SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
HERMISTON
Sports shorts
Idaho football
dropped by Sun
Belt Conference
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP)
— Idaho’s football team
will leave
the Sun Belt
Conference
after the
2017 season.
The
conference
announced Tuesday that it’s
dropping the Vandals.
Idaho President
Chuck Staben says he is
disappointed by the Sun
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Idaho say the school will
decide whether to play an
independent schedule or
accept an invitation from the
Big Sky Conference for the
2018 season.
A founding member of
the Sun Belt, Idaho was
in the conference from
2001-04. The Vandals were
a member of the WAC from
2005-12.
Idaho was independent
for the 2013 season before
returning to the Sun Belt
in 2014.
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Grappling with a dream
“When you hear about
Sam you don’t hear about
academics, even though
you should.”
Hermiston’s Neal
selected for Les
Schwab Bowl
Hermiston Bulldogs
defensive lineman Tre Neal
racked up several honors
during his senior football
season, and on Monday he
earned one more.
Neal was selected to
play in the
FACES 69th annual
Les Schwab
Tires Bowl
presented
by Express
Employment
Professionals
that will
Neal
take place
on Saturday, June 25th at
Hillsboro Stadium.
The game will feature the
top 5A and 6A players from
the state split up into North
and South rosters. Neal will
play with the South team
that will be coached by
Summit’s Joe Padilla.
Neal anchored
Hermiston’s defense in
2015 racking up 61 total
tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss
and seven sacks, which led
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all-state.
Tickets for the game go
on sale May 13th.
“My doctors all
have told me that
had I passed out
or gone down on
the golf course that
they really don’t
think they would
have had time
to get the proper
blood thinners in
me — and put the
stent in that they
were able to do —
in time. I got one
hell of a mulligan.
That’s all I can say.“
— Jason Bohn
The 42-year-old PGA
tour member on Sir-
iusXM PGA Tour Ra-
dio on Tuesday. Bohn
suffered a major heart
attack following Friday’s
round at the Honda
Classic and did not
realize it until the para-
medics put him on a
stretcher and called for
an ambulance.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain
scores an NBA-record 100
points to lead the Philadel-
phia Warriors to a 169-147
triumph over the New York
Knicks.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Sam Colbray is as comfortable in an academic setting, like the library, as the four-time state champion is on the wrestling mat. Colbray,
who will offi cially sign of letter of intent to wrestle on a college scholarship this week, has aspirations of continuing on to medical school
and becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Hermiston’s Sam Colbray pins aspirations for
medical career on continuing education through athletics
By SAM BARBEE
East Oregonian
S
am Colbray didn’t always
want to wrestle.
As a small child growing
up in Hermiston, he wanted to
explore the world.
“He used to talk about that when
he was 5 years old,” Colbray’s
mother, Delta, said.
Thirteen years later, the world
explorer dream has passed, but his
ambitions are still grand. After he
concludes his stellar high school
career — both athletically and
academically — he will continue
his education at Iowa State
University on a wrestling schol-
arship. Wrestling and Iowa State
are stepping stones to attending
medical school and becoming a
doctor.
Best known as a highly-ranked
wrestler, he’s currently ranked
second in the country at 195 pounds
according to FloWrestling.org and
a four-time Oregon state champion
at the same weight, Colbray is an
intellectual, a thinker and a leader.
“When you hear about Sam, you
don’t hear about academics, even
though you should,” social sciences
teacher John Christy said. “You
hear only primarily about athletics.
But he’s a top-notch student.”
Colbray became interested
in science at an early age. The
consistency and uniformity appeals
to him. He said every human body
is the same, every person’s biology
See COLBRAY/2B
PENDLETON
Prep Basketball
Bulldogs, Bucks dominate All-CRC Falcons
Hermiston’s Hoffert,
¿QLVKRII
Pendleton’s Tedder
named coaches of year
Bucks
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Monday’s practice for the Herm-
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Bulldogs coach Steve Hoffert
broke the news then that four players
had been selected to the Columbia
River
Conference’s
all-league
team — headlined by seniors Jansen
Edmiston and Sara Ramirez repeating
as co-Players of the Year.
Hoffert said that the duo are two
players that are at the top of his list
of players he has coached in his eight
years at Hermiston.
“It’s been very gratifying to coach
those two,” he said. “They’re both
fun and challenging to coach because
they expect a lot out of themselves
and their teammates. I’ve seen some
girls get to a point where they are
happy with where they are, but these
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what seperates them.”
Hermiston’s two other selections
were junior forward Kynzee Padilla
and sophomore Maddie Juul. Padilla
was named to the second team for the
second year in a row while Juul was
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year on the varsity squad. Hoffert
said that the Bulldogs wouldn’t be the
team they are without the solid inside
game from Padilla and Juul.
“Each are getting better and better
and both raised the level of their
game this year,” he said. “Their roles
expanded and created this recogni-
tion with increased responsibility and
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Hoffert was also named Coach of
the Year again, though he says that
See ALL-CRC/3B
TOP: In
this Friday,
Feb. 5,
2016 fi le
photo,
Herm-
iston’s
Jansen
Edmiston
drives
from the
top of the
key in the
Bulldogs’
79-49 win
against The
Dalles in
Hermiston.
BOTTOM:
In this
Friday, Feb.
5, 2016
fi le photo,
Hermis-
ton’s Sara
Ramirez
shoots
the ball
guarded by
The Dalles’
Sierra
Watson
and Brooke
McCall.
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
Liberty defense too
tough for Pendleton
East Oregonian
HILLSBORO — The
Pendleton girls basketball
team knew Liberty was a
tough defensive match-up,
but may have underestimated
them a little
bit.
Girls Hoops
Pend-
leton coach
Michelle
Pendleton
G o m e z
said
that
made all the
difference
in
Tues-
day’s Class
Liberty
5A play-in
r o u n d
match-up,
w h i c h
Liberty won 67-50.
“They were tough defen-
sively and we knew coming
in that they were going to
be,” she said, adding that
the Buckaroos did what they
could to prepare for it. “But
you can’t really duplicate
that defensive intensity that
they play with and I think we
may have taken that a little
bit for granted.”
The Falcons (13-11)
used their press to harass
Pendleton (9-16) into 32
turnovers, and pulled away
in an 18-4 second quarter.
See BUCKS/3B
50
67