Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 25, 2016 11A
DALLAS BOYS TENNIS
Gniadecki downs Larson, places third at state
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
PORTLAND — It seemed almost
inevitable it would come to this.
Dallas senior Thomas Gniadecki
was one match away from taking
third place at the OSAA 5A state
tennis championships on Satur-
day.
His opponent was a familiar one
— Corvallis senior Sam Larson.
“That was pretty cool,” Gniadec-
ki said. “He got me in districts,
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Josh Dudley and Joe Gillette
wait for a serve on Thursday.
which he deserved. When we play,
it’s all about whose day it is.”
The pair had faced off three oth-
ers times with Larson winning
twice.
On Saturday, it was Gniadecki’s
turn, defeating Larson in two sets
to earn third place.
“I got to play Sam in my last
match, which was a lot of fun,” he
said. “I got to finish with a win.
There’s not a whole lot of people
who get to do that.”
Gniadecki won his opening two
matches of the tournament, de-
feating Milwaukie senior Mario
Sensat 6-0, 6-1 on Thursday and
Ashland senior Mischa Kirby 6-2,
7-5 on Friday. He fell in the semifi-
nals round to eventual champion
Nathan Hampton, of Churchill,
which sent him to the third-place
match on Saturday.
“State was pretty great,” Gni-
adecki said. “It was nice because
there wasn’t that big of expecta-
tions for me. I got there, which is
what counted.”
Dallas’ doubles pair of Joe
Gillette and Josh Dudley lost a
first-round match to Hermiston’s
Cameron Meade and Race Latham
before falling in the first round of
the consolation bracket to Quinn
Everts and Aiden Green, of
Wilsonville.
For most athletes, the end of a
season is a bittersweet time. For
Gniadecki, more so as it signals the
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas senior Thomas Gniadecki reaches low for a shot during the state tournament on Thursday.
end of his time in Dallas. The sen-
ior came on an exchange student
program and will return to his
home in Denmark this July.
“The school year has gone by re-
ally fast,” Gniadecki said. “It’s been
great. I made a lot of friends. It
makes me a little sad there’s only a
couple weeks left (of school). I was
sad when I went to state knowing it
would be my last high school
match here ever.”
But through the help of his
teammates and coaches, his time
here has been memorable and he
plans to stay connected.
“I plan on coming back next
year to show my mom around
here,” Gniadecki said.
Of course, when he does return
it won’t be all sightseeing. He may
sneak off to face Larson one last
time.
“We’re 2-2 now,” Gniadecki said
with a smile. “We have to play one
more match to see who gets the
real honor.”
Dragons: Sandy defeated Hermiston 3-0 in play-in round
Continued from Page 10A
“I know they are very
well coached and I think it
will be a good battle,”
coach Brandi Jackson said.
“Kellie Wilkerson, Sandy’s
head coach, actually was
one of my assistant coach-
es at Portland State, so I
have a lot of respect for her
and her coaching philoso-
phy.”
Sandy finished fourth in
the Nor thwest Oregon
Conference with an 18-9
record overall and a 10-6
mark in league play.
The Pioneers defeated
Hermiston 3-0 in the play-
in round.
“Although we are headed
into the postseason by a for-
feit, it is very exciting for the
girls getting past that first
game,” Jackson said. “We
have played a great season
thus far, and these girls de-
serve to be in the postsea-
son.”
Dallas enters its first
disciplined at the plate,”
Jackson said. “I believe that
will help us in the postsea-
son.”
The winner advances to
the quarterfinals on Friday
against the winner of No. 14
Corvallis/No. 3 Churchill.
The semifinals will take
place on Tuesday.
round matchup on a three-
game losing streak, but Jack-
son said the team has shown
critical growth in recent
weeks.
“Despite our recent losses
in the last few games of
league, I think we have
learned to be more consis-
tent as a whole and more
DALLAS BASEBALL
SPORTS BRIEFS
Dragons ready for first round
matchup against Kingsmen
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
Class 5A State First Round
DALLAS — Dallas’ base-
ball team will hit the road
for the first round of the
state playoffs.
The Dragons earned sec-
ond place in the Mid-
Willamette Conference, fin-
ishing the regular season
with a 15-6 mark in league
play.
That earned them the
ninth seed overall in the
state playoffs and a
matchup with No. 8 Put-
nam Wednesday (today) at
5 p.m.
Putnam won the North-
west Oregon Conference
What: Dallas at Putnam.
When: Wednesday, 5 p.m.
Where: Aldercreek Middle School.
Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the second
round on Friday against the winner of Milwaukie vs. Summit.
with a 17-9 record overall
and a 12-4 mark in league
play.
“They have a good
pitcher, a lefty headed to
Western Oregon named
Alex Martin,” coach Scot
McDonald said. “They
pitch well and play good
defense. The top of their
lineup is potent.”
Putnam gave up 93 runs
— the fourth fewest in Class
5A. But Dallas, which won
its final eight league games,
is confident it can test Put-
nam’s defense.
“The key is to put the ball
in play and put pressure on
them to make plays, then in
reverse, we need to make
plays and handle the ball,”
Panthers eliminated
enth to put the game out of
reach and secure the win.
“Friday was a day of what-
ifs for us offensively and
that’s baseball for you,”
coach Zach Miller said. “A
couple things go our way on
the base paths with a steal of
home and a squeeze play
later in the game when were
tied 1-1, and it’s a different
Curtis places 14th at state tourney
BANKS — Dallas junior Kailee Curtis placed 14th at the OSAA
5A girls golf state championships May 16-17 at Quail Valley Golf
Course.
Curtis shot a 190 over the two-day tournament. Crater’s Kiana
Oshiro finished first with a 142.
Curtis advanced to state by finishing third in the Special District
1 tournament.
McDonald said.
The winner advances to
the quarterfinals against the
winner of 16 seed Mil-
waukie and top-ranked
Summit on Friday.
The state semifinals will
be held on Tuesday.
The Dragons will have
to play away from home
during the postseason,
but Dallas will be ready to
begin what it hopes will
be a deep run in the state
playoffs, McDonald said.
“They have gained confi-
dence within the last three
weeks,” McDonald said.
“We will simply compete
and let the game take care
of itself.”
Central softball falls in play-in game
CENTRAL POINT — Central’s softball team saw its season come
to an end after a 9-5 loss at Crater on Thursday afternoon.
The Panthers led 4-1 after three innings, but Crater responded
with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Panthers finished the 2016 season with an 11-13 record
overall and a 9-9 mark in Mid-Willamette Conference play.
Four Pirates earn all-league honors
McGill
PERRYDALE — Four Perrydale softball play-
ers earned Special District 2 all-league honors.
Catcher Anna McGill was named first team
all-league, while pitcher Hannah amador and
outfielder Hannah Hallock earned second team
honors.
Infielder Sierra Starr received honorable
mention.
Perrydale finished the 2016 season with a 9-
8 record overall and 4-6 mark in league play.
CENTRAL BOYS TENNIS
CENTRAL BASEBALL
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s baseball team was
eliminated in the state play-
in round after losing to Eagle
Point 8-1 on Friday.
The game was tied at 1
until the fifth inning.
The Panthers trailed 3-1
before the Eagles scored five
runs in the top of the sev-
“We won’t be approach-
ing the playoffs any differ-
ently than our regular sea-
son,” Jackson said. “I think
we are in a good spot as a
team. If we play consistent-
ly offensively and defen-
sively, like we did last week,
I am very confident head-
ing into the first round.”
ball game.”
While Central’s season
came to an end, Miller was
encouraged.
“Throughout this year I
saw a lot of maturity from a
predominately young team,”
Miller said.
For an extended version
o f t h i s s t o r y, v i s i t
www.polkio.com.
CALEB WALLACE/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Central sophomore Peter Mendazona attempts to slide back into first base on Friday.
Cable falls in consolation
finals at state tournament
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PORTLAND — Central
senior Kevin Cable knew he
had a tough draw to open
the 5A boys state tennis
tournament on Thursday.
Cable fell to the second-
seeded Carter Quigley, of
Summit, 6-1, 6-2 knocking
Cable into the consolation
bracket.
“I knew I was probably
going to lose that first
match, but those last three
matches were really stress-
ful,” Cable said. “I wanted
to keep my career going for
as long as I could. I wanted
to keep on winning in con-
solation.”
Cable responded by ad-
vancing to the consolation
finals before losing to
Parkrose senior Luigi Massa
6-4, 6-2 on Saturday.
Cable advanced by de-
feating Churchill senior
Dakota Dean and Mountain
View senior Seth Atkinson
on Friday.
“It was tough out there,”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central senior Kevin Cable advanced to the consolation
finals on Saturday before falling to Luigi Massa.
Cable said. “I’m playing kids
that I know are better than
me, but I just played my
best. I wanted to win that
final match and get fifth,
but I was just glad to ad-
vance to the consolation
final.”
Cable was the Panthers’
lone state qualifier. He also
advanced to state in dou-
bles in 2015.
“Changing from doubles
to singles, it was different,”
Cable said. “The competi-
tion is a lot better in singles
than doubles.”
As the senior closed the
book on his athletics career
at Central, Cable said he
was proud of his accom-
plishments on the tennis
court from the first time he
stepped onto the court as a
Panther until his final
match on Saturday.
“I just fell in love with
tennis,” Cable said.