Tuesday, May 8, 2018
East Oregonian
Page 1B
SPORTS
TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018
1B
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HERMISTON
Sports roundup
Buckaroos’
girls golfers
punch ticket
to state
Hermiston senior Grace
Blackhurst secures spots to
state as an individual
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Eric Singer
Tri-Cities natives Wayne Walden, left, and his son Greg Walden, right, are the newest operators of Hermiston Raceway. Wayne
operated their hometown Tri-City Raceway in the 1980s and ’90s and Greg used to race at Hermiston during his racing career
spanning three decades.
Waldens give
racetrack new life
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
H
ERMISTON — The three-
eighths-mile paved oval race-
track that sits off Oregon High-
way 395 just north of Hermiston has
been known by several different names
in its existence, from Umatilla Speed-
way and Race City USA to Columbia
Motor Speedway and Hermiston Super
Oval.
This year the aging track has yet
another new name, Hermiston Raceway,
and another chance at life with the help
of former racer and Tri-Cities native
Greg Walden. (And no, not the U.S.
Representative from Oregon.) This Greg
Walden, 55, signed a three-year lease
with an option to buy to operate the track
in February, aiming to make Hermiston
Raceway a destination again for race
fans at the same time that similar tracks
have closed down around the region.
He had interest in leasing the Yakima
Speedway this winter, but turned his
focus to Hermiston when Yakima was
sold and closed.
“This track was available so we were
like, ‘Well, let’s see what we can do,’”
Walden said during an interview inside
the track’s office on Saturday. “And
we’re only two races in now, but there’s
hope and there’s early signs of life.”
Walden brings nearly four decades of
experience in the local racing world as a
driver, a promoter, and a fan. He got his
See RACETRACK/2B
Staff photo by Eric Singer
Racers drive their Legends-class cars at the Hermiston
Raceway on Saturday evening.
BEND — The Pendleton Bucka-
roos girls golf team secured a trip to the
OSAA state tournament on Monday with
a fourth place finish at the 5A Special
District 2 tournament at Sunriver Resort.
The top four teams automatically
qualify for the tournament, and Pend-
leton secured the final team spot with a
team score of 803 — a 22-stroke cushion
on fifth place Hermiston (825). Megan
George led the Buckaroos with a fourth
place finish individually after shooting
a 84-80—164 over the 36-hole tourna-
ment. Filling out Pendleton’s card was
Rylee Harris (92-98—190), Maken-
zie McLeod (102-108—210) and Sarah
Powell (120-119—239).
Grace Blackhurst will be the only
Hermiston Bulldog competing at state
as she clinched an individual spot with
a ninth place finish. The senior shot an
88-96—184 and finished five strokes up
on 10th place. The Bulldogs that missed
the cut were Sonja Peterson (112-103—
215), Madison McClanahan (108-108—
216), Leslie Browning (115-105—220)
and Mykah Krumwiede (105-122—227).
Bend won the team district champion-
ship with a 733, followed by Crater (742)
and Summit (753). Defending 5A state
co-champion Olivia Loberg won the indi-
vidual district championship with a 150,
followed by teammate Sophine Dalphon-
si’s 154.
The OSAA 5A State Championships
will be held on May 14-15 at Trysting
Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.
3A/2A/1A DISTRICTS — At Pend-
leton, the Heppner boys and girls golf
teams are sitting in good position for dis-
trict titles after the first day of the district
tournament on Monday at the Pendleton
Country Club.
The Mustang girls scored a 371 on the
first day and hold a big lead over second
place La Grande’s 422. Sophie Grant and
Sasha Keown are tied for the individual
lead with an 86 and Nicole Prophetor is
close behind with a 95.
On the boys side, the Mustangs shot a
359 to sit in first place, followed by Grant
Union (371), Burns (381) and Enterprise
(389). Logan Burright led the team with
an 80, with Reno Ferguson (85) and Kel-
len Grant (92) close behind.
Defending champion Riley Lankford
of Nixyaawii is second place overall with
a 77 after 18 holes, while Burnt River’s
Stran Siddoway is in first after his 71.
Staff photo by Eric Singer
Winning drivers from the heat races line up in front of
See ROUNDUP/3B
Challenge of Champions brings bull riding to Hermiston
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
It was hard to tell if the cow-
boys were choosing the bulls or
vice versa Saturday night, as the
bovine competitors won the night
at the Coastal Farm & Ranch Chal-
lenge of Champions Tour stop in
Hermiston.
The event featured 35 profes-
sional bull riders, a junior event
and two demonstrations of tradi-
tional Mexican Charreada bull rid-
ing in honor of Cinco de Mayo.
Jason Mattox, a former PCRB
and PCA bull rider and the founder
of the Challenge of Champions,
said Saturday’s event, held in the
new arena at the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center, drew from
six different stock contractors, who
each sent a selection of their best
bulls. Unlike most rodeos, cow-
boys got to select the bull they
wanted to ride instead of choosing
via random draw.
Some cowboys may have regret-
ted their draw, as only a handful of
them managed to stay on their ani-
mal for the requisite eight seconds.
The first of the night to do so was
Jason Houston, who hung on for
an 85-point ride on Lone Wolf of 2
Bucks Rodeo Co.
Houston ended in second place
for the night, behind Jordan Sam-
mons, who scored 87 points atop
Electric Avenue of 2 Bucks Rodeo
Co., and in front of Zeb Lanham,
who scored 80 points on Cowboy
from Crozier Bucking Bulls.
On the junior side, which used
smaller bulls, first place went to
Dakota Briggs with 72 points, fol-
lowed by Lane Vaughan with 71
points and Cauy Jackson with 65
points.
“The Challenge of Champions
Tour is always about the youth,”
announcer Al Parsons told the
audience Saturday. “You’ve got to
build them while they’re young.”
See RODEO/3B
Sports shorts
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
Diamondbacks still
haven’t lost a series
The dominator!
PHOENIX (AP) — Two start-
ing pitchers are hurt. So is the slug-
ging third baseman. The team’s
best player is in one of his worst
slumps. And yet the Arizona Dia-
mondbacks keep winning, taking
two of three from the World Series
champion Houston Astros over the
weekend.
After going 4-3 last week
against Houston and the Los Ange-
les Dodgers — the two teams that
played in last year’s World Series.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Kevin Harvick
(right) dominated a race interrupted by rain
and drove to his Cup Series-high fourth vic-
tory of the season Sunday at Dover Interna-
tional Speedway.
Harvick reeled off three straight wins at
Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix earlier this
season and now has the 60-pound Miles the
Monster trophy to add to his collection.
Harvick swept the first two stages and eas-
ily chased down Stewart-Haas Racing team-
mate Clint Bowyer in the third for the lead
after a 41-minute delay.
1968 — Jim “Catfish” Hunter
of the Oakland A’s pitches a per-
fect game, beating the Minnesota
Twins 4-0.
1970 — Walt Frazier scores
36 points to lead the New York
Knicks to a 113-99 victory over the
Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA
championship in seven games.
1984 — On the day the Olym-
pic torch relay begins, the Soviet
Union announces it will not take
part in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com