Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 22, 2015 11A
Polk County Sports
GOLF
Cross Creek hosts OGA youth tournament
Nearly 80 golfers from Oregon and Washington came to compete on Thursday
By Lukas Eggen
Golf
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — About 80
golfers descended upon
Cross Creek Golf Course on
Thursday morning. This was
no ordinary tournament.
This was an Oregon Golf As-
sociation (OGA) youth tour-
nament.
“We had 79 kids out there,
which is a pretty good show-
ing for us,” Cross Creek em-
ployee Dave Watson said.
This is the 10th year Cross
Creek has been a part of
OGA, Watson said. The
youth tournament, open to
OGA members aged 8-17,
does more than teach kids
the game of golf.
“It teaches them integrity
and responsibility,” Watson
said. “I mean each player
calls his or her own penal-
ties. That’s an important
part of it and for kids to
learn how to do that is
amazing. It also teaches
them discipline.”
The OGA is a non-profit
organization aimed at pro-
moting, fostering and grow-
ing the game of golf.
Membership is available
to both adults and chil-
dren, and comes with ben-
efits. Watson said he hopes
• Cross Creek Golf Course
hosted an OGA youth tour-
nament on Thursday.
• In total, 79 golfers com-
peted at the event.
• Results were not avail-
able as of press time.
• For more information:
www.oga.org.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Almost 80 golfers teed off at Cross Creek Golf Course on Thursday morning to take part in the OGA tournament.
events like these help
young golfers learn to love
the game — even when it
can be difficult.
“It’s a sport you love to
hate,” Watson said. “It can
be so frustrating at times
and then you hit that one
good shot that comes off ex-
actly the way you planned it,
and that’s what keeps you
coming back.”
Thursday’s tournament
saw players from Oregon
and Washington compete.
Among them included Dal-
las High’s Kailee Curtis.
Drawing golfers from multi-
ple states is nothing new,
Watson said, as many youth
golfers make the trip to sev-
eral tournaments through-
out the year.
“The kids have a good
time,” Watson said. “A lot of
them play multiple tourna-
ments and they make some
good friends from all over.
It’s a good competition for
them.”
While Thursday was all
about youth golfers, the
OGA is focused on getting
golfers of any age started
—it is never too late to
begin.
“Almost every course has
a teaching pro and, for a lit-
tle money, you can get some
instruction and it makes it
so much easier for you to
play,” Watson said. “There
are a lot of programs out
there to help you get on the
course and have fun.”
Results from the OGA
tournament were not avail-
able as of press time. But
Thursday was a success by
multiple measures, Watson
said. And, as they have had
for the past decade, Thurs-
day’s tournament provided
as much fun for the volun-
teers running it as the play-
ers competing.
“We had 22 volunteers
from the men’s and women’s
clubs,” Watson said. “They
come back every year be-
cause it’s so much fun. The
kids have fun. The parents
are happy and this is a great
showcase for (Cross Creek).
We try and have everyone
who comes here leave in a
good mood.”
Triathlon: Every finisher receives medal
Continued from Page 10A
The first 50 competitors
to check in will receive a T-
shirt.
Cost is $15 for members
of the Dallas Aquatic Center
and $20 for nonmembers.
Registration will be accepted
the morning of the event.
Participants are broken
up into age groups (5-6, 7-8,
9-10 and 11-12) and Snyder
said he hopes that the kids’
triathlon serves as a jump-
ing off point to helping kids
live a more healthy life.
“Most of the kids who do
this event, they tend to have
parents who are pretty ac-
tive,” Snyder said. “But we
hope that this helps get all
the kids excited to be more
active.”
The race begins with the
swimming leg inside Dallas
Aquatic Center, followed by
a bike ride around Roger Jor-
dan Community Park and
ending with a run through
the park’s grassy area.
“Families can come down
to the aquatic center, and we
have a display on the front
counter so they can see the
course ahead of time,” Sny-
der said. “They can even do
a practice run if they’d like.
We have certain things to
work with to keep this safe.
We didn’t want kids crossing
the street, so we had to
come up with something
that would work.”
The main focus of the
triathlon is to promote stay-
ing active and having fun.
But Snyder said for partici-
pants, the triathlon can also
be a chance to show off their
athletic ability.
“I love watching the
younger kids,” Snyder said.
“The transition from little
kids who swim on noodles
and then get on a tricycle
and act like it’s a competi-
tive event, it’s fun to see.
They’ve got their game
faces on.”
While the kids are having
a blast competing, those
watching may get just as
much, if not more, enjoy-
ment from seeing the kids
compete in the triathlon.
“Just come on down,”
Snyder said. “Even if you
don’t have a child partici-
pating, it’s some really
cheap comedy if you want
to see something that’s re-
ally fun.”
Having a Word
Run: Event offers
races for all levels
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Spencer DesBiens receives instructions after advancing to third base during the De-
marini Dirtbags’ game against the Withnell Dodgers on Saturday. The Dirtbags
earned a 5-4 victory, but lost two of three games to the Dodgers. The Demarini Dirt-
bags placed second in its league standings entering the American Legion State Tour-
nament on July 29.
SCOREBOARD
CLUB
SWIMMING
BLUE DOLPHINS
RYST Summer Open
At Umpqua Community College
July 17-19 Results
(BDST placers)
GIRLS
100 individual medley (9-10) — 6,
Kaitlyn Landis, 1:43.28. 100 freestyle (9-
10) — 9, Kaitlyn Landis, 1:34.38. 50
freestyle (8 and under) — 7. Gentry
Hagedorn, 43.95. 200 freestyle (9-10)
— 3, Taylor Hagedorn, 2:51.67; 9, Kaitlyn
Landis, 3:22.23. 25 breaststroke (8 and
under) — 2, Gentry Hagedorn, 23.95. 50
breaststroke (9-10) — 9, Taylor Hage-
dorn, 50.09; 17, Kaitlyn Landis, 58.69; 21,
Madison Hanson, 1:01.55. 50 butterfly
(8 and under) — 2, Gentry Hagedorn,
48.94. 100 butterfly (9-10) — 1, Taylor
Hagedorn, 1:32.96; 5, Kaitlyn Landis,
1:59.88. 50 backstroke (9-10) — 9, Kait-
lyn Landis, 48.25; 24, Madison Hanson,
1:01.70. 400 individual medley (15 and
over) — 5, Emily Beasley, 7:11.03. 200
freestyle (15 and over) — 10, Emily
Beasley, 3:03.60. 50 freestyle (9-10) —
7, Taylor Hagedorn, 36.87; 15, Kaitlyn
Landis, 41.90; 27, Madison Hanson,
52.82. 50 breaststroke (8 and under)
— 3, Gentry Hagedorn, 53.64. 100
breaststroke (9-10) — 8, Taylor Hage-
dorn, 18, Kaitlyn Landis, 2:08.65; 19,
Madison Hanson, 2:10.93. 25 butterfly
(8 and under) — 2, Gentry Hagedorn,
19.83. 50 butterfly (9-10) — 4, Taylor
Hagedorn, 42.44. 50 backstroke (8 and
under) — 6, Gentry Hagedorn, 51.32.
100 backstroke (9-10) — 10, Kaitlyn
Landis, 1:48.70. 200 backstroke (15 and
over) — 14, Emily Beasley, 3:24.52. 100
breaststroke (15 and over) — 18, Emily
Beasley, 1:52.34. 200 butterfly (15 and
over) — 4, Emily Beasley, 1:52.34.
BOYS
200 freestyle (11-12) — 10, David
Beasley, 3:18.26. 25 breaststroke (8 and
under) — 5, Cash Hagedorn, 32.58. 50
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file
The 10th annual Summerfest Kids’ Triathlon gives participants a chance to shine.
backstroke (11-12) — 12, David
Beasley, 50.96. 25 freestyle (7-8) — 4,
Cash Hagedorn, 24.47. 50 freestyle (11-
12) — 8, David Beasley, 36.91. 50 back-
stroke (8 and under) — 3, Cash Hage-
dorn, 1:02.88. 50 backstroke (11-12) —
7, David Beasley, 1:45.43.
CLUB GOLF
CROSS CREEK GOLF COURSE
MEN’S CLUB
Tuesday, June 14 Results
Low Gross/Low Net
Gross — 1, Greg Fisher-Lee Taylor,
35.
Net — 1 (tie), Bob Bennett-David
Karr and Ted Bennett-Dave Day, 31.
Tuesday, June 14 Results
Progressive Tees
Gross — 1 (tie), Lee Taylor and Bill
Karjala, 76.
Net — 1, Jack Duncan, 67; 2 (tie),
Bob Bennett and Michael Willem, 69.
Continued from Page 10A
While the 5K and fun run
were always designed to ap-
peal to less experienced
runners, the event’s newest
race, the 10K, was started to
bring in a whole new crowd
of runners.
“We started with just the
5K and fun run,” Locke said.
“One of the gals that used to
work with us was encourag-
ing us to do a 10K to reach a
different group of people.
It’s worked really well.”
Since then, the event has
been growing, Locke said.
But organizers don’t want
the event, which is com-
pletely run by volunteers, to
get too out of hand too
quickly.
“We want to keep our
numbers that we had the
previous year and add a
few more,” Locke said. “We
would love continuing
small growth. The part we
struggle with is if we get
too big, you look at some of
the bigger runs and you
put in a lot of time and
that’s their only job. That’s
not where we’re at. We’re all
volunteers and this is our
hobby for us, but we would
love to see it grow in terms
of exposure to running and
funding more of the athlet-
ics. It’s a little scarey too,
though. We will just have to
up our game, too. … It ben-
efits the booster club,
which benefits the kids’
athletics. That part is really
good.”
Part of what sets the
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
The Summerfest Fun Run offers 5- and 10-kilometer
races for distance runners to take part in.
Summerfest Fun Run apart
is the course it takes run-
ners on, Locke said.
The 5K run/walk will
travel north on Jefferson to
Walnut Street before turn-
ing east and following Wal-
nut to the Dallas Aquatic
Center where participants
will run a loop around the
soccer field before return-
ing to Walnut, heading
south on Levens Street to
Academy and back across
Main Street.
The 10K race follows a
similar course, but directs
runners eastward from the
aquatic center on Barberry
before looping back via
Hawthorne and Academy to
LaCreole before heading
west down Walnut through
Dallas City Park.
“We want to showcase
some of the city’s running
area,” Locke said. “We’ve
gotten feedback that run-
ners like the change of
scenery.”
For any last-second plan-
ners, registration will be
available at the Dallas
Booster Club’s booth during
Summerfest, online at
www.runsignup.com/Sum-
merfestRun or the morning
of the event.
As the Summerfest Fun
Run hopes to enjoy another
successful event, perhaps
its biggest appeal is the
local connection.
“You’ll see the athletes,
coaches and parents direct-
ing runners and giving en-
couragement,” Locke said.
“All of our awards are locally
made. It makes this a little
more personal.”