Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 6, 2015 10A
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
Baseball: Dallas at Cen-
tral, 4:30 p.m. St. Paul at
Perrydale, 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 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 Meet, 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, MAY 7
Baseball: GNAC Champi-
onship Tournament at
Billings, Mont.: Northwest
Nazarene vs. Western Ore-
gon, noon. Western Oregon
vs. Montana State Billings, 6
p.m.
Boys Tennis: Central at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis: Dallas at
Central, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 8
Baseball: GNAC Champi-
onship Tournament at
Billings, Mont.: TBA vs. TBA,
TBA. Central at Dallas, 4:30
p.m. Perrydale at East Linn
Christian, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Corvallis at
Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Lebanon
at Central, 4:30 p.m.
Track and Field: Western
Oregon at GNAC Champi-
onships, Monmouth, 2 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 9
Track and Field: Western
Oregon at GNAC Champi-
onships, Monmouth, 9:30
a.m.
MONDAY, MAY 11
Baseball: Regis at Perry-
dale, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Regis at Perry-
dale, 4:30 p.m.
Girls Golf: Dallas at 5A
Regional Championships,
Trysting Tree Golf Club, Cor-
vallis, TBA.
TUESDAY, MAY 12
Baseball: Dallas at South
Albany, 4:30 p.m. Corvallis
at Central, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Dallas at Cres-
cent Valley, 4:30 p.m. Cen-
tral at Silverton, 4:30 p.m.
Boys Golf: Dallas at Class
5A Regional Champi-
onships, Trysting Tree Golf
Club, Corvallis, TBA.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
Baseball: South Albany
at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Central
at Corvallis, 4:30 p.m. Per-
rydale at Santiam, 4:30
p.m.
Softball: Lebanon at
Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Central at
Corvallis, 4:30 p.m. Dayton
JV at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m.
Boys Tennis: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Mid-Willamette Con-
ference Championships,
Crescent Valley, TBA.
Girls Tennis: Dallas, Cen-
tral at Mid-Willamette Con-
ference Championships,
Crescent Valley, TBA.
Track and Field: Dallas,
Central at Mid-Willamette
Conference Championships,
Western Oregon University,
Monmouth, 3 p.m.
—
Local players get shot at NFL
WOU receiver signs with Chargers
ing early in the morning,”
Williams said. “Then we just
The Itemizer-Observer
had a barbecue and hung
MONMOUTH — On Sat- out.”
It was a decidedly low-
urday morning, mere
key affair before a life-
hours from learning
changing moment for
his NFL fate,
the senior.
Western Oregon
Williams
senior Tyrell
signed a free
Williams hit
agent rookie
the field. Not
deal to join
a football
the
San
field, how-
D i e g o
ever.
Chargers
A golf
t h a t a f t e r-
course.
noon. A lifelong jour-
“Me and
ney had been fulfilled.
my dad and
“Ever since I was
brother and
really small, my
cousin went golf- Williams
By Lukas Eggen
NFL Bound
• Western Oregon wide
receiver Tyrell Williams
signed a free agent rookie
contract with the San
Diego Chargers.
• Williams is the third
WOU player to join an NFL
mini camp. Tight end Kevin
Boss was drafted by the
New York Giants in 2007,
and lineman Jason Slowey
was drafted by the San
Francisco 49ers in 2012.
dream was to go to the
NFL,” Williams said.
See NFL, Page 13A
Central High graduate
gets tryout with Denver
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — All
Central High graduate Grant
Hedrick wanted was a shot
to prove himself.
Now, he has one.
Hedrick will join the Den-
ver Broncos for a mini-
camp tryout this weekend.
Hedrick hopes to join for-
mer Boise State quarterback
Kellen Moore, who is with
the Detroit Lions.
“I’m am lucky and fortu-
nate to have this opportuni-
ty with
D e n v e r,”
Hedrick
said. “They
contacted
me right
around our
pro day on
March 18.
Hedrick
Their West
Coast Scout ran our throw-
ing session, and I’ve been in
contact with them right up
until the draft. Right around
the seventh round, I figured
out what was going on.”
See HEDRICK, Page 12A
CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS TENNIS
Two become one
Central’s top singles players team up for double the threat
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral junior Renee Bruning al-
ways knew she’d play high
school tennis.
After learning the game at
the age of 8, Br uning
couldn’t wait to play com-
petitively.
“I knew I was positively
going to play (tennis) in high
school,” Bruning said.
But it was also when
Bruning was 8 that her par-
ents took her to the hospital
for a checkup that changed
everything.
“One time, I was knocked
unconscious,” Bruning said.
“My p a r-
ents were
worried I
had a
concus-
sion. The
doctors did a
CAT scan and
said you don’t have a con-
cussion, but you have a
huge brain cyst that could
cause you major issues.”
Scans revealed the cyst
covered about a third of her
skull, Bruning said. Her
freshman year was sup-
posed to be her coming out
party into the world of high
school tennis. Instead, Brun-
ing was about to face a far
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Renee Bruning (right) and Danielle Chance warm up before a match on Thursday afternoon.
bigger challenge off the
court.
“I was having so much
pressure on my head,” Brun-
ing said. “I was having ab-
solutely horrible migraines
every single day throughout
the entire day. I was told I
could go blind by the time I
was 20. It was misery every
day.”
See TWO, Page 13A
Schedules Subject to Change
CLASS 5A PREP SOFTBALL
QUICK HITS
El-Hato, Dragons battle for position
DHS basketball
to host fundraiser
Numerous squads competing for league’s top two seeds
DALLAS — The Dallas
High boys basketball team
will host its annual scrap
metal drive on May 16. The
team will pick up metal
from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit
www.cherrycitymetals.com/
recycling for a list of accept-
able materials.
Proceeds go to fund the
boys basketball team. For
more information: Trent
Schwartz, 503-623-8336 ext.
3105.
By Lukas Eggen
www.polkio.com
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — As a freshman
last year, Dallas’ Yasmine El-
Hato established herself as
one of the Dragons’ starting
pitchers.
This season, El-Hato has
developed into a dual threat
as Dallas looks to separate
itself in a highly competitive
Mid-Willamette Conference.
“I’ve been practicing with
fast balls and hoping for a
good improvement this sea-
son when it
came to
my bat-
t i n g ,
pitching
and over-
all de-
fense,” El-
Hato said.
In the pitcher’s circle, she
has thrown more than 42 in-
nings, the second most on
the team. She also ranks sec-
ond on the Dragons in ERAs
and strikeouts.
At the plate, she has
turned into the Dragons’
most dangerous home-run
threat, leading the team with
seven, more than the rest of
the team combined.
“I try to stay relaxed at the
plate,” El-Hato said. “I can’t
think about hitting a home
run. That’s how I start get-
ting myself out.”
El-Hato, who got one hit
and drew one walk during a
17-0 win over Woodburn on
Friday, will play a major role
on both offense and defense
as Dallas jockeys for posi-
tion in the league standings.
The Dragons entered
Tuesday’s game at Central in
fourth place in the MWC
with five games remaining,
with a chance to finish as
high as first or as low as fifth.
See DRAGONS, Page 12A
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DAWN FELDMAN/ for the Itemizer-
Observer
Yasmine El-Hato is one of
Dallas’ starting pitchers.
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