E AST O REGONIAN
SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2022
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B1
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
Bilingual
basketball
camp returns
to Irrigon
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Erick Olson/Umatilla High School softball coach
Some members of the 2021-22 Umatilla High School varsity
softball team and coaches pose for a photo. The team saw 15
of its 25 players earn All-American Scholar Athlete honors.
Umatilla players earn
NFCA academic honors
Vikings had 15
players with a GPA
of 3.5 or better
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — Fifteen
of Umatilla’s 25 softball
players ear ned Easton/
N F CA A l l -A m e r i c a n
Scholar Athlete honors for
the 2021-22 school year.
The National Fastpitch
Coaches Association annu-
ally honors student-athletes
who have completed a full
school year with a 3.5 or
better grade point average.
“We were really happy
to be able to maintain
that (GPA), considering
how frequently we were
in action,” Vikings coach
Erick Olson said. “Between
the two programs we had 46
games.”
The Vikings, including
manager Luis Ortega-Ca-
denas, fi nished the season
with a cumulative GPA of
3.4936.
The players will get a
certifi cate for their accom-
plishment.
“It’s an oppor t unity
that can be meaningful on
a resumé, especially on
college applications,” Olson
said.
The softball team also
ear ned Oregon School
Act ivit ies Associat ion
academic honors and earned
Umatilla OSAA Cup points
for the year.
The NFCA honored the
following players: seniors
Danica Hartsteen, Nancy
Jaimes, Thalia Trujillo and
Kyleigh Wheeler; juniors
Piper Dilley, Ryleigh Freel
and Meeka Holmes; soph-
omores Braelyn Cragun,
Mischa Hill and Maddisyn
Rico; and freshmen Mayeli
Cardenas, Ciralynn Larsen,
Ja i ly Ro d r ig uez- G on-
zalez, Esperansa Rodri-
guez-Ruiz and Kaylonni
Schafer-Cranston.
Hermiston’s Hottman, Young
earn spots on MCC fi rst team
Hottman was the
top shot put and
discus thrower in
the MCC
HERMISTON — Hermi-
son’s Caden Hottman was
named to the Mid-Colum-
bia Conference fi rst team for
shot put and discus, while
teammate Bailey Young was
a fi rst-team selection for the
girls shot put.
Hottman placed first in
both events at every MCC
meet this spring. He threw 56
feet, 4 inches in the shot put
at the MCC Championships,
then broke the school record
with a mark of 57-9 at the
3A state meet.
Hottman
Young
Hottman also won both
events at the prestigious
Pasco Invite.
In the discus, he broke his
own school record with a toss
of 185-8 on March 31, and
won the 3A state title in May.
Young had a monster
spring in the shot put. After
placing second at the Rich-
land jamboree, she never lost
another competition. She also
won titles at the Pasco Invite
and the Oregon Relays.
See Track, Page B2
SPORTS BRIEFING
Hermiston
athletes place at
national meet
EUGENE — Th ree
Hermiston athletes earned
their way onto the awards
podium June 16-19 at the Nike
Outdoor National Champion-
ship at Hayward Field.
Recent graduate Caden
Hottman, who is headed to
Washington State University,
unleashed a throw of 204 feet,
10 inches to place second in
the boys hammer champion-
ship division, and better his
own school record.
Jeremiah Nubbe of Rainier,
Washington, who has signed
to throw at Texas, won the
event with a toss of 236-4.
Hottman also competed in
East Oregonian, File
Isaac Colin, 10, tosses a bounce pass to a partner July 31,
2021, during the free bilingual basketball camp at A.C.
Houghton Elementary School in Irrigon. The camp returns
July 23-24, 2022, at the Irrigon Elementary School.
SIGNING UP
Camp sign ups are online at bit.ly/3QCbSqE and are in
English and Spanish. The camp is open to all interested
players in Umatilla, Morrow and surrounding counties.
Each player should bring
their own water bottle, and
there will be music and
prizes.
The camp saw 160 young
people during the two-day
event last summer at A.C.
Houghton Elementar y
School.
“The school district has
been a big help,” Thompson
said. “(Principal) Stephanie
Ewing has been very help-
ful and appreciative of our
efforts. She said the kids
were excited about their
haircuts and basketballs.”
Ewing said information
about the event is on the
school’s Facebook page, and
she hopes youths will take
advantage of the camp.
“We are trying to get the
word out as best we can,”
See Camp, Page B2
HIV isn’t
just a big city issue.
More than half of Oregonians with HIV
live outside of Portland, often in suburbs and
small towns like this one.
TRACK AND FIELD
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
I
RRIGON — It’s unique,
it’s free and it’s back.
The second annual
bili ng u al basket-
ball camp is set to return
July 23-24 to Irrigon
Elementary School, and
camp coordinator Mitch
Thompson is hoping for
another big turnout.
“I don’t think there is
anything quite like it in
Oregon,” Thompson said.
“How intentional we are
about speaking Spanish. As
long as we have support and
time, we will keep doing it.”
There are various camp
times each day. Prekinder-
garten through third grade
will go at 9 a.m., followed
by fourth through sixth
grade at 11 a.m. After a
quick lunch, seventh and
eighth graders will hit
the courts at 1 p.m. High
school players will have
a three-on-three tourney
format in the evening.
she said. “It’s local, at their
school, they feel comfort-
able and it’s bilingual. It’s
pretty neat that there are
extracurricular events they
can participate in with no
barriers.”
Every camp participant
will receive a free basket-
ball, school supplies and
a barber will be on site for
those wanting a haircut.
“There is no barber shop
in Irrigon,” Thompson said.
“It’s a big deal.”
Thompson, who coached
the Irrigon Knights 2015-
16, has kept in touch with
his former players. He and
Adrian Romero hatched a
plan for the camp last year
and put the pieces in motion.
“It’s a really unique
group of guys,” Thompson
said of his former players.
“I started coaching them
eight years ago and we have
stayed in touch. We just
want to fi nd a way to give
back. They are high level
people. If we can rejuvenate
some energy into basketball
and get them playing, the
better. COVID was hard on
these kids.”
Former Irrigon play-
ers slated to help at the
camp are Adrian Romero,
the discus (165-3) but did not
make the fi nals.
Jaysen Rodriguez placed
fourth in the boys freshman
mile with a time of 4:26.81.
Ryker McDonald fi nished
ninth in the boys shot put
emerging elite division with
a throw of 49-7¼. He also ran
the 100 (11.30), but did not
make the fi nals.
Bailey Young, who
recently won the 3A state
titles in the shot put and discus,
placed fi fth in the shot put with
a mark of 45-9, which came on
her fi nal throw. Young, who is
headed to Eastern Washington
University, also was 24th in
the discus with a toss of 109-7.
Mensi Stiff of Lewisburg,
Tennessee, won the shot put
with a heave of 51-8¼.
— EO Media Group
Good neighbors chip in to get the job done. And we’ve got
work to do on HIV prevention. People in rural Oregon are
more likely to get a late-stage diagnosis, and a lack of HIV
treatment may harm your health, or your partner’s. Detected
early, HIV is more easily managed and you can live a long,
healthy life. Getting tested is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Learn more and find free testing at endhivoregon.org
.