Story Photos
 Seaside High standout Marla Olstedt earned all-state honorable mention honors. Courtesy photo
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Seaside sharpshooter eager to take court for Lady Devils
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 5:59 PM PDT
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleA cat-quick guard who can slash to the basket or drain long-range jump shots has agreed to join the backcourt of the Lower Columbia College women’s basketball team beginning this fall.
Seaside High standout Marla Olstedt earned all-state honorable mention honors while leading the Seagulls to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state tournament. Her sportsmanship during the tourney earned her a pair of Qwest Player of the Game awards, and she was also named a finalist for the Cowapa League Westerholm Award that is annually presented to the league’s top scholar-athletes.
“Marla can really shoot the ball and is a very quick player for being 5-foot-7,” LCC coach Chad Meadors said. “She can play the point like some other girls we’re bringing in, but I envision her out on the wing. It’s possible with our size next season that we can play some four-guard offense.”
Olstedt competed in the recent Oregon Athletic Coaches Association Senior All-Star Games, where she averaged 11.5 points in contests held at Corban College in Salem and George Fox University in Newberg.
“It was a lot of fun, and I was excited to have the opportunity to play in those games,” said Olstedt, who also lettered in soccer, and was a high jumper and long jumper on the Seaside track team. “I wanted to keep playing basketball after high school if I could. I talked with Chad earlier in the year and he came to a few of our games and seemed super interested. I talked to him a little more, and then decided to come here. If I didn’t play, I was going to go to Oregon State University.”
Olstedt has played both guard positions and out on the wing in high school, and is prepared to play any of three positions at LCC.
“I’m quick off the dribble and have done a lot of ball-handling and taking care of the ball up and down the court,” she said. “I played a lot of two (shooting guard) in high school and I like playing out on the wing, but maybe my size might hurt me playing out there in college. I don’t care where I’m playing as long as I’m out on the court.”
Besides excelling on the court where she was also named to the Cowapa League’s first team, Olstedt was a standout in the classroom with a 3.78 grade point average. She aspires to eventually become an athletic trainer.
“I took a high school class in athletic training and really liked it,” she said. “If I don’t end up playing somewhere when I leave LCC, I’ll go to Oregon State or somewhere else to study athletic training. If I’m playing at the next level, I might consider Portland State University or the University of Portland.”
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