E AST O REGONIAN
Saturday, auguSt 20, 2022
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B1
Wallowa County sophomore has eye on national titles
in gillette, Wyoming. With three more
years in high school and two until he is
old enough to hold a PrCa card, he has
ambitious goals.
“I want to win a national title in
tie-down and qualify for the NFr
(National Finals rodeo),” he said.
Miller, an incoming sophomore at
Joseph High School, fought hard for that
state championship in tie-down. He said
he had a tough go in the second round
of state finals after being very consis-
tent all year.
“I had to forget about it and move
on,” he said.
the excitement of the crowd carried
him through, and his mother, dena,
said, “He took care of business” and got
the win.
this past year he team roped with
partner Bayli Ladner, of Klamath Falls.
By KATY NESBITT
For the Wallowa County Chieftain
ENtErPrISE — In a county well
known for its pro rodeo the last full
weekend of July, it’s no surprise to find
a pro rodeo cowboy in the making. as
a high school freshman, Hanley Miller
is already a state champion and asked to
perform at the 2022 Chief Joseph days
rodeo.
this spring, Miller won the tie-down
competition at the state rodeo finals.
With that title, the Pro rodeo Cowboy
association paid for his PrCa card; at
15, he was too young to compete, but
allowed to test his skill against the pros
as an exhibitionist.
Just before Chief Joseph days, Miller
placed 29th in the tie-down aggregate at
the National High School Rodeo finals
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
teams
celebrate
golden
summer
Local Special
Olympics program
earns gold in golf
and bocce
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HErMIStON — the
He r m iston / Pend leton
Special Olympics program
finished its summer season
with a haul of gold medals
in bocce and golf.
the golf team finished
it s sea son aug. 7 at
Meadow Lakes golf Course
in Prineville, with Jason
Cargill of Pendleton lead-
ing the way with a gold
medal in singles.
In the two-man best ball,
the Hermiston/Pendleton
program swept the medals.
unified partner Mark
Smalley paired with athlete
david andrews for golf.
the silver medal went
to unified partner Javier
garcia and athlete Jose
angel garcia, while unified
partner Kris Neustel and
athlete JP Kinsel earned
bronze.”
“We have several new
athletes in the program this
year and they worked very
hard improving their skills
as they trained at Echo
Hills golf Course over the
last four months,” program
communication manager
Kristi Smalley said. “Our
hats are off to Echo Hills
for allowing our athletes to
train free of charge.”
the bocce team
competed at a state sanc-
tioned regional tour na-
ment July 31 at Hillsboro
Stadium.
unified partner Jessica
Finn and athlete Martha
Hesla ea r ned gold i n
doubles.
In traditional doubles,
athletes Jilli Smalley and
Mary Jones earned gold,
and a sportsmanship award.
a lso i n t r a d it ion al
doubles, Bobby Phillips and
Christina Williams teamed
up for a gold medal, while
austin Carvalho and Misty
Larsen won a bronze medal
and a sportsmanship award.
“I was so proud of how
our athletes conducted
themselves, especially with
the high temperatures,”
Smalley said. “the Oregon
Special Olympics staff
members on site did a stellar
job of keeping the tourna-
ment moving along so that
we were able to conclude the
competition before things
really heated up.”
Bowling and aquatic
sig nu p s a r e Mond ay,
aug. 22, 4-6 p.m. at the
umatilla Cou nt y a rC
building in Hermiston.
the pair placed fourth at the Oregon
State Finals rodeo in Prineville. this
coming year, Miller said he is adding
steer wrestling to his events, with an eye
on earning points toward the all-around
competition.
the high school rodeo season is three
competitions in the fall and four in the
spring. Miller said up to 80 of the points
earned from the eight best rodeos to the
state finals.
Miller said he had a rope in his hand
as a toddler and was horseback by the
age of 3. It wasn’t long before he was a
regular at local junior and ranch rodeos
and a hand at Chief Joseph days, either
untying calves at timed event slack
competitions or cooling down the
pickup men’s horses.
See Miller, Page B2
Contributed Photo
Hanley Miller, an incoming sophomore at Joseph High
School, is the 2022 Oregon State tie-down champ. This
July he ran with the pros as an exhibitionist at Chief
Joseph Days Rodeo.
Pendleton’s Corbett signs
with Whitworth tennis
She finished fourth at
5a state tournament
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
EN dLEtON — Olivia
Corbett was all set to start
college this fall at Blue Moun-
tain Community College, Pendleton,
but a fortuitous turn of events will
have her starting classes this fall at
Whitworth university in Spokane,
where she also will play tennis.
“It was kind of random,” Corbett
said. “I was set on going to Blue
Mountain. I went to a tennis tourna-
ment in Spokane at Whitworth and
my dad contacted the coach and let
her know I’d be playing there. She
was out of town and sent her former
coach. I had no idea he did that.”
Her father is robb Corbett, Pend-
leton city manager.
Not long after the tournament,
Whitworth coach rachel aldridge
contacted Olivia Corbett.
“they came back and said they
would like to have me play for them,”
Corbett said. “It was just like July.
I was behind on applications and
getting things ready.”
Corbett decided to take Whit-
worth up on the offer.
“If I decided to go to BMCC, I
would regret not taking the opportu-
nity to play at Whitworth. What kind
of tennis career could I have had?
What opportunities am I missing?
I would regret not taking the oppor-
tunity.”
BMCC does not have a tennis
program, and waiting two years would
Robb Corbett/Contributed Photo
Pendleton’s Olivia Corbett recently signed her letter of intent to play ten-
nis at Whitworth University. She placed fourth at the 2022 5A state tourna-
ment in girls singles.
push Corbett off the college radar.
“I would have been playing for
fun at BMCC,” Corbett said. “the
coach at Whitworth said having an
athlete for four years is better than
getting a player as a junior.”
Youth pheasant hunts planned
EO Media Group
SaLEM — youth hunt-
ers, age 17 and under, can
sign up now for the Oregon
department of Fish and
Wildlife’s free pheasant
hunts happening around the
state starting in September,
with an additional few hunt
dates in October.
OdFW and partners
stock pheasants at these
special hunts that give
youth a head start on regu-
lar pheasant seasons, which
don’t begin until October.
t here are multi-
ple dates and hunt loca-
tions to choose from and
some events have multi-
ple hunt times to choose
from. register by logging
in to the youth’s account
at MyOdFW’s Licensing
page. then go to Purchase
from the Catalog and look
under the Category/ Class/
Workshop / Outdoor Skills.
Hunts are listed alphabeti-
cally by city name. regis-
tration is only online, and
it is not available at license
sale agents.
these events are open
only to youth who have
passed hunter education.
Volunteers bring their
trained hunting dogs to
some events. Some events
Corbett played in the 5a state
tennis tournament in May, placing
fourth in singles.
“I haven’t heard of anyone (from
Pendleton) who has made it that far,”
she said. “It was like, I got there, I
made it this far, and I was not coming
home without first. It was incredi-
ble. Placing at all was awesome. I am
really proud of myself. It was a great
experience.”
Corbett also won the Intermoun-
tain Conference district singles title
with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Naya
Lewis of Redmond. She is the first
district champion Pendleton coach
rocky dillenburg had in his 18 years
leading the team.
Corbett, who plans to major in
business, said she is excited for the
opportunity and to experience a new
community.
“I’m going to have to get used to
all the roundabouts in Spokane,” she
said. “the campus is beautiful and
all the people I have met have been
welcoming. the quality of education
at Whitworth is exceptional.”
School is right around the corner
for Corbett, who checks into her resi-
dence hall Sept. 3, has a team meet-
ing Sept. 6, and classes start Sept. 7.
“We have our first tournament on
the final weekend of Round-Up,” she
said.
In the midst of all the craziness,
Corbett will finish fulfilling her
responsibilities to the Pioneer Posse
rodeo Court.
“It has been so much fun,” she
said. “the community service,
meeting new people, and the
luncheons have been a blast. I have
not regretted it.”
Labor Day Spectacular
revs up in Hermiston
East Oregonian
The Observer, File
Youth hunters will have the chance to hunt pheasants
Sept. 17 and 18, 2022, at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area near La
Grande.
also host a shooting skills
session before the hunt.
the hunts are free,
though participants need a
valid hunting license ($10
for youth 12 and older,
free for age 11 and under)
to hunt. youth hunters age
12-17 also need an upland
game bird validation ($4).
Purchase before the event,
online or at a license sales
agent. Licenses and valida-
tions will not be sold at the
events.
Some areas will host the
event both Saturday and
Sunday. youth who regis-
ter for one day are welcome
to hunt stand by on the other
day.
“youth pheasant hunts
are a great chance for young
hunters to find early success
and put the lessons learned
in hunter education to work
in the field,” said Jered
goodwin, OdFW hunter
education coordinator.
See page 26-27 of the
Oregon game Bird regu-
lations for more informa-
tion, or see myodfw.com/
workshops-and-events for
the local contact for each
hunt. For help signing up,
contact Myrna Britton at
503-947-6028 or by email
at Myrna.B.Britton@odfw.
oregon.gov
H Er M IStON —
racing action returns to
Hermiston with a two-day
event. the Labor day
Spectacular is Saturday,
Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept.
4. the gates open both days
at 4 p.m. and racing starts
at 6 p.m. at Hermiston
raceway, 81236 N. High-
way 395.
day 1 features Oregon’s
Speedweek, Betteral 100
Pro Lates, Inland Sprints,
modifieds and mini stocks.
and day 2 brings the
atomic 125 Northwest
Super Late Model Series,
the Inex Legends regional
Qualifier, bombers, hornets
and Bettarel Hobby Stocks.
Both days include street
stocks and aMCa.
day 1 tickets are $20/
general admission, $15/
teens, $12/children, $17/
special (seniors, military,
veterans) or $60/family
pass (two adults, three
kids). day 2 tickets are $25/
general, $17/teens, $12/chil-
dren, $20/special or $70/
family.
also, two-day combo
passes are $40/general,
$28/teens, $20/children,
$35/special or $100/family.
In addition, Speedy’s grill
offers a variety of food and
beverages.
advance tickets are
available via www.hermis-
tonraceway.com. For ques-
tions, contact 509-845-5510
or info@hermistonrace-
way.com.
LeeAnnOttosen@UmpquaBank.com
UmpquaBank.com/Lee-Ann-Ottosen