Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 17, 2018 10A
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, JAN. 18
Boys basketball: Falls
City at Oregon School for
the Deaf, 7:30 p.m. Living-
stone Adventist at Perry-
dale, 7:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: Falls
City at Oregon School for
the Deaf, 6 p.m. Livingstone
Adventist at Perrydale, 6
p.m.
Men’s basketball: Cen-
tral Washington at Western
Oregon, 7:30 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Montana State, Billings at
Western Oregon, 5:15 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at Sil-
verton, TBA. Crescent Valley
at Dallas, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 19
Boys basketball: Corval-
lis at Central, 7 p.m. Dallas
at Lebanon, 7 p.m. Falls City
at Regis, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Central
at Corvallis, 7 p.m. Lebanon
at Dallas, 7 p.m. Falls City at
Regis, 5:30 p.m.
Swimming: Dallas at
Taft, 3:15 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at
Gary Seaney Duals, 2 p.m.
Dallas at Reser’s Tourna-
ment of Champions (at
Liberty High School), 11
a.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 20
M e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l :
Northwest Nazarene at
Western Oregon, 4 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at
Central Duals, noon. Dallas
at Reser’s Tournament of
Champions (at Liberty High
School), TBA.
TUESDAY, JAN. 23
Boys basketball: Central
at Dallas, 7 p.m. Falls City at
C.S. Lewis, 7 p.m. Perrydale
at Willamette Valley Chris-
tian, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Falls
City at C.S. Lewis, 5:30 p.m.
Perrydale at Willamette Val-
ley Christian, 6 p.m.
Swimming: Central at
Silverton, 4 p.m. Dallas at
South Albany, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24
Girls basketball: Central
at Dallas, 7 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Cross Creek to
host tournament
DALLAS — Registration
is open for the 15th Annual
Brockway Memorial Tour-
nament at Cross Creek Golf
Course.
The 18-hole tournament
will be held on Feb. 10 at 9
a.m.
Cost is $45 and includes
green fees, hole prizes and
tee prizes.
A player does not need
a handicap in order to
compete, and the field is
open to men’s, women’s
and mixed teams.
The tournament is dedi-
cated to the memory of
Marius “Brock” Brockway,
who died in 2013.
A portion of the entry
fees will be donated to
OGA Junior Tournaments
held each year at Cross
Creek.
To sign up or for more
information: 503-623-6666.
Registration and pay-
ment are due by Feb. 7.
Youth wrestlers
compete in Salem
S A L E M — Yo u t h
wrestlers competed in the
North Salem Vikings tour-
nament on Saturday.
Easton Herbert, Sawyer
Herbert, Lilli Alvarez and
Grady Lewis placed first.
Roddy Alvarez finished
second. Casey Humphreys
took third, and Derek Rob-
bins, Issac McBride, Tyanna
H. and Diego Pena finished
fourth.
Nicolas Thomas took
first at the Pleasant Hill
tournament on Saturday.
The Talmadge Middle
School wrestling team
competed against Wood-
burn and Silverton.
Trevyn Lilly led the
Cougars with three wins by
pin. Liam Seivers, Cameron
Pearson and Jordy Cisneros
went 2-1.
Joey Pearson missed the
tournament due to injury,
but will compete at the
Oregon Middle School try-
outs in February.
www.polkio.com
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas guard Evan Courtney (3) attempts to corral a loose ball against Crescent Valley on Friday night.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Dragons seek consistency
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The first two
games in Mid-Willamette
Conference play revealed a
stark reality for Dallas’ boys
basketball team.
When things are clicking,
the Dragons can compete
with anyone in the league.
When things go awry, Dal-
las must find ways to keep
themselves in games.
—
On Jan. 9, the Dragons de-
feated Corvallis 53-49 in
overtime.
“We played with a lot of
hustle,” guard Evan Courtney
said. “We wanted to play de-
fense. We came ready to
play.”
With the game tied at 49,
Dallas shut out the Spartans
in overtime as the Dragons
opened league play on a
high note.
“It was huge,” coach Trent
Schwartz said. “To win a
close game like that, it was
good to see them step up
and win.”
Any good vibes were short
lived. On Friday, Dallas lost
to Crescent Valley 62-33.
“We fell into some old
habits of trying to force the
issue when things got
tough,” Schwartz said.
The Dragons struggled to
make shots early and com-
mitted 21 turnovers during
the loss. Those turnovers led
to easy baskets for the
Raiders.
“When shots aren’t falling,
playing good defense, taking
care of the basketball and
hustling can mitigate some
of that poor shooting,”
Schwartz said. “We didn’t do
that. Our defense went
downhill in the second half,
particularly our post de-
fense.”
By the time the second
half began, the game had
long been decided.
“The air kind of came out
of us,” Courtney said.
Finding ways to stay in
games — and not letting
frustration get the best of
them — has been an ongoing
battle.
“We’ve got to ride out the
storm when shots aren’t
going in,” Schwartz said.
“That’s our biggest issue.
Emotionally, we start to get
down, and that brings other
parts of our game down that
don’t have to be linked to
that. That’s the consistency
I’d like to see, the maturity to
say, we didn’t score but let’s
get a stop here on defense
and get a better shot.”
Courtney will play a
major role in the Dragons’
ability to find consistency —
especially on defense.
“I have a goal to be a
l o c k d ow n d e f e n d e r,”
Courtney said.
That requires more than
being ready for the physical
challenges. It’s about know-
ing the tendencies of his op-
ponents.
“I think it’s a mental
thing,” Courtney said. “You
tell yourself to be aggressive
and not lay back. Don’t let
your guy get easy shots, and
know where he is at all
times. I study up on him,
what he does well and take
that away from him.”
Courtney has also showed
his potential on offense, in-
cluding scoring 21 points
against Pendleton on Jan. 2.
See DRAGONS, Page 11A
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Chavez, Panthers off to strong start
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — The
2016-17 season was an up-
and-down ride for Central’s
girls basketball team.
“We struggled a lot last
year,” junior guard Elizabeth
Chavez said. “We had a lot of
close games that we weren’t
able to pull out.”
Seven of the team’s losses
came by fewer than 10
points.
The Panthers entered the
2017-18 season more fo-
cused, experienced and
ready to close games strong-
ly.
It’s paid off so far.
Central finished non-
league play 9-1 and defeated
Lebanon and Woodburn to
open Mid-Willamette Con-
ference play.
All of the team’s wins, ex-
cept for one, have been by
11 or more points.
Chavez has been a big
reason for the Panthers’ suc-
cess.
“Elizabeth has been lead-
ing our team so far,” coach
Julie McDonald said. “… She
is not only a fierce competi-
tor; her work ethic is amaz-
ing.”
Chavez is shooting above
55 percent from the field
and 40 percent from beyond
the arc, and averages four
assists and three steals per
game.
“She is the spark that can
go coast-to-coast, lay it in
and be the first one back on
defense and steal the ball for
another bucket,” McDonald
said.
Chavez’s performance has
been a stark contrast to the
2016-17 season.
Though she was produc-
tive, she lacked the confi-
dence to take over a game.
“Last year was kind of
rough for me,” Chavez said.
“I wasn’t confident in myself
like how my teammates and
coaches were in me. This
year, they’ve helped me step
up. It’s go time.”
This year, she’s part of
what makes Central go.
“Energy and intensity are
both contagious, and Eliza-
beth knows how to get the
team going,” McDonald
said.
From Chavez to guard
Megan Mendazona to for-
ward Annika Riddell, the
Panthers have no shortage
of weapons, and they are
ready for whatever situation
comes their way.
See PANTHERS, Page 11A
COURTESY OF THE WOODBURN INDEPENDENT
Central guard Elizabeth Chavez battles for position
against Woodburn on Friday night.
PREP SWIMMING
Garrison revels in chance to return to the water
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Hans Garrison practices the freestyle on Thursday.
DALLAS — When fresh-
man Hans Garrison joined
Dallas’ swim team, it was a
moment he had waited
years for.
“I haven’t gotten to swim
since fourth grade when I
was in Maryland until this
year,” he said. “When we
moved here, we couldn’t join
the aquatic center. I missed
swimming, the enjoyment of
it.”
The swim team provided
Harrison an avenue to get
back to what he loved.
Almost immediately, he
was reminded why he loves
the water.
“It’s like you’re in absolute
zero gravity,” Harrison said.
“It has this airy feeling to it,
like you’re floating.”
Garrison has seen steady
improvement in the 50- and
100-yard freestyle races.
Most recently, Garrison
finished the 100 freestyle in
1 minute, 14.77 seconds at
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Philomath on Jan. 5.
It was a step in the right
direction as Garrison looks
to recapture his old speeds.
“I really want to get back
to the speed I was at,” Garri-
son said. “I want to get
under half a minute for the
50 freestyle and under a
minute in the freestyle.”
Competitive swimming
has challenged Garrison in
new ways. Before, he swam
mostly for fun and relax-
ation.
See DALLAS, Page 11A
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