Polk County Sports
14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 7, 2017
Dragons: Dallas returns nearly all players in 2018
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas pitcher Kaelynn Simmons throws against Marist
Catholic on Saturday afternoon.
Continued from Page 13A
Kaelynn Simmons and
Lauren Wallace each had
two hits.
Classen finished the game
with three RBIs. Dallas tal-
lied seven total hits.
“It was definitely nerve
wracking, but we remem-
bered it was just another
game,” Classen said. “We
knew that no matter what,
we had a successful season.”
It wasn’t the fairy tale end-
ing players envisioned, but it
was a landmark season
nonetheless.
The Dragons finished the
season with a 25-5 record
overall — including an 18-0
mark in Mid-Willamette
Conference play — and
earned the No. 1 seed in the
state playoffs.
Dallas dispatched Silver-
ton 10-2 in the semifinals on
May 30 to advance to the
title game. Nelson had three
hits and one RBI, and Sim-
mons had two hits and three
RBIs against the Silver Foxes.
“It was amazing,” senior
Ashlee Lichtenberger said
after the win over Silverton.
“It feels like a dream.”
Saturday marked the first
time the softball program
advanced to a state title
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas players receive their second-place medals on Saturday.
game in school history.
“This is all you can hope
for throughout your high
school career,” Nelson, a
senior, said.
The Dragons could be a
major threat at state for the
next few years. Dallas loses
two seniors to graduation.
With nearly the entire team
intact — including Sim-
mons, the MWC’s Player of
the Year — there is hope that
this isn’t the end of a journey
but rather the beginning of
one.
“Making it this far for the
first time can be a little in-
timidating,” Jackson said.
“We had awesome support.
We had all those fans in the
stands. You can only hope
that with all our under-
classmen, we can get here
again and be a little more
relaxed next time. It shows
that anything is possible
whether you’re from a
small town or not. This
gives us a new name, you
could say. It shows what
can come from showing
heart and working hard
every single day, and gives
us something to work to-
ward every single year.”
Hess: Has coached multiple sports at Dallas High
Continued from Page 13A
He’s clearly expanded his
coaching horizons — and
along the way the chance to
help students grow as ath-
letes and as people in gener-
al — became just as, if not
more, meaningful than the
wins and losses.
Hess’ coaching career
began when someone took
a chance on him. And
though he was honored as
Assistant Coach of the Year,
he hopes his greatest lega-
cy will be helping to inspire
future generations of
coaches.
“Get involved with the
youth programs,” Hess said.
“Find out if this is some-
thing that you want to do.
Put yourself in a position
where you can do as much
as you can to get a taste of it.
Greg gave me the opportu-
nity to coach high school
and putting the care into the
other coach and myself
meant a lot. It made me
grow up considerablely and
changed how I worked with
people. You have to be a lis-
tener and follower at first
and willing to take a
chance.”
PREP BASEBALL
Central, Dallas players named all-league
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Six Central
baseball players and five Dallas
players received Mid-
Wi l l a m e t t e Co n f e re n c e a l l -
league honors.
Central’s Humberto Alarcon
(pitcher), Jackson Holstad (out-
field), Luis Amador (utility) and
Peter Mendazona (infield) earned
Holstad
first team recog-
nition.
Josh
Ro-
driguez (pitch-
er) was named
to the second
team and Emil-
iano Alarcon
(catcher) re-
ceived honor-
Amador
IMAGINE OUR
able mention.
Holstad was
also voted first
team all-state,
while Humberto
Alarcon and
Amador earned
honorable men-
tions.
Dallas’ Tanner
Earhart (outfield)
and Treve Earhart
(catcher) earned
first team all-
league honors.
Jaret Stewart
(pitcher) and Eric
Kessler (infield)
received second
team all-MWC
Earhart
recognition and
Clay Coxen (in-
field) earned
honorable men-
tion.
Ta n n e r a n d
Tre v e E a r h a r t
were also named
second team all-
state.
Coxen
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LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas softball coach Brandi Jackson talks with Ashlee Lichtenberger during the
Dragons 10-2 victory over Silverton on May 30. The Dragons advanced to the 5A
state softball championship game for the first time in program history before falling
to Marist Catholic 12-7.
Solution on Page 6A
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