E AST O REGONIAN
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2021
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
B1
Bulldogs ready to run
Hermiston teams
seeking trips to 3A
state championships
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — If every-
thing falls into place as Herm-
iston cross-county coach Troy
Blackburn believes they can, he
will be taking the boys and girls
teams to the state championships.
The Bulldogs will run Satur-
day, Oct. 30, at the District 8
3A/4A Cross-country Cham-
pionships at Wandermere Golf
Course in Spokane. The top three
teams and top 21 runners will
advance to state.
“They are pretty tough,” Black-
burn said of the Spokane schools.
“According to the standings, there
are four of them ahead of us. Our
guys are just as good as their third
or fourth team. I think we can take
that third spot to go to state.”
Mead and North Central are
the top two Spokane schools,
with Cheney in the mix.
Among the top runners are
Mead senior Brycen Gardner,
who ran under 15 minutes at the
Max Jensen Richland Invite on
Oct. 9 in Walla Walla, and Brody
Hartley from Walla Walla, who
has been one of the Mid-Colum-
bia Conference’s top 3A runners
all season.
See Bulldogs, Page B3
Troy Blackburn/Contributed Photo
Hermiston won the Mid-Columbia Conference 3A title last week, and looks to snag a
spot to state at the District 8 3A/4A Cross-country Championships on Saturday, Oct.
30, 2021, in Spokane. From left, Zach Turner, Carson Bradshaw, Pedro Pacheco, Grant
Anderson, Jaysen Rodriguez, Logan Springstead, Miguel Duron and Johnny Mills.
ON THE SLATE
TOP OF HIS GAME
Saturday, Oct. 30
Prep volleyball
1A state tournament: Umpqua
Valley Christian at Echo, 1 p.m.
2A state tournament: Portland
Christian at Stanfi eld, 1 p.m.
Prep girls soccer
District 8 playoff s: Hermiston at
Southridge, 1 p.m. (loser out)
College football
Carroll College at Eastern
Oregon, 1 p.m.
Prep cross-country
Hermiston at District 8 3A/4A
Prep cross-country Champion-
ships, Spokane, TBD
College men’s soccer
Eastern Oregon at Evergreen
State, 12:30 p.m.
College women’s soccer
Eastern Oregon at Evergreen
State, 3 p.m.
College volleyball
Oregon Tech at Eastern Oregon,
5 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31
College men’s basketball
Eastern Oregon at Gonzaga,
exhibition, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 3
College men’s wrestling
Eastern Oregon vs. Wyoming
Community College, American
Falls, Idaho, TBA
Thursday, Nov. 4
Prep volleyball
District 8 playoff s: Hermiston
vs. TBD
Friday, Nov. 5
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Dillon George poses for a portrait Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, at Wildhorse Golf Course in Mission. George, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Uma-
tilla Indian Reservation, won the men’s division at the Native American Open on Oct. 23-24.
Pendleton’s Dillon George wins Native American Open golf tournament
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
S
ANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — A few
years have passed since Dillon George
was teeing off for the Pendleton High
School golf team, but the 2015 graduate
hasn’t lost his touch.
George won the men’s division at the Native
American Open on Saturday and Sunday, Oct.
23-24, shooting a 150 over 36 holes on two
courses. The second-place fi nisher shot a 159.
“I play in quite a few Native American Opens,”
George said. “I have won a few of them before, but
this was the fi rst one in New Mexico. It has been a
lot of fun. A lot of Native American cultures can
fi nd common ground even though we don’t share
the same tribe. We do have common traditions
and beliefs.”
George, a member of the Confederate Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, won a gold
medal and prize money for his eff orts.
George shot a 71 during the fi rst round at Twin
Warriors Golf Club, and a 79 during the fi nal
round Oct. 24 at the Santa Ana Golf Club.
“The second day, that course played pretty
tough,” George said. “The winds were up and the
pins were in some tough locations. It was the fi rst
time I had played that course and I was a little
hesitant on some of the tee shots.”
Out of high school, George, 24, played two
years of golf for Walla Walla Community College,
then he headed to Arizona State University, where
in May he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechan-
ical engineering.
George did not play golf at ASU, but he said, “I
still play quite a bit of golf, especially back here”
and enters amateur tournaments.
He was entered in a tournament at Wildhorse
Golf Course in September that his parents Gary
and Kelly George hosted, but tightness in his back
forced him to withdraw.
“I was happy to get out there,” George said of the
New Mexico tournament. “I spent a lot of time rehab-
bing my back and stretching. I think the next tourna-
ment is in early February in Southern California.”
Until then, George has his hands full as an
assistant coach for the Pendleton High School
girls soccer team. He also plans to return to
Arizona in hopes of fi nding a job.
Dillon was a three-sport athlete for the Bucks,
playing golf, soccer and basketball.
In golf, he went to state his sophomore, junior
and senior years. His junior year, he tied for 28th
with a 164.
The Bucks went to state his senior year in
basketball. They went 0-2, but played a thrilling
consolation-round game.
“The second game we played went four over-
times,” he said. “That was crazy.”
Pendleton lost that game to Churchill
67-64.
In 2015, he was awarded the Damon Flagg
Memorial Award and Scholarship.
This award and scholarship is presented to
the Pendleton High School graduating senior
who has dedicated himself to basketball,
academics and community service throughout
his four years of high school.
College volleyball
Blue Mountain at Wenatchee
Valley, 6 p.m.
Eastern Oregon at Northwest,
7 p.m.
College cross-country
Eastern Oregon at Cascade
Collegiate Conference Champion-
ships, TBA
College men’s basketball
Eastern Oregon at Whitman, 7 p.m.
College women’s basketball
Whitman at Eastern Oregon,
5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 6
Prep cross-country
3A/2A/1A State Championships,
Lane Community College, TBD
Pendleton at 5A State Cham-
pionships, Lane Community
College, TBD
College football
Eastern Oregon at College of
Idaho, noon
College volleyball
Eastern Oregon at Evergreen
State, 5 p.m.
College men’s wrestling
Southern Oregon at Eastern
Oregon, 6 p.m.
College women’s wrestling
Southern Oregon at Eastern
Oregon, 5 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
Stetson Wright wins Big 4 Rodeo Association award
East Oregonian
Stetson Wright, of
Milford, Utah, rides
Lunatic From Hell,
for a 91.5-point to
win the bareback
competition Sept.
18, 2021, at the Pend-
leton Round-Up.
Wright won the Big 4
Rodeo Association’s
Best in the North-
west title for his
showings at the Ken-
newick Horse Heaven
Round-Up, Walla
Walla Frontier Days,
Lewiston Round-Up
and the Pendleton
Round-Up.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
PENDLETON — Stetson
Wright won the coveted Big 4
Rodeo Association’s Best in the
Northwest title as a result of compet-
ing at the Kennewick Horse Heaven
Round-Up, Walla Walla Frontier
Days, Lewiston Roundup and the
Pendleton Round-Up.
The Best in the Northwest award
is given to the contestant accumulat-
ing the most points while competing
at all of the Big 4 Rodeo Association
events.
Wright of Milford, Utah, won the
tightly contested 2021 title, while
competing in saddle bronc and bull
riding at all four rodeos. The award
is a custom-made saddle designed
especially for the winner by Stoney
Saddlery of Wickenburg, Arizona.
Wright’s combined winnings
were $27,120 at the Big 4 Rodeos,
plus another $18,106 in Xtreme
Bulls events.
“I am honored to win the Big 4
Award,” Wright said. “This is a very
coveted award and the contestants
all know about and want to win this
award. Winning an award that my
dad (Cody Wright) previously won
is what our family always tries to
accomplish.”
Wright, and his father Cody, are
the fi rst father-son Big 4 Champi-
ons. Cody won the award 10 years
ago in 2011.
The saddle will be awarded to
Wright at the Big 4 Rodeo Asso-
ciation Reception on Dec. 1, at the
South Point Hotel Casino & Spa,
during the Wrangler National Finals
Rodeo.
The Big 4 Rodeo Association,
which was established in 1948,
celebrated its 73rd anniversary this
year paying out over $1,436,000.
It remains one of the oldest asso-
ciations of its type in professional
rodeo today.
The Big 4 Rodeos are held
annually in consecutive weeks
starting in late August with Kenne-
wick’s Horse Heaven Round-Up
and fi nishing with the Pendleton
Round-Up the second week of
September.