Sports
A7
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Crossing the finish line
La Grande athletes
rank high at state
championships
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
E
UGENE — It was a productive
day for several La Grande High
School track and field athletes at
the 4A state championships at Hayward
Field, Eugene. The two-day event started
on Friday, May 20, and concluded on
May 21.
The Tigers scored 32 points on the
girls side to place eighth, while the boys
in attendance scored 18 points to place
17th.
The distance duo of sophomore
Emily Tubbs and freshman Cecilia Vil-
lagomez-Edvalson got things started on
a strong note in the 3,000 meters. Tubbs
placed second in the race, clocking in
at 10 minutes, 32.79 seconds. Villago-
mez-Edvalson earned a fifth place finish,
crossing the line at 10:41.86.
Junior Myer Whitmore competed
admirably in the shot put, garnering a
top-three finish. Whitmore threw 45 feet,
5.75 inches to place third overall.
In the pole vault, senior Maxon
Huxoll placed eighth with a height of
12-6.
Day two saw a slew of athletes take
the track for La Grande, with several
podium finishes.
Senior Jarom Hunstsman and
freshman Kayle Collman were busy,
competing in four events each. Collman
placed fourth the 100 meters (12.82) and
fifth in the 500 meters (26.79).
Huntsman saw his best performance
in the javelin, in which he placed third
overall with a throw of 170-8. In the
triple jump, the senior placed fifth with a
leap of 41-8.75.
Suzanne Collman/Contributed Photo
La Grande’s distance duo of sophomore Emily Tubbs, left, and freshman Cecilia Villagomez-Edvalson compete on Friday, May 20, 2022, in the
3,000 meters at the OSAA 4A State Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Tubbs rounded out a strong overall
performance at state in the 1,500 meters,
placing fourth. The sophomore com-
pleted the distance event with a time of
4:55.36.
The La Grande girls 4x100 relay team
— Kylie Brown, Nicole Zollman, Lexi
Price and Kayle Collman — earned
a podium finish, placing third overall
wiwth a time of 51.28 seconds.
The state championships wrapped up
a productive season for La Grande, with
both the boys and girls teams coming
off a second place finish in the Greater
Oregon League.
La Grande’s Jarom
Huntsman leaps
over a hurdle during
the 110-meter
hurdles at the
OSAA 4A State
Championships at
Hayward Field in
Eugene on Friday,
May 20, 2022. The
senior competed
in four events
over the two-day
championship.
Suzanne Collman/Con-
tributed Photo
Powder Valley, Enterprise boys place 2nd at state
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
Suzanne Collman/Contributed Photo
Imbler’s Nathan Bingaman leaps into the sandpit
during the 1A OSAA State Championships triple jump
competition at Hayward Field in Eugene on Saturday,
May 22, 2022.
EUGENE — Numerous local ath-
letes represented Union and Wallowa
counties admirably at this weekend’s
track and field state championships in
Eugene.
Powder Valley senior Kaiden
Krieger stole the show in the boys 1A
championships, winning three indi-
vidual titles en route to a second-place
team finish for the Badgers.
Enterprise’s Zac Knapp continued
his dominant season in distance
events, winning the 3,000 and 1,500
during Enterprise’s second-place
finish in the boys 2A standings.
At the 1A level, the Powder Valley
boys team placed second with 52.5
points, Joseph took third with 49, Cove
placed seventh at 25, Imbler finished
ninth with 22 points and Elgin placed
36th with two points. On the girls side,
Cove placed ninth with 22 points,
Imbler finished 11th with 21, Elgin
placed 23rd at six points and Powder
Valley finished 28th with three points.
In the 2A championships, the
Enterprise boys team scored 49 points
to take second overall, while Union
placed ninth with 27 points. On the
girls side, Enterprise placed 13th with
20 points.
Knapp started things off strong on
the first day, winning the 3,000 meters
with a time of 8 minutes, 40.32 sec-
onds. The senior’s weekend was far
from over, with an impressive showing
in the 1,500 meters to come on day
two.
Union’s Bo Ledbetter finished as
runner-up in the 2A boys pole vault,
posting a mark of 12 feet, 6 inches.
In the 1A boys 3,000, Joseph’s
Bayden Menton placed second overall
with a time of 9:01.68. Cove’s Eli Wil-
liams, a sophomore, placed fourth in
the event with a time of 9:17.03. In the
girls race, Cove senior Audrey Gar-
litz concluded her season with a fifth-
place finish with a time of 12:13.96.
Imbler’s Jeremiah Martin placed
fifth in the boys shot put, throwing a
distance of 40-11. In the girls discus,
Imbler’s Jayda Cant placed fourth with
a score of 93-5.
Joseph’s Reece Nelson started off a
productive weekend with a third-place
finish in the high jump with a height
of 6 feet. Nelson was back on day
one across the field in the long jump,
earning bronze with a distance of 19-7.
On day two, Krieger’s three indi-
vidual state championships high-
lighted a stellar showing among
athletes from Union and Wallowa
counties.
Menton got things started in the 1A
1,500 meters, finishing as runner-up
with a tie of 4:08.14. Cove’s duo of Eli
Williams, third at 4:14, and Taylor Fox,
fourth at 4:18.15, finished just behind
Menton. In the 2A event, Knapp stole
the show and won the race with a time
of 4:04.04.
In the 400 meters, local athletes
stacked the results sheet. Cove soph-
omore Autumn Dobbs won the 1A
event with a time of 1:02.34. On the
boys side, Krieger clocked in at 50.79
to win the race. Powder Valley junior
Jackson Chandler (53.4) placed third
and Imbler sophomore Clinton Tarvin
(53.54) took fifth. In the 2A event,
Levi Ortswan came in second at 51.99.
In the 1A 110-meter hurdles,
Krieger won his second title of the
day with a time of 15.55. Imbler soph-
omore Trevor Treat finished in fifth,
recording a time of 18.02.
Fox earned another top-five finish
for Cove in the boys 800 meters,
taking fifth place at 2:04.37.
In the 1A triple jump, Nelson won
a title for Joseph after leaping 43-7.25.
Imbler senior Nathan Bingaman
placed third, scoring 42-8.25.
In the 2A 300-meter hurdles,
Enterprise freshman Neveah James
won the event with a time of 48.34. In
the 1A race, Imbler freshman Kiana
deLint was the runner-up with a time
of 50.86.
The 300-meter hurdles was high-
lighted by Union County athletes —
Krieger won the 1A race with a time
of 39.9 to round out a trio of state
titles. In the 2A race, Ledbetter earned
a state title with a time of 41.69.
Imbler’s 4x400 girls relay team,
consisting of entirely freshmen,
earned a third-place finish. The team
clocked in at 4:30.83 and consisted of
JoJo Turner, Mikinah Browne, deLint
and Paiten Braseth.
In the 2A boys race, the 4x400
relay team of Andrew Nordtvedt,
Weston Wolf, Knapp and Ortswan
placed first overall.
SPORTS SHORT
ON DECK
Eastern Oregon men’s basketball team lands Division I transfer
Nate Pryor joins
Mountaineers after season
at New Mexico State
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Eastern
Oregon University men’s basket-
ball team gained an impactful new
transfer.
Nate Pryor, a guard with two
years of Division I experience,
the NCAA tournament
is set to make La Grande
and lost a narrow matchup
his new home and play
to Arkansas in the second
his senior season for the
round.
Mountaineers. Pryor is the
Prior to his season at
second Division I transfer
New Mexico State, Pryor
for Eastern this offseason,
played at the University of
joining Emmit Taylor III of
Pryor
Washington and averaged
Idaho State.
4.1 points per game in 16
Last season, Pryor aver-
aged 2.9 points per game for a
contests.
New Mexico State squad that
Pryor is the newest transfer
went 27-7 overall and won the
to follow the Northern Idaho to
Western Athletic Conference tour- Eastern pipeline, joining former
nament — the Aggies defeated
teammates Phillip Malatare,
Connecticut in the first round of
Ismael Valdez and Taylor III on
this year’s roster. In his sopho-
more year with the Cardinals,
Pryor averaged 16.8 points, 4.1
assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.
It has been a busy offseason for
head coach Chris Kemp and the
Mountaineers, who have hauled
in five transfers and two freshmen
recruits for next year’s team.
Eastern finished last season 18-13
overall and 12-10 in conference
play — the Mountaineers will be
looking for sustained success in
Kemp’s second year as the team’s
coach.
Wednesday, May 25
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Eastern Oregon at NAIA
Outdoor Championships, Gulf
Shores, Alabama, all day
PREP BASEBALL
Marshfield at La Grande, 4A
State Playoffs, 4 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
Banks at La Grande, 4A State
Playoffs, 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 26
COLLEGE TRACK & FIELD
Eastern Oregon at NAIA
Outdoor Championships, Gulf
Shores, Alabama, all day