Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 11, 2017 10A
CENTRAL WRESTLING
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11
Boys basketball: South
Albany at Central, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Crescent Valley, 7
p.m.
Wrestling: Corvallis at
Central, 6 p.m. South Al-
bany at Dallas, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 12
Boys basketball: Ore-
gon School for the Deaf at
Perrydale, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Ore-
gon School for the Deaf at
Perrydale, 5:30 p.m.
M e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l :
Simon Fraser at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 13
Boys basketball: Cres-
cent Valley at Central, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Corvallis, 7 p.m.
C.S. Lewis at Falls City, 7
p.m.
Girls basketball: Central
at Crescent Valley, 7 p.m.
Corvallis at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas at Ore-
gon Classic, TBA.
DALLAS GIRLS BASKETBALL
Morales seeks rhythm on mat Dragons find stride
entering league play
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Two
years ago, Central senior A.J.
Morales wasn’t doing much
with his time during the win-
ter sports season.
He tried basketball his
freshman year, but didn’t
care for it.
As a sophomore, he didn’t
play a winter sport. Last sea-
son, Morales thought that
something had to change.
“I thought I have to do
something,” Morales said.
He chose wrestling in part
because of suggestions from
his brother and his friends.
See MORALES, Page 11A
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central senior A.J. Morales wrestled for the first time
as a junior during the 2015-16 season.
DALLAS — Dallas’ girls
basketball team entered the
season optimistic about the
coming campaign.
With seven seniors and
four juniors, the Dragons
featured a roster loaded with
upper classmen.
But all that potential sput-
tered out of the gate.
Dallas opened the season
with losses to Marist
Catholic, The Dalles and
Churchill.
“We had a fairly good dis-
cussion
after we
lost
to
Churchill,”
c o a c h
D a v i d
Brautigam
said. “You
could say it
Nelson
was our
come-to-Jesus-type
speech.”
Brautigam made a few ad-
justments to lineups and
some changes in strategy,
but the focus was simple:
trust.
See DRAGONS, Page 11A
SATURDAY, JAN. 14
Boys basketball: North
Clackamas Christian at Per-
rydale, 5:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: North
Clackamas Christian at Per-
rydale, 4 p.m.
Men’s basketball: West-
ern Washington at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Western Oregon at Mon-
tana State Billings, 4:15 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas at Ore-
gon Classic, TBA.
MONDAY, JAN. 16
Boys basketball: Sher-
man at Perrydale, 5:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: Sher-
man at Perrydale, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 17
Boys basketball:
Crosshill Christian at Falls
City, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Central
at Lebanon, 7 p.m. Dallas at
Silverton, 7 p.m. Crosshill
Christian at Falls City, 5:30
p.m.
Swimming: Central at
Corvallis, 4 p.m. Lebanon at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18
Boys basketball:
Lebanon at Central, 7 p.m.
Silverton at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Crosshill Christian at Perry-
dale, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Silverton at
Central, 6 p.m. Dallas at
Crescent Valley, 6 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Tuipulotu records
four tackles at
All-American Bowl
SAN ANTONIO — Cen-
tral senior Marlon Tuipulo-
tu recorded four tackles, in-
cluding 1.5 tackles-for-loss,
during the U.S. Army All-
American Bowl on Satur-
day.
The annual game brings
together some of the best
high school football play-
ers from across the coun-
try. The East squad defeat-
ed the West squad 27-17.
Tuipulotu has commit-
ted to playing football at
the University of Washing-
ton.
Volunteer coaches
sought for club
DALLAS — Dallas Track
Club is looking for volun-
teer coaches.
No experience is neces-
sary. Training will be pro-
vided.
The track club runs from
March through May at
LaCreole Middle School.
For more information:
Malia, 503-383-8138.
Registration open
for golf tourney
DALLAS — Registration
is open for the 15th annu-
al Brockway Memorial
Golf Tournament on Feb.
4 at Cross Creek Golf
Course.
The two-person, 18-hole
scramble will begin at 9
a.m. Cost is $45 and in-
cludes green fees, and hole
and tee prizes.
For more information:
503-623-6666. Sign-ups are
due by Feb. 1.
www.polkio.com
Chasing the thrill
of victory
DALLAS — From a young pounds and competing at state,
Foster soon saw he had plenty
age, Dallas sophomore
wrestler
By Lukas
Eggen
Joseph Foster was enamored of work to do if he wanted to
The Itemizer-Observer
with the image of victory — the compete with the best.
“I was really good in middle
moments after a wrestling
match when the victor’s arm school,” Foster said. “But
was raised in the air.
everyone in high school has
His father wrestled in high been wrestling for a really
school in Montana and now long time against really tough
serves as a referee in Oregon. guys. I got beat up a lot last
Foster got an early peek of year.”
what wrestling was like.
Foster spent the rest of the
“I’d see those guys winning, season preparing for the winter,
and they looked really cool. I taking part in wrestling camps
wanted to be like them,” Foster and competing for different
said.
club teams around the state.
This season, Foster began
His family moved to Dallas
in 2007. When Foster entered wrestling at 132 pounds.
LaCreole Middle School, he
“When you wrestle at 132,
had been wrestling since the they’re a lot stronger,” Foster
age of 8.
said. “You have to use more
Things didn’t go quite as he technique to beat them.”
He has since switched to
imagined.
“In middle school, my sixth- 126. Foster knows he continues
and seventh-grade years, I got to be a work in progress, but he
beat up every day in practice,” expects a big season from him-
Foster said. “It was the worst self — he’s always looking to
feeling. I went home crying like improve, even when he goes
home.
half the time. It was bad.”
Foster could have let that
“My dad and I always talk
deter him. Instead, it drove about my matches and watch
him to improve.
them,” Foster said. “We talk
“It really built me up,” Foster about what I did right and how
said. “I started to win more and I can improve. I’m always into
more matches. It made me wrestling.”
His biggest advantage may
want to train harder.”
By the time he entered his be his mental toughness and
freshman year, Foster figured his desire to become the best.
he was ready to break out.
See FOSTER, Page 11A
Despite placing fourth at the
Continued from Page 10A
Mid-Willamette Conference dis-
“You can’t quit on yourself,”
trict championships at 126 Foster said. “You can see some
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas sophomore Joseph Foster placed fourth at the Mid-Willamette Conference district championships last season, but he wasn’t satisfied.
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
Boys basketball defeats WVC, Jewell
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PERRYDALE — Perry-
dale’s boys basketball team
earned a pair of Casco
League victories last week.
The Pirates defeated
Willamette Valley Christian
59-47 on Jan. 3 and Jewell
50-28 on Thursday.
“Willamette is one of the
top three or four opponents
in our league,” coach Brian
Domes said. “I know we
Pope
came out
and won
the first
and sec-
ond quar-
t e r, b u t
c o u l d n’t
quite pull
away in the
second
half.”
Domes was pleased with
several individual perform-
ances against Willamette
Valley Christian.
“We had a couple kids
that came out and really
helped on the scoring and
rebounding side,” Domes
said. “Jacob Pope had a
good game in both cate-
gories. He was the high
scorer for the game. Coop-
er Butler was pretty solid
defensively. We put him on
Willamette’s best scorer
who is a
p r e t t y
good ath-
lete.”
Against
Jewell,
Domes said
the goal
was to get
Butler
as many of
his players time on the court
as possible.
The Pirates’ game against
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
Damascus Christian, on Sat-
urday was canceled due to
weather.
Perrydale played Living-
stone Adventist Tuesday
after press time.
The Pirates host Oregon
School for the Deaf Thurs-
day at 7 p.m.; North Clacka-
mas Christian Saturday at
5:30 p.m.; and Sherman
Monday at 5:30 p.m.
See PIRATES, Page 11A
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