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B1
TOP 10 OF 2021
Celebrating state titles and record-breaking performances
The return of sports
brings a sense of
hope, normalcy
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
10. Echo volleyball
dominates
ecHO — The cougars won
the big Sky League with an 11-0
record. as impressive as that is,
they did it while not dropping a
set.
“They play with intensity,”
echo coach des Thew said of her
team. “Our girls play in a system.
They hit hard and put it where
people aren’t. We have a whole
team of legit volleyball players.
We don’t have a weak spot and i
can trust the ball in their hands.”
echo went on to host Umpqua
Valley christian in the second
round of the 1A state playoffs,
beating the monarchs 25-11,
25-14, 25-17 to reach the quarter-
finals for the first time in a dozen
years.
The Cougars finally ran out of
mojo in the quarterfinals with a
25-11, 25-16, 25-21 loss at St. Paul.
They finished the season 22-5.
Senior Faith mccarty was
named the bSL Player of the year,
while sophomore Nevaeh Thew
and senior charlei Harwood were
named to the first team.
mccarty led the cougars with
147 kills and also had 117 assists,
152 digs and 38 service aces.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A smattering of preapproved fans lines the stands at the Pendleton Round-Up Arena on March 12, 2021, ahead of Pendleton’s 20-12 win over
Ridgeview. After the pandemic wiped out almost two years of sports, the return of sports was the top sports story of 2021.
9. Riverside boys soccer
team reaches semifinals
bOardmaN — Led by
senior attacker Jose Napoles, the
Pirates reached the 3a/2a/1a
state soccer semifinals.
a spot in the championship
game was thwarted by dayton,
who beat the third-ranked Pirates
2-1 in the semis.
“They weren’t better than us,”
riverside coach Juan duenas
said. “We had too many mistakes
all game that all season we never
had.”
riverside opened the state
playoffs with an 8-0 victory over
Sutherlin, then beat Pleasant Hill
4-1 in the quarterfinals.
The Pirates, who finished the
season with a 15-2 record, won the
eastern Oregon League title with
an 8-0 record. Other than their
loss to dayton, they dropped a
nonleague game to catlin Gable
on Sept. 18.
Napoles was named the Special
district 6 Player of the year, and
was a first-team all-state selection.
in addition to Napoles, river-
side had seven other players
named to the all-league first team
— seniors Adair Rodriguez, Pablo
claustro, diego magana, Trinidad
Mendoza, Benny Sanchez, Bert
Sanchez, and sophomore goal-
keeper Juan medina.
Benny Sanchez earned second-
team all-state honors, while
Claustro, Magana, Mendoza, Bert
Sanchez and Medina were named
to the honorable mention team.
8. Round-Up returns,
Stetson Wright wins 3
titles
PeNdLeTON — The Pend-
leton round-Up is one of the top
rodeos in the Professional rodeo
cowboys association, and after
a one-year hiatus because of
the coronavirus pandemic, fans
returned in droves to watch the
action.
Stetson Wright, a 22-year-old
cowboy from milford, Utah, who
comes from a family steeped in
rodeo history, won the saddle
bronc and bull riding titles on
Sept. 18 for his first Pendleton
round-Up titles.
With those titles at the 111th
round-Up came the coveted
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Echo’s Faith McCarty (13) dives after the ball Oct. 30, 2021, during a
three set win over the Umqua Valley Christian Monarchs in Echo.
Hermiston’s Caden Hottman prepares to throw the discus at the MCC
track and field championship on May 6, 2021, at Fran Rish Stadium in
Richland, Washington. Hottman took first with a throw of 165 feet even.
Stetson Wright said. “if we are
doing good, it’s because he has
something to do with it. if you
are coming out of a slump, he
has something to do with it. He is
the backbone of our bronc riding
careers.”
7. Destroying records
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Riverside’s Jose Napoles (21) and Dayton’s Danny Anguiano (8) chase
down the ball Nov. 9, 2021, during the Riverside Pirates 2-1 loss to the
Dayton Pirates in the semifinal round of the Oregon School Activities
Association Class 3A/2A/1A State Soccer Championship at Riverside
High School in Boardman. Napoles was named the Special District 6
Player of the Year.
all-around title — an honor won
a record seven times by Trevor
Brazile.
He won $22,476, which broke
Brazile’s Pendleton record of
$20,205 that was set in 2012.
Wright also became the first
cowboy since Lewis Feild to win
three events at Pendleton. Feild
won bareback riding, saddle bronc
riding and the all-around title in
1989 — well before Wright was
even born.
Wright’s older brother, rusty,
finished third in the saddle bronc
event.
The Wright boys got their start
at home, learning from their dad,
cody, who won the Pendleton
saddle bronc title in 2010.
“We want to match our dad,”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Stetson Wright, of Milford, Utah,
poses for a portrait with the East
Oregonian trophy after winning
All-Around Cowboy on Sept. 18,
2021, at the Pendleton Round-Up.
UmaTiLLa cOUNTy —
Hermiston’s caden Hottman and
Pendleton’s Sam Jennings were
nothing shy of impressive this
spring. by the time they were
done, they owned the school
records in their signature events.
Hottman was a vir tual
unknown when he competed in
his first high school track meet as
a junior. by the end of June, he
was well known in the mid-co-
lumbia conference and at the
national level.
in his third track meet of the
year, Hottman had a monster
throw of 178 feet in the discus on
april 15, which broke Tre Neal’s
Hermiston school record of 169
feet, 2 inches, set on april 15,
2016, at the Oregon relays.
Hottman won two mcc titles,
winning the discus with a mark
of 165 feet, and the shot put with
a toss of 49-8. He was named the
mcc Field athlete of the year.
On June 30, at The Outdoor
Nationals at Hayward Field, Hott-
man unleashed a throw of 181-6 to
place sixth.
He hit his top throw on his
second attempt. Hermiston track
coach emily Strot said the mark
will replace Hottman’s previous
school record of 178 feet.
Jennings and his javelin were
well-known throughout Oregon,
but he, too, put his name among
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton’s Sam Jennings throws
the javelin during the Pendleton
Invite on April 16, 2021. Jennings
took first with a throw of 177-9½.
the top throwers in the nation.
at a home meet on april 30,
Jennings launched a throw of
198-11 to break Geoff Herd’s
school record of 186-10 set in
2009.
Jennings won the javelin title
at the 5a State Track and Field
championships on Saturday, may
22, with a toss of 190 feet.
but he was far from done.
He then threw 207-10 on June
26 at a meet in boise, then placed
seventh a fews days later with
a toss of 189-10 at The Outdoor
Nationals.
Then came the big one.
Jennings blew away the
competition July 10 at the USa
Track & Field Oregon association
Track and Field championships at
Jesuit High School in beaverton.
He unleashed a personal best
throw of 224-9¾ to win the event
and soar to the No. 1 spot in the
nation for high school throwers.
See Top 10, Page B2