2021: YEAR in REVIEW
C6 — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021
SPORTS TOP STORIES
Sports stories topped by Powder Valley’s near-title run
UPDIKE AND RIBICH COME UP
JUST SHY OF OLYMPICS
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
POWDER VALLEY FOOTBALL
MAKES HISTORIC RUN AT TITLE
NORTH POWDER — Powder Valley
High School may have the smallest
enrollment out of every Union County
school, but its football team put North
Powder on the map this year.
The Badgers put together a dominant
11-1 season building up to a title clash
against rival Adrian on Nov. 27. Quar-
terback Reece Dixon was the central
piece among standouts such as Kaden
Krieger, Cole Martin, Clay Martin and
Case Olson. The Badgers outscored
their opponents 548-294 throughout the
season and steamrolled past its playoff
opponents en route to the school’s fi rst
state championship appearance since
2003.
After losing to the Antelopes 38-0
on Oct. 1, Powder Valley gave Adrian
a run for their money up until the very
last snap. The game went back and forth
with the Badgers holding the lead for
the majority of the contest as fans from
both schools packed Baker Bulldog
Memorial Stadium in Baker City. A late
momentum swing to Adrian made all
the diff erence as the Badgers came just
one touchdown shy of championship
glory in a 46-38 loss.
On top of the stellar performances
on the gridiron, the Powder Valley foot-
ball team rallied the town to get behind
its prep team. Head Coach Josh Cobb
periodically took time late in the season
to refl ect on how this group of players
helped build a renewed football culture
in North Powder.
“It kind of gives you goose bumps
every day because everyone is buying
in,” Cobb said prior to the state cham-
pionship game. “Players, coaches, the
school, parents and the community are
all behind us. Right now, Powder Valley
has a true football family.”
UNION/COVE BOYS
CROSS-COUNTRY TAKES STATE
EUGENE — The Union/Cove boys
cross-country team helped bring home
the school’s ninth team title in program
history, winning the 2A/1A champion-
ship with 39 points at Lane Community
College on Nov. 9.
The Bobcats leaned on a deep group
of core runners from top to bottom,
which head coach Steve Sheehy empha-
sized all season. Union junior Taylor
Fox (16:55.7) led the way with a fi fth-
place fi nish, while the Bobcats saw six
runners fi nish in the top 25.
Sophomore Eli Williams fi nished
10th for Union/Cove with a time of
17:34.6. Freshman Nathanael O’Reilly
placed 15th at 17:55.4, and senior Skyler
Perkins was right behind in 17th with a
time of 18:12.2. Junior Noah Platz took
23rd at 18:33.5, and freshman David
McDonald came in 24th at 18:37.5.
The Bobcats scored just enough
points to edge out second-place Bandon,
which scored 43 points. Union/Cove’s
depth at the lower end of the top group
ultimately provided the needed push to
bring home championship glory.
Union/Cove is set to continue its
reign, with fi ve of the team’s top six
runners returning next year. With two
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Powder Valley’s Clay Martin (23) pushes his way through the center against Adrian High School on
Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, on the Baker High School fi eld. The Badgers lost to the Adrian Antelopes
46-38 during the fi nal match for the OSAA 1A State Championship in a heartbreaking fi nale that saw
Adrian come back in the fourth quarter to take the title.
freshmen placing in the top 25 and
Union’s frontrunner Fox leading the
way, the Bobcats will look to defend the
state title next season.
HISTORY ON THE MATS
LA GRANDE — Fans of wrestling
were lucky to enjoy two of the most suc-
cessful wrestlers in Eastern Oregon at
the peaks of their careers this year.
Seniors Garrett Burns of Imbler
and Braden Carson of La Grande both
earned their second career individual
state titles during their junior years in
2021. Burns made Imbler history by
becoming the only two-time cham-
pion, while a potential three-peat for
Carson would rank him at the top the La
Grande wrestling program.
Burns defeated Central Linn’s Blake
Owens by a 6-2 decision to win the
2A/1A 120-pound weight class on June
26 at Sweet Home High School. Carson
edged out Stayton’s Eli Howard by fall
in 3:15 to take the 4A crown in the 138-
pound division.
Both wrestlers are leading the way
for their teams in the 2021-22 season
and looking to end the
season on top once
again. Another
title for Burns
would create
a seemingly
insurmount-
able record at
Imbler, while
Carson has the
chance to fi nish
out his career
as one of the
all-time
greats
of a
storied La Grande wrestling program.
“He’s a really hard worker and a
good leader,” La Grande coach Klel
Carson said. “It’s good to have that in
the room, pushing the other guys.”
ZAC KNAPP, EMILY TUBBS
INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPS IN
CROSS-COUNTRY
EUGENE — Two standout runners
put together dominant cross-country
seasons in 2021 and took home indi-
vidual state championships.
Enterprise senior Zac Knapp and La
Grande sophomore Emily Tubbs won
every race they competed in during the
2021 fall season and crushed the fi eld
at the state championship races.
Knapp ran a time of 15:52.3 to win
the 3A race by more than 30 seconds,
while Tubbs clocked a 19:04.6 in the
4A girls race to beat the next fi nisher
by 14 seconds. Both standouts got
stronger as the year went on and never
looked back, placing fi rst overall in a
combined 16 races this season.
Tubbs is the lead runner of a core
of four strong underclassmen for La
Grande. The group of Tubbs, freshman
Cecilia Villagomez, sophomore Kiah
Carlson and sophomore Faith Cal-
houn are expected to continue to
be the pillars of what could be a
powerhouse cross-country team.
Knapp was the anchor to the
Wallowa Valley cross-country
team that cruised to its third
straight team state cham-
pionship. His per-
sonal-record time
of 15:14.7 at the
3A/2A/1A Dis-
trict 3 Champion-
ships on Oct. 29
set a program
record.
EUGENE — Two local track and fi eld
standouts came up just short of a trip to
the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Former Eastern Oregon University
runner Isaac Updike and Enterprise
native David Ribich both made it to the
fi nals in their respective events, but fi n-
ished just out of reach of Olympic quali-
fi cation in June.
Updike, a 2015 graduate of EOU, took
fi rst place out of 29 runners in the fi rst
round men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase
with a time of 8:21.01. The 29-year-old
put together a gutsy performance in the
midst of 90-degree weather in Eugene.
In the fi nal, Updike led the fi eld going
into the fi nal lap but ultimately ran out
of steam and fell to fi fth place, fi nishing
just two spots away from a place on the
Olympic team.
Beyond the track, Updike’s journey in
2021 was a memorable one. After qual-
ifying for the fi nal round in 2016, he
worked odd jobs such as a teacher and
Dick’s Sporting Goods employee while
training in New York for this year’s
trials. After taking the top time in the
country early in the year and placing fi rst
in the opening round at the trials, Updike
earned a three-year sponsorship from
Nike that will endure through the 2024
Olympic Trials.
Ribich had a great run in the men’s
1,500-meter race to make the fi nal heat
against some of the best mile runners
in the world. He ran a 3:45.71 to earn a
spot in the fi rst round before placing 12th
with a 3:44.43 in the fi nals.
LA GRANDE BASEBALL
ENDS SEASON ONE OUT
AWAY FROM STATE TITLE
LA GRANDE — It was a heart-
breaking fi nish, but the La Grande
High School baseball team put together
another strong season.
Leading 2-1 with two outs and the
bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh
inning, Hidden Valley’s Isaak Hill hit a
walk-off grand slam to win the game for
the Mustangs on May 22 in Aurora.
The Tigers had a stellar season, going
14-2 overall and riding a 12-game win-
ning streak into the championship
matchup. La Grande beat Gladstone
handily and narrowly defeated Banks to
earn their spot in the title game.
La Grande was led by a deep roster
from top to bottom with a solid pitching
rotation. Devin Bell hit .462 on the year
and knocked in 15 RBIs and 35 runs over
the course of the season. Riley Miller
was stellar on the mound, going 5-1 on
the year with a .483 ERA and 46 strike-
outs over 29 innings.
The Tigers came just shy of state
glory, but will return a number of key
players for next season’s team. The 2021
season marked yet another successful
season in a long lineage of strong base-
ball teams at La Grande.
SHATTERED RECORDS
LA GRANDE — At Eastern Oregon
University, 2021 was a year of broken
individual records. Three Mountain-
eers set incredible marks in their respec-
tive sports — Max McCullough in bas-
ketball, Cambree Scott in volleyball and
Morgan Farrington in soccer.
La Grande’s Braden Carson, top, wrestles
Bishop Kelly’s Derek Doiron in the 145-pound
semifi nal during the 2021 Muilenburg
Tournament at La Grande High School on
Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Carson won the
145-pound division to help the Tigers take
the team title at this year’s tournament.
See, Sports/Page C7
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
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