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.