The first Mid-Valley Sports Awards starts at 6 p.m. June 7, 2016, at the Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial St SE in Salem, Oregon.

Amanda Wiebenga, Cascade

Vote on the Statesman Journal Sports Facebook page by Thursday at noon.

Amanda Wiebenga, Cascade track and field: The junior set a personal record of 11 feet in winning the pole vault at Wednesday’s dual meet at Sprague to set the school record and placed second in the event (10-6) at Saturday’s Meet of Champions.

Andy Armstrong, West Salem

Andy Armstrong, West Salem baseball: The senior shortstop hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4 with five RBIs in Tuesday’s 9-0 win against North Salem.

Sprague High School’s Logan Blair

Logan Blair, Sprague tennis: The junior defeated South Salem’s Alex Fedor 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 retired on Monday, McNary’s Alfonso Pacheco at No. 1 singles in Tuesday’s meet and West Albany’s Alec Martega 6-0, 6-1 on Thursday to remain undefeated for the season.

Kylee Hill, Dayton

Kylee Hill, Dayton softball: The junior third baseman hit a triple and had three RBIs in Wednesday’s 12-0 win against Kennedy.

Vote on the Statesman Journal Sports Facebook page by Thursday at noon.

McNary High senior Vanessa Hayes signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Alaska Anchorage.

McNary’ senior Vanessa Hayes has signed to play volleyball at Division II Alaska Anchorage.

The 5-foot-11 middle blocker was a first-team all-Greater Valley Conference selection as a senior after recording 348 kills, 219 digs and 51 aces. Hayes also was an honorable mention all-GVC player as a junior.

Signings

Amity senior Lindsay McShane signed a letter of intent to compete in track and field at Oregon State.

Soccer: West Salem senior Liz Mendez signed to play at Lane Community College.

Soccer: McNary senior Janie Jarmin signed to play at Chemeketa.

Basketball: Dayton senior Teddi Hop signed to play at Treasure Valley.

Basketball: Blanchet senior Erin Estabrok signed to play at Multnomah University.

Soccer: West Salem senior Haley Houston signed to play at OIT.

Soccer: McKay senior Mercedes Garcia signed to play at  Blue Mountain Community College.

Oregon Sports Awards

West Salem juniors Stuart Aeschliman (boys soccer) and Ahmed Muhumed (cross country) were named finalists for the Oregon Sports Awards.

The event takes place June 6 in the Stanford Theater at the Nike World Headquarters

Hall of fame

Central holds its 2016 Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 6 p.m. April 30 at the school’s auditorium.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Central’s athletic office or at the Independence Les Schwab.

The class includes Joe Mendazona, Johanna Koch Dillard, Dick Britton, Jordan Pratt, Floyd Graves, Darryl “Mouse” Davis, the 1983 football and 1982 boys tennis teams, coach John Oliver and Clyde McMillan.

Camps

Sprague’s boys basketball program holds its Oly Hoop Camp from 9 a.m. to noon June 20-23.

The camp focuses on footwork, position play, game breakdowns and league games.

The cost is $50, which includes a t-shirt, for early registrants or $60 at the door.

For more information contact coach B.J. Dobrkovsky at dobrkovsky_salkeiz.k12.or.us.

North Salem senior Paige Burger

McNary sophomore Nadia Witt

West Salem junior Micah Masei

Sprague senior Leah Olivo

McKay sophomore Israel Garza.

McNary senior Danielle Duran

South Salem senior Bryan Kelly

Sprague junior Austin Kleinman

McKay senior Andrea Fennimore

Athletes of the week

West Salem pole vaulter Micah Masei, North Salem shortstop Paige Burger, South Salem pitcher Bryan Kelly, McKay jumper Andrea Fennimore, McKay sprinter Israel Garza, McNary infielder Nadia Witt, McNary hurdler Danielle Duran, Sprague thrower Ausin Kleinman and Sprague jumper Leah Olivo were named athletes of the week by the Salem Sports & Breakfast Club on April 22.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Becoming the level of competitor who could reach the National Junior Olympics was a feat for Taylor Gibson.

Placing as well as she did at the age of 15 years old in her first time at the event was something else.

The freshman from North Salem High finished 12th overall in air rifle, including second in the J2 age group (ages 15-17), and 37th in small bore on April 15-17 at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Gibson has made a quick progression in the world of precision shooting, but this was another step forward.

“There’s like college athletes, NCAA champions, and like all these really big name people that you hear about shooting really good at all of these competitions, I was there with them and I got to compete with them, and it was really cool,” Gibson said.

She qualified for the Junior Olympics in small bore at a competition in December at her home club of Four Corners Rod and Gun Club, placing first in the competition.

In January, she competed in the air rifle Junior Olympic qualifier at Tri-County Gun Club in Sherwood. Gibson shot 384, one point short of the qualifying standard, but because not enough girls qualified, she earned a berth in the Junior Olympics in that discipline, too.

“I had a really bad day that day,” Gibson said. “I usually shoot better than that.”

At the Junior Olympics she shot personal records of 408.4 the first day and 411.8 the second day in air rifle.

To get funding to travel to Colorado to compete, she gave a presentation to the Four Corners’ education foundation board, and they awarded her $500 for the trip.

“They were super awesome for doing that,” she said. “That helped so much and I really appreciated it.”

While in Colorado, Gibson briefly met one of her idols in Launi Meili, an Olympic gold medalist and rifle coach at Air Force.

Gibson is focused in on her goal of competing in the Olympics.

“She’s special,” North Salem precision shooting coach Jim Wagner said. “She’ll be in the 2020 Olympics. I think so.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

North Salem High School freshman Taylor Gibson placed 12th in the Junior Olympics for air rifle shooting. Photographed Monday, April 25, 2016.

Dallas’s Ashlee Lichtenberger slides back to third base as the Dragons fall to Lebanon 10-2 in a Mid-Willamette Conference game on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, at Dallas High School.

Lebanon’s Cassidy Wittrig slides home as Dallas’s Ciara Greisen reaches to tag her out as Lebanon defeats Dallas 10-2 in a Mid-Willamette Conference game on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, at Dallas High School.

Dallas’s Olivia Nelson bats as the Dragons fall to Lebanon 10-2 in a Mid-Willamette Conference game on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, at Dallas High School.

DALLAS — You can’t defend against home runs.

Dallas High School’s softball team gave up two big home runs to Lebanon’s Lauren Christie and Alli Wessel on Tuesday afternoon in the Warriors’ 10-2 Mid-Willamette Conference win.

At a certain point, the Dragons could only make the best of the situation.

“And we say that all the time,” first-year Dallas coach Brandi Jackson said. “We do have a strong defense so telling our pitchers to make our defense work and getting early ahead and letting them do what they can do. But something we can’t defend is home runs.”

Lebanon, which entered the game No. 1 in the OSAA’s power rankings, improves to 11-0 in the Mid-Willamette Conference and 15-1 overall.

Dallas, which came into the game No. 5, drops to 6-4 in the Mid-Willamette and 11-4 overall and is locked in a battle for second place in the conference with Silverton, Corvallis and Central.

Though it’s pretty much a given Lebanon will win the conference, none of the teams fighting for second separated by much.

“I think it’s going to be a catfight to the end and wins are going to determine that, but one thing we’ve talked about all year is being consistent, coming out and being the team that we can be and not worrying about who is in the other dugout,” Jackson said. “We let a couple games get away from us that I don’t necessarily think we should have, but all we can do is focus on one game at a time.”

What was promising for Dallas is how the Dragons responded to Lebanon’s long balls.

Christie, who was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBIs, hit a three-run homer to center field in the fifth inning for a 5-0 Lebanon lead.

But Dallas answered immediately as Emma Classen’s single scored Ashlee Lichtenberger to cut the lead to 5-1.

After Wessel hit a grand slam in the seventh for a 10-1 lead, Dallas’ Olivia Nelson hit into an error to score Lichtenberger, and the Dragons would load the bases in the final frame.

“It’s tough to respond when a team hits good like that, but I think that we responded well,” said Dallas outfielder Madison Feldman. “We could have responded better, but we definitely encouraged each other and picked each other up, which is what needed to happen.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler       

Lebanon 10, Dallas 2

LEB 000 230 4-10 10 2

DAL 000 010 1-2 5 3

El-Hato, Simmons (6) and Greisen; Johnson and Neely, Wittrig (3). WP- Johnson; LP- El-Hato. 2B- Milligan (L); HR- Christie (L), Wessel (L).

Kylee Hill has been a prodigy ever since she first stepped on the field for Dayton High School’s softball team.

A second-team Class 3A all-state player as a freshman and a first-team all-state selection last year after helping Dayton to the OSAA Class 3A state championship, she has been a force at the plate and in the field for the Pirates.

Hill was selected as the athlete of the week by a Facebook vote of Statesman Journal readers after hitting triple and having three RBIs in Wednesday’s 12-0 win against Kennedy.

Hill, and the other the athletes of the week from the school year, will be honored during the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.

For tickets and more information on the event, go to MidValleySportsAwards.com.

Dayton’s Kylee Hill (right) was selected as the athlete of the week.

JEFFERSON — The Cavaliers like to work on a different skill in each of their PacWest Conference baseball games.

Blanchet Catholic School has built a commanding lead atop the standings and hasn’t been challenged in most of the conference games this season so in Friday’s game, they worked on stealing bases.

The Cavaliers didn’t make any foolish tries, but still successfully stole all six of six bases they attempted.

Of course that was completely forgotten when senior Harry Witwer-Dukes smashed a home run over the right centerfield fence.

Blanchet defeated Jefferson 11-0 to complete its season sweep of the Lions and extend its perfect start to the PacWest Conference to 8-0.

“Harry is easily always one of our consistent power hitters,” said junior Jack Coen, who was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs scored.

“I’ve never really seen him hit an opposite field home run. In BP he’s capable of hitting that, but I’ve never seen him go opposite field in a game so that’s always nice to see when a guy is on-point like that, he can get power to go that far.”

The bad thing for the Cavaliers (13-4) is that they’re slowly sinking in the OSAA’s power rankings.

Blanchet came into Friday’s game No. 13 and despite its eighth consecutive win. The decline in the power rankings is thanks to low rankings of its PacWest opponents.

With last year’s first-round loss in the Class 3A state playoffs still fresh in the minds of the players and coaches, the team has been cognizant of the postseason implications.

“I think last year we had a 24-2 season going into the playoffs and I think to some extent that got to our head,” said Witwer-Dukes, who was 4-for-5 with four RBIs.

“Coming off a season like that, we’re not overlooking the first round and we’re just going to take it game by game.”

Of course it helps to have a power-hitting lineup.

Coen, Nicholas Orlandini, Witwer-Dukes, Brian Coen and Handran all had multiple hits as the Cavaliers racked up 15 hits.

But pitching is an area the Cavaliers have had to spend a lot more time than they intended.

Blanchet junior starter Vincent Cravinho held Jefferson (6-10, 4-5) to three hits and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings of work.

Pitching was an area of concern early in the season as players who were expected to be the Cavaliers’ two top pitchers didn’t play baseball this season.

“You take Vinnie and Nick (Orlandini), Nick never pitched before,” first-year Blanchet coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s never pitched before and he has been phenomenal this year.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Blanchet 11, Jefferson 0

BLA 191 212 4-11 15 1

JEF 000 000 0-0 3 0

Handran, Cantonwine (6) and Cantonwine, Orlandini (6); Eriksen, Clark (5) and Arlandson. WP- Handran; LP- Eriksen. 2B- Cantonwine (B), Handran (B), Orlandini (B), Witwer-Dukes (B). 3B- Orlandini (B). HR- Witwer-Dukes (B).

Blanchet’s Zach Handran throws a patch against Jefferson in Blanchet’s 11-0 win on Friday, April 29, 2016.

Blanchet coach Dan Campbell (30) talks to a group of players during in Blanchet’s 11-0 win on Friday, April 29, 2016.

These athletes have already earned a ticket to the 2016 Mid-Valley Sports Awards

Dallas’ Yasmine El Hato

Vote on the Statesman Journal Sports Facebook page by Thursday at noon.

Yasmine El-Hato, Dallas softball: The senior pitcher hit three home runs, a double and a single in going 5 for 5 in Thursday’s 28-4 win against Crescent Valley.

Alaena Sullivan, Sprague tennis: The sophomore won Tuesday’s match at North Salem 6-0, 6-1 and Thursday’s match against McMinnville’s Jordan Burgess 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Santiam Christian’s Rebeka Preston

Rebeka Preston, Santiam Christian track and field: The sophomore anchored the winning 400 relay and 1,600 relay teams and placed second in the 100 and 200 in Thursday’s West Valley League meet at Sheridan.

North Salem’s Sean Alvarado

Sean Alvarado, North Salem baseball: The freshman pitcher had a double, stole a base and scored the winning run in the Vikings’ 5-4 Monday win against McKay and threw a one-hit shutout in Wednesday’s 10-1 win against Forest Grove.

Vote on the Statesman Journal Sports Facebook page by Thursday at noon.

Stayton’s Kyle Schwarm runs the ball as the Eagles fall to Cascade in an Oregon West Conference game Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, in Stayton.

West Salem High senior Brody Wittman signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Chemeketa.

The outfielder and pitcher was a second-team all-Greater Valley Conference selection as a junior.

In other signings, North Marion senior Kelsie Henry signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Linn-Benton Community College.

Henry was a first-team all-Oregon West Conference selection as a senior and was second-team all-league as a junior.

Stayton senior quarterback Kyle Schwarm committed to play football at George Fox, senior lineman Devon Garber committed to play football at Pacific and senior Kymberlin Bush committed to compete in track and field and cross country at Pacific.

Fundraising

The McKay Athletic Booster Club started a drive to get 10,000 people to donate $100 each to McKay’s athletics to improve athletic facilities and replace and purchase equipment and uniforms.

The group is trying to raise $900,000 toward putting in a turf field at the school.

There has been a fundraising page at https://www.gofundme.com/228w38q4.

For more information contact Booster Club president Becky Bryant at mckayabc@gmail.com.

Athletes of the week

The Salem Sports & Breakfast Club recognized Cammie Decker, Jillian and Loryn Studer and Noah Boatwright as its athletes of the week.

Decker, a senior golfer at McNary, is averaging 75 in conference play this season and placed second at the district tournament the past two years.

The Studer twins are South Salem’s No. 1 girls doubles team. They are 7-0 this season and haven’t played in a third set.

Boatwright, a senior shortstop for North Salem’s baseball team, was 2-for-2 with three RBIs against Forest Grove. He is batting .467 in league play this season.

The group meets most Friday mornings during the school year at Goudy Commons at Willamette University.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

North Salem senior Noah Boatwright

South Salem junior Loryn Studer

South Salem junior Jillian Studer

McNary senior Cammie Decker

West Salem’s Andrew Eyre putts during the first day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Monday, May 2, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

South Salem’s Ashley Zhu tees off during the first day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Monday, May 2, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

South Salem’s Ellie Slama putts during the first day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Monday, May 2, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

South Salem’s Ellie Slama competes during the first day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Monday, May 2, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

CORVALLIS — Andrew Eyre started strong and Ellie Slama finished strong, but they both ended up in the same place.

The juniors from West Salem (Eyre) and South Salem (Slama) shot rounds of one-under-par 71 Monday to lead the boys and girls halves of the Greater Valley Conference district golf tournaments at Trysting Tree Golf Club.

Eyre started with a 35 on the front nine and played consistently on the back nine to finish the first round under par in a tournament at the course.

“I’d say the course is very scoreable and there’s a lot of opportunities to make birdies if you put it in the right position,” Eyre said. “And even though it’s a pretty open course, there’s some tee shots and some approach shots that can leave you pretty short sighted if you don’t put them in the right place.

Eyre finished his sophomore season strong after placing fourth at the district tournament by placing sixth at the state tournament, but his scores to start this season were higher than he expected with the emergence of a pair of golfers from West Albany.

West Salem’s Brody Wittman signs to play college baseball

Eyre’s round of 71 from Monday leads the round of 73 by West Albany’s Jaxson Daskalos and the 75 of West Albany’s Richie Mikesell.

“I wouldn’t say I’m worried, but Richie shot 75 and he could easily throw up in the 60s tomorrow,” Eyre said. “Both Jaxson and Richie have the potential to go low and they both were a little higher than they wanted today, but I wouldn’t say I’m worried. I would say nothing’s for granted.”

The second and final round starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday with team and individual berths in the May 16 and 17 OSAA Class 6A state tournaments at stake.

Though Slama holds a six-shot lead in front of the rest of the girls after Day 1, her round didn’t start so well.

McNary senior Cammie Decker shot par 36 on the front nine and led by one stroke in front of South Salem sophomore Ashley Zhu and two strokes in front of Slama.

Power hitting Andy Armstrong making a dent for West Salem

“Just everything was going well, the putting the irons, my driver was going well and then I kind of lost my putting on the back nine,” said Decker, who was second in the tournament the past two years.

“My stress kind of went away and when I started doing bad it came back.”

Slama doesn’t trail in golf tournaments often.

She birdied the No. 10 and 11 holes to get back to par and birdied a 15-foot putt on the No. 18 hole to finish strong.

Though Slama has won all of the GVC tournaments this season, it hasn’t been easy.

“I think the competition actually has helped me,” Slama said. “I’ve had some lower scores and I think it gives me more a challenge and it results in me playing better.”

McNary’s Vanessa Hayes signs to Alaska Anchorage

Decker and Zhu are tied for second with rounds of 77 and Sprague freshman Quincy Beyrouty is fourth with 78.

Slama’s six-shot lead in front of Decker and Zhu is substantial, but it represents development on the part of the rest of the golfers in the conference.

Last year Slama won the tournament by 22 strokes.

“There are a couple that have been shooting a lot lower this year, but I think the top five have slowly been shooting lower scores, and Ellie has been, too, but I think we’re gaining on her a little bit,” Zhu said.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

South Salem’s Ashley Zhu competes during the final day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

McNary’s Cammie Decker tees off during the final day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

South Salem’s Ellie Slama shares a laugh between holes during the final day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

during the final day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

South Salem’s Ellie Slama prepares to putt during the final day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

West Salem’s Andrew Eyre putts during the final day of the Greater Valley Conference District Golf Tournament on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

CORVALLIS — Ellie Slama kept her focus.

The junior from South Salem High School shot a second-round score of 72 to finish with one-under par 143 for 36 holes to win medalist honors at the Greater Valley Conference district golf tournament at Trysting Tree Golf Club.

It was the second consecutive year she won the tournament.

“She steps up every time,” South Salem coach Brian Eriksen said. “First day she shot 38, 33, she turned it on in the back. She does what she needs to do, she plays her game and plays within herself and she steps up when she needs to, and she’s just solid all around.”

South Salem won its second consecutive district championship and fourth in six years.

With the district championship, the Saxons automatically qualify for the May 16 and 17 OSAA Class 6A state tournament at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks.

Ellie Slama, Andrew Eyre go under par to lead GVC

Beyond Slama, sophomore Ashley Zhu shot 153 to place third and junior Sammy Belden shot 178 to place seventh and help the Saxons run away with the tournament.

“It was really cool to see my team improve so much,” Slama said. “Sammy Belden improved from last year about 20 strokes, which is crazy, and then our four and five are doing a lot better, too.

“I think it should be interesting to see where we compete at state this year, and hopefully we’ll get a good place.”

Slama won the district tournament by nine strokes – not quite the daunting 22 stroke margin in which she won it a year ago.

She carded five birdies in her round, but didn’t play with consistency.

“I was hitting the ball really well and occasionally a putt would drop, but I followed up pretty much every birdie with a bogey, which was really frustrating,” she said. “So I was scoring well on some holes, but not others.

“I felt like I was playing a lot better than I was scoring today.”

West Salem’s Brody Wittman signs to play college baseball

McNary senior Cammie Decker placed second in the tournament for the third year in a row with a score of 152 and qualified automatically for the state golf meet, as did Sprague freshman Quincy Beyruty, who shot 157.

Decker closed with a round of 75, improving on her opening round score by two strokes.

“It is, and I knew it was probably one of my last times being able to play with Ellie and Quincy now as well,” Decker said.

In the boys side of the tournament, West Albany’s Jaxson Daskalos surged into the lead in the final nine holes to get past West Salem junior Andrew Eyre and win the district medalist spot with a round of 72 to finish with 145.

Eyre led by two strokes after the first nine holes, but a double bogey on the No. 14 hole – he shanked his second shot into the woods and had to take a drop – and finished with a round of 75 for a 36-hole score of 146.

“I lost by one shot and that cost me two shots and I’d like to say that’s what it came down to, but I really had a poor back side,” Eyre said.

“Jaxson played good golf. I don’t have any hard feelings. I know Jaxson’s a great player and he’s worked hard all year. I’m just excited to come back in a week, or two weeks, for state.”

West Albany’s Richie Mikesell placed third with 147 to help the Bulldogs to the district championship. West Salem placed second, McNary was third and Sprague was fourth. All three teams will compete in the May 9 Special District 3 meet at Tokatee Golf Club, though Eyre qualified for the state meet individually.

Power hitting Andy Armstrong making a dent for West Salem

South Salem senior Trevor Lawrence also qualified individually for the state meet, May 16 and 17 back at Trysting Tree, but he had a tough path to do so.

He shot a lifetime best round of 75 to close the tournament with 153 strokes and tied for fourth place with Sprague senior David Martinez.

The two played a one-hole playoff to determine which would get the automatic state tournament berth.

Both drove the fairway with their first shots, but while Lawrence’s second shot landed on the green, Martinez’s was to the right and he had to chip twice to reach the green while Lawrence two putted to break the tie.

“I didn’t know he was putting for five until we both got up here,” Lawrence said. “I thought that was his first chip up close. There’s not a whole lot of pressure. The loser goes to regionals and winner goes to state so we’re both going to continue on.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Greater Valley Conference district tournament

At Trysting Tree Golf Club

Boys

Medalist: Jaxson Daskalos (West Albany) 145.

Team scores: West Albany 614, West Salem 624, McNary 649, McMinnville 682, Sprague 684, South Salem 690, Forest Grove 779.

West Salem: Andrew Eyre 146, Will Papendieck 155, Tyler Ballenger 158, Connor Campbell 164, Dylan Hadsall 88/Max Kent 85.

McNary: Adam Raschko 154, Brady Sparks 155, Teegan Papke 165, Casey Potmesil 180, Matt Langenwalter 182.

Sprague: David Martinez 153, Charlie Kimball 172, Alex Reyes 174, Bentley Cook 187, Trey Sherwood 196.

South Salem: Trevor Lawrence 153, Lucas Hyatt 172, Taylor Dejode 176, Joshua Brown-Chavez 189, Jackson Clark 196.

McKay: Andrew Shafer 193.

Girls

Medalist: Ellie Slama (South Salem) 143.

Team scores: South Salem 676, West Albany 792, Forest Grove 793, McNary 805, McMinnville 806, Sprague 953.

South Salem: Ashley Zhu 153, Sammy Belden 178, Mak Gentry 203, Maddie Peterson 215.

McNary: Cammie Decker 152, Hannah Elliott 197, Juralee Stover 218, Olivia Purkey 238.

Sprague: Quincy Beyrouty 157, Taylor Monismith 235, Ally Smith 243.

McKay: Kassi Funk 210, Reina Garcia 214.

North Salem: Jessica Braun 181, Deana Muzgay 223.

Sprague sophomore Alaena Sullivan

Alaena Sullivan is finding her spot.

The Sprague High School sophomore girls tennis player improved to 3-1 in singles play this season with a pair of straight set-wins last week.

Her big week led to being selected as the athlete of the week by a Facebook vote of Statesman Journal readers.

Sullivan, and the other the athletes of the week from the school year, will be honored during the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.

For tickets and more information on the event, go to MidValleySportsAwards.com.

Sprague sophmore Alaena Sullivan

Nate Harder and Jonah Lovell were losing and not exactly happy about it.

Sprague High School’s No. 1 doubles team lost the first set of Thursday’s dual meet 6-1 to McKay’s Jason Tran and William Schaap and fell behind 4-3 in the second set.

Sprague’s Jonah Lovell, left, and Nate Harder compete in a doubles match in the Sprague vs. McKay boy’s tennis meet at the Courthouse Tennis Center in Salem on Thursday, May 5, 2016.

“I think I definitely show my emotions on my sleeve,” said Harder, a junior.

“You slammed your racket in the net,” said Lovell, a senior.

“That also happens, but I calmed down and I think that helped me play a lot better, play longer points and stay in the point,” Harder said.

The longer points helped, and their combined play at the net made a bigger impact.

Lovell and Harder rebounded to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to help the Olympians to a 7-1 dual meet win against the Royal Scots on Thursday afternoon in a Greater Valley Conference dual meet at Courthouse Tennis Center.

Sprague finishes the dual meet season 11-2 and goes for its 12th consecutive district championship at the May 12-14 GVC district tournament at Salem Tennis and Swim Club.

But unlike past years, when Sprague was the heavy favorite to win the district team crown, the Olympians have been challenged this season.

“Our team, I feel like we’re still hungry,” said No. 1 singles player Logan Blair. “We still have that mentality like we do every year. We’re going to go in and Sprague tennis at districts, we’re going to dominate that.

“For our team, looking for us to be excited as an opportunity to show everybody that even though we’re not deep, our players play best when it matters the most and that we can come together and cheer each other on.”

Sprague’s Nate Harder, left, and Jonah Lovell high-five while competing as a doubles pair in the Sprague vs. McKay boy’s tennis meet at the Courthouse Tennis Center in Salem on Thursday, May 5, 2016.

As a doubles pair, Harder and Lovell improve to 4-1 in conference dual meets and made a claim for the No. 1 seed for the district tournament.

Playing on their home court at Courthouse, Tran and Schaap played aggressively early in the match, painting the ball down the lines and keeping Lovell and Harder guessing.

In the second set, the Sprague pair led 3-2, but Tran and Schaap broke their serve to lead 4-3. But Schaap and Harder won three straight games and their aggressive play at the net in the third set put the match away.

“I think we kind of warmed up to their pace,” Lovell said. “At first they would hit it really hard and we wouldn’t be ready for it, but then we got our rackets up and we were ready for it in the second set and the third set. It was hard to adjust to at first.”

Blair continued his undefeated run through the Greater Valley Conference at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 6-0 win against McKay senior Ralph Musni.

Last year’s GVC district singles champion Blair improved to 11-0 in conference singles matches.

“Credit to him, he played really well that match,” said Blair, a junior. “He had his ups and downs like we all do in the match.

“It’s just a matter of how consistent are those ups and downs. Can you keep it at a minimum or is it going to erupt? To be honest, he played a really solid match, especially that first set. I got sloppy here and there, I started rushing my serve, but that was also because he was putting pressure on me and he played really well.”

Sprague’s Logan Blair competes in the Sprague vs. McKay boy’s tennis meet at the Courthouse Tennis Center in Salem on Thursday, May 5, 2016.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Sprague 7, McKay 1

At Courthouse Tennis Center

Singles: Blair (S) d. Musai 6-3, 6-0; Sebastian Hammond (S) d. Edgar Garibay 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-2; Ben Whitson (S) d. Jason Yue 6-2, 7-6 (4), Daniel Dang (M) d. Hayden Cole 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles: Jonah Lovell/Nate Harder (S) d. Jason Tran/William Schaap 1-6, 6-4, 6-3; Kyle Schuller/Jimin Lee (S) d. Daniel Huyhn/Henry Trinh 6-1, 6-2; Ian Allen/Ethan Danani (S) d. Emmanuel Martinez/Ben Ho 6-3, 6-0; Josiah Barkes/Brady Roskop (S) d. Chris Padilla/Derek Nguyen 6-3, 6-2.

Travis Myers has been hired as West Salem High School’s boys basketball coach.

A graduate of Douglas, he currently is the school’s coach of its boys golf team that placed second at this week’s Greater Valley Conference district golf tournament. He was an assistant coach for the boys basketball coach this season.

Myers previously was Sprague’s boys golf coach for two years and was a long-time assistant coach in boys basketball and volleyball at Sprague.

He replaces Mark Bulgin, who went 34-42 in three years as head coach with three state playoff appearances.

Travis Myers talks with his daughter Peyton, 3, before the Sprague High School game with McKay. He has been hired as West Salem’s boys basketball coach.

Sprague sophomore Teagan Quitoriano competed in the USA Basketball Men’s 3×3 Tournament in Colorado. Photographed on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, at Sprague High School.

Since his sophomore season at Sprague High concluded, Teagan Quitoriano has traveled a lot of miles to keep playing basketball.

The 6-foot-6, 218-pound forward can’t get enough.

Beyond playing club basketball in the Elite Youth Basketball League, he played in this past weekend’s USA Basketball 3×3 U18 National Tournament at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was his second straight year playing in the tournament.

“He’s a humble kid, and I have to pry to get stuff out of him because he doesn’t really talk too much about things,” Sprague coach B.J. Dobrkovsky said. “He just wants to play, and he doesn’t care who it is. He just loves competing. His parents have instilled a lot of that. That makes him special.”

Quitoriano played on team Hoopla in Colorado with Dylan Jordan, Zach Reichle and Jack Roche, all of whom played on Wilsonville’s 5A state champion team this winter.

West Salem hires boys basketball coach

The team went 4-1 in the preliminary round and advanced to the semifinals, where they lost 21-15 to Pluto.

“It’s definitely a lot different than Hoopla,” Quitoriano said. “We played against guys who were top 50 in the nation. We played against guys who were big, D1 (Division 1 college) offer guys.

“You got to play harder. Play the same way you would play against anybody else, play basketball, and that’s what I would just try to do.”

Quitoriano also partnered with Hoopla teammate Dylan Jordan to place second in the partner hot shot competition as part of the 3×3 tournament.

A starter in his freshman year, he made a big jump as a sophomore by averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds a game and was selected first-team all-Greater Valley Conference and honorable mention all-state. His improvement caught the attention of the Portland Basketball Club, for which he now plays in club basketball.

Momentum in Sprague’s favor in attempt at record championship

He is averaging 13.4 points and seven rebounds a game in tournaments in New Jersey and Indianapolis this spring, including games of 18, 17 and 16 points in three games in Indianapolis.

“He really stood out as kind of a tough-minded, physical, not-afraid-of-a-big-moment player, which is exactly what we needed,” said Reggie Walker, co-director of Portland Basketball Club. “We could see it in his demeanor that he wouldn’t back down.”

Part of Quitoriano’s rapid development is he shoots from 3-point range with remarkable efficiency, and he’s finally maturing into his body.

He grew eight inches to 6-2 between his seventh and eighth years and continued to grow., while adding muscle to his frame has made him a difficult player to match up with defensively.

“I felt like I was that mismatch my freshman year, too, but I felt like I took advantage of that this year,” said Quitoriano, who also was a second-team all-GVC (Greater Valley Conference) tight end this past fall. “I felt like I belong more. I felt like my guys needed me to take more advantage of the mismatches.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Ellie Slama leads South Salem to second straight crown

Athletes of the week for 5/9

South Salem freshman Kaia Alexander.

Vote on the Statesman Journal Sports Facebook page by Thursday at noon.

Kaia Alexander, South Salem track and field: The freshman won the javelin (112 feet, 9 inches), shot put (33-3.5) and discus (77-9) at Wednesday’s dual meet at Forest Grove.

Bishop Mitchell

Bishop Mitchell, Kennedy track and field: The junior won the 100 meter dash (11.14) and 200 (22.65) and placed second in the pole vault (12-5) at Friday’s Regis Twilight Invitational and set school records in the 100 and 200.

Sprague senior Jonah Lovell (left) and junior Nate Harder (right)

Jonah Lovell and Nate Harder, Sprague tennis: The Olympians’ No. 1 doubles team defeated Forest Grove’s Mitchell Faris and Douglas Wilbur 6-7, 6-5, 6-2 Wednesday and McKay’s Jason Tran and William Schaap 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 Thursday.

Scio’s Ashton Phillips

Ashton Phillips, Scio softball: The sophomore shortstop hit a home run and scored two runs in Friday’s 5-3 win against Blanchet.

Vote on the Statesman Journal Sports Facebook page by Thursday at noon.

Cascade’s John Schirmer (11) makes a pass during their game on Friday, Feb. 6 , 2015, in Philomath, Ore.

Cascade High senior John Schirmer signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Clark College.

The 6-foot-4 senior guard was a two-time first-team all-Oregon West Conference selection and was the conference player of the year as a junior.

He also was a second-team all-state selection at quarterback as a senior after leading the Cougars to the 4A state championship.

West Salem’s Brody Wittman signs to play college baseball

Honors

South Salem junior Evina Westbrook was named a finalist in the Prep Basketball Player of the Year for females for the Oregon Sports Awards.

The award will be presented during the June 6 ceremony at the Tiger Woods Center at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton.

Westbrook was the Greater Valley Conference Player of the Year, the 6A State Player of the Year and the Gatorade Player of the Year for Oregon this season.

Ellie Slama leads South Salem to second straight crown

Camp

South Salem High School’s girls basketball team is hosting its Saxon Girls Basketball Hoop Camp on June 20-23.

The camp for girls in Grades 3-9 runs from 1-4 p.m. each day. The cost is $70, which includes a t-shirt.

The camp will emphasize basketball fundamentals, the mental aspects of the game and individual and team competition.

For more information contact South Salem coach Nick McWilliams at 503-399-3252 or 503-689-3920.

Momentum in Sprague’s favor in attempt at record championship

Coaching

Stayton graduate Dave Heuberger was hired as the football coach at Roseburg.

Heuberger coached the past four years at Springfield, going 35-10.

He replaces Thurman Bell, the No. 2 winningest coach in state history with a record of 331-154-1.

West Salem hires boys basketball coach

Broadcasting

South Salem’s basketball teams will be featured on a special on CCTV2.

The 36-minute program features highlights of the 2015-16 season when the girls team won its second-straight 6A state championship and the boys placed third at the state tournament.

The program will be broadcast at 8 p.m. May 10 and nine more times. The complete playback schedule is available at cctvsalem.org

Sprague’s Teagan Quitoriano takes to national stage

Athletes of the week

The Salem Sports & Breakfast Club recognized 13 athletes at its final weekly meeting of the school year on May 6.

McKay senior tennis players William Schaap and Adriana Rangel, McNary sophomore tennis player Hannah Childress, McNary junior baseball player Josiah Gilbert, North Salem freshman track and field sprinter Rebekah Miller, North Salem senior track and field jumper Jimmy Van, South Salem senior track and field jumper Joe Carey, South Salem sophomore track and field sprinter Chloe Bryant, West Salem junior softball player Bailey Holmquist, West Salem junior tennis player Anya Gerasimova, Sprague junior tennis players Logan Blair and Nate Harder and Sprague senior tennis player Jonah Lovell were honored as athletes of the week.

The group’s annual Athletes of the Year breakfast takes place at 6:30 a.m. June 3 at the Cat Cavern at Willamette University.

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

McKay senior William Schaap

North Salem freshman Rebekah Miller

McNary junior Josiah Gilbert

South Salem senior Joe Carey

North Salem senior Jimmy Van

McNary sophomore Hannah Childress

South Salem sophomore Chloe Bryant

West Salem junior Bailey Holmquist

West Salem junior Anya Gerasimova

McKay senior Adriana Rangel

GLENEDEN BEACH — It was an accurate assumption that Regis High School’s boys golf team would win the 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 championship for the second year in a row.

Regis’ Casey Humphreys competes in the 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 high school boy’s golf tournament at the Salesian Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, Ore., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

The Rams’ team of Casey Humphreys, Dawson Dickey, Kyle Humphreys, Seth Kelley and Gibson Brown shot 709 over two days at Salishan Golf Resort as a team to win the district championship in front of second-place Blanchet Catholic’s 749.

Winning the district championship is one thing, but to win it by 40 strokes was a dominating performance to earn the team title Tuesday.

“That means that as a team we played pretty good, and we always try to play to our best every time we come out,” said Dickey, one of three sophomores on the team.

Regis and Blanchet qualify as teams for the OSAA Class 3A/2A/1A state tournament May 16-17 at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell.

The difference heading to state this year is Regis’ talented sophomore class has a year of experience at the state meet.

Regis’ Casey Humphreys eyes the tenth hole in the 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 high school boy’s golf tournament at the Salesian Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, Ore., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

Creswell’s Dayne Miller won the medalist honors at the tournament with rounds of 78 and 82 to finish with 158.“I think confidence and experience does help for the boys,” coach Darren Dickey said. “We had three freshmen last year, and I think they gained a lot of experience from last year’s showing.”

Miller shot 76 in Monday’s first round to lead by four strokes, but his 41 on the front nine Tuesday left him with a three-stroke lead in front of Casey Humphreys and four-stroke lead in front of Blanchet junior Nick Conway going to the final nine holes.

But Miller closed the tournament with a 41 on a windy back nine to win.

Casey Humphreys closed with a round of 83 to place second with 163.

“I felt really good,” said Casey Humphreys, Kyle’s twin brother. “I knew I played good yesterday and I had to play good again to know that I could get a spot in state.”

Dawson Dickey placed fourth with 168 and Kyle Humphreys came back from shooting a 95 in Monday’s first round to shoot 177 and place sixth.

Blanchet’s Nick Conway shot 84 to finish with 167 and place third.

“The only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself to go out there and play,” Conway said. “A couple shots here and there it could have been different.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Blanchet’s Mike Bashaw competes in the 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 high school boy’s golf tournament at the Salesian Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, Ore., on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

Finding new people to officiate high school sporting events has become an increasingly difficult challenge.

The number of certified officials across the state has dropped at an alarming rate and in Salem some high schools have had to move game times because of the lack of officials.

Last fall the Salem Football Officials Association had 89 officials, down from 120 officials four years ago.

South Salem head coach Tyler Allen talks to an official.

With all of the demands to cover games last fall, the Salem officials had to outsource to be able to cover all of the games.

“We were short anywhere from 21 to 25 officials on Wednesdays,” said Ken Woods, commissioner of the SFOA. “What I had to do is I had to hire some Portland crews and some Corvallis crews to come in.

Regis wins second-straight district championship

“I did that for three weeks in a row. And the rest of the weeks we were short one official. When we only have three guys out there, it’s kind of like we’re ball chasers. With four guys you can relay it back and you can properly cover the game. But it’s happening all over state. We’re short officials.”

To combat the problem and try to recruit new officials, the Salem Basketball Officials Association and the SFOA are putting on an Officials Job Fair from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Salem.

“Come talk to us, that’s what we want. All of those people up in the stands screaming because their kid’s playing, maybe you’re kid’s not playing,” said Steve Bulen, commissioner for the Salem Basketball Officials Association. “Come on and give it a try. Have some fun.”

The OSAA formed an Officials Recruitment and Retention Committee to combat the problem.

In the five-year span from the 2010-11 school year to the 2014-15 school year, there was a 16.8 percent decline in OSAA certified officials for all sports in Oregon.

In the SBOA, there were 142 officials last winter compared to 160 four years ago.

Sprague’s Teagan Quitoriano takes to national stage

“We’re like everybody else right now,” Bulen said. “170 is kind of where I would like to be. That kind of keeps everybody working and busy, but also allows us to cover all the games without killing my guys, because that’s kind of what we’re doing right now.”

Much of the decline in numbers is from young officials.

A report from the OSAA states that in 2010-11 there were 997 officials with less than three years of experience, while that number dropped to 537 in 2014-15.

With the pay and at times hours of officiating high school and youth games, college students seem a natural for recruitment of new officials.

“There are colleges we want to tap into,” Bulen said. “We’ve kind of decided we want kids who have graduated from high school. That’s more suited to what we’re doing.”

The football officials at trying a different tact.

They will be recruiting high school football players to officiate youth games on Saturdays alongside veteran officials

“What we’re going to do is we’re going to train them in June and July,” Woods said. “Once August rolls around, they’re on the field. And we’re going to provide the uniform. The only thing they have to provide is their shoes.

“What I will do is I may work them on other games. As long as they are trained to work at this level, I may send them to Silverton for three games.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

West Salem hires boys basketball coach

Officials job fair

What: A job fair for people interested in becoming football or basketball officials.

When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 14.

Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods, 275 Lancaster Drive NE, Salem.

It took time for Jonah Lovell and Nate Harder to come together as a doubles team.

Sprague’s Jonah Lovell, left, and Nate Harder compete in a doubles match in the Sprague vs. McKay boy’s tennis meet at the Courthouse Tennis Center in Salem on Thursday, May 5, 2016.

Sprague High School’s No. 1 doubles team lost their first match as a doubles team this season, but then won their next four conference matches in strong fashion.

Lovell, a senior, and Harder, a junior, defeated Forest Grove’s Mitchell Faris and Douglas Wilbur 6-7, 6-5, 6-2 on Wednesday and McKay’s Jason Tran and William Schaap 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.

Harder and Lovell were selected as the athlete of the week by a Facebook vote of readers.

Harder was a state consolation finalist in doubles last year and Harder was a state qualifier in singles.

Harder and Lovell, and the other the athletes of the week from the school year, will be honored during the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.

For tickets and more information on the event, go to MidValleySportsAwards.com.

Blanchet’s Leilani Salang throw the discus at the PacWest Conference district meet on Thursday, May 12, 2016.

Leilani Salang competes a lot against statistics from a computer.

When the Blanchet Catholic School junior gets to compete against actual people, she’s still pretty good.

Salang won the PacWest Conference district track and field championship in the discus Thursday at Salem Academy with a throw of 124 feet, 1 inch.

Best known as a national record holding powerlifter, she showed she can harness that strength for other things.

“I like both. I enjoy both,” Salang said. “I think this one is a little more competitive because you’re not so alone. When you go to the lifting meets, it’s a lot of older people, a lot of older guys and there’s not a lot of girls like me there. It’s fun with girls my age.”

Salang suffered a setback in the fall when she fractured her right ankle while landing on a teammates’ foot during a volleyball match in Creswell.

But she has recovered and is at top form going to the 3A state meet, May 19 and 20 at Hayward Field.

After placing second to Scio’s Katelyn Gray on Thursday in the javelin, an event she picked up in the middle of the season with a throw of 95-7.5, Salang was focused when she got to the discus ring and fired off her first throw of 122-7 that was almost 30 feet better than second-place teammate Lauren Elmore.

“It made me feel like secure in that I didn’t have to worry about anything,” Salang said. “I was in the finals and I could give it my all after that and I didn’t have to be safe.”

Also for Blanchet at the meet, freshman Trinity Phipps won the long jump (16-9.5).

Scio’s Josiah Jenkins won the pole vault (10-6), Jefferson’s Abdi Ibrahim won the 3,000 (9:33.64) and Meriah Olen won the high jump (4-10) and Salem Academy’s Morgan Strunk won the shot put (46-9).

In the Tri-River Conference district meet, which also was at Salem Academy, Kennedy junior Bishop Mitchell set a big personal record on his first attempt of the long jump competition at 21-9 to win.

His first jump was so good he sat out the finals and still won.

“It was a first,” Mitchell said of his jump. “I adjusted my length a little bit and I guess it was just the right pop and the right jump.”

He had much more competition in the pole vault.

Mitchell’s leap of 12-7 was a personal record, but placed him second behind Central Linn’s Eric Blanchard. The competition between those two and Regis’ Connor West was strong.

“They’re great vaulters,” Mitchell said. “We push each other, actually. It was, a we all got to get to state or it’s nothing really. We’ve been together in the league a long time, especially me and Eric, we’ve been working on competing with each other and pushing each other.”

Also for Kennedy, Sarah Therkelsen won the long jump (4-9) and Abby Frey won the javelin (104-4).

For Regis, Ashtyn Chamberland won the long jump (15-2).

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler

Kennedy’s Bishop Mitchell competes in the pole vault at the Tri-River Conference district track and field meet on Thursday, May 12, 2016.