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Polk County Sports 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 18, 2016 CENTRAL BOYS TENNIS DALLAS ROUNDUP Cable headed back to state Softball set to host play-in State Tennis game against North Eugene By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer CORVALLIS — Central senior Kevin Cable didn’t want his season to end yet. Thanks to a strong show- ing at the Mid-Willamette Conference district tennis tournament, he will get his wish. Cable finished third in the boys singles bracket, earning one of the league’s four spots at the state tournament. “It went pretty well,” Cable said. “I got to state like my goal was. I played a good match against Sam (Larson in the semifinals) and gave him a little bit of a run there.” Cable will play second- seeded Carter Quigley, of Summit, Thursday in the first round of the state tour- nament. “I’m going to go out there and do the best I can,” Cable said. “I probably won’t win because he’s a great player, but I’ll do the best I can and see what happens.” The senior knows his serve will have to be on point for him to perform well. “Just getting that serve down,” Cable said. “That’s my big weapon. I want to return better. I didn’t return very well against Sam and I think if I would have, I could have won that match.” Cable knows he has a tough road ahead of him at the state tournament, but returning to state gives Cable a chance to end his high school athletics career on a high. “I’ve always wanted to play in the singles state tour- nament,” Cable said. “It means a lot to get there.” GIRLS TENNIS: Despite see- ing its season come to a close, What: Class 5A state tennis championships. When: Thursday, 2 p.m.; Friday, TBA; Saturday, TBA. Where: Portland Tennis Center (Thursday and Friday) and Tualatin Hills Tennis Center (Saturday). What’s at stake: Senior Kevin Cable will compete for a chance to win a state title. Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Dallas’ soft- ball team will host North Eugene in the OSAA 5A state play-in round Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Dragons finished third in the Mid-Willamette Conference. A 7-6 loss to Silverton in the team’s regu- lar season finale on Friday dropped Dallas from sec- ond to third. But the Dragons are con- fident they will prevail against North Eugene on Friday. “I think we’re in a good place,” coach Brandi Jack- son said. “We want to beat that play-in curse. We’re sick of losing in the play-in round.” Dallas has been bounced in the play-in round each of the last two years, despite playing at home. “I’m a big proponent of taking care of us and then good things will happen,” Jackson said. “... I think get- ting that first win in post- season is going to be a huge confidence booster.” North Eugene finished the regular season with a 4- 19 record overall and a 4-17 mark in Midwestern League play, finishing in sixth place. The winner advances to the first round of the state playoffs on May 25. But players won’t take anything for granted. “We have to take this game and grab control of it,” Makena Linn said. The play-in round has not been kind to Dallas in recent years. Players are ready to make some new history on Friday. “We’ve come ready to compete,” catcher Ciara Greisen said. BASEBALL CLINCHES SEC- OND: Dallas’ baseball squad swept South Albany last week to close out the regular sea- son. The Dragons won 13-2 on May 10, 3-1 on May 11 and 4-0 on Friday. Pitcher Tucker Weaver threw 12 strikeouts for the Dragons on May 10. The wins, coupled with two losses from Corvallis, allowed Dallas to clinch second place in the MWC and an automatic berth to the first round of the state playoffs. Dallas will host a playoff game on May 25. The Dragons ended the season on an eight-game win streak and won 10 of their final 12 games. Dallas outscored opponents 87-43 during the second half of league play. CENTRAL ROUNDUP LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Central senior Kevin Cable serves during a match on Fri- day afternoon in Corvallis at the district tournament. Central’s girls tennis team made a bit of program history at the district tennis tourna- ment. “Everybody won at least one match at district, which is a first. Our team record for dis- trict was 15-11, a very good performance for us,” Central coach Dave Eble said. “I was very pleased with the overall team play at districts.” Junior Kylie Smith advanced to the consolation finals in the singles bracket, while the pair of Julia Hamar and Andrea Garibay advanced to the con- solation final in the doubles bracket. “Thinking about it from the beginning of the year, I never would have thought that I could improve as much as I have,” Smith said. The girls may not be send- ing anyone to state, but Smith said what they’ve learned from playing and watching others has proven to be invaluable for the future. “I’ve gotten a lot better even (during the tournament) with different shots and thinking smarter and my con- sistency,” Smith said. “You see all these really good players out there and it’s not the ones who are playing the hardest who are winning, it’s the peo- ple who are most consistent.” Baseball to host Eagle Point with trip to state on the line Itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — Thanks to taking two of three games against Corval- lis, Central’s baseball team will be at home for its play- in game on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers defeated the Spartans 10-6 on May 10 and 7-4 on May 11 be- fore falling 11-7 on Friday. The wins helped Central (12-12 overall, 10-11 MWC) clinch fourth place in the Mid-Willamette Conference — and a home play-in game against Eagle Point. The winner advances to the first round of the state playoffs on May 25. Eagle Point finished in fifth place in the Midwestern League with an 11-12 mark overall and an 8-10 record in league play. SOFTBALL TO HIT THE ROAD FOR PLAY-IN GAME: Central’s softball team will have to hit the road for its play-in game on Friday. The Panthers fell to Silverton 10- 9 on May 10 and Corvallis 14- 3 on May 11 in the team’s league finale. Central (11-11 overall, 9-9 Mid-Willamette Conference) finished in fifth place in the league standings and will face the Midwestern League’s fourth-place finish- er in the play-in game: Crater. Crater went 13-13 overall and 10-8 in league play. The Panthers play at New- port Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m. Crater played at South Medford Tuesday after press time. The winner advances to the first round of the state playoffs. PERRYDALE ROUNDUP Softball finishes 2016 campaign with 9-8 record Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Perrydale’s soft- ball team’s season came to a close on Thursday as the Pirates fell to Central Linn 12-2. The Pirates also fell to Taft 7-1 on May 11. Perrydale ended the season with a 9-8 record overall and a 4-6 mark in Special District 2 play, finishing in fourth place. The top two teams from the league advanced to the state play- offs. BASEBALL SPLITS DOUBLE HEADER: Perrydale’s baseball team split a doubleheader with Central Linn on Friday, winning 7-3 before falling 9-7. The victory was the team’s second of the season. Perrydale (2-15 overall, 2-12 Spe- cial District 2) played at East Linn Christian Tuesday after press time. The Pirates close out the season at home against Country Christian Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Pirates: Relay squad Dallas: Gniadecki falls earns wild card berth in final to Sam Larson Continued from Page 10A Senior Sarah Clark fin- ished second in the javelin and discus and third in the 300 hurdles to earn state berths in all three events. “It means the world to me,” Clark said. “I knew I could do it, but I was really nervous.” Price and Clark also made state in 2015. Clark hopes this time she leaves Eugene with at least one medal. “I would love to get onto the podium and get a medal,” Clark said. The girls 4 x 100 relay team of Anna McGill, Kei- iley Griffin, Hannah Hallock finished third at districts, but received a wild card bid. “When coach called me telling me to not pack up my track shoes and uniform just yet, I was filled with joy,” Hallock said. Three of the four athletes are seniors and Hallock, McGill and Griffin also played softball — making balancing the two hard. “The difficult part is not being able to put in 100 percent in both sports no matter how hard you try,” McGill said. “Softball being my priority, this track thing was just for fun until I saw our time after the first time we ran. Then I knew we had a shot and I’ve been striving for state ever since.” McGill, Hallock and Grif- fin were used to running with each other. Price was a late addition to the team. “The 10 minutes before the actual race was the only time we ran with Taylor,” Griffin said. But the Pirates pulled through and are also head- ed to Eugene. “I am excited for this week and I’m just extremely thankful for my coach for cooperating with my insane schedule,” McGill said. “I’m blessed with the opportuni- ty to compete this weekend and can’t wait to see how we do.” For photos, visit www.- polkio.com. FALLS CITY TRACK AND FIELD Falls City duo earn state bids By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer PORTLAND — Falls City’s track and field teams saw two athletes book their trip to state during the Special District 1 champi- onships on Friday and Saturday in Portland. Senior thrower Ryan Macnab placed sec- ond in the boys shot put and sophomore Jeremy Labrado finished second in the boys triple jump to earn their spot at state, which begins Thursday in Eugene. “It was a good season,” Simmons said. “We only Labrado lose three seniors (two boys, one girl) so we have a lot of talent coming back.” This will be Labrado’s and Macnab’s first trip to state, but they are both excited to see CLASS 1A TRACK AND FIELD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS Falls City qualifiers: BOYS — Ryan Macnab, sr., shot put (seeded 12th); Jere- my Labrado, soph., triple jump (seeded 11th). what the experience is all about. “It’s pretty cool,” Mac- nab said. “My friend Tris- tan (Yeager) made it to state. It’s something I’ve wanted to do too. I’m ex- cited for it.” For results, follow the Macnab Itemizer-Obser ver on Twitter and Facebook. Continued from Page 10A Gniadecki entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed — a ranking he didn’t take lightly. “It puts the pressure on you,” Gniadecki said. “Peo- ple expect you to win.” Gniadecki advanced to the final when he played Corvallis senior Sam Larson, falling in three sets. The two faced each other three times this season — each match went three sets. “(Sam) played better than me (on Friday),” he said. “But I’m happy for the sea- son overall.” Gniadecki will face Mil- waukie senior Mario Sensat in the first round of the state championship on Thursday. Gillette and Dudley en- tered the district tournament ranked seventh in the dou- bles bracket, but advanced to state after defeating Wood- burn 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. The pair fell in the semifinals and third-place matches on Friday, but had already clinched its spot at state. “We’re really excited,” Dudley said. “We wanted to go to state from the begin- ning of the season. It’s good to finally get there.” Gillette and Dudley joined forces midway through the season. Gillette was primari- ly a singles player before the switch. “I thought I played well with Josh and the singles side was stacked, so I thought there was a better chance at making state in doubles,” Gillette said. Gillette and Dudley will face Race Latham and Cameron Meade, of Hermis- ton, in the first round of the LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Josh Dudley and Joe Gillette finished fourth at the Mid- Willamette Conference district tournament. State Tennis What: Class 5A state tennis championships. When: Thursday, 2 p.m.; Friday, TBA; Saturday, TBA. Where: Portland Tennis Center (Thursday and Friday) and Tualatin Hills Tennis Center (Saturday). What’s at stake: Thomas Gniadecki and the doubles pair of Josh Dudley and Joe Gillette will compete for a state title. state tournament on Thurs- day. “I don’t know if there will be tons of expectation,” Gillette said. “We just want to play the best we can and see how it goes.” Gniadecki said he’ll try to enter state ready to enjoy the moment — though he does hope to get one more shot at Larson. But no mat- ter what happens, Dallas hopes to continue surpris- ing. “I’m really happy Joe and Josh made it to state, too,” Gniadecki said. “I’m glad I won’t be alone. I just have to remember to have fun and play.” GIRLS TENNIS: Dallas’ girls tennis team saw its season come to an end at the district tournament. The Dragons saw the dou- bles pairs of Addie Gillette and Lynn Gumpinger, and Megan Ronco and Amanda Schafer ad- vance to the quarterfinals be- fore falling. Kinzi Boer ad- vanced to the consolation semifinals. “Last year, we only had one doubles team make it to the quarterfinals,” girls coach Jor- dan Sollman said. “This year, we had two, and all four girls on those doubles teams will be coming back next year. We had a lot of youth and we saw a lot of growth this year. … They didn’t back down from anything and they played hard. I was very pleased with what I saw improvement-wise.” Sollman hopes the experi- ence at districts inspires his players to work harder than ever before. “This shows the girls where they need to be if they want to take that next step,” Sollman said. “It gives you a marker. You see the competition. The big thing is taking that and think- ing about how much time are you going to invest this offsea- son before you begin next year.”
