The big day arrives for Alaura Little
Former Vikings standout is latest member of Siuslaw Athletic Hall of Fame
HOF Class of 2024:
Eric Daniel - Forrest Lewis - Alaura Little - Guy Mamac -
Max Perry - Katy Potter - Trevor May - Tyler May
The induction-dinner is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, at the Florence Events Center.
By Don Hunt
Siuslaw graduate and member of Siuslaw Athletic Hall of Fame
When asked to name her favorite moment or two as a high school athlete at Siuslaw High, Alaura Little was quick to cite a volleyball match at South Umpqua and a basketball game at Marist.
Little was named to the Siuslaw Sports Hall of Fame this week. Other inductees selected to the class of 2024 include Max Perry, Eric Daniel and Guy Mamac. Four other inductees will soon be identified.
The banquet is set for 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, at the Florence Events Center.
Little, a standout in volleyball, basketball and track, has never forgotten the Vikings’ come-from-behind volleyball victory over South Umpqua in front of a packed gym of rowdy Lancer students when she was a senior outside hitter in the fall of 2005.
Little said the students were heckling and taunting the Siuslaw girls, who seemed destined for defeat after South Umpqua had moved to within match point, leading 14-9 in the fifth and final set. But the Vikings rallied for six straight points and the win, stunning the home team and quieting the crowd.
“It felt so good I can’t even describe it,” said Little.
Halfway through the final set, Little dove for a ball, slammed her face on the court and developed a bloody nose.
“I got blood on my uniform and that meant I had to get another one,” said Little. “All we had was a double extra large. And so now I’m out there essentially wearing a dress.”
That made the win all the more satisfying.
“We typically would hit the locker room and take a shower, but that crowd was so crazy we just jumped on the bus and headed home,” said Little.
At 5-foot-6, Little was undersized as an outside hitter, but she used her considerable jumping ability, long arms and picture-perfect form to hammer home kills. She distinctly remembers the best kill in her career, a high-velocity rocket that landed in front of the 10-foot line against Pleasant Hill.
“I remember our coach (Amy Petersen) saying, ‘I haven’t seen anyone hit the ball that hard since Haley Hunt.’” Hunt was a first-team all-state performer for the Vikings from 1998-2001, Hunt herself is a Siuslaw Hall of Fame Member inducted in 2012.
The victory over Marist on the hardwood during the 2004-2005 season wasn’t as dramatic as the volleyball win, but was highly satisfying nonetheless. The Spartans had strung together a Far West League winning streak that had stretched over two seasons before Junction City had ended it a few days before they played the Vikings. Marist would go on to finish as the Class 3A state runner-up.
“I don’t know how we did it but we were on fire as a team, we were clicking,” said Little.
Little was also adept in track, setting the school record in the pole vault (10 feet, 9 inches) and placing third at the state meet. She also qualified for state in the 100-meter hurdles with visions of a positive outcome, but she fell over the second-to-last hurdle in her preliminary heat, eliminating her from the finals.
“It was pouring down rain and other girls had fallen in their heats, but I had a good race going until I went down,” she said. “The girl in the lane next to me had the best time in the state and I was right on her heels. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”
Little had planned to play softball in high school and follow in the footsteps of her two older sisters, but Siuslaw track coach Chris Johnson hooked her on the pole vault and eventually enticed her to run the hurdles.
Little took gymnastics classes at Coastal Fitness when she was in elementary school and occasionally performed at halftime of Siuslaw basketball games. Knowing that she had a background in gymnastics, Johnson thought the vault would be a good event for her to try. Her first trip down the runway was awkward, however.
“I was in the fifth or sixth grade and I was on the runway with Chris, my dad and maybe a high school vaulter,” said Little. “I start down the runway, with the 12-foot pole in my hand, and I’m thinking, are you kidding me? That was one of the hardest things I had ever done. But it all worked out.”
Little went on to excel in volleyball and track at Clackamas Community College, finding a niche as a libero (defensive specialist) in the former and the heptathlon in the latter.
Well deserved and overdue, Alaura!