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Saturday, January 9, 2021
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B1
COLLEGE SIGNING
Heppner
graduate will
run at EOU
Madelyn nichols
will run track,
cross-country for
Mountaineers
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
HEPPnEr — Madelyn nich-
ols has made a name for herself as
one of the top small-school runners
in Oregon, and even though she lost
her junior year of track and field, she
did not not fall off the radar of college
coaches.
the Heppner senior signed a
letter of intent to run cross-country
and track at Eastern Oregon univer-
sity on Wednesday, Jan. 6.
“At first, I was set on Eastern,”
nichols said. “My brother (Hunter)
is there. then I started talking to
coaches at Mount Hood (Commu-
nity College), Lane (Community
College), Western Oregon and
College of Idaho. Eastern won out
because I know a lot of people there
and I’m familiar with the campus.”
EOu also moved to the top of the
list because the COVId-19 pandemic
limited campus tours, and meeting
with coaches and prospective team-
mates.
nichols had a standout sopho-
more year, starting with basketball.
She was a starting guard on the 2a
state championship team. She then
followed up with a pair of state
medals at the 2a/1a state track meet.
“Getting to state is almost impos-
sible,” nichols said. “Only two in
each event at district get to go.”
nichols placed second and ran
a personal best 2 minutes, 25.90
seconds in the 800 meters. She
then ran to a fourth-place finish in
the 1,500 in a personal best time of
5:06.34.
She also runs the 400, the 4x400
relay and the 3,000 meters.
“the 3,000 is not my favorite,”
she said. “I enjoy the 800 and 1,500
better. I like the 400, especially since
I was on the 4x4-relay team.”
nichols has a personal best of
11:45.86 in the 3,000, and a 1:05.54
in the 400.
In the fall of her junior year, nich-
ols finished fifth at the 3A/2A/1A
Special district 3 Cross-Coun-
try Championships at Pendleton
Community Park. She ran a personal
best 19:41.60 to earn the last spot to
state.
She finished 18th at the state meet
in a time of 20:33.10.
“It’s tough getting to state when
our district is so awesome,” she said.
“thank goodness I went my junior
year, I might not get to go this year.
It’s kind of sad. I try to have hope, but
I also try to be realistic.”
Cascade Collegiate Conference/Contributed Photo
Cascade Collegiate Conference Commissioner Rob Cashell presents the College of Idaho mascot, “Baby Yotie,” with the conference’s mascot of the
year award on March 3, 2015. Cashell, who served as the athletic director at Eastern Oregon University from 2001 to 2012, is beginning his 10th
year as the CCC’s commissioner, making his the second longest tenure in conference history.
Guiding the CCC to new heights
Former EOU Athletic Director Rob
Cashell makes history leading the
Cascade Collegiate Conference
By DICK MASON
La Grande Observer
C
OrVaLLIS — a former Eastern Oregon
university athletic director is making
Cascade Collegiate Conference history in
more ways than one.
rob Cashell, who served as Eastern’s
ad from 2001-12, is beginning his 10th year as
the conference’s commissioner, making his the
second longest tenure in conference history.
the span has been a busy and fast-paced one
for Cashell, who has helped the CCC expand
from 12 to 23 schools, counting full and asso-
From high to low
after cross-country was over,
nichols jumped into basketball,
where the Mustangs finished 14-10
overall and 6-6 in Blue Mountain
See Signing, Page B2
ciate members. today, the CCC’s reach extends
north to the university of British Columbia and
south to arizona Christian university in Phoenix.
Cashell speaks humbly of his role in the
conference’s progress, stating the presidents of
the colleges and universities in the conference
are its driving force.
“the reason we’ve been successful is that we
have a great presidents council,” said Cashell,
who in early 2019 moved from La Grande to
Corvallis with his wife, Heather, and daughter,
Elizabeth.
Cashell said his time as the Cascade Collegiate
Conference’s commissioner has flown by.
“It seems to have gone by quickly. I’ve enjoyed
it and I hope to have another 10 years. I hope to
stay as long as they will have me,” he said.
the pace has slowed for Cashell the past 10
months due to the COVId-19 pandemic, which
forced most CCC schools to sideline much of their
athletic programs. the pandemic has made plan-
ning, coordinating and organizing burdensome,
especially because rules regarding COVId-19
change at a blistering pace.
“It has been important to be flexible because
the mandates and rules change so quickly. a new
rule one day may not be worth the paper it is writ-
ten on the next day,” Cashell said.
the commissioner has found the most critical
thing to be aware of when working with people
during the pandemic is to understand their mind-
set.
“It is important to meet everybody where they
are at emotionally. (the pandemic) effects every-
one differently,” Cashell said.
He said understanding this helps with commu-
nication and problem solving.
Cashell is less than a year from overtaking
Howard Morris, CCC’s commissioner from 1994-
2003, as the conference’s longest-serving leader,
See CCC, Page B2
WIAA moves fall sports to Season 1
Hermiston must
follow guidelines in 2
states to resume play
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
HEr MIStOn — david
Faaeteete was happy to see the
Washington Interscholastic activ-
ities association move football to
Season 1 during its Wednesday,
Jan. 6, meeting, but for the Herm-
iston football coach, the announce-
ment also comes with hesitation.
the WIaa’s executive board,
made up of 13 school administra-
tors from across the state, decided
the traditional fall sports season
can begin with practice on Monday,
Feb. 1. those sports include foot-
ball, girls soccer, volleyball,
cross-country, and girls swimming
and diving, among others.
“It’s exciting, but this could all
change tomorrow,” Faaeteete said.
“It’s promising, but you are nervous
as a coach. you don’t want to feed
your kids false information.”
Football was in Season 2, but
with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s
new Healthy Washington — road-
map to recovery plan that was
announced on tuesday, Jan. 5, the
WIaa changed course.
“the change in guidelines allow
all traditional fall sports to be
played in Phase 2 while we still do
not have a clear pathway to the high
risk indoor activities of basket-
ball, competitive cheer and dance,
and wrestling,” WIaa Executive
director Mick Hoffman said in a
news release. “With that in mind,
moving fall sports to Season 1 will
hopefully provide the most oppor-
tunities to participate.”
Season 1 is scheduled for seven
weeks, ending on Saturday, March
20. the WIaa Executive Board
will review Seasons 2 and 3 at its
tuesday, Jan. 19, meeting.
Hermiston is between a rock
and a hard place, being an Oregon
school playing in a Washing-
ton conference (Mid-Columbia
Conference). While the logistics
make sense, the politics in both
states makes things difficult.
In Oregon, guidelines for K-12
school sports are now based on
a county’s COVId-19 risk level
(lower, moderate, high, extreme),
according to a Jan. 6 news release
by the Oregon Health authority.
umatilla and Morrow counties
are at an extreme risk level, limit-
ing sports for the time being.
all of Washington is in Phase 1,
which does not allow high school
sports. Certain high school sports
will be allowed in Phase 2.
Faaeteete said all of the Herm-
iston head coaches will have a
meeting next week with athletic
director Larry usher to get a better
sense of everything.
“you just have to focus on what
you can control — effort, attitude
and preparation,” Faaeteete said.
“you have to try and give the kids
an opportunity to live a dream
and stamp their legacy on the
program.”
———
The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
contributed to this report.
SPORTS SHORT
Lasorda, fiery Hall of Fame Dodgers manager, dies at 93
By BETH HARRIS
Associated Press
LOS anGELES — Growing more
and more frail, tommy Lasorda looked
on from a suite at Globe Life Field in
texas, watching as the Los angeles
dodgers clinched the World Series in
Game 6 against the tampa Bay rays.
Surrounded by family and friends,
Lasorda celebrated the team’s first
championship in 32 years that October
evening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
While his mobility was slowed, his mind
was still sharp.
Fittingly, it was the last game he ever
attended.
“He always said he wanted 2 things,
to live to be 100 and to see another
championship brought to the city of
La,” dodgers third baseman Justin
turner tweeted. “although he fought
like hell to hit triple digits, I couldn’t be
more proud to know he got to see the
dodgers on top again, where he knew
we belonged.”
the Hall of Fame manager who was
true blue to the dodgers for more than
seven decades died thursday night, Jan.
7, after having a heart attack at his home
in Fullerton, California, the team said
Friday, Jan. 8. Lasorda was 93. He had
just returned home tuesday, Jan. 5, after
being hospitalized since nov. 8, 2020,
with heart issues.
Lasorda had been the oldest living
baseball Hall of Famer — that distinc-
tion now belongs to Willie Mays, who
turns 90 in March.
Flags at dodger Stadium were being
lowered to half-staff and Lasorda’s no. 2
was painted in the outfield. A jersey with
his number hung in the dugout and fans
showed up with flowers, candles and
dodgers memorabilia at the ballpark.
Lasorda had a history of heart prob-
lems, including a heart attack in 1996
that hastened the end of his managerial
career and another in 2012 that required
him to have a pacemaker.
He is survived by Jo, his wife of 70
years. the couple lived in the same
modest home in Fullerton for 68 years.
they have a daughter Laura and a
granddaughter Emily. the couple’s son,
tom Jr., died in 1991 of aIdS-related
complications.
Richard Drew/Associated Press, File
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda auto-
graphs a baseball in the Dodgertown locker-room in Vero
Beach, Fla., on Feb. 15, 1990.