SPORTS
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Track: All-EO Track and Field
Continued from Page B1
Her season best was
114-3, and she missed out
on a trip to state by one
place. She fi nished third at
the District 8 meet.
Romero also throws the
shot put, but she said she’ll
leave that for teammates
Paige Palzinski and Kendall
Dowdy.
“We have strong shot put
throwers, but coach will have
me throw it in the smaller
meets to get points for the
team,” Romero said. “Javelin
and discus are my main focus
if I want to throw at the col-
lege level.”
Yes, there is an if.
Romero’s fi rst love has
always been basketball, but
her success in track may be
pushing the needle to the
other side.
“I have always grown
up with basketball, and that
is super important to me,”
Romero said. “But I have
grown to love track. I will
have to decide. If I choose
basketball or track, I will be
happy either way.”
It also will decide what
level of school Romero would
like to attend. For track, she
could go Div. I, but with bas-
ketball, it might be Div. II,
NAIA or junior college.
“I have gotten a lot of let-
ters and questionnaires for
track,” she said. “LSU, Princ-
eton, WSU, Texas A&M and
others.”
Strot, who threw shot put,
discus and javelin in college at
Kentucky and UC Berkeley,
will be able to guide Romero
through the process.
“This has been a great year
for her, not only in track,”
Strot said. “If she contin-
ues with the high level of
work ethic, she will do great
things. She has bought in and
trusts in what I and the other
coaches ask. We are working
on putting together an athlete
profi le and video, and getting
it out to schools and see what
happens.”
But for now, her focus is on
basketball. Romero plays for
the Oregon Elite out of Lake
Oswego, and the next two
months are packed with prac-
tices and tournaments.
“Basketball consumes my
summer,” she said.
Catch me if you can
Hands down, Heppner had
the top distance crew in the
Columbia Basin this spring,
and Nichols was the leader of
the pack.
He ran everything from
the 400 to the 3,000 during
the season, and with great
success.
There were only two
meets where he did not win
the 3,000 — the Sandy Invita-
tional and the Centennial Invi-
tational. He won the state title
by nearly 3 seconds, clocking
an 8:59.29.
In the 800, he edged Wyatt
Smith of Oakland by a cou-
ple of steps for the state title.
He turned in a time of 2:01.09,
which was off his school
record time of 1:57.50.
“I was pretty confi dent
going into the 800 after run-
ning a 1:57,” Nichols said. “It
was my last meet, I gave it
everything I had. The 3,000
is more tactical and there is
more time for stuff to happen.
You can put a lot more tactical
race together, whereas in the
800, it’s who can gut it out the
longest — who has the heart
and who can take the pain.”
That’s all fi ne and good,
but it the 4x400 relay that
Nichols seems to enjoy most.
“They save the best for
last,” he said. “It’s a crazy
race. I like the pressure of the
anchor leg. I can hold off most
people. It’s my senior year,
my last race, I wanted them to
give it (the baton) to me.”
The Mustangs obliter-
ated the school record in the
mile relay at state, clocking a
3:30.94. The previous record
was 3:34.10.
When Nichols broke the
school record in the 800
on April 12, it was the lon-
gest-standing record at the
school. Tim Driscoll’s time,
set in 1965, was 1:59.30.
Nichols could have made
a clean sweep of the distance
events, but he chose not to run
the 1,500, leaving that event to
teammate Trevor Antonucci,
who placed third at state.
“That was one thing I
never had to worry about,”
Russ Nichols said. “They all
put team fi rst.”
Nichols is headed to East-
ern Oregon University, where
he will run cross country and
track.
He’s not sure what events
he will run during the track
season.
“I have no idea,” he said. “I
can run a decent 5K, but I can
also run a decent 800. It will
be a new experience for me,
but I’m ready.”
Nichols said he will miss
running for his dad, but he
will not miss running up
Water Street by the school
every day.
“You have to run up that
hill whether you want to or
not,” he said.
Russ Nichols said he too
will miss their time together,
but that his other son Trevor
will be a freshman this fall.
“Trevor is faster than
Hunter was when he was in
middle school,” Russ Nichols
said.
East Oregonian
We’re all part of
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PHOTOS
The East Oregonian is proud to announce its partnership with Athena
Public Library, City of Echo, Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society,
Pendleton Round-up, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, Umatilla County
Historical Society and our readers on a new pictorial history book,
“Umatilla County Memories: The Early Years.”
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EAST OREGONIAN TRACK
AND FIELD TEAM
Girls MVP: Jazlyn Romero, jr., Hermiston
Boys MVP: Hunter Nichols, sr., Heppner
Romero
Javelin/Discus
Nichols
800M/3000M
Young
100M/LJ
Patterson
100M
Zacarias
200M
Walchli
200M
Hoisington
400M
Luke
400M
Christman
800M
Antonucci
1500M
Sanchez
3200M
Nichols
1500M
Cardenas
100H
Maher
110H/300H
Palzinski
Shot put/TJ
Howard
Shot put/
Discus
Reynolds
HJ
Jennings
Javelin
Yeager
HJ
Ibarra
PV
House
300H
Vescio
PV
Linares
LJ/TJ
Girls fi rst team
100M — Kaylee Young, so., Hermiston.
200M — Ana Zacarias, sr., Irrigon. 400M
— Muriel Hoisington, fr., Pendleton.
800M — Hannah Christman, sr., Griswold.
1500/1600M — Madelyn Nichols, so.,
Heppner. 3000/3200 — Cydney Sanchez,
fr., Hermiston. 100H — Abigail Cardenas,
so., Umatilla. 300H — Elisabeth House, sr.,
Pendleton. Shot put — Paige Palzinski,
so., Hermiston. Discus — Jazlyn Romero,
jr., Hermiston. Javelin — Jazlyn Romero,
jr., Hermiston. HJ — Rebecca Reynolds,
jr., Stanfi eld/Echo. PV — Katie Vescio, sr.,
Weston-McEwen. LJ — Kaylee Young,
so., Hermiston. TJ — Paige Palzinski, so.,
Hermiston.
Girls second team
100M — Patty Burres, jr., Umatilla. 200M
— Kaylee Young, so., Hermiston. 400M
— Ellie Scheibner, jr., Weston-McEwen.
800M — Madelyn Nichols, so., Heppner.
1500/1600M — Kaylee Cope, jr., Griswold.
3000/3200 — Kaylee Cope, jr., Griswold.
100H — Kendall Bonzani, so., Pendleton.
300H — Bryce Thul, sr., Weston-McEwen.
Shot put — Kendall Dowdy, so., Hermis-
ton. Discus — Eseta Sepeni, fr., Hermiston.
Javelin — Lexie Cox, sr., Stanfi eld/Echo.
HJ — Sarah Knop, jr., Ione. PV — Regina
Thede, jr., Pendleton. LJ — Ellie Scheibner,
jr., Weston-McEwen. TJ — Tymesha Doug-
las, jr., Umatilla.
Boys fi rst team
100M — Aiden Patterson, sr., Pendleton.
200M — Garrett Walchli, jr., Hermiston.
400M — Aaron Luke, jr., Pendleton.
800M — Hunter Nichols, sr., Heppner.
1500/1600M — Trevor Antonucci, sr.,
Heppner. 3000/3200 — Hunter Nich-
ols, sr., Heppner. 110H — Lane Maher,
jr., Pendleton. 300H — Lane Maher, jr.,
Pendleton. Shot put — Derek Howard,
sr., Heppner. Discus — Derek Howard,
sr., Heppner. Javelin — Sam Jennings, fr.,
Pendleton. HJ — Shawn Yeager, sr., Pend-
leton. PV — Anthony Ibarra, sr., Umatilla.
LJ — Edwin Linares, jr., Pendleton. TJ —
Edwin Linares, jr., Pendleton.
Boys second team
100M — Garrett Walchli, jr., Hermiston.
200M — Cam Sandford, sr., Pendleton.
400M — Freddy Mendoza, sr., Hermiston.
800M — Freddy Mendoza, sr., Hermiston.
1500/1600M — Sisay Hurty, so, Stanfi eld/
Echo. 3000/3200 — Zayne Troeger, sr.,
Umatilla. 110H — Mathias Patrick, jr.,
Pendleton. 300H — Saber Harp, sr., Pilot
Rock. Shot put — Sam Carlson, sr., Gris-
wold. Discus — Sam Carlson, sr., Griswold.
Javelin — Christian Haskell, sr., Pilot Rock.
HJ — Julian Gutierrez, sr., Umatilla. PV —
Seth Buck, sr., Hermiston. LJ — Anthony
Ibarra, sr., Umatilla. TJ — Donovan Wilson,
so., Hermiston.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
General interest photos, such as: commerce, industry, transportation, rural life,
public service, etc.
Photos taken between the 1800s and 1939.
Photos only — preferably original (no newspaper clippings or photocopies).
Photos taken in Umatilla County.
Limit 10 photos per family. No appointment necessary.
If you’re a private collector, call 360-723-5800 to set up an appointment.
SCANNING SESSIONS
Saturday, June 22 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Tribal images only
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
47106 Wildhorse Boulevard, Pendleton
Sunday, June 23 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Echo Bank Building and Historical Museum
230 W. Main Street, Echo
Monday, June 24
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Athena Public Library
418 E. Main Street, Athena
Wednesday, June 26
10 a.m. – noon
Umatilla County Historical Society
Heritage Station Museum
108 SW Frazer, Pendleton
Thursday, June 27 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society
and Frazier Farmstead Museum
1403 Chestnut Street, Milton-Freewater
Not all photos submitted or used in
ads will appear in the final book.
B3