Sports
7A
Thursday, June 17, 2021
Th e Observer
Setting a new standard
Pendleton native
Payton Wright takes
top score in bareback
riding, posts personal
best finish of 2021
Pac-12
changes
schedule
Women’s basketball to
play 20-game
conference schedule
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
By JAMES CREPEA
UNION — Payton Wright
scored an 80 to come away with
the best score of the day in the
bareback riding competition at
the Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show. The 24-year-old from
Pendleton earned a $993 purse
from the event and tallied his
best fi nish of 2021.
Mat Turner scored the second
highest overall score in bareback
riding with a 78, earning a $752
payoff . Turner is originally from
New South Wales, Australia, and
the second-place fi nish is his best
placement in an event so far in
2021.
Buck Lunak, a 33-year-old
from Montana, rounded out the
top-three with a score of 77 and a
payout of $541. Lunak is coming
off a fi rst-place fi nish in bareback
riding at the Pony Express Rodeo
in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
The Oregonian
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Cowboys Steven Duby and Andy Carlson, not pictured, participate in the team-roping competition at the Eastern Oregon
Livestock Show in Union on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
in 8.7 seconds. The Randlett,
Utah, native secured his second
top fi nish in the event in 2021
and walked away with a $1,663
purse.
Hermiston native Preston Ped-
erson fi nished in second, scoring
a time of 9.2 seconds. The run-
ner-up fi nish is Pederson’s
highest placement so far in 2021.
Bo Pickett, a native of Idaho,
rounded out the top three with
a time of 9.6 seconds. Pickett
edged fourth-place fi nisher Matt
Schiozawa by a tenth of a second.
Saddle bronc
In the saddle bronc riding,
two riders scored a 76 and earned
a joint fi rst-place fi nish with a
$1,104 payoff . Alan Gobert of
Browning, Montana, and Martin
Joyce of Juntura outperformed
the fi eld and took home the top
prize in saddle bronc at EOLS.
For Gobert, this is his fi rst
time placing in saddle bronc in
2021, while Joyce fi nished second
at the PRCA Last Stand Rodeo in
Coulee City, Washington.
Clancy Glenn, a 21-year-old
from Idaho, scored a 74.5 to take
third in the event. Glenn edged
out Jesse James Kirby by half a
point to secure a top-three fi nish.
Bull riding
Bull riding was one of the
most tightly contested events at
EOLS, with fi ve riders scoring a
76 or higher in the event. Quincy
McDonald and Rawley Johnson
tied for fi rst place as both fi n-
ished with a score of 80. Both
riders won a $1,131 purse.
Ruger Pica placed third in the
event, coming up just one point
short of fi rst place. His 79 in bull
riding at EOLS comes on the
heels of a fi rst-place fi nish (84) in
the EOLS Ed Miller Xtreme Bull
Riding competition. Pica tied
for fi rst with Payton Fitzpatrick
in the Ed Miller Xtreme, with
both riders taking away $3,388
payoff s.
Riley Barg, an 18-year-old,
Steer roping
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Bullfi ghter Sean Peterson dances with a bull during the Ed Miller Xtreme Bulls
event at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show on Thursday, June 10, 2021. A Sum-
merville native, Peterson has spent the past fi ve years as a professional bullfi ght-
er for rodeos held throughout the Pacifi c Northwest.
fi nished third in the Ed Miller
Xtreme Bull Riding with a score
of 83.
Steer wrestling
Two Idaho natives fi nished in
the top three of the steer wres-
tling competition, but Douglas,
Wyoming, native Payden McIn-
tyre came away with the quickest
time. McIntyre recorded a time
of 4.3 seconds in the event to
take home a $1,295 payoff at
EOLS.
McIntyre is fresh off a fi rst
place fi nish in steer wrestling at
the Eagle Rodeo in Eagle, Idaho,
and now has four fi rst-place fi n-
ishes in 2021.
Dirk Tavenner took second
place with a time of 4.7 seconds
and Justin Kimsey fi nished in 4.9
seconds to fi nish in third.
Team roping
Two Oregon natives, Calgary
Smith and Jack Graham, won
fi rst overall in the team roping
event at EOLS. The duo fi nished
with a time of 5.8 seconds to earn
a $1,688 payoff in the event.
Brodi Jones and Jared Fill-
more, both from Utah, fi nished
just shy of fi rst with a time of 6.1
seconds. Jake Minor and Baker
City native Garrett Rogers fi n-
ished in third place with a time of
6.3 seconds.
Tie-down roping
Josh Frost took the crown
in tie-down roping, fi nishing
In steer roping, two Texas
natives and one California resi-
dent formed the top three.
Clay Long, from Stephen-
ville, Texas, won the event at
EOLS by over a second, fi nishing
in fi rst place with a time of 10.7
seconds. This is the 37-year-
old’s third victory in steer roping
throughout 2021.
George West, Texas, native
Trey Wallace fi nished in second
place with a time of 12 seconds,
while Creston, California, native
Taylor Santos took third place
with a time of 15.2 seconds.
Barrel racing
The barrel racing competi-
tion at EOLS came down to four
hundredths of a second as Lisa
Zachoda won fi rst place with a
time of 17.38 seconds. Cheyenne
Allan recorded a time of 17.42
seconds and placed as the run-
ner-up in the event.
Amity native Shelly Mull
took third place in barrel racing
with a time of 17.55 seconds, a
mark that is tied for her best time
of 2021.
Shoulder surgery to sideline OSU quarterback
By NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
CORVALLIS — It turns out
Oregon State had some urgency
when it signed Colorado transfer
Sam Noyer last week.
The Beavers lost a quarter-
back for most of the 2021 season
as second-year freshman Ben
Gulbranson is preparing to
undergo right shoulder surgery,
according to The Oregonian/
OregonLive.
Gulbranson, a right-hander,
sustained the injury during
spring practice. After further
examination several weeks after
practices ended, it was deter-
mined Gulbranson needed
surgery.
Gulbranson could be back
throwing in October, leaving his
availability for the 2021 season
limited at best.
Gulbranson was among the
quarterbacks in the mix for the
Beavers starting job this fall.
The 6-foot-3, 216-pound Gul-
branson played one series last
season. Gulbranson didn’t par-
ticipate in the fi nal spring scrim-
mage as he was among those out
due to COVID-19 contact tracing
protocol.
Noyer, a Beaverton High
graduate who started six games
at Colorado last season, steps
into the void. He’ll compete
with fourth-year junior Tristan
Gebbia, third-year sophomore
Chance Nolan and freshman Sam
Vidlak for OSU’s starting quar-
terback job when preseason camp
opens Aug. 6.
Last season, Gebbia started
the fi rst four games before he
was sidelined with a hamstring
injury. Nolan started the fi nal
three games.
The 6-foot-4 Noyer led Colo-
rado earned second-team all-con-
ference honors in 2020 after
throwing for 1,101 yards and six
touchdowns. Noyer spent fi ve
years in the Buff aloes’ program.
SAN FRANCISCO — The
Pac-12 will play a 20-game con-
ference schedule in women’s bas-
ketball starting in 2022-23.
The conference announced the
change to its scheduling format
in women’s basketball, which was
approved by the Pac-12 Council
on Monday, June 14, based on rec-
ommendations from the Senior
Woman Administrators com-
mittee. The council also approved
the permanent change to the
Pac-12 women’s basketball tour-
nament schedule to include an
open date between the semifi nals
and fi nals.
The conference played a
22-game schedule in 2020-21 due
to the pandemic but will revert
to its 18-game league schedule in
2021-22 to complete it’s 10-year
schedule rotation of matchups.
Each team will play 10 home and
10 road games in 2022-23.
“We are constantly evaluating
ways to elevate Pac-12 wom-
en’s basketball and strengthen the
league’s stature,” Pac-12 senior
associate commissioner Teresa
Gould said in a statement. “With
the depth of talent in the confer-
ence, adding two quality games
to the league schedule will help
Pac-12 programs prepare for the
rigors of postseason play and sup-
port the sustained success of the
conference in the NCAA Tour-
nament. A 20-game conference
schedule will also provide fans
of Pac-12 women’s basketball
additional opportunities to enjoy
meaningful matchups both in
person and on television.”
The conference’s women’s bas-
ketball tournament will be played
on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
and Sunday, making permanent a
change that was implemented as a
contingency this past season. The
conference cited athlete welfare
in making the change and also
acknowledged it “also provides
ESPN additional fl exibility when
determining a start time for the
championship on Sunday.”
The fi nal weekend of con-
ference play will move to
Thursday-Saturday.
The 2022 Pac-12 women’s bas-
ketball tournament is scheduled
for March 2-6 in Las Vegas.
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
THURSDAY, JUNE 17
Prep boys basketball
Powder Valley at Joseph, 3:30 p.m.
Union at La Grande, 6 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Powder Valley at Joseph, 2 p.m.
Union at La Grande, 4:30 p.m.
Prep wrestling
La Grande at SD4 District Meet, Gladstone
High School, TBD
FRIDAY, JUNE 18
Prep girls basketball
Baker City at La Grande, 5 p.m.
Damascus Christian at Powder Valley, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY, JUNE 19
Prep boys basketball
Joseph at Grant Union, 3 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Powder Valley at Grant Union, 1:30 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
Trail Blazers guard Lillard commits to Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics
By AARON FENTRESS
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — Portland
Trail Blazers guard Damian Lil-
lard has committed to play for
Team USA during the 2021
Tokyo Olympics this summer,
according to a report from The
Athletic.
Also committing, according
to the report, is Golden State for-
ward Draymond Green.
For Lillard, who turns 31
in July, this could be his fi nal
chance to win an Olympic gold
medal, although he could con-
ceivably make the 2024 team at
age 34.
Lillard withdrew from consid-
eration to play for Team USA at
the 2016 Rio Olympics in order
to rest after playing most of the
2015-16 season while dealing
with plantar fasciitis in his left
foot.
Lillard just missed making
the 2014 USA Team prior to the
FIBA World Cup in Spain. He
had been among the 16 fi nalists.
Lillard dealt with several
injuries during a condensed
72-game schedule this season
and even though the Blazers
were eliminated in the fi rst
round of the playoff s he ulti-
mately won’t have much time to
rest up.
Team USA’s training camp
will run July 6-18 in Las Vegas,
Nevada. The fi rst exhibition
game is set for July 10 against
Nigeria.
The fi rst Olympic game is on
July 25 against France.
Steve Dykes/Associated Press, File
Portland guard Damian Lillard, center, passes the ball as Denver forwards Paul
Millsap, left, and JaMychal Green, right, defend on Saturday, May 29, 2021.