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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2020)
SIDELINED 2020 Constructing a stellar senior season By BRETT KANE For the East Oregonian H ELIX — Elijah Sprenger is one of Gris- wold’s premier athletes. He is the only Grizzly basketball player to receive Old Oregon League Player of the Year nominations two years in a row, and has been able to average a double-double for the entirety of his high school career. For his senior season, he has one big goal in mind: to dunk the ball. “I know that sounds silly,” he said, “but my progress was stopped last year when I broke my ankle toward the end of the season. I think if I hit the gym and the weight room hard, I should be able to accomplish this by the end of the sea- son — it’s something I have been working on all of high school.” For his final outing as a Grizzly, Sprenger is well aware of the challenges that wait ahead — after the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the Oregon School Activities Associ- ation to delay all fall athletics until the spring and subsequently expedite each season, the 6-foot, 3-inch post will have just seven weeks to accomplish goals and finish his career as a Grizzly strong. His senior year will comprise of just 14 regular-season games. “I think the biggest challenge it will cause is the mental confusion amongst all of the students and coaches,” said Sprenger, 18. “Everything will pretty much be backwards. For me, I don’t think it will change much else for my basketball season. I’ll still be practicing before (the season begins), and I’ll hopefully have a strong senior year.” Sprenger’s reputation precedes him, having left an impact on the high school sports scene ever since he was a fresh- man. He spent a year on the McLoughlin foot- ball team as a freshman, and was a standout runner on the Grizzly track and field team, but his ankle injury ended his junior season prematurely. “I’ve had the opportunity to coach Eli in football and track,” Griswold head track coach Rory Simpson said. “He’s a phenomenal ath- lete and could make an impact in any sport he chooses to play. I’ve seen him make great con- tributions not only as a great athlete, but as a teammate and leader. He inspires others to play. Just to be on his team is to know you have a chance to win.” Some of Sprenger’s earliest memories are of basketball. The motivation of his family, many of whom were once high school basketball athletes, and the pur- suit of greatness is what keeps him fighting through every tough game and injury. “Both of my parents were very suc- cessful high school basketball and track ath- letes,” he said, “so I had all the help I needed growing up, sports-wise. I think the challenge that basketball presents is what really sucked me in from the start. The sky’s the limit in bas- ketball. If you can think it, you can do it. That’s what’s appealing to me. I love that feeling you get when you make a hard shot in a close game and everyone in the stands goes crazy.” Sprenger will be able to experience that rush of excitement again when he hits the court with his fellow Grizzlies one last time starting in late December. Once the basketball season wraps up, he’ll have a little over a month to pre- pare for his final golf season as a high-schooler. But he doesn’t plan on putting the clubs down any time soon. “My favorite part of golf is the fact that I can still play it when I’m old,” he said. “I’ve learned a lifelong activity.” Sprenger has been spending his summer break working in the sun for Aspen Construc- tion. With COVID-19 putting a temporary halt to in-person schooling, he’ll spend this fall tak- ing classes online and continuing his construc- tion work, and counting down the days until basketball season finally tips off. “I’ll hopefully start working out for bas- ketball (this fall),” Sprenger added. “Since we weren’t able to get into the gym, I have been working pretty much all summer. I’ve enjoyed my time at Helix, as well as the people I’ve had the pleasure of playing with and for.” Helix’s Ryann Stahancyk was born to run By BRETT KANE For the East Oregonian H ELIX — Ryann Stahancyk has been run- ning cross-country for Griswold ever since she was a freshman, but when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the delay of her senior season, she’s became unsure if she’ll be able to run again. “If I’m being completely honest, I have not yet decided if I’ll run this year due to the change of the season,” said Stahancyk, 17. “But if I do, my goal is to run my race in 20 minutes, and I would love to make it to state, because my school hasn’t sent anyone for many years.” Under the new schedules set by the Ore- gon School Activities Association, Stahancyk will now have just seven weeks per season to play each of her three sports at Griswold. She’s been spending her summer training for the upcoming cross-country season, but now that the fall season has been postponed until Feb- ruary, she’ll have to wait even longer to put her practice to use. Stahancyk began the summer by running three miles every day for a week. She then pushed it to four miles for the following weeks to build her stamina. “I also try to ensure that I do a run with a lot of hills at least three days a week,” she added, “to help me build my endurance and get my mileage in. I’ve also been going to the gym and lifting weights to help stay strong and avoid injuries.” Despite all of her cross-coun- try preparation, Stahancyk will be playing basketball first, fol- lowed by cross-country, before finishing off her high school career with track, in which she is partial to the 400-meter dash and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. “There will be a lot of challenges that come with these shorter seasons and them being at different times,” she said. “In sports, time is very important. Due to the fact that the sea- sons will be much shorter, it’ll be harder for the coaches and students to achieve the goals they’ve already set for themselves. Cross-coun- try will be held in a much cooler time of year than we’re used to. That’ll definitely throw us through a learning curve.” Despite her passion for cross-country, Stahancyk’s history with basketball and track run much deeper in her life. She’s been shooting hoops since the sec- ond grade, and running track since seventh, per her school’s requirements. “It’s a part of the P.E. pro- gram,” she said. “I was forced to do track, but I found that I really loved to run. I found my love of running during that time, and it just continued to grow.” Since joining the cross-country team at Griswold, Stahancyk has been in the top three runners on her team every year, and has gone to state twice as a track runner. “She’s a tenacious hard worker who never stops,” Griswold head track coach Rory Simp- son said. “Even to her detriment, often hid- ing soreness and even injuries to keep training and competing. I can’t believe she’s already a senior. I’ve coached her in track since middle school. At this point for Ryann, all I can ask is that we get to have a season, however good, bad, or short it may be. We often forget that for many students, this is their last chance to play with friends with the unique journey that sports provide.” Stahancyk’s work is already cut out for her this year — she has a slew of personal records set last season that are waiting for her to top. Her best cross-country finish came at districts last year, where she crossed the line at 21:31.0. Her PRs in track include a 1:10.97 finish in the 400-meter, 57.09 in the 4x100, and a 4:32.81 in the 4x400. Although she’ll have to wait a little longer for her senior season, she’s eager to go out there and set some new records. “My first reaction to finding out that the fall season was postponed was disappointment,” Stahancyk recalled. “But after a little thought, I realized they’re doing what they feel is best for everybody and will keep us safe. I’ll be spending my fall season running and prepar- ing for basketball.” E O M E D I A G R O U P • S E P T. 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 • 11
