SPORTS
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 7A
Union High School athlete is overcoming obstacles
Breathing disorder
does not derail
Marielle
Graffunder’s solid
track start
The Observer
By COREY KIRK
Baker City Herald
UNION — Union High
Bobcat freshman Marielle
Graff under has found her-
self over the last handful
of weeks lining up on
starter blocks or sprinting
down a run line with a
pole tucked under her arm.
From the moment she
begins her stride till she
free falls down to the mat,
pole vaulting is something
Graff under refers to as
“dynamic.”
“When you get it down,
and you get the form down,
it feels so rewarding to do
it correctly, and clear good
heights,” Graff under said.
“The dynamics are just so
interesting.”
On the cusp of fi nishing
her fi rst year of competing
in high school, Graff under
has been a consistent force
in short distance and in pole
valuting. This comes to no
surprise to head track coach
Jay Blackburn, who has
coached Graff under since
middle school.
“I’ve known her since
she was little. She moved to
Union about fi ve years ago,
and is also friends with my
daughter,” Blackburn said.
Prior to the pandemic,
Graff under would be on
the cross-country course,
playing basketball and vol-
leyball in the gym and out
at the track competing.
All of that changed when
she was diagnosed with
No fans allowed at track
& fi eld championships
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Union High freshman Marielle Graff under competes Friday, April 30, 2021, in the pole vault at the River’s Edge
Invitational in Umatilla. Her vault of 9 feet was a personal record and the top vault for girls at the meet. Union
High teammate Jayda Blackburn took second in the event.
vocal cord dysfunction. As
described by the Cleve-
land Clinic, VCD is when
instead of vocal cords
opening, they close, making
it harder to get air into or
out of the lungs. Although
sharing many similarities
to asthma, this diagnosis
left Graff under having to
reevaluate what sports she
could participate in.
“I started having symp-
toms my seventh-grade year
while in cross-country. (It
happens) whenever I am
overly happy or stressed, so
it makes it very diffi cult to
do things like cross-country
and basketball,” Graff under
said.
While it wasn’t feasible
to continue participating in
cross-country and basket-
ball, Graff under still was
able to play her fi rst season
of volleyball for the Bob-
cats just a month ago, and
she moved to short-distance
running in track to still
being able to run.
“The furthest I can go
is 400. It’s weird because
practices are diffi cult
because I can’t fully com-
plete each workout,” Graf-
funder said.
As for fi eld events, Graf-
funder began trying to pole
vault during her time in
middle school. Recognizing
her athletic ability, Black-
burn saw she was going to
thrive in the technical work
that takes place in pole
vaulting, coaching her in
the fi eld event since she was
in the seventh grade.
“She’s a gifted athlete,”
he said. “She probably
doesn’t know how talented
she is at this point, and how
much potential she has.”
Her approach on the pole
vault is similar to what she
does with her running —
she goes into autopilot, not
really having any thoughts
run through her mind.
“As long as I clear the
height, it’s just a sigh of
relief when I land,” Graf-
funder said.
Graff under has con-
tinued to impress during her
fi rst season in high school,
posting high numbers in
the 100 meters (14.74a),
400 meters (1:06.32a), pole
vault (9’0”) and being a piv-
otal member of UHS relay
teams, according to www.
athletic.net. Blackburn sees
opportunity for Graff under
to accomplish a lot in her
high school career.
“I think my No. 1 pri-
ority for all of my athletes
is to develop good people,
learn how to set good goals,
and to be the best that they
can be,” Blackburn said.
In the last few weeks of
her freshman season, Graf-
funder is hopeful she can
at least go 1 foot higher
on her pole vault, but she
sees her focus going into
improving her times in her
running events.
LA GRANDE — Fans will not able to see the 2021
Cascade Collegiate Conference Outdoor Track & Field
Championships in person this weekend in La Grande.
The big track events take place Friday and Saturday,
May 14-15, at Banner Bank Track on the campus of
Eastern Oregon University. The CCC announced due to
the high number of athletes, coaches and meet workers
at the two-day meet, it will not allow fans to attend
either day.
“This decision comes as a way to keep all stu-
dent-athletes, coaches, and workers involved with the
meet safe,” according to the announcement from the
conference.
Fans, however, can follow the meet live online here:
bit.ly/3bllzqu. Day-by-day recaps for the meet will be
online at www.EOUSports.com.
You also can fi nd that and more information,
including a full event schedule for this year’s champion-
ship, at cascadeconference.org.
Local sports roundup
Ontario 11-1, 11-1.
MONDAY, MAY 10
PREP BASEBALL
PREP SOFTBALL
Union/Cove at home defeated
Lyle/Wishram/Klickitat/Trout
Lake in Heppner 11-2.
La Grande defeated Ontario
on the road 14-4, 13-2.
Wallowa Valley at Union/Cove
split a double header. Cove/
Union won game one 8-6;
Wallowa Valley won game two
11-7.
TUESDAY, MAY 11
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande at home defeated
Local sports schedule
Baker/Powder Valley at Nyssa,
10 a.m.
Union/Cove at McLoughlin,
11 a.m.
Burns at Wallowa Valley, 2 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, MAY 13
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande vs. Crook County in
Pendleton, 1 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton,
4:30 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
FRIDAY, MAY 14
Baker/Powder Valley at Nyssa,
10 a.m.
Union/Cove at Umatilla,
11:30 a.m.
Wallowa Valley at Burns,
12 p.m.
PREP BOYS TENNIS
La Grande at Four Rivers Dual
in Ontario, 3 p.m.
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Cascade Collegiate Conference
Track & Field Championships,
La Grande, 2 p.m.
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Cascade Collegiate Conference
Track & Field Championships,
La Grande, 11 a.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 15
PREP BASEBALL
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