Polk County
Sports
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
Baseball: Class 5A State
Playoffs, First Round: No.
11 Dallas at No. 6 Hood
River Valley, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Class 5A State
Playoffs, First Round: No.
16 Parkrose at No. 1 Dallas,
4:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, MAY 25
Track and field: West-
ern Oregon at NCAA Out-
door National Champi-
onships, TBA.
Track and field: West-
ern Oregon at NCAA Out-
door National Champi-
onships, TBA.
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 24, 2017 11A
PREP SOFTBALL
Top-ranked Dragons to host Parkrose
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dallas’ softball
team made history, but the
celebration will have to wait.
After finishing league play
with a perfect 18-0 record
for the first time in school
history, the top-ranked
Dra g o n s h o s t No. 1 6
Parkrose Wednesday (today)
at 4:30 p.m. in the first
round of the state playoffs.
FRIDAY, MAY 26
Baseball: OSAA 5A
State Playoffs, Quarterfi-
nals: TBA.
Softball: OSAA 5A State
Playoffs, Quarter finals:
TBA.
SATURDAY, MAY 27
Track and field: West-
ern Oregon at NCAA Out-
door National Champi-
onships, TBA.
TUESDAY, MAY 30
Baseball: OSAA 5A
State Playoffs, Semifinals:
TBA.
Softball: OSAA 5A State
Playoffs, Semifinals: TBA.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Polk County kids
excel at state
EUGENE — Polk County
student-athletes attend-
ing Santiam Christian
placed in multiple events
at the OSAA Track and
Field State Championships
on Thursday and Friday.
Rebeka Preston won a
state title in the 3A girls
triple jump with a mark of
37 feet, 6 inches. The mark
is a new school record.
She was also part of the 4
x 100 relay team that
placed third and the 4 x
400 relay team that fin-
ished fourth.
Ainsley Beam took third
in the girls 3,000-meter
run with a time of 14 min-
utes, 3.25 seconds and
Amanda Preston was part
of the girls 4 x 400 relay
team.
Zach Watson finished
third in the boys 800 in
2:02.29, a new school
record. August Thornton
took eighth in the 3,000
(9:27.85) and ninth in the
1,500 (4:18.27).
Cross Creek
men’s club results
DALLAS — Cross
Creek’s men’s club results
for May 16:
Low gross/net
Gross: 1 (tie), Rocky
Kygar and Jim Schroeder,
39; 3, Wayne Weathers, 40.
Net: 1, Eldon Rivers, 35;
2 (tie), Lee Gamaney, Bill
Karjala and Bob Hughes,
37; 4, Bob Bennett, 38.
“At this
point in
the season,
we are just
fine tuning
all aspects
of
the
game,”
c o a c h
Simmons
Br a n d i
Jackson said. “This team
comes out and works hard
every day and it is paying
off. I couldn’t be more proud
Class 5A State First Round
What: No. 16 Parkrose at No. 1 Dallas.
When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Dallas High School.
Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the second round
on Friday against the winner of Lebanon vs. Eagle Point.
of these girls.”
Parkrose finished 7-18
overall and 5-12 in North-
west Oregon Conference
play — but Jackson knows
regular season records mean
little at this point.
“I don’t know many de-
tails about Parkrose, but I do
know that anything can hap-
pen in the playoffs, so it will
be important for us to do
what we have all season,
which is play our game,”
Jackson said. “We need to
have quality at-bats, play
solid defense and have con-
sistency on the (pitcher’s)
mound.”
See DALLAS, Page 12A
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Champion at last
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
EUGENE — About an hour before the girls 400-meter final
at the OSAA Track and Field State Championships on Satur-
day, Central junior Bethanie Altamirano felt like she was car-
rying the weight of the world.
“I cried because I was scared,” she said.
“I was scared I wasn’t going to win. I was
scared of not beating the school record. I
was scared of losing.”
It was the kind of pressure that could de-
rail even the most talented athlete. With her
race quickly approaching, Altamirano was-
n’t going to let that happen.
“I took a walk and thought of how I was
going
to run the race,” Altamirano said. “I
Mason
thought about starting faster and remem-
bered who I was running for.”
By the time she stepped onto the track for the 400, she
looked calm and determined.
“(Coach Eli) Cirino told me not to lose the girls at the
start,” she said. “In other races, I used to think I have time to
catch them. At state, you can’t make that up.”
See STATE, Page 13A
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central sophomore Sophia Henke placed third in the girls
high jump at the state track and field meet on Saturday.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central junior Bethanie Altamirano, right, edges out Summit’s Sarah Reeves for first
place in the finals of the girls 400-meter run on Saturday.
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Pirates perform well at state
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
EUGENE — When Perrydale senior Jacob
Pope was a freshman, he wanted to play
baseball, but track and field coach Brian
Evans made a deal with him.
“He told me I’m just getting this program
going, can you come out for your first year,”
Pope said.
Initially the plan was to spend one year
doing track before returning to baseball. But
Cross Creek
women’s club
results
DALLAS — Cross
Creek’s men’s club results
for May 22:
Low net
1, Laurilee Hatcher, -4; 2
(tie), Karen Goodwin and
Vicky Heffner, -3; 4 Cheryl
Gesner, -2; 5 (tie), Sherrill
Hurt, MJ Ferrin and Juanita
Temple, -1.
Evans introduced him to the javelin, and
those plans instantly changed.
“The minute I threw it, it was a lot of fun,”
Pope said. “I knew this is what I’m doing.”
Four years later and all the hard work and
training paid off. Pope took eighth in the
javelin at the 1A track and field state cham-
pionships on Friday.
“It was really special,” Pope said. “I’ve al-
ways wanted to be out on this field. It’s
memorable and I’ll cherish this memory.”
See PIRATES, Page 13A
STAT SHEET
0
The number of times
a softball team from
Dallas has gone un-
defeated in league
play prior to this spring, ac-
cording to athletic director
Tim Larson. Dallas’ softball
team finished 18-0 in league
play and is ranked No. 1 in
the state.
20
The number of
games in a row
Dallas’ softball
team has won
entering the state playoffs.
The Dragons’ last loss came
against Grants Pass, a 6A
school, on March 28. Dallas
lost that game 14-3.
www.polkio.com
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Perrydale’s Jacob Pope prepares to throw on Friday.
Perrydale thrower Abigail Bibler finished 10th in the shot put on Friday.
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