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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2016)
SPORTS THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016 HERMISTON Sports shorts Nyquist draws as Preakness favorite BALTIMORE (AP) — Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will start from the No. 3 gate Saturday in the Preakness as the overwhelming favorite in the 11-horse fi eld. Unbeaten in eight races, Nyquist was installed the 3-5 morning-line choice at Wednesday’s draw. The selection was justifi ed, according to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle new shooter Collected. Baffert says of Nyquist: “I’d probably be surprised if he didn’t win. He’s going to be tough to beat.” Starting from the 13th post position in the Derby, Nyquist won the 20-horse race by 1 1/4 lengths over Exaggerator. Exaggerator has the best odds behind Nyquist at 3-1. The race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Coleman continues pipeline to Corvallis Becomes third former Bulldog on Oregon State’s wrestling roster By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian The day of Feb. 28 proved to be a life- changing evening for Bob Coleman. Facing off against Central’s Tanner Swinehart in the 170-pound 5A wrestling championship, Coleman was deadlocked in 2-2 battle for the bulk of the match, but with 40 seconds left Swinehart earned a takedown for two points and the victory. The heart-breaking loss forced a change in the way Coleman approached the sport and his mindset in competition that led to success as a senior. “I went from being scared to wrestle people to looking forward to a good match and looking forward to being able to wrestle top-level opponents,” Coleman said. “You look forward to the big matches and when you get to wrestle them and come out with wins it really becomes fun and that’s where I started to notice I wanted to wrestle in college.” Coleman will now have the oppor- tunity to compete against that top-level talent he seeks as the senior signed his National Letter of Intent with Oregon State University under a partial scholarship on Wednesday afternoon at Hermiston High School. He said that he is disappointed to watch his high school career come to a close, but is excited that his next step is now complete. “Financials I’d have to say (is the biggest),” he said. “It’s a big school and I See COLEMAN/2B Staff photo by Eric Singer Hermiston senior Bob Coleman, center, signs his Na- tional Letter of Intent with Oregon State University as his father Craig, left, and mother Janna, right, watch on Wednesday at Hermiston High School. Locals looking for strong fi nish Boys Track & Field Pendleton runners, Hermiston thrower on verge of program records Crosby lifts Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay 4-2 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Chris Kunitz scored third-period goals, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 in Game 3 FACES of the Eastern Conference fi nals Wednesday night. Carl Hagelin snapped a scoreless tie Crosby late in the second period and Matt Murray had 26 saves for the Penguins, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Friday night at Amalie Arena. Crosby’s power-play goal restored a two-goal lead midway through the fi nal period. Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat scored for the Lightning. They have lost two straight after winning the series opener in Pittsburgh. “Whatever the results will be, we will do everything to provide a level playing fi eld for all the athletes around the globe and in this way to protect the integrity of the competition of the Olympic Games in Rio“ — Thomas Bach International Olympic Committee President speaking on the latest allegations of state- sponsored doping by Russia after retests of doping samples from the 2008 and 2012 Games have revealed that 31 athletes so far tested positive for doping. The IOC is awaiting the full fi nal results before handing out punishments, but Bach said entire national fed- erations, heavy fi nes and lifetime bans are on the table. He declined to say whether Russia would be banned from the Rio Games in August. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1910 — Cy Young, the career leader in major league victories, wins No. 500 as the Cleveland Indians defeat Washington 5-4 in 11 innings. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Nolan Bylenga, of Pendleton, heads for the fi nish line on May 12, 2016 during the 4x400 meter run at the Columbia River Conference Track & Field Championships for fi rst place. Seventeen hundredths may seem like an insignif- icant amount of time, but for the Pendleton 4x400 boys’ relay team it’s everything. That’s how close the team came to breaking the school record with their district-championship time of 3 minutes, 23.97 seconds in Hermiston last week. Comprised of four seniors, the team will get one last shot at the record on Saturday as the OSAA State Championships wend to a close at Hayward Field in Eugene. The 5A 4x400 boys’ relay will be the second-to- last track event of the entire four-day meet, which begins Thursday with 3A-1A schools. Pendleton’s team of Garison Alger, Nolan Bylenga, Grayson Hughbanks and Andrew Porter enters the meet ranked fi rst in the state. “We didn’t all necessarily run our best splits (at districts) but the time ended up really well,” said Bylenga, who will also run on the Buckaroos’ 4x100 team and in the 800 meters. “I think mainly it’s just hand-offs. We’re trying to get the spacing out right, you have to adjust to how fast the person is coming in.” The Bucks are confi dent they’ll bring home a school record even if they can’t live up to that No. 1 ranking. Hermiston was second at the district meet but a distant eight seconds off Pendleton’s pace. Redmond enters the state meet with a qualifying time of 3:24.86. “Redmond’s got a very good looking team right now, so that’s who we’re thinking about how we’re going to race,” Bylenga said. “It’s going to be a dogfi ght I think, but either way I think both teams should probably be under a school record.” Bylenga is also ranked second in the 800 by just two seconds to Bend’s Caleb Hoffman, and Hermiston senior Hayden Earl is just three seconds behind Bylenga. That race will also hold its fi nals on Saturday. “It’s kind of my last chance to do everything, See BOYS TRACK/2B Girls Track & Field Dawgs taking larger pack to state this year Hermiston girls hope numbers translate to team trophy By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Last year when the Hermiston girls track team went to the state meet, they were able to do a lot of things this year’s team won’t — things like sitting in the same booth at a restaurant, for instance. The Bulldogs’ state-bound contin- gent ballooned from three in 2015, to 11 this year coming off their Columbia River Conference championship. The larger pack of Dawgs will have a chance at a state trophy, something they couldn’t have dreamed of a year ago. “Honestly at this point I have no idea, I’m just so excited from where we came from last year, so anything we do at state I’m going to be extremely happy with,” said second-year head coach Emilee Strot. “The kids have already met my expectations, state’s just going to be a bonus to that. “You never know, honestly, when it comes to the state meet. Eighth-place through fi rst place earns you points and every point matters. If we have a couple heavy hitters, then we could go home with a trophy.” Sophomore Maddy Juul in shot put and freshman Scout Reagan in the 100-meter dash are two of the Bull- dogs’ highest-ranked athletes going in at sixth and fi fth, respectively. But senior Macey Foley, who qualifi ed in three event, is a testament to how quickly things can change. Prior to the district meet of her junior year, Foley fractured her ankle during a triple jump exercise, effec- tively ending her season. She said that’s added some nervous anticipation during the last few weeks. “I just made sure I took care of any injuries, even if they were just little things,” she said. “I’ve been very careful this year, because I didn’t want to do that again. “I’m just really excited this year. Last year our girls weren’t as strong, we didn’t have as many come out. All the girls, they’ve worked their tails off this year and they deserve it so I’m just hoping for the best for state.” See GIRLS TRACK/2B Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s Scout Reagan passes to Elsa Torres during the 4x100 relay Saturday at the Willamette Falls Invi- tational in Oregon City.
