Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 27, 2016
CENTRAL BOYS BASKETBALL
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Panthers face critical stretch
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Central’s boys
basketball team has shown flashes of
great play.
Turning those flashes into wins has
been difficult.
Central, which lost to Lebanon 61-46
on Jan. 19 and Silverton 43-25 on Friday,
entered Tuesday’s game against Corval-
lis with a 1-5 mark in Mid-Willamette
Conference play, tied for last place with
Woodburn.
“We want to keep their heads high,”
Central coach Tim Kreta said. “A lot of
these kids had a lot of success when
they were younger and didn’t go
through how to handle these types of
things.”
Against Silverton, the Panthers
pulled to within 25-22 in the third
quarter, only to be outscored 18-3 the
rest of the way.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Peter Mendazona attempts to drive
past a Silverton defender on Friday.
“We have to focus and play for the
whole four quarters,” sophomore
guard Peter Mendazona said.
If a turnaround is to happen for Cen-
tral, losers of seven of its last eight
games, Mendazona will likely play a
major role.
“I see my role as playing tough de-
fense and helping out on offense,”
Mendazona said. “I’m not that total
star player, but I’m helping out all
around.”
It’s Mendazona’s willingness to be a
student of the game that has impressed
coaches.
“He brings a sense of calmness now,”
Kreta said. “He’s asking more questions
in practice. He’s being a part of it and
understanding instead of running
through the motions.”
While Kreta sees significant im-
provement, the question becomes
whether Central can grow quickly
enough to rebound from its slow start.
“The sands are falling through the
hourglass a little bit quicker,” Kreta
said.
Girls streak ends
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SILVERTON — A 55-28
loss at Silverton on Friday
snapped a seven game win
streak for Central’s girls
basketball squad.
T h e Pa n t h e r s , w h o
opened the week with a 53-
50 win over Lebanon on
Jan. 20, suffered its first loss
in league play.
Kylie Nash scored a
game-high 23 points to
lead the Panthers.
Central hosts Corvallis
Wednesday (today) at 7
p.m. and Woodburn Friday
at 7 p.m. The Panthers and
Spartans entered the week
tied for second place.
WRESTLING GOES 3-2 AT
HOME: Central’s wrestling
squad went 3-2 at its home
duals on Saturday. The Pan-
thers defeated Gladstone,
Sheldon and Wilsonville and
lost to Putnam and Tillamook.
M a r l o n Tu i p u l o t u ( 2 8 5
pounds) went 4-0. The Pan-
thers also went 3-1 at the
Gary Seaney Memorial Tour-
nament on Friday.
GLADE LEADS CENTRAL
SWIMMING: Daniel Glade
took irst in the 50 (24.84 sec-
onds) and 500-yard (5:40.87)
freestyle races at the Dallas In-
vitational on Thursday. The
Panthers’ boys squad went 3-0
in the meet, which was scored
as dual meets with Dallas, Cor-
vallis and Blanchet Catholic.
The 200 medley relay team of
Glade, August Thornton, Orion
Waight and Wyatt Rochefort
and 400 freestyle relay team of
Glade, Thornton, Isaiah Comp-
ton and Waight, also took irst.
The girls squad went 1-2. An-
neMarie Hasbrook took sec-
ond in the 500 freestyle
(7:04.87) to lead the girls.
PERRYDALE BOYS BASKETBALL
Pirates down C.S. Lewis, remain in top spot in Casco League
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PERRYDALE — A 48-41
nonleague loss to St. Paul on
Saturday may have snapped
a nine-game win streak for
Perrydale’s boys basketball
team, but the Pirates are
showing they could be the
team to beat in the Casco
League.
Perrydale earned a pair of
league wins, defeating Jewell
60-32 on Jan. 19 and C.S.
Lewis 49-32 on Friday to
gain sole possession of first
place.
Spencer Bibler scored a
game-high 16 points to lead
the Pirates against C.S.
Lewis, while Haylen Janesof-
sky added 12 points in a
clash between the league’s
top two teams.
“It’s really fun to watch
this group when they are
moving the ball,” Perrydale
coach Mike Lowry said. “We
are starting to understand
the idea of good for great —
we want to pass up good
shots for great shots. … I re-
ally believe when basketball
is played correctly, it is a
beautiful thing to watch.”
Though they lost to St.
Paul in the team’s third game
of the week, Lowry said the
loss could be a blessing in
disguise, keeping the team
motivated and focused.
“We still have big things
to accomplish and this
minor bump will not affect
us,” Lowry said. “We will
move on and excel down the
stretch. This could end up
being the best thing to hap-
pen to us.”
FALLS CITY ROUNDUP
Girls basketball defeats Willamette Valley Christian
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SALEM — Falls City’s girls
basketball team moved into
third place in the Casco
League after defeating
Willamette Valley Christian
39-29 on Jan. 19 and Living-
stone Adventist 43-27 on
Thursday evening.
The Mountaineers en-
tered the week on a five-
game win streak.
Allison Kidd scored a
game-high 18 points to lead
Falls City against Willamette
Valley Christian. Brittany
Varney added seven points.
Tiauannah Davis led the
Mountaineers against Liv-
ingstone Adventist with a
game-high 12 points, while
Kidd scored 10 points.
Falls City (10-5 overall, 6-3
Casco League) played Coun-
try Christian Tuesday after
press time.
The Mountaineers host
Eddyville Charter Friday at
5:30 p.m. before playing at
St. John Bosco (at Oregon
School for the Deaf ) on
Monday.
Falls City hosts Perrydale
on Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL DROPS
TWO: Falls City’s boys basket-
ball team lost a pair of Casco
League contests last week. The
Mountaineers fell to Willamette
Valley Christian 49-30 on Jan.
19 before falling to Livingstone
Adventist 64-45 on Thursday.
Falls City (2-11 overall, 1-8
Casco League) hosts Eddyville
Charter Thursday at 7 p.m. be-
fore playing at St. John Bosco
on Monday. The Mountaineers
host Perrydale on Feb. 3.
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Coxen: Success for
Ford, Kennedy lead Dragons at Invitational
team comes first
Continued from Page 10A
The lifelong wrestler said
his fitness level is the best it’s
ever been, allowing him to
focus on technique and fine-
tuning for districts.
“He’s had some great tour-
naments throughout the
year,” Dallas coach Tony Ol-
liff said. “If he can put to-
gether an effective ground
game and increase his diver-
sity on his feet, he’ll be a
force at state.”
Coxen’s biggest advantage
going forward may be his
speed.
“He and Jeff (Dunagan)
are both tiny for their weight
class,” Olliff said. “We are
hoping that being small for
their weight class will give
them the advantage of speed
and quickness at state.”
Reser’s
• Dallas’ wrestling squad
placed 10th at Reser’s Tour-
nament of Champions on
Friday and Saturday.
• Tanner Earhart (152
pounds) and Treve Earhart
(160) placed third to lead
tech Dragons. Ryan Bibler
(106) took sixth.
While he has his personal
goals, Coxen is far more fo-
cused on simply doing his
part to helping the Dragons
succeed as a team.
“It’s more of a team goal
than an individual,” Coxen
said. “I want to win a state
title as a team. It would
mean everything. That’s the
big deal for me.”
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Andy Avgi
Western Oregon
Avgi, a senior, showed why he is one
of the Great Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence’s best players, leading Western Ore-
gon’s men’s basketball team to wins over
Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks.
Avgi scored a combined 55 points as the Wolves handed
Alaska Anchorage its first conference loss of the season.
WOU moved into the top spot in the conference standings
with the victories.
Jolie-Rae Ford
Dallas High
Ford, a junior, recorded two first-place
finishes at the Dallas Invitational on
Thursday afternoon. Ford won the 50-
yard freestyle with a time of 26.10 sec-
onds and the 100 freestyle with a time of
57.69 seconds. Ford also was part of the 200 freestyle relay
squad that placed second with a time of 2:01.46, showing
why she is one of the Dragons’ best chances to earn a spot
to the state meet for the girls.
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.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Dallas’ swim
team hosted the Dallas Invi-
tational on Thursday. Team
scores were kept in dual
meet for-
mats.
T h e
Dragons
lost to
Corvallis,
Central
a
n
d
Bl a n c h e t
Catholic.
Kennedy
Jolie-
Rae Ford placed first in the
50 (26.10 seconds) and 100
freestyle (57.69).
Elizabeth Dressel took
first in the 100 butterfly
(1:06.83) to lead the girls.
Ryan Kennedy finished first
in the 100 (58.15) and 200
freestyle (2:08.60) to lead
the boys.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Swimmers prepare for the start of a race at the Dallas
Invitational on Thursday afternoon.
DALLAS BOYS FALL TO 2-
3 IN LEAGUE PLAY: Dallas’
boys basketball squad
dropped a pair of M id-
Willamette Conference
matchups, falling to Corvallis
65-43 on Jan. 19 and Crescent
Valley 68-49 on Friday.
Everett Minahan scored 19
points, while Harrison Broad-
us added 10 points to lead
the Dragons against Corval-
lis.
Dallas played Lebanon
Tuesday after press time. The
Dragons host Silverton on Fri-
day at 7 p.m. and Woodburn
Tuesday at 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL WINS
TWO OF THREE: Dallas’ girls
basketball team won its final
two games of the week as the
Dragons earned sole posses-
sion of fourth place in the
MWC.
Dallas opened with a 42-33
loss to Corvallis on Jan. 20 be-
fore defeating Crescent Valley
49-40 on Friday and Redmond
58-36 on Saturday in a non-
league makeup game.
The Dragons (8-7 overall, 3-
2 MWC) play at Lebanon
Wednesday (today), at Silver-
ton on Friday and at Wood-
burn on Feb. 3.
Natural: McFarland ready for first tourney
Continued from Page 10A
That all changed in 2015,
thanks to his doctors.
“It was mostly through
the Shriner’s Foundation,”
McFarland said. “I go there
for my checkups, my surger-
ies and my appointments.
One of my doctors said I
needed to play an adaptive
sport, and I heard through
them about basketball (with
the Wheel Blazers).”
The Junior Wheel Blazers
is a youth wheelchair bas-
ketball team put on through
the National Wheelchair
Basketball Association.
Last October, he became
an official member of the
Wheel Blazers. It didn’t take
long for McFarland to dis-
cover he was a natural.
“I love the sport,” McFar-
land said. “It’s one of my
passions. I’m good at it. As
soon as I started, I could
make baskets. The first shot
I ever took, I made.”
He got to play a scrim-
mage during the halftime of
a Blazers game and will
compete in his first tourna-
ment this weekend in
Fairview.
Bridge City Classic
• Grant McFarland will compete with the Junior Wheel
Blazers at the Bridge City Classic Saturday and Sunday at
Reynolds Middle School, 1200 NE 201st Ave, Fairview.
• Admission is free.
• The Junior Wheel Blazers are scheduled to play at 9 a.m.
and noon on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Sun-
day.
• Schedule is available online at www.polkio.com.
• For more information: Trisha Suhr, 503-241-0850.
“I get a rush of adrena-
line,” McFarland said. “I al-
ways get excited to go on the
court, but there’s always a bit
of nervousness in the back
of my mind. … I try my best
to keep that nervousness
away and fill myself with
positivity and confidence.”
More importantly than
his success on the court was
the confidence it gave him
off it.
—
Prior to joining the Wheel
Blazers, McFarland largely
kept to himself — always
battling the feeling that be-
cause of his condition or
use of his wheelchair meant
he never could quite fit in.
“I’d probably be staying
with art and would be way
more of an introvert,” Mc-
Farland said. “I wasn’t very
talkative or sociable.”
Discovering basketball
has showed him a world he
never thought he would be
a part of.
“I’ve made more friends
playing,” McFarland said.
“At Dallas, I’ve made so
many more friends, too. I
have athletic friends. I feel
more comfortable and
friendly with them and they
saw I could play basketball
as an equal with them.”
That confidence helped
him become a better stu-
dent.
“My grades have gotten
better because I have more
confidence in myself,” Mc-
Farland said. “I was really
self-conscious. Basketball
has really shown me how to
be confident and how to be
a leader.”
Most importantly, he no
longer sees himself as an
outsider.
“He never used to feel
equal to others because of
his disability, and basketball
has given him a sense of
equality to able-bodied
people, something he never
thought he would get to ex-
perience,” Charen, Grant’s
mother, said.
As McFarland hopes his
first official tournament
with the Wheel Blazers is a
successful one, he knows
basketball has already im-
pacted his life in some big
ways. Now, he hopes to
show everyone what he can
accomplish.
“It’s amazing,” McFarland
said. “It’s almost like nobody
knew about Steph Curry
until he picked up the ball
and started shooting. I’m
one of those naturals who
can pick it up and suddenly,
I can play and do well.”