Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2020)
Sports 6A Saturday, April 4, 2020 The Observer Callie Glenn leads area 2A honorees Brianna Kohr, Keegan Glenn and Ashlyn Gray also earn honors J By Ronald Bond The Observer UNION — The Union girls basketball team went on a run in 2019-20 that proved it to be one of the best in the state. Two of Union’s players received a similar recogni- tion following the season. Sophomore guard Callie Glenn and senior guard Bri- anna Kohr were named to the 2A all-state team, which is voted on by the coaches. Glenn was tapped as a first-team all-state per- former for the Bobcats, who finished 25-5 and placed fifth, while Kohr was named honorable mention. “I am pleased for them,” Union girls head coach Rhondie Rickman-Jo- hansen said. “One thing I really want to stress is they weren’t able to get those kind of awards and acknowledgment without the girls around them. They know it was a team effort.… It’s a great achievement because that means other coaches around the state are seeing your hard work.” Glenn has proven her- self as one of the state’s pre- mier players at the 2A level in just two years and, Rick- man-Johansen said, has a bright future ahead of her. “Callie again had a com- plete season,” the coach said. “She’s the driver on the team. She has a passion for the game. She works hard at the game in the off- season, and it shows when it comes to her performance on the court. She brings so many things to the game and to our team. She’s the player you can count on and kind of depend on to do all those things nightly.... Cal- lie’s also just such a humble girl about it. Sometimes she doesn’t even recognize in her own self what she is capable of.” Glenn herself was shocked at the accolade. “I was very surprised. I was not expecting it at all,” she said. Glenn noted when her coach sent her the all-state list, she couldn’t find her name on it. Turned out, it was because she was looking too low. “I was looking on third team and honorable men- tion,” she said. Glenn added part of the surprise in the award was being named with the other high-caliber players on teams Union saw at state. “When we went to the state tournament there were a lot of good players there,” she said. “You don’t realize how many good players there are.” Kohr finished her prep hoops career with a feather in her cap in getting recog- nized by the state’s coaches. “She really earned that this year,” Rickman-Jo- hansen said of her daughter, Kohr. “She made it her goal to be a factor to be reckoned with in the Blue Mountain Conference with her scoring and her defense. She really stepped up this year as a scorer, a teammate and as a leader.” The coach added it was icing on the cake for Kohr “as a senior and being an integral part of the program for four years. It’s a good ending for her.” More honors for regional athletes Up in Wallowa County, Ashlyn Gray capped off her high school basketball career by earning third- team all-state after helping steer the Enterprise girls Staff photo by Ronald Bond La Grande’s Chris Woodworth, who won two individual state championships for the Tigers, has signed to wrestle at Eastern Oregon University. Woodworth to continue wrestling career at EOU He intends to hone in on small details at college level J By Ronald Bond The Observer Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group Union sophomore Callie Glenn, left, was named first-team all-state following the con- clusion of the 2019-20 season. Glenn helped Union to a 25-5 record and a fifth-place finish at state. File photos/EO Media Group Union’s Keegan Glenn (above left) was named honorable mention all-state on the boys side after helping the Bobcats to a 17- 10 record. At right, Enterprise’s Ashlyn Gray earned third-team all-state after helping the Out- laws to a 17-7 record and a berth in the state playoffs. to a 17-7 record and a near upset of eventual state run- ner-up Monroe. “I thought that her ver- satility, her ability to play whatever we needed (were key),” EHS head coach Mike Crawford said of Gray, who was a post but had the ability to play any- where on the floor. “She brought it down the court as much as my (point guard) did.” Crawford said a facet of Gray’s senior year was that she stepped up and turned in her best efforts when the team needed her the most. “When we went to state at Monroe, she was our top player,” the coach said. “She did that over and over in games. She did that her whole career.” Her all-around ability also showed in the stat sheet. Crawford noted Gray led the team in every statistical category except assists, and wasn’t far off the team lead there. “I’m just really happy for her,” he said. “I think it was totally deserving to be in the top three teams. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she was higher. I would have been surprised if she was lower.” On the boys side, Union junior Keegan Glenn gar- nered honorable mention for the Bobcats, perhaps a more impressive feat con- sidering Union, though going 17-10, missed the playoffs, and most all- state players are on playoff teams. “That’s how you get your exposure. You get to state, you get to play in front of coaches and people,” Union head coach Odin Miller said. “For Keegan to get rec- ognized is a testament to how good he is.” Glenn averaged 18.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists for Union on the season. “You’re not going to find a kid that works harder than him,” Miller said. “He’s dedicated. He’s a great young man, and he deserves this. I’m proud of him. I feel fortunate he got that accolade.” Miller noted, though, that Glenn is already looking to reach higher next season. “He was excited, but at the same time he’s the kind of kid who wants to do more,” he said. LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon Univer- sity men’s wrestling team is adding a two-time state champion to its roster — and it didn’t even have to leave town to find him. The Mountaineers have signed La Grande senior Chris Woodworth, who in late February won his second straight state title en route to helping the Tigers win state for the first time since 1996. Woodworth said the decision to sign came in part due to realizing there was more he could do on the mat, and winning the 195-pound title helped prove that to him. “After I won that second state championship this year, I realized my wres- tling career wasn’t over and that I could excel much more and get much better than I am right now,” Woodworth said. Woodworth went 29-4 his senior season, wrapping up with a memorable 4-3 decision over Nat Brown of Elmira/Crow, one where he scored the winning take- down in the closing sec- onds to also secure the state championship for the team. EOU head coach Dustyn Azure said he has watched Woodworth develop over the years and noted he started to really come into his own during his junior year. “Watching him wrestle his junior year was when he really caught my atten- tion, and having him at my camp,” Azure said. “That’s when I started asking more about him, trying to fill in some blank spots (in our roster) where he would fill in.” Azure said Woodworth “looked like a junior or senior as a freshman but he still was not grown into his body yet. He’s been devel- oping each year.” Azure added Wood- worth fits the model of what he wants to bring to EOU. “He’s an ideal student athlete,” the coach said. “He’s smart, he can come in and wrestle, he can compete hard, he’s an all- around good kid. That’s what we’re looking for in our program.” Woodworth said he received consideration from Corban but wanted to stay in La Grande and attend Eastern even if he didn’t wrestle. “I was thinking of just staying at EOU even if it wasn’t for sports anyway,” he said. “I was thinking originally of walking on and playing football … but after thinking about it a little bit, and since Dustyn was offering me a scholar- ship, (I thought wrestling) would be better.” Woodworth said his intent is to hone in on smaller details as he develops at the collegiate level. He noted in conversa- tion with Azure, the coach said the key is “just really focusing on small things, little things, little tech- niques, focusing on those every day. For me, in high school, you can get away with a lot of not really good technique.... Now, being at the college level, you can’t just get away with athlet- icism. (I plan to) focus on working on overall tech- nique and knowing what I like to do.” The coach added Wood- worth has the tools to develop into a top-level wrestler. “What he has right now is an ability to score when he wants to,” Azure said. “With his confidence, that can get him here.” T O Y OUR H EALTH HEALTH CARE DIRECTORY CHIROPRACTIC SPECIALISTS Wellness Exams & Physicals Injections & Minor Procedures Men & Women's Health Pediatric Care 0267,1685$1&( $&&(37(' 'U7KRPDV'0LOOHU 13LQH/D*UDQGH NEW: • Same Day Appointments • Accepting New Patients • Extended Evening Hours • New Website 2011 4th St. La Grande • 541-963-4139 www.lagrandefamilymedicine.com $FURVVIURP1HZ)LUH6WDWLRQ Staff photo by Ronald Bond Union’s Brianna Kohr was named honorable mention all-state after helping the Bobcats to a 25-5 record and fifth-place finish at state. To Advertise CALL 541-963-3161