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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Tuesday, February 13, 2018 2018 Winter Olympics Wind, ice and cold are making this Olympics too wintry By GRAHAM DUNBAR & HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writers PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The Winter Olympics are supposed to be cold, of course. Just maybe not THIS cold. Wind and ice pellets left Olympic snowboarders simply trying to stay upright in conditions that many felt were unfit for competition, the best ski jumpers on the planet dealing with swirling gusts and biathletes aiming to shoot straight. All around the games, athletes and fans are dealing with condi- tions that have tested even the most seasoned winter sports veterans. Low temperatures have hovered in the single digits, dipping below zero Fahrenheit with unforgiving gusts whipping at 45 mph (70 kph) making it feel much colder. Orga- nizers have shuffled schedules, and shivering spectators left events early. The raw air sent hundreds of fans to the exits Sunday when qual- ifying was called off after women’s slopestyle devolved into a mess of mistakes, and Monday’s final started 75 minutes late. Of the 50 runs, 41 ended with a fall or a rider essentially giving up. The tempera- ture dropped to 3 Fahrenheit, with high winds. American Jamie Anderson won the gold medal by watching most of her competitors struggle, and then completing a conservative run that paled in comparison to her winning performance at the X Games just two weeks ago. “It has to be absolutely petri- fying, terrifying, being up that high in the air, and having a gust 30 mph coming sideways at you,” said United States Ski and Snowboard Association CEO Tiger Shaw. Many of the snowboarders The finish line and Olym- pic rings shrouded in snow as they carry ski gates after the wom- en’s giant slalom was postponed due to high winds at the 2018 Winter Olympics at the Yong- pyong Al- pine Center, Pyeongc- hang, South Korea, Monday, (AP Photo/Michael Probst) didn’t think they should have been out there. “You’re going up the chairlift and you see these little tornadoes,” said Czech snowboarder Sarka Pancohova, who finished 16th, “and you’re like, ‘What is this?’” At ski jumping, giant netting was set up to reduce the wind that can blow at three times the optimal velocity for the sport. Didn’t help all that much, though: The men’s normal hill final on Saturday was pushed back repeatedly and even- tually finished after midnight. “It was unbelievably cold,” said Japan’s Noriaki Kasai, competing at his record eighth Olympics. “The noise of the wind at the top of the jump was incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that on the World Cup circuit. I said to myself, ‘Surely, they are going to cancel this.’” Alpine skiing, meanwhile, still hasn’t been able to get started at all, leaving stars like Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway waiting for their turn in the spotlight. Each of the first two races on the program — the men’s downhill Sunday, and the women’s giant slalom Monday — were called off hours before they were supposed to begin. Both of those have been moved to Thursday, when things are supposed to become slightly more manageable. The forecast calls for more high winds Tuesday and Wednesday, although temperatures are expected to climb to 26. “I am pretty sure that soon,” men’s race director Markus Waldner said with a wry smile, “we will have a race.” Until then, he and other officials are left trying to come up with VIKINGS: Webb leads with 20 points Continued from 1B chipped in a 3-pointer second early, and would score five of his seven total points in the second. While Umatilla was increasing its advantage over Burns, the Hilanders (13-11, 6-3) had little going for them. Senior Bryce Gross had the bulk of Burns’ first half points, earning most of them in the paint as he battled his way through Viking defenders. He notched 11 points in the first and second quarter, and finished with a team-best of 17. The Vikings entered the locker room at halftime up 36-17, and had everything going their way. As Umatilla prepared to come back out to the court and dominate, Burns was working on its own adjust- ments to vie for a league championship itself. The Hilanders outscored Umatilla 13-4 in the third quarter, and kept chipping away at their deficit little by little. Sophomore Dakota Ceja hit two 3-pointers two minutes apart to keep Burns within striking distance. But in no time, the Vikings’ shots began to fall again and contingency plans and ways to get the full 11-race Alpine program completed before the Olympics are scheduled to close on Feb. 25. As it is, logistical complications are real concerns. Waldner pointed out that he needs to figure out a way to get three men’s races — the combined, downhill and super-G — completed by Friday, because there is only one hotel right by the speed course at the Jeongseon Alpine Center. The male skiers need to vacate their rooms to make way for their female counterparts, whose speed events are supposed to begin Saturday. “Now, it’s getting tight,” he said. Even those attending indoor events have been tested. Long, cold waits for buses have left workers, media and fans complaining. Those involved in winter sports Tuesday TV Schedule NBC 12-3 p.m. — Speedskating: Men’s 1500m Gold Medal Final; Luge: Women’s Singles Gold Medal Final Runs; Cross Country: Men’s and Women’s Individual Sprint Gold Medal Finals 5-9:05 p.m. (PST) — Figure Skating: Pairs’ Short Program (LIVE); Alpine Skiing: Women’s Slalom, First Run (LIVE); Snowboarding: Men’s Halfpipe Gold Medal Final (LIVE) 9:05-10:30 p.m. — Alpine Skiing: Women’s Slalom, Gold Medal Final Run (LIVE); Short Track Speedskating: Women’s 500m Gold Medal Final NBCSN 11:40 p.m.-2 a.m. — Women’s Ice Hockey: Canada vs. Finland (LIVE) 2-4:10 a.m. — Luge: Women’s Singles Gold Medal Final Runs; Cross Country: Men’s and Women’s Individual Sprint 4-6:30 a.m. — Women’s Ice Hockey: United States vs. Olympic Athletes from Russia (LIVE) 6:30-9:30 a.m. — Speedskating: Men’s 1500m Gold Medal Final; Luge: Women’s Singles Gold Medal Final Runs; Cross Country: Men’s and Women’s Individual Sprint Gold Medal Finals 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. — Short Track Speedskat- ing: 500m Gold Gold Medal Final; Curling: Mixed Doubles Bronze Medal Match (replay) 4-7:10 p.m. — Figure Skating: Pairs’ Short Program (LIVE) 7:10-9:30 p.m. — Women’s Ice Hockey: Swe- den vs. Switzerland (LIVE) 9:30-11:30 p.m. — Men’s Curling: United States vs. South Korea CNBC 2-5 p.m. — Curling: Mixed Doubles Gold Medal Match are used to this sort of thing, of course. At the 2007 Alpine world cham- pionships in Sweden, for example, strong winds wiped out first three days of competition. At the 1993 world championships in Japan, the men’s super-G was never contested. Can happen the other way, too. At the 2010 Vancouver Games, the first two Alpine races were postponed because of rain and — get this — too-warm temperatures in the 40s (below 10 Celsius). The entire Alpine world championships slated for Spain in 1995 were rescheduled for a whole year later because of a lack of snow. “That’s a piece of the puzzle that, I guess, fortunately or unfor- tunately is part of our world,” U.S. Alpine men’s speed coach Johno McBride said. “You’re dealing with Mother Nature.” 2018 Winter Olympics US teen takes gold in women’s halfpipe By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer Staff photo by Kathy Aney Umatilla’s Sebastian Garcia lauches himself toward the basket despite pressure from two Burns defenders during Saturday’s Eastern Oregon League game. they eventually put enough distance between themselves and the Hilanders. “Any time we’ve been down, we rallied every single time so there were no worries that way in the third quarter,” Bow said. “In the end, we made adjustments, (the kids) did what they were supposed to and took care of business.” ——— BHS 8 9 13 14 — 44 UHS 22 14 4 21 — 61 BURNS — B. Gross 17, D. Ceja 17, J. Cawood 4, Z. Taylor 4, L. Bailey 2. UMATILLA — K. Webb 20, S. Garcia 10, M. Garcilazo 7, S. Cranston 7, C. De Loera 5, T. Durfey 4, L. Miller 3, U. Garcia 3, G. Armenta 1. ——— Contact Alexis at aman- sanarez@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4542. Follow her on Twitter @almansanarez. PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Chloe Kim’s coronation is complete. The 17-year-old from California dominated the Olympic women’s halfpipe snowboarding final on Tuesday, soaring to a gold medal four years in the making. Kim put up a score of 93.75 on the first of her three finals runs and then bettered it with a near-perfect 98.75 on her last run with the gold already well in hand. With members of her family in the stands, including her South Korean grandmother, Kim put on a show that delivered on her consider- able pre-Olympic hype. “I’m a little over- whelmed,” Kim said. “But this is the best outcome I could ever ask for and it’s been such a long journey. Ahhh, just going home with the gold is amazing.” Liu Jiayu took silver with an 89.75 to become the first Chinese snowboarder to medal at the Olympics. American Arielle Gold edged teammate and three- time Olympic medalist AP Photo/Gregory Bull Chloe Kim, of the United States, reacts to her score during the women’s halfpipe finals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Tuesday. Kelly Clark for bronze. Kim would have made the Olympic team with ease four years ago, only to have the calendar get in the way. She was 13 at the time, too young to make the trip to Russia. She entered the quadrennium between the games with the kind of expectations reserved for the Shaun Whites of the snowboarding world. She has exceeded every one. Standing atop the hill at Phoenix Snow Park, Kim looked down at the crowd that included her parents, three sisters, three aunts, two cousins and her grandmother and proceeded to waste little time while turning the final into a coming-out party. She drilled her opening set, throwing in a 1080 — basically, three twists high above the pipe — before following it with a pair of flips. Kim celebrated at the end, pumping her fists as “USA!” ‘’USA!” chants rained down. When her score flashed, she clasped her hands atop her head and drank in the moment. PREPS: Barnard, Wrathall help Hermiston boys swim team repeats as district champions Continued from 1B who came out victorious, defeating Mitchell/Spray 50-28. The Honkers finish the season 2-15 overall and 1-13 in league play. ONTARIO 54, MAC-HI 32 — The Mac-Hi Pioneers had their chance at picking up its first league win as their season came to a close Saturday. In Ontario, Mac-Hi stayed toe-to-toe with the Tigers for much of the game. After Ontario built up a narrow 17-15 lead the break, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run in the third to boost them- selves ahead of the Pioneers. CULVER 62, WESTON- MCEWEN 49 — In Culver, Weston-McEwen could have sealed its fate atop the Columbia Basin Conference standings but the 62-49 loss against the Bulldogs moves both schools to a 6-2 league record. With the slight 24-22 lead coming out of the break, the Bulldogs (15-8 overall) extended their advantage in the third by 10 points and road that momentum until the final minutes against the TigerScots (15-8). Katie Vescio and Chelsea Quaempts led the efforts with 25 combined points. NIXYAAWII 71, JOSEPH 38 — In Nixy- aawii’s 51st consecutive win, the Eagles were led by Mary Stewart with 30 points. The reliable senior received helped from Milan Schimmel, as the two have led Nixyaawii’s efforts for much of the season. Both Stewart and Schimmel notched double-doubles for Nixy- aawii (23-0, 14-0 OOL), with Stewart dishing out 11 assists and Schimmel collecting 11 rebounds. Ermia Butler matched Schimmel’s efforts, grabbing 11 boards herself to go along with two points. For the Joseph Eagles (16-5 overall, 10-4 OOL), Alexis Sykora had a team-best performance by scoring 26 of the team’s 38 total points. PILOT ROCK 63, STANFIELD 16 — At Stan- field, Pilot Rock dominated in the final game of the year and handed Stanfield a loss. The Rockets (13-10 overall, 3-5 Columbia Basin Conference) were coming off a tough loss of their own just one day before traveling to face the Tigers (2-21, 0-8), but Pilot Rock was able to shake it off with a 37-point victory. BOYS BASKETBALL NYSSA 57, RIVERSIDE 45 — At Boardman, the Riverside Pirates ended the season with their sixth straight loss on Saturday, falling to Nyssa 57-45. Senior Felix Aparicio capped off his career with a team-high 20 points for the Pirates (9-15 overall, 1-9 Eastern Oregon League) and Christian Rea added 13. Wyatt Jensen led the Bulldogs (15-9, 6-4) with 20 points and sank four 3-pointers. Riverside coach Clair Costello was proud of how hard his team played, and was irked by the fact that the Bulldogs had only one team foul for the entire game to the Pirates’ eight. The Pirates also did not shoot a free throw. ECHO 49, COVE 35 — At Echo, the Cougars outscored Cove 36-18 in the second half to run away with their 49-35 victory on Saturday night to finish off the regular season. Devan Craig led the Cougars (9-16 overall, 6-8 OOL) with a game-high 15 points and added seven rebounds with three assists, and Damien Curiel pitched in 11 points and five rebounds. Blake Witten led the Leopards (7-16, 5-9) with 11 points. PILOT ROCK 68, STANFIELD 39 — Led by senior Riley Lankford for the first time all season, Pilot Rock capped off a perfect league season with a 68-39 defeat over Stanfield. Lankford notched a game-best 19 points for the Rockets (17-6, 8-0 CBC), and received help from fellow seniors Levi Thieme (12) and Chris Weinke (11). Weinke also recorded a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds, and was close to a triple-double with five assists. For the Tigers (10-14, 3-5), Brody Woods finished off his basketball career with a team-best 12 points. NIXYAAWII 72, JOSEPH 53 — Nixyaawii’s streak continued on the road with a win over Joseph. Behind the 72-53 victory was a perfect performance at the free-throw line (12-for-12) and four double-digit perfor- mances from the Eagles (20-3 overall, 13-1 OOL). Noah Enright (17 points), Mick Shimmel (16), Dazan Sigo (15) and Magi Moses (10) all put up big numbers for Nixyaawii. ONTARIO 31, MAC-HI 28 — At Ontario, the Mac-Hi Pioneers didn’t end the season they way they wanted to. With the 31-28 loss came two straight defeats, and they will not have to play for a chance at the postseason Tuesday. The Pioneers (11-12 overall, 0-6 GOL) shot only 26-percent from the field and 20-perfect from behind the arc. Wyatt Gilmore led Mac-Hi with nine points. SWIM HOOD RIVER — For the second straight year, the Hermiston boys swim team claimed the district title behind four top finishes and 83 total points. Junior Ryan Barnard earned first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:05.08). Senior Carson Wrathall won individual district titles in two events. First, the 100-yard freestyle where he clocked 49.92 and the next was the 100-yard breaststroke, where Wrathall swam a time of 1:03.04. Barnard, Wrathall and Buck were joined by junior Lane Stevenson in the 200-yard freestyle relay that won first place in 1:36.57. Pendleton’s boys 200-yard free relay team was close behind and finished second in 1:40.96. The Bulldogs narrowly defeated second-place HRV, which finished with 79 points, and Pendleton followed with 76. The Bucks had top finishes from senior Shane Milten- berger in both the 200-yard free (1:57.27) and the 100-yard free (5:19.8). The Buckaroos’ girls team fared better at the district tour- nament, and claimed second place with 94 points. Juniors Landry Huth and Elisabeth House and freshman Kyndra Nelson all finished first in their respective indi- vidual events. Nelson, House, Huth and senior Abby Williams made up the 200-yard free relay team that finished first in 1:49.70. For the Hermiston girls, freshman Georgia Stevenson had the best outing. She won first place in the 100-yard backstroke by clocking 1:10.14, and second in the 200-yard freestyle (2:25.24).
