Polk County Sports
16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 4, 2017
Knudson, cross-country team, keep eye on the prize
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — When Dallas
junior Orion Knudson joined
the cross-country team as a
sophomore, he wasn’t exactly
a distance runner.
“When I started a long
run was about six to seven
miles and I would complain
about that,” he said.
Prior to that, football was
his sport of choice in the fall,
but relentless recruiting by
runners caused him to cave
in and join.
“Everyone was telling me
how fun it was and it would
get me into shape,” Knud-
son said.
Thanks to football, Knud-
son was used to pushing his
body to his physical limits,
but running presented a dif-
ferent kind of challenge.
“It was a lot more mental-
ly challenging,” Knudson
said. “I was surprised with
just how much running I’d
the Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence Preview Meet on Sept.
20, one of four Dragon run-
ners in the top 20, helping
Dallas to a second-place fin-
ish in the team standings
behind Crescent Valley.
“We looked at everyone
else’s times, see how much
other teams have improved
and how we have im-
proved,” Knudson said.
Along with Trevor Cross,
Toby Ruston, Gavin Grass
and Dillon Stuhr, Ryan Jones
Cross-country
• Dallas’ cross-country squad competed at the Nike XC Invi-
tational on Saturday in Portland.
• The Dragons will compete at the Harrier Classic Saturday at
Bryant Park in Albany.
• Varsity races begin at 12:40 p.m.
• Dallas’ boys team took second at the Mid-Willamette Con-
ference preview meet in September. Trevor Cross placed third.
wind up doing. It’s a lot of
running.”
These days, Knudson
considers a long run around
11 miles, and the junior is a
key part of Dallas’ varsity
group.
Knudson placed 20th at
and Daniel Gagner, the
Dragons’ varsity runners are
focused on one thing.
“I feel like we can go to
state this year,” Ruston said.
Dallas will compete at the
Harrier Classic on Saturday
as runners begin a final
push toward what they hope
ends with a trip to state.
“We are looking at which
runners (from our league)
we want to pass and how we
can go higher in the rank-
ings,” Knudson said.
The Dallas
Booster
Club kicked
off its turf
field project
on Friday
night.
FALLS CITY ROUNDUP
Volleyball loses two
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FALLS CITY — Falls City’s
volleyball squad lost a pair
of league matches last week.
The Mountaineers fell to
Perrydale 25-14, 25-16, 25-
14 on Sept. 16 and to
Crosshill Christian 25-14,
25-8, 25-10 on Thursday.
Falls City (4-8 overall, 2-6
Casco League) played Liv-
ingstone Adventist Tuesday
after press time.
The Mountaineers play at
C.S. Lewis Thursday at 6
p.m. before hosting
Willamette Valley Christian
Tuesday at 6 p.m.
FOOTBALL WINS BY FOR-
FEIT: Falls City’s football team
won its Homecoming game
without having to step onto
the field.
Alsea forfeited the game
due to a lack of players.
The Mountaineers play at
Horizon Christian Friday at 7
p.m. in a nonleague matchup.
Volleyball
Continued from Page 14A
“Krista is a great player,” coach Claudine
Mendazona said. “She leads with her tal-
ent on the court. The girls look to her to
get points for us. She takes 70 percent of
our sets. She’s quiet, but focused on her
play.”
Omlid, who plans to play volleyball in col-
lege, sees the seeds of a great team in the
Panthers.
Despite injuries and lineup changes, Cen-
tral has found itself in competitive matches
through much of league play, but came up
just short in finding victories.
“We do have a great team dynamic,”
Omlid said. “It’s about staying healthy and
knowing your job. It’s about knowing the
players on the other side, where they like to
serve, where they will hit, or which players
will try and tip at you.”
Chavez has also played an integral part for
the Panthers.
Chavez has been a varsity volleyball play-
er since her freshman season.
Now, as an upperclassman, Chavez has
developed from quiet newcomer to a vocal
leader.
“We talked to her about that,” Mendazona
said. “We need her to step up and be a leader
on the court, be vocal and be positive. She’s
a great kid and works her tail off. She can
handle pressure and she might not be used
to this role, but she’ll grow into it.”
It’s taken some adjustment, but Chavez is
embracing her role.
“I’ve worked on communicating more,
motivating my teammates when they are
down,” Chavez said. “I’m getting there.”
—
The Panthers entered the week in a tie for
sixth place with South Albany. The top six
teams advance to the postseason.
“I think keeping positive is important for
us,” Chavez said. “We realize we have room
to grow, and it’s about wanting to put in
more work during practices.”
Finding ways to close out matches re-
mains elusive, but Mendazona believes the
Panthers are close to cracking the code.
“We’ve been ahead in sets by seven or
eight points and needed four more to win
and couldn’t hold onto that lead,” Menda-
zona said. “… We have to come together
and play with heart. We need to bring
their passion back and show it on the
court.”
LUKAS
EGGEN/Item-
izer-Observer
Turf
Continued from Page 14A
Fundraising efforts were
already underway, but Fri-
day marked the official be-
ginning for the campaign.
Donations, large or small,
are helpful, McNutt said.
There is also a bottle drive
ongoing.
Bottles can be dropped
off to multiple locations,
which can be found at
www.boosters.dhsfieldof-
dreams.org/.
Blue bottle drop bags can
be obtained by calling Clau-
dia Drill, 503-949-9368,
Kathy Voves, 503-559-1676,
or Stephanie Earhart, 503-
999-1383.
For more information
about the turf field project:
www.boosters.dhsfieldof-
dreams.org.
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
Volleyball sweeps Mountaineers
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FALLS CITY — Perry-
dale’s volleyball team de-
feated Falls City and Living-
stone Adventist in straight
sets last week.
The Pirates downed the
Mountaineers 25-14, 25-16,
25-14 on Sept. 26 before de-
feating Livingstone Adven-
tist 25-2, 25-5, 25-13 on
Thursday.
“We had a great match
against Falls City,” coach
Denise Dickey said. “I feel
they are much improved
since the last time we
played them. My team is
working on being consis-
tent and our communica-
tion. I have changed my
defense around with the
hope of opening up some
more offense. I am looking
forward to some more
matches to see if it pays
off.”
Perrydale also defeated
Jewell 25-12, 25-13, 25-7 on
Monday.
T h e P i ra t e s p l a y a t
Willamette Valley Christian
Thursday at 6:15 p.m.
Perrydale plays at C.S.
Lewis Monday at 6 p.m. be-
fore hosting C.S. Lewis
Tuesday at 6 p.m.
PIRATES FALL TO DUFUR:
Perrydale’s football team lost
to Dufur 58-22 on Friday.
The Pirates trailed 44-0 at
the half. Statistics were not
available as of press time.
Perrydale plays at South
Wasco County Friday at 7
p.m.