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
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• 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
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