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SATURDAy, ApRIL 24, 2021
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RECORD BREAKER
Hermiston’s Caden
Hottman throws
the discus 178 feet
to set school mark
ERMISTON — Track and field
athletes can spend four years
trying to break school records in
their specific events, but very few
succeed.
Hermiston’s Caden Hottman needed just
three high school track meets to eclipse the
school record in the discus, powering a throw
of 178 feet to move past Tre Neal’s mark of
169-2 that was set on April 15, 2016, at the
Oregon Relays.
Hottman’s record came exactly five years
to the day that Neal set his.
“It was surreal,” Hottman said of the record.
“I knew I would eventually have a chance to
get it, but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”
Hottman, a junior, burst onto the track
scene on April 1 with a throw of 160-3 in
his first meet. The following week, he had a
winning toss of 158-3.
Then came his throw of 178 feet, which
he hit at a Mid-Columbia Conference meet at
Richland High School in Washington.
“I knew when it landed that it was a school
record,” said Hottman, whose throw had
surpassed the 170-foot line on the sector. “I
just didn’t know by how much.”
Hermiston throws coach David Faaeteete
said he is not surprised by Hottman’s perfor-
mance.
“He’s put up pretty big numbers since he
was in middle school,” Faaeteete said. “He
came out his sophomore year and we were
going to (do) big things, then COVID hit. He’s
a coach’s dream. He likes to work hard, he is
very technical, and he likes constructive criti-
cism. He likes to be coached.”
If you are wondering where Hottman was
his freshman year, one only needs to head to
the baseball field.
“I have always loved baseball,” Hottman
said. “I picked up track in middle school and
quickly became really good at it. But if there
was a choice between baseball or track, I would
go to baseball.”
Quinn earns
Offensive
Player of the
Year honors
Former pHS
quarterback named
top offensive player in
Frontier Conference
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
B1
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Hermiston’s Caden Hottman throws a discus during practice at Hermiston High School on
Thursday, April 22, 2021. Hottman broke the school’s record in the discus with a throw of 178
feet to eclipse the previous school record of 169-2 that was set by Tre Neal on April 15, 2016.
If not for an elbow injury in the seventh
grade, Hottman may never have pursued track.
“To be honest, I didn’t really like track,” he
said. “My seventh grade year I tore the UCL in
my elbow and I didn’t know if I would be able
to play baseball. I finally caved in.”
In the eighth grade, Hottman had the top
throw in Oregon for middle school throwers,
which got him wondering if maybe track was
his future.
Baseball was back on his schedule his
freshman year of high school, but he had a
change of heart that summer.
“I did track in the summer (with the Tri-City
Thunder) and it was fun,” Hottman said. “I
went to nationals between my freshman and
sophomore year. I finished like 26th, but it was
a great experience.”
He had good intentions to be part of
the track team his sophomore year, but the
COVID-19 pandemic washed the season away.
“It came to a point where I was going to hit
the next level in throwing and I had to make a
decision,” he said.
While Hottman excels at the discus, he’s not
as proficient at the shot put.
“It’s growing on me,” he said. “Me and
Ryker McDonald compete against each other.
I’ve had to step up my game to one-up him. It’s
a weekly feud.”
Faaeteete said it’s just a matter of time
before Hottman masters the shot put.
“He’s never been a big shot put guy until this
year,” Faaeteete said. “He’s just not connecting
with the shot put like the discus. He doesn’t
have the timing down yet. If we can get him
connected with his feet, he could go 55 feet.”
A good foundation
While baseball was his first love, Hottman’s
dad, Gavin, was a track guy.
Gavin Hottman threw the shot put and
discus at Kalama High School in Washing-
ton, and at Eastern Oregon University.
Gavin Hottman is ranked fifth on the Moun-
taineers’ all-time list for discus throws with a
mark of 158-3, set in 1997.
At Kalama, he placed second at the Class B
Washington state meet in 1994 in the shot put
(51-11¾), and was third in the discus (150-11).
LA GRANDE
— Former pend-
leton High School
standout Kai Quinn
led a potent Eastern
Oregon Univer-
sity football team
during the short-
ened spring season,
Camp
and the senior quar-
terback was recog-
nized with Frontier
Conference Offen-
sive player of the
year honors.
Quinn led the
Mo u nt a i n e e r s’
Collins
offense that aver-
aged just over 30
points per game.
Through the air,
he completed 73 of
115 passes for 811
yards and had eight
touchdowns. On
the ground, Quinn
had 53 carries for
Quinn
244 yards and two
touchdowns. He
guided an EOU
offense that aver-
aged 404 yards of
offense per game.
“I think with
just how well our
offense performed,
Schubert
I had an idea I
might have an opportunity,” Quinn
said of the honor. “It’s a great way to
See Record, Page B2
See Honors, Page B2
Ducks offensive line led by 3 unheralded members of 2017 recruiting class
By RYAN THORBURN
Eugene Register-Guard
EUGENE — Several members
of Oregon’s 2017 recruiting class,
which Willie Taggart didn’t stick
around to coach beyond the group’s
first fall on campus, will be in the
NFL spotlight next week.
Cornerbacks Deommodore
Lenoir and Thomas Graham and
defensive linemen Austin Faoliu
and Jordon Scott are all expected to
hear their names called during the
draft, which will be held in Cleve-
land, Ohio, from April 29 to May 1.
Mario Cristobal, who was
Taggart’s offensive line coach
before being promoted to head
coach, has watched two 3-star
recruits and a walk-on from the
2017 class patiently develop into
starting offensive linemen for the
Ducks.
George Moore, who joined the
program after playing two seasons
Rick Scuteri/Associated Press, File
Oregon offensive lineman George Moore (77) during the Fiesta Bowl
against Iowa State in January in Glendale, Ariz. Moore is among the of-
fensive linemen from the 2017 recruiting class who will be expected to
anchor the Ducks in the trenches in 2021.
at the College of San Mateo (Cali-
fornia), finally emerged as the
starter at left tackle in 2020.
Alex Forsyth (center) and Ryan
Walk (guard) waited three years
for their opportunities to crack the
starting lineup last year.
The bond the trio formed behind
the scenes from 2017-19, while
being thrust into action together
during the 2020 season, made
Moore’s decision to return for a
seventh season of college an easy
one following the Fiesta Bowl loss
to Iowa State.
“We didn’t finish the way we
wanted to,” Moore said during a
Zoom with the local media follow-
ing a Tuesday, April 20, spring
practice.
“Honestly, these guys here that
I started with, I want to play with
them as much as I can. We just
worked so hard, that 2017 class with
Ryan and Alex.”
Walk, the former Sheldon High
standout who followed his buddy
Justin Herbert to Oregon as a
walk-on, said Moore gets a lot of
grief in the locker room for being
older than some of the program’s
graduate assistants.
But the 6-foot-6, 325-pound
Moore is still having as much fun
playing for the Ducks as any of the
talented teenagers from the 2020
and 2021 classes he’s sharing the
field with.
“I’m kind of like a big kid. I
feel like I fit in with everybody,
honestly,” Moore said.
“Ryan and Alex, I’ve been with
them so long, they don’t even see
me as the age I am. They kind of
just see me fitting in with their age
group.”
There were some growing pains
last season as Oregon replaced all
five starters on the offensive line,
including 2019 Outland Trophy
winner penei Sewell. Learning and
executing new offensive coordina-
tor Joe Moorhead’s playbook with
limited practice time made the chal-
lenge even more daunting.
Oregon finished 49th in the
See Ducks, Page B2
SPORTS SHORT
Arsenal fans protest against owner for Super League debacle
By FRANK GRIFFITHS
Associated Press
LONDON — Several hundred
Arsenal fans protested outside
Emirates Stadium at the English
premier League match against
Everton on Friday to call for
owner Stan Kroenke to leave
the club for joining the Super
League.
Fans gathered on the stadi-
um’s concourse more than two
hours before kickoff, banging
metal screens above the main box
office, lighting flares, setting off
fireworks, blaring airhorns and
chanting “We want Kroenke out,”
and “We want our Arsenal back.”
They also hung banners over
the edge of the concourse includ-
ing ones that read, “Arsenal till I
die. Kroenke out,” and “Our club
our home. Sell up Stan.”
Af ter gather ing on the
concourse, the fans marched
down stairs to the box office and
team store to continue their noisy
demonstration. One fan climbed
on top of the box office awning
and waved banners and flags,
riling up the hundreds of fans
gathered in front of him and lead-
ing them in chants against Arse-
nal’s ownership.
The protest was still in full
voice and could be heard inside
the stadium as the teams took to
the pitch to warm up and after the
match kicked off as a police heli-
copter circled above the stadium.
Officers didn’t attempt to move in
to break up the protest amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
Fan anger has been brew-
ing since Arsenal and five other
premier League clubs announced
they would join a breakaway
Super League last Sunday. And
it hasn’t subsided even after
Arsenal quit the 12-team Super
League project on Tuesday night
in the face of a growing public
backlash, and apologized to fans.
John Walton/Associated Press
Fans protest against Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke before their English
Premier League match against Everton at the Emirates Stadium in Lon-
don on Friday, April 23, 2021. The fans want owner Stan Kroenke to
leave the club over its bid to join the failed Super League.