Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 5, 2017 12A
SCHEDULE
CENTRAL
SOFTBALL
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5
Baseball: Silverton at
Central, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at
Lebanon, 4:30 p.m. Western
Oregon at Concordia, 4 p.m.
Softball: Dallas at Cen-
tral, 4:30 p.m. St. Paul at Per-
rydale, 4:30 p.m.
Track and field: Central
at Silverton, 3:45 p.m. Dallas
at Crescent Valley, 3:45 p.m.
Panthers
clawing to
the top
THURSDAY, APRIL 6
Boys tennis: Central at
Corvallis, 4 p.m. South Al-
bany at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Girls golf: Dallas at
Canby Invitational, noon.
Girls tennis: Corvallis at
Central, 4 p.m. Dallas at
South Albany, 4 p.m.
Softball: Dallas at Cor-
vallis, 4:30 p.m.
Track and field: Falls
City, Perrydale at Amity,
3:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, APRIL 7
Baseball: Central at Sil-
verton, 4:30 p.m. Lebanon
at Dallas, 2:30 p.m. Perry-
dale at East Linn Christian,
4:30 p.m.
Softball: Central at Cor-
vallis, 4:30 p.m. Northwest
Nazarene at Western Ore-
gon (DH), 2 p.m.
Track and field: Western
Oregon at John Knight Twi-
light, 1 p.m. (field events).
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
Baseball: Saint Martin’s
at Western Oregon (DH), 1
p.m.
Softball: Nor thwest
Nazarene at Western Ore-
gon (DH), noon.
Track and field: Central
at Sandy Invitational, 10
a.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 9
Baseball: Saint Martin’s
at Western Oregon (DH), 1
p.m.
Softball: Western Ore-
gon at Saint Martin’s (DH), 1
p.m.
MONDAY, APRIL 10
Baseball: Western Men-
nonite at Perrydale, 4:30
p.m.
Boys golf: Central, Dallas
at Springhill (Albany), 12:45
p.m.
Girls golf: Central, Dallas
at Trysting Tree (Corvallis),
11 a.m.
Softball: Perrydale at
Western Mennonite, 3:30
p.m.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11
Baseball: Central at Dal-
las, 4:30 p.m.
Boys tennis: Silverton at
Central, 4 p.m. Lebanon at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
Girls tennis: Central at
Silverton, 4 p.m. Dallas at
Lebanon, 4 p.m.
Softball: Woodburn at
Central, 4:30 p.m. South Al-
bany at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
Perrydale at Sheridan, 4:30
p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12
Baseball: Dallas at Cen-
tral, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Silverton at
Central, 4:30 p.m. Lebanon
at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
Track and field: Western
Oregon at Mt. Sac Relays, all
day.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
CHS Hall of Fame
tickets on sale
INDEPENDENCE — Tick-
ets are on sale to celebrate
Central High School’s Hall
of Fame ceremony on April
22 at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $5
and can be purchased at
the athletics office or the
Independence Les Schwab.
The 2017 class includes
Pa u l S c h m i d t, D av i n a
Dungy, Bret Brouse, Bill
Sherrod, Kelly McArthur,
Tom Mcfie, Sara Cole and
the 1986 boys cross-coun-
try team. Mike Ainsworth
will receive the Meritorious
Award.
For more information:
503-606-2228.
Polk Pedalers to
meet Saturday
DALLAS — The Polk Ped-
alers Bicycle Club will host a
ride Saturday at 8 a.m. Cy-
clists will meet at Courtyard
Coffee House. Children
must be accompanied by
an adult. Helmets are re-
quired. For more informa-
tion: 503-623-6533.
www.polkio.com
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Siblings Cody and Jenifer Webb take pride and excitement in seeing the other succeed on the track.
DALLAS TRACK AND FIELD
Sibling rivalry
Brother, sister push each other to their limits
By Lukas Eggen
Track meet
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Growing up, siblings
Jenifer and Cody Webb always found a
way to compete.
“For as long as I can remember,
we’ve always turned everything into a
competition to see who was the ‘better
twin,’” Jenifer said. “Even silly things
like who was taller.”
Jenifer and Cody are incredibly
close — each a source of strength for
the other.
“I will never forget the biggest smile
that (Cody) had on his face after I
placed (fifth in the 100-meter hurdles)
in the state meet last season,” Jenifer
said. “He talked about it for days. The
medal didn’t make me feel nearly as
special or accomplished as the smile
• Dallas’ track and field team will
compete at Crescent Valley Wednes-
day (today) at 3:45 p.m. The Dragons
will be off until the Viking Relays at
North Salem on April 14 at 4 p.m.
on his face.”
Now both seniors on Dallas’ track
and field team, their competitive drive
has evolved.
“Even today, we still push each
other,” Jenifer said. “But somewhere
along the way, our gears shifted. It’s
not so much a push to be better than
the other anymore, but rather we push
each other to be the best of our com-
petitors and the very best that we
know each other is capable of.”
—
Neither Cody nor Jenifer would con-
sider themselves distance runners.
“For me, there’s more of a thrill in
the shorter distances because there’s a
shorter window to prove myself. I love
that kind of competition,” Jenifer said.
The hurdles seemed to be a natural
extension — providing a new chal-
lenge but keeping the same basic thrill
of a sprint.
“They took some time getting used
to,” Cody said. “At first the height is
pretty intimidating, but once I got over
that, it’s all about the form and steps.”
The Webb siblings have accom-
plished a lot during their careers.
Jenifer finished fifth in the 100 hurdles
at state in 2016, while Cody placed
11th as part of the boys 4 x 100 relay
team.
See SIBLINGS, Page 13A
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s softball team is look-
ing to capture the potential
it’s shown on a consistent
basis.
The Panthers went 2-2 at
Newport March 27 and 28,
beating Newport 15-3 be-
fore falling to
Banks 14-
5, and
los-
ing to
Pleasant
Hill 7-6 be-
fore defeat-
ing Taft 9-0.
Central, which entered
the week with a 3-3 mark
overall, has scored nine or
more runs in each of its
three victories so far this
season.
“The girls have great en-
ergy and are working to-
gether as a team to make
good things happen,” coach
Kendra Hamlin said. “We
have to compete every
pitch against the best
teams. We are still early in
the year, and we have a few
adjustments to make, but
we are doing a nice job of
making those game to
game.”
One thing is clear, the
Panthers’ boast a danger-
ous lineup at the plate —
the team averages 10 runs
per game — and saw Erin
Cole hit three home runs
during the Newport Tour-
nament and Aunika Farley
hit one and Sydney Nash
recorded two doubles and
a triple.
“I’ve been really pleased
with our lineup, getting
runners on and then find-
ing ways to score,” Hamlin
said.
See CENTRAL, Page 13A
FOOTBALL
Avgi chases football dream
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — There
have been few names that
have stood as tall in Western
Oregon University athletics
as Andy Avgi.
On the hardwood, he
helped lead the men’s bas-
ketball
team to the
NCAA Divi-
sion II
Final Four
during the
2015-16
season.
On the
gridiron,
Avgi
he played
football for the last two
years, and had 16 catches
for 198 yards and five
touchdowns during his
senior year. Upon the end
of the 2016 football cam-
paign, Avgi stood at a cross-
roads — pursue a profes-
sional basketball career or
football.
“There were thoughts on
pursuing basketball, but the
opportunity in football is
greater,” Avgi said. “I wanted
to play at the highest level,
and it was going to be in
football, and it’s going to be
my career.”
Once he decided on foot-
ball, the training began in
earnest for his pro day.
“I would wake up at 6:30
a.m. and drive to Bellevue
(Wash.) from Seattle,” Avgi
said. “I would have a workout
in the morning, then have a
snack. I would do a strength
workout before lunch and
then finish with another
workout after lunch.”
Avgi participated in a pro
day showcase with Oregon
State — and the results were
impressive.
See AVGI, Page 13A
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Andy Avgi hopes to play professional football in the NFL this fall.
PREP BASEBALL
Dragons flexing muscles at the plate
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — There’s not
much slowing down Dallas’
baseball team.
The Dragons went 3-0 at
the Newport Tournament
March 27-28, defeating
Philomath
10-9,
Siuslaw/Mapleton 13-2; and
Sweet Home 12-8 — bring-
ing the Dragons’ record to 6-
2 overall.
“We’ve been more pre-
pared at the plate early on
this season than we have
been in years past,” senior
Clay Coxen said.
Dallas has scored 10 or
more runs in six straight
games — all victories.
“We’re a good hitting
team this year,” Coxen said.
“But we have to be able to
keep the momentum going
all game, because we don’t
have the same overpowering
pitching that Dallas has be-
come accustomed to seeing
the past
few years.”
T h a t
d o e s n’t
mean Dal-
las is lack-
ing on solid
arms, and
Coxen is
Coxen
showing
that he is
an invaluable piece of the
Dragons’ puzzle.
—
For Coxen, baseball sea-
son has always provided a
much-needed change of
pace.
“While baseball has its
moments of intensity and
stress and pressure,
wrestling is far greater,”
Coxen said. “I like the con-
trast and I actually need it.
I love the intensity and
hard work that comes with
wrestling but I need a
break from that, and that’s
what baseball gives to me.”
But there is one aspect
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
that is difficult to deal with.
“In a game where getting
three hits out of 10 at bats is
considered good, there’s a
lot of failure,” Coxen said.
“It’s a huge transition from
wrestling, where in the Dal-
las program, there isn’t a
whole lot of failure. Players
have to realize they are
going to fail more than they
succeed, and it can be a
hard thing to get into their
head.”
See DALLAS, Page 13A
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