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Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868

COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: Central grad Leigh Anne MacCarthy a two-sport athlete at Eastern Oregon

Plus updates on other Polk County athletes, including Joe Deardorff, Grant Hedrick, Jordan Pratt, Kang-Ho Brooks, Shaylln Lewis, Adrienne Waterman and Cecila Lugo.

Itemizer-Observer staff

November 07, 2012

Leigh Anne MacCarthy of Monmouth is in the midst of her senior season with the women's volleyball team at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.

Leigh Anne MacCarthy

Leigh Anne MacCarthy

   MacCarthy, a 2009 graduate of Central High School, is a 5-foot-5 defensive specialist/libero for the Mountaineers. She has played in 26 of EOU's 28 matches to date and has tallied 64 total digs. EOU (22-6, 14-4 Cascade Conference) takes the No. 2 seed into Friday's Cascade Conference Tournament at the University of Idaho in Moscow.

MacCarthy is also a member of the EOU cross-country team. She placed 13th in Saturday's Cascade Conference Championships with a lifetime best time of 18:41.71 on the 5,000-meter course. Her effort helped the Mountaineers finish second in the team standings and vault them to a No. 11 ranking, earning them a berth to the NAIA National Cross-Country Championships Nov. 17 at Fort Vancouver, Wash.

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Joe Deardorff

Joe Deardorff

   Joe Deardorff of Independence is back for his senior season with the men's cross country team at Pacific University in Forest Grove. Deardorff is coming off an impressive 2011 campaign that saw the 2009 graduate of Central High School be named a second team All-Northwest Conference selection and NCAA Division III All-West Region selection. He was also named to the Division III All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA. Deardorff placed 34th in the 8,000-meter NWC Championships Oct. 27 in Forest Grove with a time of 27 minutes, 33 seconds. Deardorff, along with the rest of the Pacific University cross-country team, will compete in Saturday's NCAA Division III West Regional at Oak Knoll Golf Course in Independence. The men's race is set to begin at 11 a.m., with the women's race to follow at noon.

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Grant Hedrick

Grant Hedrick

   Grant Hedrick of Independence is continuing his football playing days at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The 6-foot, 192-pound redshirt sophomore quarterback, a 2010 graduate of Central High School, has seen limited action so far this season. He has appeared in five games, completed 7-of-11 passes for 51 yards and carried the ball six times for two yards. Hedrick is listed No. 2 on the BSU depth chart at quarterback.

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Jordan Pratt of Monmouth is a member of the 2012 Stanford University football team. Pratt, a 2003 graduate of Central High School and one-time professional baseball player in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, is a 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore wide receiver for the Cardinal of Palo Alto, Calif. Pratt was the recipient of the 2011 Greg Piers Award for outstanding contributions on Stanford's scout team during his freshman season. This season, Pratt has played in three games, catching one pass for two yards.

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Kang-Ho Brooks of Dallas is playing soccer this fall with the Chemeketa Community College men's team in Salem. Brooks is a freshman defender for the Storm, who play in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. The Storm (10-4-5, 10-1-2 NWAACC) finished in second place in the Southern Region to advance to the playoffs. Chemeketa is set to play Community Colleges of Spokane (Wash.) in the first round Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Willamette University in Salem. Brooks is a 2012 graduate of Dallas High School.

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Shallyn Lewis of Independence is on the roster of the Chemeketa Community College volleyball team in Salem this fall. Lewis, a 2011 graduate of Central High School, is a 5-foot-10 sophomore middle hitter for the Storm.

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Two former Central Panthers are on the women's soccer roster this fall at Chemeketa Community College. Adrienne Waterman is a sophomore goalkeeper, while Cecilia Lugo is a sophomore midfielder for the Storm from Salem.

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Items for College Notebook are provided by college and university sports information departments. To submit an item or a tip for College Notebook, send it via email to iosports@polkio.com or contact Sports Editor Nicole Watkins at 503-623-2373 or nwatkins@polkio.com.