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SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2021
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B1
Making a smooth go of bull riding
Support personnel
key to Ed Miller
Xtreme Bull
Riding event
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
UNION — Blake West
had a long day.
For most people, the Ed
Miller Xtreme Bull Riding
event at the 2021 Eastern
Oregon Livestock Show
started at 6:30 p.m. Thurs-
day, June 10, and fi nished
a little over two hours later.
For West, the event started
at 8 a.m. and didn’t fi nish
until long after the bulls were
done bucking and the crowd
had gone home.
West, a Union High
School graduate and Blue
Mou nt ai n Com mu n it y
College rodeo coach, is a
pickup man for bull riding
shows — in other words,
during every ride, he waits
on horseback to steer the
bull to the exit. He said he
considered this year’s show a
success, which he attributes
to the event planners.
“The guys here at the
stock show do a great job.
This is my favorite rodeo
all year,” he said. “It’s like
a family and high school
reunion ever y time it
happens, and I really do love
it.”
However, being a pickup
man requires more than two
hours of work. Throughout
the day, West was constantly
sorting, gathering and trans-
porting livestock, all to
ensure the main event ran
smoothly.
Out of 39 bull riders,
Payton Fitzpatrick and
Ruger Piva tied for first
place with scores of 84.
Each of them earned $3,388
for the win. Heavy favorite
Derek Kolbaba, a Wallowa
County native who now lives
in Walla Walla, was sched-
uled to compete but was not
in attendance.
Accordi ng to Chad
Hutsell, stock contractor,
with a 9-1 record. She scat-
tered 22 hits, gave up fi ve
earned runs, struck out 74,
walked 24 and had an ERA
of .625.
“Kylie had a tremendous
year,” Cary said. “Both
pitchers threw outstanding
every time they stepped in
the circle.”
Lilienthal, the Bucks’
third baseman, hit a team-
high .545 on the year. She
had 30 hits in 56 at-bats,
including 20 singles, seven
doubles and three home
PE N DL ETON —
Since 1983, the Pendle-
ton Linebackers Club has
awarded scholarships to
Pendleton football players
in honor of former Pend-
leton High School coach
Don Requa.
This year, Tyasin
Burns was awarded the
Don Requa scholarship of
$10,000, while Sam Cole-
man was given the $4,000
Alex Stuvland Scholar-
ship and Blake Swanson
will receive the Schin-
dler-Bunch Scholarship
worth $15,000.
Pendleton Lineback-
ers Club historian Tom
Melton said recipients are
chosen by a committee
that includes Linebackers
President Dennis Hunt
and others.
“We get input from
coaches, as well as a
group of us who watch the
games,” Melton said. “We
check with folks who are
involved with the coaches
and people at the high
school.”
While the three schol-
arships are for football
players only, Melton said
the organization is trying
to build its coff ers to off er
a scholarship for female
athletes.
“We all have daugh-
ters or granddaughters,”
Melton said. “We know
there are some very good
female athletes out there.”
Swanson’s scholarship
is the only one of the three
that is a one-time payment
of the full amount.
Burns will receive
$2,500 each year for four
years, while Coleman will
get $1,000 a year for four
years.
Tyasin Burns
A shifty running back
who came to Pendleton
after Nixyaawii’s co-op
with Pilot Rock ended last
year, Burns made the leap
from 1A 8-man football to
the 5A level look easy.
Bur ns helped the
Bucks average 24.6 points
a game and also starred on
defense.
He was a first-team
Intermountain Confer-
ence selection at safety
and was a second-team
running back.
During his junior year
at Pilot Rock, Burns ran
for 2,382 yards and 17
touchdowns and was
named the Special District
3 West Player of the Year.
He was a first-team
running back and line-
backer, a second-team
See Softball, Page B2
See Club, Page B2
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Bullfi ghting brothers Ryan Manning and Miles Barry, with Sean Peterson, taunt the angry bull White Noise away from a
downed cowboy on Thursday, June 10, 2021, at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union. Bullfi ghters spend years learn-
ing how to manage adrenaline and fear while in the arena, allowing them to keep clear minds while facing down bulls.
Carlos Fuentes/The Observer
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Blake West, the Blue Mountain Community College rodeo
coach and a pickup man at the Eastern Oregon Livestock
Show in Union, readies a lasso Thursday, June 10, 2021,
during the Ed Miller Xtreme Bull Riding event.
Bullfi ghter Sean Peterson picks up his hat after donning
protective gear and gets ready to enter the arena Thursday,
June 10, 2021, during the Ed Miller Xtreme Bull Riding event
for the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union.
none of this would be possi-
ble without endless hours of
behind-the-scenes work.
“Everybody works hard,
and they gotta love it to do
it,” he said. “Everyone that is
here is passionate about the
sport and wants the event
Hutsell, everyone working
at the rodeo helps each other
throughout the event, from
transporting the animals to
releasing them into the arena
to making sure that the bulls
don’t injure the riders.
For bullf ighter Sean
to go as best as possible, so
that’s why we work hard.”
As many as 30 people
worked to transport, sort
and move the animals over
the course of the day, includ-
ing 46 bulls from vari-
ous owners. According to
Peterson, a Summerville
native and 10-year bull-
fi ghter, the job seemed like
a perfect fi t.
“It comes naturally to
me. I’ve always liked being
See Bull riding, Page B2
Buck have 5 named to 5A all-state softball team
Pendleton’s Cary
named co-Coach
of the Year
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Cary
PENDLETON — The
accolades keep rolling in for
the Pendleton softball team.
The Bucks had fi ve play-
ers named to the 5A all-state
team, and Pendleton’s Tim
Cary was named co-Coach
of the Year along with Ryan
Borde of West Albany.
Named to the fi rst team
Linebackers
Club
hands out
scholarships
Garton
were senior pitcher Kylie
Parsons, senior infielder
Maria Lilienthal, and junior
outfi elder Chloe Taber.
Second-team honors
went to junior pitcher
Sauren Garton, while junior
Ellie Samford was selected
to the honorable mention
Lillienthal
Parsons
team as a utility/designated
player.
“It’s a nice honor for the
girls to be on the all-state
team,” Cary said. “It means
the other coaches take
notice of what they have
done. For me, it’s an award I
will accept on behalf of the
Samford
Taber
team and the staff .”
Maddie Erickson of
Wilson was named the
Pitcher of the Year, while
Presley Jantzi of West
Albany was the Player of
the Year.
Parsons threw 56 innings
over 11 games and fi nished
SPORTS SHORT
Report: Former Oregon State baseball
coach Pat Casey could be headed to LSU
By NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
CORVALLIS — Former Oregon
State baseball coach Pat Casey may be
headed for LSU to replace retiring coach
Paul Mainieri, according to a report.
D1Baseball.com reports it has
sources claiming Casey, who won three
national titles during his 24-year Oregon
State tenure, has emerged as the leading
candidate at LSU.
T he Oregonian /Oregon Live
attempted contacting Casey for
comment, but he did not respond.
Casey, 62, retired as coach in 2018,
and has since worked in Oregon State’s
athletic department as a special assis-
tant to athletic director Scott Barnes.
Casey is under contract at OSU through
June 2022 and slated to make $630,000
during the fi nal year of his deal.
At the time of his retirement press
conference, an emotional Casey was
confl icted about retiring. Casey wasn’t
certain that he was fi nished as a coach,
but said “my problem is what I expect
out of my players on the fi eld is what I
expect out of myself. Right now, I’m not
positive I can give them the same eff ort.”
Casey was eventually replaced in
2019 by Mitch Canham. Oregon State
recently fi nished its 2021 season when
it lost in the Fort Worth Regional cham-
pionship game to Dallas Baptist.
LSU won the Eugene Regional on
Monday, June 7, and takes on Tennes-
see in a three-game super regional this
weekend.
LSU athletic director Scott Wood-
ward has some familiarity with Casey,
as he was previously AD at Washington
during Casey’s Oregon State tenure.
Casey’s record at OSU was 900-458-
6. Combined with a seven-year stint at
George Fox before taking over at OSU
in 1995, Casey has won nearly 1,100
games as a college coach. Under Casey,
the Beavers won national titles in 2006,
2007 and 2018, and played in six College
World Series.
Nati Harnik/Associated Press, File
Former Oregon State coach Pat Casey walks in front of the
dugout in the ninth inning of an NCAA College World Se-
ries baseball elimination game against LSU in Omaha, Neb.
D1Baseball.com reports it has sources claiming Casey, who
won three national titles during his 24-year Oregon State
tenure, has emerged as the leading candidate at LSU.