SPORTS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021
WRESTLING
wrestling program has an
exceptionally high number
of participants this year —
roughly 16 wrestlers will
hit the mat this season for
the Tigers.
First-year head coach
Max Mejia stated that he
is ecstatic to see the large
turnout and aims to build
up the La Grande girls
wrestling program in the
years to come.
“It’s exciting,” Mejia
said. “We’re going to have
one of the biggest teams in
the state. To have this many
fi rst-year athletes is great.”
Mejia is in his fi rst full
year as the head coach for
the Tigers, coming to La
Grande from Minneap-
olis, Minnesota, where he
coached women’s wrestling
at Augsburg University.
He is an assistant coach at
Eastern Oregon University.
Leading the way for
the Tigers is junior Delia
Gulzow, a state placer in
2019-20. She is one of a
handful of upperclassmen
on this year’s roster that
will be guiding the team.
La Grande’s roster is
made up of roughly two
thirds underclassmen.
Mejia will be looking to
build up a high volume of
freshmen entering into the
program that he believes
can be the foundation of the
program in years to come.
“It’s a really promising
thing,” Mejia said. “We’ve
got a lot of freshmen that
are really tough.”
Mejia stated that the
team is paying attention
to detail well and learning
fast. Some underclassmen
on the team have experi-
ence with the La Grande
mat club or in middle
school.
The coach expects his
team to make some noise
around the state this year.
“I think they’re capable
of great things,” Mejia said.
“I would like to keep all 16
wrestlers this season. This
is all brand-new for us.”
As La Grande looks to
build up its girls wrestling
program, Mejia hopes that
the state will sanction the
sport in order to open more
doors for girls wrestlers in
Oregon. He noted that La
Grande’s hefty schedule
and high turnout is very
promising for the sport.
“La Grande School Dis-
trict is a pioneer in girls
wrestling,” he said.
The Tigers get the
season started on Saturday,
Dec. 4, at a tournament
in Homedale, Idaho. La
Grande will travel to sev-
eral tournaments, including
Sweet Home and Riverside/
Boardman. The team will
also mirror the boys team’s
schedule for duals this
season.
trict Swim Championships
with a time of 1:12.28 and
placed second in the 50 free
at 27.31.
Maszk noted that having
more swimmers on the team
will provide some fl exi-
bility in putting relay teams
together, which could go a
long way for team scoring.
“We’re looking forward
to having more numbers,
which will defi nitely help our
overall score,” she said.
Returning to the 2021-22
season with a much more
typical off season, La Grande
swimmers are aiming to take
a big step as a team this year.
With added depth, fi rst-year
head coach Maszk is in a
good position for a repeat in
the Greater Oregon League
and a competitive showing at
the state tournament.
“We know that we’re a
state-ready team,” she said.
“I think everyone has the
expectation that we will go
and be competitive there.”
Continued from Page A8
“He’s a great kid and a
great leader that works really
hard,” he said. “He expects a
lot out of his teammates. We
really missed him last year.”
While MacMillan and
Braden Carson will lead
the way on and off the mat
as seniors, a rising group
of wrestlers set the tone as
underclassmen last season.
La Grande scored six top-six
fi nishes from underclassmen,
two of whom were top three.
Sophomore Kai Carson
placed third in the 120-pound
weight class after winning the
district title, and junior Joshua
Collins took second place in
the 132-pound division as a
sophomore. Collins is looking
to improve on the momentum
m of last season and continue to
improve as an upperclassman.
“I’m trying to build on
ch what I learned last year and
ted implement it,” Collins said.
im- “The goal is to ultimately win
state, but my mental goal is
ne also to not give up the middle
h of the mat and keep working
through.”
Sophomore Mason Wol-
cott returns after placing
We fourth at the 106-pound divi-
sion last spring, while juniors
dis- Brysen Penaloza, Wyatt Liv-
ingston and Cole Shafer all
the placed in the top six in the
and state as sophomores. Klel
ande Carson also expects big con-
ls tributions from Jarrett Arm-
strong, Noah McIlmoil, Dom-
m- inick Carratello and a number
year. of other wrestlers in this
ake year’s deep group.
“We’re just trying to keep
now
g up the work and continue
e where they left off last year,”
was Klel Carson said. “There’s
y
s the
l
but-
-
SWIMMING
Continued from Page A8
The Tigers have several
nior up-and-coming freshmen
on the boys side who Maszk
hey says could make an imme-
ust diate impact. Glenn Rick-
The er’s younger brother, Zane,
ey’re is a freshman who will be
e a strong swimmer for La
Grande this year along with
Drake Adair.
“We have a lot of young
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Head coach Klel Carson spars with senior Braden Carson during
a practice at La Grande High School Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. The La
Grande senior is aiming to capture his third straight individual state
championship.
high expectations in this
room, which is good.”
The Tigers kick things
off at the Ranger Classic in
Estacada on Saturday, Dec.
4. The team will host the
Muilenburg Tournament at
La Grande on Dec. 10, wel-
coming in other top oppo-
nents to La Grande for an ear-
ly-season competition.
Coming into the year with
a large group of experienced
wrestlers on this year’s La
Grande team, the Tigers have
their sights set on another
state title. Building on recent
success in the program, the
athletes will look to hold the
program to a high standard.
“Year in and year out, the
expectation is always there,”
Klel Carson said. “It’s awe-
some when they look around
and see state placers and the
history of this program and
know that they can have sim-
ilar success.”
La Grande looking to
establish girls
wrestling dynasty
The La Grande girls
talent on both sides this year,”
Maszk said.
On the girls side, the
Tigers will be leaning on a
handful of returners who
contributed as underclassmen
last season.
Chloe and Shiloh Lynch
are two standouts to watch
this year, alongside McKinley
Kruse and a number of other
strong returners.
Last season, Shiloh Lynch
won the 100 backstroke at the
Greater Oregon League Dis-
THE OBSERVER — A9
BOYS
Continued from Page A8
“By no means is
it going to defi ne our
season, but I think at the
same time it’s going to
give us a really good idea
of where we currently
stand,” Carollo said.
Carollo expects solid
contributions from his
numerous upperclassmen,
as well as several new-
comers who did not
compete in the short-
ened spring season last
school year. He also
noted that building off the
momentum of a strong
football season will help
create a winning mindset
GIRLS
Continued from Page A8
The Tigers started the
season with a diffi cult
matchup right off the bat
when they hosted Nyssa
on Dec. 1. The Bulldogs
went 9-5 last season, and
6-foot-5 junior Gracie
Johnson is set to return at
the center position.
“That will be a good
test the fi rst night,” Wright
said. “They were a fi nal-
four team last year and
they’re bringing a lot of
kids back.”
The Tigers will also
travel far and wide for
several 4A games this
year, meeting Molalla and
Estacada on a weekend
trip early in December
among the team.
As the 2021-22 season
gets underway, the Tigers
will lean on its deep
group of upperclassmen
to learn and grow as
the season progresses.
If everything falls into
place, La Grande could
fi nd itself competing at
the state level by the end
of the season.
“There’s some kinks
we still need to work on
right now, but the group
of guys have a really
strong camaraderie,” Car-
ollo said. “Hopefully,
we’ll be able to identify
a brand of basketball that
we want to play so we can
be playing at our best by
the end of the year.”
and facing four straight
opponents on the road in
January. Wright is hoping
that tough 4A contests
throughout the year will
prove worthwhile at the
end of the season.
“You have to play those
teams and hopefully do
well to get your ranking
up and position yourself
well for the playoff s,” he
said.
While there are plenty
of new names on the
team’s roster and several
star players to replace, La
Grande is gearing up for
another run at the Greater
Oregon League and the
4A state tournament.
“I think we’ll be fi ne,”
Wright said. “My expec-
tation this year is to
compete.”
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