Polk County Sports
13A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 1, 2017
CENTRAL BASKETBALL
Panthers to host Thurston in play-in game
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s girls basketball team is
headed to the postseason
and ready to go to war.
The Panthers closed out
the regular season with a 59-
44 loss to Corvallis on Feb.
22 before beating Woodburn
63-24 on Friday.
Meagan Mendazona
scored a game-high 17
points against Woodburn.
Elizabeth Chavez added 12
points, and Mariah Hyre
recorded nine.
Central finished the regu-
lar season 11-11 overall and
8-6 in the Mid-Willamette
Confer-
ence —
good for
third place.
The Pan-
t h e r s
ended the
regular
season by
Mendazona w i n n i n g
three of their last four
games.
“I think the girls are im-
proving every game, and I
have seen a drastic improve-
ment from preseason,”
coach Julie McDonald said.
“I like the style of ball we are
playing right now and like
Panther playoff push
What: OSAA Class 5A girls state play-in game.
Who: Thurston (7-15 overall, No. 6 Midwestern League) vs.
Central (11-11 overall, No. 3 Mid-Willamette Conference).
When: Wednesday (today), 6 p.m.
Where: Central High School.
Admission: Adults, $6; students and children, $4.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to first round of
the state playoffs on Saturday.
how we are working togeth-
er as a team.”
Now, the team’s attention
turns to making a deep post-
season run.
That journey begins when
the Panthers host Thurston
Wednesday (today) at 6 p.m.
in the state play-in round.
Thurston finished sixth in
the Midwestern League with
a 7-15 record overall and a 4-
10 mark in league play.
Thurston played one
team from the MWC during
the regular season, falling to
Lebanon 55-35 on Dec. 17.
“Thurston changes up
their defense, so it’ll be in-
teresting to see how they
come out with their game
plan to stop us,” McDonald
said. “We have a lot of
weapons, so we will be ready
for whatever they throw at
us.”
The winner advances to
the first round of the state
playoffs on Saturday. The
winner of Saturday’s game
moves on to the state quar-
terfinals at Gill Coliseum in
Corvallis on March 8.
McDonald believes the
Panthers are ready for the
challenges ahead after com-
peting in a league that of-
fered few chances to relax
and relent. She hopes that
means her team is battle-
tested and ready to rock.
“Our league is one of the
toughest in the state, and I
feel that playing in our
league will prepare us for
Thurston,” McDonald said.
“We will continue to do
what we do, which is focus
on our team strengths and
work for 32 minutes.”
PERRYDALE BASKETBALL
Perrydale girls fall to Country Christian
Itemizer-Observer staff report
MOLALLA — Perrydale’s
girls basketball team saw its
season come to an end in
the first round of the 1A
state playoffs.
The Pirates lost to Coun-
try Christian 54-32 on Feb.
22.
“I thought the girls played
extremely hard,” coach Terry
Newton said. “Country is the
defending state champion,
and I believe they are one of
the top four or five teams in
the state.”
The Pirates finished the
season with a 14-12 record
overall and 7-5 in Casco
League play.
“It was up and down, I
won’t lie,” Newton said.
“Sometimes, our youth
could be frustrated when
they don’t quite see all the
pieces of the puzzle. But
other times, it was tremen-
dous. ... I’d especially like to
thank our seniors, Sierra
Starr and Breana Pettit, for
really working hard and
committing to this pro-
gram.”
Perrydale will lose two
players to graduation.
While this season may have
had its growing pains,
Newton is excited to see
what the future may hold
for the Pirates going for-
ward.
“Whatever the future
holds for them, it will be
tremendous,” Newton said.
“These are all home-grown
girls, no transfers or foreign
exchange students. This
program has been built
from the ground up, and I
think it will continue to be
that way. I’m proud of this
group. They never stopped
competing, and we couldn’t
have asked for more.”
Central: Six Panthers place at state tourney
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central wrestler Caleb Sedlacek finished sixth at state.
Continued from Page 11A
“I’m very excited I placed first in state,”
Negrete said. “I’ve always wanted to do this.
It’s a great feeling to know I could do it and
show my teammates that they can also do
this by practicing and conditioning all the
time.”
Negrete and Casteel were tied at two in
the third round and appeared headed to
overtime — but Negrete wasn’t going to have
it, scoring in the final minute to secure the
victory.
“I knew I had to do something,” Negrete
said. “I knew I couldn’t pin him, but I knew I
could score back points.”
Finding ways to come out on top is some-
thing Negrete has displayed throughout his
career. He finds ways to surprise those
around him — even his coaches.
“He’s been doing that all year long,”
coach Van Holstad said. “He creates stuff
on the fly. He shows us stuff we’ve never
seen before, and we’ve been around this
sport a long time. It’s exciting every time
he steps on the mat, and you never know
what you’re going to get. We thought David
was going to be able to ride him out in the
third round and then get a takedown in
overtime, then he pulls that out and gets
back points. It’s awesome. He’s a great kid
and one of those guys you really root for.
The fact that he thinks of the program first
See more photos
• Head to www.polkio.com to view more
photos from state wrestling.
is the kind of kid he is. He’s selfless and a
good kid.”
Negrete was one of four state placers for
the Panthers. Sam Crow (195) finished
fourth. Noah Worthington (106) and Caleb
Sedlacek (285) placed sixth.
Chris Polanco (160), Adam Morales (170)
and Erik Vasquez (182) also competed, but
did not place.
While not all wrestlers placed, Holstad
said everyone gave it their all and have noth-
ing to hang their heads about.
“David getting to the finals and winning
was nice, but we struggled a little in some
matches,” Holstad said. “But it is state, and
it’s the last tournament for a reason. Our
guys battled like warriors, and they made
Panther nation proud. All the boys worked
really hard and I’m proud of all of them. I’m
proud to be associated with those guys.”
As Negrete capped his high school career
with a perfect finish, the senior was quick to
say his victory was never just his own.
“I love my family, my teammates and my
coaches. This is for them,” Negrete said.
“This feels great. That’s all I can say.”
Dallas: Dragons finish second to Crater
Continued from Page 11A
Earhart earned a 7-6 de-
cision over Pendleton’s
Morgan Holcomb to win
his title.
“Tanner makes us look
good, that’s the bottom
line,” coach Tony Olliff
said. “... He’s mild man-
nered. He’s not boastful
and is the kind of person
that people like.”
Not long after winning
his title, he was sitting,
watching his younger
brother, Treve, wrestle in
the 195-pound finals.
“My favorite thing about
this year is that my brother
gets to have this opportu-
nity,” Tanner said.
W h e n Tr e v e f e l l t o
Bunker Parrish of Red-
mond, it was Tanner who
was there to console and
support him.
“I remember when Tan-
ner and Treve first got to-
gether and Tanner had al-
ready had a year in our
room,” Olliff said. “I re-
member talking to him
and telling him it’s OK
when you wrestle each
other in practice to get
right up to the brink of
fighting but always know
that you need each other.
They know that. There’s no
way they’d be in the state
finals without each other.”
Tanner and Treve helped
push each other every step
of the way and it paid off
in a big way at state.
“It was one of the best
years of wrestling with my
brother because at the be-
ginning of the year, he told
m e , ‘ l e t ’s b e s t a t e
champs,’” Treve said. “We
pushed each other and got
each other tough. The last
few weeks were emotional
because I knew in the back
of my head this was the
end of our time together in
the mat room.”
The Earhart family has a
long, rich tradition in
w re s t l i n g . Ta n n e r a n d
Treve’s father, Jeff, won a
state title in 1987 — along
with Tony Olliff. Seeing his
sons also connect with
Tony made the moment all
the more special.
“Our head coach was
Tony’s dad, Paul,” Jeff said.
“Paul was a father figure
and a mentor to me so to
see Tanner embrace coach
Olliff after the final match
was pretty emotional to
me and a true blessing that
my words can’t express.”
Seeing both his sons
perform so well at state
was a moment he’ll never
forget and made the jour-
ney well worth taking.
“I am proud of Tanner
a n d Tr e v e ,” J e f f s a i d .
“They had killer seasons
that gave our family that
awesome emotional
roller-coaster ride that
comes with the sport. The
greatest blessing I think
Steph and I had was see-
ing our kids come togeth-
er with their guard down,
and truly support each
other for the common
goal of making each other
better.”
Tanner was one of eight
Dragon wrestlers to place
at state. Treve Earhart
(195) and Clay Coxen (182)
finished second. Jacob
Jones (126) placed third;
Ryan Bibler (106) took
fourth, Dawson Barcroft
(113) placed fifth and
Joseph English (138) and
Joseph Foster (126) fin-
ished sixth.
Dallas finished second
in the team standings be-
hind Crater.
“I’m extremely proud of
Treve,” Olliff said. “He
weighs 176 pounds and
wrestled 195. It showed
against the kid in the state
finals, but only just a little
bit. Clay (Coxen) had a
fantastic season. This is
nothing but gold. Every
single person that we
brought contributed to our
team score. That trophy we
got, each guy gets a little
piece of it.”
Olliff is also excited
about the future of Dallas
wrestling as the Dragons
look to reload and com-
pete for a state title for
years to come.
“This team returns six
state placers,” Olliff said. “I
don’t know if that’s the
most we’ve ever returned,
but it sure is a lot. The
guys who will come back,
this is money in the bank.
They’ve been here, experi-
enced and seen it.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Treve Earhart battle Central’s Sam Crow in the
semifinals on Saturday.
DALLAS SOCCER
Dallas hires Steele to lead girls soccer team
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Dallas High
School athletic director Tim
Larson announced Monday
that Kendra Steele has been
hired to become head coach
of the girls soccer team.
Steele is a special educa-
tion teacher at the high
school. She is a former Dal-
las athlete and played soccer
at the collegiate level at
Eastern Oregon University.
She has also served as an
assistant soccer coach with
the Dragons.
Steele will take over from
Ron Brooks.
The Dragons finished 3-
11 overall and 2-5 in Mid-
Willamette Conference play
last season, finishing sixth in
the league standings. Dallas
advanced to the state play-
in round.
“We are thrilled she is
joining our coaching staff,”
Larson said. “She brings an
energy the kids feed off of
and a wealth of knowledge.”