Polk County
Sports
QUICK HITS
Cross Creek
women’s club
results
DALLAS — Cross Creek
Women’s Club results for
July 17.
Nine holes: 1, Nancy Rice,
2 (tie), Meri McLeod and
Vera Flaming; 4 (tie), Suzy
Deschler and Loretta Bish-
op.
Eighteen holes: 1, Loretta
Bishop; 2, Laurilee Hatcher;
3, Connie King.
Cross Creek
men’s club results
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 26, 2017 12A
Kids’ triathlon out to entertain, energize
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — If there’s an
event that provides the thrill
of competition for the young
ones — and provides the
staff and spectators the joy
of watching it unfold — it
would be the Kids’ Triathlon.
“It’s usually pretty fun,”
Dallas Aquatic Center’s
Gretchen Noll said. “I know
the (pool) staff is always ex-
cited to host the little ones.”
This year’s event will be
held on Friday starting at 10
a.m.
Give it a Tri
What: Summerfest Kids’ Triathlon.
When: Friday, 10 a.m. Check-in starts at 9:45 a.m.
Where: Dallas Aquatic Center and Roger Jordan Community
Park, on Southwest LaCreole Drive, in Dallas.
Age-group triathlon distance: Ages 5-6 — 25-yard swim,
165-yard bicycle, 75-yard run. Ages 7-8 — 25-yard swim, 280-yard
bicycle, 175-yard run. Ages 9-10 — 50-yard swim, 545-yard bicy-
cle, 300-yard run. Ages 11-12 — 100-yard swim, 1,090-yard bicy-
cle, 600-yard run.
Cost: $20 for DAC members; $25 for nonmembers.
For more information: Dallas Aquatic Center, 503-623-9715.
Participants will be broken
down into age groups (5-6, 7-
8, 9-10 and 11-12). Swim-
ming, biking and running
distances vary by age group.
See TRI, Page 13A
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
The kids’ triathlon takes place Friday at 10 a.m. at the Dal-
las Aquatic Center.
DALLAS — Cross Creek’s
men’s club results for July
18:
Low gross/low net
Gross: 1, Kevin Birch, 37;
2, Lee Taylor, 39; 3 (tie), Bill
Karjala and Mike Puentes,
40.
Net: 1, Al Fahlman, 32; 2
(tie), Kevin Ross, John Hop-
kins and John Mangini, 33;
5 (tie), Vern Smith and Jim
Cain, 34; 7 (tie), Derrill
Weaver, Jason Fahlman,
Larry Hatcher and Don
Seth, 35.
Registration open
for eclipse disc golf
DALLAS — Registration
is open for a disc golf tour-
nament at Dallas City Park
on Aug. 19.
The 18-hole tournament
will run from 10 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Cost is $10, and the first
25 players receive a free gift
bag.
There will also be family
activities, including corn
hole, jenga and volleyball.
Concessions will be avail-
able.
Online registration is
available at www.dallasor-
rec.com.
For more information:
dallasorrec@gmail.com.
WOU women’s
basketball earns
academic honor
MONMOUTH — West-
ern Oregon’s women’s bas-
ketball team was named
to the Women’s Basketball
Co a c h e s As s o c i at i o n’s
2016-17 Academic Top 25
honor roll.
The Wolves recorded a
team grade point average
of 3.539, the top mark in
the Great Northwest Ath-
l e t i c C o n fe r e n c e a n d
ranked 21st in the NCAA
Division II.
WOU tied for fourth
among all conference
women’s program during
the 2016-17 school year.
Dallas barbershop
holding swim
team fundraiser
DALLAS — Dallas City
Barbershop will hold a raf-
fle for a cedar ice chest
with a custom plaque fea-
turing the Dallas Dragons
emblem on Tuesday morn-
ing.
Tickets cost $3 or five for
$10. If you get a haircut, you
also receive one free entry.
All money raised will go
to the Dallas High School
swim program.
Central baseball
team wins state
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s baseball team won a
state title in the Junior
Baseball Organization’s
Midget American level after
going 4-0 at the state tour-
nament July 13-16.
Central finished the sea-
son 24-2 overall.
Central’s players includ-
ed: Joe Mendoza Jr., Truman
Swartzfager, Tylan Broadus,
J.T. Girod, Jace O’Malley,
Josh Rech, Owen Baker, Ja-
coby Carrillo, Ryan Perkins,
Santi Alarcon, Mo Garcia
and Willie Valdez.
Coaches were Rob
Perkins, Don Rech, Tony
Baker, Mark Girod and Jake
Carrillo.
To view a team photo,
visit www.polkio.com.
www.polkio.com
Chasing his
dream
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND PICKLES/Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon junior Koty Fallon was named the Great West League’s Player of the Week.
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
PORTLAND — There’s a
motto that Western Ore-
gon’s baseball coaches
teach their players: This
pitch.
“We play each pitch like
it’s the last pitch we’re ever
going to play,” junior Koty
Fallon said. “We have to
give 150 percent. Don’t look
ahead. Don’t focus on any-
thing else but this pitch.”
Fallon is taking that
motto to heart and hopes
that it will one day lead
him all the way to the big
leagues.
—
Some kids grow up idol-
izing athletes. They dream
of being
t h e s t a r,
winning a
title and
celebrat-
ing with
fans and
t e a m -
mates.
Fallon
Fallon
has dreams of playing pro-
fessional baseball.
But it wasn’t a star ath-
lete that inspired him.
Fallon’s father, Jeff, has
served as a scout for the
Chicago Cubs and Los An-
geles Angels of Anaheim
for the past decade.
“I’ve been around the
professional baseball at-
mosphere about my whole
life,” Fallon said. “The pas-
sion I saw in my dad, it
couldn’t help but rub off on
me and my younger broth-
ers.”
That meant getting to go
on scouting trips and an
insider’s view of how a
piece of the Major League
Baseball operation is run.
Baseball wasn’t just a
shared hobby; it was their
lives and literally helped
pay the bills.
Along the way, Fallon be-
came passionate — if not
obsessed — with the sport.
“(My passion) is honest-
ly the same that (my dad)
has,” Fallon said. “I lose
sleep at night thinking
about how badly I want to
make it.”
He knows it will be a
long road, but he doesn’t
shy away from that.
“Looking at the big pic-
ture, it’s almost too over-
whelming,” he said. “You
take it step by step and you
think only of ‘this pitch.’
Whether that ‘pitch’ is hit-
ting the gym and giving 150
percent and not worrying
about what I have to eat
later or if I have to hit later.
That definitely helps.”
Fallon appears to be
headed on the right track. As
a sophomore, he showed de-
velopment and had 16 hits
and 10 RBIs in 58 at-bats.
This summer, he’s play-
ing for the Portland Pickles
in the Great West League, a
summer collegiate wood
bat league.
Fallon was named the
league’s Player of the Week
after going 10-for-19 with
two home runs and 15
RBIs, including nine RBIs
against Yuba City on July
16.
“I’ve learned to slow it
down, especially at the
plate,” Fallon said. “You
have to take your time. We
play almost every day, com-
pared to college when we
play one doubleheader on
Saturday and one double-
header on Sunday. I think
we have, like, five days off in
the (Great West League)
season. Getting used to that
grind and finding the right
balance of resting and con-
tinuing to work out is key.”
See FALLON, Page 13A
Dirtbags
Booster Club ready to send
head
to
Summerfest on a hunt for clues
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The Dallas Booster Club
has long played a major role during
Summerfest. The club is bringing
something new to the festivities on Sat-
urday.
“We wanted to do something a little
different,” organizer Trenda Locke said.
In past years, the club has put on a
fun run. This time around, they’re
sending people out on an adventure to
gather clues about Dallas.
“I have a friend who has done a scav-
enger hunt, and she helped me come
up with the route and the activities,”
Locke said. “We decided to give it a
shot.”
The scavenger hunt will begin Satur-
day at 5 p.m., when teams of up to six
members gather at the main entrance
of the Academy Building.
From there, teams will receive clues
via text message to various locations
around Dallas.
Teams must provide a phone num-
ber that clues will be texted to.
Some clues will be straight-for-
ward, while others will require some
quick thinking and detective skills,
On the hunt
What: SummerQuest Scavenger
Hunt.
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: Academy Building parking
lot.
Cost: $25 adults; $10 children (12
and younger).
Registration: Available day of.
Locke said.
“They are all things that you could
easily come up with if you wanted to
Google it or ask people in the commu-
nity,” Locke said.
The only rule is you must run or walk
to each destination.
“There’s no particular route you have
to follow,” Locke said. “Teams will have
10 things to do: Some of them, you
have to take a picture there, others you
have to collect something. Distances
will vary depending on what order you
solve the clues.”
There will be an award given to the
team that finishes first — as well as spe-
cial awards.
“The other awards will be unique,”
Locke said.
Upon finishing, each participant can
enjoy a concert by Erotic City at 7 p.m.
as part of the Summerfest closing cele-
bration. Each team member receives a
drink ticket for a beer, cider or root beer.
“We wanted to create something that
encouraged people to get out and
move,” Locke said. “At the same time,
we wanted it to be a little bit of a chal-
lenge and have a social aspect with the
concert afterwards, enjoying a drink
and just getting people out and enjoy-
ing themselves.”
Locke said this will serve as a test to
see how receptive the community will
be to the scavenger hunt.
“Because (the fun run and scavenger
hunt) are on opposite ends of the day
and draw different types of people, if
we did have enough people, we could
do both,” Locke said. “But we are just
trying to figure out what and how we
can do things for the community.”
The cost is $25 for team members 12
and older and $10 for members 11 and
younger. Day of registration will be
available.
“Part of the fun run was how we were
able to get people going through our
town,” Locke said. “This will do the
same kind of thing and give people
some recreational fun to enjoy.”
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
state
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — The De-
marini Dirtbags are headed
back to the American Legion
state tournament in Klamath
Falls on Wednesday (today).
T h e y ’r e
ready to
settle some
unfinished
business.
“We’re all
trying to
win it,”
Central
graduate
Holstad
Jackson
Holstad said. “The coaching
staff, the players, we all have
the mindset going in of win-
ning the whole thing.”
The Dirtbags advanced to
day four of the state tourna-
ment in 2016, before being
eliminated.
See STATE, Page 13A
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports