mom's job is

Korey Landolt (35:22): Yeah, my husband is, um, amazing and he, he really keeps everything afloat during season and yeah, I'm looking forward to some time with my family.

Curtis Long (35:31): You know, one thing we haven't mentioned and we've talked to Eliza and Ryan today, the two, two seniors, we talked a little bit about the sophomores who have made an impact. There are also plenty of players on your team and Korey you mentioned before who didn't get a lot of minutes, but I know the two of you really wanted to give a shout out to them for all the sacrifices that they made and the contributions that they made. Maybe not so much on the court, but as part of the team.

Rhyan Mogel (35:53): Yeah, I think there's a lot of, with the successful team, I think there's a lot of focus on people on the court and who scored a lot of points and kind of have that role. But like you can't really do all that without the entire team. And I think we had, we built a culture where everybody was in it and whether or not you even stepped foot on the court, like every single person was a part of that win. I think there's a picture of Reese Oswalt and Teagan Dixon leaned in holding hands in one of the games and like that just, I think shows how like kind of the culture we built and how everybody was there for each other. Like I, I really don't think we would've been as successful as we were without every single person and the way they all contributed.

Curtis Long (36:35): I love that image of the two players who aren't getting in the game. They probably know they're not getting in the game, but here they are having the time of their life and being a part of it.

Eliza Buerk (36:43): Yeah, I was gonna mention that picture too, but she stole it. Um, they showed up every single day the same as the rest of us and they practiced with us and I know that a lot of them didn't necessarily get in the game, especially not during like state, but just knowing that they were willing to sacrifice so much of their time to be a part of what a team that had the opportunity to be really special meant the world to us. And they from the bench had a huge impact on the game. Like they were calling out plays and they were just encouraging us and they were saying like, Hey, you got the next shot and they were celebrating us, like hying us up and they really helped keep us focused and I could like look over to the bench and they would all just be like smiling and cheering. Like they were intense of course, but knowing that they had our backs and that they bought into what we thought we could do was truly something special and very meaningful to all of us.

Curtis Long (37:32): I wanna wrap up with something that you mentioned before. You said when you looked out into the stands, you saw the younger groups, the younger teams that maybe come up to you afterwards and want an autograph or they're just amazed at wow, that's Eliza Burke, that's Rhyan Mogel out on the court. What would you like to say to them? I mean, you don't have any high school basketball left, but for those little girls in the Happy Valley/Clackamas area that want to grow up and be like, you two, what would you say to them?

Eliza Buerk (37:55): Thank you for giving us the opportunity to kind of be role models to somebody. And I think that all any of us can really wanna do is just have an impact on the Clackamas basketball world and to see that we are kind of able to do that even just as like we have freshmen through seniors, like we're still really young and just being able to look out into the stands and see them there and you know, their eyes are like lit up. They're like, oh, I'm at a Clackamas basketball game. Like that's also something that's just tremendously unique and to be able to have that opportunity to kind of foster the love of the game in these like younger athletes is something that's really special. And it's something that I don't think any of us take lightly. It's a really just beautiful thing to be a part of.

Korey Landolt (38:34): I always thought it was fun. Like there were so many kids that would come to our home games and like they'd be lined up as we were coming back into the gym from halftime giving high fives and yeah, like wanting to sign a basketball or sign their shirt or something like that. Like those are all fun moments. And I remember like going and watching the state tournament as a kid and watching Oregon City like dominate and just kind of hoping that I'd get there one day. And so like there's a part of like our legacy that, that these players have built here. They will have impact and I guarantee you there'll be a story 20 years from now of an adult saying, oh yeah, I totally remember that team at Clackamas and they high-fived me when I was going out. Or, you know, it, it's, it makes a mark in kids' lives and, and I was just super proud of those girls for showing the attention that they deserved and always giving of their time, their autographs or their high fives and it was never something that seemed like an inconvenience.

Curtis Long (39:27): Well I can promise you that there are some little girls, could be little boys that are in elementary schools right now that are thinking I wanna be just like Rhyan Mogel, or I wanna be just like Eliza Buerk or I wanna play for Coach Landolt someday. And for that we want to thank all of you. Thank you for the great ride you took us on this year as being able to watch your games. You truly make us Proud To Be NCSD, which is what this podcast is called. So thanks for a great season and for being so willing to sit down with us today.

All three (39:53): Thanks for having us!

Curtis Long (39:53): Thanks for listening to the Proud To Be NCSD podcast. In North Clackamas, we know that education is a community effort and we're so thankful that you and your family are a part of our community. Until next time, remember, there are always great things to see wherever you go in N C S D.