Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 20, 2016 9A
FALLS CITY TRACK AND FIELD
Macnab making up for lost time
Kings Valley senior competes for the first time since middle school
By Lukas Eggen
Up and Comers Invite
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — It was dur-
ing a break at Falls City’s
track and field team’s first
meet on March 17 that Kings
Valley senior Ryan Macnab
questioned what he was
doing.
Macnab was watching the
javelin — and he wasn’t all
too excited about what he
witnessed.
“I saw someone throw 140
feet,” he said. “At the time,
I’d been throwing around 90
feet in practice. I thought, I’ll
never do that.”
This was, after all, Mac-
nab’s first season of high
school track and field.
But he’s proving that a
lack of experience doesn’t
have to equal a lackluster
season.
—
If not for a little friendly
competition, Macnab, who
did track and field in middle
school, but stopped once he
reached high school, may
never have competed ever
again.
• Falls City’s track and field team com-
peted at the Up and Comers Invite on Fri-
day.
• Senior Robert Kempfer won the boys
triple jump with a leap of 37 feet, 6 ¼ inches.
Sophomore Jeremy Labrado took first in the
high jump (5-6) and freshman Austin
Burgess finished second in the long jump
(18-0).
• Senior Brittany Varney won the girls
Varney
shot put (30-6) and discus (86-8 ½). Sopho-
more Madelyn Hendrickson finished second in the long jump
(15-3 ¾). Hendrickson and freshman Pheonix Brown finished in
a tie for second in the 100 hurdles, finishing in 19.67 seconds.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Senior Ryan Macnab prepares to throw the shot put dur-
ing track and field practice on Thursday afternoon.
“I hadn’t done track since
middle school,” Macnab
said. “My best friends Bo
(Beauchamp), Tristan (Yea-
ger) and Arlin (Schwanke)
did it last year. We’ve been
best friends for a long time
and I wanted to see if I could
beat some of their records.”
Macnab gravitated toward
the throws — shot put, dis-
cus and javelin — but didn’t
expect much from himself.
“I expected that I would
improve and was interested
to see how I would do, but I
didn’t expect to do very well,”
Macnab said. “My first
throws were pretty crappy. I
thought it was all about the
power.”
The Mountaineers’ first
meet helped show him that
power only counted for so
much and that form, not
strength, could make the
difference between a good
throw and a great one.
“I’d watch videos and re-
alized that form is key,”
Macnab said. “Smaller guys
than me could throw a
javelin double what I could
throw.”
Macnab has come a long
way in a short amount of
time. He set a personal
record in the javelin on Fri-
day, throwing 135 feet, 1 inch
at the Up and Comers Invite.
He ranks fifth in school histo-
ry in the shot put (39-4¼),
just behind Yeager and
Beauchamp, fifth in school
history in the discus and sec-
ond in the javelin.
One of his biggest chal-
lenges is not letting a good
throw lead to a string of bad
ones.
“When I have a good
throw, I get pumped up and
I forget about my form, and
then I have really bad
throws,” Macnab said. “I get
too much adrenaline. I just
need to take a few deep
breaths, not worry so much
about power and make sure
I feel good when I throw.”
He’ll get another chance
to improve on his marks at
the Portland Christian Invi-
tational on Saturday and
the Southwest Christian In-
vitational on April 27.
Macnab has surpassed his
expectations so far. He
hopes that his results are a
sign of things to come.
“I still have a long way to
go,” Macnab said. “I expect
to throw a lot father when I
get my form down.”
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
Get in the hole!
Clark, Price take first
at Willamina meet
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas golfer Kailee Curtis watches a putt on the first hole of a Mid-Willamette Conference tournament Monday
morning at Cross Creek Golf Course in Dallas. Curtis finished the round with an 88, placing third overall. The Drag-
ons (Natalie Crabtree, Emma Johnson and Missie Davis) took fifth in the team standings. Central did not record a
team score. Zoe Farnworth scored a 100 to lead the Panthers. Melissa Torres shot a 135 and Calista Braziel
recorded a 147.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SHERIDAN — Perrydale’s
boys and girls track and
field teams took fifth at
Willamina on Thursday.
Senior Taylor Price won
the 100-meter hurdles in
17.80 sec-
onds and
placed
second in
the 300
hurdles in
54.79 sec-
onds to
lead the
girls.
Clark
Sarah
Clark won the javelin with
a throw of 101 feet, 10
inches and finished sec-
ond in the shot put (27-
10). Vanessa Miller took
second in the 800
(2:52.56).
Kirk Fairchild took sec-
ond in the high jump (5-6),
long jump (17-0 ¾) and
triple jump (36-3) to lead
the boys.
The Pirates competed at
the PacWest/Tri-River meet
at Salem Academy Tuesday
after press time. Perrydale
will travel to the Portland
Christian Invitational on
Saturday.
SOFTBALL DEFEATS SAN-
TIAM: Perrydale’s softball
team defeated Santiam 18-3
on Monday in a Special Dis-
trict 2 contest. The game
marked the fourth time the Pi-
rates have scored 14 or more
runs this season. Perrydale
has scored at least nine runs
in each of its wins so far this
season. The Pirates (6-2 over-
all, 4-2 SD2) play at Central
Linn on Friday and at Amity
on Monday before hosting
Delphian on April 27 at 4:30
p.m.
B A S E B A L L FA L L S T O
WESTERN MENNONITE: Per-
rydale’s baseball team lost to
Western Mennonite 10-0 on
April 13. The Pirates (0-8
overall) lost to Santiam 16-5
on Monday. Perrydale plays
at Central Linn on Friday at
4:30 p.m. before hosting East
Linn Christian Monday at
4:30 p.m.
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Dragons: Dallas enters week
Baseball sweeps Saint Martin’s in second place in conference
Itemizer-Observer staff report
LACEY, Wash. — Western
Oregon’s baseball team
went 6-0 against Saint Mar-
tin’s last week.
The Wolves opened with
11-1 and 8-4 wins on April
13 before winning 20-6 and
4-2 on Sunday, and 8-0 and
7-4 on Sunday.
Saturday’s opener saw
the Wolves
set
a
school
record for
most hits
in a single
game (29)
and most
doubles
(14). Every
Miller
member
of the starting lineup had at
least one hit.
Kyle Vanderkin hit a two-
run home run. Vanderkin,
Brock Pradere and Joey
Crunkilton each had four
hits.
Pitcher Brady Miller
earned the win to improve
to 8-0 on the season.
Cody Sullivan hit a home
run in the series finale on
Sunday as WOU extended
its win streak to 14.
Western Oregon (24-13
overall, 19-8 Great North-
west Athletic Conference)
entered the week leading
the conference — two
weeks after being in fifth.
T h e Wo l v e s p l a y a t
Northwest Nazarene on Fri-
day at 2 p.m. and Saturday
at noon before hosting
Montana State, Billings on
April 27 at 2 p.m.
SOFTBALL SPLITS WITH
NORTHWEST NAZARENE:
Western Oregon’s softball
squad split a four-game series
with Northwest Nazarene. The
Wolves
dropped
the open-
ing game
6-5 before
earning a
5-3 win on
Friday.
WOU took
the first
game of a
Boytz
double-
header on Saturday 6-0 before
losing the series finale 8-1.
Pitcher Alyson Boytz earned a
complete game shutout win
on Saturday as Ashlee Lynch
hit a solo home run.
Western Oregon hosted
Northwest Christian Tuesday
after press time. The Wolves
host Concordia for a double-
header Friday at 2 p.m. before
playing at Concordia on Satur-
day to close out the regular
season.
WOU entered the week in
fourth place in the conference
standings with a two-game
lead over Western Washing-
ton.
The top four teams advance
to the GNAC championships
next week.
RIBICH SETS RECORD IN
1,500: Western Oregon soph-
omore David Ribich set a new
s c h o o l
record in
the men’s
1 , 5 0 0 -
meter run
Saturday at
the Bryan
Clay Invita-
tional in
Azusa, Calif.
Ribich
Ribich fin-
ished the race in 3 minutes,
43.41 seconds, which breaks
the previous school mark of
3:44.27 set in 1987 by Wes
Tilgner.
At the Mt. Sac relays in Nor-
walk, Calif., Cody Warner ran
the second-fastest time in pro-
gram history in the 200 in
21.15 seconds.
WOU will compete at the
Raider Invitational in Ashland
Saturday at 10 a.m.
Tickets available for Central Hall of Fame ceremony
INDEPENDENCE — Tickets are available for Central High School’s Hall of Fame induction cere-
mony on April 30 at 6 p.m.Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased at the school’s main office, athletic
office or the Independence Les Schwab.
Coach John Oliver, athletes Joe Mendazona, Johanna Koch Dillard, Dick Britton, Jordan Pratt,
Floyd Graves and Darryl “Mouse” Davis and the 1983 football team and 1982 boys tennis team will
be honored. Clyde McMillan will receive the Meritorious Award.
Continued from Page 8A
“Some games we don’t
come out as strong in
warmups, and that affects
our play,” infielder Olivia
Nelson said. “Our energy
was a lot better (against
Central). It was a boost for
our confidence.”
The Dragons racked up
eight hits against the Pan-
thers. Yasmine El-Hato had
three hits and four RBIs.
Makena Linn drove in three
runs and Kaelynn Simmons,
Maddi Feldman and Greisen
each had two hits.
“Our intensity was good,
and we
were ag-
g re s s i v e,”
Greisen
said. “The
last few
games, we
weren’t as
aggressive,
El-Hato
and I think
that played a big part (in our
losses).”
Finding that level of ener-
gy no matter the opponent
will be key going forward.
“We have to stay up no
matter who we’re playing. It
doesn’t matter if it’s Central
or whomever,” Jackson said.
“We have to show up as the
same team.”
Dallas played South Al-
bany Tuesday after press
time. The Dragons host Cor-
vallis Wednesday (today) at
4:30 p.m. before playing at
Crescent Valley on Friday at
4:30 p.m.
Dallas hosts Lebanon on
Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. and Sil-
verton on April 27 at 4:30
p.m.
“If we show up and play
our game, we don’t need to
worry about who is on the
other side,” Jackson said.
Central: Panthers 0-3 against
Dallas, Lebanon and Silverton
Continued from Page 8A
Players believe they are ready to challenge
the league’s top teams.
“Everyone is beatable right now,” Nash
said.
Central played Crescent Valley Tuesday
after press time. The Panthers host Lebanon
Wednesday (today) at 4:30 p.m. and Silver-
ton on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers play
at Corvallis on Tuesday — giving the Pan-
thers more chances to prove it can compete
with the top teams in the conference rather
than get caught in the middle of the pack.
“If we play well, we can get the win against
all of them,” Kerr said. “We’re just looking for
something to click. It hasn’t happened yet,
but time is running out, so we’re working on
it.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central sophomore Erin Cole prepares to
deliver a pitch against Dallas on Friday.