Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 1, 2015 10A MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1 Baseball: Lebanon at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Woodburn at Central, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Dallas at Cen- tral, 4:30 p.m. Perrydale at Scio, 4:30 p.m. Track and Field: Dallas at Lebanon, 3:30 p.m. Central at Woodburn, 4 p.m. THURSDAY, APRIL 2 Track and Field: Perry- dale at East Linn Christian, 4 p.m. Falls City at Salem Academy, 4 p.m. Boys Tennis: Dallas at Central, 4 p.m. Girls Tennis: Central at Dallas, 4 p.m. Softball: Western Wash- ington at Western Oregon (DH), 2 p.m. FRIDAY, APRIL 3 Baseball: Western Ore- gon at Central Washington (DH), 1 p.m. Perrydale at Crow, 3 p.m. Dallas at Lebanon, 4:30 p.m. Central at Woodburn, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Perrydale at Crow, 3 p.m. Dallas at South Albany, 4:30 p.m. Central at Crescent Valley, 4:30 p.m. Track and Field: Western Oregon at Stanford Invita- tional, 9 a.m. Dallas at West Salem Titan Track Classic, 3 p.m. Western Oregon at San Francisco State Invitational, TBA. SATURDAY, APRIL 4 Baseball: Western Ore- gon at Central Washington (DH), 1 p.m. Softball: Western Oregon at Saint Martin’s (DH), 1 p.m. Track and Field: Western Oregon at Stanford Invita- tional, 9 a.m. Western Ore- gon at Linfield Jenn Boy- man Memorial Invitational, 10 a.m. Western Oregon at San Francisco State Invita- tional, TBA. Western Oregon at Portland Spring Break Open, TBA. Falls City at Esta- cada Invitational, 10:30 a.m. MONDAY, APRIL 6 Boys Golf: Dallas, Cen- tral at Mid-Willamette Con- ference Tournament, Cross Creek Golf Course, Dallas, noon. Girls Golf: Dallas at Mid- Willamette Conference Tournament, Mallard Creek Golf Course, Lebanon, noon. TUESDAY, APRIL 7 Baseball: Woodburn at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Lebanon at Central, 4:30 p.m. Perrydale at Country Christian, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Corvallis at Dal- las, 4:30 p.m. Lebanon at Central, 4:30 p.m. Kennedy at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. Track and Field: Dallas at Silverton, 3:45 p.m. Falls City at Scio. 4 p.m. Perrydale at Santiam, TBA. Boys Tennis: Dallas at South Albany, 4 p.m. Central at Crescent Valley, 4 p.m. Girls Tennis: South Al- bany at Dallas, 4 p.m. Cres- cent Valley at Central, 4 p.m. Girls Golf: Dallas at Mid- Willamette Conference Tour- nament, Springhill Golf Club, Albany, 1 p.m. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 Baseball: Dallas at Wood- burn, 4:30 p.m. Central at Lebanon, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Dallas at Cres- cent Valley, 4:30 p.m. Silver- ton at Central, 4:30 p.m. Track and Field: South Al- bany at Central, 4 p.m. — Bergeson leaves for Regis Coach led Western Oregon to 69-45 record during four-year tenure By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — After one of the most successful seasons in program history, the Western Oregon men’s basketball team is in search of a new coach. Brady Bergeson accepted the head coaching position for Regis University’s men’s basketball team on Friday. “I would like to thank Pres- ident Weiss, (athletic di- rector) Barb Dearing, our fans, mentors, fellow co- aches, and our WOU Bergeson hoop com- munity for supporting us for the past few years,” Bergeson said in a statement. “I also want to thank our support By The Numbers 69 1 5 The number of wins Western Ore- gon had during Brady Bergeson’s four-year tenure at WOU. The number of NCAA Division II Tournament ap- pearances the Wolves made in four years. The number of wins Regis’ men’s basketball team had during the 2014-15 cam- paign. CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD Leaping ahead Sayer hopes to qualify for state in long jump, triple jump By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer Sayer File DALLAS — Each time Dal- las sophomore Kayley Sayer begins a jump, nothing else matters. For the briefest of moments, it’s almost as if Sayer can do anything. “It’s a fun feeling,” Sayer said. “It’s like you can fly a little bit.” This season, Sayer is hop- ing to fly farther than ever, straight to the state track and field championships. Sayer is coming off a freshman campaign that saw her finish fourth in the l o n g jump and fifth in the t r i p l e jump at the Mid-Willamette Conference District Champi- onships. Since that moment, she’s spent the offseason working on making her sophomore season all about reaching her goal of qualifying for state. “Kayley worked extremely hard in the offseason in the weight room and in prac- tices,” Dallas coach Bill Masei said. “She is in better shape than most girls right now.” Sayer won the long jump • Sophomore Kayley Sayer finished fourth in the long jump at the Mid- Willamete Conference Dis- trict Championships in 2014. • Sayer competes in the long jump, triple jump and has participated in several sprint events for the Drag- ons. • Dallas’ track and field team will compete at Lebanon Wednesday (to- day) at 3 p.m. and at the West Salem Titan Track Classic on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Dallas Icebreaker on March 19 with a leap of 15 feet, 9 inches, a mark she did- n’t surpass in 2014 until May. “I worked on gaining more leg strength for my jumps,” Sayer said. “I fo- cused on the steps I need to do and making sure my technique is good.” It was a long way from when Sayer began her track and field career in sixth grade, but she wasn’t looking to run. “I heard from a lot of peo- ple that (jumps) were so much fun,” Sayer said. “I had a sister who tried it and had a blast, so I thought why not give it a try?” See LEAP, Page 12A LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Dallas sophomore Kayley Sayer hopes to dominate the long jump and triple jump. CLASS 2A-1A PREP BASEBALL Silver hopes to strike gold this season Experienced roster entering league campaign with confidence By Lukas Eggen Schedules Subject to Change STAT SHEET 14 The number of head coaches Western Ore- gon’s men’s basketball team has had since its in- ception in 1923. staff, our alumni and most importantly our team. It has been a great team effort to have achieved at such his- toric levels. I have had the great honor to serve as head basketball coach for four years at an excellent universi- ty and for that I will be eter- nally grateful. I will always be a Wolf at heart and will share in the pride of all the future successes at WOU.” See BERGESON, Page 12A LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Senior David Silver catches during practice. www.polkio.com/ns/sports The Itemizer-Observer Up Next PERRYDALE — Perrydale senior David Silver likes to keep busy. Whether it is football, bas- ketball, equestrian or a vari- ety of other activities, Silver doesn’t sit still for long. Yet, it’s been baseball that’s been Silver’s favorite sport. Since he began play- ing t-ball nearly 12 years ago, baseball has been his go-to hobby. “I’ve had so much fun playing it through the years,” Silver said. “I’m going • The Pirates played at St. Paul Tuesday after press time. • Perrydale plays at Crow on Friday. • The Pirates open Tri- River Conference play against Country Christian Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to miss it after this year.” Silver hopes to make his senior year a special one with the Pirates, and he feels they have the players to do it. 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 4/30/15 “This is probably the best team that works together and is like a family since I’ve been here,” Silver said. Expectations are high for Perrydale, which started the season 4-0. That’s a far cry from his first season with the Pirates. When Silver joined the Pi- rates as a sophomore, he was a Kings Valley Charter School student. Perrydale was still learning coach Steve Mabry’s system. Silver’s arrival signaled a huge moment for the Pirates’ baseball program. See SILVER, Page 11A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports