12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 25, 2015
Polk County Sports
CLASS 5A STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dallas ready for title run
Dragons hope to bring home state trophies
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The Dallas
High wrestling team is used
to invading the Memorial
Coliseum each year for the
OSAA state wrestling cham-
pionships.
This year, the Dragons
are hoping to have one of its
best showings yet.
“Fo r s o m e o f t h e s e
wrestlers, a single win is a
huge contribution, for oth-
ers, we would be bummed
with anything short of a
place,” Dallas coach Tony
Olliff said.
Among those with high
expectations include sen-
iors Nolan Miller and Matt
Hofenbredl, both of whom
are seeded second in their
respective weight class.
“I have to wrestle every-
body tough,” Miller said. “I
have to keep my head on
straight and know nothing
is going to come easy.”
In a l l ,
17 Dallas
wrestlers
will com-
pete at
the OSAA
s t a t e
wrestling
champi-
Miller
onships
Friday and Saturday in Port-
land: Ryan Bibler (106
pounds), Noah Sickles
(113), Jordan Williams (120),
Miller (120), Sammy Chung
(126), Hofenbredl (132),
Mathew Dindinger (138),
Tanner Earhart (138), Cody
Janssen (145), Noel Reyes
(145), Clay Cozen (152),
Treve Earhart (152), Jeff
Dunagan (160), Tyson
Janssen (170), Josh
Naughton (182), Mathew
Thorsted (195) and Kyle
Snyder (220). And everyone
is ready to show their stuff.
“I think I can do a lot of
damage and I think our
team has a real good shot to
win, so I’m
excited for
t h a t , ”
T y s o n
Janssen
said.
T h i s
year, the
Dragons
Hofenbredl are look-
ing to compete for a team
title as well.
“The 5A race will be a fun
one,” Olliff said. “Hillsboro,
Crater, Redmond and our
traditional rival Hermiston
all have a shot at a state
(team) title. Sandy has a
chance as well. It will be a
dogfight.”
The key to a team trophy
relies on more than individ-
ual titles, however.
“To win a state title, we
need to get wins out of our
17,” Olliff said. “We need to
get pins when we can. We
have to take sixth when we
should, fifth when we
should, etc. That’s how you
win a state title.”
While they’re aiming
high, Olliff is also looking to
make sure his wrestlers
enjoy the experience.
“We try to get the kids out
of Memorial Coliseum
when they don’t need to be
there,” Olliff said. “Some-
times we take them across
the river to people watch, or
go back to the hotel for a
nap. That can win a kid a
state title. A mental escape
can be worth gold.”
It won’t just be the boys
competing at state this
weekend.
Junior Angie Sletten (113
pounds) finished third in
the Oregon Girls State Tour-
nament qualifier earlier this
month. The top four girls in
each weight class advanced
to the state championships
this Friday and Saturday.
Sletten will face freshman
Sarah Sullenger of Hood
River Valley in her opening
round.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Dragons close in on third
Dallas, Central to host play-in games March 4
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Locked in a
battle for third place in the
Mid-Willamette Conference
with Central, the Dallas girls
basketball team split a pair
of league contests last week.
The Dragons opened
with a 44-42 loss to league-
leading
Co r va l l i s
on Feb. 18
before de-
feating
C re s c e n t
Valley 53-
34 on Fri-
day.
Sopho-
Zwicker
more Sara
Zwicker scored 16 points in
each contest as Dallas im-
proved to 13-8 overall and
8-4 in league play. Senior
Sarah Mitchell added 12
points against the Raiders.
The Dragons enter the
week in third place, one
game ahead of Central. Dal-
las hosts Lebanon Wednes-
day (today) at 7 p.m. before
playing at Silverton on Fri-
day. The Silver Foxes en-
tered the week 7-1 in league
play.
Dallas cannot finish
higher than third or lower
than fourth in the MWC
standings.
The Dragons will face ei-
ther the fifth-, or sixth-
place team from the Mid-
western League. North Eu-
gene and Churchill entered
the week in the fourth and
fifth spots in the Midwest-
ern League.
“All season long we’ve
been resilient,” Dallas
coach David Brautigam
said. “We want to stay con-
sistent these next two
games and keep the mo-
mentum heading into the
playoffs.”
CENTR AL EYES HOME
PLAY-IN GAME: The Central
girls basketball team inched
closer to clinching a home
postseason game. The Pan-
thers defeated Lebanon 69-43
Giving It All
Continued from Page 10A
Collin qualified for state at
138 pounds.
“Tanner and Collin have
become students of the
sport,” Holstad said. “They
study it and have learned so
much, and it has shown in
their performances so far.
They constantly push each
other. Many times, it is just
them doing morning work-
outs. They keep each other
going.”
The Swineharts won’t be
the only Central wrestlers
competing at state.
Oscar Amezcua (160),
David Negrete (182), Alberto
Meza (195) and Marlon Tu-
ipulotu (220) also earned
their spots at state. Negrete
and Meza also enter the
state tournament coming off
individual district champi-
onships.
“I honestly think we will
do really well at state,”
Tanner Swinehart said. “All
of the kids who are going
to state deserve to be
there. They’re all hard
workers on our team. I am
confident in our ability
and I think we’re all going
to do really well.”
SPORTS BRIEFS
Four Pirates earn all-league honors
DALLAS — Four Perrydale
boys basketball players re-
ceived all-league recogni-
tion last week.
Senior Chad Price and
junior Haylen Janesofsky
earned second team all-Tri
River Conference honors,
while senior Troy Trembly
and junior Brant Barnes re-
Price
Janesofsky
ceived honorable mentions.
The Pirates finished 10-14 overall and advanced to the second
round of the Tri-River Conference playoffs.
Regis’ Blake Minten earned Player of the Year honors, while the
Owls’ Tony Miller received the Coach of the Year award.
Registration open for Mighty Mites
MONMOUTH — Registration for the Dallas Mighty Mites pro-
gram ends Thursday. The program, which is open to children ages
3 to 5, takes place every Saturday from March 14-April 4 at the Lyle
Elementary School gym. The program runs from 9 to 10 a.m.
The Mighty Mites program teaches participants basic funda-
mentals of youth sports, including soccer, baseball, basketball and
volleyball.
The cost is $25 per child and includes a T-shirt. Registration
forms are available online at www.dallasor.gov. Registration can
be turned in at 187 SE Court St. in Dallas.
For more information: David Brautigam, 503-831-3559 or
david.brautigam@dallasor.gov.
Seventh-grade girls headed to state
SALEM — The Central seventh-grade girls basketball team won
the Oregon Amateur Basketball tournament at the Hoop in Salem
on Feb. 14-15.
Central defeated North Eugene 49-33 and South Salem 24-12 in
pool play before beating Dallas in the semifinals and Crescent Val-
ley in the championship game. Scores from the semifinal and final
weren’t available.
With its title, Central advanced to the Oregon Middle School
Basketball Championship March 7-8 in Bend.
For more information: www.oregonamateurbasketball.net.
Local wins high school hockey title
PORTLAND — Central High junior Keighlee Riggan helped Team
Neely win the Oregon State Hockey Association’s state champi-
onship on Saturday and Sunday.
Team Neely defeated Team Deadmarsh 6-1 and Rogue Valley
Youth Hockey Association 4-1 and 4-0 to earn the title on Saturday
and Sunday.
Riggan posted a shutout in the third and final game. She
stopped 23 of 24 shots over three games and had a .958 save per-
centage.
This is the second-straight state championship for Team Neely
and its third-straight appearance in the title game. Riggan has
been the starting goaltender for all three title games.
Team Neely won the Winterhawks Varsity Hockey League to ad-
vance to the state championship.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Perrydale senior Cheyenne Locke tries to drive past East Linn Christian sophomore
Sydney Nichol on Thursday. Locke scored a game-high 17 points, but the Pirates
lost to the Eagles 45-37 in the second round of the Tri-River Conference playoffs.
East Linn Christian had a 38-23 edge in rebounds. Perrydale finished the 2014-15
season with a 12-11 record overall and 7-7 in league play.
Play-in Round
What: OSAA Class 5A
girls basketball play-in
round.
When:
Wednesday
(March 4), TBA.
Of note: Dallas and
Central are battling for
the Mid-Willamette Con-
ference’s third and fourth
seeds. The Panthers and
Dragons will host their
play-in round matchup.
on Feb. 18 before falling to Sil-
verton 52-39 on Friday. Junior
Kylie Nash scored a game-high
24 points,
while sen-
iors Ryanne
H u ff m a n
and Sai
Ta p a s a
added 10
points each
against the
Warriors.
Nash
Central (7-5
Mid-Willamette Conference)
hosts Corvallis Wednesday
(today) and Woodburn on Fri-
day at 7 p.m. to close out the
regular season. The Panthers
can finish no lower than fourth
place and are one game be-
hind Dallas for the league’s
third seed. Central will host its
play-in round against the fifth-
or sixth-place team from the
Midwestern League.
P E R R Y D A L E FA L L S I N
LEAGUE PLAYOFFS: The third
time wasn’t a charm for the
Perrydale girls basketball team
on Thursday. The Pirates saw
their season come to an end
after falling to East Linn Chris-
tian 45-37 in the second round
of the Tri-River Conference
playoffs. Fourth-seeded Perry-
dale swept the Eagles during
the regular season. Senior
Cheyenne Locke led the Pi-
rates with a game-high 17
points, but the Eagles con-
trolled the boards, outre-
bounding Perrydale 38-23.
State: Ford happy with season
Continued from Page 10A
“We were a little disap-
pointed she didn’t swim in
the finals of the 200
freestyle, but in the overall
picture, that helped her to
swim her fastest time ever
in the 500 freestyle,” Dallas
coach Jeff Bemrose said.
Ford may not have ac-
complished all she was
hoping for at state, but her
performance in the 500
freestyle helped prove to
her that all the work she put
in was worth it.
“This season started out
kind of rocky,” Ford said.
Finish: Senior
ready to shine
“My times throughout the
season weren’t the best, but
because of all the work I put
into it, everything came to-
gether at the end of the sea-
son.”
Glade hoped to make the
most of his final trip to
state. It was mission accom-
plished as Glade finished
the 100 breaststroke final in
1:02.56.
“Last year, I didn’t make it
to the finals,” Glade said.
“This year, I had a lot of
support and I was almost
kind of expecting to make
the finals this year. I was
prepared to go and give it all
I had, and that’s what I did.”
Glade was also part of the
Central 200 medley relay
team with Daniel Glade,
Ryan Rosas and Orion
Waight that finished ninth
in the preliminary heat in
1:51.87.
Although it didn’t ad-
vance to the finals, the
chance to compete at state
gave the relay team a mem-
orable moment.
“Going to state was a big
accomplishment,” Waight
said. “It was something that
I didn’t expect to be able to
do this season. It was a
rush.”
State provided an ending
highlight for seniors Nathan
Glade and Ryan Rosas. But
for Waight, a junior, and
Daniel Glade, a freshman,
state provided valuable ex-
perience for two of the pro-
gram’s key swimmers for the
future.
“We were looking at how
everyone did their strokes
and learned how to improve
our swimming,” Daniel
Glade said. “I’m glad we had
a chance to go through this
experience.”
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Jolie-Rae Ford
Dallas High
Ford, a sophomore, ended her 2014-
15 swim season on a positive note at the
OSAA state swimming championships.
Ford finished fourth in the 500-yard
freestyle finals in 5 minutes, 17.33 sec-
onds. Ford set a new personal record in the process. She
also finished seventh in the preliminary heat of the 200-
freestyle, just missing out on qualifying for the finals in that
event. Ford was Dallas’ lone state qualifier.
Julian Nichols
Western Oregon
Nichols, a junior, had an offensive ex-
plosion for the Western Oregon men’s
basketball team on Saturday. After scor-
ing 10 points in the first half, Nichols
caught fire, scoring 24 second half points
against Simon Fraser. Nichols finished the game with 34
points, nine assists, six rebounds and five steals as the
Wolves defeated the Clan 93-91 to clinch the Great North-
west Athletic Conference regular season title.
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.
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