Polk County
Sports
SCHEDULE
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.
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 27, 2016 10A
PERRYDALE GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pirates set for showdown with Country
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
THURSDAY, JAN. 28
Boys basketball: Ed-
dyville Charter at Falls City,
7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Ed-
dyville Charter at Falls City,
5:30 p.m.
M e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l :
Northwest Nazarene at
Western Oregon, 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Western Oregon at West-
ern Washington, 5:15 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 29
Boys basketball: Cen-
tral at Woodburn, 7 p.m.
Silverton at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Wood-
burn at Central, 7 p.m. Dal-
las at Silverton, 7 p.m.
Track and ield: West-
ern Oregon at UW Invita-
tional, all day.
SATURDAY, JAN. 30
Men’s basketball: Cen-
tral Washington at Western
Oregon, 4 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Western Oregon at Simon
Fraser, 5:15 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at
Monroe Invitational, TBA.
MONDAY, FEB. 1
Boys basketball: Falls
City at St. John Bosco, 7
p.m. Perrydale at Country
Christian, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Falls
City at St. John Bosco, 5:30
p.m. Perrydale at Country
Christian, 5:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEB. 2
Boys basketball:
South Albany at Central, 7
p.m. Woodburn at Dallas,
7 p.m.
Swimming: Lebanon,
Central at Dallas, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 3
Boys basketball: Perry-
dale at Falls City, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Cen-
tral at South Albany, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Woodburn, 7 p.m.
Perrydale at Falls City, 5:30
p.m.
Wrestling: Woodburn at
Central, 7 p.m. Silverton at
Dallas, 6 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Perrydale freshman Shylar Halverson (center) looks to pass after recovering a loose
ball against St. Paul on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates lost 36-15.
PERRYDALE — Perrydale’s
girls basketball team showed
it can be good, even domi-
nant, against some of the
Casco League’s worst teams.
Now, players hope to show
they can hang with the
league’s best — top-ranked
Country Christian.
—
With little doubt, Perry-
dale has come a long way
since its season opener — a
61-point loss to Willamina.
The Pirates defeated Jew-
ell 25-23 on Tuesday and C.S.
Lewis 52-7 on Friday before
dropping a nonleague con-
test to St. Paul 36-15 on Sat-
urday. Prior to the loss, Per-
rydale had won eight games
in a row.
“ T h e
younger
girls are
learning to
step up
and bat-
t l e,” P i -
r a t e s
c o a c h
McGill
Terry New-
ton said.
“ We fo-
cused on
defense
(early in
the sea-
son). Then
we focused
on offense.
Newton
It takes
time to transition from the
defensive part to the of-
fense, but the girls are
growing.”
See SHOWDOWN, Page 11A
The natural
Dallas sophomore discovers way to
experience passion first-hand
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Throughout his life, Dallas sophomore Grant Mc-
Farland has always loved basketball.
During the winter, he’s there to cheer his Dallas Dragons on
during basketball games. He was there to see his favorite profes-
sional team, the Portland Trail Blazers, earn a win against the
L.A. Clippers.
But for as big of a basketball fan as McFarland is, he never ex-
perienced the thrill of competing on the court.
McFarland was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that af-
fects nerves in his lower back.
“It affects the spinal cord. It just wrecks sensitivity (in the
lower body) and my back is real fragile,” McFarland said.
He can get around using a walker, but chooses to use a
wheelchair so he can get around faster. While he remains mo-
bile, he couldn’t play the sport he loved to watch — that is until
he found an outlet that’s allowed him to grow as a basketball
player and a person.
—
McFarland had played around on a basketball court before,
beginning in 2014, but never thought he’d get a chance to com-
pete in a team setting.
See NATURAL, Page 12A
QUICK HITS
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas sophomore Grant McFarland will compete with the Junior Wheel Blazers in a tournament this weekend in Fairview.
Central unveils
Hall of Fame class
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral High School revealed
its 2016 Hall of Fame class.
The class will be hon-
ored in a ceremony on
April 30 at 6 p.m. Cost is $5.
The Hall of Fame will
honor the 1982 boys tennis
team and the 1983 football
team, both of which won
state titles.
In addition, athletes Joe
Mendazona, Johanna Koch
Dillard, Dick Britton, Jordan
Pratt, Floyd Graves and
Darryl “Mouse” Davis, Meri-
torious Clyde McMillan and
coach John Oliver will be
honored.
DALLAS WRESTLING
Coxen rises to the moment
Junior learns not to let anyone intimidate him on the mat
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
STAT SHEET
1
The number of
Great Northwest
Athletic Conference
losses Western Ore-
gon’s men’s basketball
team has this year. The set-
back came against Central
Washington on Dec. 31,
2015. WOU and CWU play
on Thursday.
www.polkio.com
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas junior Clay Coxen looks to pin his opponent against South Albany on Jan. 20.
DALLAS — When junior
Clay Coxen stepped onto the
mat for his first high school
wrestling match, the mo-
ment consumed him.
“I was worried about
everything,” he said. “I wor-
ried about the crowd. I wor-
ried about the other guys
who looked bigger than me.”
This season, Coxen is out
to show he won’t be intimi-
dated by anyone.
—
It wasn’t until his sopho-
more year that he began to
truly feel comfortable on the
mat.
“Last year, I had a differ-
ent attitude going into the
season,” Coxen said. “I real-
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
ized that it doesn’t matter.
You just have to go out there
and perform.”
Now an upperclassmen,
Coxen has his eyes set on
winning a district title and
placing at state.
Wrestling primarily at
170- and 182-pounds, the
junior has a 29-5 mark so far
this season, including a
first-place finish at the
McKay Holiday Classic in
December and a third-place
finish at the Pacific Coast
wrestling tournament on
Jan. 2.
“In practice, I’m just try-
ing my hardest every day,”
Coxen said. “I have some of
the best workout partners in
the state to help me and
some of the best coaches.”
See COXEN, Page 12A
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