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.