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.”