Sports
Molalla,
Gladstone,
OSAA speak
to alleged
racial taunts
A7
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Ready for another run
La Grande boys wrestling team hitting stride heading into postseason
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
By RYAN CLARKE
PORTLAND — The
Molalla River and Glad-
stone school districts released
a joint statement with the
Oregon School Activities
Association on Wednesday,
Feb. 2, promising a thorough
investigation into alleged
racial taunts at a recent high
school basketball game.
Boys basketball players
from Gladstone High School
claimed they faced racism
and intimidation on Jan. 28 as
they traveled to face Molalla,
including an adult displaying
a photo of a confederate fl ag
in their direction, a Molalla
student adorned in black-
face, monkey noises chanted
from the Molalla student sec-
tion toward Black Gladstone
players, and a phone call from
the Molalla High School stu-
dent resource offi cer.
“We are deeply troubled
by allegations that Gladstone
High students were the sub-
ject of racial taunting at a
recent varsity basketball game
at Molalla High School,” the
joint statement from Glad-
stone, Molalla and the OSAA
reads. “Accordingly, the
Molalla River School District,
Gladstone School District,
and the Oregon School Activ-
ities Association (OSAA) are
coordinating an investigation
to determine what occurred
and what future steps to take.
We are issuing this statement
to express our plans to jointly
resolve this diffi cult situation.
“This investigation’s suc-
cess requires that we acknowl-
edge the need for deep conver-
sation, in depth fact-fi nding
and a thorough understanding
about what occurred. We will
engage people at every level,
from district administrators
to coaches to students. To that
end, we will be working with
an independent investigator,
and we will take appropriate
action upon the investigation’s
completion.”
The OSAA’s previously
contracted independent inves-
tigation into allegations lev-
eled by Gladstone against foot-
ball players in La Grande took
approximately two months,
yielding an “inconclusive”
result.
It is also still investigating
a racist incident that allegedly
occurred during a girls bas-
ketball game in Clatskanie,
and the Benson girls bas-
ketball team claims it was
LA GRANDE — The
Tigers are poised for another
run at a title.
The La Grande boys wres-
tling program concluded its
regular season with a 63-15
dual victory over Ontario on
Tuesday, Feb. 1, and is gearing
up for postseason competi-
tion. Before any potential state
championship contention, the
Tigers will be looking to start
the postseason strong at the
OSAA 4A Special District 4
competition on Feb. 11-12 at
Sisters High School.
“I feel really good. I think
everybody’s going to be ready
to roll at the right time,” La
Grande head coach Klel
Carson said.
The Tigers will be com-
peting against Baker/Powder
Valley, Corbett, Gladstone,
Madras, McLoughlin/Weston-
McEwen, Ontario and Sisters
at the district meet.
La Grande has had an
eventful year, seeing several
events canceled during the
omicron spike. Even so, the
Tigers competed at several
regional tournaments against
some of the best local schools
to strengthen the team prior to
the postseason.
“They’ve been in some
really tough tournaments with
a lot of tough competition. I do
think that helps them down the
stretch,” Klel Carson said.
La Grande traveled out of
the state several times this
year, placing third out of 38
teams at the Red Halverson
Invitational in Idaho on Jan.
29. The Tigers were crowned
dual meet champions at the
Oregon Classic on Jan. 15 and
placed 12th out of 71 teams at
the Rollie Lane Invitational on
Jan. 7.
La Grande also placed
fourth at the 2021 Tri-State,
competing against 28 schools
from Washington and Idaho.
La Grande has several
frontrunners leading the
way, including senior Braden
Carson at the 145-pound
pound weight class. The two-
time state champion will be
looking for a strong start to
the postseason as he aims
to become the fi rst three-
time champion at La Grande.
Braden Carson is 32-1 on the
year and enters the tournament
as a heavy favorite.
Junior Joshua Collins has
had a strong year at 138, going
29-7. Collins and junior Brysen
Penaloza will look for solid
results at the 138-pound level.
See, Statement/Page A7
See, Wrestling/Page A8
The Oregonian
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
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.
Max Mejia/Contributed Photo
The La Grande girls wrestling team poses with its fi rst-place plaque at the OSAA Special District 3 Tournament at
Redmond High School on Saturday, Feb. 5. The Tigers saw three individual wrestlers earn qualifi cations to the
OSAA State Championships.
LG girls win Special District 3
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
REDMOND — The La
Grande girls wrestling team
won its fi rst ever district
championship, taking fi rst
place at the OSAA Special
District 3 Tournament on Sat-
urday, Feb. 5.
The Tigers tallied 178 points
to take fi rst place, with second
place La Pine just 39 points
behind. La Grande faced off
against 29 other wrestling pro-
grams competing at the event.
La Grande saw two wres-
tlers earn individual titles in
their weight classes, while nine
other Tigers placed.
Dora Galindo and Delia
Gulzow both earned fi rst-
place fi nishes in their weight
divisions. Both wrestlers,
along with third-place fi n-
isher Kaitlin Brock, punched
their tickets to the OSAA State
Championships.
Galindo placed fi rst
overall at the 105-pound level,
defeating Ridgeview’s Paige
Aponte by fall in the fi rst-place
match.
Gulzow defeated Klamath
Union’s Hayleigh Dukes by fall
in just 45 seconds, claiming the
title at 115. Teammate Navaeh
Hall placed fi fth in the same
division to earn valuable points
for the Tigers.
Lyndie Isaacson placed
fi fth at the 100-pound level.
Isaacson defeated Arianna
Flores of Madras by forfeit
in the fi fth-place match after
taking two wins earlier in the
competition.
At the 110 pound division,
La Grande saw two placers.
Avery Myer placed fourth and
Shantie Ward won the fi fth-
place match over Hood River’s
Ximena Galvez.
Nakita Gonzales and Flore-
cita Villagomez took fi fth and
sixth in the 120-pound weight
class to earn a combined 25
points for the Tigers.
Riley Robinson competed
well at the 125-pound level,
taking sixth place to earn 13
points.
La Grande’s Paige Allen
placed fourth at 130, winning
four matches throughout the
competition to earn 20 points
for La Grande.
The district victory is a
huge accomplishment for La
Grande under fi rst-year head
coach Max Mejia. The Tigers
upped the team’s turnout this
year and came home with a
district title.
Gulzow, Galindo and Brock
are set to compete at the 4A
State Championships at Cas-
cade High School on Feb. 26.
OSAA committ ee discusses investigations, student involvement
By NIK STRENG
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — A
review of the investiga-
tion process, the Student
Advisory Council and the
S.T.A.R. Initiative led the
discussion during a recent
meeting of the Oregon
School Activities Associa-
tion’s Equity and Diversity
Advisory Committee on
Thursday, Jan. 20.
One of the big topics of
conversation in the com-
mittee was having student
voices when investigating
incidents of discriminatory
harassment. This includes
having a professional who
deals with harassment
and counseling available,
because they will be able
to structure the conversa-
tion in a way that best sup-
ports the student.
“Student voices need to
be heard through the com-
plaint process but ensuring
that there is not further
harm done in the process
needs to be considered,”
the OSAA’s update on the
committee meeting reads.
“Maintaining confi denti-
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ality and ensuring that stu-
dents who share their per-
spectives are supported
throughout the process is
also important.”
The committee also
discussed the complaint
process, which usually
involves the individual
schools conducting their
own investigations and
coming with diff ering
perspectives. The com-
mittee supported the use
of a third-part investigator
when schools’ investiga-
tions return inconclusive.
“The third-party inves-
tigator also helps to recog-
nize the importance of the
necessary follow through
and the impact of the
events that occurred,” the
OSAA’s update reads.
The OSAA has looked
into multiple alleged racist
incidents in recent months:
• An incident at a
playoff football game
where La Grande players
allegedly used racist taunts
toward Gladstone players
turned out inconclusive
results.
• De La Salle North
girls basketball players
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The committee also
discussed the S.T.A.R.
Initiative, and specifi cally
brainstormed the idea of a
“hospitality person” that
schools would be required
to designate when hosting
an event.
The hospitality person
would be required to greet
the visitors, show them
the facility and remind
them of who they can
speak to if an incident
occurs that needs imme-
diate attention.
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alleged that Clats-
kanie players used racist
slurs during a game in
December.
• Benson girls basket-
ball coach Eric Knox fi led
a complaint with Camas
School District, claiming
that his team was subject
to racist taunts during a
game in January.
• Gladstone boys bas-
ketball players allegedly
faced racist actions during
a basketball game at
Molalla, including a stu-
dent attending the game in
blackface.
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