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A12 Wednesday, March 4, 2020 The Dalles Chronicle TheDallesChronicle.com SPORTS No. 1-seeded Dodge takes fifth place at state tourney TD junior goes 4-2 and caps season with a 26-2 overall record Rodriguez ■ Ray The Dalles Chronicle Entering state tournament action last weekend, The Dalles’ Dusty Dodge had reeled off 22 straight wins, 21 by pin, and was the No. 1 seed in the 170-pound bracket. The junior started out strong by pinning Chace Coopersmith (Putnam) in 37 seconds and appeared to be headed towards the cham- pionship that had eluded him in his first two years at Goldendale. In his quarterfinal match, however, Dodge suffered a pinfall defeat at the hands of Brock Pierce (Central) at the 5:22 mark of the third round. Although his title quest bid went by the wayside, Dodge had to get his groove back soon or he would be elimi- nated early, so he had a pep talk with TD coaches Paul Beasley, Ryan Manciu and his old Goldendale coaches, Matt and Nick Demolt. Dodge went on to win three of his last four matches, on two pins and a decision, to pick up fifth place at the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 5A State Wrestling Championships held at veterans memorial Coliseum in Portland. “It affected me pretty hard. It was pretty hard to get my mindset back to where I wanted it to be,” Dodge said. “I was mad at myself for losing the record and I was mad at myself because I knew I could have won that match if I was in better shape. I just needed to focus more on myself and try to get my mindset back and get back in control, wrestling the way I knew how.” Following his quarter- final loss to Pierce, Dodge dropped Thurston’s Auron Cramer (31 seconds) and Crater’s Ethan VanHook (3:21) to move into the con- solation semifinals, where he would face Shane Teigen (Thurston). Teigen (44-12) outlasted Dodge, taking this bout by a 4-1 decision, which meant that he would grapple for fifth or sixth place versus West Albany’s Brendan Hughes (32-19). In that showdown, Dodge used all six minutes and imposed a 14-8 decision win to lock down fifth place and finish with a 26-2 overall re- cord (25 pins, one decision). He notched five tourna- ment firsts and claimed a district championship during the season, which is a great achievement, but he is now on a mission to make 2020- 2021 even better. “I did a lot of good things and I am proud of myself for that, but I know that I could have done a lot better if I truly gave it 100 percent,” Dodge said. “I don’t think I would say that I cheated myself, but I don’t think I gave my full mindset daily. I am going to be a lot more determined next year. I am going to hit the gym hard, I am going to hit some camps and I am going to come back to win the state title.” Also scoring points for The Dalles were Taylor Morehouse, who went 1-2 in his first state berth with one pin at 170 pounds, and Steven Preston, a 160-pound senior, added a win and two losses in his final state appearance. The district runner-up be- hind Dodge, Morehouse (14- 18 record) lost to Pierce by second-round pin (2:57) and rebounded with a first-round pin of Putnam’s Coopersmith at the 1:37 mark of the first Lady Rangers fall one win shy of Baker City state berth round. Morehouse then had his tournament cut short in his next match versus Ethan VanHook (Crater), a heart- breaking 8-7 decision. “Taylor took another step in his development here at state,” Beasley said. “This season, he had a wonderful attitude and he took the loss- es as learning tools, which for anyone his age, is really commendable. He is going to come back to be one of our major wrestlers next year.” “I feel like I left a lot on the table,” Preston said. “This weekend wasn’t quite what I was hoping for and expect- ing, but high school wrestling is only half the year, so I look forward to state freestyle and Greco Roman and now I have to buckle up and prepare for that.” At 120 pounds, Ian Preston, TD’s first freshman state qualifier since Spud Simer in the 1990s, lost both of his See TD WRESTLING, page A13 Dufur boys battle hard until the bitter end, 78-64 Dufur senior Mikayla Kelly, middle, gets fouled by Damascus’ Katie Bailey, left, while senior teammate Katie Beal (45) looks on in the second half of Friday’s 1A state sub-round matchup. Damascus won the game, 48-24. Ray Rodriguez photo each and Piper Neal sank a fourth-quarter 3-pointer for her three points. Damascus’ sophomore point guard, Emily Powers led the Eagles with 19 points, McKenna Patrick tallied seven and Noelle Wakefield notched six points, as the team totaled 16 field goals, three 3-pointers, and hit 13 of 19 free throws. The Big Sky Conference champions finish ranked 17th and lose a solid senior core of Kelly, Mona Meanus, Maddy Smith, Beal and Reghan Smith. “I want to thank the se- niors for their unselfishness this season, because they were great teammates all the way through,” said Morris, the Big Sky’s co-Coach of the Year. “For the majority of the year, we didn’t start any seniors. I had them coming off the bench and they had great attitudes, cheered on their teammates, and when their number was called, they stepped up to the plate and played great basketball. I am super-proud of how they handled that. Their leader- ship uplifted everyone and they were just phenomenal teammates.” From the unicorn de- fense, the fun bus rides and the loose attitudes, Morris called his first season ever coaching girls a smashing success. With Brown (first-team, all-league), Neal (second team), White (second team), along with Beachamp, Hester, Emily Crawford, Hannah Kortge and Abby Beal back in the fold, six of them sophomores, the Rangers could be on the cusp of a mini-dynasty. “I think the biggest thing for us is we are as athletic as all get-out,” Morris said. “We knew that coming into this year, but we have some skill sets that we need to work on. It’s hard to work on that a lot in-season, but the biggest thing for us is taking advantage between now and November of next year and getting ourselves to be better basketball play- ers, better ball handlers, better passers and better shooters. All those things. And then you add that to what we already bring to the table defensively, watch out, we are going to be a really good basketball team next year.” Facing a much bigger fourth-ranked Crosshill Christian frontcourt, the Dufur Rangers trailed 66-45 through three quarters but then turned on the defense and changed the tide with a 16-1 run in a span of 5:38 to get to within 67-61 with possession at the 2:22 mark of the final quarter. However, Cooper Bales fouled out with a little more than two minutes to go, and later, Trey Darden was whistled for his fifth foul with less than a minute left in regulation and the Eagles survived, 78-64, to vault into the Final 8 round in Baker City this week. As overmatched as they were, the Rangers, who scored a 62-61 overtime up- set win on Feb. 26 at No. 3 Life Christian, gave themselves a fighting chance and that was not lost in the eyes of head coach Hollie Darden. “In these last two games, I felt like we really turned some things around a little bit,” Darden said. “To com- pete the way we did against some of the better teams in the state, showed us that we can compete. Beating Life was a huge win for us. We knew that we would be facing another tough team with a similar record in the next round, at their place, so it was going to be a tough battle. And they did. They competed. We got down early and battled back to give ourselves a little bit of an opportunity to make things interesting late in the game.” Dufur (16-12 overall), the No. 3 seed out the Big Sky Conference, totaled 22 field goals, four 3-pointers, and dropped 16 of 20 from the line. Trey Darden, the Life Christian hero with his game-winning basket, the team’s third game-winning shot of the season, posted SWC boys end season in heartbreak Rodriguez ■ Ray The Dalles Chronicle Preston (21-7 record) suffered the same fate as Morehouse in three matches, losing his open- ing match by pin at 1:30 against Ridgeview’s Ethyne Reid (39-17), and then he beat Marshall Rodenbeck (Wilsonville) by an 11-2 ma- jor decision to advance. In his next 160-pound bout, Preston and Hillsboro’s Scott Ellis used all six min- utes in their battle, with Ellis hanging on to secure a 5-2 decision. Rodriguez ■ Ray The Dalles Chronicle Shooting woes hurt Dufur’s chances in 48- 24 loss to No. 4 Damascus Rodriguez ■ Ray The Dalles Chronicle DAMASCUS – In the first two months, the Dufur Rangers were 11-7 until winning six games in a row, including Big Sky Conference wins over Ione-Arlington (58- 50) and Echo (50-44). That streak and their season ended in a 48-24 state sub-round girls bas- ketball loss Friday at No. 4 Damascus Christian. Working under first-year head coach Nathan Morris and assistants Heather Walters and Tony White, the Rangers finished 17-9 and went 9-3 in league play and won their first district title since 2005. Junior wing Zoe Hester said there was a dramatic shift made in the team’s overall progression and it boosted the Lady Rangers from 10 wins in 2019 to 17 this season, with pretty much the same roster. “I would describe this season as really unforgettable and amazing,” Hester said. “It was so crazy to look back at where we were at the begin- ning of the year and to realize how much we’ve grown and how much more aggressive we were and how much more confidence we have now. It is just so amazing to see how much better we have gotten and how much better we will be.” In Friday’s tilt, Dufur, play- ing its second straight game without injured post Brooke Beachamp, made seven field goals, as Jessica Brown scored eight points, Katie Beal poured in five, both Mikayla Kelly and Kierstin White added four points The Dalles’ Dusty Dodge, top, pins Crater’s Ethan VanHook in 3:21 during consolation action in Portland. Dodge went 4-2 at state to earn fifth place and ended the season with a 26-2 record, 25 of those victories by pin. Jeremy Lanthorn/Contributed photo Olson peeled off his screen attempt, retrieved the pass and had his 3-point attempt fall short, as the Redsides lost Moments after suffering a season-ending 43-40 road loss by three points and missed a to Joseph in a state sub-round chance to move on to Baker. “I think in the end, they contest played in Enterprise, didn’t believe they played South Wasco County head as well as they could have,” coach Jim Hull said his Hull said. “You got to attri- players were frustrated with themselves. bute that to different factors, In a back-and-forth tussle but that’s why you play for between SWC and Joseph home court and those things neither team held more than because when you have to a five-point lead in the second travel six hours and stay the half, and with 1.9 seconds left night and then play instead in regulation the Redsides had of being in your own bed and a final shot to send the game on your own court, it is totally into overtime. different. We were close. It just Oscar Thomas had an wasn’t in the cards this time.” inbounds play drawn up for No. 13-ranked SWC (20-7 him, but he tripped, so Garrett overall), the district’s second seed, made 17 of 51 shots for 33 percent, went 2 of 14 on 3-pointers, both by Thomas in the fourth quarter, and sank 4 of 5 free throws. Olson netted 24 points and had 10 rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot, Thomas tallied 12 points, six boards, two blocks, two steals and an assist, and Brock LaFaver went for four points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, a steal and two assists. Tanner Davis, Remington Sheer and Ben Birman were held scoreless, but the trio combined for eight assists, seven rebounds, eight pass deflections. SWC held the 41-30 rebounding edge and committed 15 turnovers to Joseph’s two. Chase Murray posted 13 points to lead the No. 9 Eagles (22-7), who drained 17 off 55 shots, 6 of 25 from long distance, and went 3 of 8 from the line. Hadley Miller dropped sev- en points, and Grahm Barber came in off the bench due to foul troubles and rattled off seven fourth-quarter points. “If you look at shooting per- centages, it is even,” Hull said. “Just a couple of our turnovers gave them an advantage down the stretch. Those mistakes and lack of execution were due to our lack of experience See SWC HOOPS, page A13 Dufur sophomore Gabe Petroff, middle, goes up for a rebound in Saturday’s 1A state sub-round boys basketball game played versus Crosshill Christian. The No. 4-ranked Eagles advanced to Baker City following their 78-64 win. Contributed photo a team-leading 19 points, Cooper Bales tacked on 16, Josh Taylor finished with 13, Jacob Peters had 11, Alex Barrett hit a 3-pointer, and Gabe Petroff was good for two points. “In the fourth quarter, our pressure turned into transition layups and we played a little more defense, where we weren’t giving up as many easy looks,” coach Darden said. “They missed some shots and we got some rebounds, got the ball inside a little bit and we were able to score off of that.” For Crosshill, Andrew Stoddard racked up 33 points, Kruse Witham tallied 11 and both Carter Knox and Liam Harris chipped in 10 points apiece for the Eagles, who made 26 field goals, five 3-pointers, and hit on 21 of 30 from the line. Overall, Dufur started 0-4 and then won six of nine games to run their record to 6-7 after a 55-43 home loss versus Horizon Christian on Jan. 17. The Rangers finished the final month and a half at 8-3, and split two district games, losing 61-42 to district cham- pion Ione-Arlington and then beating Condon, 70-47, for the third district seed. One luxury coach Darden has ahead of next season is that his entire roster is back and there are a couple of promising freshmen on the rise. Bales was a first-team all-league winner as a point guard, junior post Trey Darden added a second-team nod and Peters is coming off an honor- able mention selection. Alex Barrett, Landon Ellis, Caleb Olson, Tyson Byers, Petroff, Isaac Anthony, Carson Smith and Marcus Radcliffe make up the rest of the scheduled returners for coach Darden and his assistants C.S. Little and Justin Bales. After the game, coach Darden spoke with his group about some areas where they need to improve and how they plan to attack it. “We are super-excited about next year,” coach Darden said. “We talked to the boys after the game and wanted to make sure they understood that it is not going to be easy just because we are a year older. We want to emphasize to them about working on some areas of improvement just to give ourselves a little bit of an easier opportunity next year to win some of these close games that we were unable to pull off this year.” Dr. Cullen’s Student of the week Alma Garcia, Senior: She is working very hard. She is sticking to getting her goal of graduating. She sits down, gets her work out and gets what she needs done. She has had pretty good attendance and will readily do make up work when she misses school. Congratulations Alma Garcia, TDHS Columbia View Dental 1915 E. 19th Street | The Dalles Victor Cullen, DDS 541-296-5677 | Se habla español
