A10 WEDNESDAY March 8, 2017 Chieftain’s winter athlete of the season is JIMMY WELLS ‘‘ A LOT OF PLAYERS DON’T REALIZE THAT TALENT ONLY FIGURES INTO 25 PERCENT OF THE EQUATION; 75 PERCENT OF THE GAME IS PLAYED FROM THE NECK UP.” By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain This is the Chieftain’s in- augural award of athlete of the season. This isn’t neces- sarily awarded to the most gifted athlete, but to the player who best exemplifies dedication to sportsman- ship and the game’s essence. In the Chieftain’s opinion, Enterprise High School ju- nior Jimmy Wells – point guard for the Outlaws boys basketball team – best exem- plifies these traits. Ellen Bishop/for the Chieftain Morgan Anderson and her team were second in the 82-mile race. ‘I had a lot of fun being out there with Charlotte and I think it’s a good start for me to do the 100-mile race at Eagle Cap Extreme next year.’ J immy Wells didn’t al- ways like basketball. As a child, he watched his father play on a 30x50 home basketball court and wait for a chance to steal the ball, so he could take it to the swing set and trade the ball for his favorite pastime – get- ting pushed on the swing. With time, things change. At the age of five, Jimmy Wells watched the movie “Air Bud” – about a dog whose talent at basketball elevates a boy’s self-esteem, while pro- pelling the boy’s basketball team to a state championship. Wells couldn’t get enough of it – or of his newfound passion for the game. “You couldn’t keep him off the court after that,” said Wells’ father, Larry Wells, who serves as the EHS athlet- ic director. Wells was eight when he moved to this area with his family. He started attending school in Joseph in the second grade. Wells’ EHS coach Ron Lathrop, who was coach- ing the Eagles’ high school basketball team at the time, said he remembered the boy’s passion for the game showed early. He was the team’s water boy. “He was always in the gym; he loved basketball,” Lathrop said. Wells developed a knack for the game and a love of competition. “I started playing com- petitively in fourth grade. I played every day after school, and my talent came naturally because of that,” Wells said. He also credited his father for taking an interest. “My dad played with me a lot and really helped me im- prove. He is my role model, an icon,” he said. Although the family still lives in Joseph, Wells transferred to EHS starting in his freshman year. Lathrop had also taken over the head coach position at EHS, and he remembered Wells. By his sophomore year, Wells was starting at point guard for the Outlaws because of his dedication to the game. Morgan Anderson RACES Continued from Page A1 Courtesy Photo/Ilene Wells Jimmy Wells in action against the Hermiston JV team earlier this year. Other schools fear Wells “He was starting as a sophomore because he’s real knowledgeable about the game and he understands the game well. A lot of players don’t realize that talent only figures into 25 percent of the equation; 75 percent of the game is played from the neck up. You have to think the game before you play it, and Jimmy’s knowledge of the game is his biggest asset,” Lathrop said. He added that other schools fear Wells so much as a player that on man-to-man defense they send their best defensive player to guard him. Wells applied that knowl- edge as a junior, helping lead the Outlaws to a near state playoff berth over the season. “It was disappointing. I don’t know what it was; we had a lot of talent, and we just weren’t able to do it,” he said. Wells received first- Courtesy Photo/Ilene Wells Jimmy Wells, third from left, after receiving his first-team Wapiti League honors at District this year. team Wapiti League honors at District at the end of the season. Beyond basketball, Wells participates in FFA and is also a 4.0 presence on the school’s honor roll. His sights are set on attending the University of Montana and concentrate on wildlife sciences. In the meantime Wells still attends open gym at Joseph and plays competitive bas- ketball as much as possible to prepare for his senior year and a trip to state. “We’re not going to lose too many guys. We have big guys and guys who can shoot the ball well. I have a feeling we’re going to make it,” he said. The two girls had made a plan to run together each day and on the first day Charlotte took off first. Anderson caught her within 10 miles and the two stuck together through the avalanche danger area and then Charlotte, whose team was better on downhills, took off. She went so far so fast, she left Morgan in the powder behind her. “I had an awesome team,” said Charlotte. “It was just super fun and we really had a great time.” “She thought something had gone wrong for me,” Morgan said. “So she stopped and waited for me for about 20 minutes, and I ended up winning the first day.” The next day Morgan took off first and when Charlotte caught up to her she told Charlotte she deserved the win this time – so Charlotte and her faster team led the way for the rest of the race, coming in eight minutes ahead of Morgan on Sun- day. The two ended their 82-mile race with Char- lotte in first with a total time of 10:49:35 and Mor- gan in second with 10:58:30. “It was really cool, I had so much fun,” Morgan said. “I had a lot of fun being out there with Char- lotte and I think it’s a good start for me to do the 100-mile race at Eagle Cap Extreme next year.” Morgan says she got interested in mushing from learning about the Eagle Cap Extreme “from kindergarten on.” Her dad, Craig Anderson, is also very involved with the Wallowa County Race. Her exchange sister Charlotte was not initially interested. “She thought she didn’t like dogs,” Morgan said. “But I took her on a practice run, and then started taking her every week, and she changed her mind. I caught her cuddling dogs on my bed the other day, so I think she loves dogs, now.” “I definitely like dogs now,” said Charlotte. “I think I’ll have a dog when I go back to Austria. Having three dogs in the (Anderson) house and having Morgan take me out on the sled, changed my mind about dogs,” Charlotte said. Charlotte will go home to Austria this summer, but will never lose her sister or the memory of their adventures. Morgan, who plans to go to college in Alaska and continue racing besides, has big plans for the 2018 ECX. She plans to run a team for the War- ren’s, who will be bringing three teams to 2018 ECX: one for Morgan, one for Trevor and one for 200-mile ECX veteran Laurie Warren. Dr. Jerald Rice will have his own dogs back, with Charlotte back in Austria, and plans to race himself in 2018.