6A — THE OBSERVER Allexander Kosel of Eastern Oregon University competes Saturday, March, 6, 2021, in the long jump at the National Association of Inter- collegiate Athletics Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Ruth Donohoe First Dakota Field- house in Yankton, South Dakota. Kosel and four teammates won All-American honors at the meet. James D. Cimburek/Contributed Photo Five Mountaineers win All-American honors Michelle Herbes secures second All-American honor in the 1,000 By DICK MASON The Observer YANKTON, S.D. — Eastern Oregon University track and fi eld came away from last week’s Indoor National Championships with fi ve All-American honors to fi nish the 2020-21 indoor season. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics meet in Yankton, South Dakota, began Wednesday, March 3, and wrapped up Saturday, March 6. Going into Friday, the Mountain- eers had the chance to pick up two or three All-Amer- ican awards, according to a report from EOU athletics, and were guaranteed one. Darrian Walker’s and Michelle Herbes’ fourth- place fi nishes sparked the EOU men’s and wom- en’s track and fi eld teams. The two were among fi ve EOU athletes who earned All-American honors with top-eight fi nishes. Herbes placed fourth in the wom- en’s 1,000-meter run, and Walker took fourth in the men’s pole vault. Herbes, a junior from Union, clocked 2:56.93 and was closing rapidly on the leaders at the fi nish. EOU head track coach Ben Welch said he believes Herbes could have placed even higher if the race had been a bit longer. “She just ran out of room,” Welch said. This was the second straight year Herbes won All-American honors. She placed eighth in the 1,000 meter at the 2020 NAIA indoor meet. Teammate Jas- mine Devers came within one place of advancing to this year’s fi nals in the 200 meters with a time of 25.47 seconds, the ninth best at the meet. In the men’s competi- tion Walker, a sophomore, placed fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 16 feet, 3/4 inches. It was a personal best for Walker and marked the fi rst time he cleared 16 feet. Three other EOU men also won All-American honors — Hunter Nichols, Allexander Kosel and T.J. Davis. Nichols placed fi fth in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:32.51; Kosel was eighth in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 6 and 1/4 inches; and Davis was sev- enth in the heptathlon with 4,746 points. Kosel also competed in the triple jump, placing ninth with a mark of 46 feet, 6 inches. Welch said Kosel was the only person at nationals in the men’s com- petition to make the fi nals in both the long jump and the triple jump. Other EOU men turned in solid performances. Sam Roddewig placed 11th in the heptathlon with 4,669 points, and Cody Milmine placed ninth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.87 seconds. Milmine came within a hundredth of a second of qualifying for the fi nals in the dash. “It takes a tenth of a second to blink an eye. Cody came inches from competing in the fi nals,” Welch said. Welch noted many of EOU’s athletics placed much higher than they were ranked coming into the meet. They included Herbes who was ranked 13th in the women’s 1,000, Nichols who was ranked 15th in the men’s 1,000, and Davis who was ranked 14th in the men’s heptathlon. “We competed very well,” Welch said. Eastern athletes per- formed well despite the fact the indoor meet was on a fl at 200-meter track. Welch said most of EOU’s athletes never competed on that kind of track before, unlike many of the athletes from the Midwest, where fl at indoor 200-meter tracks are more common. Welch said some of his runners had trouble adjusting to the tight turns of the track because they were unfamiliar with the ovals. The EOU men fi nished tied for 24th place in a fi eld with at least 61 teams, with 12 points. The EOU women fi nished 36th in a fi eld with at least 66 teams, with fi ve points. EOU places 18th at wrestling nationals The Observer PARK CITY, Kan. — The Eastern Oregon Univer- sity men’s wrestling brought home hardware from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Wrestling National Cham- pionships. Two Mountain- eers earned All-American status at the meet March 5-6, in Park City, Kansas, and the team scored 24 points to place 18th. Keegan Mulhill at 174 pounds and Noel Orozco at 285 pounds made their ways to the podium, according to the report from EOU. Mulhill placed sixth in his TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021 SPORTS/NORTHWEST class with a 5-3 record and scored 14 points for Eastern. Orozco fi nished seventh, going 4-2 and scoring 8.5 points for the team. For both wrestlers, this was their fi rst career All-American honors. Mulhill pinned his fi rst opponent, Don Doyle of Texas Wesleyan, in 2:07. Mulhill was on the fl ip side of a pin in his next match to go to 1-1. He won his next three matches by decisions to make it into day two and guarantee All-American status. He was 4-1 on day two and in the consolation bracket and was 1-2 on the fi nal day of action. Orozco went 3-1 on day one and managed to battle to the quarterfi nals before being knocked into the con- solation bracket. Orozco stayed in con- tention for All-American honors, closing the day as he pinned Benito Hernandez of Ottawa University in 57 seconds. Orozco’s fi nal day of action saw him fi nish 1-1. In the seventh-place match, Orozco battled from start to fi nish in a tough 4-3 decision victory over Maleek Caton of Williams Baptist University. Enjoy Life more, Stress Less at GRANDE Ronde Retirement & Assisted Living 1809 Gekeler Ln. La Grande 541-963-4700 PROTECTING our Residents during this Pandemic Northwest wildlife agencies warn of invasive zebra mussels Associated Press PORTLAND — Wild- life agencies in Oregon, Washington and Idaho are urging pet stores to stop selling a popular aquarium product after discovering invasive zebra mussels inside them. The mollusks breed quickly and can wreak havoc on natural water- ways. Unexpected sight- ings in Northwest pet stores have wildlife offi - cials sounding the alarm, Oregon Public Broad- casting reported. “It would be devas- tating to our environment if these ever got estab- lished in Oregon or the Pacifi c Northwest,” said Rick Boatner, the invasive species wildlife integrity supervisor at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A PetCo employee in Seattle found zebra mus- sels in “Betta Buddy Marimo Ball” moss ball products in February. “I work in the aquatics department, and almost every shipment of these moss balls that I have unpacked for the past two months has had mussels nestled in the moss balls,” reads a fi ling with the U.S. Geological Survey. The Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife this week found them at a pet store in Salem in the same product. The Idaho State Department of Agri- culture’s Invasive Spe- cies Program also said this week that zebra mus- sels were found in those products. Zebra mussels are small but destructive. They eat algae that native species need to survive. They can also incapacitate native mussels. They clog storm drains, drinking water sys- tems, irrigation and dams. Zebra and quagga mussel infestations in the Great Lakes region have cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually. People can safely dis- pose of the marimo balls by freezing or boiling them before putting them in the garbage. Don’t fl ush the balls down the toilet, ODFW says, as the mus- sels could get into the water system. The agency also encourages people to clean aquariums by removing fi sh, then letting a diluted bleach solution sit in the aquarium for 10 minutes. Disinfect fi lters, gravel and other items in the aquarium before disposing of the solution down the sink or toilet. Oregon — and much of the region — has largely avoided a zebra mussel invasion through strict monitoring of watercraft, according to Fish and Wildlife offi cials. “We were not expecting zebra mussels from moss balls,” Boatner said. STATE NEWS BRIEFS 4 hotels to pay $105K over wildfi re price-gouging PORTLAND — Four Oregon hotels will pay $105,600 in penalties and reimburse at least 100 cus- tomers to settle allegations of price gouging during wildfi res last year. The fi res burned more than 1 million acres and forced thousands of Ore- gonians from their homes. Some people reported increased hotel prices and Gov. Kate Brown issued a directive to crack down on price gouging. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Thursday, March 4, the hotels have agreed to settle price- gouging allegations by paying fi nancial penalties, The Oregonian/Oregon- Live reported. The Department of Jus- tice reported Capital Inn & Suites in Salem typi- cally charged $60-$80 a night for rooms but was charging as much as $146 during the wildfi res. Cap- ital Inn has refunded $1,342 to those customers and has agreed to reim- burse others. The hotel also will pay a $38,000 penalty to the state. The other hotels are Le Chateau Inn in Flor- ence, the Rodeway Inn Willamette River in Cor- vallis and the Days Inn in Roseburg. Oregon is investi- gating other allegations, according to the Jus- tice Department. It’s also looking into hotel price- gouging allegations during last month’s ice storm. Helicopter crew rescues hiker who fell from cliff SEASIDE — A man who fell more than 100 feet from a cliff near Cannon Beach in north- western Oregon has been rescued by helicopter. The U.S. Coast Guard says the hiker fell late Friday afternoon, March 5, from a cliff at Hug Point State Park south of Cannon Beach. The Coast Guard says a helicopter crew hoisted the hiker to safety after fi rst responders on the ground reported they were unable to reach him. Authorities say the hiker was taken to an area hospital. The hik- er’s name and types of injuries weren’t released. — Associated Press