Central Oregon 2012: Top sports moments

Central Oregon is known for its many sports. So it was hard to choose the top sports stories of the past year.

And while this isn’t a countdown, it’s rather a showcase of some of the best sports moments of the year.

You could say the start and the end of the year made it a good year for Culver athletics.

In February, the Culver Bulldogs wrestling team won their sixth straight class 2A/1A title.

Then in November, the Culver volleyball team won a state title. It’s their second state title in 25 years.

This year marked the third different men’s winner in the last three years for the U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle.

The winner: Kris Freeman, who battled Type 1 diabetes. He wore an insulin pump under his race outfit and it clearly worked for him.

This summer was all about the Olympics in London.

Bend resident Chris Horner made his first Olympic road race appearance.

But of course, you can say it was all about Ashton Eaton.

The Bend native made all of Central Oregon proud, bringing home the gold medal in the decathlon after setting a world record in the sport at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene earlier in the summer.

In September, fans and supporters lined the streets of downtown Bend to welcome him home and congratulate the gold medal winner.

Meanwhile, on the prep scene, along with a new high school comes new teams. And even before Ridgeview High School in Redmond opened up, their new team was already practicing.

The Ridgeview Ravens won their first football game and finished their season 6-4.

Summit High School continued its success at the state level. The Storm girls soccer team won its second state title in three seasons, beating Sherwood in an easy championship contest.

A great year for sports in 2012, and more great moments to come in 2013.