Polk County
Sports
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21
Boys Basketball: South
Albany at Dallas, 7 p.m. Cen-
tral at Crescent Valley, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas at Cres-
cent Valley, 6 p.m. Silverton
at Central, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 22
Swimming: Dallas/Cen-
tral Invitational, 3 p.m.
Men’s Basketball: West-
ern Oregon at Simon Fraser,
7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball:
Seattle Pacific at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 23
Boys Basketball: Dallas
at Corvallis, 7 p.m. Perrydale
at St. Paul, 7 p.m. Willamette
Valley Christian at Falls City,
7 p.m. Central at Lebanon,
7:15 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Perry-
dale at St. Paul, 5:30 p.m.
Willamette Valley Christian
at Falls City, 5:30 p.m. Corval-
lis at Dallas, 7 p.m. Lebanon
at Central, 7:15 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas at
Reser’s Tournament of Cham-
pions, Liberty High School,
Hillsboro, 11 a.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
Wrestling: Dallas at
Reser ’s Tournament of
Champions, Liberty High
School, Hillsboro, 10 a.m.
Elmira, Rex Putnam, Shel-
don, Gladstone, Jefferson at
Central Duals, noon.
Men’s Basketball: West-
ern Oregon at Western
Washington, 7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball:
Montana State Billings at
Western Oregon, 2 p.m.
MONDAY, JAN. 26
Swimming: Silverton at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 27
Boys Basketball: Falls
City at Country Christian, 7
p.m. Perrydale at Kennedy, 8
p.m.
Girls Basketball: Falls City
at Country Christian, 5:30
p.m. Perrydale at Kennedy,
6:30 p.m. Dallas at Crescent
Valley, 7 p.m. Silverton at
Central, 7 p.m.
Swimming: Central at
Lebanon, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28
Boys Basketball: Cres-
cent Valley at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Central at Silverton, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas at South
Albany, 6 p.m. Woodburn at
Central, 6 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 21, 2015 10A
CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
In the driver’s seat
Central guard becoming an all-around threat
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — For
nearly as long as she’s been
playing basketball, Central
High junior Kylie Nash has
leaned on one move.
“I live off the drive,” Nash
said. “I have ever since I was
little.”
Nash would always be on
the lookout for a lane to the
hoop. But this season, Nash
is adding a new dimension
that is allowing her game to
reach new heights and
makes the Central girls bas-
ketball team a dangerous
threat.
As the Panthers’ starting
point guard, Nash has the
physical attributes to run
Central’s
offense
effec-
tive-
ly. But
it’s her
non-physi-
cal traits that
have set her apart this sea-
son.
“She has improved her
decision-making and
worked all offseason to in-
crease her shot range,” Cen-
tral coach Julie McDonald
said. “She sees the floor very
well and is one of our better
shooters.”
Nash is still a threat to
drive to the hoop, but she
no longer sees it as her first
and only option.
“I understand better that
we won’t (always) hit (shots)
and be on target every
game,” Nash said. “But
other players will and I have
to get them the ball when
they are on and (I have to)
understand when to take
the shot, when to drive and
when to pass it out to team-
mates.”
That change in mentality
has seen Nash evolve into
one of the Panthers best all-
around players.
Nash entered the week
averaging more than 12
points, five rebounds, five
Huey is
coming
up big
Dallas senior
improving fast
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — There was a
moment when Dallas senior
Brad Huey was ready to walk
away from basketball.
After finding out he was
left off the
fifth-grade
traveling
s q u a d ,
Huey faced
a difficult
choice.
“I was so
mad at my-
self that I
Huey
almost quit
basketball outright,” Huey
said.
Huey decided to give bas-
ketball one last chance.
Since then, basketball has
grown into something more
than just a game.
Living in Polk County,
Huey had many positive in-
fluences in his life. Among
them was former Dallas po-
lice officer Lee Ingram, a
mentor whom Huey said he
learned countless lessons
from.
See HUEY, Page 11A
Up Next
AARON YOST/for the Itemizer-Observer
Central junior Kylie Nash looks to pass against Dallas on Friday night. Nash averages
more than 12 points per game for the Panthers.
assists and 2.5 steals per
game.
She is shooting 43 per-
cent from the field and 40
percent from beyond the 3-
point line.
Nash’s skills were on full
display as Central opened
Mid-Willamette Conference
Hedrick to take
part in showcase
BOISE, Idaho — Boise
State quarterback Grant
Hedrick has been selected to
compete in the College Grid-
iron Showcase on Jan. 31.
The postseason all-star
football game will be held in
Arlington, Texas.
Hedrick, a Central High
graduate from Independ-
ence, led the nation in com-
pletion percentage (70.8
percent) and helped the
Broncos (12-2 overall) to a
Mountain West Conference
title and a Fiesta Bowl victory
over Arizona this past season.
Hedrick received second-
team all-Mountain West
honors in 2014. He ranked
ninth in the nation in pass-
ing efficiency (157.2) and
13th in passing yards (3,696).
The showcase features
players from all divisions of
college football. Players will
be split onto two teams, the
Wranglers and Desperados.
Hedrick will compete for the
Wranglers.
For more information:
www.CollegeGridironShow-
case.com.
CLASS 5A PREP
BOYS BASKETBALL
play last week.
Nash led the Panthers
with 11 points in Central’s
59-25 league win over South
Albany on Jan. 13. She
poured in 19 points in Fri-
day’s 51-36 league home
win over Dallas.
See DRIVER, Page 12A
• Dallas hosts South Al-
bany Wednesday (today) at
7 p.m. and plays at Corvallis
on Friday at 7 p.m. as the
Dragons continue Mid-
Willamette Conference play.
Up Next
• Central’s girls bas-
ketball squad hosts
Lebanon Friday at 7 p.m.
as the Panthers hope to
keep pace in the league.
CLASS 5A PREP WRESTLING
Meza ready for final shot at state
Senior introduced to the real world of competitive wrestling
By Lukas Eggen
Central Duals
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — As a
young child, Beto Meza
loved to watch wrestling. But
he wasn’t watching Olympic
wrestling — or even high
school wrestling.
“I liked the WWE a lot,”
Meza said. “… The guys
were big and strong and
just throwing guys every-
where. I liked it, my friends
liked it and everyone liked
it.”
It was more than a small
surprise, then, when he
began wrestling competi-
tively in sixth grade and
learned that things weren’t
quite like how he imag-
ined.
“It’s not the same as on
www.polkio.com/ns/sports
• Central will host the
Central Duals Saturday at
noon. The Panthers will
face Elmira, Rex Putnam,
Sheldon, Gladstone and
Jefferson.
TV,” Meza, a Central High
senior, said. “It’s a lot more
of a commitment than you
realize.”
Meza’s freshman year did-
n’t go as smoothly as he
hoped.
Meza soon learned new
techniques, the ins and outs
of cutting and maintaining
weight and the dedication it
takes to succeed.
But Meza was hooked.
See MEZA, Page 12A
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file
Central senior Alberto Meza competes in an exhibition match at the Central Four-way on
Jan. 9. Meza was 4-0 at the Oregon Wrestling Classic in Redmond on Friday and Saturday.
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