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FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018
1B
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ALL-AREA BOYS BASKETBALL
Pendleton’s newest star
Season superlatives
Tyler Newsom is
the 2018 All-EO
Player of the Year
Top Team: Pilot Rock
The Pilot Rock Rockets took
the Columbia Basin Conference
by storm in 2017-18. Behind
talented seniors Bryson Pierce,
Chris Weinke, Levi Thieme and
Riley Lankford, the Rockets went
a perfect 8-0 in the CBC during the
regular season and then defeated
Stanfield by 15 points to capture the
district championship.
The season locked up the Rockets
first playoff berth for the Rockets
since the 2012-13 season.
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — It’s 2
a.m. on a Tuesday and nearly
every high schooler is asleep
in their own bed, except for
Pendleton’s Tyler Newsom.
Instead, he is just getting
home after a three-plus hour
drive from Portland.
Newsom and his father
make the trip to and from
a gym smack dab in the
middle of Tigard and Lake
Oswego every Monday and
Wednesday evening so he
can practice with Team Fly,
an AAU team that features
players mostly from the
west side of the state and
competition unlike anything
Newsom faces during the
winter.
Team Fly also allows
Newsom to play all year
round, and the time spent
outside of Pendleton has
been the key to his breakout
2017-18 season.
“I feel like AAU (has)
made me a well-rounded
player, more than just
scoring,” the soft spoken
junior said.
In his sophomore season,
Newsom averaged six points,
five rebounds and two blocks
per game. This past year,
his numbers improved to 21
points, nine rebound, four
assists, one steal and two
blocks over the 26-game
season. The improvement
made and his dominance on
the court this season earned
him the 2018 East Oregonian
All-Area Boys Basketball
Player of the Year selection.
But it’s not just Team Fly
that has contributed to in
Newsom’s development. He
was able turn to a familiar
face for tips and tricks to pull
out come game time.
“Caden (Smith) helped
me with my game too,”
Newsom said, “learning
moves and stuff.”
Smith,
the
reigning
All-EO Player of the Year
and Pendleton’s all-time
leading scorer, helped lay
the groundwork for a player
like Newsom. He was a
two-time Columbia River
Conference MVP, and prior
to Smith earning the recog-
nition in back-to-back years
Pendleton’s Wes Persinger
was given the same honor in
2015.
Newsom has continued
that legacy and is the fourth
See ALL-AREA/3B
Top newcomer: Dakota
Sams, Pendleton, fr.
With the likes of Caden Smith,
Wyatt Morris and Johnny Stuvland
lost to graduation, the Pendleton
Buckaroos needed some new faces
to make a big impact in 2017-18
season, and freshman guard Dakota
Sams did that. Sams played his
way into the starting lineup for the
Buckaroos for the bulk of the season
and proved himself as a sharpshooter
and slick ball handler this season,
averaging more nearly 11 points per
game in conference play and earning
first team all-conference honors.
Top Game: Irrigon vs.
Umatilla
Umatilla and Irrigon played three
times this season and all three games
were classics. All three games were
decided by a combined 10 points
with one ending in overtime and
the outcome of the remaining two
coming down to the final shot.
Umatilla won the first meeting
42-39 on Jan. 12 in front of a
jam-packed gymnasium in Umatilla,
where the Vikings used a 9-0 run
in the final three minutes to win.
Thirteen days later the teams met in
Irrigon where the home Knights got
revenge, winning a back-and-forth
affair 50-48.
And then to wrap things up,
the teams met in the district
championship on Feb. 16 in
Umatilla, the Knights claimed the
district crown with an epic 53-48
victory in overtime.
Coach of the Year:
Devin Bailey, Stanfield
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton junior Tyler Newsom has been names the All-EO boys basketball player of the year.
ALL-AREA FIRST TEAM
G
G
G
F
C
Kaden Webb, sr.
Umatilla
Mick Schimmel, so.
Nixyaawii
Ryne Andreason, jr.
Hermiston
Bryson Pierce, sr.
Pilot Rock
Johnny Phillips, sr.
Irrigon
On the surface, it may seem
odd to be awarding our Coach of
the Year to the person whose team
finished 12-16 overall and 3-5 in
its league. But considering the
circumstances Devin Bailey walked
into in his first year as the Tigers
head man, Bailey deserves a nod.
The 2017-18 Tigers 12-man
varsity roster was comprised of just
one player with any meaningful
varsity experience in senior forward
Brody Woods, along with 11 other
first-timers. And through the course
of the season, Bailey molded his
group into a team that earned its way
back to the district championship
and a spot in the Class 2A
postseason.
PENDLETON
UMATILLA
Weather uncooperative for Buck Track Classic
Pendleton sweeps low
medalists at Big River
Meet ends early
due to inclement
weather
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — For
the past few years, Mother
Nature has been quite
cooperative on the day of the
annual Buck Track Classic
at Pendleton High, gracing
the 20-plus area schools in
attendance with blue skies
and sunshine for a great day
of competition.
This year, however,
Mother Nature was not
quite so nice. After roughly
three hours of competing in
chilly, windy weather, the
Buck Track Classic had to
be called off early due to
inclement weather after a
heavy, steady rain shower
rolled through Pendleton
and wrecked havoc at the
track facility. The rains made
the surfaces slick and hard
to gain traction, but it also
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Isaac Sanchez and Hunter Nichols, of Hep-
pner, fight for the lead in the 1500-meter run Thursday
at the Buck Track Classic. Nichols surged ahead to win
on the final straightaway.
watter-logged the timing
system for the running events
and rendered it useless.
It was a disappointing end
to the day for the Buckaroo
coaches, who were not able
to fully utilize the brand-new
track surface, better-quality
jumping pits, and lights on
the field .
“We have this brand-new
facility, and it’s all a wash,”
Pendleton head track coach
Larry Brizendine said.
The only running events
that were completed were
the 4x100 relays, 1500 meter
run, 100 meter dash, 400
meter dash and the 100/110
meter hurdle races, and most
of the field events were able
to get through the bulk of
the flights. The meet was
roughly halfway through the
flights of the 800 meter runs
before the meet was called.
Though the competition
was not fully complete,
the Hermiston Bulldogs
ended atop both the boys
and girls team leaderboards.
The Bulldog boys scored
102 points, and led La
Grande (84.9), Heppner
(54.8), Pendleton (50.8) and
Umatilla (32.2). The Bulldog
girls netted 70.66 points and
See TRACK/3B
Megan George, Jared Geier pace the
field in season-opening tournament
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
In less than favorable conditions Thursday morning,
Hermiston welcomed Pendleton and a handful of other
schools to Big River Golf Course in Umatilla for the
Hermiston High School Invitational.
The Bulldogs’ girls team placed first out of the five-
team field after shooting 405, led by Grace Blackhurst.
Blackhurst played solid golf despite the heavy winds and
light rain. She carded two pars and only one triple bogey
and finished in second place shooting 90.
Sonja Peterson carded a 96, which was good for fifth
place. A handful of par-4 and -5’s caused Peterson some
trouble but she was able to recover to be the only other
Bulldog to shoot under 100.
“I think they played great steady golf,” head coach
Josh Browning said. “They didn’t get out of control,
didn’t get inside their own heads and were out to shoot
a low round.”
Pendleton’s Megan George took home the individual
title after a one-hole playoff against Blackhurst. The two
finished the round of 18 carding 89, and a two-put on the
par-3 first hole from George gave her a one-stroke edge
over Blackhurst.
It was George’s first-ever playoff and from the time
See BIG RIVER/2B