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Saturday, February 27, 2021
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B1
Pendleton grad is hurdling the opposition
Lane Maher posts
mark in just second
college meet
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
CaLdWeLL, Idaho — Lane
Maher hadn’t run a competitive
race in nearly 18 months, so setting
a school record in just his second
college track meet came as a bit of
a surprise for the College of Idaho
freshman.
the 2020 Pendleton High School
graduate turned in a time of 8.47
seconds in the 60-meter hurdles
during the Polar Vortex Classic in
Caldwell on Feb. 20-21, shattering
the yotes’ school record of 8.51
seconds set by Michael Hurd on
Feb. 4, 2012.
“It wasn’t something I was
expecting coming into the season
because I hadn’t run for so long,”
Maher said. “I was hoping to go
under 9 (seconds).”
Maher tied the school record in
his first indoor meet of the season
— the College of Idaho Icebreaker
on Feb. 5-6. because of the COVId-
19 pandemic, the indoor meets were
run outside.
“After that first meet, our hurdle
coach (Hurd) told me I tied his
school record,” Maher said.
College of Idaho coach austin
basterrechea said he knew Maher
would bring something special to
the program.
“We knew Lane was big time for
us,” basterrechea said. “there is a
reason we recruited him. He was
one of the most under-recruited kids
in the state (Oregon). you could see
his potential as a junior. He is a stel-
lar athlete.”
Liz Safford/College of Idaho
Lane Maher, a 2020 Pendleton High School graduate, recently broke the
College of Idaho record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.47 sec-
onds during the Polar Vortex Classic in Caldwell, Idaho.
Pendleton
Little League
eager for
new season
College transition
Coming out on top is nothing
See Maher, Page B2
NAIA INDOOR NATIONALS
East Oregonian
PeNdLetON — Play ball!
that’s the memo from Pendle-
ton Little League, which opened
registration for baseball and softball
signups earlier in February.
“COVId has changed a lot of
stuff in our lives,” PLL vice president
Monte Ludington said. “We have to
have something for the kids. as long
as we have kids register, we will have
a season.”
the 2020 Little League season
was canceled because of the COVId-
19 pandemic.
Little League is open to players
ages 7-12, but the Pendleton Little
League organization will have just
three levels this season — Majors,
aaa and aa. t-ball and single-a
ball will not be offered.
For those who do not qualify for
aa, aaa or Majors but want to play,
the Pendleton’s Parks and recreation
department will be offering t-ball.
PLL said it chose to work with
the older players, which will help in
ensuring compliance with COVId-
19 regulations. the program has
been monitoring health guidelines
and legal requirements to be able to
offer a season this spring.
Players will have to wear a mask
at all times, and teams will prac-
tice social distancing in the dugout
and on the field. There also will be
restrictions as to how many people
may enter the Pendleton Little
League Park to attend practices or
games.
PLL also is looking for donations
to help with sanitizing wipes, dispos-
able face masks and thermometers.
registration and payments of
$65 per player can be made online
at www.pendletonlittleleague.com.
registration runs through Wednes-
day, March 3.
For families needing assistance
with registration fees, t-Mobile has
grants available at www.littleleague.
org/call-up-grant-program.
PLL has plans to start practices
March 15, with the season opener
april 6.
There will be a field cleanup and
in-person registration (credit or debit
card only) event from noon to 4 p.m.
on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Pendleton
Little League Park.
Connor Bracken/Eastern Oregon University
Hunter Nichols, left, will compete in the 1,000 meters for Eastern Oregon University at the NAIA Indoor National Track & Field Championships
on March 3-6, 2021, at Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota.
NICHOLS HEADED TO
INDOOR NATIONALS
Heppner grad will compete
in the 1,000 meters for EOU
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
L
a GraNde — ben Welch said he
saw something special in Hunter
Nichols when he was recruiting
the middle distance runner from
Heppner High School.
“When I recruited him, I saw a
small-school kid who I thought would be
very good,” said Welch, the longtime east-
ern Oregon university track coach. “He was
well coached, but far from over-coached.”
Welch’s instincts are paying off, as Nich-
ols is headed to the NaIa Indoor National
track & Field Championships on March
3-6, 2021, at Mount Marty university in
yankton, South dakota. He will compete
in the 1,000 meters.
“It will be good for me,” Nichols said of
the opportunity. “I haven’t been in those
kinds of high-quality races coming from
Heppner. the competition is tight. the
difference between 14th and eighth is 1
second.”
Nichols and seven of his teammates are
getting on a plane Monday morning, March
1, for South dakota. It’s a trip he almost
didn’t get to take.
Nichols met the provisional time of 2
minutes, 32 seconds at the Polar Vortex
Classic in Caldwell, Idaho, on Feb. 20-21
with a time of 2:30.53, and was ranked
20th nationally. because of the COVId-19
pandemic, only the top 16 were advancing
to nationals.
“after that race (in Caldwell), I was
ranked 12th,” Nichols said. “then the results
See Nichols , Page B2
EOU pair qualifies
for the nationals
East Oregonian
L
a GraNde — eastern
Oregon university will
have a pair of representa-
tives when the Mountain-
eers compete at the 2021 Indoor
National Championship for the
heptathlon.
the NaIa released its list of
Davis
16 qualifiers for the multi-event
on Monday, Feb. 22, including
eOu’s tyler davis and Sam
roddewig.
both davis and roddewig
find themselves on the final
qualifiers list after putting
together solid competitions
early this season at the College
Roddewig
of Idaho. roddewig, a senior
from Helena, Montana, was the heptathlon
winner back on Feb. 6 at the C of I Icebreaker.
He was fifth after Day 1, but mounted a come-
back to win the event with a total of 4,647 points.
See EOU, Page B2
SPORTS SHORT
Gut-Behrami wins downhill and moves atop World Cup standings
Associated Press
MOeNa, Italy — Coming off
a performance that included two
golds and three medals overall at the
skiing world championships, Lara
Gut-behrami now has another title
— overall World Cup leader.
the Swiss skier won a downhill
on Friday, Feb. 26, when the regular
circuit resumed, moving her ahead
of Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova in
the standings.
Gut-Behrami finished a slim 0.02
seconds ahead of ramona Sieben-
hofer on the sun-drenched Val di
Fassa course.
recently crowned world cham-
pion Corinne Suter finished third,
0.26 behind, to gain precious points
in her pursuit of downhill stand-
ings leader Sofia Goggia, who is
out injured.
Vlhova finished ninth and now
trails Gut-behrami by 29 points in
the overall standings, which she had
led since November 2020.
Conditions on the San Pellegrino
Pass, which was making its debut on
the World Cup circuit, were spring-
like as the temperature soared to
nearly 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
It was Gut-behrami’s 31st career
World Cup victory and fourth
straight speed win on the circuit. It
was also her first downhill win this
season, to go with her four World
Cup victories in super-G.
at the worlds in nearby Cortina,
Gut-behrami — who lives in Italy
— collected gold in super-G and
giant slalom and bronze in downhill.
“I’m pleased that all of the work
I’ve done is being reflected in my
results,” said Gut-behrami, who
blew her knee out after winning the
overall title in 2016. “times have
not always been easy over the last
few years but I worked together with
my father and my team to rearrange
things.”
Alessandro Trovati/Associated Press
Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami speeds down the slope during an
alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill in Val di Fassa, Italy, on Fri-
day, Feb. 26, 2021.