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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2017)
Polk County Sports 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 10, 2017 PREP TRACK AND FIELD Dragons jump, hurdle to districts By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Expectations are high among Dallas’ boys and girls track and field teams entering the Mid- Willamette Conference dis- trict track and field champi- onships, Friday and Satur- day at Lebanon High School. “We have a chance to send 10 to 12 kids to state, but they will need to per- form well,” coach Bill Masei said. “Our goal is to be a top three finisher on the girls side and a district champion on the boys side.” For the b o y s , Tr e v o r Cross will enter the r a c e ranked first Webb in the MWC in the 3,000-meter run. Cross is the lone runner from the MWC to record a time faster than 9 minutes (8 minutes, 52.13 seconds). Cody Webb enters ranked tied for second in the 100 and 110 hurdles, and third in the 300 hurdles. Jacob Deming will look to make his mark in track and field events. He’s ranked first in the 300 hurdles, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. Masei also expects strong performances from Aaron White (ranked second in the triple jump and third in the long jump), Jake Collins (second in the pole vault), and throwers Justin Ingram and Jacob Ronco. “The strongest events for the boys will be the jumps and hurdles, along with the distance races,” Masei said. The girls will also boast a strong line- up — par- ticularly in Cross the jump and hurdle events. “Dallas will be led by Jenifer Webb in the long jump and hurdles, Stefani Tallon in the hurdles, Kayley Sayer in the jumps and javelin, and Haley Van Well in the jumps,” Masei said. WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP Baseball earns GNAC title Itemizer-Observer staff report MONMOUTH — Western Oregon’s baseball team clinched the Great North- west Athletic Conference’s regular season title after splitting four games with Northwest Nazarene. WOU split the opening doubleheader, falling 5-2 be- fore winning 11-3 on Thurs- day. The Wolves won 20-2 before losing 6-3 on Friday. Western Oregon racked up 20 hits during the first game on Friday. Jacob Mar- tinez had four hits and three RBIs, helping the Wolves build a 15-0 lead after the second inning. WOU has won the GNAC’s regular season title 14 of the last 16 years. Western Oregon advances to the GNAC Champi- onships Wednesday (today) through Friday in Portland. The Wolves open the dou- ble elimination tournament by hosting Montana State Billings Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m. The winner plays the win- ner of Northwest Nazarene vs. Central Washington on Friday. The losers from each game play each other in an elimination game on Friday. SOFTBALL FALLS IN CON- FERENCE TITLE GAME: West- ern Oregon’s softball team ad- vanced to the championship game of the GNAC Softball Championships on Sunday be- fore falling to Western Wash- ington 5-0. The Wolves advanced by de- feating Central Washington twice, beating the Wildcats 4-3 on Friday and 8-6 on Saturday, but WOU lost to Western Wash- ington twice during the double elimination tournament. Western Oregon finishes the season with a 29-24 record overall. The Wolves did not play a home game during the 2017 season. RIBICH WINS 1,500 IN EU- GENE: Western Oregon junior David Ribich led Western Ore- gon’s track and field team at the Oregon Twilight meet in Eugene on Friday. Ribich won the men’s 1,500-meter invita- tional race with a time of 3 minutes, 45.01 seconds. Grayson Burke led the women’s team with a second- place finish in the 400 in 58.67. At the Linfield Open on Satur- day, Olivia Woods won the women’s 400 in 57.19, while teammate Megan Rose took sec- ond in 57.89. Burke took second in the 800 (2:21.21). S a w y e r Heckard won t h e m e n ’s 3,000 stee- plechase in 10:05.24. AJ Holmberg took second Ribich in the 800 (1:51.90), and Wesley Gray placed sec- ond in the triple jump with a mark of 13.86 me- ters. Wester n Oregon will Holmberg host the G N A C Championships on Friday and Saturday. Field events begin at 2 p.m. Friday. Webb will enter the week- end ranked first in the MWC in the long jump and second in the 100 hurdles. Sayer is ranked second in the long jump and third in the triple jump. Van Well — a freshman — is second in the triple jump. Tallon will enter ranked third in the 100 and 300 hurdles. If each athlete performs up to his or her potential, expect to see the Dragons in the mix for team titles — and in a position to send a large contingent to state, in- cluding chances for a few surprises. “A dark horse in the 300 hurdles will be Jake Collins and Malakai Conella in the sprints for the boys,” Masei said. “For the girls, Harlie Mounce, Regann Gavin and Amelia Burgess.” For Dallas, the focus has been on getting athletes ready to perform at their best when it matters most. This weekend, the Dragons will get their chance to show what they’re capable of. “We’ve been keeping them fresh and sharp for this meet,” Masei said. Track: Labrado to lead Falls City Continued from Page 11A “Jeremy Labrado has nat- ural athletic ability and de- termination,” Simmons said. “The Kempfer twins have put in a lot of hard work.” The field events could be a strong point for the girls team. Sophomore Jaime Shaw is ranked second in the triple jump, and Brittney Potts is tied for second in the high jump. Simmons also expects to see strong performanc- es from Amara Houghtal- ing and Madelyn Hen- drickson. Training has been a chal- lenge with student-athletes balancing a number of school and extra curricular activities, Simmon said. But this is when all the work put in during the sea- son pays off. Simmons won’t be judg- ing how many athletes place or go state. Instead, he hopes each kid performs thier best and focus on the meet at hand. “The key for the kids to perform at their best will be having a total mindset for each event,” Simmons said. “Success to me is in the at- titude of the athlete and whether or not they felt good with their perform- ance. If it just so happens it gets them to state, then so be it.” Central: Cirino, Panthers focused on best events Continued from Page 11A The Panthers have nu- merous athletes who will be in contention for a trip to state. Isaac Burgett is ranked first in the MWC in the 400- meter run. Peter Mason is second in the long jump. Sterling Hutchinson (200) and Zach Meyer (800) are also ranked second. For the girls, Bethanie Al- tamirano is ranked first in the 400 and second in the 200. Sophia Henke is first in the high jump and triple jump. “The key to their perform- ance at district, assuming they are healthy, is mostly dealing with the mental as- pects of preparation and performance,” Cirino said. Co m p e t i t i o n w i l l b e tough, and Cirino expects each event to be hotly con- tested by several teams. “Our league is one of, if not the, top leagues in the state and it’s going to be a great meet,” he said. “We have tremendous athletes on all the teams.” No matter what an ath- lete’s ranking is, Cirino is quick to point out that any- thing can happen, and once you step onto that track, rankings count for little. “Matt Raines, Zach Meyer, Aaron Padilla, AJ Morales, Jaydon Aydelotte and Bailie Hartford are all athletes that, on paper, are not favored to make it to state or score high in their events,” Cirino said. “But all these kids are running or jumping really well right now and could surprise at district. Anything can hap- pen. We’ve had eighth- seeds win league titles.” DALLAS ROUNDUP Softball improves to 15-0 Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — The wins keep on coming for Dallas’ soft- ball team. The Dragons de- feated Crescent Valley, Cor- vallis and Silverton last week to improve to 15-0 in Mid- Willamette Conference play. Dallas opened the week with 13-3 and 19-0 wins over the Raiders on May 2. The Dragons defeated Corvallis 10-0 on May 3 and Silverton 10-5 on Friday. Olivia Nelson had eight hits against Crescent Valley. Lauren Wallace had four hits and four RBIs during the team’s first game against the Raiders. CENTRAL ROUNDUP Softball wins two of three against Rebels Itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — Cen- tral’s softball team won two of three games last week. The Panthers defeated South Albany 15-4 on May 2 and Crescent Valley 12-2 on May 3 before losing to Lebanon 6-2 on Friday. Central entered the week in third place in the Mid- Willamette Conference. The Panthers are two games be- hind Silverton for second and one game ahead of Lebanon for fourth. Central played Dallas Tuesday after press time. The Panthers play at Cor- vallis for a doubleheader Wednesday (today) at 3 p.m. Central closes out the regu- lar season with a nonleague game at home against Glad- stone Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. B A S E B A L L TA K E S T W O FROM SOUTH ALBANY: Cen- tral’s baseball team won two of three games against South Al- bany. The Panthers won 11-1 on May 2 before losing 3-1 on May 3. Central bounced back for a 14-1 win on Thursday. The Panthers close out the regular season at Lebanon Wednesday (today) and at Scappoose on Saturday for a nonleague game. With the wins, the Drag- ons clinched the MWC title. Dallas played Central Tuesday after press time. The Dragons host Lebanon Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and South Albany Friday at 4:30 p.m. before closing out the regular season with a non- league game at Tualatin on May 17. The first round of the state softball champi- onships will be held May 24. BASEBALL LOSES THREE TO CV: Dallas’ baseball team dropped three games to league-leading Crescent Valley last week. The Raiders defeated the Dragons 10-3 on May 2, 10- 0 on May 3, and 20-7 on Friday. The losses dropped Dallas’ record to 14-9 overall and 11-7 in Mid-Willamette Conference play. The Dragons entered the week tied for third with Lebanon. Dallas closes out the regular season by hosting Corvallis Wednesday (today) at 4:30 p.m. before playing at Corvallis on Friday. The Spartans entered the week in second. The top two teams in the MWC earn an automatic berth to the state tournament. The third and fourth seeds will host a play-in game on May 19. The fifth and sixth-place teams will play on the road for the play-in round. Dallas: Blair is seeded fifth Continued from Page 11A “We have to calm down and focus on every point,” Price said. “And then we have to move on to the next one because every point counts.” Caedmon Blair is seeded fifth in the singles bracket and opens play against L e b a n o n’s Ro b e r t o d e Jong. None of Dallas’ girls are seeded entering the district tournament. In singles play, Karlie Dalke will play top seeded Anna Kern, of Corvallis, in the first round. Kinzi Boer f a c e s S o u t h A l b a n y ’s Samantha Axall; Addie Gillette plays Lebanon’s Miriam Birrueta; and Molly Peffley plays South LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Zac Price and Josh Dudley hope to qualify for state. Albany’s Kambria Lucken- bach. The top four finishers in singles and doubles play advances to state. For results, visit www.polkio.com and follow the Itemizer-Observer on Twitter: @PolkIOSports. PERRYDALE ROUNDUP Tennis: Girls face a tough road ahead Baseball splits with East Linn Christian Continued from Page 11A “We have several who could do well in consolation if they play well,” girls coach Dave Eble said. “Based on the regular season, we do not have anyone in line to quali- fy for state, but there is al- ways the chance they could have a good tournament and qualify for state.” For results, follow the Itemizer on Twitter and visit www.polkio.com. Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Perry- dale’s baseball team defeat- ed Country Christian 6-4 on May 2 before splitting a dou- bleheader with East Linn Christian on Thursday. The Pirates won 11-1 before los- ing 14-4. Dustin Silver went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the first game. Perrydale also lost to Western Mennonite 9-2 n Friday. The Pirates en- tered the week 3-8 overall and 3-7 in Special District 2 play. Perrydale played St. Paul Tuesday after press time. The Pirates play at Central Linn Thursday at 4:30 p.m. before hosting Regis Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Perrydale’s softball team defeated Western Mennon- ite 17-6 on Friday. The Pi- rates play at Western Men- nonite on Friday, at Delphi- an on Monday and at Nes- tucca on Tuesday.
