Felony drug charges for one Clackamas wrestler reduced, alcohol charges for second not yet filed

Cody Allala raises his arms in victory. Allala was just the 18th wrestler
in Virginia history to win four straight wrestling titles, and was arrested
in early March while in possession of over an ounce of marijuana. 

OREGON CITY - With the rise of Clackamas Community College’s wrestling team to national prominence, the arm of the program is beginning to stretch further and further to get first pick at some of the top athletes in the country. One of those athletes, Cody Allala of Hopewell, Va., was one of only a handful of wrestlers in state history to have won four consecutive state titles, but his file comes with a catch.

Allala appeared in court last week, pleading guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession with an intent to sell. The plea deal got him out of a nasty punishment, which consisted of 100 hours of community service and 12 months in jail. The combination of the two surely would have lost him his full wrestling scholarship, but because Clackamas extended their offer on the table while other schools withdrew theirs, Allala had something to bargain with. Instead of sitting in jail and cleaning up roadsides, he would be attending classes in Oregon, on the other side of the country and away from his old influences, something that head coach Josh Rhoden said was a cornerstone of his settlement in court.

“We said hey look, you’ve got to take care of your stuff back there before you come out here, but we’ll be here to support you and make this happen for you,” said Rhoden. “[Allala] is a really nice kid, and I think he deserves an opportunity.”

However, Allala isn't the only wrestler to have brushes with drugs and alcohol in the past. On one occasion, Trent Noon, who took 4th place in the 174lb class at the 2012 NJCAA championships, openly admitted to drinking on campus during a softball game, something that is doubly illegal, as Noon was only 19 at the time and Clackamas Community College has a strict no-alcohol policy. Noon also tweeted out several pictures of himself in possession of alcohol as recently as August 4, and while his account is now protected and no longer available to the general public, the protective measures don’t hide the illegal activities.

Trent Noon, (top, in red) wrestles during a home meet in 2011.

Rhoden held the picture in his hand and shook his head with disbelief. 

“Disappointed,” said Rhoden, his normally positive and upbeat demeanor giving way to crestfallen quietness.

“Obviously I don’t encourage that type of stuff, especially putting it out there like that,” said Rhoden, who mentioned that he kept in contact with the wrestlers during the summer and knew that several were in the Oregon City area, but that he didn’t know exactly what they were up to. “Definitely not something that we want branding us. Definitely.”

The photo was the first knowledge that Rhoden had of the problem, and while Rhoden didn’t defend his actions, he did explain his surprise by saying that Noon had been a good athlete, a good teammate and a good student without any problems whatsoever. Normally, according to Rhoden, the team leaders do a good job of making sure both that the team is keeping to the rules of the program and informing him of any infringement that needs to be dealt with. 

“We get so many guys, I believe, that buy into what we’re talking about and trust us [that] they’ll approach us and say hey we need to get these guys on board so that we can do well as a team,” said Rhoden. “A lot of people get that concept.”

Rhoden also talked about how the program handles situations with alcohol abuse, which is something that happens from time to time, and something that Rhoden sees as a mistake, but not one that can’t be overcome. Once he is aware of the problem, the athlete is usually approached with the allegations. Eventually, whether they deny it at first, the truth is found out and a path to redemption is laid down. Rhoden said that several wrestlers have been asked to leave in the past if they couldn't uphold team rules, and not all for drug and alcohol reasons. 

When contacted several days later, Rhoden did confirm that he had contacted Noon with the allegations but declined to comment on what was said and what the course of action would be. Rhoden also said that the authorities had not yet been notified as of Thursday, August 9. Noon could not be reached for comment.

The main point that Rhoden emphasized with both Allala and Noon is that he feels that people should be given opportunities to make something of themselves.

“Whether it’s financial reasons, or your academics or your background, community colleges are here to give people an opportunity, and I think that’s kinda what we exemplify in our program,” said Rhoden. “If you screw it up, we’re gonna send you home, but we’ll give you a chance.”

The ups and downs of sports journalism

Everybody has their favorite sport. Sometimes it's the sport that they played as a child. Sometimes it's the sport or the team that they grew up watching on TV. Whatever the situation, there is one in particular that people seem to gravitate to. Whether it's because that is a sport in which they are gifted, or just that the sport happens to fit their preferences, they enjoy it more than the others.

Journalists are the same way. Each sport has it's ins and outs. Some are strong photography pieces, while others are difficult to shoot and hardly anything turns out. For writers, certain sports are filled with action and statistics, but others are sparse and finding a story line can be difficult.

Most people would run away from this.
I ran toward it, and it ran toward me.

Men's Basketball: As far as storyline goes, basketball is simple to follow. It's easy to write down which team scored when and you are given a lot of stats to look at after the game is finished. Strengths and weakness for each team are easy to figure out by just looking at a sheet of paper. If you have the right equipment, this sport can be a lot of fun to shoot. Lots of players get into the action, and you get plenty of opportunities for good pictures. Sitting behind the basket is a good place, but if you're not careful you can get run over.


Women's Basketball: The women's game is the same as the men's, it just moves slower and has more outside shooting. The players are smaller and the game is less physical.



Wrestling: Covering wrestling can be a bit of a challenge. A lot happens, but it's difficult to figure out what to write about and what to gloss over. It's easy to say who won, how they won and by what score, but it's hard to describe how an individual match went. Oftentimes in this sport, you have to depend on the wrestlers themselves and their coaches to describe a specific happening, as they will most likely remember it/understand it much better than you will. Photos, as long as the lighting is decent, can be easy and fun. As long as you're attentive, you can capture the wrestlers in some fantastic poses. Crotch grabs are fairly common, and make for plenty of laughs in the newsroom.

Plus, sometimes you get fun faces like this.

Volleyball: Volleyball can leave an unprepared writer in the dust with some of it's newer terms, but it pauses a lot and gives a note taker time to catch up. It's broken up into smaller chunks, and you can compare stats for each set and put them together to tell the story of the whole match. Depending on the camera/lens you've got, this sport can be a challenge. If you want to get shots with the players facing you, you have to be on the far side of the court, putting you a long distance from the action. The best shots are usually of the right side hitters. That gets you close to the players and, since most players are right handed, a majority of the time their faces are turned towards you.

Cross Country: If it weren't for the fact that cross country normally loops around and crosses the same place several times, it would be nearly impossible to get photographs of. The trick to shooting cross country is to follow the coaches. They know the course better than you ever could, and are always at the right spot to watch their runners race past. Writing this sport is difficult, to say the least. The only statistic that you get to work with are times for each athlete. That's why it's best to focus on other things. Like the biker wiping out during the race.

Women's Soccer: The biggest issue with soccer is just that... the field is huge. For a photographer, you have to choose where you stand carefully to get as much of the action as possible before it moves to the other end of the pitch and makes shooting difficult. As a writer, a plotline can be difficult to find for soccer because much of the game is scoreless and is about strategy rather than offensive stats. Also, it can be difficult to figure out who to attribute shots on goal to as the game moves on quickly without pausing for you to catch up.

Just look at the gold you can capture when they don't know you're watching.

Baseball: America's pastime or not, baseball moves slowly for somebody that didn't grow up following it. "Highlight" performances can mean different things for each game, so you can't have a go-to stat that you look for in a recap. You have to watch everything, not just the offensive game. Players spend most of their time dawdling around the dugout and the bullpen, and are usually willing to talk during the game, making interviews easy to attain. Photos are great for this sport, as it is played outside and the sun/sky can be utilized.

Track and Field: This sport has plenty of things going on all at once, and even more athletes competing. There are a lot of stats to look at and a lot of highlights to pen, but little real plot to follow. You have to choose a few big performances and focus on them, telling their story. Photography for this sport can turn out well, but everything is happening all at the same time, and it can be difficult to capture all of the action.

Sometimes the best shots are AFTER the race.

Could I pick a favorite? Probably. Will I? Probably not. Each sport has it's challenges and each sport has parts that I enjoy. You can find a story anywhere, as long as you look hard enough. Sometimes the most interesting thing just isn't what you initially showed up to watch.