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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2015)
Polk County Sports 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 18, 2015 Pressure: Nash used brother for motivation Continued from Page 10A Nash joined her older brother, Trevor, playing boys basketball and base- ball until the age of 12. “I always looked up to (Trevor),” Nash said. “I was competitive with him. I was always playing against my brother and it pushed me to be better. Naturally, seeing him in the boys scene made me want to be in the boys scene. They were more my type of sports and I gravi- tated toward that.” That experience present- ed a chance to become a better athlete. “It helped me build mental toughness,” Nash said. It was during this time that Nash fell in love with a fall sport — but not the one she would wind up playing in high school. “Oddly enough, soccer was my favorite sport,” Nash said. As she got older, Nash craved something new. “It became too boring,” she said. “From the transi- tion from fifth grade and playing CYS and going to do middle school ball, it was too slow for me.” During her seventh- grade year, Nash decided to try a sport she never had before — volleyball. “My older sister tried it in PE and I thought it was really fun,” Nash said. “Yeah, (playing soccer) was over. Not once did I think, ‘I wish I was on the soccer field.’” Becoming a leader Once Nash made the transition to volleyball, she quickly learned the basics, but volleyball presented a whole new challenge. “Volleyball was probably the toughest to learn,” Nash said. “There’s a lot of me- chanics to it. I started it later than the other sports I play. I had to learn more things in a shorter period of 2015 ALL-REGION VOLLEYBALL TEAM SETTER Kylie Nash Central The senior setter had per- haps her best year as a Pan- ther. Nash recorded a team- high 494 assists and added 130 digs and 36 aces. Nash Nash played a major role in help- ing Central advance to the first round of the state playoffs — one year after the Panthers missed the postseason entirely. Nash not only set her teammates up to score points, she was a vocal leader on and off the court. “She is a men- tally tough kid,” Central coach Claudine Menda- zona said. “She knows the game well and did a great job leading the team.” Nash earned first team all-Mid-Willamette Conference honors for her performance during the season. LIBERO Maci Ackerman Dallas LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Senior Kylie Nash recorded 36 aces during the season. time, but I enjoy the game and it really helped me ap- preciate the sport.” As she mastered the physical aspect, the mental part proved more difficult. “A big part of the game is momentum,” Nash said. “I had to work on that. I used to be pretty tough on my- self. When I was younger, I would hold on to mistakes. I told people it makes me play better, but sometimes it doesn’t, and if I held onto it, it would hinder my abili- ty.” During her junior season, the Panthers struggled to find victories, missing the postseason. Nash didn’t let that expe- rience weigh her down. “It helped me with my leadership,” Nash said. “It was a tough season, but I was able to take more of a leadership role. I understood the game more and was able to teach it. I brought that into the season.” During her senior year, Nash not only provided passes to her teammates, she was a leader, both vo- cally and through her play on the court. More important than her stats on the court, she’s learned to enjoy the memo- ries she’s made with her teammates. “I was just talking about this with my dad that I’m never going to play another volleyball match,” Nash said. “I wondered was there one practice I could have run harder or done some more weights? I would tell people to push yourself to the max and to treasure every moment. It goes quicker than you think.” Nash is considering play- ing basketball at the colle- giate level, though she hasn’t made a final decision as to where. No matter what comes next, Nash knows one thing: she’ll be ready to get herself into the middle of the action. The senior libero played much of the 2015 season while dealing with a back in- jury, but that didn’t stop Ack- Ackerman erman from having a big year. She had 155 digs and was one of the Dragons’ best servers, with a 96.8 percent serving percentage. Ackerman earned second team all-MWC honors, missing out on being named to the first team by a single vote. “Maci was the team’s MVP and was a leader on the team,” Dallas coach Shana Lavier said. “Maci stepped up and played solid defense for us throughout the year, while dealing with a very painful back injury that would never go away. She had a great season.” OUTSIDE HITTER TAYLOR PRICE Perrydale The senior outside hitter played a central role during Perrydale’s run to the state tournament. Price was one of the team’s dominant forces Price on the attack, leading the team with 230 kills. She added 30 aces. Price earned first team all-Casco League recognition. She was named to the second team at the state tournament. “Not only did Taylor lead us in of- fense, but she was also the voice on the floor,” Perrydale coach Denise Dickey said. “She was very vocal and encouraged her teammates.” MIDDLE BLOCKER Krista Omlid Central Omlid figures to be a main fixture as a middle blocker for the Panthers for the next two years. Omlid took her game to a new level during the 2015 season. The sophomore had a team-high 196 kills and 49 blocks play- ing at the net, providing much needed height. She was also one of the team’s best servers, recording 20 aces. “She has the potential to do great things for the Panthers over the next two Omlid years,” Mendazona said. Omlid earned first team all-MWC honors. OUTSIDE HITTER Alex Dowdell Central The junior outside hitter played a number of posi- tions for the Panthers. Dowdell was one of Central’s most consistent players, no Dowdell matter where she played. The junior was dangerous on both the attack, where she recorded 189 kills, and playing de- fense, where she had 179 digs. Dowdell was also one of the team’s go-to servers, where she recorded a serving percentage above 90. “Alex is a great all-around player,” Mendazona said. “She worked hard and communicated well on the court to help her teammates.” Dowdell earned first team all-league recognition. SETTER Kolbie Calonder Perrydale The senior setter earned first team all-league honors after a stellar 2015 campaign. Calonder recorded 465 as- sists, while adding 18 aces. Calonder Calonder helped open up Perrydale’s attack and was one of the Pirates’ most consistent and dependable players. “Kol- bie is a great decision maker,” Dickey said. “She hustled to every ball. She was a very consistent setter and made very few errors.” COACH Denise Dickey Perrydale In her second year leading the Pirates, Dickey helped Perrydale’s return to 1A be- come a highly successful one. The Pirates finished the Dickey regular season with a 12-2 record in Casco League play. Dickey also led Perrydale into the state playoffs, where the Pirates advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual state champion Country Christian. Perrydale recovered to place fourth after wins over Powder Valley and Crane. — The 2015 Itemizer-Observer all-region volleyball team was selected by Sports Editor Lukas Eggen, along with heavy input from area coaches. WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP Ribich: Failure fueled success Football drops season finale 29-13 Continued from Page 10A He placed 51st overall at the NCAA Division II West Region race in 2014. For many runners, that would be a finish to be proud of. Ribich walked a w a y m o r e a n g r y t h a n h a p p y with his perform- ance and Ribich v o w e d never to experience what he felt again. “That was a pretty low point for myself,” Ribich said. “It really taught me how to lose, to know how I don’t want to feel like.” After failing to meet his goal as a freshman, Ribich took a new approach to his offseason workouts during the summer. The Enterprise native ran in higher elevation to help lung capacity, but it was a running camp that taught him new lessons about life and running. “I was a counselor at a running camp in the Steins Mountains,” Ribich said. “I learned what it meant to be an athlete rather than someone who just ran every race. I learned more of the lifestyle.” He excelled during the 2015 season. Headed into the NCAA West Region, he knew he’d need to be at his best to ad- vance. “There was added pres- sure,” Ribich said. “Hosting an NCAA event like this is a big deal. Coach Mike John- son really did a good job for everybody to stay relaxed and focused and to believe in ourselves and in each other.” Once the race began, Ribich bolted out with the lead group, resulting in an 11th place finish. There was little doubt he had qualified for na- tionals, but Ribich still took time to celebrate once he knew for sure. That celebration was short lived. Instead, Ribich was ready to tackle his latest challenge and face off against some of the fastest runners from across the country. “It was about five min- utes of relief and cheer- ing,” Ribich said. “Right after that, I saw Johnson and he told me I deserve to be on cloud nine, but both of us expected me to quali- fy this year. You shouldn’t be surprised when you reach your goals. Now, we have to get ready for when the real race starts.” Itemizer-Observer staff report MONMOUTH — Western Oregon’s football team lost its final game of the season, falling to Humboldt State 29-13 on Saturday. T h e Wolves led 7-0 in the first quar- ter, after a 71-yard touch- down pass f r o m Phillip McSwain Fe n u m i a i to Maurice McSwain, but the Lumberjacks scored 29 unanswered points. WOU running back Joe Harris scored on a 1-yard touch- down on the final play of the game. Junior defensive end George Swartzlender had a career-high 11 tackles to lead the Wolves on defense. WOU finished the 2015 season with a 7-4 mark over- all and a 5-1 record in Great Northwest Athletic Confer- ence play. BASKETBALL OPENS SEA- SON WITH WINS: Western Ore- gon’s men’s basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a pair of victories last weekend. No. 21 WOU defeat- ed Point Loma 82-76 on Friday and Fresno Paciic 82-73 on Saturday. Tanner Omlid scored a team-high 28 points in his WOU debut against Point Loma, while Devon Alexander scored 17 points against Fres- LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Quarterback Phillip Fenumiai attempts to escape a tackle against Humboldt State. no Paciic. The Wolves host Cal- ifornia State, Monterey Bay on Friday and Warner Paciic on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. VOLLEYBALL WINS HOME FINALE: Western Oregon’s vol- leyball squad won its inal home match of the season, de- feating Montana State Billings 25-15, 25-18, 24-26, 22-25, 15-9 on Saturday night. Sydney Blankinship had a season-high 16 kills, while Amanda Short added 15 kills. Christie Colasur- do recorded 34 digs. The Wolves (8-19 overall, 5-13 GNAC) close out their season on the road against Alaska Fair- banks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Newberry: Positive outlook rubbed off on players Continued from Page 10A “Through the wins and the losses, I was always in- spired by Cap’s positive out- look on football and life,” 2014 Dallas High graduate Caleb Naughton said. “... I realized I needed to live out those messages, and I be- lieve that support and posi- tivity helped push me to strive towards being the best player and person I could be.” Naughton wasn’t alone with that feeling. In 2014, the Dragons presented Cap with a foot- ball signed by the team for his birthday. But Newberry didn’t re- quire a football game to make his presence felt at the school. In fact, Newberry was known to make unplanned visits to the school, an occur- rence that would brighten everyone’s day, Larson said. “He always made every- one around him smile and feel good about the world,” Larson said. That positivity is what de- fined Newberry, Naughton said. His attitude toward life, willingness to share what he’s learned with others and genuine caring helped make Newberry more than a fan. He was part of the Dallas football family. “Cap was an important influence in my career at Dallas, and his messages continue to apply to my life today,” Naughton said. “He amazed me with his positiv- ity, encouraged me with life lessons and taught me by example that showing sup- port for someone can make an everlasting difference in their life.”
