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Tuesday, March 22, 2022
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A10
THRIVING IN PARADISE senior breaks
hermiston high’s
discus record
Hermiston’s
Young will
take talents
to EWU
In the girls division,
sophomore Megan Joyce
won the 3,200 in a personal
rIchLaNd, Wash. — best time of 12:15.52 —
hermiston senior caden nearly 4 seconds ahead of
Hottman made an early the next runner. Teammate
season statement on satur- Alexia Serna was fourth in
day, March 19, at the Rich- 12:27.30.
land Jamboree.
Senior Bailey Young
hottman unleashed a placed second to hanford’s
throw of 183 feet,
Katelyn Gelston in
11 inches to win
the shot put and
discus.
the discus throw
and better his own
young threw a
school record of
personal best 111-9
181-6. he also won
in the discus, and
the shot put with a
had a mark of 37-11
personal best mark
¾ in shot put.
of 51-5 ½ — 3 feet
Hottman
Brenna cearns
better than Kami-
was third in the
akin’s EJ Hawkins.
shot put (31-5 ¼) for the
Her m iston’s Ryker Bulldogs, while eseta
Mcdonald was second in Sepeni was sixth in the
the 100 meters in a time discus (95-3).
In the 800, hermis-
of 11.40 seconds, and
was third in the shot put ton sophomore Jaquelin
(44-10 ¼).
Garcia Sandoval finished
F r e s h m a n J a y s e n third with a personal best
rodriguez ran a personal time of 2:30.51.
best 2:07.46 to f inish
Senior Cydney Sanchez
second in the 800, while was second in the 1,600 in
Landon shilhanek ran a time of 5:42.18.
For a fuller rundown
a personal best 53.76
second to place third in the of the track meet, visit
400 meters.
eastoregonian.com.
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
erMIsTON — It’s
a thrower’s paradise
at hermiston high
school.
With three former college
throwers on the track and field
coaching staff, the sky’s the
limit for athletes looking to
improve their technique and
marks.
Bailey Young has grown up
in the program, and the results
speak for themselves — she
has signed a letter of intent to
throw at eastern Washington
University in Cheney, Wash-
ington.
“It’s really exciting,” said
young, whose scholarship
will pay for her tuition. “Their
throws coach (Marcia Meck-
lenburg) is really sweet. She
calls and checks in on me. I’m
excited to get to work with her.
I really like the other throwers,
and we have had some other
hermiston kids go there, so it
must be pretty good.”
hermiston head coach
emilee strot, who threw colle-
giately at Cal and Kentucky,
said eastern Washington is a
good fit for Young.
“I think it’s an amazing
opportunity,” Strot said. “She
will be competing at the high-
est level. That environment
will help her excel. It’s close to
home and she has great family
support. On top of that, talking
to their throws coach, I can
tell she believes Bailey Jo has
a high potential in the sport.
Bailey needs that. All of that
makes it a perfect opportunity
for her.”
When looking at schools,
young said she kept in mind
the distance from home.
“There were a couple of
schools in arizona and colo-
rado talking to me,” Young
said. “I wanted my parents
to be able to come and watch,
and it has to have trees. I can’t
be in a place that is desert-ish.
Eastern also has a really good
biology program. I want to be
a veterinarian, that has been a
dream of mine.”
The family element is part
of young’s success. she has
tremendous support from her
parents, grandparents and
extended family.
“Our schedule for the next
three months is never ending,”
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Hermiston’s Bailee Young throws the javelin during a meet with Kennewick and Hanford on
April 8, 2021, at Kennison Field. Young took third with a throw of 102-08. Young will continue
her track career at Eastern Washington University.
Young said. “They divide and
conquer. They try to get to
everything and make sure
everyone has someone there.”
The shot put is young’s
premier event, but she also
throws discus and javelin.
In college, Mecklenburg
also would like her to try the
hammer.
“I really love the shot put,”
Young said. “It’s my favorite,
100%. Some people think you
throw an 8-pound ball as far
as you can, but I love to learn
different techniques. It’s fun
to learn. I do the glide right
now, but in college, we will see
what Marcia wants me to do.
she wants me to start working
on the hammer when I get to
college.”
Young already has begun
to work on the hammer. she
occasionally goes to team-
mate caden hottman’s
house to throw. hottman
has signed to throw at Wash-
ington state, and holds the
hermiston school record in
the discus at 183-11.
One of young’s goals
this season is to break coach
Mykael Mannucci’s school
record in the shot put, which
stands at 44-10 ¾. young’s top
mark is 41-10. The other is to
qualify for the 3A state meet.
“That is my goal, and she
is super encouraging,” Young
said of Mannucci, who threw
at University of Idaho. “I keep
telling her I am going to break
her record, she says ‘I hope
you do.’ ”
strot said young has the
ability to break records and
reach the state meet.
“I’m excited she has such
big goals she has set for
herself,” Strot said. “She has
put in the work in the past
three-plus years to accom-
plish those goals.”
That work includes endless
hours in the weight room,
where young is one of the
strongest girls at hermiston
high.
“ T he weig ht l i f t i ng
program coach strot has
for the females is amazing,”
young said. “I would not be
the same athlete I am with-
out it. you want to be in the
weight room. you know
everyone, and they want to
get better. It’s hard to think
I would be where I am today
without that atmosphere.”
Strot has seen the effects
the weight training program
has had on young.
“I have had a really good
relationship with her in the
weight room and on the field,”
strot said. “her strength in
the weight room has paid off
in throwing the shot put. her
goals are definitely possible.
she just needs to show up
every day and compete.”
Young also played basket-
ball for the Bulldogs for four
years. This season, they
advanced to the elite 8 of the
3a state tournament. young
was named to the all-tour-
nament honorable mention
team.
“We have such amazing
coaching staffs for basketball
and track,” Young said. “We
are super lucky at Hermis-
ton. I don’t think a lot of our
athletes realize that.”
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
Spring Break Tournament, 10 a.m.
TUESDAY, MARCH 22
Prep softball
Oakridge at Weston-McEwen,
11 a.m.
Prep baseball
McNary at Pendleton, Red Lion
Tournament, 9 a.m.
Pilot Rock vs. North Bend, UVC
Spring Break Tournament,
12:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Pasco, 4 p.m.
Rex Putnam at Pendleton, Red
Lion Tournament, 4:30 p.m.
Prep softball
Pendleton vs. Clackamas, Hawks
Invitational, 8 a.m.
Vernonia at Irrigon (2), 11 a.m.
Knappa at Heppner/Ione (2),
1 p.m.
Oakridge at Pilot Rock (2), 1 p.m.
Pendleton vs. McDaniel, Hawks
Invitational, 2 p.m.
Sunnyside Christian (WA) at Echo/
Stanfield (2), 2:30 p.m.
Southridge at Hermiston, 4 p.m.
Boys soccer
Pasco at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Prep tennis
Hermiston at Kamiakin, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23
Prep baseball
Red Lion Tournament at Pendle-
ton, TBD
Pilot Rock vs. Lost River, UVC
THURSDAY, MARCH 24
Prep baseball
Riverside at White Salmon, 4 p.m.
Track and field
Heppner, Pilot Rock, Irrigon, Riv-
erside, Stanfield/Echo, Umatilla at
Bulldog Invite, Hermiston, TBD
FRIDAY, MARCH 25
Prep baseball
Chiawana at Hermiston (2), 4 p.m.
Prep softball
Pilot Rock vs. Burns, Union Spring
Bash, noon
Umatilla vs. Seaside, Seaside
Spring Break Tournament, noon
Umatilla vs. Valley Catholic, Sea-
side Spring Break Tournament,
4 p.m.
Hermiston at Hanford (2), 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock vs. Bonanza, Union
Spring Bash, 4:30 p.m.
College baseball
Southwestern Oregon at Blue
Mountain (2), noon
College softball
Blue Mountain at Yakima Valley
(2), 2 p.m.
EOU women’s lacrosse team continues to build up program
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
La GraNde — Build-
ing a program involves much
more than wins and losses.
In the eastern Oregon
University women’s lacrosse
team’s second year as an offi-
cial program, things are trend-
ing up as the Mountaineers
continue to build their iden-
tity. While Eastern is still
looking to improve its record,
the Mountaineers have made
significant strides under head
coach Monica Plut.
“We’ve definitely made
strides, we’ve recruited some
great players and really have a
great foundation of what we’re
building,” Plut said. “That was
the most important thing for
me coming into this year,
building that foundation for
years to come and making
sure it’s stable.”
The Mountaineers started
off the season right, achiev-
ing a historic feat. despite
capturing one exhibition
victory last season, Eastern
entered this season with-
out an official victory. That
all changed in a 8-6 victory
over Whitworth in the team’s
season opener Feb, 12.
easter n’s t wo -poi nt
victory on the road was
achieved in dramatic fashion,
as the Mountaineers fought
back after falling behind early
on. Whitworth gained a 3-1
lead to start off the match,
but eastern strung together
a resilient defensive effort
moving forward.
The Mountaineers fought
back in the next two periods to
head into the fourth frame tied
at 6-all. Goals from samantha
Buckley and Claire Bever put
eastern in the driver’s seat on
the way to the program’s first
official win.
Buckley was exceptional
in the win, scoring a team-
high four goals. The sopho-
more is one of four returners
on this year’s roster looking
to lay the foundation of the
program.
Brooklyn Wright, another
freshman, recorded 17 saves
in the team’s first win of the
season. Wright is a freshman
that joined the program after
a prep career at Ankeny High
school in Iowa.
“I was very impressed with
our girls that we pulled it off,”
Plut said. “Our goalie played
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Eastern Oregon University’s Maddisson Hoyt (2) approach-
es the goal Feb. 19, 2022, during the match against the
Willamette University Bearcats at Community Stadium, La
Grande. The Mountaineers lost 17-6.
amazingly in that game. It was
definitely an improved effort
and it was really exciting.”
The Mountaineers have a
large freshman class contrib-
uting this season, with nine of
the 13 players participating in
their first collegiate season.
eastern has leaned on the
likes of Wright in goal, Kate
McAfee in midfield, Sydney
Vopat in midfield and Claire
Bever in defense. Buckley,
a sophomore, has been an
anchor on offense for Eastern.
Through six games, Buck-
ley and McAfee lead the team
with nine points and nine
goals each.
“all of our freshmen have
so much drive and athleticism
and can play all over the field,
which definitely helps,” Plut
said. “Every class that we’re
bringing in is more and more
talented and more and more
dedicated.”
With a young team look-
ing to improve every day, the
Mountaineers measure their
success by meeting goals on
a shorter-term basis.
“For us the last two years,
it’s really been week-to-
week,” Plut said. “We meet
every week and talk about
what our top four goals are for
the week. Everyday at prac-
tice we talk about individual
and team goals.”
as the eastern lacrosse
program grows, so too does
the sport in the Pacific North-
west. Most popular on the
east coast, lacrosse is still a
foreign sport to many in East
Oregon — this idea presents a
challenge in recruiting for the
Mountaineers.
“Recruiting can be tough,”
Plut said. “We live in a small
town and lacrosse is a suburb
or city sport. I push the adven-
ture side of it, I love living
here because of the moun-
tains, snowboarding, the
views. I focus a lot on that part
and the team bonding”
Plut is a usa lacrosse
coaching development trainer,
traveling across the country
for conventions and recruit-
ing trips. The Mountaineers’
coach noted that spreading the
word about the program and
getting eastern on the map
has been a positive factor
in recruiting. she also visits
local middle schools and high
schools such as La Grande
and elgin to teach lacrosse in
physical education classes.
“There’s definitely a push
with me to get the sport grow-
ing locally, that’s what I love
to do,” Plut said.
The Mountaineers offi-
cially stand at 1-5 at the
midway point in the season,
following two scrimmages at
the Boise state Tournament
this past weekend. eastern is
set to play five more games
on the season, including two
against Multnomah and one
against corban — the two
schools are the lone cascade
collegiate conference teams
with lacrosse programs.
While eastern is still
working toward improv-
ing the team’s win total, the
journey toward success is a
day-by-day process.
“We’ve talked a lot about
what success looks like this
year. Right now, it’s just to
have fun and enjoy being
around each other while
playing our sport,” Plut said.
“We’ve really been focus-
ing on making small tweaks
and have fun while doing it.
Everyone plays better when
they’re passionate about it and
having a blast.”