E AST O REGONIAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022
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A9
2 from EOU earn
conference honors
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton High School students cheer on the Buckaroos during a home game Dec. 10, 2021, against the Putnam King-
smen in Pendleton. Beginning Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, the Pendleton School District is limiting the number of audience
members at sporting evens due to spiking COVID-19 cases in Umatilla County.
Smaller crowds in the stands
Pendleton school
sports restrict
audience size after
COVID-19 spike
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — The Pend-
leton School District is limit-
ing the number of audience
members who can attend
sporting events. The district in a press
release Tuesday, Jan. 11, announced
the move is in response to spiking
COVID-19 cases in Umatilla County.
Starting Jan. 14, the district will
grant six tickets per game to students
who participate in middle and high
school sports.
“It’s not necessarily a turn for the
worse,” Pendleton Athletic Director
Mike Somnis said. “We took a look
at the county numbers and our district
numbers. It is just a safety precaution
right now. We thought it would be
prudent to limit the numbers. Our No.
1 goal is to keep kids in school over the
next month or so.”
Only people who have obtained
those tickets will be allowed to attend
games, although there will be no
admission price. Audience members
will be expected to continue observing
social distancing and masking rules,
and masks will be provided at the
entrance to those who don’t bring one.
While each player will get six tick-
ets per event, they don’t necessarily
have to go to family members.
“We are not restricting who they
go to,” Somnis said. “They can give
them to friends if they like. Our goal
is to limit bodies in an indoor facility.
We hope we can ride out this surge and
reevaluate in two or three weeks.”
“We were hopeful that our pre-hol-
iday rates would continue to drop into
the new year; unfortunately, that did
not happen,” the press release stated.
“In fact, our county numbers appear
to be at all-time highs. Once case
rates subside and begin returning to
the pre-holiday rates, we will consider
modifying this and other practices.”
Somnis also said concessions will
remain open.
LA GRANDE — Two
Mountaineers recently
earned Cascade Conference
player of the week honors
after strong performances
this past weekend.
Men’s basketball guard
Cooper Lumsden and
men’s wrestler Jay Smith
were both named player of
the week in their respective
sports in an announcement
from the Cascade Collegiate
Conference on Monday, Jan.
10.
Lumsden was electric in
his fi rst career start against
Multnomah on Jan. 8, scor-
ing a career-high 32 points
and nine assists. He added
fi ve rebounds and converted
all 12 of his free-throw
attempts.
Lumsden was firing
right from the start, going
7-of-16 from the fi eld and
6-of-13 from 3-point range.
The freshman only turned
the ball over four times
despite playing the full 40
minutes and functioning as
the team’s main source of
off ense in a 102-93 victory
over the Lions.
The near double-dou-
ble for Lumsden was much
needed for a short-handed
Mountaineers squad in a
solid conference victory.
Including a COVID-19
forfeit by Warner Pacifi c on
Jan. 7, Eastern has earned
victories in its last three
consecutive contests. The
Mountaineers stand at sixth
in the Cascade Collegiate
Conference standings with
Lumsden
Smith
a 4-5 conference record and
10-7 overall record. Up next,
Eastern will travel to Kirk-
land, Washington, to face
off with Northwest (6-8,
3-6) at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 14.
Sophomore wrestler
Smith had a strong week-
end for the No. 20 Moun-
taineers, earning two dual
wins and helping Eastern
defeat conference opponents
Arizona Christian 30-12 and
No. 18 Embry-Riddle 36-15.
The 197-pound wrestler
defeated Arizona Christian’s
Va Ili by a 3-1 decision on
Jan. 7 to guide Eastern to a
come-from-behind victory.
The Mountaineers trailed
12-10 midway through the
match but went on to win
30-12. On the following day,
Smith defeated Embry-Rid-
dle’s Michael Densmore by
an 8-4 decision to help the
Mountaineers roll past the
Eagles 36-15.
Smith is 17-8 on the
year, which is a team high
in victories for Eastern.
This week’s Cascade Colle-
giate Conference men’s
wrestler of the week will
look to lead the Mountain-
eers to success as the team
faces three more conference
duals before taking part in
the conference champion-
ships in Havre, Montana, on
Feb. 18 and Feb. 19.
New trail opens in the
EOU baseball program announces 2022 schedule Umatilla National Forest
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Base-
ball season is right around
the corner in La Grande.
The Easter n Oregon
University baseball program
is set for its second season
after being reinstated in
2020.
T he Mou nt ai neers
an nou nced their 2022
schedule on Tuesday, Jan.
11, setting the stage for a
51-game slate this season.
Eastern compiled a 5-31
record in its fi rst season back
on the diamond, with the
pandemic limiting the scope
of a potential full season.
Now heading into 2022,
the Mountaineers have a
full schedule that includes
several top non-confer-
ence opponents — Eastern
will open its season Jan. 27
against No. 22 MidAmer-
ica Nazarene at the Coach
Calderone Invitational in
Glendale, Arizona.
The Mountaineers will
conclude the four-game tour-
nament against No. 23 Bene-
dictine Mesa on Jan. 29.
Of Eastern’s 51 games,
27 are against nonconfer-
ence foes.
Eastern begins its season
with 19 straight games on
the road, before returning
home to the newly renovated
Pioneer Park to host a series
against the College of Idaho
By JEREMY
BURNHAM
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Eastern Oregon University/Contributed Photo
Nick Jennings throws a pitch during a game March 6, 2021, between Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity and College of Idaho at Caldwell. EOU opens its 2022 season on Jan. 27 against No. 22
MidAmerica Nazarene at the Coach Calderone Invitational in Glendale, Arizona.
on March 5.
Pioneer Park has been
undergoing a turf renova-
tion to provide a premier
baseball and softball facility
in La Grande and improve
local teams’ ability to prac-
tice and compete in the years
to come.
The project involved the
eff orts of the city, La Grande
High School and Eastern
Oregon University, while
numerous local businesses
and contractors made major
contributions. The new facil-
ity opens the door for tourna-
ments and local tourism as
the fi elds will serve as one of
the top facilities on the east
side of Oregon.
La Grande Parks and
Recreation Director Stu
Spence has said his depart-
ment plans to bring back
the Moonlight Tournament,
an all-night adult softball
tournament. And, with the
improved fi elds, the depart-
ment plans to host similar
tournaments.
“I’m excited to have fi elds
that will be durable for a
number of teams to play on,”
he said.
Prior to returning to La
Grande, the Mountaineers
will close out the opening
road trip with four games
against No. 4 Lewis-Clark
State.
The Warriors will face off
again with the Mountaineers
for a four-game series in La
Grande starting on April 8.
Eastern will play 16 home
games and 35 away games.
The Mountaineers conclude
the regular season with a
four-game conference series
against Corban at Pioneer
Park.
Head coach Mike McIn-
erney and the Mountaineers
are set for opening pitch
against MidAmerica Naza-
rene at 9 a.m. on Jan. 27.
PENDLETON — A new
trail is open at the Horseshoe
Prairie Nordic Ski Area
in the Umatilla National
Forest.
Blues Crew, part of the
Blue Mountain Land Trust,
does trail work during the
summer and the winter. It
started working on the trails
at Horseshoe Prairie in 2019.
“The fi rst year, we did a
little bit of trail work,” Blues
Crew founder Greg Brown
said. “We really wanted to
get into it, but it was near
the end of the season before
we really got going. So 2020
was when we really engaged
big time at Horseshoe Prai-
rie.”
Brown said 2020 saw
the team create a new map
defi ning the trails. It also
cleared and performed
maintenance on the exist-
ing trails and redid all the
trail signage.
In 2021, in addition
to doing maintenance as
normal, the group launched
a new trail.
The Tenderfoot Trail is
just off the Andies Prairie
parking lot. It is a ½-mile
double loop groomed trail.
Brown said it is perfect
for those new to Nordic
skiing and for children of
all ages.
Umatilla National Forest
public aff airs offi cer Darcy
Weseman said the forest
provides great recreation
year around, but winter
brings unique fun that can’t
be experienced at other
times.
“It’s actually one of my
absolute favorite times to
enjoy the forest,” Weseman
said. “The nice thing about
what Blues Crews has done
at Horseshoe Prairie is they
have groomed and really
marked those trails so you
can pick a route and really
feel like you know where
you’re going.”
She said she hopes this
brings new people out to the
forest.
“It can be kind of intim-
idating for people to go out
and try to fi nd somewhere
they can try cross-country
skiing or snowshoeing or
go somewhere they aren’t
familiar with,” she said. “I
think (Blues Crew’s work)
brings people a lot of peace
of mind in knowing they
aren’t going to get lost out
there.”
The Horseshoe Prairie
Nordic Ski Area is about
26 miles east of Weston on
Highway 204.
For more information on
the area, including current
grooming conditions of the
trails, visit bmlt.org/horse-
shoe-prairie.
For more information
on the Blues Crew volun-
teer team, including how to
get involved, visit bmlt.org/
blues-crew.
ON THE SLATE
THURSDAY, JAN. 13
Prep boys swimming
Hermiston at Hood River Valley, 3:15 p.m.
Prep girls bowling
Hermiston at Hanford, 3:30 p.m.
Prep girls wrestling
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 6 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, TBD
FRIDAY, JAN. 14
Prep girls basketball
Burns at Umatilla, 5 p.m.
Ridgeview at Pendleton, 5 p.m.
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.
Baker at McLoughlin, 6 p.m.
Irrigon at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Heppner at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Enterprise at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m.
Joseph at Griswold, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 6 p.m.
Echo at Klickitat/Glenwood, 6 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Trout Lake, 6 p.m.
Grant Union at Stanfi eld, 6 p.m.
Heppner at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m.
Joseph at Griswold, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 7:30 p.m.
Echo at Klickitat/Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Trout Lake, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Stanfi eld, 7:30 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Pendleton at Ridgeview, 6:30 p.m.
Burns at Umatilla, 6:30 p.m.
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.
Baker at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Dufur at Echo, 2 p.m.
Hermiston at Pasco, 3:15 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Powder Valley at Griswold, 4 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 15
Prep boys swimming
Hermiston at Walla Walla, 1 p.m.
Klickitat/Glenwood at Ione/Arlington,
4 p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Dufur at Echo, 3:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Pasco, 5 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Heppner, 5:30 p.m.
Powder Valley at Griswold, 5:30 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m.
Klickitat/Glenwood at Ione/Arlington,
5:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
Pendleton at Southridge Tournament, TBD
Hermiston at Ellensburg Tournament,
9 a.m.
Happy 11 th Birthday , Brody!
Today you're Eleven! That makes
you Extraordinary, Loving,
Excellent, Victorious,
Exceptional and Nice!
We think of you ALWAYS!
Love,
Grandpa and Grandma
Powell