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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2016)
Polk County Sports 14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 23, 2016 2015-16 ITEMIZER-OBSERVER ALL-REGION PREP BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM GUARD Everett Minahan teammate made him a triple threat to deal with. Janesofsky Minahan led the Pirates in points (14.5), steals Dallas (3.4) and as- The 6-foot-2 sists (2.0) per senior guard game. He also simply did it Minahan grabbed 5.2 re- all for the bounds per contest — a ca- Dragons. The 2014-15 Itemizer- reer high. The I-O’s Player of Observer Player of the Year av- the Year was always a threat eraged 16.3 points (and more to break out and score in than 18 points per game dur- bunches or to fire up the ing conference play), 5.5 re- crowd and his teammates with bounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 a breakaway dunk. Janesofsky steals per game. “Everett led earned first team all-Casco us in points, rebounds, as- League honors for his per- sists and steals by an over- formance and helped the Pi- whelming margin,” Drag- rates reach the first round ons coach Trent Schwartz of the 1A state playoffs. said. “He did more on his “I saw Haylen grow in all own to improve his skills aspects of his game,” Per- than any player I’ve ever rydale coach Mike Lowry coached.” Dallas’ season said. had a disappointing fin- ish, but Minahan provid- ed a bright spot. The first team all-Mid-Willamette Con- ference selection shot 47 percent from the field and had a number of game-changing plays — in- cluding hitting a buzzer-beater shot to force overtime against Central on Jan. 12. The Dragons won the game over their rivals 38-37. Central GUARD PETER MASON GUARD Haylen Janesofsky Perrydale The 6-foot-3 junior guard/wing was a nightmare for op- posing defenders Janesofsky during a stellar 2015-16 season. Janesofsky’s ability to shoot the deep ball, drive to the hoop, or penetrate and dish out to a The 6-foot-1 junior guard didn’t light up the scoreboard, but he affected the game in a vari- ety of ways. “Peter was the heart of our de- f e n s e ,” C e n t r a l coach Tim Kreta Mason said. “Many times, we asked him to guard our oppo- nent’s best players.” Mason averaged 4.5 points, 3.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Mason’s abil- ity to get his teammates involved and help the Panthers in a number of dif- ferent ways made him a key part in the Panthers’ success during the sea- son. “Peter was not a shoot-first point guard, and he took pride in finding shooters and making the extra pass to help our offense run,” Kreta said. “On more than one occasion, Peter led the team in rebounds, assists and steals.” Mason received an all-league honorable mention for his efforts, and the Panthers advanced to the first round of the 5A state playoffs. WING Alec Barba Central The 6-foot-3 junior wing was the Pan- thers’ most prolific Barba shooter during the 2015-16 season. Barba led the team in 3-pointers with 62 and shot 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. He made six 3-pointers during the Pan- thers’ first—round playoff loss at Churchill. Barba forced opponents to stretch out on defense, opening up opportunities for himself and team- mates to find easy buckets. “When Alec is on the court, he makes our team offense run a lot better,” Kreta said. “Guards and wings have to honor him. This led all our posts to have better matchups.” Barba earned an all-league honorable mention and figures to be an even bigger part of Central’s offense as a senior. POST Brant Barnes Perrydale Barnes The 6-foot-1 sen- ior post/wing was called upon to im- prove his offensive prowess during the 2015-16 season, and Barnes de- livered. Barnes averaged a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game while ranking second in points, averaging 9.4 points per game. The senior provided a dominant inside presence on of- fense and defense. Barnes’ emer- gence on the offensive end helped in part to earn him first team all-Casco League honors as the Pirates finished tied for first place in the Casco League with a 14-2 mark in league play. “Brant is the ultimate competi- tor,” Lowry said. “It didn’t matter who the opponent was, Brant was going to compete for 32 minutes and let everything else take care of itself. He is a great leader — not overly vocal, but when he spoke, the team listened.” season, Kreta rallied his team and led them to the first round of the state playoffs. — The 2015-16 Itemizer-Observer all-region boys basketball team was selected by Sports Editor Lukas Eggen, along with heavy input from area coaches. COACH Tim Kreta Central The Panthers stumbled through the first half of league play, finish- ing 2-6 in MWC play and was tied for last place. Then, Kreta helped Central turn its Kreta season around, going 5-3 over its final eight games of the regular season. The Pan- thers went from last place to fourth and won a home play-in game over Eagle Point on March 2. A trip to the state playoffs may have seemed like a long- shot, but Kreta never lost faith and preached patience and trust — a message that res- onated among his players. After a start that could have led to a disastrous league Mason Dunk: Junior becomes Pirates’ centerpiece Continued from Page 13A As a sophomore, Janesof- sky began to make his mark at the varsity level, earning a starting role and becoming a key piece in the team’s offen- sive schemes — despite re- covering from a left knee in- jury suffered during football. “I tore up my knee pretty badly. It was the first play of the season,” Janesofsky said. “It was a touchdown, at least.” The injury sidelined him for the rest of the football season. He returned to ath- letics in time for basketball, but he wasn’t the same. “At the end of my fresh- man year, I could dunk,” Janesofksy said. “I couldn’t at the start of my sophomore year.” As Janesofsky recovered physically, he studied the way Perrydale’s upperclass- men conducted themselves on and off the court. “The thing I learned that helped me the most was probably teammate chem- istry and being a leader,” Janesofsky said. “The upper- classmen really helped me out in those key areas.” This season, Janesofsky broke out in a big way. His size (6-foot-3), strength, and speed made him a nightmare for defend- ers to keep track of. “When I have the ball, I tend to look for mismatches with my defender,” Janesof- sky said. “For instance, if he is slower, I tend to drive past him more. If he is quicker, I want to get the ball in the middle so I can use my size to my advantage. If he sags off, then I will take the open jumper.” The guard/wing averaged 14.5 points, 3.4 steals and 2.0 assists per game. He also ranked third in rebounds, averaging 5.2 per contest. “I felt responsible for a lot of the offense,” Janesofsky said. “Whenever I would have a bad game and we would lose, I felt completely responsible. When we didn’t lose, I have to give the props to my teammates for step- ping up in crucial situations.” Janesofsky is no stranger to hitting big shots in key moments for the Pirates — perhaps none more thrilling than when he gets an open lane for a slam dunk. “When I break away for a dunk, it definitely gets the adrenaline pumping,” Jane- sofsky said. “It makes me play harder and more in- tensely afterward as well. Whenever there is an oppor- tunity for a dunk, I want to take it because it is a confi- dence booster not only for me, but for the team. It gives us the momentum that we need.” Janesofsky hopes to im- prove even more this offsea- son. He is playing AAU bas- ketball during the spring and summer, forgoing base- ball for the first time in his high school career. He took a big step forward during the 2015-16 season. Now, he’s set for an even big- ger campaign during his senior year. “Basketball means many things to me. It means work- ing hard, having fun, creat- ing friendships and staying humble,” Janesofsky said. “… Basketball keeps me fo- cused and helps me to work harder to become the best I can be, not only on the court, but off it as well.” LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file Junior Haylen Janesofsky led the Pirates in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. Fan: Bergeson not taking credit WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP Beeson wins 800 for Wolves’ success in 2015-16 Continued from Page 13A “We also wanted to have guys who were in love with the game, who were moti- vated to get better and want- ed to play as long as possi- ble,” Bergeson said. “We knew the game meant something to them. We wanted guys who had good relationships with their coaches before us, players who were coachable.” Among the players Berge- son recruited include two- time Great Northwest Ath- letic Conference Player of the Year Andy Avgi, Devon Alexander, Julian Nichols and Jordan Wiley. “Nothing that group has done has surprised me,” Bergeson said. WOU won a regular sea- son title in Bergeson’s final year, making it to the NCAA Division II West Regional for the first time. While Bergeson and his staff played a key role in re- cruiting some of WOU’s major contributors, he’s not LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Former Wolves coach Brady Bergeson helped recruit sev- eral current WOU players, including Julian Nichols. about to take responsibility for the team’s success this season. “I’ll say this, our staff was responsible for bring- ing in some of those guys and recruiting them and for some of their develop- ment, but we are in no way, shape, or form taking any credit for what they’ve done this year,” Bergeson said. “Coach ( Jim) Shaw has done a phenomenal job of taking them to the next level. We did as good of a job as we were capable of doing at that period of time, but it is a slightly dif- ferent team with players playing slightly different roles.” Still, after fostering a posi- tive relationship with the program, Bergeson is thrilled with WOU’s success. “I could not be happier for them,” Bergeson said. “I’m so proud of them. No one deserves it more than these guys for how hard they worked.” Bergeson isn’t one to dwell in what could have been or second guess his decision to become head coach at Regis. Instead, he’s working to build a similar culture to the one he built at Western Oregon and is more than happy to be a fan for a night. “Without a doubt I’ll be tuning in on Wednesday night,” Bergeson said. “I’m their biggest fan now. I wish them all the luck.” Itemizer-Observer staff report PORTLAND — Western Oregon distance runner Bailey Beeson took first in the women’s 800-meter run at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open on Friday and Saturday. Beeson finished with a time of 2 minutes, 16.16 seconds. Teammate Stephanie Stuckey placed second in 2:16.49. Emily Wetherell took second in the hammer with a throw of 166 feet, 3¾ inches. On the men’s side, Zach Milligan took first in the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 6 inches. WOU will compete at the Willamette Invitational in Salem on Saturday. BASEBALL DROPS THREE OF FOUR: Western Oregon’s baseball team lost three of four games to Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves took the open- ing game of the series on Fri- day 6-1 as pitcher Brady Miller earned the victory. Jay Leverett had a triple during the victory. The Wolves dropped the inal three games of the series 5-3, 3-2 and 4-2. WOU (9-10 overall, 4-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) is scheduled to host Lewis-Clark State Wednesday (today) at 2 p.m. before playing a four-game se- ries at Montana State Billings on Friday and Saturday. SOFTBALL WINS THREE: Western Oregon’s softball squad won a three GNAC con- tests on Saturday and Sunday. WOU opened with a pair of wins (2-0 and 6-5) against Simon Fraser on Saturday. Pitcher Allison Boytz threw a complete-game shutout in the irst matchup. The Wolves ral- lied from a 5-0 deicit in the second game. Western Oregon tied the game when Ashlee Lynch hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. Emma Al- fonso scored the game-win- ning run with a solo shot. WOU defeated Western Washington 11-8 on Sunday. Destiny Kuehl hit a pair of home runs, while Lynch also hit a homer. WOU dropped the inal game 5-2 on Monday. The Wolves are scheduled to host a pair of doublehead- ers. WOU will face Central Washington Friday at 3 p.m. and Saint Martin’s Saturday at noon.
