SPORTS
A6 — THE OBSERVER
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2021
Olympic excitement
reaches Eastern Oregon
DAVIS
CARBAUGH
CARBAUGH’S
CORNER
he 2021 Olympic
Track and Field
Trials are a spe-
cial time of year, whether
you live in Oregon or
not. It was my fi rst trials
as an Oregon resident,
and Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity standout Isaac
Updike competed in the
steeplechase.
Although Updike
recorded the fastest time
in the preliminary rounds,
he fi nished fi fth in the
fi nals and came up just
two spots shy of booking
a trip to the 2021 Tokyo
Olympics. Following
along in his journey on
the national scale was a
rewarding experience as a
reporter.
Updike clocked in
at 8 minutes, 24.72 sec-
onds, three seconds slower
than his qualifying time.
Even falling short of
the Olympic threshold,
Updike still maintains the
fastest steeplechase time
by an American this year
at 8:17.74.
Hillary Bor, an eighth-
place fi nisher at the 2016
Olympics, got the upper
hand on Updike and won
the event to represent the
United States in Tokyo.
Benard Keter and Mason
Ferlic took second and
third after overtaking
Updike on the fi nal lap.
Keter, a former runner
at Wayland Baptist Uni-
versity, competed against
Updike and EOU at the
NAIA level.
The connection
between Updike and Keter
shows how the running
community can be a small
world, with former small-
school rivals competing on
T
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Imbler’s Garrett Burns is shown during a match at the Jo-Hi Invite on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Joseph.
Burns repeated as 2A/1A state champion, winning the 120-pound division during the OWA state champi-
onships last weekend in Sweet Home.
Making history
Imbler wrestler Garrett Burns becomes
program’s first two-time state champion
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
SWEET HOME — An
Imbler wrestler accom-
plished something that has
never been done before in
the program’s past.
Junior Garrett Burns
made history at the 2A/1A
state championship tour-
nament, becoming the fi rst
Imbler wrestler to win
multiple individual state
championship titles. Burns
defeated Central Linn’s
Blake Owens by a 6-2
decision to win the 120-
pound weight class on Sat-
urday, June 26, at Sweet
Home High School.
“It felt just as good
winning it last year, but
with a much diff erent
atmosphere,” Burns said.
“The state meet is the
state meet and you have to
go out and fi ght for it.”
Past successes
create championship
mentality
As a sophomore, Burns
claimed the 113-pound
title after pinning Pine
Eagle’s Coy Butner in the
championship round of the
2020 2A/1A state tour-
nament. After a tumul-
tuous off season due to
the COVID-19 pandemic,
Burns took the 120-pound
title in 2021 nearly 16
months later.
“He knows what you
have to do and he made it
happen this year,” Imbler
wrestling coach Doug
Hislop said. “He had con-
fi dence from last year, but
he’s humble.”
In the 120-pound divi-
sion, the championship
came down to the two top-
seeded titans of the divi-
sion. Burns entered as the
top seed and Owens was
slated as the second seed.
Both wrestlers cruised
through the early rounds
on a collision course for a
fi nals matchup, with Burns
pinning his fi rst three
opponents, including an
eight-second win in the
fi rst round.
Owens gave Burns his
toughest test of the tourna-
ment, forcing a 6-2 deci-
sion. According to Hislop,
Burns had the upper hand
throughout the match, but
in wrestling the results can
turn quickly.
“He controlled the
match the entire time, but
he was wrestling against
a really good kid, too,”
Hislop said.
Burns held out against
any kind of come-from-
behind eff ort from Owens
and claimed his second
straight individual state
championship.
Leading the pack on
the mats
Burns went 9-1 on the
season, only losing to La
Grande’s Kai Carson at
the La Grande Throw-
down on May 28, 2021. In
a six-week delayed season,
Imbler was only able to
rally four wrestlers to
compete. Even so, Hislop
and the Panthers man-
aged to place 18th out of
48 schools in attendance at
the state championship.
“He’s a super leader,”
Hislop said. “He spent a lot
of time helping his team-
mates and he’s really blos-
somed this year.”
One of Burns’ team-
mates, Alex Hunter, also
made history becoming
the fi rst Imbler freshman
to qualify for a state
meet. Not only did Hunter
qualify, but he defeated
Zoe Vickers of Oakland
High School in the fi rst
round to become Imbler’s
fi rst freshman wrestler to
win a state tournament
bout. Hislop credits Burns
for being a major factor in
helping Hunter improve
throughout the season.
“I was really pleased
with (Hunter), and I think
that he is going to keep
improving in his career,”
Hislop said.
For Burns, having a
small team made it diffi cult
to train. His younger team-
mates improved by prac-
ticing against the reigning
champion, but Burns had
a hard time practicing
against wrestlers with dif-
ferent skill sets.
“It was challenging
sometimes,” Burns said.
“Just trying to fi nd people
to practice with and be
competitive was some-
thing I had to overcome
this year.”
When it came time
for postseason wrestling
matches, Burns channeled
a competitive head space
to recreate the success
from the season before.
“My mindset was to go
in and just get it done,”
Burns said. “Making
Imbler history was the
main drive. Making
everyone proud and
making history was all that
was in my head.”
With title, Burns
cemented himself in the
history books of the Imbler
wrestling program.
“I knew it was going
to take a good kid to beat
him this year,” Hislop said.
“Wrestling is a sport where
you get out what you put
in.”
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard
Former Eastern Oregon University athlete Isaac Updike leads a
pack of runners across a jump during his heat of the 3,000-meter
steeplechase on Monday, June 21, 2021 at the U.S. Olympic Track
& Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene. Updike fi nished fi fth in
the steeplechase fi nals and missed the Olympics by two spots on
Friday, June 25, 2021.
a world scale at the trials.
Updike wasn’t the
only one in Eugene with
Eastern Oregon ties.
Former Enterprise
High School star David
Ribich, a Western Oregon
University grad, com-
peted in the men’s 1,500-
meter run. Ribich fi nished
12th with a time of 3:44.43
in the fi nal round after
placing fi fth in the semifi -
nals at 3:38.75.
Simply having the
trials back in Eugene after
being canceled in 2020
due to COVID-19 was
a thrill for fans and ath-
letes alike. Speaking with
Updike after his race and
learning about his journey
from EOU to the top
ranks of the sport really
illustrated the working-
man’s attitude that many
of these track and fi eld
athletes embody.
A year later than orig-
inally planned, track and
fi eld competitors will join
athletes from other sports
in the Tokyo Olympics
starting with the opening
ceremony on Friday, July
23. While it comes as a
relief to have the Olym-
pics back, it also creates
a quicker turnaround for
Updike and other athletes
who came up just short
this year. The Paris Olym-
pics will still take place in
2024, which gives Updike
a shorter wait until he has
a chance to qualify again.
The next big focus for
Updike is the 2022 World
Athletics Championships
at the newly renovated
Hayward Field in Eugene.
The legendary complex
was torn down in 2018
and completed in April
2021, just in time for the
Olympic Trials. Updike
will look to qualify and
compete against the
world’s elite athletes at the
event.
Coming up just short
of the Olympics was a dis-
appointment for Updike,
but taking the national
stage in athletics is still
quite the achievement.
Hearing “Eastern Oregon
University” over the loud-
speakers at Hayward Field
during a globally tele-
vised event shines a light
on athletes from our neck
of the woods and is a tes-
tament to Ben Welch and
the track and fi eld pro-
gram at EOU.
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Eyes set on a third
championship
As the program’s fi rst
two-time state champion,
Burns has his eyes set on
bringing home a third title
in his senior season.
“My goal is go unde-
feated next year and get
back to where I was at the
state meet this year,” Burns
said. “I’m just focusing on
getting back to the grind
and trying to get three
straight.”
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