8A
Thursday, February 13, 2020
The Observer
Bobcats finish
perfect in BMC
Observer staff
Contributed photo by Iain Dexter/EOU Athletics
Eastern Oregon University’s Megan Bolton, shown during an EOU photoshoot, has broken program records in the
indoor 60-, 400- and 600-meter races in the last month.
A Bolt(on) of lightning
■ Speedy Eastern
Oregon sophomore
shattering records
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Megan
Bolton has drawn compari-
sons — and understandably
so — to a record-setting
sprinter who bears a simi-
larity in name.
“All the time,” she said of
how often Jamaican Usain
Bolt has been brought up to
her, adding friends would
add a dash or an ellipse
in her name — Bolt-on or
Bolt…on. “I got used to it. I
think it’s kind of funny. It’s a
cool reference.”
Her name, though, is
not the only thing she has
in common with Bolt, as
the sophomore sprinter is
rewriting the record books
for the Eastern Oregon
University women’s track
and fi eld team.
And, appropriately, she’s
doing it quickly.
In the last month, Bolton
has set program records in
the women’s indoor 60-meter
dash, the 400 and the 600.
She broke the school record
in the latter of the three
Contributed photo by Connor Bracken/EOU Athletics
Bolton, a sophomore at EOU, broke program records in
both the indoor 60 and 400 last weekend in Boise.
races — which, she said,
is her favorite indoor race
— twice in as many weeks,
and set both the 60 and 400
marks last weekend.
“I haven’t sat back and
thought about it,” she said
of the records. “I just don’t
think of myself as anything
special. Anybody could
break the records. Some of
it is luck. The 60 was just
more ambitious, just want-
ing to do better anytime I
ran the event.
“I think about my races,
but I think about what I can
do better in the next one.”
The 600, a race in which
she is currently ranked
second in the nation at the
NAIA level, is a perfect ex-
ample. She originally broke
the record on Jan. 18 with a
time of 1:35.95, but said in
that fi rst race, the middle
lap on Boise’s 200-meter in-
door track was her slowest.
A week later, her goal was to
be more consistent on each
of the three laps.
“The second time we ran
it we decided to get out
hard, maintain hard, fi nish
hard,” Bolton said.
That race she posted
a time of 1:33.61, which
resulted in her meeting the
goal of positioning herself
better in the national race in
early March, which she had
qualifi ed for the prior week.
“I’ve been saying since
last year I was going to be a
national champ in the 600.
I just wanted to set myself
up for a better position
and get more experience
in the 600 so when I do go
to nationals in it I have an
idea of how I want to run
it,” she said.
She most recently set
records in the 60 in 7.82 sec-
onds, and the 400 in 56.19
seconds.
Running is in Bolton’s
family, as both her father,
James, and her brother,
Cade, competed in track
and, like Megan, were
sprinters.
She transitioned to the
sport fully in high school
after spending 10 years as
a gymnast, though during
middle school she both ran
track and did gymnastics.
The skill built up as a
gymnast aided a natural
transition to being a sprinter.
See Bolton / Page 10A
The Union Bobcats girls
basketball team fi nished
a perfect Blue Mountain
Conference season Tuesday
as it used a big second quar-
ter to pull away from the
Stanfi eld Tigers for a 55-45
road win.
“It’s kind of surreal. You
start out with a vision and a
mission and a goal, (and) to
see it (realized) is satisfy-
ing,” head coach Rhondie
Rickman-Johansen said.
“We focus truly on our-
selves. We focus on one
game at a time.”
Union fi nished its fi rst
perfect league run since
going 14-0 in the BMC in
the 2008-09 season, break-
ing the game open with a
20-point second quarter to
take a 32-15 halftime lead.
Taylar Daggett, who scored
13 points, hit three 3-point-
ers in the period.
Kylie Marriott had 15
points to lead Union, and
Callie Glenn added 12
points.
“These girls, they’re
on a mission,” Rickman-
Johansen said. “They are
determined, they’re focused,
and they are hungry for
what lies ahead. I couldn’t
be more proud of them.
They’re just a dynamic
group of young ladies.”
The Bobcats (22-3 overall,
12-0 BMC) are off until Feb.
22 when they play either
Stanfi eld or Enterprise
in the BMC title game in
Pendleton.
Joseph 44, Imbler 22:
Sabrina Albee scored 15 of
her game-high 23-points in
the third quarter Tuesday
to help the Eagles earn an
Old Oregon League win on
the road.
Albee hit three 3-point-
ers and Joseph outscored
Imbler 23-4 in the third to
turn a 12-10 halftime lead
into a 35-14 margin after
three.
Madelyn Nelson added
eight points for Joseph and
had a pair of 3s in the third.
Imbler was led by Kenna
Whitmore, who scored 13
points.
Joseph (16-6 overall, 9-1
OOL) visits Wallowa Friday,
while Imbler (1-18, 1-8)
hosts Nixyaawii Thursday.
Heppner 38, Enter-
prise 37: The Outlaws saw
a nine-point lead with 1:47
to play vanish Tuesday in a
heartbreaking Blue Moun-
tain Conference home loss
to Heppner.
Sydney Wilson scored 13
points in the fourth for Hep-
pner to spark the comeback.
Ashlyn Gray and Carsyn
Miller scored eight points
apiece for the Outlaws.
Enterprise (15-5 over-
all, 7-4 BMC) fi nishes the
regular season Friday at
Pilot Rock.
See Roundup / Page 9A
TREASURE
VALLEY
STEEL, INC.
Manufacturing Zee & Cee Purlins
In-HouseCustom Cut Exact Lengths
• 24 Colors
• Custom Trim
• 2 1/2” Corrugated
• Delivery Available
• Full Soffitt Line
• 3 ft. Gulf Coast Panel
• 3 ft. PBR Panel
• 3 ft. Mesa Panel
• 3 ft. Tuff Rib Panel
• Standing Seam
DELIVERY
• 2 ft. Delta Rib
AVAILABLE
• 3 ft. Pro Panel
40 Year Full Paint Warranty • WeatherX Paint System
ONTARIO
541-889-4214
BOISE
208-336-7505
1460 N. Verde Dr.
Toll Free 1-866-887-8335
6619 S. Supply Way
Toll Free 1-888-717-8335
WWW.TREASUREVALLEYSTEEL.COM