Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 17, 2017
Panthers: Altamirano wins 200-, 400-meter races
Continued from Page 10A
Coaches convinced her
to give the high jump a
shot — despite her strug-
gling with the event as a
freshman.
“I wanted to focus on
triple jump because last sea-
son wasn’t a great season for
me in the high jump,” Henke
said. “Coaches pushed me to
do high jump, too.”
Turns out that was a good
call.
Henke won a district title
in the high jump with a
mark of 5 feet, 1 inch.
“I was really nervous, but
I love districts,” Henke said.
“Watching all the girls com-
pete on Friday, I kept think-
ing, ‘I’m ready.’ On Saturday,
it was all about not over-
thinking, because if you do,
you’re not going to perform
at your best.”
The mark was a new per-
sonal record for Henke. As a
reward, Henke is headed to
state for the first time.
The full scope of her ac-
complishment hasn’t set in
yet, but she’s excited to see
what will happen.
“I keep thinking about
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Sophia Henke won the girls high jump on Saturday.
what that means because it’s
completely new to me,”
Henke said. “I think it’s a re-
ally neat opportunity, and I
want to thank my coaches
for helping me. It’s crazy.”
—
Moments after junior
Bethanie Altamirano won
the girls 200-meter run
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Bethanie Altamirano won the 200- and 400-meter runs.
(26.49 seconds), there were
tears in her eyes. Despite
also winning the 400 (59.78)
earlier that day, Altamirano
figured the 200 would be out
of reach.
“I did not expect to win,”
she said. “I thought I was
going to get second (in the
200). I think I need to have
confidence with myself, but
I had a huge smile on my
face. It was crazy.”
Now, Altamirano is head-
ed back to Eugene.
“It’s just as exciting,” she
said. “It feels like it’s new
and like I’ve never done this
before.”
But Altramirano has been
there before and has her
sights set on competing for a
state title, especially in the
400. Her biggest hurdle has
little to do with her abilities.
“I need to be more confi-
dent with myself,” she said.
“Last year at state, I thought
there’s no way I can beat all
these girls. I need to work on
that.”
—
Burgett qualified for state
in the 400, placing second in
the 400 (51.57). Mason took
second in the long jump (21-
1¾). The boys 4 x 400 relay
team of Hutchinson, Josh
Dickson, Zach Meyer and
Burgett placed second
(3:29.10). Jaydon Aydelotte
earned a wild card berth in
the 110 hurdles.
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Falls City heads to state in four events
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
PORTLAND — Falls City
track and field coach Ronnie
Simmons made a change
with the girls 4 x 100-meter
relay team.
The lineup remained the
same, but the handoffs be-
tween Amara Houghtaling,
Natalie Batie, Brittney Potts
and Madelyn Hendrickson,
was tweaked with only
weeks left before districts.
“What was funny is that
the girls went along with the
new handoff and apparently
didn’t think it was late in the
season to switch things up,”
CLASS 1A TRACK AND FIELD STATE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Falls City qualifiers: BOYS — 4 x 100-meter relay (Jeremy
Labrado, Nathan Kempfer, Charlie Gilson, Austin Burgess,
seeded 12th); Jeremy Labrado, jr., long jump (seeded 12th).
GIRLS — 4 x 100-meter relay (Amara Houghtaling, Natalie
Batie, Brittney Potts, Madelyn Hendrickson, seeded seventh);
Jaime Shaw, soph., triple jump (seeded eighth).
Simmons said. “Well, the
proof is in the pudding.”
The relay team took first
at the Special District 1 dis-
trict championships on Sat-
urday, finishing with a time
of 54.85 seconds.
The boys 4 x 100 relay
team of Jeremy Labrado,
Nathan Kempfer, Charlie
Gilson and Austin Burgess
placed second (47.73).
“I always felt we had the
right lineups,” Simmons
said. “The biggest issue was
getting the time to work to-
gether as a
team.”
Labrado
also quali-
fied for
state in the
triple jump
with a leap
of 36 feet,
Labrado
10½ inches
and Jaime Shaw earned a trip
to state after taking second in
the girls triple jump (31-4).
“For both Jeremy and
Jaime the reason for their
personal success is obvious-
ly their natural athletic abili-
ties and also how much time
they put into mastering their
craft,” Simmons said.
PREP BASEBALL
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Amara Houghtaling helped the girls 4 x 100-meter relay
team qualify for sate.
PREP SOFTBALL
Panthers draw Marist
Central to host Churchill
Catholic in play-in game in state play-in round
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s baseball team hopes a
strong end to the regular
season leads to success in
the postseason. The Pan-
thers entered the week win-
ners of five of its last six
games and will host Marist
Catholic in a state play-in
game Friday at 4:30 p.m.
“We have played very well
the last three weeks, espe-
cially offensively,” coach
Reed Rainey said. “We are
playing with a lot of confi-
dence and spirit right now.”
Pitching and defense had
always been a strength, but
the offense is beginning to
catch up, Rainey said.
That makes the Panthers a
dangerous, complete team
entering the postseason.
Marist Catholic has had
an up-and-down season and
enters with a 13-13 record
overall, but does boast a win
over Crater, ranked second
in the state by the OSAA.
“Marist is a good team
that plays all three phases of
the game well,” Rainey said.
“They play in a very compet-
itive conference, so they will
be well seasoned and have
experience against good
teams. This will be a very
tough game.”
The winner advances to
the first round of the state
playoffs on May 24.
“If we continue to swing
the bats well, we will be a
tough team for anyone to
play,” Rainey said. “I’m very
proud of the kids. They’ve
worked hard and deserve
this. The community sup-
port has been outstanding
as well.”
STATE PLAY-IN GAME
What: Marist Catholic (13-13 overall, 9-12 Midwestern
League, sixth place) vs. Central (16-8 overall, 13-8 Mid-
Willamette Conference, third place).
When: Friday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Central High School.
Admission: Adults, $6; students $4.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the first round of
the state playoffs on May 24. The loser is eliminated.
Giving Their All
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
I N D E PE N D E N C E —
Central’s softball team will
host Churchill in the state
play-in round on Friday.
The Panthers finished
league play with an 11-4
record, finishing in
fourth.
Central won its final
league games against Cor-
vallis 6-2 and 18-4 on May
10.
The Panthers lost to
Dallas 14-4 on May 9.
Churchill finished 10-14
overall and 8-10 in Mid-
western League play, tak-
ing fifth in the league
standings.
The winner will advance
to the first round of the
state playoffs on May 24.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central lost to Dallas 14-4 on May 9 before defeating
Corvallis 6-2 and 18-4 on May 10.
Returning a Shot
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Molly Peffley attempts to return a shot during the Mid-Willamette Conference
District Tennis Championships on Thursday. The Dragons’ boys and girls tennis
teams competed in Corvallis. “They played tough and we had several make it into the
second day of the tournament, which is a huge accomplishment,” girls coach Julie
Hertel said. Dallas’ teams did not have anyone advance to state.
Central’s Hassan Eltelbany returns a shot at the Mid-Willamette Conference District
tennis championships on Thursday. The Panthers’ boys and girls teams competed
in Corvallis. “All of us wish it wasn’t over so soon,” boys coach Patty Youngren said.
“But many returning players looked great on the court.” Neither team had any
player advance to state.