Polk County
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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
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