Polk County
Sports
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29
Baseball: Corvallis at
Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Central at
South Albany, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Dallas at Sil-
verton, 4:30 p.m. Wood-
burn at Central, 4:30 p.m.
Perrydale at Central Linn,
4:30 p.m.
Boys Tennis: Dallas at
Corvallis, 4 p.m. Central at
Lebanon, 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis: Corvallis at
Dallas, 4 p.m. Lebanon at
Central, 4 p.m.
Track and Field: Corval-
lis at Dallas, 4 p.m. Central
at Crescent Valley, 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 30
Softball: GNAC Champi-
onship Tournament at Rich-
land, Wash.: Western Ore-
gon vs. Saint Martin’s, 7 p.m.
Girls Tennis: Silverton at
Central, 4 p.m.
Track and Field: Perry-
dale at Salem Academy, 4
p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 1
Baseball: Nor thwest
Nazarene at Western Ore-
gon (DH), 1 p.m. Dallas at
Corvallis, 4:30 p.m. South
Albany at Central, 4:30 p.m.
Country Christian at Perry-
dale, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: GNAC Champi-
onship Tournament at
Richland, Wash.: WOU vs.
TBA, TBA. Woodburn at
Dallas, 4 p.m. Central at
South Albany, 4:30 p.m.
Perrydale at Gaston, 4:30
p.m.
Boys Tennis: Crescent
Valley at Dallas, 4 p.m. Cen-
tral at Silverton, 4 p.m.
Track and Field: Dallas
at Lebanon Rob Allen Twi-
light, 4:30 p.m. Falls City at
Stayton Twilight, 3:30 p.m.
Western Oregon at Oregon
State High Performance
Meet, Corvallis, TBA.
SATURDAY, MAY 2
Baseball: Nor thwest
Nazarene at Western Ore-
gon (DH), noon.
Softball: GNAC Champi-
onship Tournament at Rich-
land, Wash.: TBA vs. TBA,
TBA.
Track and Field: Central
at Dick Baker Invitational,
Gladstone High School, 11
a.m.
MONDAY, MAY 4
Baseball: Perrydale at
Western Mennonite, 4:30
p.m.
Softball: Perrydale at
Western Mennonite, 4:30
p.m.
Boys Tennis: Dallas at
Lebanon, 4 p.m. Corvallis at
Central, 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis: Central at
Corvallis, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 5
Baseball: Central at Dal-
las, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Dallas at Cen-
tral, 4:30 p.m.
Boys Tennis: Dallas at
Lebanon, 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis: Lebanon at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
Boys Golf: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Class 5A Regional
Championships, The Re-
serve, Aloha, TBA.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
Baseball: Dallas at Cen-
tral, 4:30 p.m. St. Paul at Per-
rydale, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: South Albany
at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Central
at Crescent Valley, 4:30
p.m. Regis at Perrydale,
4:30 p.m.
Boys Golf: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Class 5A Regional
Championships, The Re-
serve, Aloha, TBA.
Boys Tennis: Dallas at
Silverton, 4 p.m. Woodburn
at Central, 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis: Silverton at
Dallas, 4 p.m. Central at
Woodburn, 4 p.m.
Track and Field: Dallas
at Central, 4 p.m. Perrydale,
Falls City at Sweet Home
Last Chance, 4 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
www.polkio.com
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 29, 2015 10A
Shaw to lead WOU men’s basketball
Western Oregon turns to alumnus to lead program forward
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
WOU A THLETICS/for the Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon alumnus Jim Shaw (left) was hired on
Monday to coach the men’s basketball team.
MONMOUTH — Western
Oregon University Athletic
Director Barbara Dearing
announced the hiring of
WOU alumnus Jim Shaw as
the men’s basketball head
coach on Monday.
“We concluded a nation-
wide search and had more
high quality candidates for
the position than any other
time anyone can remember
in school history,” Dearing
said. “As the search commit-
tee deliberated throughout
Coming Home
• Western Oregon hired
Jim Shaw to become head
men’s basketball coach.
• Shaw graduated from
Western Oregon State
College in 1985. He
earned NAIA All-American
honorable mention dur-
ing his collegiate career.
the process, Jim emerged as
the top candidate. He brings
tremendous coaching cre-
dentials and passion for
Western Oregon as an alum-
nus and an All-American
basketball player during his
career as a Wolf.”
Shaw, a 1985 graduate of
Western Oregon State Col-
lege, earned NAIA All-Amer-
ican honorable mention
and was district Most Valu-
able Player runner-up as a
senior.
“It is a very exciting time
for me,” Shaw said. “Not
many guys get to be a head
coach at their alma mater,
and that makes it special.
I’m really looking forward to
getting started.”
See SHAW, Page 13A
CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS GOLF
Swinging toward state
Sophomore out to prove she’s among the state’s best golfers
By Lukas Eggen
Curtis File
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — On the golf
course, Dallas sophomore
Kailee Curtis is one of the
Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence’s most respected.
She’s a consistent top-five
finisher in the MWC and
appears ready to contend
for an individual berth to
the state golf champi-
onship.
But Curtis is fighting for
more than just the acco-
lades.
“There’s so many people
who don’t take me seriously
when I say I play golf,” she
said. “They just don’t under-
stand it
a n d
h o w
hard it
can be.”
It’s near-
ly impossi-
ble to ignore
Cur tis on the
course now. On Monday,
Curtis finished third, which
came after a second-place
finish overall on April 20 at
Trysting Tree Golf Club in
Corvallis.
To some, her rapid rise
may come as a surprise. But
for those who know her best,
Curtis’ finishes aren’t the re-
sult of luck.
“The big key for her is she
kept playing all summer
• Dallas sophomore
Kailee Curtis finished third
at Cross Creek Golf Course
on Monday afternoon.
• Curtis will be one of
two Dragon golfers com-
peting at the regional
tournament May 11-12.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas sophomore Kailee Curtis looks to qualify for the OSAA state championship. Cur-
tis finished second in a Mid-Willamette Conference tournament on April 20.
long,” Dallas girls coach
Sharon Epping said. “She
didn’t come into the season
cold. I’ve never seen a dedi-
cated player like her.”
In the Curtis family, golf
isn’t just a game, it’s a pas-
sion. Her older brother has
CLASS 2A-1A PREP SOFTBALL
Pirates making progress
Coaches seeing improvement every practice
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
PERRYDALE — For much
of this season, Perrydale’s
softball team has been a
work in progress. But play-
ers and coaches are confi-
dent the finished product
can be a masterpiece.
“Our incline of growth is
getting better and better,”
Sarah Nelson said. “We’re
not all
softball
players,
but we’re
all athlet-
ic.
...
E v e r y
game is
going to
S. Nelson
be a battle
for us, but I think we are
going to do well.”
The Pirates entered the
week at 3-3 in league play
after beating Kennedy 10-9
on Monday.
As Perrydale, which has
faced each of its Special Dis-
trict 2 opponents at least
once, looks to improve upon
its fourth-place ranking en-
tering the week, means the
Pirates are looking to show
they can compete with the
league’s best.
See PIRATES, Page 12A
taken golf lessons at Oregon
State. Her father has worked
on maintaining golf courses.
And, shortly after her fresh-
One step at a time
This is the first of a series
of columns chronicling my
journey in training for my
first sprint triathlon.
My athletic career
“peaked” in high school.
After sneaking into the final
varsity spot on my cross-
country team, I proceeded
to run at the state meet …
and take second to last. And
I’m pretty sure last place got
injured.
Safe to say, I was far from
an athletic freak.
So, to be honest, the idea
of a sprint triathlon was less
than appealing.
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man season, Curtis’ golf
game became a family affair.
“My dad and I established
my goals for the year,” she
said. “The first one was to
break 100, then to break 95
and then a 90, so shooting a
91 (on April 20) was really
awesome. I blew right past
those goals.”
Curtis is focused on low-
ering her score even more,
specifically through her
short game.
“Putting and chipping (is
what I struggle with most),”
she said. “Distance-wise is
where I have trouble, be-
cause I leave them short a
lot.”
In addition to practicing
during the offseason, Cur-
tis’ performance can be
linked to a change in atti-
tude — golf doesn’t feel like
a chore. It’s something she
craves.
“I’ve learned to relax a lot
and have a lot more fun,”
she said.
See SWING, Page 13A
L UKAS
E GGEN
Commentary
But, with the second annu-
al Independence Sprint
Triathlon approaching on
June 27, organizer Brian Joynt
doesn’t want people to be in-
timidated to try the 500-
meter swim, 15-mile bike
ride and 5-kilometer run.
See STEP, Page 12A
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