Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 1, 2015 11A
Polk County Sports
CLASS 5A PREP SOFTBALL
Campos hopes experience leads to success
Dragons turn to assistant varsity coach to lead softball program into the future
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The Dallas
High softball program has a
new head coach.
DHS Athletic Director Tim
Larson announced Brandi
Campos will take over from
Al Perkins, who stepped
down earlier in June.
“I’ve always been involved
in softball my whole life,”
Campos said. “I moved to
Dallas (in 2014) and I ended
up contacting them to see if
there was an opportunity to
get involved with the high
school program. Fortunately
there was an opportunity to
be an assistant coach, and I
was doing that last season. I
developed a relationship
with the girls, and it just
worked out that the head
coach job came available.”
Campos brings a wealth
of softball experience as a
player and coach. Campos
earned all-state honors and
conference Player of the Year
recognition as a senior at
Roseburg High School be-
fore playing at Portland State
from 2008-11.
Since then, she’s served as
a volunteer assistant for the
Vikings, as well as coaching
various youth teams in the
Portland area. Campos has
also served as a graduate as-
sistant at the University of
Texas, El-Paso, and as an as-
sistant
coach at
Tu a l a t i n
H i g h
S c h o o l
prior to ar-
riving at
Dallas.
“I love
Campos
working
with kids,” Campos said. “I
feel like I have the natural
ability to teach as well. I
want to teach the kids what
I’ve learned. I’ve been grate-
ful to have the opportunity
to play in college. I want to
give back to another pro-
gram as well.”
Campos’ tenure as a play-
er and coach proved to be a
major factor, Larson said.
Campos, who served as
an assistant at Dallas during
the 2015 campaign, hopes
that experience with the
Dragons will lead to a
smooth transition.
“It’s huge not only for me,
but also for (the girls),” Cam-
pos said. “Knowing someone
coming in that I’ve already
been involved with them
and stuff, they understand
my coaching style and I un-
derstand what pushes them.
We can jump in from day
one and get a head start be-
cause we already have that
relationship.”
Campos takes over a pro-
gram that placed third in the
Mid-Willamette Conference
Campos File
• Brandi Campos played
collegiate softball at Port-
land State University from
2008-11.
• Campos has coached
softball at various levels.
This will be her first head
coach job in high school.
• Dallas placed third in
the Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence last season.
and advanced to the OSAA
Class 5A state play-in round
last season. The Dragons will
have to replace six seniors
from last year’s squad, but
Campos believes the team
will be ready.
“I’m excited to see some
of the underclassmen step
up and take on those new
roles and lead us,” Campos
said. “We have a couple of
returners coming back who I
hope will be good leaders. I
just hope that we will all
work together as a team and
that will take us far.”
As Campos prepares for
her first chance to be a head
coach, she’s looking forward
to seeing just how far she
can help take the Dallas soft-
ball program going forward.
“I’m very excited and
grateful for this opportuni-
ty,” Campos said. “I can’t
wait to see how this works
out now and into the future.”
COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE ATHLETICS/for the Itemizer-Observer
Dallas softball coach Brandi Campos played at Portland State from 2008-2011.
Tennis: Warkentin passing the reins
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
The Monmouth-Independence Fourth of July Tennis
Tournament features players of all skill levels.
Continued from Page 10A
“I think the tradition of
how long it’s been going on
and the number of players
who keep returning year
after year (keeps this going
strong),” Warkentin said.
“We try to make it a fun,
friendly thing. We see a lot
of former players from Cen-
tral and Dallas participate.
Two years ago, we had a
doubles team that was one
of my first doubles teams
that I coached play a dou-
bles pair who had just grad-
uated. All four were still
very good players. This
tournament can bring the
past and the present togeth-
er, which is fun to see.”
Even if you’re not a pro,
the tournament offers
something for players of all
skill levels, with different
brackets based on ability.
“It allows people to com-
pete at their own level,”
Warkentin said.
This year’s tournament
will mark the start of a tran-
sition for Warkentin, who
has been involved as an as-
sistant or tournament di-
rector for more than three
d e c a d e s. T h i s y e a r,
Warkentin said current
Central coaches will help
run the tournament.
“(The coaches) are the
ones who are developing
the kids now,” Warkentin
said. “I think they will be
the ones to help continue
Change: Rech looking to
give back to community
Continued from Page 10A
Baseball is a fun game,
but I just wasn’t ready to do
it every single day again.”
And so, Rech made a
choice to forgo baseball and
follow his true calling.
—
During the baseball sea-
son, Rech was among Cen-
tral’s fiercest competitors. It’s
little surprise, given Rech’s
father played college base-
ball. The sport taught him
not only to be one of Cen-
tral’s strongest players, but
important life lessons as
well.
“ O n t h e ( p i t c h e r ’s )
mound, it’s given me a huge
level of patience,” Rech said.
“Not everything in life is
going to go perfectly. Curve
balls will be thrown at you
and you just have to battle
back and have a good men-
tality. Baseball helped me to
remember to enjoy life.”
As Rech’s high school ca-
reer wore on, he began
thinking about how his
community shaped him
into the person he is today.
“Over the years, people
have done so much for me,”
Rech said. “Whether it was
volunteering for sports or
teachers staying after
school and donating a lot of
their time to help me with
subjects, there are a lot of
people who are very kind
and have supported me
throughout my life. I want-
ed to volunteer to give
AARON YOST/Itemizer-Observer file
Central High graduate Chris Rech had a successful sen-
ior season, including throwing a no-hitter.
something back. It’s impor-
tant to me to give back.”
All he lacked was an out-
let.
That all changed during
his senior year.
Rech’s cousin and uncle
are seeking to become state
police troopers, which
helped spark an interest in
pursuing a career in law en-
forcement.
When Rech saw police of-
ficers on duty first-hand, he
was sold.
“I did my ride-along with
the Independence and
Monmouth police depart-
ments,” Rech said. “I saw
the love for what they do
and their passion for their
job. They’re very profession-
al. They love kids and stop
by to say hi. They bond to-
gether with the community
well.”
That prompted Rech to
begin the application
process for the cadet pro-
gram, which he expects to
hear back from in August.
He will attend Western Ore-
gon University this fall.
To those who know him
best, there’s little doubt he
will be successful in his
new endeavor.
“Chris is a great kid who
wants to be his best and al-
ways gives his all,” Central
baseball coach Zach Miller
said. “No doubt he will be
successful in whatever he
does, and serving others is a
great path for someone like
him to go down.”
Rech knows he’s on the
right path, but that doesn’t
mean leaving baseball be-
hind has been an easy
process.
“I’ll miss being with my
friends on those hot sum-
mer days,” Rech said. “I’ll
miss enjoying the game that
we all loved for different
reasons.”
His bond with baseball
extends beyond his team-
mates.
“My dad and I love base-
ball, and he’s coached me
my whole life,” Rech said.
In the end, his love for his
community, and a desire to
set a good example to his
two younger siblings, won
out.
“People know your
name,” Rech said. “The way
your family acts or how
other people act in your
family reflects your name
and who you are. It’s very
important that you keep
that level of respect. … You
hold each other account-
able because your name
does matter. How people
see you does matter. I want
to keep that positivity.”
this tournament on.”
Proceeds from the Fourth
of July tournament support
Central’s boys and girls ten-
nis programs.
While Warkentin may be
starting to hand off the
reins, that doesn’t mean
he’ll stop being involved.
He will hold a clinic,
which began Tuesday, for
current Central players.
But he won’t just be
t e a c h i n g c u r re n t h i g h
school players through les-
sons.
He’s hoping to teach
them a thing or two on the
court as well during the
doubles bracket of the tour-
nament.
“We want to see if we can
Tennis Time
What: Monmouth-In-
dependence Fourth of July
Tennis Tournament.
When: July 11 and 12.
Where: Matches will
take place at Western Ore-
gon University and Central
High School.
Cost: $15 singles, $25
doubles.
How to register: Reg-
istration is available
through
noon
on
Wednesday (July 8) at
www.oregontennis.com.
still hang with the younger
guys,” Warkentin said with a
smile.
SCOREBOARD
CLUB GOLF
CROSS CREEK GOLF
COURSE
MEN’S CLUB
Tuesday, June 16 Results
Low Gross/Low Net
Gross — 1 Bill Karjala 32; 2 (tie),
Rocky Kygar and Bryce Bennett, 33; 4,
Lee Taylor, 34.
Net — 1, Warren Richards, 26; 2,
Eldon Rivers, 27; 3 (tie), Larry Hatcher
and Rich Noland, 28; 5 (tie), Jack Duncan
and Darrel Smedstad, 29.
TRIATHLON
SPRINT TRIATHLON
at Independence City Pool
Saturday, June 27 Results
Sprint Triathlon
500-meter swim, 15-mile bike, 3.1-
mile run.
MALE
1, James Dunning, 1:07:06; 2, Alan
Roy, 1:15:16; 3, Nathan Glade, 1:16:08;
4, Ammon Jeffries, 1:19:56; 5, Eric
Forbes, 1:20:17; 6, T.J. Hafner, 1:25:27;
7, Jerry Mullins, 1:27:02; 8, Lee Stevens,
1:32:26; 9. Kyle Alexander, 1:32:29; 10,
Riley Olson, 1:45:01; 11, Garrett
Rhodes, 1:52:50; 12, Gabe Huber,
1:55:08; 13, Lukas Eggen, 1:56:40.
FEMALE
1, Gail Kimberling, 1:26:32; 2,
Kathryn Schmieding, 1:29:14; 3, Angie
Gilbert, 1:37:39; 4, Annie Hedlund,
1:39:57; 5, Jen Mason, 1:41:51; 6 Chris
Nelson, 1:45:44; 7, Alycia Weyer,
1:45:52; 8, Rebekah Wilcox, 1:54:00; 9,
Melissa Huber, 1:55:17; 10, Margaret
Hafner, 1:58:10; 11, Emily Mentzer,
2:06:12; 12, Gracie Huber, 2:13:36.
TEAM
1, YMCA Relay, 1:32:36.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Signups for basketball camp open
DALLAS — Registration is open for the Dragon Basketball
Camp July 13-15.
Dallas girls coach Dave Brautigam and boys coach Trent Schwartz
and the coaching staffs will instruct participants on a broad range
of topics.
The camp will include focusing on ball handling, shooting, post
and guard breakdown moves, defensive positioning and more.
The camp runs from 2 to 6 p.m. each day at the Dallas High
School gym and is open for students entering grades four through
12.
The gym will be open at 12:30 p.m.
Cost is $50 per person.
Registration forms can be found online at www.ci.-
dallas.or.us/index.aspx?NID=425.
For more information: David Brautigam, david.brautigam@dalla-
sor.gov or Trent Schwartz, trent.schwartz@dsd2.org.
Transfer to join Western Oregon
MONMOUTH — Western Oregon women’s basketball coach
Holli Howard-Carpenter announced guard Jazmin Bembry will
join the Wolves’ women’s basketball team on June 23. Bembry will
transfer from Southwestern Oregon Community College.
Bembry averaged 6.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per
game as a sophomore during the 2014-15 season.
“(Jazmin) brings experience and maturity to our team and will
help improve our transition game right away,” Howard-Carpenter
said. “Jaz has great speed and quickness and really looks to push
the tempo.”