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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2020)
SIDELINED 2020 Three-sport athlete always looking forward By BRETT KANE For the East Oregonian U MATILLA — Chantal Lemus has a lot in mind for her future. The three-sport senior is coming up on her final season as a Viking, where she is a middle blocker and outside hitter on the vol- leyball team, a post in basketball, and competes in the discus, shot put and triple jump events in track. She’s also planning ahead for her college career, and she already has a list of potential schools, including Eastern Oregon University, Eastern Washington University, Western Ore- gon University, Montana State University, and the University of Idaho. She’s still deciding on what to study, but she’s currently considering elementary education. Now, Lemus has something else to consider when planning her future — the postponement of her senior fall season. “When I first heard about our fall sports sea- son being postponed, I was upset,” said Lemus, 17. “I was really looking forward to getting back on the court. But I was also very happy that it wasn’t canceled.” Lemus, remaining optimistic even when faced with the unexpected, has decided to take advantage of her free time this fall, and keep up her exercise and practice routines to be better prepared for the volleyball season when it finally comes time to play. She would also advise her team- mates to do the same with their extended downtime. “I would just advise my fel- low teammates to keep up on their schoolwork,” she said, “and to make sure to practice and stay active.” It wasn’t just Lemus’ fall season impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak — her summer, which she usually spends practicing for the upcoming high school sports season and participating in summer sport pro- grams, came to a halt, just like her junior track season did before it. “As a high school athlete during the COVID- 19 (outbreak), it’s been different these past few months compared to the previous three years,” she said. Although she is used to playing sports throughout the entirety of the school year, she’ll have to wait until the winter to hit the court again. This year, she’ll begin with basketball, followed by volleyball in February, and track in April. Each athletic season has been allotted seven weeks by the Oregon School Activities Association, and is slated to have a culminating week — which could include playoffs — afterward.. Even though Lemus likes to stay busy, the overlap in schedules could pose a challenge for the three-sport athlete. “The overlapping of the end of playoffs to the beginning of the next sport’s season will be difficult,” she said. “It’ll be different starting with bas- ketball instead of volleyball this year.” For Lemus, her athletic career began in the seventh grade. She began playing volleyball, basketball and track that year, and although she’s stuck with all three ever since, there’s two she prefers more than the other. “I would have to say my favorite sport would be either track or volleyball,” she said, “just because I feel those two sports are the ones I excel at.” Lemus made the varsity cut for track as a freshman at Umatilla and was quick to make her presence on the team known. That same year, she made it to state in the triple jump event after setting a personal record at 32 feet, 3 inches. She set the bar high early, and has goals both grand and personal in mind for her final year as a Viking. “In volleyball, I want to improve my spiking and serving,” Lemus said. “My goal for basket- ball is to work on being stronger as a post. For track, my goal would be to work as hard as I can so I can once again go to state.” The Vikings volleyball team is coming off a difficult season, struggling to find a win in East- ern Oregon League play. But for Lemus, her ath- letic experience at Umatilla is less about vic- tory, and more about the lasting bond she’s made with her teammates across all three sports. Even though she’ll have to wait a little longer this year, it’s those relationships that have her most excited to come back. “The experience I’ve had (at Umatilla) is that of a family,” she said. “We work our best when we’re working together or just cheering each other on.” Sticking the landing: Eric Hoyos hopes to make state By BRETT KANE For the East Oregonian MATILLA — Eric Hoyos still remem- bers his first-ever high school football tackle. He was a sophomore, his first year on the starting line for the Umatilla Vikings. “It was the kickoff, and I was super scared,” he recalled. “Not only because it was the first kickoff, but because I was small, no more than 100 pounds going up against some really big guys. But I ran down the field and made the tackle.” It was a moment that would live on as one of Hoyos’ fondest as a Viking. Now, three years later, he’ll have to wait a little longer than usual to put on his Vikings gear and take up the man- tle as both a running back and a linebacker one last time. A senior, Hoyos, 17, is not only a key com- ponent to Umatilla’s football roster. His speed, U which not only comes in handy when tasked with making a downfield tackle in a football game, has also earned him status as a stand- out track athlete as well. Hoyas runs the 100- meter dash, the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and competes in the long jump event. Instead of beginning the year with football first, he’ll take the fall off. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, he’ll put on the pads and helmet in Feb- ruary 2021 — just seven short weeks before his senior track sea- son is set to begin. “I was upset at the idea of not having (football) this fall,” Hoyos said, “but I’m over- all grateful to be able to have a season to begin with. Personally, I won’t miss anything from the fall, other than the weather. But I will miss how (football) makes a good start to the school year.” Hoyos and his fellow Umatilla football team- 12 • S E P T. 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 • E O M E D I A G R O U P mates shared a solid season last year, opening the year with a four-game winning streak that was unfortunately followed by a three-game skid that kept them just shy of a chance to go to state. They finished at 5-3 overall and 1-3 in Eastern Oregon League action. “As a team, this is really going to test our integrity,” Hoyos said of this fall season’s hiatus. “But I believe, like any of the challenges we’ve been through together over the years, we can and will overcome.” The fact that the playoffs just barely eluded Umatilla last season has not escaped Hoyos’ mind. When the football sea- son finally gets up and running again, Hoyos is determined to take his team one step further than last year. “Last year, after being so close to playoffs, my goal this year is to make the playoffs,” he said. “I want to get first-team all-league recog- nition as both a running back and a linebacker. For track, I would like to make it to state for all of my events, and hopefully win a state championship.” Although the Vikings have not made a foot- ball state appearance since Hoyos joined the team as a freshman, he’s no stranger to the state track competition. As a sophomore, he and his 4x400 relay team not only earned a trip to the competition at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, but placed second. “It’s one of my biggest accomplishments,” Hoyos said. “When we were at state, most of our team got together and started putting face masks on and just having a good time.” Hoyos’ athleticism is something he has been honing since grade school. He joined his first youth football team as a fifth grader, and took up track two years later. This fall, he said, instead of hitting the football field as intended, he will devote his full attention to the gym and the classroom.
