Sports
A7
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Th e Observer
La Grande swimmer sets high expectations
Sophomore Glenn
Ricker continues to add
accolades despite injury
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Glenn Ricker
has competed for only two sea-
sons for La Grande High School,
but he has accomplished more
than most do in their entire swim-
ming careers.
A 100-yard butterfl y champion
as a freshman, Ricker concluded
the 2021 season with his fourth
and fi fth trips to the podium at the
Class 4A/3A/2A/1A state meet
last month in Cottage Grove.
“Going back to state was all
about getting the technique down
and gaining that muscle memory,”
he said.
Overcoming some
early-season troubles
As a freshman, Ricker was
a crucial part of La Grande’s
fourth-place team fi nish at the
Class 4A/3A/2A/1A state meet.
Ricker won a state title in the 100-
yard butterfl y, took third in the
100-yard breaststroke and helped
La Grande’s 200-yard medley
relay team place second.
With such success so early
in his career, the expectations
were high for Ricker coming into
his sophomore season. That all
changed when Ricker suff ered a
broken arm just weeks before the
swim season began. In addition,
the pandemic delayed the 2021
season into the spring instead
of its normal duration during
the winter, which made training
together as a team a diffi cult task.
“They handled it so well and
had great attitudes the whole
season,” La Grande swim coach
Lisa Chewning said. “It was
The Observer, File
La Grande’s Glenn Ricker was the state champion Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in the boys 100-yard butterfl y at the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A
swim meet in Beaverton. Following a broken arm before the start of the 2021 season, Ricker fi nished second in both the 100-
yard butterfl y and 100-yard breaststroke at the 2021 state meet on Saturday, June 26, 2021.
strange competing in the spring,
but I think they had great attitudes
and rolled with the punches.”
For Ricker, the regular season
was put on hold as he recovered
from the severe arm injury. How-
ever, he recovered quickly and
returned to the pool just weeks
later.
“It was hard,” Ricker said.
“Taking time off from swimming,
there’s nothing exercise-wise you
can do instead to keep your mus-
cles going.”
According to Ricker, he started
training in the pool and swim-
ming four days per week after
three weeks off due to his injury.
The week before the district meet,
he ramped up the training to about
two hours per day.
Fighting through a severe
arm injury
Ricker competed in the Greater
Oregon League District Swim
Championships on Saturday,
June 19, and dominated the fi eld.
Despite very little training time
coming in, Ricker fi nished fi rst
in both the 100-yard butterfl y and
the 100-yard breaststroke.
Just a week later, Ricker was
back on the podium at the state
meet with runner-up fi nishes in
both events.
“He’s really talented and works
hard,” Chewning said. “I think
pulling off second-place fi nishes
with just a few weeks of swim-
ming is really impressive.”
Jake Weigand was the only
other boys swimmer at the state
meet for La Grande, and the duo
combined for 50 points and a 13th
place team fi nish out of 20 schools
competing. Weigand placed sixth
in the 100-yard breaststroke and
ninth in the 200-yard IM.
“I was happy with getting
second after having to take time
off ,” Ricker said. “The guys who
beat me worked really hard for
those championships.”
Building the program wtith
family connections
In addition to his individual
success, Ricker is focused on
building the boys swimming pro-
gram in his remaining two years
with the team.
Ricker’s younger brother, Zane
Ricker, is joining the team as a
freshman next year and will add
to a legacy of Rickers on the La
Grande swim team. Older sisters
Romayne Ricker and Laramie
Ricker and older brother Caden
Ricker were major pieces of the
program in years past.
“I’m hoping I can keep doing
well and bring some more people
out to the team next year,” Glenn
Ricker said. “My goal for next
year is to just train harder, drop
some time and win state again
hopefully.”
The boys swim team will look
to improve upon its 13th place
state fi nish and qualify more
swimmers for the state meet next
season. Chewning knows that
Ricker is a crucial part of those
eff orts.
“He’s a really good role
model, even at a young age,
because of his work ethic,”
Chewning said.
According to Ricker, his
summer will consist of training
and getting back into the form
he was in prior to the arm injury.
The 2022 high school swim
season will be back on schedule
in the winter months, making it
a quicker turnaround in the off -
season than in typical seasons.
For Ricker, the bar is set high
for the upcoming seasons due
to his accomplishments through
his fi rst two years of high school
swimming. With fi ve trips to
the state podium so far, the
La Grande swimmer will be a
favorite to win a gold medal next
year.
“I think he can win state
again and potentially have the
opportunity to swim in college
if that’s what he wants to do,”
Chewning said.
Ducks to welcome full house for games this fall
Capacity crowds
will be allowed to
watch Oregon at
Autzen Stadium
By RYAN THORBURN
Eugene Register-Guard
EUGENE — Autzen
Stadium is offi cially open
for business again.
The University of
Oregon announced last
month the 54,000-seat
venue will allow fans at
full capacity for the 2021
season, which begins Sept.
4 when the Ducks host
Fresno State.
During an interview
with The Register-Guard a
month before the announce-
ment, athletic director Rob
Mullens said he was cau-
tiously optimistic fans
would return to Autzen en
masse.
The Ducks played only
two home games during
the 2020 season in front
of cardboard cutouts and
empty seats due to state-
Chris Pietsch/The Associated Press, File
The Oregon Marching Band displays a giant United States Flag on the fi eld at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 11,
2019, in Eugene. The University of Oregon announced in June 2021 the 54,000-seat venue will allow fans
at full capacity for the upcoming season, which begins Sept. 4 when the Ducks host Fresno State.
wide health and safety
restrictions stemming from
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have been riding on
the hope wave for quite a
while, and I’m still on the
hope wave,” Mullens said.
“I am hopeful that vaccina-
tion is in fact the path to a
full Autzen.”
Gov. Kate Brown
announced Wednesday,
June 30, the end of state-
wide health and safety
restrictions, allowing Ore-
gon’s athletic department —
facing a $55 million defi cit
for the fi scal year that ended
June 30 — to welcome
paying customers to fl ood
through the turnstiles again.
Oregon typically makes
between $3.5 million and
$4 million per football
home game.
Face coverings will not
be required to attend games
at Autzen, but unvaccinated
fans are encouraged to wear
them. Proof of vaccination
will not be required, nor
will sections be designated
for specifi c vaccination
status, according to Oregon.
“I want to express our
gratitude to Gov. Brown
and her staff as well as
to the Oregon Health
Authority and Lane County
Public Health for all of their
diligence and collaboration
throughout this process, as
we collectively worked to
ensure the health and safety
of our student-athletes,
coaches, staff and fans,”
Mullens said in a statement.
“This is an exciting time
for Oregon Athletics, and
we are anxious to kick off
the 2021 season in a packed
Autzen Stadium.”
Fourth-year coach Mario
Cristobal, who received a
new six-year, $27.3 million
contract before the Ducks
won their second consecu-
tive Pac-12 championship
in December, has built one
of the most talented rosters
in program history entering
the fall.
Oregon, which plays a
marquee nonconference
game Sept. 11 at Ohio State,
will also host Stony Brook
(Sept. 18), Arizona (Sept.
25), California (Oct. 15),
Colorado (Oct. 30), Wash-
ington State (Nov. 13) and
Oregon State (Nov. 27) this
season.
“We are just getting
started, and I am fi red up
to relentlessly work and
build upon the success so
far,” Cristobal said after
his contract extension was
approved by the board of
trustees. “We are privileged
to call Oregon home, and
we love the sense of family
and community here at
Oregon.
“We will continue to
work tirelessly to elevate
the Oregon football pro-
gram to the next level, and
we can’t wait to see the best
fans in the nation back in
Autzen Stadium next fall.”
SPORTS SHORT
Former OSU star leaves $1,000 tip at Portland IHOP
By ARON YOHANNES
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — Chad
Johnson is a generous man.
One of the most entertaining
players the game of football has
ever seen, Johnson shares much
of that same fl air off the fi eld.
He showed that off Friday,
July 2, while dining locally in
Portland.
The former Oregon State
star was at an IHOP near Port-
land International Airport get-
ting his usual unhealthy slate of
food. This time in the form of
pancakes, where his bill at the
restaurant totaled $33.53. His
tip? A massive $1,000.
The tip didn’t come without
a fi nal message, however. The
star wide receiver left a little
jab for Portland Trail Blazers
star Damian Lillard.
“I beat Damian Lillard in 1
on 1 years ago in the YMCA,”
Johnson scribbled.
A Cincinnati Bengals
legend, Johnson has left gen-
erous tips of that amount
before. He told The New York
Post he’s been doing it for 20
years.
Once during a visit in
Houston, he left a $1,300 tip on
a $107.17 bill at James Harden’s
Thirteen Houston restaurant.
He left another $1,000 tip at
Houston’s Turkey Leg Hut.
No offi cial video proof
of Johnson’s 1-on-1 victory
against Lillard is out there (yet).
Until then, we’ll have to take
his word for it.
Gail Burton/The Associated Press, File
Former Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Johnson, front, runs the ball during a game
in 2007. Johnson was at an IHOP near Portland International Airport on July 2,
2021, where his bill at the restaurant totaled $33.53. His tip? A massive $1,000.