SPORTS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
1B
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PENDLETON ROUND-UP
Prep Roundup
League
play opens
with
heartbreak
Bulldogs come up
short at home
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — While the
Pendleton Round-Up took place
nearly 30 miles away, Hermiston
hosted its own annual event:
the start of league volleyball.
The Dalles made the trip over
to Hermiston
School
Volleyball High
to face the
Bulldogs, who
were already
riding a three-
The Dalles
game losing
streak.
Hermiston
went toe-to-toe
with the Dalles
Hermiston
in the fi rst set
but ended up
dropping
it
25-22. After
losing
the
second set 25-16, Hermiston
was in danger of losing on its
home court in three straight sets.
The Bulldogs weren’t going
to let that happen, though, and
they rallied back for a third set
victory (25-23). They just didn’t
have enough gas in the tank to
fi nish and lost the match after
the Dalles won the fourth and
fi nal set of the night, 25-17.
“Overall tonight we played
well and more importantly,
we competed together,” head
coach Amy Dyke said. “I am
very proud of how well we
distributed the ball, how hard
we fought on defense, and how
focused we were on playing out
every single point.”
This is only the Bulldogs
second match at home, and
the crowd did provide an extra
boost for some of the players.
Emma Combes had a standout
performance with fi ve aces,
nine kills, and 14 digs. Masia
Hancock racked up 43 digs.
Both Breena Wadekamper and
Kendall Dowdy had 11 assists,
while Scout Reagan and Ireland
McDonough let the team with 7
kills each.
“Emma really stepped up
See PREPS/2B
3
1
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Joe Frost of Randlett, Utah, gets bucked by Fire Dog as bullfi ghter Dusty Tuckness of Meeteetse, Wyoming, takes a tumble as Tim O’Conner
of Springville, California, looks on during bull riding Thursday at the Pendleton Round-Up. Frost fi nished the ride with a score of 84.5 points.
Rough go for stock on Day 2
Ropers, riders stumped
by stock on Thursday
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
There will be a new bull riding
champion this year at the Pendleton
Round-Up.
Two-time defending champion
Sage Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma)
competed in Thursday’s performance,
trying to start his road to a third straight
Round-Up title. However, Kimzey
drew an average bull in VooDoo Too
from Sankey Rodeo which failed to
produce any speed with big spins,
bucks or twists that help riders earn
good scores. The ride produced a
mediocre 72.5 point score for Kimzey,
placing him outside of the top 12 cutoff
line to make the short round.
Kimzey tried pleading with the
PRCA pro judges for a re-ride option,
but he was unsuccessful. Afterwards,
the look of disappointment on
Kimzey’s face was clear. He said
he had been looking forward to this
Round-Up as soon as he hopped off
the horse from his victory lap in 2016.
“It’s never fun to lose, but not
making the short go here at Pendleton,
it just hurts that much more because
this place is so special,” Kimzey said.
“It’s a bitter taste, but it is what it is. I
thought I should have got a re-ride and
the judges didn’t see it that way, so I
understand. It’s just one of those kind
of deals.”
But instead of hanging his head too
much, Kimzey did fi nd a positive out
of his Round-Up week ending early.
“Headed home for a couple of days
now,” he said. “It’ll be the fi rst time
I’ve seen home since the middle of
June, so I’m pretty excited about that.”
While Kimzey faltered in bull
riding Thursday, it was Randlett,
Utah, cowboy Joe Frost that rode into
the spotlight. Frost, currently sixth in
the world standings, rode Four Star
See ROUND-UP/3B
Coltin
J. Hill of
Black-
foot,
Idaho,
tumbles
under
his steer
during
bulldog-
ging
Thurs-
day
at the
Pend-
leton
Round-
Up.
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
Barrel rac-
er Jolene
Douglas-
Hoburg,
of Ken-
newick,
Wash-
ington,
puts in a
29.18-point
run Thurs-
day at the
Pendleton
Round-Up.
Riders face unique challenges
on longer barrel racing track
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Cowgirls have been
making history at the Pendleton Round-Up
before breakaway roping was added to the
event schedule in 2016. Barrel racers have
had to guide their horses around the world’s
longest barrel racing track year in and year
out.
Because of the grass infi eld, the barrels are
placed exceptionally far away. Two are placed
on each of the two straightaways and one sits
in the middle of a curve on the dirt track that
surrounds the football fi eld length greenish
brown sod. For many it can be a deterrent, for
others a chance to show of the speed of their
horse, and for some a fi rst time experience that
is unlike any other. There are a select few who
get a chance to experience all of that in their
hometown.
“It’s probably one of the coolest places,”
Hermiston’s own Mary Shae Hays said after
her 29.62 ride. “It’s the biggest adrenaline
rush for me. It makes you just want to go and
run again.”
But Hays nows that see no longer has
control of whether or not she will be back to
compete for the championship on Saturday,
and she admits that sometimes you just have
to wait another year if things don’t go your
way.
Before the Round-Up offi cially started
on Wednesday, six cowgirls posted sub-29
second times in slack on Monday and
Tuesday. Since then cowgirls have been yet
to come close to that time and with only six
See BARREL RACING/3B
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
Sports shorts
Deshaun Watson leads Texans
over Bengals 13-9 in debut
CINCINNATI (AP) — Deshaun Watson ran
49 yards for a touchdown and led the Houston
Texans’ depleted offense to a late clinching
fi eld goal in a 13-9 victory over the
Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday
night.
Watson showed up in a black
tuxedo — it was his 22nd birthday,
no less — and showed the fl ash that
helped him lead Clemson to a national title last
season. He avoided the rush and ran 49 yards
for a 10-3 lead late in the fi rst half, dashing past
befuddled defenders.
The Texans (1-1) got the most out of their
depleted offense, and then let their defense do
the rest. The Bengals (0-2) have failed to score a
touchdown in their two games to open a season
for the fi rst time in their 50 seasons.
“I said every time I was
asked since last Olympics
that nobody is going
to tell me I can’t play
because my country was
going to be allowed to
ask me. Now the IIHF and
NHL say my country is not
allowed to ask anybody in
the NHL to play and there
is nothing to talk about
anymore.”
— Alex Ovechkin
The Russian Washington
Capitals ice hockey player said in
a statement he issuesd regarding
the the International Ice Hockey
Federation’s ruling for the 2018
Winter Olympic Games.
Parker helps Sparks beat
Mercury 86-72 in Game 2
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Candace
Parker had 24 points and 13 rebounds —
showing no effects of an ankle
injury — to help the Los Angeles
Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury
86-72 on Thursday night in Game
2 of the WNBA semifi nal series.
Parker injured her ankle in
the warmups before the Sparks’
Parker
Game 1 victory, but she still
played in that game and returned to
her usual form in Game 2 the Pyramid.
The defending champion Sparks have won
nine games in a row and can sweep the best-of-
fi ve series Sunday in Arizona.
Nneka Ogwumike added 18 points and nine
rebounds for Los Angeles.
Diana Taurasi led Phoenix with 19 points,
and Brittney Griner had 16 points.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1973 — Three-year-old
Secretariat
wins
the
Marlboro Cup Invitational
Handicap in the then-world
record time of 1:45 2-5 for
11/8 miles.
1978 — Muhammad Ali
becomes the fi rst three-time
heavyweight champion with
a unanimous 15-round deci-
sion over Leon Spinks at the
Superdome in New Orleans.
1991 — The United States
women’s gymnastics team
makes history with its fi rst
team medal — a silver — at
the World Championships in
Indianapolis.
2013 — Aaron Rodgers
throws for a career-high 480
yards in Green Bay’s 38-20
win over the Washington
Redskins.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com