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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 1, 2015 10A 43rd MONMOUTH-INDEPENDENCE MINI-MARATHON SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 Baseball: American Le- gion: Demarini Dirtbags at Grants Pass, 2 p.m. Division II Junior Baseball: South Salem at Dallas, 6 p.m. THURSDAY, JULY 2 Baseball: American Le- gion: Demarini Dirtbags at Western Oregon Baseball Tournament, TBA. Division I Junior Baseball: Central at Sprague, 5:30 p.m. FRIDAY, JULY 3 Baseball: American Le- gion: Demarini Dirtbags at Corvallis Tournament, TBA. Division I Junior Baseball: Astoria at Dallas (DH), 11 a.m. Division II Junior Base- ball: West Salem at Dallas, 6 p.m. SATURDAY, JULY 4 Baseball: American Le- gion: Demarini Dirtbags at Corvallis Tournament, TBA. Recreation: Mon- mouth-Independence Mini-Marathon, 11:30 a.m. SUNDAY, JULY 5 Baseball: American Le- gion: Demarini Dirtbags at Corvallis Tournament, TBA. MONDAY, JULY 6 Baseball: Division I Jun- ior Baseball: McKay at Dal- las, 6 p.m. TUESDAY, JULY 7 Baseball: American Le- gion: Florence at Demarini Dirtbags, 2 p.m. Division II Junior Baseball: Dallas at Silverton, 5:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 Baseball: American Le- gion: Demarini Dirtbags at Florence (DH), 1 p.m. Divi- sion I Junior Baseball: Cor- vallis at Dallas, 6 p.m. Mc- Nary at Central, 6 p.m. — Schedules Subject to Change QUICK HITS Nelson plays in all-star match LA GRANDE — Perrydale High graduate Sarah Nel- son competed in the Ore- gon Athletic Coaches Asso- ciation 2A-1A volley- ball all- s t a r match on June 20 at Quinn Colise - Nelson um at the Eastern Oregon Univer- sity campus. Hosted by EOU, Nelson was one of 24 players to be chosen from across the state to compete. Nelson led the Pirates in all statistical categories, de- spite dealing with a shoul- der injury during the 2014 season. She received first team all-Tri-River Conference honors for her efforts. STAT SHEET The number of years the Mon- mouth-Inde- pendence Mini-Marathon has taken place. Organizers are ex- pecting a big crowd for Saturday’s edition. 43 400 The 2014 Mini- Marathon featured more than 400 runners and walkers who finished the 2.6-mile course between the two cities. www.polkio.com Mini-Marathon offers inviting route Organizers expect a large turnout for the Fourth of July tradition By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH/INDEPEN- DENCE — Has it been awhile since you’ve laced up your running shoes? You wouldn’t be alone, but July 4 offers a fun and rela- tively easy way to end your racing drought in the 43rd annual Monmouth-Inde- pendence Mini-Marathon. At a distance of 2.6 miles, on a mostly downhill course following the July 4 Grand Parade route, the race is the perfect distance to reintro- duce you to a fun run with- out wiping you out for the Time For A Fun Run What: 2015 Monmouth-Independence Mini-Marathon. When: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. Where: The 2.6-mile run begins in front of Monmouth City Hall and ends at the old Independence City Hall. Cost: $15 adults, $5 children 10 and younger in advance; $20 adults, $10 children for day-of-race registration. How to register: Online registration is available through noon Thursday at www.eclecticedgeracing.com. On-site regis- tration will be available on Saturday from 7 to 10:30 a.m. rest of the day. “It’s a fun, special event to run the route just before the big parade,” said Terry Cable, the race coordinator. “As fitness has been more in- grained in our society, a little 2.6-mile race like this isn’t intimidating to anyone. Families run together, and we definitely have people who make it a Fourth of July tradition.” See MINI, Page 12A KURT HOLLAND/Itemizer-Observer file The 2014 Monmouth-Independence Mini-Marathon fea- tured more than 400 runners and walkers. Tennis tourney ready BASEBALL Making a change Central graduate looks to make a difference By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer By Lukas Eggen MONMOUTH/INDEPEN- DENCE — The Monmouth- Independence Fourth of July tennis tournament is set to return July 11 and 12. This year’s tournament will happen the week after Independence Day because the holiday falls on a Satur- day. “Prior experience showed us trying to have the tournament with the parade going on and all the family commitments just wouldn’t work out,” Ron Warkentin, tournament di- rector, said. Signups are open through July 8 for the annual tourna- ment, now in its 42nd year. Matches will be played at Central High School and at Western Oregon University. See TENNIS, Page 11A The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — Upon finishing his senior season with Central’s baseball team, Chris Rech arrived at a pivotal moment in his life — one that could lead him away from the base- ball diamond. “I feel like I’m called for something bigger,” Rech said. Rech just finished a successful campaign dur- ing the spring, one that included throwing a no- hitter and talking with a few possible destina- tions to play in college. Rech also received an in- vitation to join the Demarini Dirtbags American Legion team. One thing kept nagging at him, though. “I dug deep into my heart,” Rech said. “I strug- gled with it for a little while. If you love some- thing a lot, you’ll be out there doing it every day and pouring your heart and soul into it. Baseball just wasn’t at that point anymore. I want to do bigger and better things.” See CHANGE, Page 11A INDEPENDENCE SPRINT TRIATHLON Pushing for a good cause Surviving triathlon Triathlon a rewarding, worthwhile endeavor E MILY M ENTZER Commentary Standing in line to use the toilet at the Independ- ence Heated Community Pool, it dawned on me: this is why we’re here. A lady next to me said, “They should really get that second toilet fixed.” Yeah, they should. One of the reasons we were participating in the second annual Independ- ence Sprint Triathlon was to raise money for repairs to the pool house — badly needed upgrades. And when everyone in line was pushed for time — we’d all been hy- drating all week in anticipa- JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Emily Mentzer prepares for the running portion of the Independence Sprint Triathlon on Saturday morning. tion of high temperatures on Saturday and had to start our first heat in 8 minutes, 56:25 seconds it was more apparent than ever that our cause was good. More than the cause, something happened to me as I trained for and then competed in my first triathlon. See CAUSE, Page 12A a rewarding event This is the final of a series of columns chronicling my journey in training for my first sprint triathlon, held on Saturday morning. The moment had finally arrived. The Independence Sprint Triathlon was about to begin. I had my final moments of preparation on Friday by watching the film “300.” Granted, it did nothing for my actual preparation, but it did reignite the feeling that it would be cool to throw a spear while screaming a manly shout. Once Saturday morning came around, I was the first participant to arrive at the Independence pool. The nerves were high. To combat this, I started to recite some of my favorite movie lines, from, “Spar- tans, prepare for glory!” to, www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 L UKAS E GGEN Commentary “I drink your milkshake.” Yeah, not sure what that line was supposed to do for me either. I quickly went over my race strategy. Luckily, it was simple — Pace yourself. As soon as the triathlon started the only thing I failed to do was … pace myself. There’s something about the start of a race that gets my competitive juices flow- ing. This was a chance to channel my inner Spartan. That feeling lasted for maybe 30 minutes. See SURVIVE, Page 12A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm Saturday 8am - 5pm www.LesSchwab.com DALLAS 121 Main St • 503-623-8155 • INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St • 503-838-6340