Sports
A8
Thursday, March 31, 2022
ON THE SLATE
March 29 results
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
College of Idaho 1, Eastern 0
College of Idaho 3, Eastern 0
Thursday, March 31
PREP TENNIS
La Grande at Pendleton, 3 p.m.
Friday, April 1
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Eastern Oregon at Warner Pacific
(2), 2 p.m.
Union’s
Callie Glenn (22)
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Eastern Oregon at NNU
Invitational, Nampa, Idaho, TBA
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande at Seaside/Jewell,
4 p.m.
La Grande vs. North Marion,
7 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
Banks at La Grande (2), 2 p.m.
Elgin/Imbler at Union/Cove (2),
2 p.m.
PREP TRACK & FIELD
Kathy Aney and Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File Photos
Cove, Elgin, Imbler, La Grande,
Powder Valley, Union at Carnival
of Speed, McLoughlin High
School, 10 a.m.
PREP TENNIS
Pendleton at La Grande, 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 2
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon at British
Columbia (2), 1 p.m.
Union’s
Audrey Wells (4)
Union head coach Jordan Klebaum-Johnston reacts during an exciting moment of the 2A semifinal
game against Central Linn on Friday, March 4, 2022, at the Pendleton Convention Center.
Icing on the cake
Union girls basketball team earns all-state recognition
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Eastern Oregon at Warner Pacific
(2), 11 a.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S
LACROSSE
Eastern Oregon at Corban, 1 p.m.
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande at Astoria, noon
Sunday, April 3
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon at British
Columbia (2), 11 a.m.
Monday, April 4
PREP SOFTBALL
Echo/Stanfield at La Grande (2),
2 p.m.
Tuesday, April 5
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Eastern Oregon at College of
Idaho (2), 1 p.m.
PREP BASEBALL
Union/Cove at Weston-McEwen,
4 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii at Union/
Cove (2), 3 p.m.
PREP TRACK & FIELD
Elgin, Imbler, Powder Valley
at Small Schools Meet, Grant
Union, 4 p.m.
PREP TENNIS
Vale at La Grande, 4 p.m.
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
NION — Capping off a storybook
ending to the season, the Union
girls basketball team hauled in
high marks in the postseason awards.
On the heels of leading the team to a 2A
state championship, seniors Callie Glenn and
Audrey Wells earned spots on the all-state
teams — Glenn earned player of the year
honors and Wells was selected to the second
team. Head coach Jordan Klebaum-John-
ston was named 2A coach of the year after
guiding Union to the program’s first state
championship.
“It really is, in my opinion, icing on top
of a team accolade as big as winning a state
championship,” Klebaum-Johnston said. “For
them to win some individual accolades is
pretty cool stuff.”
Glenn was the anchor for Union on both
sides of the ball, leading the charge in all
facets of the game. The senior averaged 21.4
points, 5.7 steals, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists
per game.
The guard was lethal from long range,
converting 69 three-pointers on the season.
Her 125 steals this year created a night-
mare for opposing guards, alongside Wells
who averaged four steals, eight points, 6.8
rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.
For Glenn, the player-of-the-year selec-
tion rounds out a season where she also was
U
a unanimous first-team selection on the Blue
Mountain Conference all-league team.
“That’s been my goal since my sophomore
year,” she said of the recognition as the state’s
top 2A player.
Glenn is set to play college basketball at
Clackamas Community College next winter.
“Going into playing collegiate basketball,
it’s a pretty good reminder and confidence
booster,” Klebaum-Johnston said. “She’s
put in the hard work and it’s all been for a
reason.”
Wells wrapped up her prep career with
an all-state second-team nod and first-team
league recognition after a productive season.
She totaled 175 points, 150 rebounds, 88
steals and 57 assists.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,”
Wells said. “I’m super grateful for all the
people who have been behind me all these
years.”
Klebaum-Johnston noted that Union
senior Kaylin Nowak is another player who
deserved state recognition for her strong
season on the hardwood this year.
Nowak averaged 6.3 points per game and
was a key part of Union’s core trio of players
who started playing together in second grade.
The forward averaged nearly a double-double
in the playoffs for the Bobcats — and she
converted four three-pointers and finished
with 16 points in Union’s win over Salem
Academy in the 2A championship game.
“It’s really cool to see those girls that have
worked so hard since they were in second
grade to get recognition,” Klebaum-Johnston
said. “It’s a very well-deserved recognition.”
For Klebaum-Johnston, the coach-of-
the-year award comes in just her second
year at the helm of the Union girls basket-
ball program. The Bobcats averaged just
under 50 points per game and held oppo-
nents to 30 points per game. Union tallied a
25-3 overall record and went 11-1 in league
play — the Bobcats rode a 13-game win-
ning streak through the end of state tourna-
ment action.
For coaches and players alike, the state
recognition showcases the team’s mentality
from the start of the season.
“It recognizes all the hard work our team
has put in,” Glenn said.
Alongside Union’s nominations, Enter-
prise saw two players earn all-state recogni-
tion. Seniors Rilyn Kirkland and Jada Gray
both were honorable mention selections.
While the Union girls team is pleased
with individual honors to wrap up the season,
Union’s leader on the bench still prefers the
euphoria of winning a state championship.
“I don’t know if it will ever feel real,”
Wells said.
“It’s still a pretty magical feeling, even a
couple weeks later,” Klebaum-Johnston said.
“When you put in a lot of time and hours,
it feels good. I have to say, when our state
championship rings come in, that will feel
quite a bit better.”
SPORTS SHORT
MLS fines Timbers $25,000 for handling of Andy Polo incident
By RYAN CLARKE
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — Major League Soccer
will fine the Portland Timbers $25,000
for failing to report an alleged incident
of domestic violence to the league when
former midfielder Andy Polo was cited for
misdemeanor harassment last May.
But the league’s independent investi-
gation into the Timbers’ handling of the
May 23 incident cleared the Timbers of
allegedly trying to cover up the incident
or influence the legal decisions of Polo’s
estranged wife, Génessis Alarcón.
MLS released the findings of the inves-
tigation, conducted by New York-based
law firm Proskauer Rose, on Tuesday,
March 29. The Timbers’ failure to report
the incident, the investigation concludes,
was a result of a lack of understanding of
the MLS Constitution, rather than intent
to conceal what happened.
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian, File
Portland Timbers’ Andy Polo during a game
against the Vancouver Whitecaps in an MLS
match at Providence Park in Portland Sunday,
Sept. 27, 2020.
“Although the investigation found no
evidence that the Timbers organization
influenced Ms. Alarcon’s decision to press
charges and that they did not attempt to
conceal the incident, prompt reporting is
critical to League oversight, addressing
potential misconduct, and ensuring that
players and their families are referred to
appropriate resources, including poten-
tially the League’s Substance Abuse and
Behavioral Health Program,” MLS said in
a statement.
The Timbers said in a statement that
they “acknowledge and accept” the inde-
pendent review’s findings.
“For the past several months, the club
has put in diligent work to enact a set
of programs designed to improve our
accountability, equity and engagement,”
the Timbers’ statement says. “The full
set of action items will be unveiled in
the coming days. We strive to be a club
this city and our supporters can be proud
of. We have more than a decade of out-
standing work in the community and off
the pitch of which we are extremely proud.
However, we are not perfect and will
make mistakes occasionally. When that
happens, corrections will be made, and we
will learn from them.”
Portland terminated Polo’s contract in
February following additional, more vio-
lent allegations made by Alarcón on a
Peruvian talk show. Polo has denied all of
Alarcón’s allegations.
“The investigators found that while
the Timbers offered to assist Ms. Alarcón
and her children with certain essentials,
including food, transportation and seeking
to ensure that Mr. Polo provided funds for
necessary living expenses, that assistance
was not intended to induce or pressure
Ms. Alarcón to decline to pursue the crim-
inal charges against Mr. Polo,” the inves-
tigative report says. “The investigators
concluded that Ms. Alarcón understood
she would receive assistance from the
Club regardless of whether she decided to
pursue the charges, and the decision was
entirely up to her. This conclusion is based
on several findings.”
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