Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 8, 2016 10A
QUICK HITS
County trio takes
part in all-star
softball game
EUGENE — Dallas sen-
iors Yasmine El-Hato and
Makena Linn and Central
senior Kylie Nash took part
in the first annual Senior
All-Star softball game Sun-
day at the University of
Oregon.
The trio played for team
South, which won both
games of the doublehead-
er.
El-Hato hit a grand slam
and a double. She also
played first base and pitch-
er. Linn recorded a double
and played outfield.
Nash played second
base and catcher and also
recorded multiple hits.
Polk County track
club begins
WEST SALEM — The
Polk County Track Club
began Tuesday and will run
through July 14.
The club meets Tuesday,
Wednesdays and Thurs-
days from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m.
now through June 16; from
2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. June
21-30 and 10 a.m. to noon
from July 5-14 at West
Salem High School.
The camp will provide
instruction for sprints, hur-
dles, jumps, throwing
events, distance running
and pole vault.
Cost is $100 and is open
to students in grades 6-12.
Fee includes a T-shirt and
admission to NCAA Cham-
pionships (limited supply).
Dallas coach Bill Masei
and assistant coach Ali An-
dreasen will be among the
coaches running the camp.
For more information:
Bill M asei, Bill.M asei-
@dsd2.org.
Cost does not include
USATF registration fee,
which is required for com-
petition.
Blue Dolphins
excel at Albany
ALBANY — The Blue
Dolphins Swim Team com-
peted at the Summer Invi-
tational at the Albany
Aquatics Center on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday.
Gentry Hagedorn won
the girls 200-yard freestyle
(9-years old category) in 3
minutes, 19.09 seconds.
Kaitlyn Landis took first in
the 200 freestyle (10 years
old) in 3:05.16. Landis also
won the 100 freestyle in
1:25.13.
Taylor Hagedorn placed
first in the girls 200 individ-
ual medley (11) in 3:15.23.
Emma Irwin won the girls
50 breaststroke (8 and
younger) in 1:34.17.
Lonny Stork took first in
the girls 50 backstroke (11)
in 45.63 seconds.
Elizabeth Dressel won
the girls 400 freestyle (15
and older) in 5:27.45 and
the girls 200 freestyle relay
team (11 and younger) of
Sydney Alamein, Taylor
Hagedorn, Savannah King
and Lonny Stork took first
in 2:30.51.
n
o
g
Dra
REGION
-
L
L
A
R
E
V
R
E
R-OBS
2016 ITEMIZE
E YEAR
H
T
F
O
R
E
Y
A
L
BASEBALL P
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas senior pitcher Tucker Weaver threw 82 strikeouts during the 2016 baseball season.
By Lukas Eggen
By The Numbers
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — It’s something
that frustrates Dallas senior
Tucker Weaver, perhaps
more than anything
else when it comes
to baseball.
“People
think base-
ball is bor-
ing,” Weav-
er said.
“That really bothers me.
They don’t see the fun side
of things that we do or the
competitive edge. They see
someone throw six pitches
and a guy finally hits it and
he only goes 90 feet. There’s
nobody tackling anyone and
you don’t score 60 points a
1.16
82
11
Weaver’s Earned
Run Average dur-
ing the 2016 sea-
son. The mark was
the lowest for Dal-
las.
The number of
strikeouts Weaver
threw during the
season. The senior
gave up just four
walks.
The total number
of earned runs
Weaver allowed in
67 innings of work
during the 2016
season.
game. But it’s not about all
the action. It’s about the
passion.”
Weaver’s passion for base-
ball may be unmatched at
Dallas High. Perhaps the
only thing greater was his
impact for the Dragons dur-
ing the 2016 season.
As the Dragons’ ace, he
threw 67 innings of work,
with 82 strikeouts to just
eight walks with a 1.16
ERA, earning the Mid-
Willamette Conference’s
Pitcher of the Year award
and helping Dallas advance
to the first round of the
state playoffs.
“Tucker is a bulldog,” Dal-
Feeling the burn
L UKAS
E GGEN
Commentary
There’s a belief that every
competitive person has:
that no matter what the sit-
uation, we’ll always bet on
ourselves to find a way to
win. That we’ll triumph
against long odds, emerge
victorious and proud.
And then there’s what
happened on Saturday.
T h e c i t y o f D a l l a s’
triathlon field games fea-
tured corn hole, bocce ball
and disc golf. I’ve had about
as much experience playing
those three games as I have
in curling. And no, I don’t
have a secret life as a master
curler.
On the bright side, that
also meant I could unleash
some hidden talents as a
master bocce baller (?),
corn holer or disc golfer.
The team We The News was
born and ready to domi-
nate.
Of course there was one
thing that we couldn’t con-
trol that worried me — the
heat. There was a time
when I would have been OK
with 97-degree weather
thanks to living in Las
Vegas. That time has long
since passed.
And, like I’m sure many
felt, the temperature felt
roughly like the equivalent
of sitting in an oven. In
hell.
It was hot enough that
organizer David Brautigam
said more than 10 teams
canceled. But I wasn’t
going to be intimidated by
a little heat. I was ready to
give the heat a roundhouse
kick to the face, Chuck Nor-
ris style.
See BURN, Page 11A
Pickleball returns
on Monday
DALLAS — Pickleball re-
turns to the tennis courts
by the Dallas Aquatic Cen-
ter on Monday. Players will
meet Mondays, Wednes-
days and Fridays from 9
a.m. to noon through the
summer. No experience
necessary.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Corn hole was one of three events at the triathlon field games on Saturday.
www.polkio.com
las coach Scot McDonald
said. “He loves baseball; he
loves to compete and he
comes through whenever
you need him to.”
His performance makes
him the Itemizer-Observer’s
2016 Baseball Player of the
Year.
—
It was Tucker’s older
brother, Keaton, 2013 Dallas
High graduate, who first
started playing baseball at a
young age. Tucker was quick
to follow.
“Anything he did, I did,”
Weaver said. “He became a
baseball fanatic, so naturally
I was a baseball fanatic. We’d
watch recorded VHS films of
old all-star games. We
played every season, every
year. It was a great bonding
thing for us.”
From those early mo-
ments, Weaver made it his
goal to get to the big leagues.
See PRIDE, Page 11A
Weaver helped Dallas ad-
vance to the state playoffs.
DALLAS TRACK AND FIELD
Track reaches key
lifespan mark
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — When Dallas High School’s track surface
was installed in 2004, it brought much-needed help.
The track it replaced was about a decade old. The new
surface, the L2000, gave the Dragons a place to run,
practice and compete on.
That same track is now 12 years old, causing an in-
crease in injuries and nearing the time where repairs are
a necessity, not a luxury, track and field coach Bill Masei
said.
“What we need to do is keep kids off (the track) as
much as possible,” Masei said.
In addition, Dallas gave its athletes Fridays off from
practice to give them more time to recover from the
pounding. The change in training methods was in re-
sponse to an increase in injuries — especially shin splits
— over the last few years.
“Our trainer, Brent Darrington, said we have to figure
out how to keep the kids off the track,” Masei said. “Part
of it is doing more prevention and keeping them off the
track to prevent the pounding.”
The change had the desired effect, Masei said. Having
kids run on grass as much as possible and increased rest
time kept kids healthier, but it also came at the cost of
training time.
“From a training standpoint, it’s not an ideal situa-
tion,” Masei said. “But from the health perspective, I’d
rather have not as much training and be healthy for the
big meets than more training and not as healthy.”
The track’s condition has also affected another area –
the number of home track and field meets Dallas is will-
ing to host.
“We only have one home meet scheduled next year
right now,” Masei said. “I think that’s good from a per-
spective of not having to compete on it.”
See TRACK, Page 11A
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
*$0 down, 0% A.P.R. financing for up to 36 months on purchases of new Kubota equipment (excluding VS Series) is available to
qualified purchasers from participating dealers’ in-stock inventory through 6/30/2016. Example: A 36-month monthly installment
repayment term at 0% A.P.R. requires 36 payments of $27.78 per $1,000 financed. 0% A.P.R. interest is available to customers
if no dealer documentation preparation fee is charged. Dealer charge for document preparation fee shall be in accordance with
state laws. Inclusion of ineligible equipment may result in a higher blended A.P.R. 0% A.P.R. and low-rate financing may not be
available with customer instant rebate offers. Financing is available through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A., 3401 Del Amo
Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. Offer expires 6/30/2016. See us for details
on these and other low-rate options or go to www.kubota.com for more information. Optional equipment may be shown.
SUPPORTING THE
COMMUNITY & OUR
LOCAL SPORTS
130 Main St., Rickreall • 503-623-2365 • www.rickfarm.com