E AST O REGONIAN
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2019
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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.