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Polk County Sports SCHEDULE Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 16, 2016 11A 2015-16 ITEMIZER-OBSERVER ALL-REGION GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 Baseball: Dallas at Sil- verton Jamboree, 3:45 p.m. Perrydale at Wald- port, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Perrydale at Waldport, 4:30 p.m. Pirate Captain THURSDAY, MARCH 17 Baseball: Central at Philomath, 4 p.m. Boys tennis: Central at Blanchet Catholic, 4 p.m. North Marion at Dallas, 3:30 p.m. Girls tennis: Blanchet Catholic at Central, 4 p.m. Senior carried Perrydale By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer PERRYDALE — On every team, each player has a role in contributing to the squad’s success. There are others that, without them, a team would falter badly. Perrydale senior Telaney Newton was firmly in that second category for Per- rydale’s girls basketball squad. • See the 2015-16 Item- The 5-foot-11 post did izer-Observer All-Region more than just lead; she team on page 11A. Look for carried Perrydale. the All-Region boys basket- Newton averaged 14 ball team in the March 23 points, 12 rebounds and issue. four blocks per game during her senior campaign. She was responsible for nearly half of the Pirates’ total points per game (30.8), and guided a young squad to the second round of the 1A state playoffs. Her role in leading arguably Polk County’s most surprising playoff push makes her the Itemizer-Ob- server’s 2015-16 Player of the Year. FRIDAY, MARCH 18 Boys tennis: Central at Philomath, 4 p.m. Baseball: Central at Cascade, 4:30 p.m. Dallas vs. Astoria (at University Portland), 4 p.m. Perrydale at Amity, 4:30 p.m. North- west Nazarene at Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m. Girls tennis: Philomath at Central, 4 p.m. Softball: Central at Taft, 4:30 p.m. Inside SATURDAY, MARCH 19 Baseball: Northwest Nazarene at Western Ore- gon (DH), noon. Softball: Western Ore- gon at Simon Fraser (DH), 1 p.m. SUNDAY, MARCH 20 Softball: Western Ore- gon at Western Washing- ton (DH), noon. See CAPTAIN, Page 12A MONDAY, MARCH 21 Softball: Dallas at Med- ford Spring Break Tourna- ment, 1 p.m. By The Numbers TUESDAY, MARCH 22 Baseball: Central vs. Gladstone (at North Mari- on), noon. Softball: Dallas at Med- ford Spring Break Tourna- ment, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 Baseball: Central at Nor th Marion, 3 p.m. Lewis-Clark State at West- ern Oregon, 2 p.m. M e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l : NCAA Division II Elite Eight): Western Oregon vs. Kutztown/West Liberty (at Frisco, Texas), TBA. — Schedules Subject to Change QUICK HITS Polk Pedalers set for Saturday ride POLK COUNTY — The Polk Pedalers Bicycle Club will hold a ride Saturday at 8 a.m. Riders will meet at Perry- dale School and take the Amity Spring loop, which is a 40-mile easy loop. There is no cost to partic- ipate. All ages are welcome to participate, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Helmets are required. Carpooling is also avail- able. For more information: 503-623-6533. STAT SHEET 6 The number of home softball games that Western Oregon has postponed because of rainy condi- tions. The Wolves saw a pair of home doublehead- ers postponed on Friday and Saturday. 0 The number of home losses West- ern Oregon’s men’s basketball team had. WOU defeated the University of California, San Diego on Monday. www.polkio.com 14 12 30.8 The number of points per game Newton aver- aged during the 2015-16 season, a team-high. The number of rebounds per game that New- ton grabbed dur- ing her senior season. The number of total points per game Perrydale scored. Newton scored nearly half that total. Elite: Avgi named Outstanding Player Continued from Page 1A WOU won in front of a crowd of 1,569 fans — giving the seniors a perfect send off in their final home game. “It’s definitely special,” Nichols said. “The whole community can come to- gether and enjoy a game for about two hours. The kids love it. It’s fun when you’re winning.” Avgi was named the Re- gional’s Most Outstanding Player. Earlier that day, he was also named the West Re- gion’s Player of the Year as the Wolves (30-3 overall) matched the program’s record for most wins. “Coming in as a fresh- man, Western Oregon wasn’t the greatest team,” Avgi said. “I think we were below .500 or right at .500. When I came here, we got a new coach and we basically turned it around. It’s always nice win- ning. It helps get the crowds out. This is big for the com- munity. I love it here It’s just a great feeling.” Western Oregon earned a spot in the regional final by LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Western Oregon guard Julian Nichols (right) shoots over an Azusa Pacific defender. defeating Humboldt State 82-65 on Friday and Azusa Pacific 81-69 on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore Tan- ner Omlid scored a team- high 18 points against the Jacks. The next day, Avgi scored a game-high 22 points, and Devon Alexander added 19 points, seven rebounds and a steal as WOU got revenge on the team that ended its 2014-15 season. “We’re more focused on what we’re trying to do this season, but you can’t take away the fact that they did beat us at their place last season,” Alexander said. “It is sweet to get a little re- venge and beat them here in front of our crowd.” Western still has work cut out for them, but they sa- vored the moment Monday night. “This is one of the great- est feelings I’ve ever had,” Omlid, a Central High graduate, said. “It’s like winning the state title all over again.” Soon, it will be back to business. WOU advances to the Elite Eight in Frisco, Texas. While the 2015-16 season has already been one for the history books, Shaw said the Wolves aren’t ready to see it end just yet. “Each time you play, it presents an opportunity to extend this journey,” Shaw said. “We know whomever we play will be a champi- onship-caliber team, but I think we can match up with anybody.” WOU fans make for special experience L UKAS E GGEN Commentary It’s no secret that Western Oregon athletics has had its share of attendance strug- gles. I’ve covered games where there were seemingly as many fans watching as when I played middle school basketball ... and I’m not sure which crowd was loud- er. Sadly, I’ve been to games where the loudest cheering came from players on the bench. The men’s basketball team has seen that trend re- verse. At the start of the sea- son, the Wolves drew hun- dreds of fans. By the end, it was pulling in 1,000 to 1,500 fans regu- larly. On Friday, attendance ballooned to 2,098 — a sea- son high. The atmosphere was like www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 nothing else I’d seen at WOU. The crowd was loud enough that Wolves coach Jim Shaw had problems shouting instructions to his players. Fa n s s t a r t e d c h a n t s throughout the game. See FANS, Page 12A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports DALLAS 121 Main St • 503-623-8155 INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St • 503-838-6340 Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm • Sat 8am - 5pm • www.LesSchwab.com
