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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2020)
SIDELINED 2020 A tenacious competitor 5 QUESTIONS WITH JAYDEN RAY Favorite sport to play and why? Basketball, I love it. When I was little, I loved soccer, but in middle school and high school, basketball became my love. Favorite sport to watch and why? I really like to watch vol- leyball. I played in middle school, but I play soccer in high school. Favorite thing to do when you’re not playing sports? I enjoy hiking with friends. Favorite moment in high school sports so far? Jazlyn’s (Romero) senior night when we beat Walla Walla. It was one of the most memorable games I have played in. A fun fact about you that few people know? When I was younger, I drew inside of one of my dresser drawers. My mom got mad. I went and flopped on my bed and hit my forehead. I got stitches and still have a scar in the middle of my forehead. Jayden Ray’s work ethic leads to success for Bulldogs By ANNIE FOWLER For the East Oregonian H ERMISTON — Every coach at Hermiston High School would like to have a dozen Jayden Rays on their team. A three-sport senior, Ray plays soccer, basketball and runs track. “In the track and field world, she can do anything and her work ethic is so great,” Bulldogs track coach Emilee Strot said. “All the coaches want her. If David Faaeteete could convince her to throw, he would.” While Strot gets Ray for relays, the 300 -meter hurdles and the open 400, Hermiston basketball coach Maloree Moss is building her team around Ray. “Jayden is that kid you don’t have to doubt,” Moss said. “If she is hav- ing an off game, she is still working her tail off. Jayden leads by exam- ple and everyone follows. You don’t have to question her work ethic.” The Mid-Columbia Conference basketball coaches saw value in Ray this past season, voting her in as the Defensive Player of the Year. The 5-foot-7 Ray was key in helping the Bulldogs hold confer- ence opponents to an average of 49 points a game, and she averaged seven points a game on offense. “She is little, but she is strong,” Moss said. “That can-do attitude is why she earned that honor.” The Bulldogs finished fourth in the MCC standings with a 10-6 record, and were the No. 2 team to the 3A regional tournament. Hermiston throttled Shadle Park 73-35 in the first round of regionals, then lost a close game to 10 • S E P T. 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 • E O M E D I A G R O U P Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Jayden Ray, a Hermiston High School senior, is a three-sport athlete com- peting in soccer, basketball and track. Mt. Spokane 43-35. In a loser-out game, Hermis- ton wasted a big lead and dropped a 60-50 game to Kamiakin — a team it had beaten twice during the regular season. The Bulldogs fin- ished 14-9 overall. Once Ray turned in her bas- ketball uniform, she headed to the track. Before the Bulldogs could get one meet in, the season was put on hold because of the coronavirus. “It was tough,” Ray said. “The first couple of weeks of track, you are getting in shape. We were getting ready for our first meet and it all got canceled. It was heartbreaking.” During the 2019 track season, the 4x400 relay team won the MCC title in a time of 4 minutes, 13.39 seconds. Ray was joined on the track by Abigail Sharon, Amanda Nygard and Sydney Seavert. The team was nearly 2 seconds faster at regionals, finishing third, but only the top two teams advanced to state. “I wish we would have had a track season for her to see her potential,” Strot said. “She flies under the radar. I think she could be successful in any of her sports at the next level, but I am biased.” With track season wiped out, Ray put her efforts back into bas- ketball, playing with Oregon Elite this summer. “I’m really enjoying it,” Ray said. “I wanted to play on this team, and I want to play in college. This will help.” The commitment to Oregon Elite has been time consuming, with drives to Portland for practice and weekend tournaments. “It will be worth it in the end,” Ray said. Oregon Elite has played in a handful of tournaments — most recently in Indianapolis — but the team also has had trips to Nashville and Arizona canceled because of COVID-19. Moss was excited to see Ray take the initiative to play summer ball. “In the past, she didn’t get the opportunity to play AAU because she was focused on soccer,” Moss said. “Playing with this AAU club, it’s crazy the difference it will make.” Because of the coronavirus, the WIAA shifted its sports seasons around. That puts basketball up first for Ray and her fellow Bull- dogs, but that also means she may not be in as good of shape. “I always rely on soccer to get me in shape for basketball,” Ray said. “Now, I will have to run to get in shape for basketball. I think my body will be confused. It’s used to soccer, basketball and then track. I will be curious to see how that goes.”
