Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 29, 2015 13A
Polk County Sports
PREP TRACK AND FIELD ROUNDUP
Panther girls win home track meet
Central suffers first two losses of season against Dallas and Crescent Valley
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central’s Bailey Hartford (right) races out to the lead in the girls 1,500-meter run at the
John Oliver Invitational on Friday. Hartford finished first in 5 minutes, 23.01 seconds.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Led
by several strong perform-
ances, Central’s girls track
and field squad won the six-
team John Oliver Invitation-
al on Friday.
The Panthers had six first-
place finishes on the girls
side. Bethanie Altamirano
placed first in the 400-meter
run in 1 minute, 5.18 sec-
onds; Abby McBeth won the
800 in 2:23.62; Bailey Hart-
ford took first in the 1,500 in
5:23.01; and Jamie Smith
won the 3,000 in 11:46.74.
Julia Kenyon placed first in
the high jump with a mark
of 4 feet, 10 inches.
The boys squad finished
second. Thomas Peterson
won the 200 in 22.72, while
Kaj Bansen won the high
jump and triple jump with
marks of 6-1 and 40-11, re-
spectively.
The Panthers will compete
at Crescent Valley Wednes-
day (today) before taking
part in the Dick Baker Invita-
tional on Saturday.
DALLAS WINS FIVE
EVENTS: Dallas’ track and field
team won five events at the
Dave Snook Frost/Soph Invita-
tional in
Keizer on Fri-
day. The
b o y s fi n -
ished fourth
out of 11
teams, while
the girls
placed fifth.
Sophomore
White
Cody Webb
won the 110-meter hurdles in
16.86 seconds, while Jacob
Deming took first in the pole
vault with a mark of 11 feet, 6
inches. Aaron White won both
the long jump and triple jump,
recording leaps of 20-0½ and
41-8, respectively. Amelia
Burgess won the girls discus
with a throw of 97-3. Dallas
hosts Corvallis Wednesday
(today) at 4 p.m. before taking
part in the Rob Allen Twilight
Meet in Lebanon on Friday.
PERRYDALE GIRLS PLACE
THIRD: Perrydale’s girls track
and field squad finished third
out of 11 teams at the St. Paul
Buckaroo Roundup on Thurs-
day. Senior Alysia Vergin placed
first in the 100-meter run, finish-
ing in 13.57 seconds. She also
won the 100 hurdles in 17.35.
Taylor Price took first in the 300
hurdles in 53.57. The boys team
placed seventh out of 12 teams.
Kirk Fairchild finished second in
the high jump, with a mark of 5
feet, 2 inches and in the triple
jump, with a leap of 34-6. The
Pirates will compete at Salem
Academy on Thursday.
BEAUCHAMP LEADS FALLS
CITY: Falls City senior Bo
Beauchamp led the Moun-
taineers’ boys track and field
team to a fourth-place finish at
the St. Paul Buckaroo Roundup
on Thursday. Beauchamp won
the shot put
with a throw
of 40 feet, 7
inches and
the javelin
with a mark
of 132-0. Var-
ney led the
girls squad,
w h i c h fi n -
ished ninth
Yeager
out of 11
teams. Varney placed second in
the shot put (29-11) and the dis-
cus (89-10). The boys and girls
each placed 19th out of 23 boys
and 21 girls teams at the Port-
land Christian Invitational on
Saturday. Senior Tristan Yeager
took sixth in the shot put with a
throw of 40-2¼ and the discus
with a mark of 120-8. Brittany
Varney led the girls with a fifth-
place finish in the shot put (30-
10) and a sixth-place finish in
the discus (92-6). The Moun-
taineers will compete at the
Stayton Twilight on Friday.
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP
Shaw: New coach brings
Dallas
moves
into
second
a wealth of experience
Continued from Page 10A
Shaw brings more than 25
years of experience at the
NCAA Division I level to the
Wolves.
Most recently, he served
as an assistant coach at St.
Mary’s College from 2013-
15.
He also served as an as-
sistant coach at the Univer-
sity
of
Wash-
ington
for nine
seasons
(2004-13). The
Huskies won
five Pac-10 titles and made
five NCAA tournaments dur-
ing that span.
He assistant coached at
Oklahoma from 1999-2004,
helping the Sooners reach
the Final Four in 2002 and
the Elite Eight in 2003.
Western Oregon is com-
ing off one of its best sea-
sons in program history. The
Wolves finished 23-7 overall
and 15-3 in Great Northwest
Athletic Conference play,
winning the GNAC regular
season title.
The Wolves advanced to
the first round of the NCAA
Division II West Regional.
“I think that the thing that
I strive for is consistency,”
Shaw said. “There is an old
saying that says ‘consistency
never graduates,’ and I want
Dragons earn a key sweep over Silver Foxes
By The Numbers
14
1986
0
The number of
men’s basketball
coaches in West-
ern Oregon his-
tory before Jim
Shaw’s arrival.
The year Shaw
earned his first as-
sistant coach’s po-
sition after leaving
WOU at Idaho
State.
The number of
head coach posi-
tions Shaw had
prior to accepting
the post at West-
ern Oregon.
us to be able to build a pro-
gram, lay a foundation, and
have a tradition like some of
the other schools in the
league that you know are
going to be good every year.
I want us to be a team that
has a sustainable program
and can compete at the high
level of the league each
year.”
WOU is set to return 11 of
15 players from last season’s
roster, including starting for-
ward Andy Avgi and guard
Devon Alexander.
“I also want to get con-
nected with this year's
team — the returners espe-
cially since there are quite
a few of them,” Shaw said.
“… By far the most impor-
tant is just getting myself
totally immersed with the
players that are going to
form the nucleus of next
year’s team. … (Oregon) is
a place that I always con-
Shaw File
• Jim Shaw brings more
than 25 years of experi-
ence coaching in the
NCAA Division I level.
• Shaw spent the last
two seasons at St. Mary’s
College. He was at the Uni-
versity of Washington from
2004-13.
• Shaw becomes the
15th men’s basketball
coach in Western Oregon
history.
sidered home as an adult,
and I think that there is al-
ways a draw to go back
home. Therefore, the fact
that Western came open at
this time couldn’t have
been better and it just was
the perfect time in my
mind to go back to Western
and try and do something
special.”
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
baseball team used a sweep
of Silverton to move into
second place in the Mid-
Willamette Conference.
The Dragons defeated
the Silver Foxes 7-3 on Tues-
day, 14-10 on Wednesday
and 12-5 on Friday. Tucker
Weaver went 3-for-3 with
two doubles during the first
game of the series, while
Treve Earhart and Connor
Maclean recorded two hits
each in the second game. In
the series finale, Clay Coxen
had three hits and five RBIs
in his varsity debut. Dallas
(11-6 overall, 9-3 MWC) en-
tered the week one game
ahead of Crescent Valley
and three games behind
Corvallis.
The Dragons were sched-
uled to play at Corvallis
Tuesday after press time.
Dallas hosts the Spartans
Wednesday (today) at 4:30
p.m. before playing at Cor-
vallis on Friday.
C E N T R A L FA L L S TO
FOURTH: Three losses to Cres-
cent Valley dropped Central’s
baseball team from second to
fourth in the Mid-Willamette
Conference. The Panthers lost
12-8 on Tuesday, 9-5 on
Wednesday and 3-1 on Friday.
Central was scheduled to host
South Albany Tuesday after
Swing: State berth still possible
Continued from Page 10A
The Dragons have one
regular season meet left at
Trysting Tree on Monday,
when Curtis will not only
be looking to break 90, but
also set herself up to quali-
fy for the state tournament.
“That’s been my goal ever
since I started, so it’s really
cool to know I’m getting
close,” she said. “It would
mean so much, and would
be rewarding for people to
realize that I’m actually
good.”
Curtis qualified for the
regional tournament, May
11-12 at Trysting Tree Golf
Club in Corvallis.
While Curtis is soaring,
the girls team is struggling
for numbers. Curtis was one
of two players competing
on April 20, along with Na-
talie Crabtree, who is in her
first season playing com-
petitive golf.
Crabtree will also play in
the regional tournament
May 11 and 12.
“I’ve grown up golfing,
but this is the first year I’ve
played competitively,”
Crabtree said. “I’ve gotten
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Natalie Crabtree gets ready for a tee shot dur-
ing a practice round on Thursday afternoon.
used to my clubs, knowing
when to use what clubs and
it’s been really helpful to
gain this experience.”
Dallas cannot qualify for
state as a team without at
least four golfers to score.
Both Epping and Curtis
hope Curtis’ success can
show others how accessible
golf can truly be.
“I just taught one of my
most uncoordinated friends
how to hit a ball in 30 min-
utes,” Curtis said. “It takes a
lot of work, but you can get
it.”
As Dallas prepares for its
final regular season meet,
Curtis knows this is crunch
time for her game.
“I would like to keep my
score in the same area that
it’s been and stay in the top
five,” Curtis said.
But while she aims to
check off one of the few re-
maining goals she’s yet to
surpass this season, she
also knows the key to her
success won’t lay in putting
pressure on herself.
The true secret lays in re-
minding herself why she
walked onto the course in
the first place.
“I’m just out there to
have fun,” Curtis said.
“Playing well is a bonus. If I
can do that, it will be re-
warding for (the doubters)
to finally realize that I’m ac-
tually good.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Conner Maclean looks to get a hit against Silver-
ton on Wednesday afternoon.
press time. The Panthers play
at the Rebels Wednesday
(today) before hosting South
Albany Friday at 4:30 p.m.
P I R AT E S W I N T W O O F
THREE: The Pirates lost to San-
tiam 3-2 on April 22 before de-
feating Siletz Valley 15-5 on
Friday. Hunter Johnson had
three hits and six RBIs during
the Pirates’ victory. Perrydale
defeated Kennedy 6-5 in nine
innings on Monday. David Sil-
ver hit a game-winning dou-
ble in the ninth. The Pirates (9-
5 overall, 3-4 Special District 2)
host Country Christian Friday
at 5:30 p.m. before playing at
Western Mennonite on Mon-
day.
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Amanda Evola
Western Oregon
In her final regular season games with
the Wolves, senior Amanda Evola helped
the WOU softball team split against Mon-
tana State Billings. Evola recorded two
hits during the doubleheader, as the
Wolves clinched the fourth and final seed to the softball
tournament. Evola was also named first-team all-Great
Northwest Athletic Conference on Monday after leading
WOU in six categories and was second in eight others.
Rebeka Preston
Santiam Christian
Preston, a freshman, had a week to re-
member for the Santiam Christian track
and field team. Christian placed first in
the 200- and 400-meter runs at Horizon
Christian on Thursday, finishing in 27.18
and 62.07 seconds, respectively. She also ran the anchor leg
of the 4 x 100 relay team that took first. At Portland Christian
on Saturday, Preston won the 200 and 400 again, finishing
in 27.13 and 60.31, setting a new school record in the 400.
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.