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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2019)
E AST O REGONIAN SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2019 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS | FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS B1 Hermiston misses out on trapshooting team fi nals Bulldogs fi nish qualifying with a combined 437 By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian MASON, Mich. — Herm- iston did not fare as well as it would have liked Friday in the team qualifying at the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship. The Bulldogs fi nished with a combined score of 437 (out of 500) in the qualifying round to place 129th out of 206 teams. The top 80 teams advance to Sunday’s fi nals. “We aren’t a group to make excuses,” Hermiston coach Slade Smith said. “We had a couple of kids struggle today and we did not do well enough to progress to the championship round.” Hermiston had a top score of 93 from Kaden Smith, and two at 92, but when added to an 86 and a 74, the Bulldogs slid down in the standings. The Bulldogs fi nished sev- enth overall in the team event last year. Lakeville South High School in Minnesota had the top score at 484. Haylee Hamilton, Thomas Mabbott, Kaden Smith, Mitch- ell Pimentel and Tyson Stocker competed in the team event for Hermiston. All fi ve, plus Trevor Wilson, will compete in the individual qualifying event Saturday. The top 400 individuals will advance to Sunday’s fi nals. “Hopefully we can get every- one qualifi ed for the fi nals and get some individual awards,” coach Smith said. Photo courtesy of Jason VanNice Pendleton’s Alanah Eagleheart prepares to hit the circle in a Little League state 8/9/10 state softball tournament against Klamath Falls on Friday in Portland. Pendleton 8/9/10 softball blows out Klamath Falls in fi rst round of state By BRETT KANE East Oregonian PORTLAND — With a whole lot of passion, Pendleton’s 8/9/10 All-Stars Little League softball team made easy work of their Klamath Falls opponents on Friday morning. The All-Stars opened the week- end’s state tournament with a 22-1 blowout victory over Klamath Falls in Portland. With the win, they are well on their way to defending their state title. The Pendleton team won the championship last year in Medford. “There are a few girls on this team from last year,” coach Jason VanNice said, “but most of our girls are new. They’ve all bonded really well. They love playing together. They have an unprovoked passion for each other.” The Pendleton All-Stars put up three runs right away in the top of the fi rst, and that alone would have been enough to stay ahead of Klam- ath Falls. But they weren’t about to throw in the towel that early. Pendleton quickly took an 11-run advantage in the following inning. With one out on the board, Katelyn Boatman and Brianna Medrano sent RBI singles to third base, both beat- ing the throw. Kelsi Primus drew a walk to load the bases, and from there, Pendleton drove in four more consecutive runs. Finley Evans’ single to second base put up two more runs. Klamath Falls fi nally got their fi rst and only run of the game in the bottom of the second when Pendle- ton pitcher Alanah Eagleheart gave up a double. The runner scored during the next at-bat, taking advan- tage of an error at third base. Pendleton’s fi repower was far from diminished, however, as they posted a game-high 11 runs in the top of the third. Eagleheart, Evans, Boatman, Madison Schachtsick, Shaylor Fisher, Cambria VanNice, and Tatium Lambert all drove in NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY Staff photo by Kathy Aney Kola Shippentower-Thompson gets ready to catch the ball during rugby practice Wednesday evening at Grecian Heights Park in Pendleton. East Oregon Rugby Club is trying to put together a women’s team By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian J ennifer Keeton was happy to take a break from the action to catch her breath. She was feeling the effects of the wind sprints and other drills rugby coach Eric Gabriel was directing on Wednes- day evening at Grecian Heights Park in Pendleton. “My fi rst practice was Saturday,” said Keeton, owner of Cimmiyotti’s and pres- ident of the Pendleton Chamber of Com- merce. “I was very sore. Where it surprised me the most was my core.” Keeton heard about the rugby pro- gram from Cheri Rosenberg, the execu- tive director of the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. “She mention it last week and we went to practice on Saturday,” Keeton said. “After we were done, we went and got cleats. They make it easier to run on the grass.” Keeton and Rosenberg were among six women at Wednesday’s practice, which also included men and children. The women are fi rst-time rugby players, with the exception of Courtney Stover. The group included businesswomen, a therapist and a professional athlete. Most are moms. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Cheri Rosenberg looks to pass the ball as part of a drill during Wednesday evening rugby practice at Grecian Heights Park in Pendleton. Players do not need to have a rugby background, or be an athlete, to partici- pate. Gabriel is willing to teach them the game. “There is a position for everyone,” he said. “Small, short, slow, fast, athletic.” Keeton said the team atmosphere is what she enjoys most. “Every day you go to bed and say, ‘Tomorrow I’m going to eat right and exercise,’” she said. “That never hap- pens. I want to get in shape, but it’s hard to self-motivate. It’s easier to have a team that is there for you.” Keeton also dragged her son, Bravery, 13, along. He plays football, and was a quick study Wednesday. “I bought a rugby ball so we can prac- tice at home,” Keeton said. “We’ve played a lot of (baseball) catch over the years. It’s his turn to help me.” After the fi rst practice, Keeton said she went home and watched a bunch of rugby videos. There is one thing she is certain of. See Rugby, Page B2 See Softball, Page B2 SPORTS SHORTS Rasovszky wins 5-km open water swim at world championships Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary reacts af- ter the men’s 5km open water swim at the World Swimming Championships in Yeosu, South Korea on Saturday. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein GWANGJU, South Korea (AP) — Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary won the men’s 5-kilome- ter open water event Saturday to claim the fi rst medal of the world swimming championships. Rasovszky fi nished in a time of 53 minutes, 22:10 seconds. The 22-year-old 2016 Rio Olympian won the 5- and 25-kilometer open water events at the 2018 European aquatic championships. Logan Fontaine of France took silver Saturday, 10.10 seconds behind, and Canada’s Eric Hedlin was third to take bronze, two-tenths of a sec- ond behind Fontaine. Saturday’s race, which began two hours early due to the threat of later heavy rain, was the fi rst of seven open-water events at the world championships. They are all qualifi ers for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Other open water races include a 5-kilometer team relay on Thursday and men’s and women’s races over 25 kilometers next Friday.