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Saturday, March 27, 2021
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B1
Union County rodeos set to ride again
Eastern Oregon
Livestock Show,
Elgin Stampede
to return
WHERE TO GET
TICKETS
By DICK MASON
La Grande Observer
Tickets for the 2021 Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show will
be available online via www.
rodeoticket.com. The EOLS later
will announce when tickets go
on sale.
uNION — three years after
rising from the ashes of a devastat-
ing fire, the Eastern Oregon Live-
stock Show is set to come out of the
gate again.
the EOLS will open in June after
the coronavirus pandemic led orga-
nizers to cancel the show in 2020.
“We are very excited to be back
in the saddle again,” said EOLS
Second Vice President cassie
Miller.
the EOLS will be able to restart
because of falling cOVId-19 rates
in union county. While schedul-
ing details remain to be worked out,
rodeo action is set to begin June 10
the Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show’s Main Street parade also is
returning and starts at 2 p.m. June
11. youth FFa and 4-h events will
go on this year, but their schedules
will be announced later.
Miller said she hopes to again
hold horse racing, long a major part
of the event. She said the EOLS is
working with the Oregon racing
commission in an attempt to add it
to this year’s lineup.
Miller said the Oregon health
authority played a big role in
reviewing the livestock show. the
OHA earlier modified its guidelines
The Observer, File/La Grande Observer
Zeb Lanham of Sweet, Idaho, holds on during his ride aboard the bull
Train Wreck during the 2017 Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union.
The pandemic in 2020 led to the show’s cancellation, but the show is com-
ing out of the gate again in 2021.
with the Ed Miller Xtreme Bull
riding event. Gates will open at
5:30 p.m. and competition will start
at 6:30 p.m.
three days of Prca rodeo will
follow, with competition beginning
at 4 p.m. June 11, 2 p.m. June 12 and
1:30 p.m. June 13.
to allow outdoor events to operate
at a percentage of their maximum
occupancy. the county’s risk level
at the time of an event determines
the percent of occupancy. risk
levels change, and Miller said the
EOLS may have to make changes
to how the event is run in the days
leading up to its start.
“the EOLS is aware of the possi-
bility that guidelines may fluctu-
ate between now and the first full
week in June, and we are prepared
to adjust the plan as needed to stay
in compliance,” Miller said.
this will be the second come-
back the Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show has made since July 24, 2017,
when a fire destroyed three race-
horse barns and did other damage,
but caused no injuries to people or
animals. despite the blaze, the show
opened on time in June 2018 with
all the damaged structures replaced.
“We have dealt with a lot of
adversity during our 114-year
See Rodeo, Page B2
UFC PREVIEW
Miocic sees
improved
Ngannou
before uFc
260 rematch
By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Several members of the Hermiston girls cross-country team pose for a portrait at Hermiston High School on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.
From left to right, Madeline Franke, Hailey Melville, Alexia Serna, Julianna Joyce, Cydney Sanchez, Ellie Ernst, Ashley Treadwell and Megan
Joyce pose for a photo
Teamwork paying off for Bulldogs
Hermiston girls cross-country team best in recent memory
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
ErMIStON — talent
and depth have served
the her miston girls
cross-country team well
this season.
the Bulldogs have relied on
all 10 members of the team to
finish the Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence regular season with a 7-1
record. they were undefeated
until last weekend when rich-
land topped them in the final
regular-season meet.
“they have been doing really
good,” hermiston coach troy
Blackburn said. “We have not
raced once all season with our
top five girls together. We are
deep, have good leaders and
good young runners.”
hermiston will host the
Mid-columbia conference
championships on Saturday,
March 27, at Big river Golf
course. the girls race begins at
3 p.m., with the boys race is set
for 4 p.m.
Senior amanda Nygard and
junior alexia Serna have led the
Bulldogs most of the season as
an injury has sidelined junior
cydney Sanchez, ashley tread-
well has had an iron deficiency,
and senior Fatima Frasser had
cOVId-19 and it has taken her
time to get her energy back.
“Our top five has been eight
or nine different girls,” Back-
burn said. “It’s great to have all
these girls pick it up. they have
been training since July. I’m tick-
led and super happy to have this
group of girls I can depend on.”
LaS VEGaS — No uFc heavy-
weight has made more title defenses
or landed more punches than Stipe
Miocic. he has knocked out a
remarkable portion of the best fight-
ers of his generation, leaving little
doubt he’s the most accomplished
heavyweight ever to step inside a
mixed martial arts cage.
and the champion is still a betting
underdog Saturday night, March 27,
at uFc 260 against Francis Ngan-
nou, an opponent he thoroughly
dominated three years ago.
“I’m used to it at this point, actu-
ally,” Miocic said with a smile.
“Vegas hates me, so it’s all good.”
Miocic (20-3) is in Las Vegas
anyway to meet another challenge in
the unique MMa career of an active
firefighter who pulled his most recent
shift at the firehouse in Cleveland —
and received the usual good-natured
teasing — just eight days before he
defends his heavyweight crown.
“It’s never going to change,”
Miocic said. “they’re going to make
me clean toilets, mop floors, clean
trucks. that’s what I love about them.
They don’t treat me any different. I
wish they did, but I’m still the lowest
man on the totem pole, working my
way up.”
Even with Miocic’s unmatched
list of accomplishments, some book-
ies and fans apparently will never
process the notion of a 38-year-old
with a second full-time job beating
See Dawgs, Page B2
See UFC, Page B2
SPORTS SHORT
Russia sweeps women’s figure skating medals
Associated Press
StOcKhOLM — a sweep of the
women’s medals Friday, March 26,
further stamped russian dominance of
these World Figure Skating champion-
ships.
yet, the two american women did
just enough to earn a third berth at next
year’s Olympics.
three-time national champion anna
Shcherbakova made her first appearance
at worlds golden despite finishing second
to countrywoman alexandra trusova in
the free skate. Shcherbakova, who turns
17 Sunday, March 28, won the short
program.
Elizaveta tuktamysheva, the 2015
world champion, earned silver in her
return to the event, ahead of trusova. It
was the second 1-2-3 finish in the modern
era, matching the united States with
Kristi yamaguchi, tonya harding and
Nancy Kerrigan in 1991.
this year’s americans got exactly
what they needed to grab a third spot for
the Beijing Games. Karen chen, repeat-
ing her fourth-place showing of 2017
with exactly the same prize being sought,
and u.S. champion Bradie tennell, who
was ninth, needed a total of 13 places or
less.
Bingo.
Even though she fell on two jumps,
and two-footed a landing on another,
trusova won the free skate basically
because of the unprecedented difficulty
of her program, flawed as it was. Her
presentation wasn’t outstanding either,
but Trusova became the first woman to
land multiple quads at worlds by nailing
two of the five she attempted.
that vaulted her from 12th to third
and was a clear indication the judges
favored technical bravery over artistic
brilliance.
Shcherbakova had plenty of both, but
seemed stunned as her marks revealed
victory. She appeared to need confirma-
tion from her coaches that the gold was
hers.
chen scored a personal-best 134.23
in the free skate, but her overall total
of 208.63, also a career high, didn’t get
her close to the podium. Still, the team
reward was uplifting for the 2017 u.S.
gold medalist.
Russian skater
Anna Shcherba-
kova performs
during the La-
dies Free Skat-
ing at the World
Figure Skating
Championships
in Stockholm,
Sweden, on
Friday, March
26, 2021.
Martin Meissner/
Associated Press