Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 25, 2016 10A
PREP SOFTBALL
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25
Baseball: Class 5A
state playoffs first round:
Dallas at Putnam, 5 p.m.
Softball: Class 5A state
playoffs first round: Sandy
at Dallas, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 27
Baseball: Class 5A
state playoffs quarterfi-
nals, TBA.
Softball: Class 5A state
playoffs quar ter finals,
TBA.
TUESDAY, MAY 31
Baseball: Class 5A
state playoffs semifinals,
TBA.
Softball: Class 5A state
playoffs semifinals, TBA.
—
Dragons to host first round game
Winner advances to face Corvallis or Churchill on Friday
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — It wasn’t the
way they imagined, but Dal-
las’ softball team got over
the play-in hump and ad-
vanced to the first round.
Now, the Dragons hope this
is just the beginning of its
Santiam Christian
trio excels at state
EUGENE — A trio of Polk
County Santiam Christian
students placed at the
OSAA 3A state track and
field championships on
Thursday and Friday in Eu-
gene.
Rebeka Preston broke
her own school record and
became a state champion
in the girls 400-meter run,
finishing in 58.80 seconds.
She also placed fifth in the
200 (26.82).
Preston was also part of
the 4 x 400 relay team that
took third, finishing in
4:11.63, a new school
record, and the 4 x 100 relay
team that finished fifth in
51.75 seconds.
August Thornton took
sixth in the boys 1,500, set-
ting a new school record in
the process with a time of
4:14.16. Zach Watson took
12th in the 800, finishing in
2:13.10.
Five middle school
wrestlers named to
national team
DALLAS — Five mem-
bers of the LaCreole Middle
School wrestling team
were named to the na-
tional team: Rami Arel,
Cooper Hise, Cael Morri-
son, Haydn Millard and
Ashton Brecht.
The five earned the
honor by reaching the mid-
dle school state finals in
their respective weight
classes and took part in the
middle school National
Duals May 6-7 in Wyoming.
Hise, Morrison and Arel
wrestled for the Oregon
Blue Team, while Brecht and
Millard competed for the
Oregon Gold squad.
The teams tied for third
place.
For a photo, see
www.polkio.com.
The Dragons scheduled
an endowment game with
Thurston on Thursday in-
stead, falling 6-5.
Dallas earned the sixth
seed in the playoffs and
will host 11th-seeded
Sandy Wednesday (today)
at 5 p.m.
See DRAGONS, Page 11A
www.polkio.com
What: Sandy at Dallas.
When: Wednesday, 5 p.m.
Where: Dallas High School.
Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the second round
on Friday against the winner of Corvallis vs. Churchill.
Panthers soak in moment
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
EUGENE — The deafening silence in the moments before
the starting gun fires. The roar of the crowd as runners race
toward the finish or jumpers unleash a gigantic leap.
In the world of track and
field, there’s nothing quite like
state at Hayward Field.
Central senior Reba Hoff-
man soaked in the moment
for the last time. After placing
fifth in the girls triple jump at
the OSAA 5A state track and
field championships on Saturday, Hoffman reflected on her
final meet as a Central Panther.
“It’s awesome,” Hoffman said. “…
I’m just thank-
ful for the
• Dallas track and coaches and
field competes at h o w m u c h
state ... Page 12A.
they put
into me
over the
last four years.”
Hoffman is no stranger to
making the state meet —
earning a trip to Eugene in
three of her four seasons.
“Freshman year, I got eighth in the
long jump and I was pissed,” Hoff-
man said. “I expected myself to do
better. I wanted to get my season PR
and I didn’t even come close. My
sophomore year I didn’t make it to
finals, and my junior year I didn’t
even make it to state.”
Missing state entirely changed
Hoffman’s perspective in a big
way.
Altamirano
See PANTHERS, Page 12A
Inside
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central senior Reba Hoffman placed fifth in the girls triple jump at state on Saturday.
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Pirates see all athletes place at state
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
Registration open
for softball league
DALLAS — Registration
is open for the city of Dallas’
co-ed softball league.
Play begins June 21 with
games on Tuesdays and/or
Thursdays through Aug. 11.
Games will begin at 6 or
7:15 p.m. at the Lyle ball
fields.
Deadline to sign up is
June 17. Cost is $200 per
team.
Teams will play seven in-
nings or a max of 70 min-
utes.
Nine players minimum.
Forms are available on-
line at www.ci.dallas.or.us/-
756/Adult-Recreation.
For more information:
David Brautigam, david.-
brautigam@dallasor.gov.
Class 5A State First Round
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
postseason
success.
Dallas
moved on
to the first
round of the
state play-
offs after North
Eugene forfeited
due to a lack of players.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
From top left: Anna McGill, Hannah Hallock, Taylor Price
and Kieley Griffin celebrate after the 4 x 100-meter relay.
EUGENE — For all but
one of Perrydale’s state
qualifiers, the 1A state track
and field meet on Thursday
and Friday at Hayward
Field was a final chance to
end their high school ca-
reer with a bang.
The Pirates rose to the oc-
casion.
Senior hurdler Taylor Price
took third in the finals of the
100-meter hurdles with a
time of 17.24 seconds. Price
was also part of the 4 x 100
relay team, along with fellow
seniors Anna McGill and
Hannah Hallock and sopho-
more Kieley Griffin, that took
sixth (54.24 seconds).
Senior Sarah Clark fin-
ished fourth in the javelin
with a throw of 114 feet, 6
inches and eighth in the
shot put with a mark of 31-3
Clark
½ as every
athlete
who made
the trip to
Hayward
F i e l d
ended by
reaching
the podi-
um.
—
The girls 4 x 100 team al-
ways seemed like more of a
fantasy than a reality for
many of its members.
“Some of us, like me,
Taylor and Hannah, talked
a little bit last year about
putting a team together,”
McGill said. “It was always
more of a joke, though.”
Pirates coach Brian Evans
saw their potential and de-
cided to entice them just a
bit.
“Coach told us if we did
track, he’d buy us all cleats,
so we did it,” Griffin said,
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
with a smile.
McGill, Hallock and Grif-
fin came together from the
start. Price joined the relay
team right before districts.
The team earned a wild
card berth to state and, de-
spite limited practice time,
found its way to the podi-
um in sixth place.
“It was rocky, but we knew
it was going to be our last
race,” Price said. “We want-
ed to push hard, no matter
what.”
The Pirates did just that,
leaving its seniors with a
lasting memory.
“It was a great way to end
our senior year together,”
Hallock said.
As the 4 x 100 team sur-
prised even themselves,
Clark ended her high school
career by placing in two
events — the javelin and
shot put.
See PIRATES, Page 12A
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
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