6A
Monday, December 16, 2019
The Observer
Staff photos by Ronald Bond
La Grande’s Braden Carson, left, and Parker Robinson, right, wrestle Saturday during their semifinal matches at the Muilenburg Invitational. Carson (132 pounds) and
Robinson (170) went on to win individual titles and help the Tigers to the team championship at their home tournament.
Tigers crush competition at Muilenburg
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — One La Grande
Tiger wrestler cemented his spot
among the top Muilenburg Invi-
tational competitors ever. Another
got revenge over a loss in the final
a year ago. A third picked up a title
after a concussion kept him from
one in 2018.
It was all part of the dominating
display Friday and Saturday for La
Grande at its home tournament.
Five Tigers claimed Muilenburg
championships and three more
finished as runners-up as La
Grande piled up 387 points to coast
to a third straight Muilenburg title
in an effort that shows the depth of
the team this season.
“Our upper weights are really
tough,” said senior Parker Robin-
son, one of the five champions for
La Grande. “So grateful to have
them, and now we got some lower
weights that are battling, getting
us extra points for our team. At the
end of the year it’s all going to be
up to those little guys helping us
out.”
Robinson (170 pounds) earned
his third-straight championship
in the tournament, joining a small
handful of athletes who have man-
aged to win the two-day event at
least three times. He did so in com-
manding fashion, pinning all five of
his opponents and, perhaps, saving
his best for last when he needed
only a minute to drop Wyatt
Epling of Burns in the champion-
ship round, the shortest of the five
matches and one that energized
the home crowd.
“I’m just so grateful to be able to
wrestle here at home, and in front
of this home crowd,” Robinson said.
“It’s awesome. It’s a great environ-
Staff photos by Ronald Bond
Brody MacMillan, top photo, and Chris Woodworth, bottom photo,
won Muilenburg titles at 160 and 195 pounds, respectively.
ment to wrestle in, and it means a
lot to me.”
He finished with a perfect record
in the tournament for his career.
The 2016 Muilenburg his freshman
year was snowed out.
“He’s right there,” head coach
Klel Carson said of Robinson’s rank
among the all-time best Muilen-
burg career performances. “To win
the Muilenburg three times (is big).
There have been a few other kids
who have done that. There’s been
one four-time (winner) that we can
think of (Ryan Malone).”
Robinson’s win came on the
heels of arguably the most thrill-
ing match of the finals at 160
pounds between La Grande’s Brody
MacMillan and Banks’ Johnathan
Dudley. MacMillan trailed early
and was down 3-2 entering the
final round. But the sophomore
pulled off an escape to even the
score, and moments later delivered
an emphatic takedown and a pin to
a roar of approval.
“He was a really tough guy, and
I think he kind of got gassed at the
end,” MacMillan said. “I was work-
ing hard, getting after it, threw him
and pinned him.… I was pretty
excited. I didn’t even place in this
tournament last year, and getting
first is a big deal for me.”
Earlier in the final, Braden Car-
son (132) picked up the first Mui-
lenburg championship of his career,
as the sophomore Tiger avenged a
loss in last year’s final to Weiser’s
Kooper vonBrethorst. Carson,
who won Saturday by a close 7-4
decision, said when he knew what
weight vonBrethorst was wrestling
at, he wanted to be certain to land
in the same bracket to have a shot
at a rematch.
“The tournament before he was
going (132), so I cut down. I really
wanted to wrestle him. I was hop-
ing I would meet him in the finals,”
Carson said.
The sophomore added his de-
velopment as a wrestler was what
allowed him to earn the win in the
rematch.
“I think I’ve really improved as
a wrestler,” he said. “Last year, I
was really one-minded and did one
move.”
Chris Woodworth (195) missed
out on a championship last year at
the Muilenburg due to a concussion
suffered in the final, but the senior
claimed victory in his final perfor-
mance at the tournament Saturday
with a 13-3 major decision over
Reynolds’ Robert Plympton.
“It’s one I’ve been looking for-
ward to this year, since last year
I got a concussion at this tourna-
ment’s finals and lost because of
that,” Woodworth said. “That’s
definitely a big confidence booster
for me. Glad to be here and wrestle
my heart out.”
Spencer Gerst (220) wrapped
up La Grande’s night with a win
by fall over Hermiston’s Jonathan
Lee, notching two quick takedowns
before finishing the match in just
1:38.
“It was awesome,” Gerst said.
“We were training hard up in the
room and it makes it easier out
here. We had some great wrestlers
tonight and (we) performed well.”
The five titles were the high-
lights at the end of La Grande’s
strong overall team effort, one that
saw a total of 14 wrestlers place.
Eight Tigers, in fact, reached the
finals, with Dominick Caratello
(126), Alex Kehr (138) and Braxton
Bisenius (145) each taking second.
Caratello went 4-1 before dropping
his final match to Weiser’s Justin
Williamson by fall. Kehr recorded
four wins by fall in four matches
before Enterprise’s Trace Evans
earned a 10-0 major decision in the
See Muilenburg / Page 8A
McCullough drops 41 in EOU’s record-setting victory
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — It didn’t matter who
shot in the second half Saturday night
for the Eastern Oregon University
men’s basketball team — the Moun-
taineers simply couldn’t miss.
Max McCullough scored a career-
high 41 points to lead five Mounties in
double figures, and EOU shot 83.8%
and scored 75 second-half points to turn
a close game at halftime into a 127-90
rout of Pacific University.
“I didn’t know it was (more than) 80%,
but I did tell them everything’s gotta be
in the lane,” EOU head coach Carlito
Labarda Jr. said. “Everything starts in
the lane. (That) was what we wanted on
our offense, and that was what we got.
We got a lot of stand-still 3s, and Max
had a great night shooting.”
The Mountaineers missed just six
shots in the second half as they shot 31-
for-37. EOU shot 70.8% (51-for-72) for
the contest and 78.6% (11-for-14) from
the 3-point line. Both percentages are
new program records.
“It’s crazy,” McCullough said. “We lost
a tough one (Friday) night. Two home
games we lost in a row, so we wanted
to come out and bring it. We knew our
shots would come eventually. We hadn’t
been shooting exceptionally well all
year. We’ve just been kind of waiting for
it, and I think this was a good game to
get our shots rolling before we get into
the thick of league.”
McCullough in particular caught fire.
The junior guard was 12-for-18 from the
floor and 9-for-12 from deep, becom-
ing the first Mountaineer since Jordan
May in December 2018 to net at least
40 points in a game. He scored 24 of his
points in the second half.
“I’ve had 39 a couple of times, but
never had a 40-ball, so it felt good,” Mc-
Cullough said. “I haven’t been shooting
it exceptionally well this year from 3,
especially. I’ve been kind of down in a
slump. I’ve been waiting for this game.”
He wasn’t alone in stuffing the
stat sheet Saturday. He was joined in
double figures by Jarek Schetzle (19
points), Landon Jones (18), Justin Jeske
(12) and Jamal Heckard (11), each of
whom shot at least 50% from the floor.
Jeske, in fact, was a perfect 6-for-6 and
Schetzle was 9-for-11.
The only area in which EOU seem-
ingly struggled was at the free-throw
line, where it shot just 70%. Eastern
also committed 26 turnovers but offset
that with 38 assists.
The contest, a rematch of a wild
132-125 overtime win by EOU on Nov.
15, seemed destined to be another
barnburner. Pacific and Eastern traded
punches throughout the first half, and
the Boxers took a 50-45 lead in the final
minute before the break on a 3-pointer
by Davis Holly. But a five-point posses-
sion by McCullough — he was fouled
after hitting a 3-pointer and made
the two ensuing free throws — and a
basket by Jones in the closing moments
sent EOU into the half up 52-50.
Eastern’s blistering shooting quickly
pushed the lead to double figures as
consecutive field goals by Schetzle
capped a 12-2 run to open the second
half. The advantage reached 22 points
at 82-60 on a field goal by Jones and
a McCullough 3, then 30 on a Mc-
Staff photo by Ronald Bond
Cullough free throw, and as much as
Eastern Oregon University’s Max McCullough scored a
109-69 with 6:30 to play when Jones
career-high 41 points Saturday in the Mountaineers’ win
scored to cap an extended 64-19 run.
See Eastern / Page 8A over Pacific University.