Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2015)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 14, 2015 10A CLASS 5A PREP WRESTLING SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14 Boys Basketball: Dallas at Woodburn, 7 p.m. South Albany at Central, 7 p.m. Wrestling: Woodburn at Dallas, 6 p.m. Central at South Albany, 7 p.m. THURSDAY, JAN. 15 Boys Basketball: Falls City at Livingstone Adven- tist, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball: Falls City at Livingstone Adven- tist, 5:30 p.m. Women’s Basketball: Western Oregon at Western Washington, 7 p.m. FRIDAY, JAN. 16 Boys Basketball: Cen- tral at Dallas, 7 p.m. Perry- dale at Western Mennonite, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball: Falls City at Gaston, 3 p.m. Perrydale at Western Mennonite, 6 p.m. Dallas at Central, 7 p.m. SATURDAY, JAN. 17 Wrestling: Dallas at Parkrose Tournament, 9:30 a.m. Men’s Basketball: Saint Martin’s at Western Oregon, 7 p.m. Women’s Basketball: Western Oregon at Simon Fraser, 7 p.m. TUESDAY, JAN. 20 Boys Basketball: Santi- am at Perrydale, 7 p.m. Jew- ell at Falls City, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball: Santi- am at Perrydale, 5:30 p.m. Jewell at Falls City, 5:30 p.m. Dallas at South Albany, 7 p.m. Crescent Valley at Cen- tral, 7 p.m. Swimming: Dallas at South Albany, 4 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21 Boys Basketball: South Albany at Dallas, 7 p.m. Cen- tral at Crescent Valley, 7 p.m. Wrestling: Dallas at Crescent Valley, 6 p.m. Sil- verton at Central, 6 p.m. — Schedules Subject to Change QUICK HITS WOU junior earns conference honor MONMOUTH — Western Oregon redshirt junior Andy Avgi was named Great Northwest Athletic Confer- ence men’s basketball Co- Player of the Week on Monday. Avgi averaged 20.5 points per game in wins over Northwest Nazarene on Thu- rsday and Cen- tral Wa- shington on Sat- urday. Avgi scored a team- high 18 Avgi points against Northwest Naza- rene. Against the Wildcats, Avgi scored 23 points, 16 of which came in the second half. He ranks second in the conference in total points, points per game, total of- fensive rebounds and offen- sive rebounds per game. Avgi shared the honor with Momir Gatari of Mon- tana State Billings. Passing the torch Brunner helped build Invitational from the ground up By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — If there’s one thing Janet Brunner misses the most, it’s the dimming of the lights. “I have many (fond mem- ories), but probably one of my favorites is sitting at the tournament table with all of the lights off except for the mat light, watching the finals of the only district tourna- ment we have hosted for the past 25 to 30 years,” Brunner said. For two decades, Brunner served as tournament direc- tor of what was then the Dal- las Booster Club Wrestling Tournament. Her dedication helped turn the event into an annual tradition that Dal- las High is proud to present. Taking over It was 1993 when Brunner officially became tourna- ment director of what is now the Brunner Invitational. But the circumstances were far from simple. “Steve Lander was in his first year as our head coach after the death of longtime coach Paul Olliff,” Brunner said. “It was a very emotion- al year for all of us. Losing Paul was difficult and we all pitched in to make the tran- sition as easy as possible on both the wrestlers and Steve. “I had some experience in running some pretty big baseball tournaments, so heck, why not a wrestling tournament?” In addition to the emo- tional struggles, figuring out if Dallas could even host a tournament was a big chal- lenge. “We had so many people who said we didn’t have the facilities to do it,” Brunner said. Through the use of both gyms at the high school, Dal- las found the space. There was just one thing missing — volunteers. Extended family Planning for the Brunner Invitational begins long be- fore the wrestling season starts. “The tournament process starts in September and builds up to the tournament, held the second Saturday in January,” Alice Bibler, cur- rent tournament director, said. From the invitational’s first year, Brunner knew it would take a community ef- fort to pull off this event. The community didn’t disappoint. See TORCH, Page 11A Dallas Wrestling • Dallas finished second at the Brunner Invitational, behind Crook Class 4A state powerhouse Crook County. • Freshmen Noah Sickles (113 pounds) and Treve Earhart (152) placed first. • Read more on Page 12A . CLASS 2A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS SWIMMING Coach wants junior to get aggressive CHS senior feels at home in water Finding some attitude Finding her peace By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer STAT SHEET 7 The number of times Central’s boys basketball team scored more than 50 points during its non- league season. The Pan- thers went 6-1 in those contests. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Janet Brunner may no longer be running the Brunner Invitational, but she still volun- teers and visits with old friends during the annual Dallas wrestling tournament. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Brant Barnes (22) looks for an opening against Regis on Friday night. Barnes finished with seven points. www.polkio.com/ns/sports PERRYDALE — Junior Brant Barnes doesn’t fill up the stat book. Yet, he’s one of Perrydale’s most impor- tant players — and most respected leaders. “Any of our starting five is hard to replace, but with Brant in the middle, he battles, gets rebounds and alters shots,” Pirates coach Mike Lowry said. “He’s just a great kid.” Barnes, a 6-foot-1 wing on Perrydale’s boys basket- ball team, may not be the threat opponents focus on. But the Pirates are working on changing that and let- ting him unleash his skills. Barnes isn’t much of a talker. He’s more likely to pull teammates aside than show a burst of emotion during a game. “I probably should (talk more),” Barnes said. “I just never know what to say.” He more than makes up for it with his play on the court. See ATTITUDE, Page 11A By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — While growing up, the water had always been an escape for senior Sabrina Cedillo. Now, as a captain for the Central High girls swimming team, she’s out to share that feeling with as many people as possible. Cedillo’s love for swim- ming start- ed early. “When I was youn- ger, I actu- ally taught m y s e l f how to s w i m ,” Cedillo Cedillo said. “I was a little fish and it was hard to get me out of the water. I would go to the pool twice a day, every day, every summer.” By the time she was 5, she passed her local pool’s swim test to be able to go in the deep end — without ever taking a formal lesson. “Water is my home,” Cedillo said. “When I am in a pool or in water at all, I un- www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 Up Next • Central’s swim teams are off until Jan. 22, when the Panthers compete in the Dallas Mini-Invita- tional. The event will be held at the Dallas Aquatic Center. wind and find myself at a level of peace that I have yet to find anywhere else.” As she entered high school, the pool threatened to become something else entirely. “My first year of swim team, I was very shy and generally kept to myself,” Cedillo said. “I often felt un- comfortable, especially in my swimsuit.” The mix of swimming competitively for the first time and meeting a new group of people she wasn’t comfortable with meant the pool was no longer her sanc- tuary. “I was just following everyone,” Cedillo said. “I didn’t understand any- thing.” See PEACE, Page 11A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports www.LesSchwab.com Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm • Sat 8am - 5pm Prices good through 1/31/15 DALLAS 121 Main St • 503-623-8155 • INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St • 503-838-6340