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Saturday, May 14, 2022
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Making it work
Health issues
don’t hold back
Hermiston’s
Mcdonald
GOLF
teeing up for state
Pendleton’s
McLeod
qualifies for
5a tournament
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
ErMIStON — a
bottle of teriyaki
sauce has turned
ryker Mcdonald’s
world upside down.
as a ty pe I
diabetic and a person with severe gluten
allergies, the gluten-free sauce was an
explosion of taste the Hermiston senior
had never experienced.
“Since I found that, my life has
changed,” Mcdonald said. “It’s every-
thing I need in my life. I put it on
chicken, potatoes, veggies. It’s pretty
constant with every meal I have.”
Mcdonald has lived with both health
issues since he was a baby, but that
hasn’t held him back from participat-
ing in sports or student council, where
he is associated student body president.
“It’s just exciting,” Mcdonald said.
“Life is fun. I’m not going to let any
disease get in the way of me experi-
encing life. ten years ago, no one knew
what gluten was. My mom was calling
manufactures to make sure food wasn’t
going to kill me off. I don’t know any
different. there’s not too much I’m
missing out on.”
Participating in sports might not be
the correct way to describe Mcdon-
ald’s athletic endeavors. He played on
the defensive line in football and is one
of the top sprinters Hermiston has ever
turned out. He also throws the shot put
and is one of the strongest youths in the
weight room.
“I played soccer until middle school,
then I played football,” Mcdonald said.
“My mom’s whole side of the family
has been in track. My mom (Sara) did
college track at Central Washington
and my dad (Ethan) played football at
Central Washington.”
In the weight room, Mcdonald
squats more than 500 pounds, his bench
is not far off 300 pounds and he cleans
250 pounds.
From the weight room to the foot-
ball field to the track, Hermiston foot-
ball coach davis Faaeteete said he is
impressed with the way Mcdonald
makes it all happen.
“It has been fun to watch him grow
and evolve, and go through all these
medical issues,” he said. “that he is able
to come out on top is a reflection of who
he is and how great he was parented by
his parents. He embodies that Hermis-
ton grit.”
the 6-foot, 205-pound Mcdonald
goes into the Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence 3A track and field championships
Friday, May 13, as the No. 2 man in
the 100 meters, and the No. 2 shot put
thrower behind teammate Caden Hott-
man. He also runs on the 4x100 relay
team.
“I look more like a shot put thrower
than a sprinter,” Mcdonald said.
“Caden is a great motivator over there.
Him helping me out is probably why I
look like I belong over there. I’m usually
coming up to the sprints with chalk on
my neck and hands and tape on my
wrists. I get a few looks.”
Mcdonald’s top time of 11.19
seconds in the 100 meters ranks third
all-time at Hermiston, while his throw
of 48-3 ½ ranks 15th on the shot put
leaderboard.
“If I can prep it right and get my
blocks down, I might get sub 11,” he said
of the 100. “Especially running against
fast dudes at regionals and state. you
run against fast guys and that speeds up
your time. I have a good chance to break
that school record (Luis Ortiz, 11.04).”
Hermiston sprints coach Mike
Mosher said despite his large frame, he
thought Mcdonald could be a heck of
a sprinter.
“Watching him in football through-
out his years, watching him play soccer
and getting him in summer workouts, I
could see that he had not only football
speed but track speed.”
Mcdonald will be pushed at district
by Southridge’s Lucien Cone and Walla
Walla’s Jakob Humphrey. the top three
advance to regionals next week, and
from there the top two go to state.
B1
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Ryker McDonald of Hermiston races the 100-meter dash in a Mid-Columbia Con-
ference track-and-field meet April 20, 2022, in Hermiston.
“BEING DIABETIC IS A STRUGGLE,
BUT IT HAS GIVEN ME EXPERIENCE
AND IT TEACHES YOU EMPATHY.”
— Ryker McDonald, Hermiston High School senior
“We are right at the top,” Mosher
said. “there is a guy from Mead
(Keenan Kuntz) who is pretty good.
Ryker is right in the mix at 2-3. He has
parts of his race he needs to clean up.”
It’s not easy
What fans see on the field and on
the track takes a tremendous amount
of work and dedication, but it also takes
a lot of self-awareness by Mcdonald.
He has a diabetic sensor on the back
of his arm that gives him a reading on
his phone and his parents’ phones. It
also sends signals to his insulin pump
on his stomach, which will release
doses of insulin when needed.
It saves him from having to prick his
finger and use a glucose monitor during
games or track meets. the reading on
his phone takes a couple of seconds.
the monitor helps in one respect,
but there are other issues associated
with diabetes.
“Growing up with diabetes instills
discipline through the roof,” Mcdon-
ald said. “the problems I went through
during football, I had to be on top of it
every day. the way I go about and the
way I train. If something happens, the
coaches know what I need to do. For my
diet, I’m low on carbs, I try to keep my
blood sugars where they are balanced.
If they are too low, I get a little disori-
ented, like I’m on drugs. I have special
glucose tablets, and Capri Suns have
been a big part of my life. they have
been my best friends for a long time.”
But that’s not all.
“We try to manage my diabetes, but
I am getting bigger and my body is still
changing,” Mcdonald said. “I wasn’t
going to let it get in the way of my team.
I started getting some nerve issues in
my feet between my junior and senior
year, and I wasn’t able to handle things.
Coach (Eddie) Lopez helped me so
much. Before (football) games, I would
put ointment on my feet that his mom
made to help calm them down. that
helped with the diabetic neuropathy. It
helped me be able to play.”
Faaeteete said he is impressed with
how Mcdonald handles everything.
“He’s a good kid, and he works so
hard,” Faaeteete said. “you can only
ask so much from a kid who has to deal
with that every day. He loves his team-
mates and he feels like he is letting
them down if he can’t play.”
Living with diabetes is one thing,
but his gluten allergy is extreme.
His food cannot be made on the
same kitchen counter with food with
gluten. It must be thoroughly cleaned.
Even a few crumbs can give him diges-
tive issues for hours.
“anything that has any gluten
cannot touch my food,” Mcdonald said.
“It’s bad. Being in sports and having
celiac disease you feel fatigued if you
get any gluten. you aren’t back to 100%
for days. My dad has celiac disease
too. My mom is gluten free now too,
by choice.”
When he was diagnosed with celiac
disease as a child, his mom spent hours
a day making sure his food was safe.
“they have sacrificed so much
to keep me healthy to play sports,”
Mcdonald said. “My mom has turned
into a health nut. She is on top of every-
thing. With celiac disease and diabe-
tes you find yourself deficient in some
vitamins.”
Mcdonald said it was harder when
he was younger. He felt he was being
left out.
“there were a lot of elementary
birthday parties where I didn’t get the
cupcake,” he said. “I would be so mad.”
Now, when the football or track
team goes on the road, he will pack his
own meals, or the team will stop at a
store where he can get safe items to eat.
“My coaches go out of their way to
make sure I eat right,” Mcdonald said.
“We have such a great coaching staff
at Hermiston. No one should take them
for granted.”
A bright future
Mcdonald volunteers at a camp for
diabetic kids in Kennewick through
trios Health Southridge Hospital. He
went to the same camp when he was
younger.
“Being diabetic is a struggle, but it
has given me experience and it teaches
you empathy,” Mcdonald said. “I don’t
think I would be as good of a human
being. When you are young, you don’t
understand. you have to go through so
many procedures to keep yourself safe.
to be able to help them manage it so
it’s not in the forefront of their minds
is fulfilling. Paying it forward is fulfill-
ing. that is something I don’t take for
granted.”
College sports are not on the horizon
for Mcdonald, but he will be attending
Oregon State university and majoring
in mechanical engineering. He would
like to be an aerospace engineer.
“I had a few colleges reach out, but
I wasn’t interested,” Mcdonald said.
“I’m wondering what will be harder,
trying to manage sports or trying to
live without sports. I’m going to try
the student life. It might take a few
months. I gotta see what life is like
past high school. I will be actively
working out. they have really good
teams at Oregon State. there will
always be something to watch, but I’m
afraid I will want to play again.”
PENdLEtON — Pend-
leton’s Zach McLeod shot
two of his best rounds of
golf on Monday and tues-
day, May 9-10, to punch his
ticket to the 5a state tour-
nament.
those scores — an 81
and an 87 — came at the
right time at the 5a district
1 regional tournament at
Heron Lakes Golf Club in
Portland, where he finished
tied for eighth.
“they were two of the
best rounds I have played
this year, and I was happy to
take them there,” McLeod
said. “at the moment, I
wasn’t happy with an 87. I
thought I would have to do
better than that to go to state.
I had a better of a lead than
I thought. It’s good to shoot
better than you need to.”
Pendleton coach Marc
Sokoloski, who took over
the boys program at the
start of the 2020 season,
said McLeod’s game had
improved the past few
weeks heading into district.
“Zach has the potential
to do well,” Sokoloski said.
“three weeks ago, he was
shooting 95 and 96. I’m
excited for him. I knew it
would come, just not in a
big jump like this. after a
few tournaments, he got a
grasp on what he needed
to do to manage the course.
the fact he got in the top 10,
I was thrilled to say the least.
this will be a good experi-
ence for him.”
the 5a state tournament
is May 16-17 at trysting
tree Golf Club in Corvallis.
the beautiful Par 71 course
is 6,537 yards and winds
along the Willamette river
floodplain.
“I’m excited,” McLeod
said. “I haven’t played there,
but my sister Mackenzie
has. She played on the girls
teams that won the state title
a couple years ago (2019).”
Sokoloski said the tryst-
ing tree course is suited to
McLeod’s game.
“It’s more long and not
precise,” he said. “the two
courses they played (in
Portland) were completely
different. They had a lot of
trees. you just don’t want to
play yourself out of conten-
tion the first day.”
the Pendleton coach also
said he believes McLeod has
the ability to place well at
state.
“When he started play-
ing to win and not just
to have fun, his game
improved,” Sokoloski said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Pendleton High School
golfer Zach McLeod chips
onto the Wildhorse Golf
Course practice green on
Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
McLeod will compete at
the School Activities As-
sociation 5A state tourna-
ment May 16-17 at Trysting
Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.
he came out and shot a 78 or
79. I think he can be in the
top 20. It will be a grind. the
learning curve he is at now,
when things are going good,
that is great. When it’s not,
he needs to learn to make
those adjustments on the
fly. It’s the mental side that
I think is starting to elevate
his game.”
McLeod is the first Pend-
leton player to advance to
state since 2019 when Matt
robertson (197) and Zech
Cyr (181) qualified.
“It’s nice to go,” McLeod
said. “Going by myself is
kind of disappointing. I will
try to do some damage and
have fun while I’m there.
Next year, our goal is to have
a team there.”
a junior, McLeod has
been playing golf since
middle school. His family
has a membership at Golf
Course at Birch Creek
in Pendleton, but he also
enjoys playing at Wildhorse
Golf Course.
“I like Birch Creek a lot
better,” he said. “that’s the
course I grew up playing.
It’s more of a sentimental
thing, I think.”
While he can occasion-
ally get his parents travis
and Heather out on the
course, McLeod typically
golfs with his teammates
or friends from work at
Gordon’s Electric.
“recently, me and
Mason Morioka have been
going every day,” McLeod
said. “We both wanted to
go to state. My parents play
some, but I wouldn’t say
they are avid golfers.”
Playing in the Inter-
mountain Conference,
McLeod has had the oppor-
tunity to play some of the
best courses in Oregon, but
he has a favorite.
“We’ve played a lot of the
Bend courses this year, but
Indian Creek in Hood river
is one of the most beautiful
courses I have played on,” he
said. “I got to do that twice. I
really like that one.”
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
SATURDAY, MAY 14
Prep baseball
Stanfield/Echo at Pilot Rock (2),
11 a.m.
Dufur at Weston-McEwen (2),
11 a.m.
Pendleton at Crook County (2), noon
Prep softball
Crook County at Pendleton (2), noon
3A District 8: Mead at Hermiston,
1 p.m.
Prep lacrosse
3A state playoffs: Hermiston at Pen-
insula, TBD
Track and field
MCC Championships at Hermiston,
10:45 a.m.
Pendleton at IMC Championships,
Prineville, noon
Griswold, Ione at 1A-SD3 Champion-
ships, Wasco County, noon
Irrigon, Riverside, Umatilla at 3A-SD3
Championships, La Pine, TBD
McLoughlin at GOL District Champi-
onships, 10 a.m.
College baseball
Blue Mountain at Spokane (2), 1 p.m.
College softball
Blue Mountain at Walla Walla (2),
noon
MONDAY, MAY 16
Prep golf
5A boys state tournament, Trysting
Tree Golf Club, Corvallis, TBD
TUESDAY, MAY 17
Prep baseball
Crook County at Pendleton,
4:30 p.m.
Touchet at McLoughlin, 4 p.m.
Prep softball
Pendleton at Crook County,
4:30 p.m.
Prep golf
5A boys state tournament, Trysting
Tree Golf Club, Corvallis, TBD