Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 17, 2018 11A
Turf check
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Men’s basketball extends win streak
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SEAT TLE — Wester n
Oregon University’s men’s
basketball team extended
its win streak to eight after
defeating Saint Martin's
79-71 on Thursday and
Seattle Pacific 83-79 on Sat-
urday.
W O U
built a lead
as big as 17
in the first
h a l f
against
Saint Mar-
t i n ' s ,
thanks to a
Omlid
19-2 run,
before holding off the Saints
in the second half.
Tanner Omlid had a
game-high 19 points to go
along with six rebounds, two
blocks and two steals.
The Wolves built an 11-
point lead at the half against
Seattle Pacific before having
to hold off a furious rally by
the Falcons.
Omlid had 20 points and
nine rebounds, while Vince
Boumann added 20 points
and five rebounds.
Western Oregon returns
home to host Central Wash-
ington Thursday at 7:30
p.m. before facing North-
west Nazarene Saturday at 4
p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
D E F E AT S A L A S K A FA I R -
BANKS: Western Oregon Uni-
versity’s women’s basketball
team lost to Alaska Anchorage
85-53 on Thursday before de-
feating Alaska Fairbanks 74-54
on Saturday.
Savannah Heugly scored a
game-high 20 points and
grabbed 13 rebounds against
Alaska Fairbanks. Shelby Snook
added 18 points and Keyonna
Jones scored 12 points.
WOU hosted Concordia
Tuesday after press time. The
Wolves host Montana State,
Billings Thursday at 5:15 p.m.
FIVE SCHOOL RECORDS
SET AT MEET: Western Oregon
University’s track and field
team set five school records
on Saturday.
D a v i d
Ribich and
Suzanne Van
De Grift set
new marks
in the men’s
a
n
d
wo m e n’s
1,000-meter
Ribich
run. Ribich
finished with a time of 2 min-
utes, 21.38 seconds, and took
second overall behind profes-
sional runner Drew Windle.
Van De Grift broke her own
school record with a time of
2:54.23.
Dustin Nading and Nicole
Maurmann set new records in
the men’s and women’s 3,000.
Nading finished the men’s race
in 8:11.67, while Maurmann
crossed the finish line of the
women’s race in 10:08.94.
Olivia Woods also broke a
school record in the women’s
600 with a time of 1:35.23.
The Wolves are off until
Jan. 26-27 when WOU will
compete at the University
of Washington Invitational.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Jeff Davenport, of Mid-Valley Ford, presented a check for $2,800 to Dallas Booster
Club President Stephanie Earhart to go toward the Field Turf project. The project
has raised $541,000 in cash, pledges and in-kind donations.
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Wrestling squad defeats South Albany, places first at the Oregon Classic
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALL AS — Dallas’
wrestling team defeated
South Albany 42-21 in a
Mid-Willamette Conference
match on Thursday.
Kimberly Holgate (113
pounds), Ryan Bibler
(120), Dillon Stuhr (126),
Kadin Thorsted (138), Col-
son Spencer (145),
Cameron Redding (170),
Cooper Hise (195) and
Ashten Brecht (285)
earned victories.
The Dragons also placed
first in the 5A bracket at the
Oregon Classic on Friday
and Saturday.
Dallas defeated Mountain
View 39-23 in the first-place
match.
The Dragons also defeat-
ed Ridgeview, Silverton, Mil-
waukie, Hood River Valley,
Hermiston, and Sandy.
Dallas hosts Crescent
Valley Thursday at 6 p.m.
before competing at the
Reser’s Tour nament of
Champions on Friday and
Saturday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL DROPS
TWO: Dallas’ girls basketball
team opened Mid-Willamette
Conference play with a pair of
losses. The Dragons fell to Cor-
vallis 52-28 on Jan. 9 and Cres-
cent Valley 62-34 on Friday.
Dallas (6-5 overall) has lost
four games in a row after open-
ing the season by winning six
of its first seven games.
The Dragons played Wood-
burn Tuesday after press time.
Dallas hosts Lebanon Friday at
7 p.m. and Central Jan. 24 at 7
p.m.
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Boys basketball defeats Lebanon, Woodburn in league openers
Itemizer-Observer staff report
WOODBURN — Central’s
boys basketball team
opened Mid-Willamette
Conference with a pair of
thrillers.
The Panthers defeated
Lebanon 49-45 on Jan. 9
and Woodburn 46-44 on
Friday.
Against Woodburn, Cen-
tral found itself down by
three with 40 seconds left.
Cody Kantola hit a pair of
free throws, and Peter Men-
dazona blocked a Woodburn
shot.
With under 10 seconds to
play, Jesse Cable found a
driving Brendan Lesmeister
who hit a lay-up and a free
throw to give the Panthers
the victory.
L e s m e i s t e r s c o re d a
team-high 17 points
against Woodburn.
“I am very proud of them
for the way they kept to the
game plan and made in-
game adjustments as we
went forward,” coach Tim
Kreta said.
Lesmeister scored 17
points against Lebanon,
while Mendazona added 16
points.
Central played South Al-
bany Tuesday after press
time. The Panthers host Cor-
vallis Friday at 7 p.m. before
playing at Dallas Tuesday at
7 p.m.
SWIM TEAM COMPETES AT
CORVALLIS: Central’s swim
team competed at Corvallis on
Jan. 9.
Grace Holstad set new school
records in the girls 100-yard
butterfly (1 minute, 4.7 sec-
onds) and the 500 freestyle
(6:14).
Jillian Layton set a personal
record in the 200 freestyle
(3:24).
Fernanda Salas set a personal
record in the 100 backstroke
(1:51.81) and Amelia Angst set a
personal record in the 100
freestyle (1:42.90).
The girls 200 freestyle relay
team of Ashley Gould, Emma
Gheza, Jill Layton and An-
nemarie Hasbrook took more
than 25 seconds off its previ-
ous season best with a time of
2:35. The boys 200 freestyle
relay squad of Daniel Glade,
Robert Deleon, David Glade
and Isaiah Compton shaved
off more than 39 seconds with
a time of 1:44.
Central competed at
Lebanon Tuesday after press
time.
The Panthers travel to Silver-
ton Tuesday at 4 p.m.
WRESTLING FALLS TO COR-
VALLIS: Central’s wrestling
squad lost to Corvallis 33-28 on
Thursday.
Noah Worthington (113
pounds), Manuel Martinez
(120), Ty Pearson (126), Brock
Pearce (152), Chris Polanco
(170), Corbin Sedlacek (195) and
Caleb Sedlacek (285) earned
victories.
Central competes at Silver-
ton on Thursday and the Gary
Seaney Duals Friday at 2 p.m.
before hosting the Central
Duals Saturday at noon.
COURTESY OF THE WOODBURN INDEPENDENT
Central Peter Mendazona brings the ball up the court
against Woodburn on Friday night.
Panthers: Central has won four games in a row
Continued from Page 10A
“I think our basketball IQ
has grown,” Chavez said.
“We’re seeing different situa-
tions and knowing how to
react to them. Last year, we
weren’t prepared for certain
situations. Now, we run
through them and know
when this happens, we do
this or that.”
The Panthers now enter
league play hungry for a
league title, but players know
that the road will be tough.
“We’re definitely glad we
are up there ,and we do have
conversations about it,”
Chavez said. “We kind of get
big headed sometimes, then
we’re like, no, we need to
stay focused.”
Central has seen the dan-
gers of when its focus isn’t
on point.
The Panthers’ lone loss
came against Stayton on
FALLS CITY ROUNDUP
Boys basketball drops two of three
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FALLS CITY — Falls City’s
boys basketball team defeat-
ed Willamette Valley Chris-
tian 73-31 on Jan. 9 before
falling to Perrydale 59-50 on
Thursday and Estacada 62-
50 on Friday.
Stats were not available as
of press time.
The Mountaineers played
Livingstone Adventist Tues-
day after press time. Falls
City plays at Oregon School
for the Deaf Thursday at 7:30
p.m., at Regis Friday at 7
p.m. and at C.S. Lewis Tues-
day at 7 p.m.
The girls lost to
Willamette Valley Christian
46-27 on Jan. 9 and Perry-
dale 38-13 on Thursday.
The Mountaineers played
Livingstone Adventist Tues-
day after press time. Falls
City plays at Oregon School
for the Deaf Thursday at 6
p.m., at Regis Friday at 5:30
p.m. and at C.S. Lewis Tues-
day at 5:30 p.m.
Tip off
Perrydale’s Cooper But-
ler and Falls City’s Austin
Burgess attempt to con-
trol the opening tip. Per-
rydale’s boys basketball
team defeated Falls City
59-50 on Thursday. Per-
rydale also defeated C.S.
Lewis 48-46 on Jan. 9.
The boys host Living-
stone Adventist Thurs-
day at 7:30 p.m.
Perrydale’s girls team
defeated C.S. Lewis 51-6
on Jan. 9 and Falls City
38-13 on Thursday. The
Pirates host Livingstone
Adventist Thursday at 6
p.m.
HEATHER MILLER/for the
Itemizer-Observer
Dec. 20.
“The Stayton game was
hard for us, but I think it was
a good reminder,” Chavez
said. “It opened our eyes
that we still need to work
hard.”
Central played South Al-
bany Tuesday after press
time. The Panthers play at
Corvallis Friday at 7 p.m. and
at Dallas Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
“Last year was a building
year to get to know each
other,” Chavez said. “This
year, we were able to pick up
right where we left off. The
coaches are really excited.
We’ve implemented things
that have worked well in
games. Confidence is key to
the success we’ve had. … It’s
super exciting, a great start
for us, but we’re making sure
we’re working hard, staying
focused and not worried too
much about our record.”
provements from his hard
work,” Maxwell said.
That dedication has
come at a price — mainly
some late nights finishing
schoolwork after a tiring
practice.
“The two hours taken out
of my day cuts down on
how much homework I
have time for,” Garrison
said. “It’s me staying up
until about midnight doing
homework in order to
swim.”
But those sacrifices are
minor.
“Yeah, it’s worth it,” he
said. “Just being in the
water, it’s an enjoyable feel-
ing.”
The Dragons will com-
pete at Taft Thursday at 4
p.m.
Dallas
Continued from Page 10A
The swim team has
shown him he can push his
limits farther.
“It pushes me a lot more
than when I swam alone,”
Garrison said. “But it’s fun,
exciting and enjoyable.”
Coach Mark Maxwell has
seen Garrison’s dedication
begin to pay off.
“He’s seen some big im-
Dragons
Continued from Page 10A
“Evan has the athleticism
and the explosiveness to be
a d a n g e r o u s s c o r e r,”
Schwartz said. “He’s a really
good athlete. If he gets his
perimeter shot going and
guys have to come out and
guard him, that will open
up his game even more.”
But finding that success
on a consistent basis has re-
mained elusive.
The Dragons played
Woodburn Tuesday after
press time and plays at
Lebanon Friday at 7 p.m.
before hosting Central
Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“This is a key stretch,”
Schwartz said. “These are
teams we need to beat if
we want to get to the post-
season.”
Find a way to win, and
Dallas will be off to a strong
start to league play. Lose,
and the Dragons could find
their backs against the wall
early.
“We know if we play to
our potential, we could be a
top three team in the
league,” Courtney said. “We
have to come ready to win
and ready to play.”
What’s YOUR neighbor up to? Find out in the Itemizer-Observer.
You may find your neighbor, your boss, your friend or yourself in the pages of
the Itemizer-Observer. Local stories on local people—that’s our specialty.
Itemizer-Observer • www.polkio.com