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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
Polk County Sports 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 23, 2015 CENTRAL ROUNDUP Tuipulotu, Swinehart lead Central to victory Panthers win home invitational as pair of seniors earn individual titles on Friday Itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — Cen- tral’s wrestling team won its home invitational on Friday afternoon. The Panthers saw first- place finishes from Colin Swinehart (160 pounds), David Negrete (195) and Marlon Tuipulotu (285). Gabe Arreguin (170). Sam Crow (195) placed second. Luis Mar tinez (106), Michael Arciniega (113), Manuel Martinez (120), John Lippsmeyer (152), Chris Polonco (160), Kris Bean (182), Jose Silva (195) and Opeti Tuipulotu (220) fin- ished third. The Panthers will com- pete at the Northwest Duals in Albany on Tuesday and Wednesday. BOYS BASKETBALL HOLDS OFF GLENCOE: Central’s boys basketball squad defeated Glencoe 54-51 on Dec. 15. Alec Barba scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Panthers, which held a 44-27 lead enter- ing the fourth quarter. “The kids played hard and were able to stretch our third quarter lead to 20 points,” Central coach Tim Kreta said. “Then, Glencoe woke up in the fourth CALEB WALLACE/for the Itemizer-Observer Marlon Tuipulotu looks to gain an edge against an opponent on Friday. The senior placed first in the 285 pound class. and hit five 3-pointers and a few more 2-pointers with a foul to pull within one point with 30 seconds left.” Central held on, despite going 8 of 19 from the free-throw line. “Our guys made it interesting, but we were able to pull this out,” Kreta said. The Panthers played Stayton Tuesday after press time. Central hosts Roosevelt Monday at 7 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL DE- FEATS LAKERIDGE: Kylie Nash scored a game-high 22 points to lead Central to a 57-39 win over Lakeridge on Saturday. Alex Alvarez added 11 points during the victory. The Pan- thers (2-3 overall) opened the week with a 60-42 loss at Sun- set on Thursday. Nash scored 18 points and Elizabeth Chavez scored 11 points in a losing ef- fort. Central played at Stayton Tuesday after press time. The Panthers will host Wilson Tues- day at 6 p.m. SWIM TEAMS FALL TO CORVALLIS: Central’s boys and girls swim teams lost to Corval- lis on Thursday. The boys fell 189-59, while the girls lost 181- 79. Wyatt Rochefort placed first in the 50-yard freestyle in 26.12 seconds to lead the boys. Isaac Mitchell placed second in the 100 backstroke (1:28.79) and August Thornton finished sec- ond in the 100 breaststroke (1:21.98). Annie Taylor won the girls 100 backstroke (1:19.89), while finishing second in the 100 freestyle (1:06.36). Julissa Amador took second in the 50 freestyle (29.12) and third in the 100 freestyle (1:07.63). Central is off until Jan. 9, when the Panthers will com- pete at the Clemens Invitation- al in Philomath. WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP DALLAS ROUNDUP Men’s basketball improves to 11-0 Dallas sweeps home tourney WOU routs Willamette on Sunday Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Dallas’ boys basketball team won both games of its holiday tourna- ment. The Dragons defeated North Eugene 64-29 on Fri- day and Grants Pass 55-53 on Satur- d a y . Everett Minahan scored a team-high 21 points Laizure to lead the Dragons against Grants Pass. Mitchell Laizure added 15 points and eight rebounds. Jason Richey led Dallas against North Eugene with 12 points. Minahan added 11 points, and Avery Welty scored 10 points during the victory. The Dragons (3-2 over- a l l ) p l a ye d Wo o d b u r n Tuesday after press time. Dallas will compete at Abby’s Holiday Tourna- Itemizer-Observer staff report MONMOUTH — Western Oregon’s men’s basketball t e a m cruised to an 85-50 win over Willamette on Sunday. The vic- tory im- proved the Wolves’ Alaby record to 11-0 this season. Janvier Alaby scored 14 points to lead four players in double figures. Tanner Omlid had 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Jordan Wiley had 11 points and Jordan Schriber added 10 points. WOU will play its final nonconference game at Ore- gon in Eugene Tuesday at 6 p.m. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS SIXTH-STRAIGHT: Western Oregon’s women’s bas- ketball team lost to Humboldt State 65-56 on Saturday. Syd- ney Azorr scored 12 points to lead the Wolves (1-9 overall), while Emily Howey grabbed 13 rebounds. Western Oregon took the lead early in the fourth quarter after an 11-0 run to earn a 51-49 lead, but Hum- boldt State closed the game on a 16-5 run. “I saw a lot of posi- tives tonight, especially in the second half,” Wolves coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. “There was a stretch that we shared the ball and got great looks at the basket and were able to take the lead.” WOU hosts Simon Fraser on Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. Itemizer-Observer Athlete of the Week Haylen Janesofsky Perrydale High Janesofsky, a junior, led Perrydale’s boys basketball team in scoring over its last three games. That included nearly outscoring the team’s opponent on Dec. 16. The Pirates defeated Livingstone Ad- ventist 60-32. Janesofsky led all scorers with 31 points. He added 19 and 16 points over Perrydale’s next two games, helping the Pirates to a 3-1 start in Casco League play, good for second place. Kylie Nash Central High Nash, a senior guard, had an impres- sive two-game stretch for Central’s girls basketball team. She scored a game-high 22 points during the Panthers’ 57-39 win over Lakeridge on Saturday. She also scored 18 points in a losing effort against Sunset on Thurs- day. Nash’s offensive output helped carry the Panthers as Central moved to 2-3 overall this season. Central played Stayton Tuesday after press time. To submit nominations for the Itemizer-Observer Athlete of the Week, contact Sports Editor Lukas Eggen at 503-623-2373 or leggen@polkio.com by 9 a.m. on Monday. Visit our website, www.polkio.com ...for local news, sports and community events. Follow us on Dragons top North Eugene, Grants Pass to move to 3-2 LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Dallas senior Everett Minahan drives past a Grants Pass defender on Friday night. ment at North Medford High School Monday through Wednesday. BOYS SWIMMING DOWNS CRESCENT VALLEY: Dallas’ boys swim team defeated Crescent Valley 83-43 on Dec. 15. Parker Ford took first in the 50-yard freestyle (27.52 sec- o n d s ) , while Ryan Kennedy placed first in the 100 (1:00.75) and 200- Ford freestyle (2:11.11). Kennedy was also part of the 400 freestyle relay team that placed first along with Nate Ludwig, Amicus Am- bler and Jonathan Dressel. Ian Sayers also placed first for the boys in the 100 backstroke (1:15.13). The girls swim squad fell to the Raiders 115-43. Jolie-Rae Ford placed first in the 100 freestyle (57.76) and second in the 50 freestyle (26.59). Elizabeth Dressel placed sec- ond in the 100 backstroke (1:06.63). Dallas’ swim team will host Corvallis on Jan. 5. GIRLS BASKETBALL FALLS TO JESUIT: Dallas’ girls basket- ball team lost 56-25 to Jesuit on Dec. 15. The Dragons will take part in the Nike Inter- estate Shootout from Sunday through Wednesday. Unstoppable: McCallister hopes to qualify for U.S. Paralympic team Continued from Page 10A Instead, his family never made him feel like a victim. “As a consequence, I learned how to do ab- solutely anything I wanted to do,” McCallister said. “It started with how to figure out how to turn on a light. How to make yourself a sandwich and navigate the kitchen, how to mow the lawn, how to do your own laundry and how to play sports.” By the following spring, McCallister was playing T- ball. It was the beginning of an incredible athletic jour- ney. “I knew there was noth- ing stopping me,” he said. A new challenge From the moment he began playing T-ball, Mc- Callister has sought new challenges to overcome. He played football, cross- country, basketball, soccer, track and field, and wrestling, among others. As a high school wrestler at McNary, he came within one match from winning a state title. He helped coach Dallas’ wrestling squad and has competed multiple marathons and triathlons using his chair, including the Boston Marathon and a half Ironman. Most recently, he com- pleted a Spartan race — a race filled with various ob- stacles from climbing walls to running over fire. McCallister completed the course without the use of his chair. “I love competing,” he said. “I love being athletic. I did wheelchair racing in college. It was a natural flow to go to marathons. When I heard about the Spartan race, I knew I had to do it. I can do a marathon right now today. It’s not a big thing to me anymore. I’m always look- ing for the next thing to see how far I can go and how far I can push my body.” Up next will be training for the 1,500-meter race for the U.S. Paralympic team in June — no easy feat when balancing that with work and home life. From the moment he wakes up, every hour of every day has a pur- pose. He knows earning a spot for the Paralympic team will be hard, but not out of reach. “I’m not even close to reaching the pinnacle of what I think I can do,” Mc- Callister said. Next year will also see McCallister go all-in on an- other new venture — one that has nothing to do with athletic endeavors — moti- vational speaking. Speaking his mind Whether intentional or not, McCallister has always been an inspiration to those around him. From the time in the hos- pital after his accident to finding success as a high school wrestler, McCallis- ter’s positivity has been something people gravitate toward. “When I was a teenager, someone saw a newspaper article and asked me to speak to a youth group,” McCallister said. “I realized I could make a difference; that I could help people make their own lives bet- ter.” He earned a college de- gree in teaching and taught for two years, but public speaking was his true desire. Now, he hopes his new business grows enough to support his family in 2016. “It’s humbling,” McCallis- ter said. “It’s hard to think of myself as anything special because it’s just me, and I live this every day. But I do realize it inspires people to realize they can do it. People can see, if this guy without legs can jump over logs and carry a sand bag, I can finish whatever I’m working on. That flows to so many areas of life. I want to do what I love, and I love this, so I’m going to absolutely do this.” As McCallister prepares to embark on a host of new challenges in 2016, he hopes his story serves as liv- ing proof that you can achieve anything you want — no matter what stands in your way. “I want people to realize that you can do anything,” McCallister said. “You might do it differently than other people have, but you can do it. … It doesn’t matter what’s in your way. You can always find a way to do whatever your dreams are.” For more information: www.kaceymccallister.com. It
