12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 20, 2015
Polk County Sports
CLASS 5A PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Dallas trio earns state berths
White wins district title in the boys triple jump on his final leap
By Lukas Eggen
CLASS 5A TRACK AND FIELD STATE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — It wasn’t
easy for Dallas at the Mid-
Willamette Conference track
and field championships on
Wednesday and Thursday.
But the Dragons, who fin-
ished seventh in the boys
and girls team standings,
pulled through to send a trio
of athletes to the OSAA Class
5A state meet on Friday and
Saturday.
“I felt
our kids
overall
competed
hard and
f o u g h t
through
injuries to
f i n i s h
competi-
White
t i v e l y,”
Dallas coach Bill Masei said.
“We had some surprises
both good and bad, but
that's how districts usually
go. We qualified three kids to
state. I feel those kids will be
competitive at state.”
Sophomore Aaron White
wanted to win the boys triple
jump badly. Ranked first in
the MWC coming in, White
hoped to inch closer to, or
pass, his father’s mark in the
event. Then, Lebanon’s John
Dallas qualifiers: BOYS — Aaron White, soph., triple jump
(seeded fifth).
GIRLS — Kyleen Benz, jr., shot put (seeded eighth), discus
(seeded seventh); Danielle Remington, sr., javelin (seeded
eighth).
Bates recorded a mark of 42
feet, 3½ inches to take the
lead. With one jump remain-
ing, White had one last
chance to win a district
crown.
“In the beginning, I was a
little inaccurate on the
board and I had a few good
jumps that were scratched,”
White said. “When the guy
before me got a 42-3½, it
gave me motivation to try
and get as far as I could.”
On his final attempt, White
got off a clean jump — and
he knew he had a chance to
win the district title.
“It felt a little farther than
my other ones,” White said.
“You can tell which ones are
good and which ones are
bad, and that one felt pretty
good.”
White finished with a
mark of 42-6½.
“I was real excited after-
ward,” White said. “But I
couldn’t go overboard be-
cause the other competitor
was right there.”
White won’t be alone at
state. He’ll be joined by a fel-
low newcomer to state and a
veteran who is looking to
break through.
Ready for more
Junior Kyleen Benz is a
state veteran at this point.
She’s competed at the state
meet in each of her first
three years, taking second in
the discus
in 2014.
T h i s
year, Benz
hopes to
earn her
first state
title.
B e n z
Benz
placed sec-
ond in the discus with a
throw of 112-5 and earned a
wild card berth in the shot
put with a mark of 36-2.
For some, state can be a
nerve-wracking experience.
But Benz won’t be intimidat-
ed by the moment.
“The whole season you’re
building up for state,” Benz
said. “The fact that I’m going,
which was my goal, calms
me down because I’ve al-
ready accomplished my
goal.”
While White and Benz
clinched a trip to state dur-
ing the meet, the Dragons’
final state qualifier took a
different path to Eugene.
Going wild
When the MWC district
track meet ended Thursday
evening, senior Danielle
Remington didn’t know her
final fate.
Remington placed third in
the javelin and pole vault.
Her mark of 119-4 in the girls
javelin fell just short of the
qualifying standard of 120.
But there was hope.
“We knew as of Thursday
that there was one more
spot left,” Remington said.
All she could do, however,
was wait for news on the
wild card berths.
“I tried not to worry about
it, but I was thinking about it
a lot,” Remington said. “I
kept checking to see and
couldn’t wait to find out.”
As Friday and Saturday
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas senior Danielle Remington placed third in the
javelin and the pole vault on Wednesday and Thursday.
passed, Sunday finally
brought the news — Rem-
ington was going to state.
“I was really excited,” she
said. “It took away a lot of
the disappointment from
districts in general.”
With her spot secured,
Remington hopes to shine at
the state meet.
“I just want to go and
have fun,” she said. “I really
want to PR (set a personal
record). I’m seeded eighth,
so I’m not even seeded that
low and we’re all close. …
The nerves are always there,
but they don’t affect me too
much. I’m excited to be part
of this environment.”
Duo: Clark aiming to reach podium at state
Continued from Page 10A
“I am very proud of
Sarah,” Price said. “… She
deserves it and I can’t wait to
be right beside her at state
cheering her on.”
Price would get her mo-
ment in the 300-meter hur-
dles, where she resolved to
give it everything she had
left.
“I just told myself I was
going to push and give it my
all and hope that it would be
enough,” Price said. “No
matter how tired I was, I
would tell myself to keep
pushing because I knew that
I wanted it. I knew that this
could possibly be my last
run, so it was either go hard
or go home.”
The question was, did she
have enough in the tank to
finish in the top two.
“She missed some key
practices the week before,
and I was very worried
about her conditioning, and
told her she was going to
have to dig down really deep
with grit and determination
in those last 100 meters, and
she did,” Perrydale coach
Brian Evans said.
Price overcame stumbling
CLASS 2A TRACK AND FIELD STATE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
When: Thursday, 10 a.m.; Friday, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Hayward Field, University of Oregon, Eugene.
Admission: Adults, $10; students and children, $5.
Perrydale qualifiers: GIRLS — Taylor Price, jr., 300-meter
hurdles (seeded fifth); Sarah Clark, jr., javelin (seeded ninth).
on the final hurdle and fin-
ished second with a time of
50.65 seconds, setting a new
school record.
“I was so proud of myself
because I didn’t think I
could do it,” Price said.
As Clark and Price turn
their attention to the OSAA
Class 2A state meet, Clark
isn’t shying away from her
expectations.
“I know for a fact that I
can throw at least 120 feet,
which makes me feel better
about myself,” Clark said. “If
I really work for it, I can get a
really high place for javelin.”
Evans has similarly high
expectations.
“We have some approach
issues to work on, but I fully
expect her to set a new
school record at Hayward
Field,” Evans said.
Price, on the other hand,
is just ready to experience
state.
“I’m happy to have the
opportunity and no matter
how I place, I am very proud
to have made it to state with
this only being my first
year,” Price said.
The Pirates also saw a pair
of third-place finishes.
Alysia Vergin placed third
in the 100 hurdles, while
Taylor Rossi took third in the
triple jump, narrowly miss-
ing out on qualifying for
state.
“I only have nine girls on
our track team, but two are
going to state and two more
nearly qualified, so I am very
happy with that,” Evans
said.
CLASS 5A PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Falls City senior headed to state meet
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
PORTLAND — Falls City
senior Tristan Yeager wasn’t
quite ready to see his high
school career end.
Yeager won the Special
District 1 title in the shot put
with a throw of 40-10½ be-
fore taking second in the
discus with a mark of 127-0.
Ye a g e r
secured a
spot in the
OSAA Class
1A state
meet in
b o t h
events.
“ T h e
Yeager
district
meet went well and our kids
came out and did a great
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Yasmine El-Hato
Dallas High
El-Hato, a junior, did a little of every-
thing for the Dallas softball team. El-Hato
went three for four against Lebanon on
May 13, including a home run, helping
the Dragons to a 13-3 win. Against Cres-
cent Valley on Thursday, El-Hato threw a complete game. At
the plate, she drew a walk and a double, home run and a
grand slam to help propel Dallas to the 14-3 victory. The
Dragons finished third in the Mid-Willamette Conference.
Rebeka Preston
Santiam Christian
Preston, a freshman, had a big day at
the West Valley League’s track and field
championships on Thursday and Friday.
Preston won the girls 200- and 400-
meter runs in 26.75 seconds and 1:01.04,
respectively. She also ran the anchor leg of the 4 x 400 relay
team that placed second. Preston will compete at the OSAA
Class 3A state track and field championships on Thursday
and Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene.
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.
job,” Mountaineers coach
Emily Kenagy said.
Yeager figures to be a con-
tender in both of his events.
He is seeded third in the dis-
cus and eighth in the shot
put headed into the state
meet.
Other performances in-
cluded a third-place finish in
the shot put from Bo
Beauchamp, fifth place in
the discus by Arlin
Schwanke and a fourth-
p l a c e p e r f o r m a n c e by
Robert Kempfer in the triple
jump.
Madelyn Hendrickson
took eighth in the 100-meter
run for the girls.
“Overall we had a lot of
fun and was successful in
sending one athlete to state
for discus and shot put.”
CLASS 1A TRACK AND FIELD STATE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
When: Thursday, 10 a.m.; Friday, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Hayward Field, University of Oregon, Eugene.
Admission: Adults, $10; students and children, $5.
Falls City qualifier: BOYS — Tristan Yeager, sr., shot put
(seeded eighth), discus (seeded third).
Knauss: Central qualifies four
Continued from Page 10A
Her last jump on Thurs-
day was 16-8¾.
“I knew it was a good
jump,” Knauss said. “But I
didn’t know it was that
good.”
She would find out just
how good when the long
jumpers came down for
awards. It was then she re-
ceived shocking news.
“The presenter said since
you’re the district champ, I
need to know how to pro-
nounce your name,” Knauss
said. “I was like, wait, what?
I had to walk off because I
thought they had to be kid-
ding me.”
Knauss, who also placed
third in the triple jump, was
headed to state — just not
in the event she thought.
“It feels great,” she said.
“I’m a senior, and I know it’s
coming to an end. I really
just winged it in the long
jump because I wasn’t ex-
pecting anything out of it. I
just had that, what the heck,
go for it attitude.”
She may have shocked
herself, but Central coach
Eli Cirino said he saw the
potential early.
“I am very proud of how
( Taylor) came through,”
Cirino said.
Knauss will be joined at
state by senior sprinter
Thomas Peterson, senior
jumper Kaj Bansen and
sophomore distance runner
Abby McBeth.
Back for more
Peterson has tasted being
a state champion before.
This year, he’s looking for a
repeat performance.
It was about a year ago
that Peterson finished his
2014 season the way ath-
letes dream of — on top. As
part of the boys 4 x 100
meter relay team, Peterson
helped the quartet win a
state title.
Entering this season, Pe-
terson had a new mission.
“Moving to 5A, I don’t
think people expected us to
do that well,” Peterson said.
He did his part to send a
message.
“Thomas Peterson was
dominant in the 100, tying
the meet record, and almost
won the 200 as well,” Cirino
said. “He has a great chance
to make the finals and do
well in both at state.”
Peterson won the MWC
title in the 100, defeating
top-seeded Hunter Mattson
of Corvallis, finishing with a
time of 11.06 seconds.
“His seed time was faster
than mine,” Peterson said of
Mattson. “I beat him in the
prelims and I thought
maybe he was just taking it
easy to beat me in the finals,
but that wasn’t the case.”
In the 200, Peterson nar-
rowly placed second by .11
seconds.
With one last meet left in
his high school career, Pe-
terson just wants to go out
with a bang.
“It’s my senior year,” Pe-
terson said. “I just want to
do the best that I can (at
state) and know that this is
a good way to finish my
high school career.”
Wild cards
Central senior Kaj Bansen
and sophomore Abby Mc-
Beth figured their seasons
may be over.
Both entered districts
with hopes of earning an
automatic state berth. But
after Bansen took fourth in
the high jump and triple
jump and McBeth placed
third in the 1,500, they left
more disappointed than
hopeful.
“I really wasn’t too happy
with (my jumps),” Bansen
said. “… To be honest, I did-
n’t think I would (get a wild
card berth). I thought I was
done and had my last sport-
ing event as a Central Pan-
ther.”
For McBeth, not knowing
her fate was difficult to deal
with.
“It was a tough period be-
cause I didn’t know whether
I should be excited or dis-
appointed,” McBeth said. “I
just decided to prepare for
the best.”
As both received the
news that they qualified,
their attention turned to
Eugene.
And while they may have
taken a different path, both
are ready to shake things up
at state.
“It’s so hard to judge how
things will play out based
on rankings,” McBeth said.
“I think you just have to do
what you can do and see
where that takes you.”