SPORTS
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Wrestling:
Continued from Page A10
“It was such a big
moment,” he said. “Some-
thing I had been dreaming
of for a long time. Then I
went out and beat him. It was
exciting.”
If you think Gribskov’s
win was huge, it played a big
part in helping the Bulldogs
finish second in the team
standings.
Hermiston, Mt. Spokane
and University were tied for
second with 162 points each
heading into the finals. After
Gribskov won, the Bulldogs
trailed University by a half a
point — 167.5-167.
“Coach told me after the
match that it was huge,” he
said. “If I didn’t win that
match, Sam would have had
to get a fall.”
Cadenas, ranked No. 1
at 285, put an exclamation
point on the weekend with
his win. It boosted Hermis-
ton into second place.
“Sam had a little bit
tighter match than I antic-
ipated,” Larson said. “He
(Bowers) was a big guy, he
was hard to get out of his
stance. Sam has wrestled a
number of big guys this year,
he gets them moving, tires
them out and finds ways to
score. We were nervous. He
was in the state finals and
team scores were close.”
For Cadenas, it was just
another day at the office.
Cadenas took Bowers
down twice in the match, and
earned an escape. Bowers
earned his three points off
two escapes and a second
stalling call on Cadenas.
“I thought he was good,
but at the same time I felt like
I could have done better,”
said Cadenas, who finished
EOU:
Continued from Page A10
“I think that we grew a
lot in our mental toughness,”
Kemp said. “There have been
some huge hurdles, but we’ve
learned a ton and I think we’ll
be able to draw on that as we
move forward.”
Tip-off against Lewis-
Clark State is set for 7 p.m. in
Lewiston, Idaho on Feb. 23 in
Portland.
“The guys have a mental-
ity of just being road dogs,
which is what we call it,”
Kemp said. “We have to go
be the same team on the road
as we are here.”
Women’s team among
conference elites
T he Mou nt ai neers
women’s team did not get off
to an ideal start, but confer-
ence play presented Eastern
with a chance to rise to the
top.
The team began the year
2-5, but rallied to a 21-9 record
at the conclusion of the regular
season. Eastern has remained
among the top three in the
Girls tournament
Senior Eseta Sepeni, in
just her second year of wres-
tling, became the first female
wrestler from Hermiston to
place at state.
Wr e s t l i n g a t 2 35
pounds, Sepeni finished
third, winning three loser-
out matches to reach the
podium.
Sepeni beat Allaina
Cox of White River 3-1 in
the third-place match. She
earned all three of her points
in the second period with an
escape and a takedown.
Cascade Collegiate Confer-
ence, alongside Lewis-Clark
State and Southern Oregon.
Eastern finished the season
as the No. 3 seed heading into
the Cascade Collegiate Tour-
nament. The Mountaineers
have clinched home-court
advantage in the quarterfinal
round and will face Warner
Pacific at Quinn Coliseum on
Feb. 22. Tip-off is slated for
7 p.m.
For some teams, home
and away makes little differ-
ence. For Eastern, Quinn
Coliseum has been a night-
mare for opposing women’s
basketball teams coming in to
play the Mountaineers. East-
ern compiled a 10-1 record at
home this year, while going
7-4 on the road.
The Mountaineers have
relied on a three-pronged
scoring attack this year. Junior
Sailor Liefke has led East-
ern with 15.4 points and 3.3
assists per game, while senior
Taylor Stricklin is averaging
13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds
per game. Freshman Adyson
Harris has been a pleasant
addition to Eastern’s rotation,
averaging 12 points and 4.5
rebounds per contest.
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A11
third as a sophomore at 220
pounds. “I came out with the
win, that’s what matters. I
felt like that (No. 1) ranking
was meant to say something.
I was there for a reason and I
showed that today. I want to
thank God, all my coaches,
my team, my family and
everyone that supported me
throughout this journey.”
Larson could not have
been happier for his big man.
“Sam was excited,”
Larson said. “He came and
gave us a big hug in the
corner and went right to his
teammates. Sam had a great
season. He just got the job
done. It’s nice to know that
the lifting and running and
getting up early pays off.”
The Bulldogs took 11
men to state and earned
points from every man
but one. Freshman Carlos
Cervantes broke a finger
in his first match and was
unable to compete the rest
of the weekend.
Also placing for the Bull-
dogs were Jessey Valley
(3rd, 220), Ben Larson (5th,
160), Jaysen Rodriguez (5th,
126), Aiden Favorite (5th,
120), Daniel Garza (6th, 132)
and Hunter Dyer (7th, 138).
“Every guy stepped up,”
Larson said.
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