Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2019)
SPORTS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 THE OBSERVER — 9A La Grande takes second at district By Jayson Jacoby EO Media Group BAKER CITY — The skies were pure blue but the domi- nant colors at the Greater Oregon League cross country meet Friday afternoon were the purple and gold of Baker High School. The Bulldogs ran away with the meet on the hilly, diffi cult course at Quail Ridge Golf Course, pulling off a complete sweep. Baker won the girls and boys team titles, paced by individual winners Sydney Keller and Kale Cassidy. Cassidy, a senior, won his third straight district title. La Grande, despite miss- ing its top girls runner, Jacki Martini, fi nished second in both the girls and boys races, giving the Tigers a berth at the state meet as well. Both Baker and La Grande will compete at the Class 4A state meet Satur- day at Eugene’s Lane Com- munity College. On the boys side, La Grande nipped third-place Ontario by a single point. Keller was excited after winning her fi rst district title in a time of 20:17. “That was my goal from the beginning,” she said. “I’m just happy that the team is going (to state) together.” But her joy was tinged with sadness due to the absence of Martini, who became ill the night before the race and wasn’t able to compete. “I was expecting Jacki to be here,” Keller said. Runner-up Maia Vanderv- lugt of La Grande fi nished at 20:56, 39 seconds back. Vandervlugt, a senior, said Martini’s falling ill the night before the meet “shook up our team a little bit.” “But we still came out and did what we set out to do,” Vandervlugt said, referring to the Tigers fi nishing second and qualifying for the state meet. Vandervlugt, who won the district title as a sopho- more and has now fi nished second three times, said she actually considered focusing on theater this fall rather than competing in cross-country. After her runner-up fi nish Friday, she said she’s glad she decided to run in her fi nal year in high school. “I felt really good,” she said with a smile. “I was not ex- pecting to get second today.” La Grande easily outdis- tanced third-place Mac-Hi, with 40 points to the Pio- neers’ 77. The Tigers’ Corbyn Sexton placed 4th in 21:14, and Audrey Garlitz was the third La Grande runner in top 10, fi nishing 9th in 23:14. Gladys Alf Rippee (24:29) and Anne Sweet (24:35) fi n- ished 12th and 13th to round out La Grande’s top fi ve. In the boys race Cassidy, like Keller, took the lead early and was never threat- ened. He fi nished in 16:13, 30 seconds ahead of Ontario’s Lance Trees. Cristian Mendoza and teammate Braxton Bisenius led La Grande by fi nishing sixth and seventh, respec- tively. Mendoza, who fi nished in 17:30, four seconds ahead of Bisenius, said although he’s pleased that La Grande fi nished second as a team to advance to the Class 4A meet, he wasn’t satisfi ed with his own performance. “I’m not too happy,” Men- doza said. “I didn’t have my best race.” Donald Sweet fi nished in 17:59 to take 11th for La Grande. Two freshmen — Caleb Murie (18:10) and Dima McCarthy (19:43) placed 14th and 18th to round out the Tigers’ top fi ve. Union/Cove, Wallowa County make state meet Observer staff The Union/Cove boys cross country team put three runners in the top four and four in the top six to win the 2A/1A Special District 3 cross country meet Friday in Pendleton. Israel O’Reilly and Taylor Fox went 1-2 for the Bobcats, with O’Reilly fi nishing in 16:43.6 and Fox following in 16:45.4. Andrew Lackey also broke the 17-minute barrier, crossing the line in 16:53.9. Monte Kirby edged his way into sixth with a time of 17:27.6 and Carter Black- burn rounded out the top fi ve for Union/Cove in 14th at 18:15.2. “(It’s) going to be fun at the state meet next week,” head coach Steve Sheehy said. “St. Stephen’s Academy is clearly the best team on paper. Hopefully we can have a good day in Eugene.” The Elgin boys placed fi fth, and were led by Kaden McClure, who fi nished in 23rd with a time of 19:11.9. Kevin Hendrickson followed closely in 27th in a time of 19:21.9. Clay Wilhelm (20:00.6) and Chris Myers (20:33.8) fi nished 36th and 40th, and Noble Craig came in 49th (21:27.9). In the 3A boys race, Burns and Wallowa County both scored 32 points, but the Hilanders claimed the tie- breaker for the top spot. Wallowa County had three of the top four runners in dis- trict champion Henry Cough- lan (15:56.7), third-place fi nisher Zac Knapp (16:19.2) and Bayden Menton in fourth (16:33.0). Ian Go- odrich took 10th in 17:19.1, and John Matthews rounded out Wallowa County’s top fi ve in 14th in 17:44.5. Burns had fi ve runners in the top nine to edge out Wal- lowa County. On the girls side, Union/ Cove edged out Wallowa County by four points for second place in the 3A/2A/1A race. Wallowa County’s Ellyse Tingelstad and Union/ Cove’s Jaimee Baxter fi nished 2-3 in times of 19:13.1 and 19:27.3. Audrey Wells (20:47.8) and Ashlee Burtch (21:10.2) fi nished in the top 20 for Union/Cove in 14th and 19th. Danielle O’Reilly (21:39.3) followed in 25th and Kaitlin Martens (21:49.8) took 29th. Wallowa County runners Kyla Hook (20:59.0) and Mary Catherine Matthews (21:07.2) fi nished 17th and 18th. Sydney Rouse (21:46.4) placed 27th and Maddie Nor- dtvedt (22:13.0) was 31st. Burns, like on the boys side, had fi ve runners in the top 10 to coast to the district title. Elgin runners Anika Ja- cobson (22:06.4) and Jocelyn Palmer (24:34.9) placed 30th and 56th. Union/Cove and Wallowa County will compete at the state meet Saturday in Eugene. PLAY OUR CONTEST AND WIN! Select the winning teams from this weekend’s college & NFL Games! You may be a winner! HERE’S HOW: Clip Out This Official Entry Blank Watch for the Football Contest page every Monday in the La Grande Observer. A different numbered football game will appear in each of the sponsor boxes. Enter the advertiser name and game winner on the corresponding numbered line on the official entry form below, plus be sure to pick the remaining games already listed on the entry form plus the tiebreaker game. Pick the winner and the final score. In the case of an unbreakable tie the winnings will be split equally. Entries must be postmarked by midnight this Thursday or dropped off at The La Grande Observer by 4 p.m. this Friday. Late entries will be considered invalid. Mail entries to: Football Contest, La Grande Observer, 1406 Fifth Street, La Grande OR 97850 or drop off at our office at the same address. Limit 1 entry per person. Maximum of 2 entries per household per week. The contest is open to everyone in Union and Wallowa counties. No photocopies accepted. Employees of The Observer and their immediate families not eligible. Winners will be announced in Wednesday’s ad each week. Decisions of the judges are final. Name ________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________ City_____________________________State_____Zip_________ Phone _________________________________________________ Email _________________________________________________ GAME ADVERTISER WINNING TEAM No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 No. 13 ___________________ No. 14 Los Angeles Rams at Pittsburgh No. 15 Minnesota at Dallas T IEBREAKER GAME . C IRCLE WINNER AND FILL IN FINAL SCORE 16. S EATTLE ______ AT S AN F RANCISCO ______ ( TIEBREAKER ) WIN 25 $ Antenna TV for NE Oregon! 20+ Channels delivered in HD KRCW • KATU • KOIN • KPTV • KPDX • KTVB • KGW Watch Watch your your favorite favorite Shows! team! All for just $100 per year! Call 541-963-0196 www.bmtd.org 15 10 $ $ Let us Tackle those Rock Chips before the Cold Hits Call for Original Equipment Windshield Replacement • Over 30 years experience • All workmanship guaranteed • Locally owned & operated • Automotive Glass Replacement and Rock Chip Repair 3. E ASTERN O REGON AT R OCKY M OUNTAIN 10. C HICAGO AT D ETROIT GlasSmith 4. LSU AT A LABAMA Larry & Deby Smith - Owners (541) 963-0474 Toll Free (877) 963-0474 Thank You For Your Business Larry Smith Master Glazier ✓ Professional quality paints for inside and out. ✓ Premium, vibrant wood stains & fi nishes. ✓ Durable, energy-effi cient windows. ✓ Local experts to help you with your home project. 11. N EW Y ORK G IANTS AT N EW Y ORK J ETS 6. K ANSAS S TATE AT T EXAS 7. I OWA AT W ISCONSIN 12. A RIZONA AT T AMPA B AY 0118-063 541-963-8671 • 601 Adams Ave., La Grande OR • LaGrandePaint.com Big game MJ Goss Motor thirst crushers • Special Events • Lipton Teas • Five Gallon & Bottled Water • Starbucks • Restaurant & Office Coffee • Gatorade • Sobe Products • AMP Energy • Ocean Spray Juices • Bang Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Eastern Oregon Inc. 2404 E. H Ave. La Grande 541-963-7166 PLAY OF THE WEEK 8. Washington at Oregon State 9,988 $ 1. Estacada at La Grande 2. Baker at Cascade 2015 Ford Focus SE #20507B 1415 Adams Ave • 541-963-4161 5. P ENN S TATE AT M INNESOTA www.CountrysideSheds.com STORAGE BUILDINGS or ANIMAL SHELTERS (541) 663-0246 Locally owned and operated for over 25 years RENT to OWN and 90 Days Same as Cash See our display lot at NEW LOCATION! 10505 N. McAlister Road (Corner of Hwy 82 & N. McAlister Rd.) 9. USC AT A RIZONA S TATE 13. C AROLINA AT G REEN B AY 2906 Island Avenue, La Grande 541-963-2161 www.legacyford.net