E AST O REGONIAN
Thursday, May 20, 2021
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
Championship weekend
A9
EOU FOOTBALL
Stanfield boys
among favorites
at 2a/1a state
track meet
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
uNION — With the
Oregon school activities
association not hosting state
events this year, athletic direc-
tors and coaches throughout
the state have worked together
to make sure their athletes get
an opportunity to compete at
the state level.
union high school
athletic director Chris dunlap
will play host to the 2a/1a
state track and field champi-
onships on saturday, May 22,
with help from area schools
and volunteers. athletes from
45 schools are expected.
“It’s as close to being an
Osaa-sanctioned event
without putting Osaa on
the T-shirt,” dunlap said.
“same standards, same rules.
Nothing has changed, just
athletic directors and coaches
throughout the state putting
it on.”
No event of this magnitude
can be done alone. The steens
running Camp is providing
the medals and ribbons for
the first- through eighth-place
competitors, and the team
trophies.
reinke Irrigation and Old
West Credit union are taking
care of the rest, such as the
hospitality tent and any equip-
ment needed to run the meet.
“We have the time and
effort, and the right people in
place to host,” dunlap said.
“It’s neat that a 2a school
can host a state for the 2a
schools. We are going to pull
it off. The 2A athletic direc-
tors all communicated as soon
as we started track season. We
discussed sites that would be
willing to host, and narrowed
it down to union County
being able to host with our
level (low).”
The Oregon health
authority (Oha) updated its
mask requirements on Tues-
day, strongly recommend-
ing, but no longer requiring,
that masks be worn outdoors.
This applies to participants
and spectators.
With that news, dunlap
said they will be welcom-
ing fans for the track meet.
admission will be free, but
donations will be accepted
on behalf of the union track
team.
Eyes on the prize
Between heppner, Pilot
rock, stanfield/Echo and
Weston-McEwen, there are
dozens of athletes who will be
on the prowl for state medals.
One race that will be hotly
contested is the boys 4x400
meter relay.
Lost river has the top
time coming in at 3 minutes,
41.33 seconds, while heppner
is second (3:42.05), Enter-
prise third (3:42.43), and
Weston-McEwen fourth
(3:42.45).
But it’s the battle between
Kathleen Brown/Eastern Oregon University Athletics, File
Eastern Oregon University quarterback Kai Quinn scram-
bles during a play on March 20, 2021, while playing at
home in La Grande against Carroll College. Quinn, a Pend-
leton High graduate who helped lead the Mountaineers
to a 3-1 overall record during the altered spring season,
was recognized with Frontier Conference Offensive Play-
er of the Year honors.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Stanfield’s Sisay Hurty and Heppner’s Trevor Nichols lead the pack of runners in the 1,500
meters at the River’s Edge Invitational in Umatilla on April 30, 2021. Sisay and Nichols fin-
ished first and second respectively with times of 4:22.18 and 4:22.44.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Emily Lambert, of Pilot Rock, prepares to hurl the shot at the
Pendleton Triad track meet on April 30, 2021. Lambert won
the event with a throw of 35 feet, 10.5 inches.
We s t o n - McEwe n a n d
heppner that’s intriguing.
The Tigerscots, with alex
McIntyre, Cameron reich,
Colson hall and Theo White
have been going step-for-step
with heppner’s Joe sherman,
Brock hisler, Trevor Nichols
and Jayden Wilson.
heppner beat W-M at the
river’s Edge, the Mustang
Meet and the 2a Blue Moun-
tain Conference Champi-
onships, but the margin of
victory has been by just a step
or two.
W-M’s 4x100 relay team
has the second-best time
coming into the meet, and
should have no problem find-
ing itself on the podium.
Wilson also is one of the
favorites in the open 400 and
200, while Nichols is ranked
in the top four in the 800,
1,500 and the javelin. Conor
Brosnan is ranked second in
the discus, but the gold medal
is within his reach.
For the heppner girls,
Madelyn Nichols is a threat
in the 800 and 1,500, while
hannah Finch has podium
potential in the 400 and triple
jump, and sydney Wilson in
the shot put.
Pilot rock’s Emily
Lambert has a shot at a top
two finish in the shot put and
discus, while McKenna Bray
and W-M’s Lily Lindsey are
among the favorites in the
high jump.
McIntyre is one of the top
competitors in the 1,500 and
800, while Reich could find
himself among the top long
jumpers.
stanfield’s sam Kerns
is a legitimate gold medal
threat in the triple jump, long
jump and high jump, as is
sisay hurty in the 1,500 and
3,000. hurty won the state
cross-country title last month.
The Tigers’ anthony
Keeney comes into the meet
with the top throw in the shot
put at 42-6, and is ranked
sixth in the discus.
“Just off the top of my
head, I think the boys will do
extremely well,” Tigers coach
Eric Jensen said. “They are
going to sneak up on quite a
few people. We have three
super talented boys — sisay,
anthony and sam — who
can score pretty high in seven
events.”
For the stanfield/Echo
girls, their 4x400 relay team
of Charlei harwood, Jayden
Bertsch, Emily hancock and
Jacque Kerns ranks No. 1
with a time of 4:32.54.
Bertsch, a freshman,
also has a good shot at plac-
ing in the 100 and 200, as do
hancock and Kerns in the
400, and Zora Gehrke in the
3,000.
Jensen believes his boys
team has a shot at a top four
finish, with East Linn Chris-
tian, Enterprise, Bandon and
Grant union also among the
top teams.
For the girls, Jensen said
regis, Faith Bible, Lakeview
and Gervais are among the
favorites.
5A Invitational
The Pendleton boys are
coming off the program’s
first Intermountain Confer-
ence title since 1979.
While there is no state
meet, the Bucks will compete
in the 5a Invitational on May
21-22 at Wilsonville high
school.
“It’s not a state meet, and
it’s not run the same way,”
Pendleton coach Larry
Brizendine said. “It is what it
is with COVId. I’m glad the
kids have somewhere to go.
It’s just as not fun as going to
hayward Field.”
Teams paid an entry fee
per athlete, with the money
going toward purchasing
medals and trophies for the
athletes and teams.
Between the boys and
girls, the Bucks are taking
nine athletes.
“If we would have done
a regular state meet, I think
we would have had close to
30 athletes going,” Pendleton
coach Larry Brizendine said.
“We are taking what we can
get.”
The running events will
begin on May 21 at 5 p.m.
and finish that night. Field
events are at 10 a.m. on May
22. There will be no relay
races and team points will
be awarded to the top eight
4x100 and 4x400 times in the
5a state rankings.
at present time, despite
the new mask mandates, there
will be no spectators allowed.
“The kids can go in and
warm up, but at event time, it’s
the athletes and one coach,”
Brizendine said. “Once they
are done with their event, they
have to leave. The kids can’t
even be there to support their
teammates.”
The Pendleton boys have
Zaanan Bane competing on
both days in the 110 hurdles
and the long jump and triple
jump.
Bane is ranked third in
both jumps, and ninth in the
hurdles.
sam Jennings goes into
the meet with the top javelin
throw in Oregon this spring
at 198-11. he will have some
stiff competition from Austin
strawn of Eagle Point (191-7),
roman Fritz of North Bend
(184-10) and Michael Good-
man of hood river (181-3).
For the girls, Kendall
Bonzani and reilly Lover-
check have an opportunity
to find themselves on the
podium for 300 hurdles, while
Lovercheck has an outside
chance in the 100 hurdles.
Bonzani, reilly Lover-
check and Kelsey Lovercheck
are all in the 400 meters, with
a chance to place.
Mountaineers
land just outside
top 20 in final poll
Eastern Oregon
caps successful
season with No.
21 ranking
East Oregonian
La GraNdE — The
Eastern Oregon university
football team has plenty on
which to build next year.
After finishing with a 3-1
overall record and a share
of the Frontier Conference
title, a first for the program,
the Mountaineers had a
strong showing in the final
edition of the Football First-
down PlayBook Top-25
Poll.
Eastern came in at No.
21 — and finished less than
10 points from squeezing
into the top 20. The Moun-
taineers finished with 84
points, just behind No. 20
roosevelt, which tallied 90
points.
EOu wasn’t the only
Frontier Conference team
in the final Top 25. The
College of Idaho finished
the season at No. 18, while
Carroll College rounded out
the trio at No. 22.
along with picking up
a share of the conference
crown, the Mountaineers
also had multiple all-confer-
ence selections, including
the offensive player of the
year, the defensive player
of the year and coach of the
year.
Pendleton graduate
Kai Quinn was named the
offensive player of the year,
while Chase Van Wyck was
tabbed the defensive player
of the year and head Coach
Tim Camp was named the
Frontier Conference Coach
of the year.
along with being the
conference players of the
year, Van Wyck and Quinn
earned aFCa all-ameri-
can honors for the NaIa.
also garnering all-amer-
ican honors was offen-
sive lineman PJ schubert.
In all, EOu had a total of
15 all-Frontier Confer-
ence selections. Earning
the honors on offense was
Quinn, schubert, Tanner
Zenke and Luke Thomas.
Making the second team
on offense were Lesser,
Isaiah Thomas and Patrick
Collins.
On the defensive side,
earning first-team recog-
nition was Van Wyck, Zak
donato and solo Taylor.
dakota hibbs was the lone
selection for EOu on the
second-team list.
Zachary Cahill was a
first-team selection at kicker
and was a second-team
selection at punter. Thomas
was a first-team special
team selection at both kick
returner and punt returner.
ON THE SLATE
THURSDAY, MAY 20
Prep baseball
2A/1A playoffs: Heppner vs. Umpqua
Valley Christian, Bend High School,
4:30 p.m.
2A/1A playoffs: Pilot Rock vs. Toledo,
at Portland Christian High School,
4 p.m. (loser out)
Prep boys basketball
Riverside at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m.
Umatilla at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
McLoughlin at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Umatilla at Irrigon, 6 p.m.
Prep wrestling
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 5 p.m.
Prep bowling
Hermiston at Kamiakin, 2 p.m.
College baseball
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain (2),
1 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 21
Prep boys basketball
Hermiston at Kennewick, 7 p.m.
Umatilla at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Heppner, 7:30 p.m.
Echo at Sherman, 7:30 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Dufur, 7:30 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Kennewick at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Stanfield at McLoughlin, 6 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Umatilla at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Echo at Sherman, 6 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Dufur, 6 p.m.
Prep swimming
Hermiston at Richland, 4 p.m.
Prep track and field
Pendleton at 5A Invitational, Wilson-
ville, 5 p.m.
College men’s basketball
Blue Mountain at Walla Walla,
7:30 p.m.
College women’s basketball
Blue Mountain at Walla Walla,
5:30 p.m.
College volleyball
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain (2),
5 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
Ducks earn No. 2 seed in Austin Regional
The Oregonian
EuGENE — Oregon is not a top
16 seed in the NCaa Tournament
and instead is the No. 2 seed in the
austin regional.
The ducks (37-15) open NCaa
regional play against Texas state
(38-12) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May
21, on EsPN3.com.
Oregon is the only team in the
top 16 in rPI (11), adjusted rPI
(15) and in the top 10 of strength of
schedule (9) not to get a top 16 seed
and be hosting an NCaa regional.
Texas state did not play a Pac-12
team this year and went 1-5 against
top 25 teams, including two losses
to No. 12 seed Texas (39-11), which
faces saint Francis (Pa) (40-8) in the
opening game of the double-elimi-
nation regional at 2 p.m. on May 21.
Oregon is 1-0 all-time against
Texas state, with the only meeting
coming in 2005.
On the other side of the regional
bracket is former Oregon coach
Mike White and the Longhorns,
who still have former ducks Mary
Iakopo, Lauren Burke and shannon
rhodes on the roster.
Only Oregon outfielder Haley
Cruse and utility infielder Shaye
Bowden remain on the uO roster
among players to have played for
White.
Leon Neuschwander/For The Oregonian, File
No. 3 Oregon takes on No. 2 UCLA in the first game of a Pac-12
softball doubleheader at Jane Sanders Stadium on April 10, 2021.