E AST O REGONIAN
FOLLOW US ON
Saturday, april 2, 2022
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
B1
McCarty, Eynetich headline Big Sky League team
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
ECHO — In her final season of
high school basketball, Echo senior
Faith McCarty left a lasting impres-
sion.
McCarty averaged 17.5 points
a game to go along with eight
rebounds, seven assists and five
steals, and was named to the Big
Sky League first team.
Also named to the first team
were Echo sophomore Nevaeh
Thew and Ione/Arlington senior
Hailey Heideman.
The league coaches selected just
a first team and honorable mention
team, which included freshman
Najiah Knight and sophomore
Grace Claughton of Ione/Arlington.
McCarty continued her stellar
play at the 1A state tournament,
averaging 15.7 points, 2.7 assists
BIG SKY LEAGUE GIRLS
McCarty
Thew
Heideman
and 2.3 steals a game. She was
named to the all-tournament second
team.
Echo (19-6) finished sixth at
state, winning first state trophy
since placing second in 1995.
Thew averaged 12 points, six
rebounds, five steals and three
assists a game.
Heideman, who led the Cardi-
nals in scoring, averaged 8.2 points,
8.5 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 1.4
assists a game for the Cardinals,
who finished the season 16-6.
Ione/Arlington junior Carson
Eynetich
Davis
Eynetich was named to the boys
first team, as was Echo’s Dax Davis.
Eynetich led the Cardinals in
scoring with 19.1 points. He also
chipped in 3.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists
and 3.7 steals.
Ione/Arlington finished the
season 20-2, but a loss to Nixy-
aawii in the second round of the
state playoffs ended their season.
Ione/Arlington’s Gary Walls,
Bryce Rollins and Taylor Roll-
ins were named to the honor-
able mention team, as was Echo’s
Dom Curiel.
Player of the Year: Megan Aamodt, sr., Condon
First Team: Megan Aamodt, sr., Condon; Faith McCarty, sr., Echo; Nevaeh
Thew, so., Echo; Hailey Heideman, sr., Ione/Arlington; Natalie Martin, jr.,
Sherman; Morgan Cole-Hand, fr., Spray.
Honorable Mention: Haylee Andrews, sr., Bickleton; Abby Fitzgerald, sr.,
Bickleton; Theresa Campbell, so., Condon; Abby Colby, sr., Condon; Naijah
Knight, fr., Ione/Arlington; Grace Claughton, so., Ione/Arlington; Txell Parra,
so., Spray; Allie Marker, sr., Sherman.
BIG SKY LEAGUE BOYS
Player of the Year: Eduardo Barrera, sr., Condon
First Team:Eduardo Barrera, sr., Condon; Carson Eynetich, jr., Ione/
Arlington; Dax Davis, jr., Echo; Nathan Clark, jr., Spray; Carter Boise, jr.,
Spray.
Honorable Mention: Gary Walls, sr., Ione/Arlington; Bryce Rollins, jr.,
Ione/Arlington; Taylor Rollins, sr., Ione/Arlington; Kole Martin, jr., Sher-
man; Mason Murdock, jr., Echo; Dom Curiel, so., Echo; Braden Carnine,
sr., Condon; Gage Holm, jr., Condon.
DENNIS
DAUBLE
THE NATURAL WORLD
A basket of
memories
Troy Blackburn/Contributed Photo
Hermiston senior Grant Anderson (597) will continue his cross-country and track endeavors at Corban University in Salem.
ONE MILE AT A TIME
Hermiston’s Anderson to run for Corban University
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
ERMISTON — Grant Anderson
is a man who does his research.
That includes prospective
colleges.
The Hermiston senior chose Corban
University in Salem as his next stop for
academics and athletics.
“I looked at quite a bit of schools,” he
said. “Some big state schools and church
schools. Corban just stuck out. It just felt
right.”
In addition to majoring in business,
Anderson will run cross-country and track
for Corban, a National Association of Inter-
collegiate Athletics school that competes
in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with
H
Eastern Oregon University, La Grande.
“They have an established cross country
program and the track program is getting
going again,” Anderson said. “They have a
pretty good business program. I got a pretty
good academic scholarship, and they gave
me a little to run there too.”
Hermiston coach Troy Blackburn feels
Corban is a good fit for Anderson.
“I think a smaller school will fit him
nicely,” Blackburn said. “It’s a religious
school, and that fits him, as well. He’s a
phenomenal student and he loves running.
We are so excited for him. I’m excited for
him to go and continue running.”
As an added bonus, Anderson’s childhood
friend, Lance Stover, who attends Chiawana
High School, also will be attending Corban.
Stover will wrestle for the Warriors.
“It was just more of a coincidence,”
Anderson said. “It didn’t influence my deci-
sion.”
The making of a runner
Anderson has been running since middle
school, when he took up the sport to stay in
shape.
“It’s enjoyable to me,” he said. “I get to
talk to people during runs. It’s a challenge,
but an accomplishment. If you put in the
work, you can be a good runner.”
That has been a challenge for the Class
of 2022. This is the first year they have had
a complete varsity season for cross-coun-
try and track because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
See Anderson, Page B2
ON THE SLATE
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Prep baseball
Union at Heppner (2), 11 a.m.
Pilot Rock at Lyle (2), 11 a.m.
Weston-McEwen at Sherman (2), 11 a.m.
Grant Union at Stanfield/Echo (2), 11 a.m.
Track and field
Pendleton at Clay Lewis Invite, Hanford,
10:30 a.m.
College baseball
Big Bend at Blue Mountain (2), 1 p.m.
College softball
Big Bend at Blue Mountain (2), 2 p.m.
MONDAY, APRIL 4
Prep softball
Echo/Stanfield at La Grande (2), 2 p.m.
Walla Walla at Pendleton, 4 p.m.
Prep tennis
Pendleton boys at Crook County, 3 p.m.
Crook County girls at Pendleton, 3 p.m.
TUESDAY, APRIL 5
Boys soccer
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Prep tennis
Weston-McEwen at Umatilla, 3:30 p.m.
Stanfield/Echo at Riverside, 4:30 p.m.
Prep tennis
Redmond boys at Pendleton, 3 p.m.
Pendleton girls at Redmond, 3 p.m.
College baseball
Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain (2), 1 p.m.
Prep baseball
Pendleton vs. Bend, at Hood River, 2 p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner/Ione (2), 2 p.m.
Riverside at Stanfield/Echo, 4 p.m.
Union at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m.
Hermiston at Southridge, 4 p.m.
Grant Union at Heppner, 4:30 p.m.
La Grande JV at Irrigon, 7 p.m.
Track and field
Heppner at Grant Union, 4 p.m.
Prep softball
Pilot Rock at Union (2), 3 p.m.
La Grande JV at Irrigon, 4 p.m.
Umatilla at Riverside, 4 p.m.
McLoughlin at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Prep baseball
Baker/Powder Valley at McLoughlin (2),
2 p.m.
Prep tennis
Sherman at Irrigon 2 p.m.
Riverside at Weston-McEwen, 3:30 p.m.
Stanfield/Echo at Umatilla, 4:30 p.m.
Prep softball
Baker at McLoughlin (2), 2 p.m.
Prep lacrosse
Hermiston at Mount Is, 7 p.m.
Prep golf
Pendleton girls at Prineville Country Club,
11 a.m.
College softball
Treasure Valley at Blue Mountain (2), 2 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
Prep softball
Umatilla at Pendleton JV, 4 p.m.
Prep golf
Heppner Invitational, Willow Creek Coun-
try Club, 1 p.m.
Springtime in the Blue Moun-
tains heralds the sound of passer-
ine songbirds and snow-charged
streams. While nature’s blessings
brighten the spirit, sunlit days
eventually remind of need to catch
up on chores conveniently ignored
over the darkness of winter.
Entering a garage cluttered
with fishing gear and wood-work-
ing projects, my eye catches on
Grandpa Harry’s ancient willow
creel, aka fish box. I pull the creel
down from the wall and lift its
creaky lid. Bits of dried fern and
the faint glitter of aged fish scales
greet me. The syrupy sweet odor
of fair-caught rainbow trout wafts
from its interior like bacon grease
plated on a cast iron skillet.
Fish boxes, as willow-weave
creels were referred to in the
“olden days,” are designed to
hold a limit of fresh-killed trout.
Their open weave design allows
for water to drain off when dipped
in the stream and for evapora-
tive cooling of the day’s catch. A
few decades ago, a basket-type
creel was an important accessory
for every serious angler. Nowa-
days they’re as obsolete as horse-
hair line. Not to mention that any
self-respecting fly fisher who kills
a fish in public waters stands a
good chance of being ostracized by
his peers.
A careful review of Hugh
Chatham and Dan McClain’s
classic reference, “The Art of the
Creel,” provides insight on the
origin of Grandpa’s creel. Such
features as a “side-hole,” a single
leather strap around the front and
lid, reinforced back corners, and
a 3-inch-wide leather flap hinge,
suggest it’s a “Hazeldell,” product
of the so-called king of the creel-
leather business, George Lawrence
Company of Portland, Oregon.
It would be difficult to prove
the creel was made by G.L. Co.
because it lacks a metal cartouche,
engraving or similar stamp of
authenticity. Assuming the creel is
an early G.L., though, it would be
a No. 3 or the smallest of four sizes
originally offered, having a capac-
ity of 20 pounds (their largest, No.
7, was introduced in 1929 with a
40-pound capacity). Since the hori-
zontal weave or “weft” of Grand-
pa’s creel is whole willow, not split,
as were early versions built in the
wickerwork or French weave style,
it closely conforms to No. 14x in
the wicker-weave series, first built
by G.L. in 1941.
The heirloom creel represents
the last of Grandpa’s angling
legacy after brother Dusty dumped
a rubber raft on the Deschutes
River and Grandpa’s bamboo fly
rod sunk to the bottom of White-
horse Rapids. The rub of it though,
See Memories, Page B1