B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Friday, December 31, 2021
Top 10:
Continued from Page B1
6. Pendleton girls
soccer team has
record year
PENDLETON — Behind
twins Reilly and Kelsey
Lovercheck, the Bucks
posted their best season in
school history.
Pendleton posted its first
10-win season in school
history (the record was nine
in 2013), finishing with an
11-4-1 overall record, and
7-2-1 in Intermountain
Conference play.
The Bucks won their first-
ever state playoff game on
Nov. 2, beating Thurston 2-1.
They then lost to La Salle 4-0
in the quarterfinals.
Pendleton got off to a hot
start to the season, winning
its first eight games before
losing two in a row. The
Bucks’ school record 10th
win came in a 3-0 victory
over Hood River Valley on
Oct. 26.
Senior Reilly Lovercheck
picked up Player of the Year
honors in the Intermountain
Conference, and also was a
5A first-team all-state selec-
tion.
Pendleton coach Kiana
Rickman was named the 5A
state Coach of the Year.
5. Nichols, Heppner
boys run to third at
state
HEPPNER — Even at
his worst, Trevor Nichols is
better than most.
The Heppner junior turned
in a time of 16 minutes, 48.20
seconds to place third at the
2A/1A State Cross-country
Championships on Saturday,
Nov. 6, at Lane Community
College.
“I was trying to be conser-
vative because I didn’t feel
too well,” Nichols said. “With
about 800 (meters) left, I
tried to put a little surge on.
Then I heard them coming
behind me. The final 300, I
sprinted it out. The last 100,
I out kicked Caleb (Brown of
Pine Eagle), who ended up
fourth.”
The finish was the best
Nichols has placed at state,
but his time was off his best
showing.
“The course was slow
today,” Nichols said. “Every
step you were slipping, even
with spikes on. It was a bless-
ing that the rain went away
before our race.”
Even though they were
missing two key runners
because of illness, the
Mustangs rallied the troops
to finish third in the team
standings with 123 points.
“I was shocked,” Heppner
coach Russ Nichols said. “I
really could not believe we
got third. I thought they all
ran pretty darn well. Trevor
ran well and finished strong.”
4. Nixyaawii wins 1A
state title
MISSION — The Golden
Eagles were a beacon of light
in a dreary time. They were
the first team to win a state
title in the COVID era, and
it gave hope to others that
things were taking a turn for
the better.
Tyasin Burns scored 16
points to lead Nixyaawii to
a 50-29 victory over Damas-
cus Christian on June 24, and
pick up the coveted 1A state
championship trophy.
Damascus scored the first
basket of the game, but that
would be its only lead as the
Golden Eagles tied the score,
then took off.
Dakota Sams added 12
points for the Golden Eagles,
while Ruger Deming chipped
in 10, and Dylan Abraham-
son added eight, all in the
third quarter.
Burns and Dakota Sams
were named to the all-tour-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton’s Kelsey Lovercheck chases down the ball Nov. 2,
2021, during a 2-1 win over the Thurston Colts in Pendleton.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Heppner’s Jace Coe (20) pushes through a hole in the Weston-McEwen defense during the
first quarter Nov. 13, 2021, in the quarterfinal round of the Oregon School Activities Associa-
tion Class 2A state football tournament at Les Payne Field in Heppner. The Mustangs defeat-
ed the TigerScots 40-0.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Heppner High School’s Trevor Nichols (526) and Alex McIn-
tyre, of Weston-McEwen (573) lead a pack of runners at the
2A/1A boys State Cross-country Championships on Nov. 6,
2021, at Lane Community College in Eugene. Nichols finished
third with a time of 16:48.2 with McIntyre finishing seventh
with a time of 17:00.
nament first team.
T he Golden Eagles
finished the season 15-1.
Their only loss was 85-84 to
Yakama Tribal (Washington)
on June 7. They averaged 70
points a game.
“They are a special group
of kids,” Nixyaawii coach
Ryan Sams said. “From the
first day of practice we knew
we could win a state cham-
pionship. Baker and La
Grande, and even Umatilla,
gave us what we needed to
see to get here.”
3. Heppner football
turns in a spectacular
season
H EPPN ER — T he
Mustangs were inches
away from making another
appearance in the 2A state
title game, but an 8-6 loss
to Coquille in the semifinals
derailed their plans.
Heppner had won 29
games in a row before the
loss to the Red Devils. They
finished the season with an
11-1 record. The Mustangs
averaged 29.5 points a game,
while the defense allowed
just 6 points a game.
It was the first loss for the
Mustangs since Nov. 2, 2018
— a span of 1,114 days. This
year’s senior class finished its
career with a 36-4 record.
The Mustangs had four
players selected to the 2A
all-state football team first
team — including three who
earned honors on both sides
of the ball.
Senior Brock Hisler was
named the Defensive Back
of the Year, which includes
linebackers and secondary
players.
Hisler earned first-team
honors as a running back and
linebacker, while senior Jace
Coe was selected as a wide
receiver and defensive back,
and senior Conor Brosnan as
a linebacker and offensive
lineman.
Senior Blane Mahoney
earned honors as a defensive
lineman.
2. OSAA
Reclassification
WILSONVILLE — Start-
ing with the 2022 fall sports
season, Pendleton will drop
down from 5A to 4A and the
Greater Oregon League with
Baker, La Grande and Ontario.
The executive board of
the Oregon School Activi-
ties Association made that
final Monday, Dec. 13, when
it approved the last recom-
mendation of the Classi-
fication and Redistricting
Committee. The decision
will bring changes to several
leagues throughout the state
starting with the 2022 fall
season.
“I think everyone is
excited and ready to make the
move,” Pendleton Athletic
Director Mike Somnis said.
“We have been very compet-
itive at the 5A level. The
reality of it is, with Herm-
iston going to the WIAA,
and Hood River going to 5A
and to the Northwest Oregon
Conference, if we stayed, we
would be in the Bend league.
It will be a seamless fit.”
La Grande and Baker are
ecstatic that Pendleton is
joining their league.
“We are very pleased
to have Pendleton in our
league,” La Grande AD
Darren Goodman said. “It
will help strengthen our
league. Everyone will have
to raise their game, for
sure.”
Pendleton is one of a
handful of local teams the
redistricting affects.
In addition to Mac-Hi
moving to 3A, Irrigon will
drop down to the 2A Blue
Mountain Conference, and
Pilot Rock will drop to the
1A Old Oregon League with
Griswold and Nixyaawii.
The Mac-Hi, Irrigon and
Pilot Rock moves benefit the
schools, which have recently
seen enrollment drop.
While travel will be
reduced for Pendleton, the
hunt for nonleague games
begins now.
Pendleton football coach
Erik Davis said several of the
5A teams they have played
in the past will be on their
nonleague schedule.
1) Sports returns
It’s been almost two
years since the COVID-19
pandemic first shut down
high school sports. An entire
spring season was lost in
2020, and when fall rolled
around, gyms were empty
and football fields were void
of Friday night lights.
The spring of 2021
brought joy to athletes,
coaches and fans as sports
were able to return — with
several safety protocols and
modified seasons.
Everything from baseball
to wrestling were crammed
into four months. Each sports
season got approximately six
weeks to get its games in, and
there were no Oregon School
Activities Association or
Washington Interscholastic
Activities Association state
tournaments.
Some sports had state
tournaments coordinated by
coaches, athletics directors
and communities.
Football, cross-coun-
try and volleyball opened
the first week of March and
ended in April, just in time
for spring sports.
Heppner finished with a
5-0 record and looked every
bit the part to make a run
for another state title. Quar-
terback Jayden Wilson was
selected to play in the Shrine
Game and the Les Schwab
Bowl. His teams won both
games.
The Heppner volleyball
team was 9-1, and Echo was
10-4.
On the cross-country
course, Stanfield’s Sisay Hurty
ran his way to a state title.
Come spring, baseball and
softball were in full swing,
with the Pendleton girls
finishing 15-2 and having
five players named to the 5A
all-state team. Bucks coach
Tim Cary was named Coach
of the Year.
The Heppner/Ione base-
ball team finished 15-4 and
placed third at the 2A/1A
baseball state tournament.
Heppner’s Hayden Hiatt
and Weston-McEwen’s
Blane Peal were named to the
2A/1A all-state team, while
Heppner’s Jackson Lehman
was named to the second
team.
The Pendleton base-
ball team went undefeated
in Intermountain Confer-
ence play, and 15-3 overall.
Payton Lambert was named
co-Player of the Year in the
IMC, while Kyle Field was
Pitcher of the Year and TJ
Haguewood was Coach of
the Year.
Basketball and wrestling
filled the last slot of sports,
with the Nixyaawii boys
winning a state basketball
title.
On the wrestling mat,
Pendleton’s Dawson Trem-
per was second at the 5A
state meet at 106 pounds,
while Heppner’s Jace Coe
was second at 182 pounds at
the 2A/1A tournament.
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Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald, File
Brothers Dakota and Greyson Sams embrace as the final
buzzer sounds in Nixyaawii’s victory over Damascus Chris-
tian in the Oregon 1A State Basketball Tournament on June
24, 2021, at Baker High School.
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