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TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022
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A11
PHS hires Foster
to coach the girls
basketball team
He had been
an assistant
for 2 seasons
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Hermiston’s Carson Bradshaw (in white) comes out of a faceoﬀ with control of the ball while playing Hanford on March 25,
2022, at Kennison Field, Hermiston. Bradshaw is heading to Kansas City, Missouri, to play lacrosse at Rockhurst University.
A CALLING
Hermiston’s Carson Bradshaw
will play lacrosse at Rockhurst
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
ER M ISTON —
Carson Bradshaw’s
first memory of
playing lacrosse is
when his dad Lucas
had to force him to
get in the truck for tryouts. He was 9
years old.
Now, Bradshaw is the last man oﬀ the
ﬁ eld, staying late after practice to work
on his game.
It’s all paid oﬀ for the Hermiston
senior, who will take his talents to
Rockhurst University in Kansas City,
Missouri.
“The kid’s work ethic is out of this
world,” Hermiston coach Jacob Arnold
said. “We get done with practice, and
he stays another 45 minutes. Then he
and Vinny (Trevino) go over and help
the youth kids.
This group of seniors is an amazing
group. They give 100 percent at practice
and games, then turn around and give
back to the youth program.”
Rockhurst coach Kevin Kelly said
he was sold on Bradshaw when he saw
video of him play.
“We saw Carson’s ability to face-oﬀ
and then become instant oﬀ ense,” Kelly
said. “He simply just gets the job done,
and we loved that about him. He’s also
a tremendous student and we are a high
academic institution, so it was a natu-
ral ﬁ t.”
Bradshaw is the third Hermiston
lacrosse player this spring to sign to play
in college. Trevino is going to Newberry
College, and Andrew Guerrero will play
at Adams State University.
A 5-foot-9, 170-pound face-oﬀ man/
midﬁ elder, Bradshaw said Kelly reached
out to him about playing for the Hawks.
“Their coach emailed me and he said
a bunch of their face-oﬀ guys got hurt
and they need someone to come in right
away,” Bradshaw said. “They have a
good medical program there (he wants
to be an emergency room doctor), and
they have a good lacrosse team. It was a
good ﬁ t for me. It’s pretty expensive and
far from home, but the pros outweigh the
cons. I got a good athletic and educa-
tional scholarship, which made it easier
too.”
Rockhurst University is a private
Jesuit university founded in 1910.
The Hawks compete at the NCAA
“I HOPE I CAN
MAKE A BIG
IMPACT MY
FIRST YEAR
THERE. IT’S
OUT OF MY
COMFORT
ZONE BUT I AM
EXCITED.”
— Carson Bradshaw, Hermiston High
School senior
Division II level in the Great Lakes
Valley Conference. They ﬁ nished 8-6
overall this season, including an 11-4
loss to Lindenwood in the GLVC Tour-
nament semiﬁ nals.
“I hope I can make a big impact my
ﬁ rst year there,” Bradshaw said. “It’s out
of my comfort zone but I am excited. I
just want to see what’s on the other side
of the country. They are a good team,
that’s why I decided to take their oﬀ er.
I hope I can get in there and do good
things and take it all the way. Even a
conference title would be nice.”
Bradshaw said he hasn’t visited the
campus yet, but plans to this summer.
“I hope to go this summer and hang
out with a couple of friends I know
down there,” he said. “I played Impulse
Lacrosse (in Oklahoma) with Harrison
Hayes. He is super cool. Vinny is the
one who introduced me to team stuﬀ .
They were all super cool down there,
they made it super easy.”
The Hawks are getting a quality
player in Bradshaw, who leads the Bull-
dogs (13-1) with 51 goals, 37 assists, 210
ground balls and he’s won 90% of his
face-oﬀ s.
Hermiston opens the 3A state play-
oﬀ s Saturday, May 14, at Peninsula.
“He is very quick, and the most
humble player I have ever coached,”
Arnold said. “He doesn’t gloat, he just
goes on the ﬁ eld and does his job. If he
takes what he brought to Hermiston, he
will deﬁ nitely be an impact player for
them. I think he will be a great college
player.”
Kelly, who noted that Bradshaw is
Rockhurst’s ﬁ rst Oregon recruit, plans
on Bradshaw playing as a true fresh-
man.
“We see Carson as having the oppor-
tunity to step on the ﬁ eld immediately,
whether it’s at the face-oﬀ X as a fresh-
man, or both at the X and at oﬀ ensive
midﬁ eld,” he said. “In our early evalua-
tion, we think he’ll be an impact player
for all four years.”
College lacrosse has been on Brad-
shaw’s radar since he played for the Mud
Dawgs when he was younger. He looked
at several schools, including ones that
oﬀ ered lacrosse as a club sport, before
choosing Rockhurst.
Bradshaw also played football up
until eighth grade and played his soph-
omore year in high school. He also ran
cross-country for the Bulldogs, but he
always gravitated back to lacrosse.
“It was my calling,” Bradshaw said.
“I wanted to take it all the way.”
the recession when things
weren’t going well in the
Portland area,” Foster said
of moving to a small town
in Central Oregon. “I got
lucky, my wife (Lynn) was
By ANNIE FOWLER
game for it. It all started
there.”
East Oregonian
He then moved on to
PENDLETON — Pend- Nestucca High School,
leton High School didn’t where he spent seven years
have to look any further as a teacher, girls basketball
than its own gym to ﬁ nd its coach, football coach and
new girls basketball coach. middle school track coach.
The Pendleton School
“Both situations were
District on Friday, May 6, similar,” Foster said of his
hired Tim Foster to take previous jobs. “I came into
over for Kevin Porter, who Mitchell and they had won
stepped down at the end of two games the year before.
You deal with four or ﬁ ve
last year after six seasons.
“Tim has been
kids who would be
there all four years.
on the basketball
We won a High
staff for the past
two years and does
Desert League play-
a great job coach-
oﬀ game for the ﬁ rst
time in 15 years in
ing his athletes,”
Pendleton Athletic
2013.”
D i r e c t o r M i ke
At both schools,
Somnis said. “Tim
Foster
starting with the
is a guy who is
fundamentals was
universally respected by ﬁ rst and foremost.
“The f irst year at
our kids and teachers.
Being on our teaching staﬀ Nestucca, we won one
has allowed him to connect game,” Foster said. “The
with our student-athletes last couple of years we had
and develop great rela- nine teams in our league
tionships with the kids as and we ﬁ nished third twice.
he begins his tenure as We taught kids how to play
our head girls basketball and we were competitive
coach.”
every night.”
Foster said he was
Foster believes his past
surprised when Porter experience will help him
stepped down.
with his new responsibili-
“It was something that ties.
“I’ve been in the gym
was unexpected,” Foster
said of Porter’s resigna- a little bit,” Foster said.
tion. “When he said he was “Leading a program is not
going to resign, I consid- new to me, but this one
ered it immediately. These is a bigger program with
jobs don’t come along very more teams to oversee. You
often. It was a no brainer, always have to be learning
whether I got it or not. and picking up new tricks.
Kevin is really good with I hope to continue to grow
Xs and Os, especially with as a coach and get better.”
his set plays and out-of-
Foster grew up in Hills-
bounds plays. We saw eye boro, where he played foot-
to eye with team stuﬀ .”
ball, basketball and track.
Somnis said Foster’s He also wrestled for one
years of coaching before he year. He went to Pacific
came to Pendleton played in University, where he partic-
his favor.
ipated in track for two years
“He has almost a decade and received his teaching
of varsity coaching expe- degree.
Foster, his wife and sons
rience in Oregon and has
some great ideas for enrich- Joe (seventh grade) and Ty
ing and growing basketball (fourth grade), moved to
in Pendleton from the youth Pendleton in the summer
levels up through our high of 2020.
school teams,” Somnis said.
He is teaching English
After graduating from this year, but come fall
Paciﬁ c University, Foster he will be the director at
spent three years at Mitch- Hawthorne Alternative
ell High School as a teacher, High School.
athletic director, girls
He also has been a
basketball coach, football volunteer coach with the
coach and track coach.
high school junior varsity
“It was in the middle of football team.
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
TUESDAY, MAY 10
Prep baseball
Joseph at Weston-McEwen (2),
3 p.m.
McLoughlin at Umatilla (2), 3 p.m.
Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m.
Stanﬁ eld/Echo at Union, 4 p.m.
Ridgeview at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Prep softball
Umatilla at McLoughlin (2), 4 p.m.
La Grande JV at Irrigon, 4 p.m.
Ridgeview at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Boys soccer
3A District 8 playoﬀ s: Ridgeline at
Hermiston, 4 p.m.
Prep golf
Heppner, Echo at district cham-
pionships, Birch Creek Golf Club,
TBD
Pendleton girls at district cham-
pionships, Great Blue at Heron
Lakes, Portland, 9:45 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11
College baseball
Spokane at Blue Mountain (2),
1 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 13
Prep baseball
Riverside at Umatilla, 1 p.m.
Heppner at Lyle (2), 2 p.m.
Irrigon at Vale (2), 2 p.m. (MT)
Ontario at McLoughlin (2), 3 p.m.
Prep softball
Riverside at Umatilla, 1 p.m.
Irrigon at Vale (2), 2 p.m. (MT)
Heppner/Ione at Union (2), 2 p.m.
Echo/Stanﬁ eld at Weston-McE-
wen (2), 2 p.m.
Grant Union at Pilot Rock (2),
2 p.m.
Ontario at McLoughlin (2), 3 p.m.
Track and ﬁ eld
Griswold, Ione at 1A-SD3 Champi-
onships, Wasco County, noon
MCC Championships at Hermis-
ton, 3 p.m.
Pendleton at IMC Championships,
Prineville, 4:30 p.m.
Heppner, Pilot Rock, Stanﬁ eld/
Echo at District 2A-5 Champion-
ships, Weston-McEwen, 11 a.m.
Irrigon, Riverside, Umatilla at
3A-SD3 Championships, La Pine,
3 p.m.
Prep tennis
Pendleton boys and girls at IMC
district tournament, Redmond
Prep tennis
Pendleton boys and girls at IMC
district tournament, Redmond
THURSDAY, MAY 12
College softball
Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain
(2), 2 p.m.
Prep baseball
Sherman at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m.