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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2017)
Polk County Sports SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 Track and field: Dallas, Falls City, Perrydale at Canby All-Comers, noon. Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 29, 2017 11A DALLAS TENNIS Blair evolves on the court THURSDAY, MARCH 30 Baseball: Perrydale at Colton, 4:30 p.m. By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer FRIDAY, MARCH 31 Baseball: Central at The Dalles (DH), 2 p.m. Western O re g o n a t N o r t hwe s t Nazarene (DH), 2 p.m. Softball: Tournament of Champions (at Turlock, Calif.): Western Oregon vs. Holy Names, 9 a.m. West- ern Oregon vs. University of California, San Diego, 11:30 a.m. Track and field: West- ern Oregon at San Francis- co State Distance Carnival and Stanford Invitational, all day. DALLAS — As a freshman, Caedmon Blair was faced with a decision. He wanted to find a sport to play in the spring, and it came down to two choices: track and field, or tennis. “I didn’t want to run track, so I decided to play tennis,” Blair said. His first two seasons, he played doubles with former Dallas player Cole Oace. The pair found some suc- cess on varsity, but Blair did- n’t figure tennis would be- come a passion. “I’m always competitive, but at first (tennis) was more fun than anything else,” Blair said. “That changed proba- bly last year when I switched to singles. I saw that I had a chance to do something spe- cial with it.” As a junior, Blair played singles, but fell short of qual- ifying for state. He spent time in the off- season playing with coach Caleb Gillette and saw him- self evolve from an athlete playing tennis to a true ten- nis player. SATURDAY, APRIL 1 Baseball: Western Ore- gon at Northwest Nazarene (DH), noon. Softball: Tournament of Champions (at Turlock, Calif.): Western Oregon vs. Academy of Art, 9 a.m. Western Oregon vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3 p.m. Track and field: West- ern Oregon at San Francis- co State Distance Carnival and Stanford Invitational, all day. SUNDAY, APRIL 2 Softball: Tournament of Champions (at Turlock, Calif.): Western Oregon vs. Sonoma State, 3 p.m. Tennis time MONDAY, APRIL 3 Boys golf: Central, Dal- las at Cross Creek (Dallas), 10 a.m. Girls golf: Central, Dal- las at Springhill (Albany), 12:45 p.m. TUESDAY, APRIL 4 Baseball: Central at Sil- verton, 4:30 p.m. Lebanon at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Country Christian at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. Boys tennis: Central at Crescent Valley, 4 p.m. Dal- las at Silverton, 4 p.m. Girls tennis: Crescent Valley at Central, 4 p.m. Sil- verton at Dallas, 4 p.m. Softball: Central at Lebanon, 4:30 p.m. Silver- ton at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Amity at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 Baseball: Silverton at Central, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Lebanon, 4:30 p.m. West- ern Oregon at Concordia, 4 p.m. Softball: Dallas at Cen- tral, 4:30 p.m. Track and field: Central at Silverton, 3:45 p.m. Dal- las at Crescent Valley, 3:45 p.m. — Schedules Subject to Change QUICK HITS Cross Creek men’s club results DALLAS — Cross Creek’s men’s club results for March 21: Low gross/low net Gross: 1, Jim Schroeder, 41; 2, (tie), Rocky Kygar and Bill Karjala, 42. Net: 1, Jack Duncan, 35; 2 (tie), Lee Taylor and Larry Hatcher, 37; 4 (tie), Greg Fisher and Wayne Weath- ers, 39. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer www.polkio.com • Dallas’ boys tennis team will play at Silverton Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Dragons return home to host South Albany on April 6 at 4 p.m., weather permitting. • Dallas’ girls tennis team defeated Woodburn 8-0 on March 22 and plays at North Marion on Monday before hosting Sil- verton Tuesday at 4 p.m., weather permitting. • Follow the Itemizer-Observer on Twitter for updates. Dallas senior Caedmon Blair returns a shot against Woodburn on March 22. CENTRAL TRACK AND FIELD One giant leap Henke sets school record in girls triple jump during first meet By Lukas Eggen Track meet The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — On March 15, Central’s track and field team hosted Crescent Valley for its first meet of the season. Spirits were high among several of the Panther athletes. Sophomore Sophia Henke wasn’t one of them. “The weather wasn’t good, and I was stressed out,” Henke said. “I did- n’t even know I was supposed to do the triple jump that day.” Her plan was just to scratch the event, but decided to give it a go. Even though she participated, she wasn’t pleased with how her jumps felt. “It didn’t feel right,” she said. “I thought, did I really just jump that?” But Henke said jumps coach Kirk Saxman was far more positive — and with good reason. Henke set the school mark in the triple jump with a mark of 35 feet, 7 inches, breaking the previous mark of 35-1½. “I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Henke said. “It was crazy, but pretty cool that it happened.” — Henke is a versatile athlete for Central’s track team. She has com- peted in sprints, relay teams and • Central’s track and field team competed against North Marion and Woodburn on March 22. • Isaac Burgett won the boys 200- meter run in 24.36 seconds and the 400 in 53.70. Other first place fin- ishes included Aaron Padilla (800, 2:06.83), Zach Meyer (1,500, 4:28.34), Josh Dickson (300 hurdles, 42.86), Kyle Aklin (shot put, 44 feet, 10 inches), Alec Barba (high jump, 5-8), James Rand (pole vault, 11-0), Peter Mason (long jump, 19-7) and Xander Bailey (triple jump, 36-9). • Bethanie Altamirano won the girls 100 in 13.30. Other first-place finishes included Bailie Hartford (1,500, 5:23.33), Diana Nye (3,000, 13:10.43), Annie Taylor (300 hurdles, 58.55), and Lexy Anderson (javelin, 84-9). Central will compete at Silverton on April 5. First event begins at 3:45 p.m. jump events. But Henke struggled to build mo- mentum during her freshman year. “She experienced some injuries last year,” head coach Eli Cirino said. “She came back and competed at a pretty high level, but I don’t think she was ever at 100 percent.” See LEAP, Page 12A Cross Creek summer league DALLAS — Cross Creek Golf Course will hold an informational meeting on April 5 at 5:30 p.m. for team captains of summer league teams. There is still time for players to sign up for the league, which consists of teams of six to 12 players who will compete on Wednesday nights from May to September. Entry fee is $100 per team. Teams share in the winnings. Teams can be made up of individuals, families and/or represent a local business. For more information: Lynn Hurt, 503-910-3925 or Dave Watson, 503-871- 2731. “My backhand is better and my forehand is better,” Blair said. “I have more power, definitely and a bet- ter understanding of the game. Last year, my fore- hand was more of a dinky shot and I was just trying to get the ball into play. This year, I can place the ball to certain spots. It brings an- other aspect to the game in- stead of just running around on the court.” Blair’s evolution has not gone unnoticed as the senior has played in Dallas’ top sin- gles spot. His match against Wood- burn on March 22 showed both his potential and what needs to improve if he wants to achieve his goal of reach- ing state. During his match, Blair showed off impressive speed and power — but also strug- gled to place shots — com- mitting numerous unforced errors. The wind likely had an ef- fect. The match showed that Blair has the potential, but needs to fine tune if he wants to compete with the league’s best players. See BLAIR, Page 12A ELI CIRINO/for the Itemizer-Observer Central sophomore Sophia Henke set a school record in the triple jump. PREP ATHLETICS Committee favors five-class system Itemizer-Observer staff report POLK COUNTY — The debate will continue on whether the OSAA should stick with its current six- classification system or change. The Classification and Districting Committee held a public meeting March 20 in Wilsonville to receive testimony and review writ- ten communication re- ceived about potential changes for the OSAA’s classification system be- ginning in the 2018-19 school year. Cu r re n t l y, t h e O S A A splits schools into one of six classifications (1A to 6A) based on school size. The committee supports a draft of a five-classifica- tion system because of: re- duced overall travel com- pared to the current classi- fication system; greater depth (number of schools) in each classification; more balance when comparing the number of schools in each classification; and provides more stability and less volatility within and between classifications throughout the four-year time block. Under the current draft favored, draft 13, Central and Dallas would be part of the Mid-Willamette Conference in Class 4A along with Corvallis, Cres- c e n t Va l l e y, Ne w p o r t , South Albany and Sweet Home. Perrydale and Falls City would be part of the Casco League in class 1A with C.S. Lewis, Crosshill Christian, Jewell, Kings Valley, Living- stone Adventist, Oregon School for the Deaf, Veritas a n d W i l l a m e t t e Va l l e y Christian. Perrydale athletic direc- tor Dan Dugan said he there is no easy solution and any new system will have local ramifications, www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 but sees some positives to the draft. “I think it evens out t e a m s b e t t e r ov e r a l l ,” Dugan said. “Right now, 5A only has 33 teams. That seems pretty watered down in many respects. With the latest proposal, it appears all classifications will have at least 42 to 45 teams.” The OSAA has had a six- classification system since the 2006-07 school year. The committee will hold meetings on April 10, April 24, May 22, June 20, Sept. 25 and Oct. 16. www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports