Sports
7A
Thursday, May 27, 2021
The Observer
Masks to be worn unless vaccinated
Season 4
culminating week
to be run like
Seasons 2 and 3
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
SALEM — The masking
rules for businesses put in
place by Gov. Kate Brown
last week will apply to the
playing surface, too.
The Oregon School
Activities Associa-
tion announced recently
it received clarification
from the Oregon Health
Authority on how to
handle masking for ath-
letic events. The ruling for
indoor sports is that stu-
dents, staff, volunteers and
spectators who are fully
vaccinated are not required
to wear masks as long as
the vaccination status of
that individual has been
checked by the school. Pre-
vious social distancing and
capacity rules are still in
place.
That means unvac-
cinated players on the
wrestling mat or basket-
ball court will have to be
masked, OSAA Executive
Director Peter Weber said.
“These provisions are
optional for the venue
operators,” the press
release from the OSAA
states. “School districts,
charter schools, and private
schools may still choose to
require face coverings at
these events.”
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A fan at the La Grande vs. Nyssa varsity girls basketball game on May
20, 2021, looks on from the stands midway through the game. OSAA
now allows fans who are fully vaccinated to attend games without
masks, so long as the school has verified the individual’s vaccination.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Cameron Collman dribbles down the court on a fast break during La Grande’s season opener against Nys-
sa on May 20, 2021. OSAA now states that fully vaccinated players competing in Season 4 are not required
to wear masks during indoor competition.
OHA guidance deems
a “fully vaccinated” indi-
vidual as someone who is
14 days past receiving full
vaccination — two shots of
either Pfizer or Moderna,
or one shot of Johnson &
Johnson.
Vaccination verification
is “documentation provided
by a tribal, federal, state
or local government, or a
health care provider, that
includes an individual’s
EOU names interim
head basketball coach
Former assistant
Chris Kemp to take
over men’s program
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity named assistant coach
Chris Kemp the interim
head basket-
ball coach on
Tuesday, May
25, according
to a press
release.
Kemp has
Kemp
been with the
Mountaineers basketball
program since 2017 and
served as an assistant to
both the men’s and women’s
teams last season. The EOU
men’s team is 61-49 overall
during Kemp’s time with
the team.
The EOU athletics web-
site announced that a per-
manent head coach will
be hired at the end of the
upcoming 2021-22 season.
Kemp will coach the men’s
team under the interim
status until that decision is
made.
“Having established
relationships with the core
group of guys here is a huge
plus,” Kemp said. “They’re
ready to hit the ground
running.”
Before his time in La
Grande, Kemp was an
assistant coach at North
Idaho College in Coeur
d’Alene, Idaho, and spent
time coaching high school
basketball in Arizona.
Prior to coaching, Kemp
played at Arizona Christian
University.
The Mountaineers parted
ways with Carlito Labarda
Jr. on May 10 after four
years with the program.
Labarda’s teams had win-
ning records in two of his
four seasons, but Eastern
failed to make the NAIA
tournament during his
tenure.
Eastern returns several
upperclassmen next season,
including its two top
scorers, Max McCullough
and Zane Wright. The
Mountaineers finished
the pandemic-shortened
2020-21 season with an
8-12 overall record.
“The personal relation-
ships he has with the guys
will definitely help on the
court,” McCullough said
of Kemp. “Everybody
loves the guy, so it’s pretty
exciting.”
Kemp and the EOU
men’s basketball team are
set to play a full season next
fall after the delayed start
this year.
“Our goal is to make the
national tournament and
see if we can make a run,”
Kemp said.
name, date of birth, type
of COVID-19 vaccination
given, date or dates given,
depending on whether it
is a one-dose or two-dose
vaccine, and the name/
location of the health care
provider or site where the
vaccine was administered,”
according to the press
release.
Weber said each school
will make the call on how
they handle checking
vaccinations.
“I’m not sure every
school is going to check
the status. They may keep
everyone masked,” he said.
He added the OSAA
does check on schools that
they hear are not following
the standards in place.
“In general the respon-
sibility is on the school to
be sure they are following
regulations,” he said.
Darren Goodman, ath-
letic director at La Grande,
said the basketball players
will wear masks until
they’re told not to. Fully
vaccinated fans in atten-
dance can show proof of
vaccination and watch
games without masks.
“It changes daily, but
we’re trying to keep up
with it and do what’s best,”
Goodman said.
Masks are no longer
required at outdoor
sporting events, though
social distancing is still
encouraged.
The OSAA also
announced that its Season
4 culminating week events
will be carried out in the
same manner as Seasons 2
and 3 — run at the local or
regional level.
Season 4 includes bas-
ketball, wrestling and
swimming. Each of those
sports were granted addi-
tional contests, as well.
Basketball can have four
additional games, swim-
ming gets two additional
dates and wrestlers get
one extra date, two added
weigh-ins and five more
mat appearances.
June 21-27 is the culmi-
nating week for Season 4.
Seasons 2 and 3 have seen
regional and even state-
wide events put together
by schools. Weber said
OSAA hasn’t been overly
involved in these larger
events, but has provided
support when schools had
questions.
“We’re not in drawing
brackets, but trying to be a
resource for athletic direc-
tors, whether it’s the local
tournament, or regional
things, or the stuff that is
even a little larger,” he said.
Beason emerging as big-play
threat after sensational spring
Freshman receiver
turning into go-to-
guy for Oregon
State offense
By JARRID DENNEY
Corvallis Gazette-Times
CORVALLIS — During
a spring football practice
last month, Oregon State
offensive coordinator Brian
Lindgren spontaneously
gathered his first-string
players and set them up in
a third-down situation deep
in their own territory.
On the first play of the
impromptu scrimmage sce-
nario, freshman receiver
Zeriah Beason caught a
short pass on a slant route
near the right hash mark,
made one cut to evade a
linebacker and broke loose
for a 70-yard touchdown.
Not five minutes later,
in the exact same scenario,
Beason lined up on the
left side of the field. When
the ball was snapped, he
out-muscled a cornerback
at the line of scrimmage,
shrugging off the defend-
er’s attempt to jam him,
and broke free down the
sideline.
Quarterback Chance
Nolan dropped a perfect
pass into his hands and
Amanda Loman/Associated Press, File
Arizona State’s DeAndre Pierce (2) brings down Oregon State’s Zeriah Beason (18) during a game in
Corvallis in December. If this spring was any indicator, Beason could be ready to emerge as a consis-
tent big-play threat for Oregon State.
Beason walked into the end
zone for another 70-yard
touchdown. His teammates
went ballistic celebrating.
That five-minute
sequence epitomizes Bea-
son’s evolution as he enters
his second year with the
Beavers. He burst onto
the scene as a talented
true freshman in 2020 and
worked his way into the
starting lineup by season’s
end, putting up modest
numbers.
Now, though, he is
ready for an encore. If this
spring was any indicator,
Beason could be ready
to emerge as a consistent
big-play threat for Oregon
State.
“I felt like last year I
was just sort of running
around,” Beason said.
“The game was pretty fast
for me. Now I’m under-
standing coverages and
I feel like everything is
slowing down.”
Beason’s version of
“just running around” still
resulted in a major tan-
gible impact for the Bea-
vers. As an 18-year-old
freshman, he started five
of Oregon State’s seven
games and tied for the team
lead with three touchdown
receptions.
While mainly operating
in the slot, he served as a
reliable target for Nolan
See, OSU/Page 8A
SPORTS SHORT
Oregon bill allowing compensation for college athletes advances
The Oregonian/OregonLive
SALEM — Two amendments to pro-
posed state legislation to permit college
athletes in Oregon to be compensated
for their name, image and likeness were
adopted in committee and the bill has
been sent to the Senate floor with a rec-
ommendation to pass it.
Leon Neuschwander/For The Oregonian
Senate Bill 5, which permits col-
Two amendments to proposed state legislation would lege athletes in Oregon to earn com-
permit college athletes in Oregon to be compensated for pensation for use of their name, image
use of their name, image and likeness.
or likeness and to retain representa-
tion related to those opportunities, was
heard in a work session of the senate
rules committee on Tuesday, May 25.
If passed, the bill will go into effect
immediately, with Oregon college ath-
letes able to earn NIL compensation
beginning July 1, the same day similar
laws are set to go into effect in five other
states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mis-
sissippi and New Mexico, with 11 others
also having passed similar laws.
Sen. Peter Courtney, D-Salem,
a co-sponsor of the bill along with
Sen. James Manning Jr., D-Eugene,
explained to the committee that
Amendment 7, which removes the
unique and controversial royalty pay-
ments from “merchandising” deals,
was done last week after NCAA pres-
ident Mark Emmert told state law-
makers the payments that provi-
sion called for would make athletes
employees and thus ineligible to
compete.