November 1, 2013
Linfield XC Runs with the Trail Blazers

The Linfield Wildcat met Blaze the Trail Cat when the Portland Trail Blazers launched one leg of their “Rip City Relay” from Linfield College Friday, November 1. Linfield President Thomas Hellie, Chris McGowan, Trail Blazers and Moda Center President and CEO; William Johnson, President of Moda Health; Larry Yoder, McMinnville Council President; and Blaze the Trail Cat, the Trail Blazer mascot were on hand to kick off one leg of the relay, which began in Coos Bay and ended at the Moda Center in time for the Trail Blazer’s home opener Saturday, Nov. 2.

Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf (2nd from left) and Lexi Heredia (3rd from left) pose for a photo during the relay.

Selected from the student body to represnt Linfield during the relay were Linfield cross country team members Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf and Lexi Heredia. "It was fun to be a part of it," stated Rasmussen-Rehkopf who helped run the ball from Linfield to McMinnville High School, just over a mile away. "They told us we could dribble the ball, but I didn't want to accidentally dribble it off my foot and into traffic!"

The relay members run the game ball down Highway 99 on their way to MHS.

The Trail Blazers and Moda Health teamed up for the “Rip City Relay,” a five-day journey that took the ceremonial game ball up the Oregon coast and to the Moda Center. In addition to McMinnville, the Rip City Relay also made stops in Coos Bay, Reedsport, Waldport, Newport, Otter Rock, Lincoln City, Grand Ronde, Newberg and Beaverton enroute to Portland.