Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 7, 2015 11A
Polk County Sports
PREP WRESTLING ROUNDUP
Dallas takes 10th
Miller places second for Dragons
Itemizer-Observer staff report
VANCOUVER, Wash. —
Facing stiff competition
from Washington and Ore-
gon schools, the Dallas
H i g h
wrestling
t e a m
placed
10th at the
Pacific
C o a s t
Wrestling
Champi-
onships
Miller
on Friday
and Saturday at Hudson’s
Bay High School.
“We took our team to a
tough tournament,” Dallas
coach Tony Olliff said. “Sev-
eral of our wrestlers had
one to three Washington
state champions in their
brackets from various lev-
els.”
Nolan Miller finished
second at 120 pounds,
while Matthew Dindinger
placed fourth at 138
pounds to lead the Dragons
at the 33-school competi-
tion.
“Nolan Miller had a great
tournament,” Olliff said.
“He got beat in the finals by
Next Up
What: Brunner Invita-
tional.
When: Saturday, 9
a.m.
Where: Dallas High
School gym.
Admission: $5 for
adults; $4 for students.
Children 6 and under
and seniors are free.
Who: The Dragon
wrestling team will host
the annual tournament.
Did you know? The
invitational, formerly
called the Dallas Booster
Club Wrestling Tourna-
ment, was renamed
after former tournament
director Janet Brunner.
a Washington kid who is
pretty tough.”
Miller’s loss in the cham-
pionship round was his first
of the season, dropping his
record to 26-1.
Dallas split its wrestlers
into two teams over the
weekend, as the Dragons
placed third out of six
schools at the Junction City
Invitational on Saturday.
Justin Spencer (160) and Jeff
Dunagan (170) won their
respective weight divisions
to lead Dallas.
CENTRAL TAKES THIRD AT
INVITATIONAL: The Central
High wrestling team celebrat-
ed a new year with a strong
showing at the Bob Bishop In-
vitational on Saturday. The
Panthers
p l a c e d
third out of
21 teams.
Tillamook
won the
team title.
Tanner
Swinehar t
(170 pou-
n d s ) a n d T. Swinehart
Marlon Tu-
ipulotu (285) won their respec-
tive weight classes, while Colin
Swinehart (145) and Beto
Meza (195) placed second. But
it was their resiliency that
caught coach Van Holstad’s at-
tention from wrestlers like
Riley Olson (195), who battled
back in the consolation brack-
ets to earn points. “One of the
things we needed to work on
was wrestling in those conso-
lation rounds and scoring,”
Holstad said. “Those are the
rounds that are important in
tournaments, and we had a lot
of guys who wrestled real well
in those.”
Star: Mottershaw ranks
second at WOU in points
Continued from Page 10A
Mottershaw’s ability to
play multiple positions for
the Wolves makes her a
valuable backcourt player.
“She has the versatility to
play the one or the two
guard,” WOU coach Holli
Howard-Carpenter said.
“She has probably been our
most consistent player in
effort, (her desire) to win
and play on the court. We
need that to spread to the
rest of the team.”
Mottershaw’s increase in
scoring and assists is be-
cause of more than an
uptick in minutes.
Mottershaw has become
more aggressive. Alongside
forward Dana Goularte,
Mo t t e r s h a w g i v e s t h e
Wolves a dangerous inside-
outside threat.
“I like the aggressiveness
of the game,” she said. “I
like all the little things and
that you can never be the
best. There’s always some-
thing to improve on. I like
that.”
But as much as Motter-
shaw has improved in be-
coming a scoring threat, the
Wolves are looking to be-
come even deeper on of-
fense.
Mottershaw and
Goularte combine to score
28.5 of the team’s 60.6
points per game, a trend
Fleming: Senior serves
as spark plug for team
Continued from Page 10A
“I’m always talking, al-
ways trying to encourage the
guys,” Fleming said. “I’m
making sure they know how
to fix something. It’s not say-
ing ‘don’t do this.’ It’s ‘you
tried it this way, now let’s try
something else.’ It’s not
being negative about some-
thing, but giving positive en-
couragement.”
But Fleming’s leadership
goes beyond his words — his
ability to affect a game in a
variety of ways makes him
one of the Panthers’ most
versatile assets.
“He doesn’t have to score
a lot to be able to control a
game,” Kreta said. “He re-
bounds for us. He dives on
the floor. We put him on our
opponents’ best offensive
player and he largely shuts
them down. He helps us in a
lot of different ways.”
Those hustle plays have
defined Fleming’s season so
far.
“I know what my role is,”
he said. “I’m here to be that
spark plug for the team. I
want to get everyone going,
to play defense and get
everyone energized.”
His success on the court is
a product of all the work he’s
put in off it, Kreta said.
Whether it’s extra film ses-
sions to working on foot-
work, Fleming has become a
more complete player.
“It’s not necessarily hard
because it’s the kind of per-
son I am,” Fleming said.
“I’m an energetic person. I
may be quiet around other
Sister act
As Sarah faces an uncer-
people, but I like to play at a
high level and fast pace.
Basketball is my love. I love
playing sports and I want to
give 100 percent every
time.”
As Central prepares to
open Mid-Willamette Con-
ference play against South
Albany on Jan. 14, Fleming
said the Panthers are fully
realizing each player’s role
on the team. And, with
Fleming in part leading the
charge, he believes Central is
ready to surprise its Class 5A
league opponents.
“I feel like we’ve turned a
few heads,” Fleming said of
the Panthers 5-3 star t
against tough nonleague
competition, which includ-
ed 6A No. 1 David Douglas
and 5A No. 1 Mountain View.
“We want to keep those
heads turned and make sure
people know this wasn’t a
fluke.”
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Pirates win in overtime
Locke scores 24 points to lead Perrydale
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Jordan Mottershaw brings the ball up the court. Mot-
tershaw has played both the one and two guard.
that Howard-Carpenter
said must change for the
Wolves to be successful.
“It can’t be Dana and Jor-
dan carrying the team every
single night,” Howard-Car-
penter said. “We have to
take care of business on of-
fense.”
Western Oregon enters
the week at 4-7 overall, but
Mottershaw is ready to do
whatever she can to make
the Wolves a contender in
the Great Northwest Athlet-
ic Conference.
“I’m a super-competitive
person,” Mottershaw said.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to
win. I want to be a part of
this program and make
Western Oregon a school to
be reckoned with in the
conference.”
Itemizer-Observer staff report
MONROE — The Perry-
dale girls basketball team
won its final nonleague con-
test in thrilling fashion, de-
feating Monroe 60-56 in
overtime on Saturday. The
Pirates rallied from a 31-20
halftime deficit to force the
extra period.
Senior guard Cheyenne
Locke scored a game-high
24 points, while Sarah Nel-
son added 11 points and
Telaney Newton scored 10
points to lead Perrydale.
As the Pirates resume Tri-
River Conference play, find-
ing consistency will be the
team’s top priority.
“I’m not sure the girls fully
understood the intensity
you need to bring every
night,” Perrydale coach Terry
Newton said. “… We always
work hard. My washing ma-
chine works hard too, but it
doesn’t always work smart.
That’s the one step we have
to work on: working hard
and working smart.”
Shoulder: Bond extends to team
Continued from Page 10A
Originally developed in
the 1970s, PRP has gained
recent national attention
when several prominent
athletes, including golfer
Tiger Woods and football
players Hines Ward and
Troy Polamalu, used the
therapy to recover from
sports-related injuries.
Nelson received the treat-
ment in mid-December.
She returned to the court
against Damascus Christian
on Dec. 29.
Now it’s a waiting game
to see if the therapy has
helped fix her shoulder.
Nelson said if this does not
work out long term, surgery
is a possibility.
“Slowly starting to feel
that (my shoulder is) a little
bit tighter,” Nelson said.
“Not a whole lot, but I’m just
hoping it keeps it in more.
It’s supposed to continue to
strengthen over time.”
But no matter what hap-
pens next, Nelson knows
she won’t be facing it alone.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
Central senior Kyler Fleming can spark momentum for
the Panthers on offense and defense.
tain fu-
ture about
her shoul-
der, one
thing is
without
doubt.
Her sister,
Emily, will
S. Nelson
be by her
side helping her however
she can.
“She’s my trainer,” Sarah
said smiling.
It’s Emily who helps
Sarah tape her shoulder be-
fore practices and games,
just one mark of a relation-
ship that goes far beyond
the basketball court.
For almost as long as they
can remember, Sarah and
Emily have been playing
sports together.
“We don’t know any dif-
ferent, so it’s not weird for
us,” Emily said. “I compete
just as hard against her as I
do anyone else.”
Sarah and Emily played
many of the same sports.
But don’t expect these
siblings to get in each
other’s way.
“I think when we were
y o u n g e r,
we got in
more ar-
guments,”
S a r a h
s a i d .
“Now we
don’t real-
ly bicker
E. Nelson
or any-
thing. We’re just another
player on the team.”
That doesn’t mean the
bond they share on the bas-
ketball court isn’t beneficial.
“Emily and Sarah are
very special young ladies,”
Perrydale coach Terry New-
ton said. “They’re a valu-
able part of the program.
One of the things we try to
work on is character. We’re
fortunate to have just really
good people, and Emily
and Sarah are pretty much
the standard.”
That sisterly bond ex-
tends beyond the siblings.
In fact, that’s what sets
the Pirates apart, Emily
said.
“We all grew up together,
went to school together and
played together,” Emily
said. “So, we’re all just as
CENTRAL DOWNS MOUN-
TA I N V I E W: Ce n t r a l h e l d
Mountain View to seven total
points during the second and
third quarters as the Panthers
pulled away for a 45-32 win on
Saturday. Central trailed 12-8
after the first quarter, but
outscored
the Cougars
30-7 over
the next
two periods
to earn the
win. Kylie
Nash scored
15 points to
lead the
Nash
Panthers.
Reba Hoffman added eight
points and Sai Tapasa scored
six points. Central hosted
Aloha Tuesday after press time
in the team’s final nonleague
contest.
DALLAS WINS DEFENSIVE
BATTLE: The Dallas girls bas-
ketball team ended its run at
the Nike Interstate Shootout
with a defensive battle on
Dec. 30. The Dragons held
Wilson to six points in the first
half, en route to a 29-24 win.
Zwicker
Eva Ronco
sco-red 11
points to
lead Dallas.
S a r a h
Zwicker
s c o r e d
s e v e n
p o i n t s ,
while Sarah
Mitchell
added six points.
FALLS CITY STRUGGLES:
Falls City lost three games at
the 1A Hoops Classic and
Alsea Tin Hat Tournament last
we e k . Th e M o u n t a i n e e r s
opened the week at the 1A
Hoops Classic in Portland,
falling to McKenzie 42-22 on
Dec. 30 and Portland Lutheran
50-41 on Dec. 31. Falls City
then competed at the Alsea
Tin Hat Tournament, losing to
Alsea 44-38 and having its sec-
ond game on Saturday can-
celed. Brittany Varney scored a
team-high 15 points against
Alsea, while Tierra Reynolds
added 11 points. The Moun-
taineers lost to Siletz Valley 47-
32 on Monday. Varney scored
11 points to lead Falls City.
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Up Next
• Perrydale resumed
Tri-River Conference play
at Central Linn Tuesday
after press time.
• The Pirates host Regis
Friday at 5:30 p.m. before
playing at East Linn Chris-
tian on Tuesday.
• Perrydale entered the
week with a 5-3 record.
close as Sarah and I. That’s
why none of this feels
weird, I think.”
But being close does have
its downsides, Newton said.
“They won’t always call
each other out,” Newton
said. “Sometimes there is a
point where you have to say
‘I don’t agree with that’.”
On e t h i n g e ve r yo n e
agrees on is that the team’s
closeness could be its
biggest asset, Newton said.
As Sarah and the Pirates
embark on an uncertain fu-
ture this season, they know
that while they may just be
teammates on the surface,
they have the support of a
family behind them.
Andy Avgi
Western Oregon
Avgi, a redshirt junior, played a big
role in Western Oregon’s men’s basket-
ball team’s 72-64 win over Montana State
Billings on Saturday. Avgi scored a game-
high 23 points, shooting 11-for-15 from
the field. He also grabbed five rebounds and had one steal
and one block as the Wolves (11-3 overall, 3-1 Great North-
west Athletic Conference) held off the Yellowjackets for the
victory.
Cheyenne Locke
Perrydale High
Locke, a senior, came up in a big way
for Perrydale’s girls basketball team
against Monroe on Saturday. Locke led
all scorers with 24 points as the Pirates
earned a wild 60-56 overtime win.
Locke’s ability to score at will and get her teammates in-
volved made her perhaps Perrydale’s most valuable weapon
against Monroe. Locke has helped the Pirates to a 5-3 record
overall entering the week.
To submit nominations for the Itemizer-Observer Athlete of
the Week, contact Sports Editor Lukas Eggen at 503-623-2373
or leggen@polkio.com by 9 a.m. on Monday.