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Saturday, February 23, 2019
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STATE WRESTLING
Irrigon
advances
three to
semifinals
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B1
STATE WRESTLING
HARD WORK EQUALS
SUCCESS FOR THESE 3 BUCKS
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
The Irrigon Knights have three wres-
tlers in the semifinals and five still alive in
the consolation bracket after the first day
of the 3A state tournament at Veterans
Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
“We kind of figured we would have
three in the semifinals, they’re just not the
three we thought,” Knights coach Jason
Dunten said. “We told the guys if they lost,
their prize was winning the consolation
side. Still a good deal.”
Asher Hall was the first Knight to reach
the semis, pinning Russell Talmadge of
Harrisburg in 2:28 in his first match at
106 pounds, then pinning Tanner Stone of
Southerlin in 1:53.
Hall will take on Jordan Reyes of Wil-
lamina/Falls City in the semifinals. Reyes,
the No. 1 seed, is the defending state cham-
pion. He also was the state runner-up in
2016-17.
Kyler Olney, who received a bye to
start the day, pinned No. 4 seed Tye Cross
of Douglas to advance to the 126-pound
semifinals.
See Irrigon, Page B2
Golden Eagles
soar to state
Nixyaawii boys down St.
Paul to compete in 1A state
tournament in Baker
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
Every team needs a good sixth man.
With Nixyaawii’s Deven Barkley out
due to injury, sophomore Moses Moses
stepped onto the court to complete his
team’s starting five during Friday’s sub-
state playoff game at Pendleton High
School. The 6-foot-1 shooting guard
drained a game-high 18 points to help the
Golden Eagles to a 73-54 victory over St.
Paul in a win-or-go-home contest, and
secure a trip to the 1A state tournament.
“I’ve started a couple of games in the
past,” Moses said. “I just kept telling
myself, ‘I know my role, and I know the
stakes of this game. Just don’t overthink
it.’”
The Golden Eagles took charge with
an 18-0 lead to start, driven by eight
points from sophomore guard Tyasin
Burns and five from Moses. The Buck-
aroos didn’t manage a score until senior
guard Jaidyn Jackson hit a bucket at 1:25.
Nixyaawii led 20-4 by the end of the
quarter.
“We were lights-out on shooting,” said
Moses. “I was expecting a little more of a
challenge (from St. Paul). But we played
great man defense, and got a lot of blocks
in on that first quarter.”
The Bucks picked up the pace in quar-
ter two, posting 14 points to help them into
double digits, but no matter — Nixyaawii
more than doubled that with 29 of their
own, including three treys from Moses.
They were ahead 49-18 at halftime.
“Moses shot the ball unbelievably
well,” said coach Shane Rivera. “He’s
tall, and built like a prototypical bas-
ketball player. He’s young, but he’s right
there with the best of ‘em on our team.”
See Eagles, Page B2
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton wrestlers, from left, Aiden Patterson (170 pounds), Kirk Liscom (182) and Shawn Yeager (152), have transferred their
success on the football field this year to the wrestling mat. The trio is part of the 14-man team the Buckaroos sent to the 5A
state tournament.
Pendleton seniors
Liscom, Patterson and
Yeager have excelled in
football and on the mat
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
t’s not often you find a group of
athletes who, in one school year,
have had the success of Pendleton
seniors Aiden Patterson, Shawn
Yeager and Kirk Liscom.
The trio of linebackers helped the
Bucks to the 5A state football semi-
finals for the first time since 1977,
and now, all three have punched
I
their tickets to the 5A state wrestling
tournament.
“They are three completely differ-
ent personalities that work together,”
Pendleton wrestling coach Fred Phil-
lips said. “Shawn is the most natural
leader of the bunch, Kirk is the smart-
est and hardest worker of the bunch,
and Aiden is the best athlete of the
three that people gravitate to.”
The trio is part of a 14-man contin-
gent representing the Bucks at state
this weekend at Veterans Memorial
Coliseum in Portland.
“Fourteen kids is great,” Phil-
lips said. “The first year, I took six.
We have the right kids at the right
weights. It will be a good time. I hope
they are excited to be there and see
what they can do, not just happy to be
there.”
The 3 Buckaroos
Patterson was the only one of the
three to win his first match at state
Friday. He pinned Wyatt Miller of
Wilsonville in 1:21 at 170 pounds to
advance.
“I got a pretty good draw,” said
Patterson, who was third at the
Intermountain Conference district
tournament.
Patterson said while he enjoys both
sports, wrestling is the hardest, by far.
“On the football field, I trust my
teammates are going to be there, and
See Bucks, Page B2