Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 11, 2015 13A
Polk County Sports
CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Arriving on point
Junior learns to take risks; play takes off for Dragons
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — It was a sight
Dallas boys basketball
coach Trent Schwartz didn’t
expect to see.
Schwartz knew that jun-
ior point guard Everett Mi-
nahan was on a mission to
improve his game. He didn’t
know how committed he
was.
“I found him playing
three-on-three in the morn-
ing before school on a game
day a few weeks ago,”
Schwartz said. “He’s a gym
rat that always stays after
practice to work on his
game. He has a ton of ener-
gy and seemingly never
tires.”
Minahan may look confi-
dent running the Dragons’
offense, but it wasn’t always
that way.
Minahan entered the sea-
son knowing he was the
team’s point guard, but it
took time for him to fully
embrace that role.
“At the start of the season,
I felt pretty timid and was
really tentative with not
wanting to make mistakes.”
Minahan said. “As the sea-
son has progressed, though,
I have realized that mistakes
are part of the game, and in
order for our team to be
playing at our best, I need
to be aggressive and as-
sertive, as well as get other
players involved.”
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Much improved Dallas point guard Everett Minahan
helps keep the Dragons’ offense flowing smoothly.
Minahan is no longer
afraid to be assertive on
the court, and he’s turning
himself into one of the
Dragons’ most dependable
players.
“He has matured greatly
from last season as a com-
petitor, in his coachability
a n d a s a t e a m m a t e ,”
Schwartz said.
That maturation has al-
lowed him to not let one
mistake affect future pos-
sessions.
“I think over the last
year, my ball-handling has
improved the most,” Mina-
han said. “I have really
been working at getting
better handles.”
The result is a more com-
plete point guard.
“He is a very good ball-
handler who doesn’t let
pressure phase him, and
does a great job of getting
u s i n t o o u r o f f e n s e,”
Schwartz said. “He has the
ability to create shots for
himself around the rim with
his patented floater, and
will hit the open perimeter
shot. He also does a great
job finding the open man
off dribble penetration.”
In short, he’s become a
dynamic offensive pres-
ence.
“I would call myself a
playmaker whose strength
is in the transition game
and taking it to the basket,”
Minahan said.
Starting the final two
weeks of the regular season,
the Dragons will look to Mi-
nahan to help lead them to
a strong finish. Dallas en-
tered the week fifth in the
Mid-Willamette Conference
at 4-4, one game behind
Central, Crescent Valley and
Corvallis, who are 5-3. If the
Dragons are able to move
up, Minahan will be a big
reason why.
“At this point in confer-
ence, I would put Everett
right up there with (Sam)
Roth from Silverton and
(Joe) Casey from Crescent
Valley as the top point
guards in the conference,”
Schwartz said.
Title: Olliff eyeing bigger prize
Continued from Page 10A
Dallas may have its eyes
set on the Class 5A state
tournament, but the Drag-
ons are set up to compete
for a sixth district team title
in a row.
Nolan Miller (120), Matt
Hofenbredl (138), Tyson
Janssen (170) and Kyle Sny-
der (220) will lead a strong
group of state tournament
contenders.
Others, like Bailey Hise
(220), Matt Dindinger
(138), Josh Naughton (182)
and Matt Thorsted (220)
should also be strong state
qualifying contenders, Ol-
liff said.
“If they finish in the top
four, I’m basically OK with
that,” Olliff said. “I just need
to get them to state to score
some points and meet their
goals.”
If all eight wrestlers qual-
ify for state, that will still
leave the Dragons short of
their goal.
That’s where wrestlers
such as Tanner Earhart
(145), Treve Earhart (160),
Jesse Stuhr (113), Sammy
Chung (138) and others will
have to shine.
“In order to compete
with Hillsboro, Redmond,
Hermiston and the other
top 5A teams, we’ll need to
qualify at least 14,” Olliff
said. “That will be tough,
but doable.”
Dallas knows the road
only gets tougher from here,
but Olliff said the Dragons
are ready to tackle any chal-
lenge.
“I know some schools
have hyped this up a lot,”
Olliff said. “I’d like to think
of this as a means to an end.
We want to compete for
state titles and this is one
more step to take to get
there.”
SPORTS BRIEFS
Polk Pedalers set to meet Saturday
DALLAS — The Polk Pedalers Bicycle Club will hold its first meet-
ing of the new year Saturday at 9 a.m. at Courtyard Coffee House,
156 SE Mill St., Dallas.
The meeting will be used to plan this year’s ride schedule. All are
welcome.
The Polk Pedalers Bicycle Club is for riders of all levels who desire
safe, comfortable and interesting cycling trips in a group setting.
For more information: Dick Dye, 503-623-6533.
Local golf tournament rescheduled
DALLAS — The Brockway Memorial Open has been rescheduled
for Feb. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Originally set for last Saturday, rain prevented
the tournament from proceeding.
The two-person scramble costs $45 per entry with funds going
toward junior golf tournaments.
For more information: Cross Creek Golf Course, 503-623-6666.
Negrete: On a
26-match streak
Continued from Page 10A
That change has allowed
Negrete, who wrestles at 182
pounds, to show his
strength.
“David has been one of
our go-to guys this season,”
Central coach Van Holstad
said. “He has such raw ath-
leticism and great strength.
He has been able to do
some things that I have
never seen before. I am ex-
cited to see how he does the
next few weeks.”
Negrete may lack the
years of wrestling experience
that others have, but he’s
more than making up for it,
going 34-4 this season. He is
on a 26-
match win
streak dat-
ing back to
Jan. 9.
Negrete
won the
182 pound
class at the
Robert Paul
Tuipulotu
Invitational
at Sandy High School on Sat-
urday and enters the Mid-
Willamette Conference Dis-
trict Championships Friday
and Saturday at Silverton
High School as a contender
to qualify for state.
The top four wrestlers in
each weight class earn
berths to the Class 5A state
championships scheduled
Feb. 27-28 in Portland.
“I just want to go as hard
as I can without quitting,”
Negrete said. “(If I make it to
state), it’ll feel really great
that I made
my family,
teammates
and coach-
es proud.”
But he’s
not the
only one.
“We are
expecting C. Swinehart
all of our wrestlers to wrestle
their best at the two most
important tournaments of
the season,” Holstad said.
The Panthers expect to
have multiple wre-stlers
compete for district titles,
particularly in the higher
weights, including Collin
Swinehart (145), Tanner
Swinehart (170), Alberto
Meza (195) and Marlon Tu-
ipulotu (285).
“I think everyone is ready
to take that next step,” Ne-
grete said. “Marlon can be a
district champ. Alberto can
be a district champ. I think
we all can.”
Central will face a tough
road to qualifying wrestlers
for state in a league that
includes Dallas, winner of
five straight district team
titles. But the Panthers will
be focused and ready for
the challenge, Holstad
said.
“We are looking to stay
healthy for the last few
practices,” he said. “Our job
this week is to qualify
wrestlers to the state tour-
nament. If we do our job,
our team finish should be
competitive.”
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Dallas hopes to down league’s best teams
Dragons are 0-3 against Mid-Willamette Conference’s top three squads
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
girls basketball team looks
to prove it
belongs
near the
top of the
M i d -
Willamette
Confer-
e n c e
standings.
Dallas
Mitchell
enters the
week in fourth place in the
MWC and with losses to
each of the league’s top
three teams: Corvallis, Sil-
verton and Central.
The Dragons defeated
Woodburn 51-40 on Friday
after falling to Silverton 44-
38 on Feb. 3.
Sarah Mitchell scored 12
points and Eva Ronco and
Sarah Zwicker added nine
each against the Bulldogs.
The Dragons can tie Cen-
tral for third place when the
two foes square off Wednes-
day (tonight) at 7 p.m. in
Dallas. The Dragons host
South Albany Friday at 7
p.m.
NASH LEADS CENTRAL: A
week after falling to the Mid-
Willamette Conference’s top
two squads, Silverton and Cor-
vallis, Central’s girls basketball
team picked up a pair of
league wins over the bottom
two teams. The Panthers de-
feated Woodburn 59-44 on
Feb. 3 and South Albany 61-26
on Friday. Kylie Nash led the
way for Central, scoring 20
points against the Bulldogs
and 21 points against the
R e b e l s. R y a n n e H u ff m a n
added eight points and 10
points, respectively, during the
two contests. The Panthers im-
proved to 6-2 in MWC play and
have sole possession of third
place. Central plays at Dallas
Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m.
before hosting Crescent Valley
Friday at 7 p.m.
PIRATES CLINCH LEAGUE
PLAYOFF BERTH: Perrydale
clinched a spot in the Tri-River
Conference playoffs after split-
ting a pair of games last week.
The Pirates defeated East Linn
Christian 45-40 on Feb. 4 be-
fore falling to No. 1-ranked
Western Mennonite 54-16 on
Friday. No details were provid-
ed. Perrydale entered Tuesday’s
game at Santiam in fourth
place at 6-6. The Pirates host St.
Paul Friday at 7 p.m. If the Pi-
rates retain the fourth seed,
they will host the winner of the
fifth/sixth seed matchup on
Feb. 19. If they fall to the
fifth/sixth position, they will
play on Feb. 17. The winner of
the fourth seed-fifth/sixth seed
matchup will face the loser of
the second/third seed game
for the league’s final state
berth.
VARNEY, REYNOLDS HAVE
BIG GAMES: Brittany Varney
and Tierra Reynolds scored 21
points each as Falls City’s girls
basketball team defeated Ore-
gon School for the Deaf 54-24
on Thursday. The Mountaineers
entered Tuesday’s matchup
against Livingstone Adventist
second in the Casco League at
4-2. Falls City
closes out
the regular
season at
Jewell on Fri-
day. The
C a s c o
League play-
o ff s b e g i n
Feb. 18,
Varney
when the
fourth and fifth seeds and sec-
ond and third seeds face off.
The Mountaineers can clinch
the second seed with a win on
Friday. The playoffs run until
Feb. 20. The Casco League will
send three teams to the Class
1A state playoffs.
NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT
Van Steenberge officially signs with Ducks
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PERRYDALE — It’s been a
long time coming, but Perry-
dale senior Sydney Van
Steenberge made it official
on Feb. 4.
She will be a Duck.
Van Steenberge signed her
national letter of intent to
play soccer at the University
of Oregon.
The senior originally com-
mitted to Oregon during her
sophomore year. Now, she’s
officially a member of the
team.
“It’s exciting,” Van Steen-
berge said. “I think it’ll be a
blast. My family is excited.
They’re all Duck fans.”
Van Steenberge is a three-
time Special District 3 Player
of the Year from 2011-13. As
a midfielder, she led Western
Mennonite/Perrydale to
three consecutive league ti-
tles.
She sat out most of her
senior campaign to recover
from a right knee injury suf-
fered during the first game
of the season.
The Ducks went 7-10-2
overall in 2014.
—
Dallas senior Hayden
Broadus accepted an offer to
play football for Eastern
Oregon University.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound
tight end/linebacker helped
the Dragons to a 3-6 record
during the 2014 season.
Eastern Oregon went 8-3
in 2014, the most since the
2011 season.
Broadus joins a 47-mem-
ber signing class.
—
Dallas senior Spencer Mc-
Carron announced his inten-
tion to attend Linfield Col-
lege.
The running back/line-
backer was an integral part
of the Dragons’ offense.
Mc C a r -
ron also
earned first
team all-
M i d -
Willamette
Confer-
ence hon-
ors on de-
fense in
McCarron
2014.
The Wildcats went 11-2 in
2014, falling to the Universi-
ty of Wisconsin-Whitewater
in the Division III national
semifinals.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Perrydale senior Sydney Van Steenberge prepares to sign her committment letter to
play soccer at the University of Oregon on Feb. 4.