Polk County Sports
10A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 20, 2016
DALLAS GIRLS TENNIS
DALLAS ROUNDUP
New doubles pair excelling
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Prior to high
school, Addie Gillette and
Lynn Gumpinger’s experi-
ence in doubles tennis con-
sisted mainly of what they
saw on TV.
This spring, the duo
came together to form Dal-
las’ top doubles pair.
Gillette’s switch to dou-
bles began last season when
she played with former
player Dana Taylor.
“I thought I was going to
play singles,” Gillette said.
“(Coach
Jordan)
Sollman
put me in
doubles
w i t h
Dana. She
was a sen-
ior. I was
fortunate
Gillette
to play
with her. I learned a ton.”
This spring, all she need-
ed was a new partner.
Gumpinger played sin-
gles in 2015, but Sollman
saw chemistry between the
two players.
“Compatibility is huge
for doubles,” Sollman said.
“... They can be skilled, but
if they can’t mesh with
their partner, they aren’t
going to win too many
matches. It’s as simple as
that.”
Sollman saw his match.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Lynn Gumpinger hits during practice on April 13.
Dallas girls tennis
• Dallas lost to Crescent Valley 7-1 on April 12. The doubles
pair of Amanda Shafer and Silaja Bjorerneby earned the
team’s lone victory. The Dragons played Silverton on Mon-
day. Results were not available before press time.
• The Dragons’ match against Lebanon, originally sched-
uled for Thursday, was postponed because of weather to
Tuesday after press time. Dallas plays at Woodburn Wednes-
day (today) and hosts Central Friday. Both matches begin at
4 p.m. The Dragons also play at North Marion Saturday at
noon before hosting South Albany Monday at 4 p.m.
Gumpinger was excited
to try the change — even if
it meant learning to be
more aggressive.
“It’s hard for me to put
away the point,”
Gumpinger said. “In sin-
gles, I was a little more de-
fensive and tried to get the
ball back over. In doubles,
you have to find the gaps
and angles and hit good
shots.”
The pair may not be the
most experienced, but
they’ve learned quickly, ris-
ing to the Dragons’ top dou-
bles spot.
And as the pair works to
round into top form for dis-
tricts in May, they’re excited
to see what they can ac-
complish.
“We have a better sense
of playing together,” Gillette
said. “I think we can do well
at districts if we keep pro-
gressing.”
Returning a hit
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central’s Patience Teague returns a hit against Silverton on April 12. Despite their
best efforts, both of the Panthers’ scheduled matches last week were postponed
because of rain. Central defeated Woodburn 7-1 on Monday. Kylie Smith, Ana Mar-
tinez and Tomoka Naru earned singles points. Central swept the doubles matches
with Renne Bruning and Danielle Chance, Olivia Teague and Diana Huerte, Julia
Hamar and Andrea Garibay and Annika Riddel and Katelyn Trevino also earning
wins. Central hosts South Albany Wednesday (today) before playing at Corvallis on
Thursday and at Dallas on Friday. The Panthers return home to play Crescent Valley
on Monday. All matches are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Boys track and field places second
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Dallas’ boys
track and field team finished
second at its home meet on
April 13. The girls placed
third.
Senior Justin Huxel won
the boys 200-meter run in
24.33 seconds, and senior
Cody Tilgner placed first in
the 1,500 (4:26.01) to lead
the boys in the track events.
Junior Harrison Broadus
won the javelin with a throw
of 148 feet, 7 inches and
Aaron White took first in the
triple jump (42-1) in the field
events. The Dragons’ 4 x 100
relay team of Malakai Con-
nolla, Cody Webb, White and
Huxel also took first (45.02).
Junior Stefani Tallon won
the girls 100 hurdles in 16.83
seconds, and senior Naomi
Howe took first in the 300
hurdles (49.10) to lead the
girls in the track events.
Senior Kyleen Benz won
the shot put (34-4) and dis-
cus (108-4), and Kayley
Sayer won the long jump to
lead Dallas’ girls team in the
field events.
Dallas will compete at the
Central Coast Invite on Fri-
day before hosting South Al-
bany Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
BASEBALL FALLS TO CRES-
CENT VALLEY: Dallas’ baseball
team dropped three games to
Crescent Valley last week. Dal-
las fell 6-1 on April 12 and 5-1
and 6-1 on Friday. The losses
dropped the Dragons to 7-7
o ve r a l l a n d 5 - 4 i n M i d -
Willamette Conference play.
Dallas entered the week in a tie
for third place with Central. The
Dragons began a three-game
series against Silverton Tues-
day after press time.
Dallas plays at Silverton
Wednesday (today) before
hosting the Silver Foxes Friday.
The Dragons open a three-
game set at home against Cor-
vallis on Tuesday.
All games begin at 4:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS DEFEATS CV:
Dallas’ boys tennis team defeat-
ed Crescent Valley 6-2 on Fri-
day. The Dragons swept the
singles matches with Thomas
Gniadecki, Caedmon Blair, Cole
Oace and Luis Zavala earning
victories. The doubles pairs of
Randy Mullins and Ryan Bibler,
and Travis Wilson and Michael
Friesen also earned wins.
The Dragons’ match against
Lebanon was postponed until
Tuesday after press time. Dallas
hosts Woodburn Wednesday
(today) and plays at Central Fri-
day and at South Albany on
Monday. All matches begin at 4
p.m.
BOYS GOLF PLACES
FOURTH: Dallas’ boys golf
team finished fourth at Mal-
lard Creek on Monday. Mason
Maddox shot a 90 over 18
holes to lead the Dragons.
Adam Nicholson recorded a
92. Fabian Schmidt (100), Tris-
tan White (104) and Zac Price
(111) also competed for Dallas.
The Dragons will compete at
Corvallis Country Club in the
team’s final tournament Mon-
day at 10 a.m.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Aaron White won the triple jump on April 13.
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Baseball loses two to Silverton
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SILVERTON — Central’s
baseball team lost two of
three games to Silverton last
week. The Panthers won the
opening game of the series 2-
1 on April
11 before
falling 10-4
on April 13
and 5-4 on
Friday.
Ce n t r a l
had 10 hits
in the sec-
ond game, Mendazona
including
doubles from Peter Menda-
zona, Jackson Holstad and
Andrew Barry, but four er-
rors proved costly.
The Panthers (7-5 overall,
5-4 Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence) entered the week in a
tie for second place with Dal-
las. Central hosted Crescent
Valley Tuesday after press
time. The Panthers play at
CV Wednesday (today) and
Friday. Central opens a
three-game series at South
Albany on Tuesday. All
games are scheduled to start
at 4:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS FALLS TO
LEBANON: Central’s boys ten-
nis squad lost to Silverton 5-2
on April 12. Senior Kevin Cable
earned the Panthers’ lone sin-
gles point. The doubles pair of
Cade Magill and Grayson Mann
also earned a victory.
The Panthers lost to Wood-
burn 5-3 on Monday. Cable and
Anthony Martinez earned sin-
gles victories. Luis Vera and
Joel Robinson secured the
Panthers’ lone doubles point.
The Panthers play at South Al-
bany Wednesday (today) and
Corvallis on Thursday. The Pan-
thers also host Dallas on Friday
before playing at Crescent Val-
ley on Monday. All matches are
scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
BOYS TRACK WINS HOME
MEET: Central’s boys track and
field squad won a home meet
on April 13. Samuel Cole won
the boys shot put with a throw
of 47 feet, 10 ½ inches; Jaxon
Hutchinson won the pole vault
(10-0); Isaiah Abraham won the
long jump (19-5) and Ian Oberst
won the triple jump (39-8) to
lead the boys. The 4 x 100-meter
relay team of Nick Burgett, Isaiah
Abraham, Casey Brown and
Hutchinson also placed first with
a time of 45.10 seconds.
The girls placed third at
home. Bethanie Altamirano
won the girls 200 in 27.33 sec-
onds. The 4 x 100 relay team of
Elizabeth Chavez, Sophia
Henke, Altamirano and Reba
Hoffman also took first (52.24).
Central also competed at the
Viking Relays on Friday. Isaac
Burgett took second in the boys
400 (52.72); Josh Dickson placed
second in the 300 hurdles
(42.18); and Kyle Miller took sec-
ond in the discus (142-2).
The girls 4 x 100 relay team
of Chavez, Alex Alvarez, Altami-
rano and Hoffman took fourth
(52.06 seconds) to lead the
girls. No team scores were kept.
Central will host the John
Oliver Invitational Friday at 4
p.m.
BOYS GOLF TAKES SEV-
ENTH: Central’s boys golf squad
placed seventh at Mallard Creek
on Monday. Andrew Love shot a
103 to lead the Panthers. Joey
Wittbrodt (107), Trevor Whitte-
more (111) and Jonah Lutz (164)
also competed. Central will play
at Corvallis Country Club Mon-
day at 10 a.m.
Calling: Priebe started teaching in his garage
Continued from Page 8A
“It was rough,” Priebe
said. “Part of why I got out of
shape and was partying a lot
was depression of not being
able to do what I love.”
Years later, in 2008, a
friend ran into Priebe and
was shocked with Priebe’s
physical shape.
“He told me, ‘hey man,
you used to be a college
wrestler. What happened?’”
Priebe said.
That friend had recently
begun training in Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu, a martial art that fo-
cuses on grappling, and ex-
tended an invitation to
Priebe.
“I’ll be honest, when he
approached me, it probably
took three or four months to
convince me to do it,” Priebe
said. “I was so set in my
ways of being comfortable
and being lazy.”
Eventually, he gave in —
partly out of curiosity and
partly to appease his friend.
Turns out Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu was one of the best
choices he ever made.
—
At first, Priebe was drawn
to the similarities to
wrestling, but success on the
wrestling mat doesn’t mean
an easy time in Jiu Jitsu.
“In wrestling, you always
want to be on top,” Priebe
said. “In Jiu Jitsu, that’s not
always the case. You have to
be very dangerous off of
your back. I put myself on
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Daniel Priebe watches two of his students during a kids class on April 13.
my back for a year and half
straight just to start feeling
comfortable being there.”
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ignited a
fire within Priebe.
“It will make you uncom-
fortable, but it teaches you
how to push past it and
overcome,” Priebe said. “It
teaches you how to deal
with things, which translates
into the rest of your life. You
can see if I’m able to do this,
I can do anything else I want
to do.”
He earned his black belt
and has competed and won
multiple international com-
petitions.
But what Priebe truly
wanted was to teach.
“I have the passion to
share this with others,”
Priebe said. “I want to give
people another route to
have something to do, to
give them focus and to work
toward something and to
stay out of trouble.”
—
Priebe, along with his
wife, moved to Dallas in Oc-
tober of 2014.
He started holding classes
with a few students.
“I was actually teaching
out of my garage,” Priebe
said. “I wasn’t sure of the
market and wanted to see if
there was an interest.”
It was then that Priebe
thought his plans to open a
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school
would be dashed before it
had a chance to begin.
“Mike (Fleming) showed
up in his swat car in his po-
lice uniform during one of
my classes,” Priebe said. “He
walked up to me and gave
me this real mean stare
down and said, ‘I have a
complaint about you run-
ning a business without a
business permit.’”
Priebe was speechless.
“He had me shaking a lit-
tle until he told me, ‘I’m just
kidding,’” Priebe said.
Fleming, a purple belt,
wanted to train with Priebe.
It didn’t take long for
Priebe’s classes to grow to
the point where his garage
was no longer big enough.
When the location on
Mill Street was available, he
pounced and officially
opened Daniel Priebe
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu earlier
this month.
Kids and adult classes are
offered Mondays through
Fridays. A free one week trial
is available.
Just be prepared for an ex-
perience unlike any other.
“One of those things
people say is it’s for every-
one,” Priebe said. “I don’t
feel that way. It takes a spe-
cial person. You are going
to find frustrations. You are
going to try to do some-
thing that’s not going to
work, something that you
can’t figure out. Jiu Jitsu
mentally and physically
builds you up and breaks
you down. It’s really for
people who have the ability
to overcome their fear,
overcome frustration and
are willing to push through
and work it out.”
For those who do enjoy it,
Jiu Jitsu can do far more
than teach combat skills.
And that’s what Priebe
hopes others see.
“If I wasn’t doing this, I’d
probably be like a lot of my
friends who go to work every
day, come home, sit down
and watch sports with a
beer,” Priebe said. “Jiu Jitsu
constantly makes me have
to improve and gives me
other goals to do other
things in life. It’s changed
my life.”