Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 27, 2016 11A
QUICK HITS
Central to host
sports physicals
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral High School will hold
sports physicals Aug. 9
from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Physicals will take place
at the Panther Pit. Cost is
$10.
DHS, CHS fall
sports registration
coming
POLK COUNTY — Regis-
tration for the high school
fall sports season will take
place Aug. 8-11 at Dallas
and Central high schools.
Those who are not reg-
istered by Aug. 11 will not
be able to practice on
Aug. 15, the first day of of-
ficial practices.
Cost in Dallas is $150
for all sports. Those quali-
fying for free lunch must
provide a letter from the
district office. Cost will
then be reduced to $35.
Paperwork is available
online
at
www.sites.google.com/a/d
sd2.org/dallas-high-
school-athletics/ and will
be in the athletic office
starting Aug. 8.
At Central, registration
will be held from 6 to 8
p.m. Aug. 8-11 at the ath-
letic office.
Cost is $50. Forms will
be available at the office.
Dallas to host
volleyball, soccer
camps
DALLAS — Dallas High
School will host soccer
and volleyball camps the
week of Aug. 8.
The volleyball camp
runs from Aug. 8-11 at the
high school gym.
The morning session (9
a.m. to noon) is open to
students currently in or
entering high school. The
afternoon session (1 to 3
p.m.) is open to boys and
girls entering grades one
through eight.
Cost is $45. For more in-
formation: Shana Lavier,
503-949-4657 or Kayce Lil-
ley, 503-791-9062.
The soccer camp runs
Aug. 9-11 at Whitworth El-
ementary School from 9 to
11 a.m. The camp is open
to students entering
k i n d e rg a r te n t h ro u g h
eighth grade. Players will
be separated based on
grade and skill level.
Cost is $40. For more in-
formation: John Jones,
John.Jones@dsd2.org.
COURTESY OF BIKE MS/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Bike MS camps at Western Oregon University during its weekend ride in the Willamette Valley.
Annual event hopes to raise County wants to become cycling haven
$800,000 for MS research
By Lukas Eggen
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — The
first year Augi Garred joined
Bike MS, an annual event
that is part of a national
movement and raises
money for Multiple Sclerosis
research, he was more con-
cerned about how he’d look
riding than how his actual
journey would go.
“I first started riding as a
volunteer in 2012,” Garred
said. “I wasn’t a long dis-
tance rider. I showed up on
my hybrid bike with a pair of
tennis shoes and shorts that
looked cool, but were too
tight.”
He embarked on a 35-
mile ride — by far the
longest ride he had ever
taken.
“I had no idea what I was
getting myself into,” he said.
“I was in pretty bad shape. I
was going up one of the
biggest hills, and near the
top, I came upon a cemetery
and thought, are you trying
to tell me something?
“Right before I went up the
hill, a support wagon drove
by that had picked up cyclists
who were dunking their
heads in ice water. I was
tempted to stop and ask for
help. At that moment, I
thought about my mom
(who had MS) and how if she
could be on that bike feeling
the wind, the heat and even
the pain, she would have
traded with me in a heart-
beat. That kept me going.”
Garred’s view of the event
was forever changed.
See MS, Page 12A
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Bike MS has made its
home at Western Oregon University for
multiple years.
It wasn’t always like that. In past years,
the event moved locations.
“I know prior we had been near Hood
River,” Augi Garred, Bike MS vice president
of marketing and events, said. “It went on a
scenic route, but it was so difficult. There
were so many people who wanted to come
out and ride but didn’t feel comfortable rid-
ing that long or taking on that big of hills.”
The Willamette Valley was an attractive
alternative.
“It’s really peaceful,” Garred said.
“There’s not a lot of traffic. We have seven
routes over the weekend from an 18-mile,
flat-as-a-pancake ride to Dallas to a 100-
mile ride to Silver Falls. There’s variety from
flat to hilly. The landscape allows people
who aren’t as advanced riders to join.”
The factors that made the Willamette
Valley such an appealing spot for Bike MS is
something the county is looking to capital-
www.polkio.com
ize on, turning Polk County into a biking
haven.
—
Independence and Monmouth have
taken steps to become a more appealing
cycling destination.
See COUNTY, Page 12A
AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL
Dirtbags head to state tournament
Dirtbags face Bi-Mart Challengers from Eugene in 2015 state semis rematch
By Lukas Eggen
State
The Itemizer-Observer
Central volleyball,
football camps
coming
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral High School will host
football and volleyball
camps Aug. 8-11.
The football camps will
be split into two groups.
Grades 3-8 will run from
5:30 to 6:30 p.m., while the
high school camp runs
from 6:45 to 9 p.m.
Cost is $20. For more in-
formation: Shane Hedrick,
shedrick@central.k12.or.us.
The volleyball camp
runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
for students in grades 5-8
and from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m.
for high school students.
Cost is $30. Registration
taken first day of camp.
For more information:
Claudine Mendazona,
cmendazona@central.k12.o
r.us.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Two bike repair stations were installed
at Riverview Park in Independence.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Tanner Earhart helped the Dirtbags defeat the Hustlers 7-2 and 13-2 on Saturday.
DALLAS — The DeMarini
Dirtbags are headed back to
the American Legion state
tournament.
T h i s
t i m e ,
they’re
looking to
finish what
they start-
ed in 2015.
T h e
Dirtbags
Mendazona d e f e a t e d
the Colum-
bia Gorge Hustlers 7-2 and
13-2 on Saturday at Dallas
High School to win the best-
of-3 regional. DHS graduate
Tucker Weaver earned the
win in the first game.
Central’s Pete Menda-
zona dominated on the
mound in game two, throw-
ing eight strikeouts in six
innings of work and had a
perfect game going through
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
• The DeMarini Dirtbags
are one of eight teams to
qualify for the American Le-
gion State Tournament in
Keizer.
• The Dirtbags finished
the regular season with a
30-6 record.
• The Dirtbags face the Bi-
Mart Challengers, of Eu-
gene, in the first round
Wednesday (today) in
Keizer.
• The Dirtbags advanced
to the state semifinals in
2015.
the fourth inning.
“I just took the success we
had in the first game and
that gave me a little more
confidence,” Mendazona
said. “I go out there every
outing thinking I’m going to
dominate. I want to do my
best to give my team a
chance to win and I did.”
See STATE, Page 12A
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
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