SPORTS
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016
1B
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PENDLETON
Pendleton prepared for West Regional trip
Team will have
sendoff party
at Pendleton
airport tonight
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
After a one-year absence,
a Pendleton team is back in
the 11/12-year-old softball
West Regional tournament.
Pendleton represented the
state of Oregon at the Little
League tournament in July of
2014, where they fi nished 2-2
in their bracket before getting
eliminated. Coaches Kristan
Garton and Justin Samp said
they are excited for their
girls to get the opportunity
to represent the state and the
city of Pendleton again.
“Gosh what an honor,”
Garton said. “It’s an honor
in so many ways and these
girls are up for the challenge.
We’re excited to compete
again.”
The team, which advanced
to the tournament after an
exciting come-from-behind
victory in the state champi-
onship game just one week
ago, will be traveling down
to San Bernardino, California
for the tournament, which is
set to take place from July
22-29. And for some kids,
such as Jordan Jones, it is
also their fi rst time fl ying
which is creating an even
more memorable experience.
“It’s exciting, but it’s
really nervewracking too,”
said Jones. “I’ve never fl own
and I’ve never been to Cali-
fornia and it’s exciting (to do
this with my team) because
they’re my best friends and
I’m happy to go with them.”
Pendleton will get see
its fi rst action on Friday
morning when they take on
Montana at 10 a.m. at Al
Haughton Stadium. They
will play two more games
in pool play against Alaska
and Utah and will then be
seeded against the rest of
the 12-team bracket for
single-elimination play. If
Pendleton wins the tourna-
ment, they will clinch a spot
in the Little League Softball
World Series in Portland next
month.
While in California, the
coaches said they have not
yet planned any activities
outside of games or practice,
and will wait till they get
settled in to decide. Garton
said the hope is to be able to
take the team to some kind of
amusement park or take them
to the beach, but they know
they have to stay focused on
the main task.
See SOFTBALL/2B
HERMISTON
Takin’ it to the Streets wraps up 11th year
Hermiston’s Paola
secures 3-point
three-peat
Tournament
brings creativity
with team names
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Justin Paola stepped onto the
HAPO Credit Union Center Court
on Saturday with one thing on his
mind: just make shots.
That mindset worked as well as
it has for the past three years, as the
Hermiston resident nailed a total of
19 3-pointers to capture the Takin’ it
to the Streets 3-point championship
for the third consecutive year. Paola
said the adrenaline rush he gets in
the event is what keeps him coming
back each year.
“I’ve played in this every year
since it started so there are some
really good people that come here
for this,” Paola said, “and the new
guys each year bring it too. The
competition is always great.”
The 45-year-old sharp shooter
has quite the basketball background,
playing collegiately at Eastern
Washington University from 1990-
1992 where he earned his place as
one of the best 3-point shooters in
school history. He currently sits at
No. 7 on the all-time list in made
3-pointers with 164. He has played
competitively in various 3-on-3
tournaments and other events since
graduating from college, which he
says has allowed him to keep his
shot sharp.
“You never really lose it, that’s
See 3-ON-3/2B
On Sunday afternoon at approxi-
mately 4 p.m., Main Street in down-
town Hermiston was suddenly silent.
For two days, the street had been
fl ooded with children, teenagers,
and adults for the 11th annual Takin’
it to the Streets 3-on-3 basketball
tournament, and for those two days
loud music had pulsated the air to
keep the competitors and on-lookers
upbeat. But once the fi nal games
were fi nished, the music fell silent as
the fi nal cleanup stage was ready to
kick off.
During that two-day period,
approximately 160 teams made up
of more than 600 athletes competed
in the tournament and 20 teams
walked away as winners of the 20
total brackets. And many of those
teams showed plenty of creativity
when it came to the most important
part: picking the team name.
“It’s always fun to see the names
people come up with,” said tour-
nament organizer Tracy Gammell.
“Some are AAU teams that come
and keep their names, but some
teams get really creative and have
fun with it.”
Gammell said her favorite name
came from a few years back, when
a team called themselves ‘Call Me
Maybe’ after the hit pop song, and
See TEAM NAMES/2B
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Justin Paola shoots during the three-pointer competition at the 3-on-3 basketball tournament
Saturday in Hermiston. The Hermiston man has won the competition for three years running.
PENDLETON
Simmons claims victory again at Wildhorse Amateur
Hermiston grad sinks par on
18 to clinch championship
By WILL DENNER
East Oregonian
Kurt Simmons didn’t immediately realize
he’d won the Wildhorse Amateur Golf Tourna-
ment after sinking his last putt.
Nathan Dick held a one-stroke lead over
Simmons going into the fi nal hole of the 36-hole
tournament Sunday, but Simmons thought he
was down two strokes.
Simmons missed a three-foot par putt on the
17 th hole, which he fi gured was enough to give
Dick the win. Not quite.
Dick took a chance trying to clear the long
water hazard right of the 18 th hole and it didn’t
pay off. His second shot, using an iron, landed in
the water and cost him a penalty stroke.
“I choked,” he said.
Simmons (even, 144) fi nished par on the 18 th
hole while Dick (one-over, 145) shot double
bogey. Simmons won his second Wildhorse
Amateur in defeating Dick – a three-time winner
of the tournament.
“I thought we were going to a playoff,”
Simmons said. “(Nathan) said, ‘Congratulations’
afterwards and I knew I won.”
Simmons’ previous win came in 2012, shortly
after he graduated from Hermiston High. In the
four years since, he said he’s developed a greater
appreciation for the game.
“I feel like I’m more mature now - look at
things a little different,” Simmons said. “I just
got done with college and golf is becoming more
enjoyable.”
Simmons and Dick were grouped with
Bob Christensen (seven-over, 151) and Reilly
See WILDHORSE/2B
Kurt
Simmons
recieves
his cham-
pionship
trophy
from
Wildhorse
Head Golf
Profes-
sional
Mike He-
garty on
Sunday at
Wildhorse
Resort in
Pendleton.
Staff photo by
Will Denner
Sports shorts
Ex-Pro Bowl RB inks with Dolphins
MIAMI (AP) — A person familiar with the
situation says four-time Pro Bowl running back
Arian Foster has agreed to terms on a one-year
deal with the Miami Dolphins.
The person confi rmed the
FACES deal to The Associated Press on
condition of anonymity Monday
because it had not been signed.
Foster, who spent the past seven
years with the Houston Texans,
is trying to come back from a
torn Achilles tendon that ended
his 2015 season in late October.
Foster
The injury happened against the
Dolphins in Miami.
The Dolphins were looking to add depth at
running back after losing Lamar Miller to the
Texans in free agency. Jay Ajayi is expected to
start after rushing for 187 yards as a rookie last
year.
“It’s all about the
uniform. I appreciate
our marketing
department and
everybody putting out
different looks for the
Mariners ... but I came
to the conclusion that
it had to be tied to the
uniform.“
— Scott Servais
Seattle Mariners manager saying
his team’s struggles in Sunday
home games are tied to the
alternate cream uniform the team
wears. The Mariners are 1-7 at
home on Sunday’s this season.
World Anti-Doping Agency
calls for Russian Olympic ban
(AP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency’s
executive board wants the IOC to ban all
Russian teams from the Rio de
Janeiro Olympics.
WADA issued a seven-point
list of requests after it published a
report which confi rmed claims of
state-backed Russian cheating at
the Sochi Olympics and beyond.
The call for action comes after
an investigator looking into Russian doping
found the country’s state-directed cheating
program resulted in at least 312 falsifi ed results
and lasted from 2011 through at least last year’s
world swimming championships.
The investigator, Richard McLaren, said
Russia’s deputy minister of sports would also
direct lab workers which positive samples to
send through and which to hold back.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1910 — Cy Young wins
his 500th career game as the
Cleveland Indians beat the
Washington Senators 5-4 in
11 innings.
1980 — The Summer
Olympics open in Moscow
without the United States
and 64 other boycotting
countries.
2014 — Shoni Schimmel,
a rookie who doesn’t start
for her own team, puts on
a record-breaking perfor-
mance — scoring 29 points
to help the East beat the West
125-124 in the fi rst WNBA
All-Star Game to go to
overtime.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com