Sports
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Thursday, January 27, 2022
ON THE SLATE
Thursday, Jan. 27
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern vs. MidAmerica Nazarene,
Glendale, Arizona, 9 a.m.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Powder Valley at Griswold,
7:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Powder Valley at Griswold, 6 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 28
COLLEGE MEN’S
BASKETBALL
Bushnell at Eastern Oregon,
7:30 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
Bushnell at Eastern Oregon,
5:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon vs. Embry-Riddle,
Glendale Arizona, 8:30 a.m.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Baker at La Grande, 7:30 p.m.
Union at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Elgin at Joseph, 3:45 p.m.
Pine Eagle at Powder Valley,
7:30 p.m.
Imbler at Wallowa, 7:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Baker at La Grande, 6 p.m.
Union at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Elgin at Joseph, 5:15 p.m.
Pine Eagle at Powder Valley, 6 p.m.
Imbler at Wallowa, 6 p.m.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Grace Neer, center, gets ready in the dugout during a match between La Grande and Baker softball teams at Sam Marcum Field in La Grande on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
LEVELING UP
PREP BOYS WRESTLING
La Grande at Reser’s Tournament of
Champions, Hillsboro, 11 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 29
COLLEGE MEN’S
BASKETBALL
Corban at Eastern Oregon, 5 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
Corban at Eastern Oregon, 3 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
WRESTLING
Big Bend Community College at
Eastern Oregon, noon
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon vs. Oklahoma
Panhandle State, Glendale, Arizona,
9 a.m.
Eastern Oregon vs. Benedictine
Mesa, Glendale, Arizona, 1 p.m.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Nixyaawii at Powder Valley,
3:30 p.m.
Cove at Joseph, 4:45 p.m.
Enterprise at Union, 5:30 p.m.
Imbler at Griswold, 5:30 p.m.
Wallowa at Pine Eagle, 5:30 p.m.
La Grande softball player set to continue career in Idaho
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — One of La
Grande’s top athletes is gearing
up for the start of her collegiate
career next year.
Grace Neer, a multi-sport ath-
lete at La Grande High School,
made her commitment to the Col-
lege of Idaho softball team offi-
cial during her signing day on
Monday, Jan. 10. Neer will join
a Yotes team that is coming off
a third-place finish at the 2021
NAIA Softball World Series.
“I’m really excited,” Neer said.
“I’m pretty excited to just get
pushed even further at the next
level, see my potential and see
how I can grow playing college
ball.”
Neer has been an anchor for
the La Grande softball team, in
addition to her contributions to
the school’s volleyball and bas-
ketball teams. The pitcher and
infielder is poised to take the leap
up to collegiate competition this
coming year, joining one of the
strongest programs in the NAIA.
The Yotes set a program record
for wins in 2021, going 44-19
and making their way through
the NAIA World Series opening
rounds. The College of Idaho lost
in the World Series to Southern
Oregon, but the season cemented
the team’s legacy near the top of
the softball landscape.
For Neer, the step up to playing
with a top college team represents
a chance to learn from elite ath-
letes at the college level as she
works toward earning her spot
with the team.
Neer noted that the College
of Idaho is expecting back a
large senior class this upcoming
year, with many players having
the opportunity to return due to
COVID-19 extended eligibility.
“I’m excited to play with that
many high-level athletes to kind
of set the standard for when they
eventually leave and I can take
my role and go for it,” she said.
Neer said the College of Idaho
felt like a natural fit during the
recruiting process, noting that
Yotes head coach Al Mendiola
made her feel at home. She ended
up signing for one of the top
NAIA programs in the country,
but the COVID-19 pandemic
could have derailed Neer’s plans.
“Usually your junior year is
really your year to get recruited,
but that kind of got taken away
from me,” Neer said. “That was
a bit of a tough process for me
personally.”
Before setting off to Caldwell,
Idaho, Neer is looking to anchor
See, Neer/Page A10
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Nixyaawii at Powder Valley, 2 p.m.
Enterprise at Union, 4 p.m.
Cove at Joseph, 3:15 p.m.
Imbler at Griswold, 4 p.m.
Wallowa at Pine Eagle, 4 p.m.
PREP SWIMMING
La Grande at Madras, TBA
Cove at Madras, TBA
PREP BOYS WRESTLING
La Grande at Reser’s Tournament of
Champions, Hillsboro, 10 a.m.
Elgin at Monroe Invitational, TBA
PREP GIRLS WRESTLING
La Grande at HRVHS Tourney, Hood
River, 10 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 30
COLLEGE MEN’S WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at Clackamas
Open, 9 a.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at Washington
State, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 1
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Powder Valley at Wallowa, 6:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Powder Valley at Wallowa, 5 p.m.
Nine-man football is back on the table
Support growing to
sponsor championship
for six-man football
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WILSONVILLE — Nine-man
football appears to be back in
the discussion — at least at the
2A level — in a move that would
have a major impact locally if put
in place.
But it’s a move Greg Grant,
Heppner athletic director and
football coach, and a member
of the Oregon School Activities
Association’s Football Ad Hoc
Committee, believes is necessary
to help build programs back up.
“It’s to help everyone. The
impetus behind this is that with
roster sizes, schools are making
decisions and foregoing JV foot-
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Joseph quarterback Trace Collier tries to elude a Wheeler County defender Friday,
Oct. 15, 2021, in Joseph. The OSAA football ad hoc committee is fully supportive of
adding an official state championship for six-man football beginning this fall.
ball at a higher rate,” he said. “If
you don’t play JV football, your
program is dying, and sub-varsity
football is the lifeblood of your
program.”
The outcome of the latest
meeting on Wednesday, Jan.
19, was that the committee is
again considering the addition of
nine-man football.
In fact, the committee rec-
ommends nine-man for all 2A
schools — schools that play
11-man currently. It continues to
back the idea of eight-man foot-
ball for larger 1A schools and
six-man for the smaller schools.
“The idea behind this
amongst a lot of the schools
is we could play JV games if
we had a few more kids avail-
able,” Grant explained. “If you
play nine on a Friday night (var-
sity game), then you can play
nine or eight on a Monday (JV
game). … Let’s say (with) a
roster of 20-30 kids, you could
sustain JV football. And that’s
the goal.”
Considered, dropped, then
brought back
Nine-man football was con-
sidered early on by the ad hoc
See, Football/Page A10
SPORTS SHORT
Eastern Oregon hauls in three CCC athletes of the week
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Cas-
cade Collegiate Conference
revealed its players of the week
on Monday, Jan. 24, rewarding
three Eastern Oregon University
athletes.
The Mountaineers’ men’s and
women’s track teams had a very
productive showing at the Lauren
McCluskey Memorial Open at
the University of Idaho this past
weekend, with two standouts
earning conference recognition
after their performances.
Senior thrower Maggie Led-
better was in top form, taking
third place in the women’s shot
put. Ledbetter tossed a score of
13.45 meters, a score that qualifies
her for the NAIA Indoor National
Championships. Ledbetter also
placed seventh in the women’s
weight throw with a distance of
14.69 meters.
In the men’s high jump,
freshman Tyler Jones came out of
nowhere to tie for second overall
with a height of 2.02 meters. The
score earned Jones a provisional
qualifier for the NAIA Indoor
National Championships, while
ranking him 13th in the NAIA.
On the hardwood, junior Sailor
Liefke led the way once again for
Eastern as the Mountaineers kept
up an impressive winning streak.
EOU’s women’s basket ball
team earned crucial conference
victories over Southern Oregon
and Oregon Tech. Liefke hit
clutch buckets in the win over the
Owls, which went to overtime,
and she finished the game with
20 points. The junior guard went
off for 32 points in a 68-65 vic-
tory over the Raiders just one day
later.
Liefke is averaging a team-
high 16 points per game, which
has helped the Mountaineers
climb to first place in the Cascade
Collegiate Conference standings.
Eastern is also a perfect 7-0
at home this season. The Moun-
taineers are back at home for a
weekend series, facing Bushnell
on Jan. 28 and Corban on Jan. 29.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Sailor Liefke (22) looks to pass at Quinn Coliseum at Eastern Oregon University
on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. The Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team
beat out visiting Oregon Institute of Technology Hustlin’ Owls 79-75 in the first
home game of 2022.