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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2015)
Polk County Sports SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 Girls Basketball: Class 5A State Play-in Round: Eagle Point at Dallas, 7 p.m. Churchill at Central, 7 p.m. FRIDAY, MARCH 6 Boys Basketball: Class 5A State Playoffs, First Round, TBA. Men's Basketball: GNAC Championship Tournament at Billings, Mont., 5:15 p.m. Softball: Northwest Nazarene at Western Ore- gon (DH), 2 p.m. Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 4, 2015 10A OSAA CLASS 5A STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PERFECT ENDING Swinehart ends year 47-0 after becoming state champ By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer SATURDAY, MARCH 7 Girls Basketball: Class 5A state playoffs, first round, TBA. Men’s Basketball: GNAC Championships at Billings, Mont., 7:30 p.m. Baseball: Central Wash- ington at Western Oregon (DH), noon. Softball: Northwest Nazarene at Western Ore- gon (DH), noon. Track and Field: Western Oregon at Willamette Opener, 10 a.m. SUNDAY, MARCH 8 Baseball: Central Wash- ington at Western Oregon (DH), noon. TUESDAY, MARCH 10 Boys Basketball: Class 5A State Championship Tournament, Gil Coliseum, Corvallis, TBA. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11 Boys Basketball: Class 5A State Championship Tournament, Gil Coliseum, Corvallis, TBA. Girls Basketball: Class 5A State Championship Tournament, Gil Coliseum, Corvallis, TBA. Softball: Northwest Christian at Western Oregon (DH), 2 p.m. — Schedules Subject to Change QUICK HITS WOU wins coach, player of the year PORTLAND — After earn- ing its first regular season conference title, the West- ern Oregon men’s basket- ball team earned some of the league’s biggest honors. Junior forward Andy Avgi was named Great North- west Athletic Conference Player of the Year on Mon- day, re- ceiving eight of n i n e fi - rst-place votes. A- vgi aver- a g e d 18.1 po- ints per g a m e Avgi and shot 61.6 percent from the field. Junior transfer Julian Nichols received GNAC Newcomer of the Year hon- ors. Nichols led the confer- ence in steals with 66 and ranked second in assists, av- eraging 5.9 per game. Nichols and Avgi were also named first-team all- GNAC. Avgi was the confer- ence’s lone unanimous se- lection. WOU senior Lewis Thomas and junior Jordan Wiley received honorable mention. Thomas led the Wolves in total rebounds with 180. Wiley led the team in 3- pointers made with 59. Brady Bergeson earned the GNAC Coach of the Year award. Bergeson helped guide WOU to a 23-5 record overall, including an 11- game win streak from Jan. 3 to Feb. 11 and the GNAC’s top seed entering the championship tournament. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Central senior wrestler Tanner Swinehart celebrates after winning the OSAA Class 5A state title at 170-pounds on Saturday night, capping an undefeated season. PORTLAND — Central senior Tanner Swinehart was no stranger to the OSAA state wrestling champi- onships. But his three previous trips had yielded zero top-six finishes. Swinehart wasn’t going to let that happen again. “I’ve qualified every year, but I haven’t done anything,” Swinehart said. “This was my last chance. I had to (succeed).” Swinehart finished a per- fect 47-0 season, winning the 170-pound state wrestling title on Saturday. A takedown with 38 sec- onds remaining in the championship match gave Swinehart a 3-1 lead over Hermiston’s Bob Coleman. Coleman tightened the match to 3-2, and in the final seconds — attempted to steal the state title away from Swinehart. “I knew there was a short amount of time left and I just had to let the time run out,” Swinehart said. “It was pretty much do or die. I had to wrestle and couldn’t let him take me down at all.” Swinehart was part of a quartet of strong Panther performances. Collin Swinehart (138), Al- berto Meza (195) and Mar- lon Tuipulotu (285) placed second in their respective weight classes. “As much as they’ve worked and as much as they’ve put in this season, it’s Hofenbredl wins third title Senior second in school history to achieve feat By Lukas Eggen www.polkio.com/ns/sports LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Dallas senior Matt Hofenbredl won his third state championship in four years. Hofenbredl earned a 7-1 decision on Saturday night to win the title. (152) and junior Jeff Dunagan (160) took sixth. For Miller and Janssen, both sen- iors, the fifth-place matches repre- sented their final match as a Dragon. See TITLE, Page 14A www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm • Sat 8am - 5pm DALLAS 121 Main St • 503-623-8155 INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St • 503-838-6340 www.LesSchwab.com Prices good through 3/31/15 • Central senior Tanner Swinehart won the OSAA Class 5A state wrestling title at 170-pounds. • Swinehart did not lose a match during the 2014-15 season. • Prior to Saturday, Swin- ehart had never placed at the state wrestling champi- onship. • Swinehart was one of four Panther wrestlers to reach the finals. been a pretty awesome ride,” Central coach Van Holstad said. “(Friday and Saturday) have been fun. The run we had in the quarterfi- nals and semis was p r e t t y cool.” Collin Swinehart and Meza faced two Meza nationally ranked wrestlers in Crescent Valley’s Alex Rich and Her- m i s t o n’s Sa m Co l b r a y, ranked No. 9 and No. 6 by In- termatwrestling.com in their respective final. Rich, a four- time state champion, pinned Swinehart in 29 seconds, while Colbray earned a fall in the second round. Tuipulotu faced Corvallis’ Andrew Idemarco for the third time this season, but lost a 3-2 decision in over- time in his championship match. Tuipulotu was still thrilled with his finish. See PERFECT, Page 14A L UKAS E GGEN Commentary Triumph turns to tragedy The Itemizer-Observer PORTLAND — It was déjà vu for Dallas senior Matt Hofenbredl and Hood River Valley senior Christian Marquez at the OSAA Class 5A state wrestling championships. The top two seeds in the 132-pound bracket faced off in the Class 5A state final for the second year in a row. Marquez won in overtime in 2014. This time, things were different. Hofenbredl largely controlled the match from the start, earning a 7-1 de- cision to claim his third state title in four years, making him the second wrestler in school history to achieve that feat. Hofenbredl was Dallas’ lone state champion and lone state finals partic- ipant. Freshman Noah Sickles (113) re- bounded from a loss in the championship semifinals to take third, earning an 11- 4 decision over C h u rc h i l l ’s C a d e Ezell. “It’s been a great experience,” Sickles said. “It’s amazing Sickles here being at the state tournament.” Sophomore Tanner Earhart (138) finished fourth, while senior Nolan Miller (120), junior Sammy Chung (126) and senior Tyson Janssen (170) placed fifth. Freshman Treve Earhart Undefeated It was a moment of pure joy that quickly turned tragic. For everyone attending the OSAA state high school wrestling championships at Veterans Memorial Colise- um in Portland on Saturday night, seeing Dallas High senior Matt Hofenbredl ex- perience the thrill of a state title before rushing to sec- tion 67 in the stands to see h i s g r a n d f a t h e r, L a r r y Hofenbredl, transported out of the arena, was as shocking as it was sadden- ing. Hofenbredl’s absence atop the podium during the a w a rd s c e re m o n y o n l y heightened what just oc- curred. Many teams claim they are a family. Dallas’ wrestling program embodies that to the fullest. See FAMILY, Page 14A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports