Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 27, 2016 13A
DALLAS TRACK AND FIELD
Dallas trio primed for final push to state
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — With the Mid-
Willamette Conference dis-
trict track and field meet
quickly approaching, Dallas’
boys and
girls track
and field
teams have
their sights
set on a
s t r o n g
showing.
T h e
D r a g o n s’
White
final two
meets of the regular season
are upon them.
For three of Dallas’ state
hopefuls, this crunch time
has arrived as the Dragons
look to send their biggest
contingent to state in recent
memory.
The jumper
Junior Aaron White had a
stellar sophomore cam-
paign, culminating in a trip
to the state championship
meet in the triple jump.
we’re critiquing everything a
little bit more,” White said.
Track and field
• Dallas’ boys and girls track and field squads placed third at
the Central Coast Invitational on Friday.
• Cody Tilgner won the boys 800-meter ru n in 2 minutes,
2.67 seconds. The 4 x 100 team of Aaron White, Cody Webb,
Jacob Deming and Justin Huxel also placed first, finishing in
44.81 seconds to lead the boys.
• Kyleen Benz won the girls shot put with a throw of 38 feet,
5 inches to lead the girls. Benz also took third in the discus
(106-10). Kayley Sayer finished third in the long jump (16-0
¾).
• Dallas hosted South Albany for its final home meet of the
season Tuesday after press time.
• The Dragons will compete at the Rob Allen Twilight Invita-
tional at Lebanon on Friday and at Corvallis on May 4.
Once he got there, the mo-
ment threatened to over-
whelm him.
“When I got there last
year, I was nervous,” White
said. “Everything seemed so
big. My first jump, I didn’t
jump really well. I was trying
so hard to do really good I
needed to calm myself
down.”
Getting a taste of state
was inspiring for White, and
he was ready to build on
that success.
So far this spring, White
has established himself as
one of the conference’s pre-
miere jumpers. White ranks
first in the MWC in the triple
jump (42 feet, 1 inch) and
second in the long jump (20-
7).
This spring, just making it
to state isn’t the goal. Now,
his attention turns to plac-
ing on the podium.
“At the start of the season
we weren’t so focused on
getting the form down, now
The hurdler
If it were up to Naomi
Howe, she never would have
stuck with hurdles.
“I tried it
my eighth -
grade year,”
Howe said.
“I ended
up not lik-
ing it.”
T h a t ’s
when her
coaches
Howe
stepped in
and convinced her to give it
one more try her freshman
year.
Howe decided to humor
her coaches. Then, some-
thing strange happened.
“I used to do the 100-
meter hurdles, but I wasn’t
fast enough,” Howe said. “I
tried the 300 hurdles. And
it’s definitely hard, but I
liked them immediately.”
Howe found her race. As a
junior in 2015, Howe took
fifth in the finals of the 300
hurdles at the MWC district
track and field meet. Now in
her senior year, she’s down
to her final shot to qualify.
“I think I was able to build
off of last year because of
winter training,” Howe said.
“We’ve gone past the part of
looking at my form. It’s
about continuing to push
yourself.”
The distance runner
Senior Cody Tilgner’s path
to distance running was as
much a process of elimina-
tion as it
was curios-
ity.
“ I t ’s i n
the family,”
Tilgner
said. “Dis-
tance is
where I was
drawn to.
Tilgner
My dad was
successful at it. I tried sprint
workouts and didn’t think
they were very hard, and I
didn’t do jumps because I
didn’t want to get my shoes
dirty. I thought I’d give dis-
tance a shot.”
Tilgner appears to have
his best shot of making state
that he’s had during his high
school career.
He e n t e r s t h e w e e k
ranked first in the MWC in
the 800 after setting a new
personal best of 2 minutes,
2.67 seconds at the Central
Coast Invitational on Friday.
“There’s more in me,”
Tilgner said. “I know there’s
a couple of more PRs. We are
working on strength to hold
my speed longer.”
The trio is far from Dal-
las’ only state contenders.
The Dragons are hopeful to
send its largest group of
state qualifiers in recent
memory.
“Last year, we had three
people,” White said. “It was
kind of weird. Normally
when you go to a meet, you
have a ton of people around
you. It was quieter and dif-
ferent. You see teams that
have 20-plus kids there. It
would be cool to be one of
those teams.”
Kessler: Dallas entered the
Softball wins big against SA week in third place in league
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Dallas’ soft-
ball team cruised to a 17-1
win over South Albany on
April 19 before falling to
Corvallis 6-2 on April 20.
The Dragons racked up
15 hits against South Al-
bany. Madi Feldman had
three hits and four RBIs.
Pitchers
Kaelynn
Simmons
a
n
d
E m m a
Classen
combined
to throw
six strike-
outs.
El-Hato
Pitcher
Yasmine El-Hato threw a
complete game against the
Spartans, but the Dragons
could not pick up the victo-
ry.
Dallas entered the week
in third place in the Mid-
Willamette Conference. The
Dragons played Lebanon
Tuesday after press time.
Dallas hosts Silver ton
Wednesday (today) before
playing at Crescent Valley
on Thursday. The Dragons
return home to host Central
on Tuesday. First pitch for
all games is at 4:30 p.m.
B OYS G O L F TA K E S
FOURTH: Dallas’ boys golf
squad places fourth at Corval-
lis Country Club on Monday.
Adam Nicholson led the Drag-
ons with a 92 on the 18-hole
course. Fabian Schmidt (93),
Mason Maddox (95), Tristan
White (96) and Zac Price (98)
also competed for the Drag-
ons. The tournament was the
final before the MWC district
golf tournament May 9-10 at
Trysting Tree in Corvallis.
The girls golf squad com-
peted at Tukwila on Monday.
Dallas will compete at the
MWC district golf tournament
at Quail Valley in Banks for a
two-day tournament begin-
ning Tuesday and ending May
4.
GIRLS TENNIS DEFEATS
WOODBURN: Dallas’ girls ten-
nis team defeated Woodburn
5-3 on April 20.
Silja Bjoerneby earned the
Dragons’ lone singles victory
and the pairs of Addie Gillette
and Lynn Gumpinger, Megan
Ronco and Amanda Shafer,
Mikayli Laizure and Kloe Tot-
ten, and Allison Hirshi and
Emma Cromwell swept the
doubles matches. The Dragons
also played South Albany on
Monday.
The Dragons play at Corval-
lis on Wednesday (today) be-
fore hosting Central on Thurs-
day and Crescent Valley on Fri-
day. Dallas hits the road to end
the regular season at Lebanon
on Tuesday and at Silverton on
May 4. All matches are sched-
uled to begin at 4 p.m.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Tickets available for Central Hall of Fame ceremony
INDEPENDENCE — Tickets are available for Central High School’s Hall of Fame induction cere-
mony on Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased at the school’s main office, ath-
letic 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.
Tai Chi offered at Dallas Aquatic Center for free
DALLAS — Gentle Tai Chi Stand or Sit will be offered at the Dallas Aquatic Center every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to noon through May 18. Classes begin on Monday.
There is no cost to attend. There will be no kicks or squats. The class will focus on slow body
movements for balance, agility, flexibility and meditation.
Chair Tai Chi will be offered during the first 15 minutes with the rest of the class devoted to
standing Tai Chi.
For more information: Oregon Health Authority, 503-751-1595.
Continued from Page 12A
Kessler’s ability and will-
ingness to play a variety of
positions stems from a life-
long love affair with the
game.
“I remember being really
small and hitting the ball
off the tee. I just fell in love
with the game,” Kessler
said.
As he grew older, Kessler
moved from position to po-
sition, filling team needs no
matter where they were.
That experience provided
him time at multiple posi-
tions.
These days, Kessler has
improved a little from his T-
ball days and has become an
integral part of the Dragons
lineup.
“My thinking approach
changed,” Kessler said. “I
used to go up there and just
tried to be ready to hit. Now,
I go up with an exact plan of
how I’m going to do it or, on
defense, what I’m going to
do with the ball when it gets
to me.”
The Dragons won two of
three games against Silver-
ton last week and entered
the week in third place in
the Mid-Willamette Con-
ference.
Kessler has been a major
reason why Dallas has found
success.
“He is very consistent and
brings a lot of things to the
table,” McDonald said.
Kessler didn’t enter the
season with grand expecta-
tions, but he did hope for
the chance to play the game
he’s grown up around no
matter where he is on the
field.
“I don’t really have a fa-
vorite (position),” Kessler
said. “I love playing the
game. Any chance I get to
play, I enjoy it every single
time.”
WOU: Wolves have rematch
with Concordia on Thursday
Continued from Page 12A
With two outs in the
eighth inning, Huffman sin-
gled before advancing to
second on a stolen base. She
made it to third base on a
passed ball.
An RBI single by Kelsie
Gardner — one that saw
Gardner barely beat out the
throw at first, gave the
Wolves the win.
Western Oregon clinched
the second seed in the con-
ference. The Wolves open
the GNAC tournament with
a familiar opponent on
Thursday in Lacey, Wash. –
—Concordia.
“I expect (Concordia) to
c o m e o u t a n d f i g h t ,”
Sargeant said. “They’re a re-
ally good team. They’re well
coached. We know we have
to play really well to com-
pete with them and, hope-
fully, be able to outlast them
at the end.”
The winner advances to
face the winner of Central
Washington/Saint Martin’s
on Friday. The loser plays
the loser of that game.
“Knowing we have to win
to stay in this thing, that’s
our motivation,” Sargeant
said.
In a challenging season
that saw the Wolves play
away from home until April 9
because of weather and field
conditions, WOU enters the
conference tournament win-
ners of five of its last six
games — and confident that
they can bring a tournament
title back to Monmouth.
“That shows you what
kind of team we’ve had,”
Sargeant said. “We’ve been
able to find success under
tough situations. We won
games that were really close
in the last inning or extra in-
nings. That kind of fight and
determination, that’s what
they’ve learned about each
other. It doesn’t matter who
is the big hitter or defender
that day. Everyone steps up
at any given time. When
they’re all on the same page,
they’re really good.”
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Boys track and field wins John Oliver Invitational
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s boys track and field
team took first at the John
Oliver Invitational on Friday.
The girls finished second.
Jaxon Hutchinson (boys
200-meter
run, 23.30
seconds),
A a r o n
Padilla
( 8 0 0 ,
2:06.45),
Darien
H u m e
(3,000,
Hartford
10:04.94),
the 4 x 400 relay team of
Isaac Burgett, Juan Rivera,
Josh Peterson and Antonio
Rincon (3:33.00), Sam Cole
(shot put, 50 feet, 2 inches)
and Kyle Miller (discus, 136-
10 ¼) all took first to lead
the boys.
Bethanie Altamirano (200,
27:15), Bailie Har tford
(1,500, 5:17.30), Abby Mc-
Beth (3,000, 11:47.00) and
the 4 x 100 relay team of
Elizabeth Chavez, Alex Al-
varez, Altamirano and Reba
Hoffman (50.95) placed first
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central’s Jamie Smith and Bailie Harford lead the girls 1,500-meter run on Friday.
to lead the girls.
Central will compete at
Crescent Valley Wednesday
(today) at 4 p.m. and the
Dick Baker Invitational on
Saturday at 11:15 a.m. The
Panthers close out the regu-
lar season on May 4 at
Woodburn at 4 p.m.
BASEBALL LOSES TWO OF
THREE: Central’s baseball team
lost two of three games to
Crescent Valley. The Panthers
won the opener 7-5 on April 19
before falling 11-3 on April 20
and 10-1 on Thursday.
Pitcher Humberto Alarcon
earned the Panthers’ win.
The Panthers, which played
South Albany Tuesday after
press time, entered the week in
fourth place in the Mid-
Willamette Conference. Central
hosts South Albany Wednes-
day (today) and closes out the
three-game series at South Al-
bany on Friday. The Panthers
begin a three-game set with
Dallas at home on Tuesday.
First pitch for all games is
scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
BOYS GOLF FINISHES SEV-
ENTH: Central’s boys golf team
placed seventh at a Mid-
Willamette Conference golf
tournament at Corvallis Coun-
try Club on Monday. Andrew
Love shot the team’s low score
of the day, recording a 103
over the 18-hole course. The
Panthers will compete at the
MWC District golf tournament
May 9-10 at Trysting Tree Golf
Club in Corvallis.
The girls golf squad compet-
ed at Tukwila on Monday. Re-
sults weren’t reported as of
press time. The girls will com-
pete at the MWC district golf
tournament at Quail Valley in
Banks on Tuesday and May 4.
BOYS TENNIS DROPS
THREE OF FOUR: Central’s
boys tennis squad fell to Cres-
cent Valley 5-3 on Monday af-
ternoon. Kevin Cable, Chris
Polanco and
Anthony
Martinez
earned wins
in singles
play for the
Panthers.
Central
cruised to a
7-1 victory
over South
Cable
Albany on
April 20 as Cable, Polanco,
Adam Rangel and John Bradley
swept the singles matches. The
doubles pairs of Brice Spread-
bury and Hassan Eltelbany, Joel
Robison and Luis Vera, and
Justin Landers and Clark Gal-
lagher also won. The Panthers
fell to Corvallis 7-1 on Thursday
and to Dallas 7-1 on Friday. The
Panthers host Lebanon on
Wednesday (today), Silverton
on Friday and Corvallis on
Monday. All matches are
scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.