Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 3, 2016
WESTERN OREGON MEN’S BASKETBALL
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Nichols becomes leader with the Wolves Maurmann sets new
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — When
Western Oregon senior Ju-
lian Nichols arrived in Mon-
mouth prior to the 2014-15
season he had one goal in
mind — to lead.
“They needed a point
guard,” Nichols said. “The
opportunity to play was at-
tractive. I knew we had a
great group of guys and I
knew Devon (Alexander)
before I got here. He was a
big-time recruiter in that
aspect. I’m glad I came.”
Nichols made his mark
known in his first year with
the Wolves, earning the
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference’s Newcomer of
the Year award after averag-
ing 12.5 points per game
and leading the team with
174 assists and 70 steals.
Nichols is up to more of
the same this season, rank-
ing second on the team in
scoring (11.8 points per
game), while ranking first in
assists (99).
“We had largely the same
team this year,” Nichols said.
“It makes my job easier.
Everyone knows their roles
and everyone knows what
they have to bring to the
table. My job is easy.”
The senior had 10 points,
eight assists and six re-
bounds during an 85-68 win
over Central Washington on
Saturday, helping the Wolves
get revenge on the lone
team in the conference to
defeat WOU so far this sea-
son.
“We needed this one,”
Nichols said. “We went up
there and played on our
heels the whole game. We
came out (on Saturday) with
a lot of energy.”
The win improved
WOU’s record to 18-2 over-
all and 11-1 in conference
play as the Wolves opened
a two-game lead over Alas-
ka Anchorage and Seattle
Pacific.
“We always felt like we
would have a target on our
backs, so to speak,” Nichols
said. “The records and
stats, all of that is for other
people outside to look at.
We just come into practice
and focus on game situa-
tions.”
Western Oregon, led by
Andy Avgi, Nichols, Jordan
Wiley, Alex Roth, Devon
A l e x a n d e r a n d Ta n n e r
Omlid, all of whom score 9.1
points per game or more,
have established themselves
school record at meet
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Julian Nichols drives to the hoop for a layup against Cen-
tral Washington on Saturday afternoon.
as the team to catch in the
conference. But Nichols said
the Wolves have their eyes
set on a bigger prize and
Nichols believes WOU hasn’t
yet played its best basketball
of the season.
“We can’t get content,”
Nichols said. “Last year
there were some times that
we were kind of relaxed.
Now that we’ve seen what
we’re trying to achieve, we
know we can do a lot better.
We still haven’t played to
our highest potential.”
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SEATTLE — Western
Oregon junior Nicole Maur-
mann set a new school
record in the women’s
3,000-meter run at the Uni-
versity of Washington Invi-
tational
on Satur-
day. Mau-
r m a n n
finished
in 10 min-
utes, 13.24
s e c o n d s,
b re a k i n g
the old
Maurmann
mark of
10:16.00 set in 1989 by
Randi Taruscio.
“We had a very good
weekend,” WOU coach
M i k e
Johnson
said. “We
continue
to set new
records
a n d
rewrite
our top 10
lists every
Stuckey
meet.”
Senior Stephanie Stuckey
ran the third best time in
program history in the
1,600 with a time of 5:00.58.
Senior Badane Sultessa
placed fifth overall in the
men’s 800 with a time of
1:50.23, breaking his own
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference record, while
junior David Cornish fin-
ished the men’s 3,000 in
8:33.50. WOU will com-
pete at the Pilot Indoor
m e e t i n Po r t l a n d o n
Thursday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
D R O P S
T W O :
Western
O r e g o n ’s
w o m e n ’s
basketball
squad lost
a pair of
G N A C
games last
w e e k .
Henry
WOU fell to
Western Washington 70-39 on
Thursday and Simon Fraser
66-59 on Saturday. Kaylie
Boschma scored a team-high
seven points against Western
Washington, while Kelsey
Henry had a team-high eight
points against Simon Fraser.
The Wolves (3-17 overall, 2-10
GNAC) have lost eight of their
last nine games. WOU hosts
Alaska Fairbanks Thursday at 7
p.m. and Alaska Anchorage
Saturday at 7 p.m.
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Injuries: Dragons
Boys
basketball
downs
Lebanon,
falls
to
Foxes
fourth in the MWC
Continued from Page 10A
In total, Brautigam said
he’s had his full team for just
two practices and one game.
Among the injuries in-
clude multiple concussions,
a broken wrist, torn ligament
in an ankle and a broken col-
larbone.
“It’s been the craziest sea-
son,” Brautigam said. “We’ve
used eight or nine different
starting lineups and we’ve
played 16 games.”
Junior Sarah Zwicker has
missed nearly all of the sea-
son. She broke her hand
early on and then suffered a
concussion against Corvallis
upon her return to action.
“I think we’re used to it
and dealing with the fact
that we’ve had so many (in-
juries),” Zwicker said. “It can
be frustrating because I hate
watching. But we’re doing
pretty good dealing with
everything.”
Dallas reached the
halfway point of league play
with a 4-3 mark in Mid-
Willamette Conference ac-
tion.
But as players get healthy,
Brautigam has had to deal
with an unintended conse-
quence: finding playing time
for everyone.
“You go into the season
thinking this is probably our
starting lineup and these
girls will come off the
bench,” Brautigam said.
“The group we’ve had has
played really well. You have
to balance that with, ‘Do I
change the lineup? Do i put
players back in who could be
significant players? What
kind of a message does that
send to the players who
stepped up in their ab-
sence?’”
Finding that balance may
be Brautigam’s biggest chal-
lenge going forward. Despite
the injuries, the Dragons
find themselves in a position
to earn a postseason berth.
Working through adversi-
ty is something these girls
have prided themselves on.
“Emma Classen, a fresh-
man, has really stepped up,”
Brautigam said. “Courtney
Heggstrom, she’s injured
now, but she really stepped
up in the beginning of the
season. Tristan Savage has
been awesome all season
long. You won’t see our team
backing down.”
Dallas won’t let injuries
get in the way of their playoff
push.
“We’ve learned to expect
the worst and hope for the
best,” Zwicker said.
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Badane Sultessa
Western Oregon
Sultessa, a senior distance runner for
Western Oregon, set a pair of records in
Seattle on Saturday. Sultessa finished
fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of
1 minute, 50.23 seconds. The time broke
the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record of 1:50.73
— also set by Sultessa in 2015. Sultessa was part of the dis-
tance medley relay team that ran a school record time of
9:53.08.
Haylen Janesofsky
Perrydale High
Janesofsky, a junior wing, came up big
for Perrydale’s boys basketball team. Fac-
ing an upstart Livingstone Adventist
squad that scored 23 points in the first
quarter, Janesofsky helped the Pirates
overcome an early deficit to win 67-57. Janesofsky scored a
game-high 27 points during the victory, helping the Pirates
remain in first place in the Casco League. He also had 10
points in a win over Willamette Valley Christian on Jan 26.
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 us online at: www.polkio.com
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Dallas’ boys
basketball team defeated
Lebanon 66-57 on Jan. 26
before falling to Silverton
66-52 on Friday.
Everett Minahan scored a
game-high 25 points
against Lebanon. Avery
Welty added 14 points.
Minahan scored 23 points
against Silverton. Aaron
White had 14 points in his
first half of the season. White
had missed all prior games
due to a wrist injury suffered
during football.
The Dragons played
Woodburn Tuesday after
press time. Dallas hosts
Central Friday at 7 p.m. and
South Albany Feb. 10 at 7
p.m. Dallas entered the
week with a 3-4 record in
Mid-Willamette Conference
play, tied with Crescent Val-
ley and South Albany for
fourth place.
SLETTEN TAKES FIRST AT
LADIES TOURNAMENT: Dallas
senior wrestler Angie Sletten
(109 pounds) placed irst at the
Hood River Elks Ladies Tourna-
ment on Saturday. The Dragons
also defeated Crescent Valley in
a dual meet on Jan. 27. The
Dragons host Silverton Wednes-
day (today) at 6 p.m. Dallas will
compete at the Mid-Valley Clas-
sic Saturday at 10 a.m. at South
Albany High School.
Mann: School newspaper ad sparks
interest in joining the bowling team
Continued from Page 10A
“I played mostly just for
fun,” Mann said. “I didn’t
know what I was doing. … I
wasn’t good at all. We went
to districts that year but I
was kind of at the bottom of
the totem pole.”
Mann is no longer at the
bottom, placing first in the
all-star scoring at the Dis-
trict 2 championships on
Jan. 24, helping Dallas to a
third-place finish.
The team earned a trip to
state Feb. 27-28 in Klamath
Falls for their efforts.
—
The seeds of Mann’s suc-
cess began his sophomore
year when he switched from
a one-handed to a two-
handed delivery.
That change in delivery
gave him more control over
his throws.
“I started getting pretty
good then,” he said.
The senior also made it a
point to recruit new players
to the sport.
“Most of the guys on our
team are seniors,” Mann
said. “I recruited a lot of
them to join and we know
we’re pretty up there on the
goodness factor.”
Bowling has provided
Mann an outlet to have
fun and friendly competi-
tion with friends — but he
also has high expectations
for himself and his team-
mates.
“I want to win,” Mann
said. “I think we can do it
too. We have a chance.”
Until state, the Dragons
will work on fine-tuning
their technique.
No matter what happens,
Mann said he wouldn’t
trade his experience in
bowling in high school for
anything.
Mann doesn’t plan to
stop playing anytime soon.
“I’ll definitely do
leagues,” Mann said. “I
won’t be able to bowl as
much because I’ll work full
time, but I’ll keep going
with it and see what hap-
pens.”
Cutler: Senior was in a coma for two
days, had to reteach herself to bowl
Continued from Page 10A
When she came out of
coma, doctors were worried
about the lasting effects of a
severe concussion, bleeding
in the right side of her brain
and a right ankle injury.
Bowling seemed like an
impossibility.
Cutler refused to accept
it.
“I wanted to take all
their negativity and put it
into positive energy,” Cut-
ler said. “I thought I’m
going to prove them wrong
and have a better outlook
on life. … People talking
me down instead of being
supportive (was difficult).
Sometimes, people have to
keep their thoughts to
themselves.”
Cutler showed rapid
signs of recovery, even as
she’s had to work through
new challenges.
“I still struggle with my
speech sometimes,” she
said. “I mix up my words.
It’s been a little bit of a
struggle, but I’m pushing
through. I impressed my
teachers by doing more
work than they thought I
was going to do.”
One thing remained out
of reach: bowling.
“I had bleeding on the
right side of my brain,” Cut-
ler said. “So I couldn’t do
fast motions or up and
Dallas bowling
• Dallas’ boys and girls bowling teams qualified for the
2016 state high school finals Feb. 27-28 in Klamath Falls.
Team members consist of students from Dallas and Central
High Schools and Morrison Alternative School.
• The boys finished in third. The girls placed second.
• Boys team members: Josh Biery, Joe Gallagher, Cameron
Gumpinger, Mason Maddox, Luke Mann, Austin Smith,
Austin Stacey, Jason Vohland, Ben West, Nick Otto, Hayden
Jennings and Harley White.
• Girls team members: Danielle Cooey, Stephanie Cutler,
Kerstin Morris, Jennie Sloan, Jessica Fisher, Kristine Marter,
Mary Wyckof and Kayla Thommen.
• Coaches: Brad Biery, Melinda Cutler, Marissa Cuno and
Anne Smart.
• The Dallas bowling team will hold a fundraiser on Feb.
15. Drop off money, bottles or cans at Starlite Lanes between
11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Proceeds from the fundraiser will help
cover traveling, entry fees and equipment costs.
down motions. I also had
strain on my leg. Something
happened to my ankle and
some bones just aren’t the
way they used to be, so I
have pain in my right leg.”
Those closest to her won-
dered if Stephanie would
ever bowl again.
“We didn’t think it would
be possible,” coach, and
Stephanie’s mother, Melin-
da Cutler said. “We won-
dered if the noise and bright
lights might cause her to
have a seizure.”
Stephanie never lost con-
fidence, and on Jan. 19,
doctors cleared her to bowl.
Districts were that week-
end. That same evening,
Stephanie stepped onto the
bowling alley.
Prior to her accident,
Cutler said her average
score was between 150 and
160. She bowled four games
that night.
She failed to break 80 in
three of them.
“Honestly, she did terri-
ble,” Melinda Cutler said. “I
was hesitant to have her
bowl at districts.”
In a single night,
Stephanie retrained herself
in the sport she had been
playing since the age of 4.
“I tried to stay calm,”
Cutler said. “My fourth
game I just went with it and
I followed through like I was
supposed to do.”
Stephanie would not be
denied bowling at districts.
She bowled 34 games that
Saturday. She placed fifth
overall and, for the first time
in her high school career,
Stephanie will be compet-
ing at state.
“It’s exciting,” Cutler said.
“I can’t explain it. It’s like
having butterflies, I guess. I
didn’t know I was going to
make all stars until the end
of the day, but I knew that
as a team, we had been near
the top. It’s an awesome
feeling.”
Cutler hopes the Drag-
ons come away as state
champs, but that’s not her
only goal. She hopes her
story serves as an inspira-
tion to anyone who needs
it. If she can do that, then
it’s more than enough for
her.
“I hope people realize
that yeah, a lot of crap hap-
pens in our lives, but that
doesn’t mean there’s not
good things as well,” Cutler
said. “I want to help people
realize how much they mat-
ter. I didn’t realize how
much I mattered until the
accident. I want to show
people that they deserve all
the happiness they can get.
Instead of putting people
down, we should bring
them up.”