Polk County
Sports
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11
Girls Basketball: Central
at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Men’s Basketball: West-
ern Oregon at Saint Mar-
tin’s, 8 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 12
Swimming: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Mid-Willamette Con-
ference Championships, Os-
born Aquatic Center, Corval-
lis, noon.
Women’s Basketball:
Simon Fraser at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEB. 13
Boys Basketball: Dallas
at South Albany, 7 p.m. Cres-
cent Valley at Central, 7 p.m.
St. Paul at Perrydale, 7 p.m.
Falls City at Jewell, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: St. Paul
at Perrydale, 5:30 p.m. Falls
City at Jewell, 5:30 p.m.
South Albany at Dallas, 7
p.m. Central at Crescent Val-
ley, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Mid-Willamette Con-
ference Championships, Sil-
verton, 10 a.m.
Baseball: Western Ore-
gon at Cal State Monterey
Bay, 2 p.m.
Softball: Desert Stinger
Tournament at Las Vegas:
Western Oregon vs. Califor-
nia Baptist, 2 p.m.; Western
Oregon vs. Cal State Mon-
terey Bay, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 14
Wrestling: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Mid-Willamette Con-
ference Championships, Sil-
verton, 11 a.m.
Swimming: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Mid-Willamette Con-
ference Championships, Os-
born Aquatic Center, Cor-
vallis, 1 p.m.
Women’s Basketball:
Western Washington at
Western Oregon, 7 p.m.
Baseball: Western Ore-
gon at Cal State Monterey
Bay (DH), 11 a.m.
Softball: Desert Stinger
Tournament at Las Vegas:
Western Oregon vs. Augus-
tana, 2 p.m.; Western Oregon
vs. Humboldt State, 4:30
p.m.
SUNDAY, FEB. 15
Baseball: Western Ore-
gon at Cal State Monterey
Bay, 11 a.m.
Softball: Desert Stinger
Tournament at Las Vegas:
Western Oregon vs. Texas-
Permian Basin, 11:30 a.m.;
Western Oregon vs. Regis, 2
p.m.
MONDAY, FEB. 16
Boys Basketball: Tri-River
Conference Playoffs, TBA.
TUESDAY, FEB. 17
Boys Basketball: Corval-
lis at Dallas, 7 p.m. Lebanon
at Central, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Tri-River
Conference Playoffs, TBA.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 18
Boys Basketball: Tri-River
Conference Playoffs, TBA.
Girls Basketball: Dallas
at Corvallis, 7 p.m. Central
at Lebanon, 7:15 p.m.
—
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 11, 2015 10A
MID-WILLAMETTE CONFERENCE DISTRICT WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dallas aims for sixth title Negrete breaks out
Dragons hope to qualify at least 14 for state
Central ready for big challenge
By Lukas Eggen
By Lukas Eggen
Battle For State Berths
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — For the past
half-decade, it’s become al-
most an annual tradition.
The Dallas wrestling
team has claimed five Mid-
Willamette Conference Dis-
trict Wrestling Champi-
onships in a row.
“When I see the kids
throw up their fingers with
how many titles we’ve won,
it makes me proud,” Dallas
coach Tony Olliff said.
Olliff knows this week-
end’s district meet is not the
top of the mountain.
What: Mid-Willamette Conference District Wrestling
Championships.
When: Friday, 10 a.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. Championship fi-
nals scheduled Saturday at 7 p.m.
Where: Silverton High School, Silverton.
Who: Dallas, Central, Corvallis, Crescent Valley, Lebanon,
Silverton, South Albany and Woodburn.
Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4 with ASB card.
What’s at stake: The top four placers in each weight class
qualify for the OSAA Class 5A state wrestling championships,
to be held Feb. 27-28 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Port-
land.
“We want to go into dis-
tricts knowing it’s not the be
all, end all for us,” Olliff said.
“It’s the state qualifier and
state is our ultimate goal.”
See TITLE, Page 13A
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral sophomore wrestler
David Negrete was having
second thoughts about join-
ing the middle school
wrestling team as an eighth-
grader.
A family member con-
vinced him to try, but Ne-
grete wasn’t sure he was cut
out for wrestling.
“The first day I started
conditioning, I almost start-
ed puking,” Negrete said.
But he wouldn’t be de-
terred.
It wasn’t until after his
f re s h m a n
campaign,
when Ne-
grete went
16-30, that
he discov-
ered the
secret that
would lead
Negrete
to his suc-
cess.
“I’ve improved my stance
a lot,” Negrete said. “Every
time I was about to take a
shot (last year), I was too
high. I noticed everyone
was lower than me. Now, I
can take my opponents
down fast and quick.”
See NEGRETE, Page 13A
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Fulfilling a promise
Seniors hope to lead new-look Wolves back to a title
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — When
Amanda Evola and Jourdan
Williams stepped onto West-
ern Oregon’s softball field for
the first
time in
2012; they
w e re i m -
mediately
d ra w n t o
each other.
As the
p a i r ’ s
friendship
Gardner
developed,
they made a promise.
“When we first came in,
we knew what our roles were
and we stuck together,”
Williams said. “Ever since,
we said we’d finish this to-
gether and here we are.”
The Wolves’ lone seniors
hope for a storybook ending
to their WOU careers as
Western Oregon looks to de-
fend its Great Northwest
Athletic Conference title.
On the surface, WOU’s
lineup will have a different
look than last year. The
Wolves lost seven seniors, in-
cluding pitcher Erika Bryll of
Dallas, catcher Bridjet Box,
infielders Ashlie Gardner and
Melanie Pfeiffer, and out-
fielders Danielle Harcourt
and Danielle Hannan, all of
whom made at least 46 starts
in 2014. Coupled with the
loss of Raina Reece, WOU
lost 156 of 318 runs scored.
See PROMISE, Page 12A
Western Oregon Softball
Head coach: Lonny Sargent, fifth year (third with Western
Oregon), 92-116.
2014 record: 34-23 overall, 18-6 Great Northwest Athletic
Conference, first place.
Key returners (2014 stats): Amanda Evola (OF, 8 home
runs, 55 runs batted in); Jourdan Williams (P/3B, 3 HR, 30 RBI,
4.67 ERA); Ashlie Gardner (1B/3B, .384, 73 hits, 57 runs scored).
Key losses: Melanie Pfeiffer (IF, .378, 76 hits); Bridjet Box (C,
.365, 7 HR, 41 RBI); Eryka Brill (P, 41 strikeouts, 4.15 ERA); Kelli
Demianew (2.09 ERA, 76 SO, 17 wins).
By the numbers: 156 — The number of runs scored West-
ern Oregon lost from last year’s regular starters. The Wolves
scored 318 total runs during the 2014 campaign.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Senior pitcher Jourdan Williams (left) and senior outfielder Amanda Evola have a good
laugh during practice. The duo hopes to lead WOU to a second conference title.
MID-WILLAMETTE CONFERENCE DISTRICT SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
STAT SHEET
Dallas, Central ready to make a splash
18
Dragons, Panthers hope a few individuals have big days at district
Schedules Subject to Change
Ranking of the
Western Ore-
gon University
men’s basket-
ball team in this week’s Na-
tional Association of
Basketball Coaches NCAA
Division II poll. This marks
the third week WOU has
been ranked nationally.
6
Number of consec-
utive Mid-
Willamette
Conference dual
meet titles won by the Dal-
las High wrestling team.
The Dragons last week
wrapped up a perfect 7-0
league season.
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The Dallas
Dragons may lack the depth
that other schools have, but
four swimmers are looking
to punch their tickets to the
state swim meet this week-
end.
As the Dragons prepare to
compete at the Mid-
Willamette Conference Dis-
trict Championships Thurs-
day and Saturday in Corval-
www.polkio.com/ns/sports
lis, Dallas
coach Jeff
Bemrose
k n o w s
qualifying
for the
state meet
w o n’t b e
e a s y. Bu t
Ford
he’s got a
few swimmers who may be
up to the challenge.
On the girls side, Jolie-Rae
Ford is seeded second in the
200-yard freestyle and third
in the 500 freestyle races,
while Elizabeth Dressel is
seeded fifth in the 100 but-
terfly and 100 backstroke.
“The girls have a good
shot to qualify,” Bemrose
said.
For the boys, Jesse Gen-
ualdi is seeded fifth in the
100 butterfly and seventh in
the 200 freestyle, while
Lucas Diaz is seeded seventh
in the 50 freestyle and eighth
in the 100 breaststroke.
See SPLASH, Page 12A
Pool Party
What: Mid-Willamette Conference District Swimming Cham-
pionships.
When: Thursday, noon; Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Osborn Aquatic Center, Corvallis.
Who: Dallas, Central, Corvallis, Crescent Valley, Lebanon, Sil-
verton and South Albany.
Admission: Adults, $6; students (with I.D.), $4; children, $4.
What’s at stake: The winner of each individual and relay
event automatically qualifies for the Class 5A state swim meet,
scheduled Feb. 20-21 at Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic
Center in Gresham. Available wildcard spots are given to the
fastest competitors, up to 12 participants.
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