Polk County
Sports
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19
Baseball: Crescent Valley
at Central, 4:30 p.m. South
Albany at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
Perrydale at St. Paul, 4:30
p.m.
Softball: Lebanon at
Central, 4 p.m. Dallas at Sil-
verton, 4:30 p.m. Perrydale
at St. Paul, 4:30 p.m.
Track and field: Central
at Corvallis, 3:30 p.m. Dallas
at Lebanon, 3:45 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 20
Baseball: Perrydale at
East Linn Christian, 4:30 p.m.
Boys tennis: Woodburn
at Central, 4 p.m. Crescent
Valley at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Girls tennis: Central at
Woodburn, 4 p.m. Dallas at
Crescent Valley, 4 p.m.
Softball: Silverton at
Central, 4 p.m.
Track and field: Falls City,
Perrydale at Sheridan HS,
3:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, APRIL 21
Baseball: Central at Cres-
cent Valley, 4:30 p.m. Dallas
at South Albany, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Central at Dal-
las, 4:30 p.m. Western Ore-
gon at Western Washington
(DH), 1 p.m.
Track and field: Central
at John Oliver Invitational at
CHS), 3:30 p.m. Dallas at
Central Coast Invitational, 4
p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 22
Baseball: Concordia at
Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m.
Softball: Western Ore-
gon at Western Washington
(DH), noon.
Track and field: Dallas at
Centennial Invitational, 11
a.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 23
Baseball: Concordia at
Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m.
Softball: Western Ore-
gon at Simon Fraser (DH),
noon.
MONDAY, APRIL 24
Boys golf: Central, Dallas
at Mallard Creek (Lebanon),
10 a.m.
Girls golf: Central, Dallas
at Tukwila (Woodburn), 10
a.m.
Softball: Toledo at Perry-
dale, 4:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, APRIL 25
Baseball: Woodburn at
Central, 3:30 p.m. Dallas
at Silverton, 4:30 p.m.
Perrydale at Regis, 4:30
p.m.
Boys tennis: Central at
South Albany, 4 p.m. Dallas
at Corvallis, 4 p.m.
Girls tennis: South Al-
bany at Central, 4 p.m. Cor-
vallis at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Softball: Woodburn at
Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26
Baseball: Central at
Woodburn, 3:30 p.m. Silver-
ton at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Corvallis at Cen-
tral, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at South
Albany, 4:30 p.m. Western
Oregon at Saint Martin’s
(DH), 1 p.m.
Track and field: Dallas at
Central, TBA. Falls City at
Tiger Invitational, 3:30 p.m.
—
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 Sat-
urday at 6 p.m. Tickets cost
$5 and can be purchased at
the athletics office, the In-
dependence Les Schwab, or
at the door.
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 1985 boys cross-coun-
try team. Mike Ainsworth
will receive the Meritorious
Award. For more informa-
tion: 503-606-2228.
Youth wrestlers
travel to Reno
RENO, Nev. — Dallas’
youth wrestling team took
10 athletes to the Flo Reno
Worlds national tourna-
ment April 7-9. Ashton
Brecht competed in the
h e av y we i g h t ( 1 5 a n d
younger) division, placing
second. As a team, Dallas
came in 20th.
www.polkio.com
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 19, 2017 10A
PREP GIRLS
BASKETBALL
PREP BASEBALL
Panthers on the prowl
Senior helps Central win two of three games
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Last
year, Central’s baseball
team struggled to find its
identity. With a 12-14 record
overall and 10-11 mark in
Mid-Willamette Conference
play, the Panthers showed
they could be a threat —
but not consistently.
They’re out to change
that perception in 2017.
T h e
Pa n t h e r s
won two
of three
games last
week, de-
feating
Dallas 5-3
on April 11
and Silver-
Amador
ton 3-2 on
Saturday before losing to
Dallas 5-4 on Saturday.
Central began a three-
game series against Cres-
cent Valley Tuesday after
press time. The Raiders en-
tered the week tied for first
in the MWC. The Panthers
entered tied for third and
with a chance to leap frog
Crescent Valley in the
league standings with a se-
ries sweep.
“I think we’re making
good progress so far,” senior
Luis Amador said. “We have
to keep playing good de-
fense because we know er-
rors will kill us. We have to
work on our offensive ap-
proach and just keep im-
proving every game.”
—
Amador isn’t the type to
get riled up. He’s not one to
shout at teammates or show
his emotions during a
game.
Brautigam
steps down
as coach
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central senior first baseman Luis Amador has helped lead Central to an 8-3 record
overall and a 5-3 mark in Mid-Willamette Conference play.
“I’m known as a relaxed
person,” he said. “You don’t
really see me losing my
cool. I try and be nice and
relaxed and let the game
come to me.”
Don’t mistake that for a
lack of intensity.
Amador is one of the
Panthers’ most feared hit-
ters and has been a steady
presence at first base for
years — a far cry from his
freshman season when
Amador was a jittery, inex-
perienced player worried
about making a mistake.
See PROWL, Page 11A
DALLAS — David
Brautigam has stepped down
as head girls basketball
coach.
Brautigam said he made
the decision so he could
spend more time with his
family.
Brautigam has coached
the girls basketball team
since the
2006-07
season.
“We can-
not thank
D a v e
enough for
the time
and effort
Brautigam
he has put
forth for Dallas athletics
from our youth level to the
high school level,” athletics
director Tim Larson said.
“He’s spent many hours with
one goal in mind: How do we
improve the competitiveness
of Dallas athletics?”
Dallas finished 2016-17
season with a 14-11 record
overall and an 8-6 mark in
Mid-Willamette Conference
play and advanced to the
first round of the 5A state
playoffs.
In recent years, the Drag-
ons made qualifying for the
postseason a regular occur-
rence.
Larson said the position
will be officially opened in
the near future.
“We do not have anyone
ready to roll into the position
and will look for the best ap-
plicant to fill the spot,” Lar-
son said.
PREP GIRLS GOLF
Dragons excited to show off depth
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dallas’ girls
golf team has seen success
in recent years, thanks in
part to senior Kailee Curtis,
who has earned her spot
among the state’s best
golfers.
The rest of the players
want to show that they are
ready to do the same.
“Right now, our goal is to
be in the top four and earn a
chance to play at regionals
for a trip to the state tourna-
ment,” coach Danielle Lan-
dis said.
That will be no easy task.
Dallas finished fifth on
Monday at Cross Creek Golf
Course, despite competing
in steady rainfall.
The top four teams at the
regional district tournament
will qualify for the state tour-
nament.
With teams so scoring so
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer closely together, that means
for Dallas’ varsity team,
Dallas golfer Natalie Crabtree hits a shot on the first hole at Cross Creek on Monday.
which has
included
Curtis, Na-
talie Crab-
tree, Emma
May John-
son, Missie
Davis and
Madison
Curtis
S h u c k ,
shaving even a single stroke
off their scores can make a
big difference.
Whatever success Dallas
finds as a team, it will be
Curtis who leads the charge.
She placed 14th at state in
2016, and will be a con-
tender to defend her district
title later this spring.
“One area we are focus-
ing on is having a game
plan that she can stick to as
she plays,” Landis said.
“That way, she doesn’t get
too wrapped up with what
is happening around her.
We also have worked on her
short game to help improve
from 50 yards and in.”
See DALLAS, Page 11A
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Perrydale trio excels at Invitational
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
BANKS — Competing at
a meet with 1A, 2A, 3A and
4A schools, Perrydale’s
track and field teams were
looking to make a state-
ment at the Rob Frank In-
vitational at Banks High
School on Saturday.
That’s exactly what they
did.
On the girls side, Abigail
Bibler took second in the
shot put with a throw of 30
feet, 1½ inches.
Amity Deters placed
third in the long jump (14-
7), fifth in
the high
jump (4-4)
and sev-
enth in
the 300-
meter hur-
dles (52.95
seconds).
Bibler
“ S h e’s
an amazing kid and a great
all-around athlete,” coach
Brian Evans said. “She’s in
the top two or three in dis-
tricts in all of her events
right now.”
Evans is also considering
placing Deters in the triple
jump. It would mean an in-
creased workload on meet
days, but give her a realistic
shot of qualifying for state
in as many as four events,
Evans said.
Jacob Pope led the boys
with a fifth-place finish in
the javelin with a throw of
129-0 and an eighth-place
finish in the discus (109-
5).
“Jacob is probably my
hardest worker,” Evans
said. “He’s trying very hard
at practice to get better
every day. His two events
are highly competitive this
year, but we continue to
fine tune his approach and
delivery.”
Evans is trying a new ap-
proach to
training
during the
season. In
previous
years, the
focus has
been get-
ting kids
Pope
ready to
perform their best at each
meet.
This time, Evans has his
team thinking big-picture,
and ready to perform at
their peak at districts — a
strategy that Evans is excit-
ed to see pay off in a big
way this spring.
“In the past, if we had a
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
meet on a Thursday, we
would go hard Monday,
then back off on Tuesday,”
Evans said. “Wednesday
would be a day to fine tune.
This year, we are working
hard right up to the meet.
Our goal is to have it all
come together for districts.
We have some kids lifting
three days a week, and
sometimes that’s a day be-
fore a meet. To us, we’re fo-
cused on getting the kids
stronger and putting all our
cards on the table for dis-
tricts.”
The Pirates will compete
at Sheridan Thursday at
3:30 p.m.
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