Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 29, 2015 11A
Polk County Sports
CYCLING
Bike MS returns to Western Oregon
Fundraiser hopes to raise $750,000 toward MS research and support
By Lukas Eggen
Bike MS
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Some
ride for pleasure. Others to
get into shape. For those
taking part in Bike MS,
which takes place Friday
through Sunday at Western
Oregon University, they are
riding for a purpose.
“A lot of bike events are just
about getting on our bike and
riding,” Bike MS manager
Amy Harris said. “More than
that, this ride is about sup-
porting people with multiple
sclerosis (MS). Many of the
people who ride with us ei-
ther have MS or love some-
one who has MS or has a
family member with MS.”
MS is an often disabling
disease that affects the cen-
tral nervous system by dis-
rupting the flow of informa-
tion within the brain and
between the brain and the
body.
The disease affects more
than 2.3 million people
worldwide.
“The thing about MS is
you don’t know that someone
has it,” Harris said. “They’re
living a life that is compara-
ble to anybody’s so it’s harder
to tell. You might not know
what the symptoms of MS
are.”
Bike MS Willamette Valley
passes through natural
wildlife preserves, historic
towns, farmlands and back
roads with rest stops every
10 to 15 miles.
Saturday and Sunday’s
rides range from 30 to 100
miles long.
Cost is $65 and is open to
riders ages 12 and older. Day
of registration will be avail-
able.
You don’t have to be a cy-
• Bike MS raises money
to support people living
with MS and for MS re-
search.
• Bike MS hopes to raise
$750,000.
• Bike MS offers cyclists
rides ranging from 30 to
100 miles long.
COURTESY OF FIREWORKS PHOTOGRAPHY/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Bike MS attracts riders from throughout Oregon to help support MS research and support those with MS.
clist to take part in the fes-
tivities. Guests can pur-
chase food and drink tick-
ets at the registration desk
for $10 per meal, $20 per
day or $50 for all meals and
drinks for the weekend.
If you do ride, be pre-
pared for an experience un-
like anything else, Harris
said.
“I think first time riders
are surprised by the sense of
community,” Harris said.
“They truly become part of
it.”
There will be musical en-
tertainment, massages and
an evening program on Sat-
urday night, along with
breakfast on Sunday.
The annual event used to
change locations each year,
but decided on keeping it at
Western Oregon to save on
time and money.
“We wanted the focus to
be on funding MS research,”
Harris said. “We wanted our
resources going in that di-
rection. This is our fourth
year here and it’s been great.
We have amazing partners
at Western (Oregon) and
Monmouth and the sur-
rounding area. We love
being here.”
Harris said they are ex-
pecting about 650 riders to
take part, about 100 more
than 2014.
Their goal is to raise
$750,000 for MS research and
to support people living with
MS.
So far, they’ve raised more
than $417,000.
Fundraising continues for
two months after the event,
Harris said, and anyone can
donate whether they are par-
ticipating or not.
As Bike MS prepares for
what it hopes is a successful
weekend, Harris said the
event can be inspirational
for everyone involved.
“This is designed to raise
money for people living with
MS and funding research,”
Harris said. “But the high-
light of the event is the peo-
ple. Just seeing the folks
who, not always, but often
face challenges that are hard
to see are doing this ride.”
For more information:
www.main.nationalmssoci-
ety.org/site/TR/Bike/ORCBi-
keEvents?pg=entry&fr_id=24
766.
PREP SWIMMING
Bemrose steps down as Dallas coach
North Marion hires former Dragons coach to take over Huskies’ swim program
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The Dallas
High swim team is in need
of a new head coach.
Former coach Jeff Bem-
rose announced he accept-
ed the head swim coach po-
sition at North Marion High
School.
“Swim positions don’t
come open very often,” Be-
mrose said. “People tend to
hang on to them for a long
time. I think we kind of
reached our peak in 2014
and we needed more sup-
port from the schools.”
The swim team is consid-
ered a club squad, meaning
funding for costs associated
with the team had to come
from fundraising efforts.
“Funds have been really
tight for the program,” Bem-
rose said. “It’s been more
difficult to replenish sup-
plies. This last year, I just felt
they probably weren’t going
to do anything for a while
and it would be best for me
to look at some other op-
tions with other schools. I
love coaching. It’s probably a
good thing for me to leave
Dallas because Dallas needs
to rethink how they fund
this program.”
The lack of funding took a
toll on Bemrose.
“They have to fund them-
selves,” Bemrose said.
“These last two years our
numbers have been down.
Most of our funds comes
from the pay-to-play fee. We
haven’t been able to do as
many meets and our
fundraising hasn’t been as
successful.”
Bemrose had a success-
ful five-year tenure with
the Dragons.
He helped numerous
Dallas swimmers reach the
Class 5A state swim meet.
In addition, Bemrose said
he took pride in hosting
some of the conference’s
best swim meets.
“I want to thank all the
parent support and all the
great support we had,” Bem-
rose said. “We had, in my
opinion, the best run swim
meets in the league. Other
teams loved coming to Dal-
las because we put on a
good swim meet.”
Nor th Mar ion High
School competes in the 4A
level, where Bemrose hopes
to avoid some of the difficul-
ties faced during his tenure
with Dallas.
“(North Marion has) all
the elements of having a
state championship team,”
Bemrose said. “It’s harder
for Dallas because they face
more difficult competition
and are more reliant upon
club teams at state.”
Corvallis and Albany
have dominated the league
for so long because they
have a good club program,
he added.
“We were able to break
some of that barrier when
my coaching staff and I
came on. Before, we were
hit or miss and could get a
few kids to state, but now
we were consistently get-
ting kids there, so that was
nice.”
As Bemrose prepares for
his new endeavor, he said he
hopes to bring North Mari-
on to one of Dallas’ meets.
As he steps away from the
Dragons, Bemrose is grateful
for his five years spent lead-
ing Dallas’ high school
squad.
“I’m very appreciative of
Dallas High School and the
opportunity they gave me,”
Bemrose said. “I think I’ve
done as much as I can with
Dallas and the current struc-
ture that’s there.”
Fellers to share story Faxon: Has bowled
Horse jumper to present on Saturday
eight perfect games
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — From the
moment he saw his first
horse, Rich Fellers has been
in love with horse riding.
Fellers, a champion
jumper, is looking to give
back, serving as a speaker at
the Old Feed & Garden’s
Horse Owner’s Workshop
on Saturday.
—
Fellers’ love of horses
began early, when his father
remarried.
“My riding days started at
about 9 years old,” Fellers
said. “My stepmom had an
Arabian show horse. We
would go along to the
shows to watch and sup-
port.”
From the first shows he
saw, Fellers fell in love with
one discipline.
“The only competition
that appeared to be fun was
the Arabian Open Jumper
class,” Fellers said. “I decid-
ed at that point to focus on
learning to jump if I was
going to ride horses.”
Horse Owner’s Workshop
What: Old Mill Feed & Garden’s Horse Owner’s Workshop.
When: Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.
Where: Old Mill Feed & Garden, 1313 Main St., Dallas.
Cost: Free, but preregistration is required.
For more information: Old Mill Feed & Garden, 503-831-
1222.
Si n c e t h a t m o m e n t ,
Fellers’ career has taken off.
Most recently, Fellers earned
$60,000 while competing at
the California Grand Prix
jumping competition in
May, while riding his 19-
year-old horse, Flexible.
Perhaps his crowning
achievement came in 2012
when Fellers won the
$50,000 Rolex World Cup
Jumping competition — the
first American to win the
title since 1987.
“It was the most amazing
feeling,” Fellers said. “It
meant so much to me per-
sonally, my family, the
horse owners and also the
sport of Show Jumping.
Fellers is one of numer-
ous scheduled presenters at
the horse owner’s work-
shop, which begins at 11
a.m. He will share what he’s
learned during his career so
far.
“People will hear good,
professional advice on
horsemanship,” Fellers
said.
As Fellers prepares to
give back to the sport he
loves, he’s hoping this is just
another step in his life with
horses.
“I have never thought of
doing anything else,” Fellers
said. “I am truly passionate
about the sport regardless
of all the hard work and
travel involved.”
The event is free, but pre-
registration is required. For
more information: Old Mill
Feed & Garden, 503-831-
1222.
Continued from Page 10A
But Faxon had numerous
accomplishments when he
hit the lanes as well.
“One of the reasons I’m
here I guess is I’ve won five
state championships, 20-
something city champi-
onships, and I’ve won nu-
merous other tournaments,”
Faxon said.
He’s bowled eight perfect
games, including one at a
national Professional
Bowlers Association (PBA)
senior event in Portland.
“All of these PBA guys
were there,” Faxon said.
“Pete Weber is about two
lanes away. He didn’t like us
amateurs. All of these pro-
fessional guys sort of turned
their noses up to me. They
didn’t say, ‘nice game.’ They
were mad at me because
they didn’t want me to up-
stage them.”
Faxon may no longer run
Starlight, but he still plays on
a regular basis — even if
bowling that perfect game
isn’t quite as easy as it was
before.
“You go through this
process of getting 10 or 11
strikes and then you miss,”
Faxon said. “When you final-
ly get 12 strikes, I told my
kids I’m going to do that
again. Once you get over the
mental hurdle, it’s easy. Then
you get older and your skills
diminish and it’s not as
easy.”
The ability to play, no
matter what your age, is
something that makes bowl-
ing a unique and special
sport, Faxon said — one that
he’s dedicated much of his
life toward improving.
“That’s the thing, anyone
can do it whether you’re 6 or
80,” Faxon said. “It’s some-
thing you can do your whole
life. The way the game is
structured and with handi-
caps, everyone is equal
when you get down on the
lanes.”
CLASS 5A PREP BOYS SOCCER
Central hires soccer coach
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral Athletic Director Shane
Hedrick announced the hir-
ing of Carlos Esquivel as the
school’s boys soccer coach
on Friday.
Esquivel, a 2009 graduate
of Central High, takes over
from Mike Lynch.
View next week’s Itemizer-
Observer for a longer story.