E AST O REGONIAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2020
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
B1
Challenge of Champions Tour to make
its Pendleton debut on Saturday
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Local
rodeo fans have the chance
to witness bull riding action
well ahead of the Pendleton
Round-Up for the fi rst time this
year.
The Challenge of Champi-
ons Tour, a 19-date, fi ve-state
tour of the western region of
the United States, is making its
way to Pendleton for its inau-
gural year on Saturday. The
strictly bull riding event, now
in its 11th year, will feature
rookies and seasoned riders
alike. Held at the Pavilion at the
Round-Up Grounds behind the
Happy Canyon Arena, all pro-
ceeds will benefi t the Buckaroo
Rodeo Bible Camp. Entry costs
$15 per person, and children
aged fi ve and under are admit-
ted free. Event parking is $2.
Parking proceeds will ben-
efi t the Pendleton High School
FFA.
“We have the top guys from
the Northwest joining us,”
Buckaroo Rodeo Bible Camp
President Joe Meling said,
“including some up-and-com-
See Champions, Page B2
LET’S TALK SPORTS
Something
special about
small-school
basketball
T
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
here is nothing
like small-school
basketball.
Gyms packed to the
rafters with fans. State
championship boards
proudly hung on the
walls. Trophies on dis-
play in the lobby, and
A NNIE
some of the tastiest pop-
F OWLER
corn in three counties.
COMMENT
This was my world, in
what seems a world ago.
Long bus rides (boys and girls together),
complete with homemade sandwiches, cook-
ies and milk on the trip home. More nights
than not, the bus did not warm up until we
were halfway home.
There were no cellphones or iPods.
We had actual conversations with our
teammates.
I played in Helix during the heyday of
girls basketball in the early 1980s.
We played in the Big Sky Conference
with Echo, Arlington, Ione, Wheeler, Con-
don, Dufur and Cascade Locks.
Our district tournament was in Umatilla,
and a trip to Dairy Queen just down the hill
from the school was a treat.
Echo was our bitter rival. They beat us
out for a state berth in 1981. Back then, we
were Class B, and it was a four-team state
bracket. You had to work your ass off for a
trip to Baker City.
In 1982, we beat Echo for our fi rst trip
to state, winning it all. We did the same in
1983 (now an 8-team bracket), beating Days
Creek 53-47 in four overtimes for the trophy.
Baker City was a magical place for us
small-town kids.
The gym was 10 times larger than any we
had played in all season.
The view from the team bench was that
of a sea of green and white, as nearly every
person in town made the trip to support us.
Our championships belonged to the com-
munity as much as they did to us.
Both years we went to state, we had a
team host who would wash our uniforms
and such after each game, and leave us treats
in the locker room.
In 1983, we were sponsored by one of the
fl ower shops in town. We arrived at the gym
to corsages and balloons. After we won the
title, we each received a rose.
A drive through downtown Baker City
featured businesses with their windows
adorned with the teams they were sponsor-
ing. The fl ower shop (I don’t know if I ever
knew the name) had “Good Luck Grizzlies”
painted on its window, with a bear dribbling
a basketball, and a lot of fl owers.
There were no cellphones to take pic-
tures. I don’t know if any of our parents
thought to take one, but I can still see it.
I inquired this week if team hosts are still
a thing at the (now) 1A state tournament. I
was told no, but that they are trying to bring
the program back.
As the 2A and 1A teams begin their dis-
trict tournaments this week, in hopes of
securing a trip to state, I hope the players
stop and realize how fortunate they are.
They have the undying support of their
community, which you don’t get at a large
school. You get to play the game you love,
because if everyone doesn’t play, no one gets
to play.
Over the next couple of weeks, please put
down your cellphones (unless you are tak-
ing photos), remove your ear buds and make
some memories.
Photo courtesy of the Pendleton Round-Up
The Challenge of Champions bull riding event will make its inaugural stop in Pend-
leton on Saturday. The competition will take place at the Pavilion at the Pendleton
Round-Up Grounds.
UMATILLA RIVER FLOODING
Resurrecting
a local
landmark
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A baseball rests in the mud at Bob White Field in Pendleton on Thursday afternoon. The fi eld was inundated with fl oodwater fol-
lowing the Feb. 6, 2020, fl ooding of the Umatilla River.
Pendleton’s Babe Ruth
program and school district
assess the flood damages
done to Bob White Field
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — Pendleton
head baseball coach TJ Hague-
wood remembers leaving Bob
White Field on the evening of
Feb. 6, just before the fl oods
began.
Little did he expect that
moments later, the fi eld that his
team of Buckaroos called their home, just
like so many teams before them, would
be completely underwater.
“We left the fi eld at about 5:30 p.m.,”
he recalled. “We saw the river rising. The
water had barely made it into the right
fi eld, so I wasn’t concerned at the time.
I’ve lived here my whole life. It sneaked
up on everybody.”
The fl ooding caused signifi cant dam-
age to the turf, the concession stand and
everything within, the right fi eld fence,
and the equipment garage. The damage
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Mud covers the infi eld at Bob White Field in Pendleton on Thursday afternoon after it
was inundated with fl oodwater from the Feb. 6,2020, Umatilla River fl oods.
left the Bucks baseball team, the Pendle-
ton Babe Ruth program, and local sum-
mer ball teams without a home fi eld,
forcing the Babe Ruth committee to
search for a replacement for the upcom-
ing season.
“The important thing for people to
know is, there still will be a Babe Ruth
season,” said Bob Field, president of
the Pendleton Babe Ruth program. “It’s
See Landmark, Page B2
PREP ROUNDUP
Pioneers fall to La Grande in GOL district semifi nals
By RONALD BOND
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — Camryn Coll-
man scored 13 straight La Grande
points during a four-minute
stretch that helped her team break
open their game with the visiting
Mac-Hi Pioneers, as they topped
Mac-Hi 52-29 on Thursday in the
semifi nals of the Greater Oregon
League district tournament.
Collman, who fi nished with 26
points, had 19 in the fi rst half, and
her individual point spurt helped
the Tigers take a 31-15 halftime
lead. She added a putback in the
third quarter that put the Tigers
ahead by 21 with 3:25 to play in
the third, and the Pioneers got no
closer the rest of the way.
Daniela Angel scored 15 points
See Pioneers, Page B2
EO Media Group Photo/Ronald Bond
Mac-Hi’s Daniela Angel (5) blocks a shot by La Grande’s Ella Dunlap during Thursday’s semifi nal
game of the Greater Oregon League district tournament in La Grande. The Tigers defeated the
Pioneers 52-29 on Thursday.