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W-M football honored as Les Schwab 2A Team of the Month
award is based
on performance,
academics and service
to community
The Weston-McEwen coach got
that and much more as the Tiger-
scots were named the Osaa Les
schwab Tires 2a Team of the
Month for april.
“This is very exciting,” Tiger-
Scots co-captain and quarterback
Blane Peal said. “We are looking
forward to next year. We are bring-
ing back some older guys, and we
are looking to take it to the next
level.”
Each winning team is chosen
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
aThENa — If there’s one thing
Kenzie hansell wants to see out of
his football team, it’s including the
community that supports them.
based on performance on the field
and in the classroom and service to
the community.
“This award stands for every-
thing our program is about,” hansell
wrote in an email to the Osaa.
“Forty-seven student-athletes
participated this season, and our
success is greatly due to the support
of our administration, teaching
staff, and maintenance staff. With-
out them, we would not have been as
successful as we were.”
Each winner of the Les schwab
Tires Team of the Month award
receives a commemorative trophy
and $100 to be donated to the team’s
program. The Tigerscots accepted
their award at a Tuesday, May 25,
ceremony on the football field.
“It’s pretty crazy,” W-M senior
and co-captain Isaac Wood said of
the award. “We are a small commu-
nity. We do what we are asked to
do, and that brings success to the
program. Now, we just need to
get some of the guys in the weight
room. They do that, we could be a
contender.”
Weston-McEwen f inished
second in the Blue Mountain
Conference with a 2-1 record, and
was 4-2 overall.
“We played in every type of
weather imaginable — from 16
inches of snow to wind and rain,”
hansell said. “Though it didn’t
See Football, Page A10
INDY 500
Can ‘Captain
America’ save
his season
ryan hunter-reay
needs a big showing at
the Indianapolis 500 to
jumpstart his season
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
back on defense.”
richland senior spencer Crith-
field was named MCC Player of the
Year, while the Bombers’ Octavio
doValle was named Coach of the
year.
hermiston, which finished
5-4 in the MCC and 6-7 over-
all, also had junior sam Cadenas
(forward), senior abel Varela Lepe
(midfielder) and senior goalkeeper
INdIaNaPOLIs — ryan
hunter-reay doesn’t need to do the
math. He is one of the oldest drivers
in IndyCar as the series is trending
toward teenagers. he has not won a
race since 2018, and the start of this
18th season has been awful.
“Obviously, I have a lot less in
front of me than I have behind me,”
hunter-reay said.
Not so fast, “Captain america.”
hunter-reay is back in the
familiar confines of Indianapolis
Motor speedway and is ready to
flip his season with a second career
Indianapolis 500 victory.
Nothing has gone right for hunt-
er-reay since the opening lap of the
season, when he was collected in a
first-lap crash and IndyCar’s cock-
pit-protecting aeroscreen likely
saved his life when it deflected a
tire away from his head. In the four
races since, he has led four total
laps, his best finish is 10th and he
is 17th in the standings.
But the Indy 500 is an animal
suited for hunter-reay and his
analytic approach. The native
Texan but Florida resident was the
2014 race winner, two years after
he won his only IndyCar champion-
ship, and he is typically in the mix
at Indy.
he opened practice last week
with the second-fastest lap in a
session led by three former race
winners, but as temperatures
warmed each day at Indy, his car
struggled with speed. he didn’t
think he would have a chance in
qualifying, and didn’t believe
he would hit 231 mph on his first
attempt.
“I looked down at the dash and
thought it was broken,” he said.
hunter-ray joined teammate
Colton herta, who at 21 is nearly
half hunter-reay’s age, as the only
two Andretti Autosport drivers to
advance to the Fast Nine. Hunt-
See Soccer, Page A10
See Indy 500, Page A10
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Hermiston’s Alexis Leal (8) kicks the ball up the field during the second half of the Bulldogs’ 2-0 win over the Kennewick Lions at Kennison Field
in Hermiston on April 19, 2021. The Mid-Columbia Conference named Leal to its first team.
HERMISTON’S LEAL EARNS
FIRST-TEAM HONORS
Bulldogs have
3 players
selected to the
second team
MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE SOCCER
Player of the Year — Spencer Crithfield, sr., Richland.
Coach of the Year — Octavio DoValle, Richland.
FIRST TEAM
Forward — Clemente Esquivel, so., Pasco; Gabriel Delgado, jr., South-
ridge; Spencer Crithfield, sr., Richland. Midfielder — Jonas Olvera,
j.r, Pasco; Grady O’Neil, jr., Richland; Fernando Lopez-Vega, so., Chi-
awana; Javier Gomez, sr., Pasco; Alexis Leal, sr., Hermiston. Defender
— Julian Ramirez, jr., Pasco; Trevor White, sr., Richland; Shane Kieffer,
sr., Hanford; Damian Firkins, sr., Richland. Goalkeeper — Michael Kot,
jr., Chiawana.
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
SECOND TEAM
Forward — Kadin Tasci, sr., Chiawana; Steven Ndayishimiye, sr., Chi-
awana; Sam Cadenas, jr., Hermiston. Midfielder — Joey Esquivel
H
ErMIsTON — The
Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence boys soccer team
was dominated by the
richland Bombers, but tucked into
the mix was a handful of herm-
iston Bulldogs, with midfielder
alexis Leal leading the way. The
conference named Leal to the first
team.
a senior, Leal had two goals
and three assists, but his value went
beyond goals, which conference
coaches recognized.
“His vision of the field and abil-
ity to find passes was second to none
and is why he received the most
Cadenas
Farias
votes of any midfielder,” Hermis-
ton coach rich harshberger said.
“He was the key to our midfield and
building up play from the defense
Varela Lepe
Rodriguez, sr., Pasco; Brandon Mendez, sr., Kennewick; Abel Varela
Lepe, sr., Hermiston; Cole Barry, so., Richland; Eric Berg, jr., Richland;
Colby Kraft, sr., Kamiakin. Defender — Blake Tasci, so., Chiawana;
Drew Axel, jr., Pasco; Brodie Wahl, sr., Richland; Brian Rosas, jr., Pasco.
Goalkeeper — Josh Farias, sr., Hermiston.
HONORABLE MENTION
Forward — Sergio Ruelas, so., Kamiakin; Juan Segovia, sr., Walla
Walla. Midfielder — Brady Bostic, so., Southridge; Alex Ortiz, jr.,
Southridge; Nathan Alvarado, jr., Kamiakin; Breyden Lane, sr., Kami-
akin; Justin Hahn, so., Hanford; Edgar Meza, so., Walla Walla; Moises
Lopez, sr., Hermiston. Defender — Santiago Chavez, so., Kennewick;
Andrew Meek, sr., Southridge; Juan Perez, sr., Walla Walla; Dyson Haw-
kins, sr., Kamiakin; Tanner Mullins, jr., Richland; Miguel Moreno, sr.,
Hermiston; Mario Rincon, sr., Kennewick.
Leal
to the offense. He worked tirelessly
up and down the pitch to move the
ball and create offense, and then
worked just as hard to win the ball
SPORTS SHORT
Bill allowing compensation for college athletes advances
The Oregonian
saLEM — Two amendments
to proposed state legislation to
permit college athletes in Oregon
to be compensated for their name,
image and likeness were adopted
in committee and the bill has
been sent to the Senate floor with
a recommendation to pass it.
senate Bill 5, which permits
college athletes in Oregon to earn
compensation for use of their
name, image or likeness and to
retain representation related to
those opportunities, was heard in
a work session of the senate rules
committee on Tuesday, May 25.
If passed, the bill will go into
effect immediately, with Oregon
college athletes able to earn NIL
compensation beginning on July
1, the same day similar laws are
set to go into effect in five other
states — alabama, Florida, Geor-
gia, Mississippi and New Mexico
— with 11 others also having
passed similar laws.
sen. Peter Courtney, d-salem,
a co-sponsor of the bill along with
sen. James Manning Jr., d-Eu-
gene, explained to the commit-
tee that amendment 7, which
removes the unique and contro-
versial royalty payments from
“merchandising” deals, was done
last week after NCaa president
Mark Emmert told state lawmak-
ers the payments that provision
called for would make athletes
employees and thus ineligible to
compete.
Both the University of Oregon
and Oregon State University
issued statements last week
supporting the amended sB 5.
Federal lawmakers continue to
craft a national NIL bill with the
goal of passing it before July 1.
The NCAA Division I Coun-
cil is expected to address NIL
proposals, which had been tabled
in January, during its June 22-23
meeting.
Leon Neuschwander/For The Oregonian
Two amendments to proposed state legislation to permit college
athletes in Oregon to be compensated for their name, image and
likeness were adopted in committee and the bill has been sent to the
Senate floor with a recommendation to pass it.