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Saturday, November 20, 2021
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B1
BULLDOGS
Cadenas,
Hottman
earn mCC
honors
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Weston-McEwen’s Madison Shell hits the ball during a May 10, 2021, game against the Echo/Stanfield Cougars in Athena. Shell recently signed a
letter of intent to play softball at Salt Lake Community College in Utah.
GOOD CONNECTIONS
SLCC softball is
the next stop for
Weston-McEwen’s
Madison Shell
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
A
tHeNa — Sometimes, it’s
who you know, not what
you know, that will open a
few doors.
For Weston-mcewen
softball player madison Shell, that’s
how she ended up signing a letter of
intent to play at Salt Lake Commu-
nity College, utah.
“It’s the weirdest connections
that get you in,” Shell said. “my
uSa coach ron thompson knew
the utah valley university coach.
I went to a camp there and I loved
the utah area. When I talked to
the coach, I told him I loved utah,
and how I would like to play there.
He told me I would redshirt my
first year. He emailed me a week
later and told me there was another
school I might like.”
that school was SLCC. Shell
contacted bruins assistant coach
tara bendt and set the wheels in
motion.
“I contacted coach t (bendt),
and she said to come down and
spend a day with the team,” Shell
said. “When she told me what
(scholarship) she would give me, I
was like yes, I will take it. It was like
that moment you have heard of. It
was my place, and I was meant to
be there.”
Shell, who plays catcher, second
base and shortstop, will focus her
efforts on catching — her favorite
position — in college.
“between her and her parents,
there has been a huge commitment
outside of school,” W-M coach Jeff
Griggs said. “madi set some goals
to play college ball. She is landing
in a prestigious program and she
will contribute right away. that is
the tough thing about the college
process. you love the game and you
don’t want to sit. I think she found
a good fit.”
SLCC is one of the top junior
colleges in the nation. the bruins
have made an annual appearance in
the National Junior College athletic
association tournament every year
but one (2014) since 2009. there
was no season in 2020 because of
the CovId-19 pandemic.
“the cool thing with this college
is in the fall, they only play divi-
sion I schools,” Shell said of SLCC.
“They are ranked first nationally.”
The love of the game
Shell got a good dose of base-
ball when she was growing up. Her
dad rob coached her older brother
Garrett’s baseball team and she
always tagged along.
“I was always around the base-
ball boys,” Shell said. “my brother
Garrett was a catcher and I wanted
See Shell, Page B2
Jets win
Hermiston
Grid Kids
East Oregonian
HermIStoN — the Jets won
the Hermiston Grid Kids 5th/6th
grade championship on Nov. 3, at
Kennison Field, defeating the raid-
ers 22-20 in overtime.
With the game tied at 14-14 at the
end of regulation, the Jets scored
first on a quarterback keeper by
Kyle Stasik. Stasik also kicked the
point after to give the Jets a 22-14
lead.
the raiders came back to score
on the third play of their drive on
a run by Jayden martinez. the
game-tying Pat was blocked by
andrew Pinto to secure the win for
the Jets.
both teams finished their
seasons 6-1.
Luke Swanson/Contributed Photo
The Jets, back row from left: coaches Greg Cortaberria, Luke Swanson, Jerry Stasik and Dustin Rysdam. Mid-
dle row: Kaycn Crandall, Grayson Kincaid, Cooper Davis, Andrew Pinto, Kyle Stasik, Harry Bither, Arian Garay
and Brehnan Rysdam. Front row: Jakoby Rodriguez, Tyler Hansell, Zayden Hinz, Kiro Viesca, Griffin Davis,
Cole Johnson, Chase Swanson, Brayden Cortaberria and Colton Wieseler. Not pictured are coaches Aaron
Davis and Ryan Wieseler.
racism during La Grande, Gladstone game still under investigation
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
La GraNde — an investi-
gation into alleged use of racism
during a recent La Grande state
playoff football game remains
underway.
the La Grande and Gladstone
school districts are continuing to
work alongside the oregon School
activities association to get to the
bottom of allegations from Glad-
stone players and parents accusing
La Grande players of saying racial
slurs during a playoff game on
Nov. 5. the game ended in a major
dispute between the two football
teams, which Gladstone players
claim was the result of persistent
racism throughout the contest.
Players and parents docu-
mented their accusations in an
article released by the oregonian
on Nov. 11.
the entities involved released
a joint statement on tuesday, Nov.
16, that articulated a move toward
solidarity between the two schools
as the investigation continues.
“the La Grande School district
deeply regrets that the Gladstone
players, coaching staff, parents
and fans did not have a positive
experience competing against La
Grande High School,” the state-
ment read. “the district is proud
of our history of sportsmanship,
so we take the situation very seri-
ously.”
oSaa is working with an inde-
pendent investigator and will take
action on the incident when the
investigation concludes.
according to the joint state-
ment, both school districts are
taking additional actions to smooth
out relations on both sides in addi-
tion to following oSaa’s policies.
these actions include incident
reporting, preventative actions,
review of game film, interview-
ing athletes from both teams and
fact-finding.
It remains to be seen what
potential actions could stem from
the allegations, but the statement
indicates the two sides are working
together in the meantime to build
back the relationship between the
two schools.
“as we have sought to deter-
mine administrative action and
potential sanctions; our mutual
goal has been to ensure that a
restorative and educational process
See Racism, Page B2
HermIStoN — Hermiston
lineman Sam Cadenas, and line-
backer/receiver Caden Hottman
were selected to the mid-Colum-
bia Conference football team by
the conference
coaches.
Cadenas, a
6-foot-1, 245-pound
senior, was a first-
team selection as a
defensive lineman,
and a second-team
pick as an offensive
Cadenas
lineman.
on defense, he
had 78 tackles, 13
tackles for loss and
a team-high eight
quarterback sacks.
Hottman, a 6-2,
215-pound senior,
Hottman
ear ned second-
team honors as a
linebacker and honorable mention
honors as a receiver.
defensively, he had a team-high
102 tackles, seven for loss and two
sacks.
Offensively, he had 34 recep-
tions for 400 yards and three touch-
downs.
the bulldogs had a rough start
to the season, but won their last
three games to finish 3-7 overall.
Kamiakin, which won the mCC
regular-season title, saw quarter-
back Henry mercado named Player
of the year, while braves coach
Scott biglin was named Coach of
the year.
MID-COLUMBIA
CONFERENCE
Offensive Player of the Year — Henry
Mercado, sr., Kamiakin.
Defensive Player of the Year — Bronson
Childs, sr., Kennewick.
Lineman of the Year — Ayden Knapik, sr.,
Kennewick.
All-Purpose Player of the Year — Payton
Graham, sr., Kamiakin.
Coach of the Year — Scott Biglin,
Kamiakin.
First Team
Defensive back —Gabe Tahir, jr., Kami-
akin; Payton Graham, sr., Kamiakin; Austin
Stoddard, sr., Kennewick; Luke Ritchie, sr.,
Richland. Linebacker — Bronson Childs,
sr., Kennewick; Isaya Galvez, jr., Rich-
land; Luis Salgado, sr., Kamiakin; Myles
Mayovsky, sr., Kennewick. Defensive line
— Ayden Knapik, sr., Kennewick; Elijah
Rodriguez, sr., Richland; Aaron Tano, sr.,
Kamiakin; Sam Cadenas, sr., Hermiston.
Offensive line — Ayden Knapik, sr., Ken-
newick; Aaron Tano, sr., Kamiakin; Ash-
ton Tripp, jr., Kennewick; Andon Castilla,
sr., Kamiakin; Jaxin McCallum, sr., Kami-
akin. Wide receiver — Aidan Canada, sr.,
Kamiakin; Austin Stoddard, sr., Kenne-
wick; Payton Graham, sr., Kamiakin; Lucien
Cone, jr., Southridge; Kade Smith, jr., Chi-
awana. Running back — Myles Mayovsky,
sr., Kennewick; Elijah Rodriguez, sr., Rich-
land; Luis Salgado, sr., Kamiakin. Quarter-
back — Henry Mercado, sr., Kamiakin. Kick
returner — Jamie Townsend II, sr., Pasco.
Punter — Lance Spaniel, sr., Southridge.
Kicker — Michael Kot, sr., Chiawana.
Second Team
Defensive back — Isaac Hoag, sr., Chi-
awana; Aaren Lindsey, sr., Walla Walla; Sim-
eon Howard, sr., Kennewick; Lucien Cone,
jr., Southridge; Aidan Canada, sr., Kami-
akin. Linebacker — EJ Hawkins, sr., Kami-
akin; Kale Crawford, sr., Kamiakin; Caden
Hottman, sr., Hermiston; Logan Ashbeck,
sr., Walla Walla. Defensive line — Andon
Castilla, sr., Kamiakin; Jacob Raab, sr., Rich-
land; Camden McCollaugh, sr., Walla Walla;
Trevor Hoopes, jr., Southridge; Judah
Bishop, jr., Chiawana; Noah Collingridge,
sr., Richland. Offensive line — Sam Cade-
nas, sr., Hermiston; Aden Goodwin, sr.,
Walla Walla; Josh Evans, sr., Hanford; Wade
McGaughy, sr., Southridge. Wide receiver
— Tanner Schuster, jr., Richland; EJ Haw-
kins, sr., Kamiakin; Bronson Childs, sr., Ken-
newick; Seth Shook, jr., Richland; Marco
Elizondo, jr., Chiawana. Running backs —
Jake Humphrey, sr., Walla Walla; Jimmy
Rush, jr., Southridge. Quarterback — JP
Zamora, sr., Chiawana. Kick returner —
Landon Charlton, jr., Richland. Punter —
Payton Graham, sr., Kamiakin. Kicker —
Zaydel Capetillo, jr., Kennewick.
Honorable Mention
Defensive backs — Manny Rosales, sr.,
Pasco; Skyler Williamson, sr., Hanford; Seth
Shook, jr., Richland; Eli Allen, sr., Kamiakin;
Landon Charlton, jr., Richland. Linebackers
— Kalani Steward, jr., Richland; Caden Wil-
son, so., Hanford; Hunter Taylor, so., Chi-
awana; Jamie Townsend II, sr., Pasco; Jake
Humphrey, sr., Walla Walla. Defensive line
— Ashton Tripp, jr., Kennewick; Santos
Flores, sr., Kennewick; Easton Skipper, sr.,
Southridge; Darion Johnson, sr., Chiawana.
Offensive line — Chase Langford, jr., Chi-
awana; Jon Smith, jr., Walla Walla; Gauge
Machado, sr., Pasco; Briar Tousley, sr., Han-
ford. Wide receivers — Fabian Hernandez,
jr., Kamiakin; Caden Hottman, sr., Hermis-
ton. Running back — Jamie Townsend II,
sr., Pasco. Quarterback — Cameron Kitch-
ens, sr., Richland. Punter — Joey Weiss-
enfels, sr., Richland. Kicker — Jael Valle,
fr., Pasco.