Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 20, 2016 10A
SCHEDULE
DALLAS BOYS BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20
Girls basketball: Cen-
tral at Lebanon, 7 p.m. Dal-
las at Corvallis, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: South Al-
bany at Dallas, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 21
Boys basketball: Falls
City at Livingstone Adven-
tist, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Falls
City at Livingstone Adven-
tist, 5:30 p.m.
Men’s basketball: Alas-
ka Anchorage at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
Swimming: Central,
Dallas at Dallas Invitational,
3 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Central Washington at
Western Oregon, 5:15 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 22
Boys basketball: Silver-
ton at Central, 7 p.m. Dallas
at Crescent Valley, 7 p.m.
C.S. Lewis at Perryhall, 7
p.m.
Girls basketball: Cen-
tral at Silverton, 7 p.m.
Crescent Valley at Dallas, 7
p.m. C.S. Lewis at Perry-
dale, 5:30 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at
Gary Seaney Memorial, 1
p.m. Dallas at Reser’s Tour-
nament of Champions,
TBA.
SATURDAY, JAN. 23
Boys basketball: St.
Paul at Perrydale, 3:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: Dallas
at Redmond, 1:45 p.m. St.
Paul at Dallas, 2 p.m.
Men’s basketball: Alas-
ka Fairbanks at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Northwest Nazarene at
Western Oregon, 5:15 p.m.
Wrestling: Central
Duals, noon. Dallas at
Reser ’s Tournament of
Champions, TBA.
MONDAY, JAN. 25
Swimming: Dallas at Sil-
verton, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 26
Boys basketball: Cen-
tral at Corvallis, 7 p.m.
Lebanon at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Falls City at Country Chris-
tian, 7 p.m. Willamette Val-
ley Christian Perrydale, 7
p.m.
Girls basketball: Falls
City at Country Christian,
5:30 p.m. Willamette Valley
Christian at Perrydale, 5:30
p.m.
Swimming: Central at
South Albany, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 27
Boys basketball: Perry-
dale at Livingstone Adven-
tist, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Cor-
vallis at Central, 7 p.m. Dal-
las at Lebanon, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at Sil-
verton, 6 p.m. Crescent Val-
ley at Dallas, 6 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
ODFW unveils new
fishing regulations
POLK COUNTY — Ore-
gon Department of Fish
and Wildlife announced
changes in ishing regula-
tions for 2016.
Among them include ex-
panded year-round oppor-
tunities across the state for
trout; a reduction in the
number of special regula-
tions or exceptions, and a
change in fees.
A new youth license for
$10 for those aged 12-17
will be ofered. The fee in-
cludes a hunting, ishing,
and shellish license and
Columbia River Basin en-
dorsement.
For more information:
www.dfw.state.or.us.
www.polkio.com
The shot
Welty shakes off slow start, comes through Minahan’s miracle three
with critical free throws in overtime period required skill and luck
By Lukas Eggen
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — At the
end of nearly every practice,
a Dallas boys basketball play-
er steps to
the free-
throw line.
“If
I
make both
of them, we
don’t have
to r un,”
s e n i o r
Welty
guard Avery
Welty said. “If I miss the first
one, we have to run a set of
lines. If I make the first and
miss the second, we have to
run to half court and back
and then full court and
back.”
On Tuesday, Welty stepped
to the free-throw line against
Central — this time with the
stakes a little higher.
Leading 36-34 in overtime,
Welty had a chance to put
the Dragons up by two pos-
sessions.
See WELTY, Page 11A
INDEPENDENCE — As
Central and Dallas clashed
on the court, the end of regu-
lation fea-
tured a
memorable
sequence
— one like-
ly to go
down as
one of the
s e a s o n’s
Minahan
most dra-
matic for both teams.
—
With the game tied at 31,
Central set up its half-court
offense. Guard Alec Barba hit
a 3-pointer with less than
five seconds left.
Dallas senior Everett Mi-
nahan took the inbounds
and sprinted up court when
a stroke of luck happened.
“I tried to get a timeout
called, but the ref didn’t see
me,” Dallas coach Trent
Schwartz said.
See MIRACLE, Page 11A
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas players celebrate moments after Everett Minahan hit a half-court shot at the
end of regulation to tie Central at 34 on Jan. 12. The Dragons won 38-37 in overtime.
FALLS CITY GIRLS BASKETBALL
CENTRAL WRESTLING
Signs of Growth
Tuipulotu finds
success on mat
Mountaineers continue to improve on the court
By Lukas Eggen
Central takes fifth at Oregon Classic
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — Falls City’s
girls basketball team is
growing up.
The Mountaineers defeat-
ed C.S. Lewis 34-18 on Fri-
day.
“We set the tone early,”
Falls City coach Micke Kidd
said. “We got up 10-0 and
then we tried to rest some
girls.”
The victory over a team
that entered the week 1-12
overall may not seem like a
significant marker. The
way the Mountaineers se-
cured the win — building a
23-0 lead at the half —
showed that a team filled
with underclassmen may
be ready to graduate to a
new level.
“We’re not playing to the
other team’s energy level as
much as we used to,” Kidd
said. “We’re playing at our
own level. That’s exciting to
see.”
Seniors Allison Kidd, Brit-
tany Varney and Tiauannah
Davis remain the squad’s
leaders, but their load isn’t
quite as heavy as it once
was.
Younger players, like
sophomore Sarah Mack
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Allison Kidd drives to the hoop against C.S. Lewis on
Friday night. The Mountaineers won 34-18.
and freshman Gracie Tad-
lock are beginning to be-
lieve in themselves —
something the trio of sen-
iors are doing their best to
build on every day as the
less experienced players
learn the ropes on the
court.
See GROWTH, Page 12A
INDEPENDENCE —
Central junior Marlon Tu-
ipulotu didn’t hesitate for
a second when deciding if
he would wrestle this win-
ter.
Tuipulotu, the Itemizer-
Observer’s 2015 football
Player of the Year, has re-
ceived numerous offers
from Division I schools. He
remains undecided, but
he’s not resting on his lau-
rels.
“This is all for football,”
Tuipulotu said. “It’s helping
me get a lot better. I’m able
to stay balanced more, I’ve
gotten more explosive and
it’s helped me with all the
little things.”
It also helps that Tuipu-
lotu is one of the team’s top
wrestlers.
The junior went 5-0 at the
Oregon Classic on Friday
and Saturday, helping the
Panthers finish fourth in the
5A bracket and clinching
the Panthers’ 41-33 dual win
over South Albany on Jan.
13.
“I’ve been better at tak-
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Tuipulotu
i
n
g
shots,”
Tuipulotu
said. “The
coaches
have been
helping
me be
confident
w i t h
that.”
Tuipulotu isn’t the only
one making waves. Collin
Swinehart went 4-1 at the
Oregon Classic, and broth-
ers Manuel and Louis Mar-
tinez are both beginning to
realize their potential on
the mat.
It wasn’t so long ago that
Manuel and Luis would get
tired during their matches.
Lately, they’ve shown fa-
tigue is something they can
overcome.
“We don’t get as tired as
we used to get,” Manuel
said. “We see other guys
getting tired, and I’m still
good for the next round.
The coaches have pushed
us in conditioning. It’s
helped me to keep on
wrestling and to never give
up during a match.”
See CENTRAL, Page 12A
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