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Saturday, March 20, 2021
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WOMEN’S WRESTLING
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A smattering of preapproved fans lines the stands at the Pendleton Round-Up Arena on Friday, March 12,
2021, ahead of Pendleton’s 20-12 win over Ridgeview.
Eastern Oregon University/Contributed Photo
Eastern Oregon University women wrestlers Erin Redford, left, and Demp-
si Talkington pose during the Women’s Wrestling National Invitational in
March 2021 in Jamestown, North Dakota. Redford finished second as the
runner-up at 143 pounds, and Talkington posted an eighth-place finish at
155 pounds.
EOU’s Sluberski earns
women’s wrestling
coach of the year honor
Erin Redford takes
second at national
competition
By ALEX WITTWER
La Grande Observer
LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon
University’s Carlene Sluberski is the
2020-21 Cascade Collegiate Confer-
ence Women’s
Wrestling Coach of
the year.
The conference
in an announce-
ment thursday,
March 18, reported
her fellow head
Sluberski
women’s wres-
tling coaches in the
conference voted for her to receive
the honor.
The head coach was surprised —
she said didn’t even know she was
nominated for the award.
the award came less than a week
after Sluberski wrapped up her first
year as the program’s head coach
and less than a week after she led
nine of her players to North Dakota
to compete in the National Asso-
ciation of Intercollegiate Athletics
Women’s Wrestling National Invita-
tional, where wrestler Erin Redford
finished as the national runner-up at
143 pounds, posting a 4-1 record over
the two-day tournament. EOu team-
mate Dempsi Talkington posted an
eighth-place finish at 155 pounds.
Sluberski took on the position of
head coach for the women’s wres-
tling team back in November 2020
— the third person to hold the title.
Women’s wrestling at EOU is rela-
tively new. The program started in
2016 after the university received
$300,000 from the state, along with
$200,000 from private donations, to
reinstate a men’s team and establish
a women’s team.
“It’s definitely not traditional,”
said Sluberski about the sport’s niche
status, “but it’s up and coming.”
Nationwide, Oregon is one of
28 states that have state-sanctioned
championships for women’s wres-
tling.
New York, Sluberski’s home
state, isn’t one of them. That fact
didn’t deter Sluberski’s passion for
the sport.
“I’m from New York, so I wres-
tled in New York, and I wrestled on
the boys’ team,” she said. “They still
don’t sanction it in New York — I’m
11 years removed from high school,
and they’re still behind.”
Sluberski grappled most of her
life, starting in elementary school
and throughout college, winning four
individual Canadian Interuniversity
Sport titles before becoming a head
coach at Providence University in
Montana. After taking the position at
EOu, she tackled a new problem —
leading the team during a pandemic.
“When you have the opportunity
to compete taken away from you,”
Sluberski said, “it makes it that much
more special when you get to go.”
Teams are able to
bring in more fans
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
ENDLETON — Come
on in.
That was the invitation
for Pendleton High School
football fans on Thursday, March
18.
The high school was informed
they could have up to 15% percent
capacity at the Round-Up Arena
for its game on Saturday, March
20, which equates to roughly 2,300
people.
“We were given a directive
P
for 15% capacity in a high (risk)
county,” Pendleton athletic direc-
tor Mike Somnis said. “It will be
nice for the boys to have a regular
Friday night experience. It has been
a long time since these kids have
competed in front of fans. They are
excited.”
Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against
Redmond will not have conces-
sions. There also will be an admis-
sion fee of $4 for students and $6 for
adults. Neither will deter the fans,
who took to social media saying
they would be there to support their
Bucks.
Each player was issued four tick-
ets for their family. Somnis said
parents should not have to pay to
watch their kids play.
While the game will be held
outside in an open-air stadium,
fans still are asked to wear a mask,
social distance, and contact tracing
requirements will be in place.
When Pendleton senior Blake
Swanson found out they got to
have fans, he jumped on Twitter to
spread the news.
“We are ecstatic,” Swanson
said. “Our friends and family get
to watch us play. It will be a more
realistic background to play in.
Last week, we had 75 fans (at the
Round-Up Arena). You could hear
a little crowd noise, but not the tradi-
tional fan noise. It will be fun to
have that support.”
See Fans, Page B2
M’s Kyle Lewis ready for challenge after rookie honors
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — During a normal
offseason, Kyle Lewis would have
enjoyed traveling around and
being celebrated after becoming
just the third Seattle Mariners
player to be named the American
League rookie of the year.
Instead, some of Lewis’ most
cherished moments of the offsea-
son came when he spent time
hanging around his old high
school in Georgia.
“I went over there just to
continue to show my face and
show the high schoolers that there
are people who were in the same
positions and have been able to
accomplish great things,” Lewis
said. “That to me was definitely a
point I made to go back home and
be around, be accessible to some
extent as much as I could.”
As the Mariners enter the next
stage of their rebuilding plan,
Lewis is one of Seattle’s founda-
tional players. He showed enough
in last year’s 60-game truncated
season for the Mariners to believe
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Seattle Mariners’ Kyle Lewis (1) gets fist-bumps from manager Scott
Servais, left, and a teammate as Lewis returns to the dugout after scor-
ing against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning of a spring
training baseball game on March 5, 2021, in Phoenix.
they have a burgeoning superstar
on their hands and for the rest
of the American League to take
notice.
Lewis wasn’t great for the
entire 60-game season, but he
was good enough to be the best
rookie in the AL. His mix of raw
power to all fields, hitting for aver-
age, and proving he can handle the
demands of playing center field
were major revelations for the
Mariners as they plot out the next
steps for becoming a contender in
See Mariners, Page B2
SPORTS SHORT
Oral Roberts shocks Ohio State, first big upset of NCAAs
Associated Press
WESt LaFayEttE, Ind.
— Oral roberts welcomed the
madness back to March.
the 15th-seeded Golden Eagles
pulled off the first major upset of
the first NCAA Tournament in two
years, holding off second-seeded
Big Ten power Ohio State 75-72 in
overtime on Friday, March 19.
Oral Roberts got poised, impec-
cable performances from its two
star players, guard Max abmas
and forward Kevin Obanor, to
become the ninth 15 seed to win a
first-round game and the first since
Middle Tennessee shocked Michi-
gan State in 2016. Last year’s tour-
nament was called off because of
the pandemic.
Obanor scored seven of Oral
Roberts’ 11 points in overtime,
including two free throws with 13
seconds left, and finished with 30
points and 11 rebounds. Abmas,
the nation’s leading scorer, had 29
points.
Ohio State could have tied it
in the closing seconds of over-
time, but Duane Washington Jr.’s
open 3-pointer from straight away
bounced off the side of the rim, and
Oral Roberts celebrated its first
tournament win since 1974.
The Golden Eagles (17-10)
advanced to play seventh-seeded
Florida in the South Region on
Sunday, March 21.
E.J. Liddell scored 23 points to
lead the Buckeyes (21-10). Wash-
ington scored 18, but made just 7
of 21 shots.
Oral Roberts scored the game’s
first seven points, including a
3-pointer by Abmas from the logo
that drew a collective “Ooooh”
from the socially distanced crowd.
The Buckeyes led by eight before
the Golden Eagles rallied. Abmas
hit a 3-pointer with about five
minutes left in the first half to give
Oral Roberts a 26-25 lead, prompt-
ing a chant of “O-R-U!” from the
fans who traveled to support the
small, Christian school based in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. He hit another
3 moments later to force an Ohio
State timeout.
Abmas made 5 of 7 3-pointers
in the first half and had 18 points
at the break as the Golden Eagles
led 36-33.
Robert Franklin/Associated Press
Oral Roberts players celebrate after beating Ohio State in a first-round
game in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament on Friday,
March 19, 2021, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.