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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 2021)
A10 SPORTS Wallowa County Chieftain Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Masks to be worn on the court unless vaccinated By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain SALEM — The mask- ing rules for businesses put in place by Gov. Kate Brown last week will apply to the playing surface, too. The Oregon School Activ- ities Association announced late Wednesday, May 19, that it received clarification from the Oregon Health Authority on how to handle masking for athletic events. The ruling for indoor sports is that students, staff, volunteers and specta- tors who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear face masks as long as the vacci- nation status of that individ- ual has been checked by the school. Previous social dis- tancing and capacity rules are still in place. That means unvaccinated players on the wrestling mat or basketball court will have to be masked, OSAA Exec- utive Director Peter Weber said. “These provisions are optional for the venue oper- ators,” the press release from the OSAA states. “School districts, charter schools, and private schools may still choose to require face cover- ings at these events.” OHA guidance deems a “fully-vaccinated” individual as someone who is 14 days past receiving full vaccina- tion — two shots of either Pfizer or Moderna, or one shot of Johnson & Johnson. Vaccination verification is “documentation provided by a tribal, federal, state or local government, or a health care provider, that includes an individual’s name, date of birth, type of COVID-19 vac- cination given, date or dates given, depending on whether it is a one-dose or two-dose vaccine, and the name/loca- tion of the health care pro- vider or site where the vac- cine was administered,” according to the press release. Weber said each school will make the call on how they handle checking vaccinations. “I’m not sure every school is going to check the status. They may keep everyone masked,” he said. He added the OSAA does check on schools that they hear are not following the standards in place. “In general the responsi- bility is on the school to be sure they are following regu- lations,” he said. Enterprise High School Superintendent Erika Pinker- ton said all three Wallowa County superintendents met last week, and said they will be going with the option to have people be maskless if they can verify vaccina- tion. Otherwise, people at the indoors events will need to be masked. “We felt it was important for the people of our commu- nity to have a choice,” she said. “We’ve gotta go through the motions to fine tune it. That is what (Oregon Depart- ment of Education) is putting on school districts. We’ll do our best to make sure were following guidance.” Masks are no longer required at outdoor sporting events, though social distanc- ing is still encouraged. The OSAA also announced late Wednesday afternoon that its Season 4 culminating week events will be carried out in the same manner as Seasons 2 and 3 — run at the local or regional level. Season 4 includes bas- ketball, wrestling and swim- ming. Each of those sports were granted additional con- tests, as well. Basketball can have four additional games, swimming gets two addi- tional dates and wrestlers get one extra date, two added weigh-ins and five more mat appearances. June 21-27 is the culmi- nating week for Season 4. Seasons 2 and 3 have seen regional and even state- wide events put together by schools. Weber said OSAA hasn’t been overly involved in these larger events, but that it has provided support when schools had questions. “We’re not in drawing brackets, but trying to be a resource for athletic directors, whether it’s the local tourna- ment, or regional things, or the stuff that is even a little larger,” he said. Joseph boys Getting back into the swing of things basketball opens with two victories TEE TIME Chieftain staff NORTH POWDER — Chase Murray and Mason Ferre outscored Powder Valley on their own Mon- day, May 17, to power the Joseph boys basketball team to its first of two wins to open Season 4. Murray scored 20 points — 10 in each half — and Ferre had 19 points and hit three 3-pointers as the Eagles rolled over Powder Valley on the road, 50-33. The duo scored the bulk of the points in the first half, with Ferre netting 11 as the Eagles moved to a 26-13 lead at the break. Murray had eight in the third alone, and Ferre netted two 3s, to stretch the lead to 40-23. Both Brad Wilcox and Blade Suto added six points for the Eagles. On Friday, Joseph exhib- ited more balance on offense in a 53-31 win at Imbler. Ferre scored 15 points and Murray had 13. Suto added nine points and Storm Lynch had seven. Ferre scored seven of his points in the second quar- ter as Joseph broke an 8-8 first quarter tie and raced to a 27-14 lead at the half. Suto hit two treys in the third to power the offense as the lead swelled to 44-19 after three. Joseph (2-0 overall) hosted Wallowa Tuesday, May 25, then visits Enter- prise on Thursday and Union on Friday. Joseph girls fall to Powder Valley, top Imbler The Joseph girls basket- ball team split its first two contests of 2021 to open Season 4. On Monday, May 17, the Eagles spent much of its opening road contest against Powder Valley play- ing catch up, and fell short in that endeavor, dropping the contest 43-36. Sabrina Albee was the offensive standout for Joseph, scoring 26 points. The senior almost sin- gle-handedly kept the Eagles in the game in the second half with 17 of the team’s 19 points after the break, including 10 points in the third quarter as Joseph rallied from six down at the break to get within 31-29. She scored all seven points for Joseph in the fourth. Sarah Orr added five points for the Eagles. On Friday, Albee scored 28 points, including 17 in the first half, to power Joseph past Imbler, 47-37. Albee connected on five 3-pointers in the game, and scored all but five first-half points as Joseph led 22-17 at the break. The Eagles pushed the lead to 33-23 after three and held on. Brianna Micka added eight points, and Grace Hickman scored six points. Joseph (1-1 overall) hosted Wallowa Tuesday, May 25, then visits Enter- prise on Thursday and Union on Friday. By Rochelle Danielson O K, so this is the year you want to play golf. At least you are thinking about it. You’re not a pro, nor a beginner, but somebody in between. You’re a little shy, but not really — just unsure of going to an unfamiliar golf course with unfamil- iar faces. Here’s what to expect. First stop, pro shop to sign in. Open at 7 a.m., Doug, Cheryl or Belinda Continued from Page A9 I was happy for him.” Bayden Menton, mean- while, took fifth just behind Rogers in the 800 in 2:06.91, and was fourth in the 1,500 in 4:16.34. Ian Goodrich had a sev- enth-place finish in the 800 in 2:07.49. The 4x400 relay team, which consisted of Menton, Goodrich, Kane Johnson and Rogers, came in sev- still have some fun in the process. As always, mask up to enter the clubhouse/pro shop. On the course, con- sider the mixed advice given by our scientist friends who say you don’t need a mask outdoors any- more if you are or if you aren’t vaccinated. But indoors, you should always wear one. Well maybe two. Three’s even better. Think about it. Social distancing is still 6 feet apart, but it’s not difficult to maintain on AMGC’s wide-open fair- ways. Refrain from hand- shakes/high fives when you eagle, birdie or get a hole-in-one. Instead cele- brate the feat at the club- house with the purchase of a cold one. Do not remove flag sticks to putt, but if your ball hits the stick and bounces away, pout a little. One person per cart except for approved pairings, but if your club car quits on the No. 7 fairway, it’s OK to hitch a ride. Again, you must play the sand traps. No free drops, and you’re responsible for footprints in the sand. Rake up. Golf is crazy fun. Even on bad weather days Alpine Meadows is a nice place to be. ——— Rochelle Danielson of Enterprise loves the game of golf and has golfed for many years at Alpine Meadows. Enterprise girls split The Enterprise girls bas- ketball team dominated in its season-opener Satur- day, May 22, as the Outlaws used balanced scoring to top Imbler on the road, 48-23. The Outlaws were led by Rylin Kirkland, who scored 10 points. Jada Gray and Grace Collins had nine points apiece, and Claire Farwell netted seven points. Gray also grabbed a team- high six rebounds, Maci Marr had four assists and Kasey Duncan had three steals. Enterprise led by six at the break, then outscored the Panthers 30-11 in the second half to break the game open. On Monday, May 24, the Outlaws dropped a close 53-48 contest to Nixyaawii. Stats were not available by press time, and will be published next week. The Outlaws (1-1 over- all) host Joseph Thursday. Shorthanded EHS boys drop two The Enterprise boys, down a large handful of ath- letes who were still finish- ing the track and baseball seasons, dropped a pair of contests last week, falling at Imbler, 49-38, on Satur- day, May 22, and at home to Nixyaawii, 82-18, on Mon- day, May 24. In the contest against Imbler, which head coach Kyle Crawford said was played without seven var- sity athletes, Dylan Jennings was the leading scorer, net- ting 18 points. On Monday, Gideon Gray scored six points against 1A power Nixyaawii. The Outlaws (0-2 over- all), who had their first prac- tice with a full complement of athletes Tuesday, host Joseph Thursday. Baseball: Continued from Page A9 in the sixth with an RBI sin- gle. He went 3-for-5 and scored twice. Evans and Nave both had two hits and scored two runs. Evans drove in four runs and Nave tallied three RBIs. Zeb Ramsden had two hits and scored twice. Cody Fent earned the win in relief, pitching 4⅔ innings, allowing four hits, five runs, walking three and striking out three. Nave started and com- pleted the game on the mound, tossing the first 1⅓ innings then pitching the final inning for the save. He finished with four hits, two walks, three strikeouts and six runs in 2⅓ innings. Title run ended by eventual champions It was a different story earlier Saturday, as Wallowa Valley’s run for a title ended when its offense was shut down by Brookings-Har- bor pitcher Jason Deshon in a 3-0 loss at Santiam Chris- tian High School in Adair Village. Eagles’ starter Trace Evans held his own on the mound, allowing just three hits, walking three batters, striking out one and sur- rendering three runs in 4⅓ innings. But all Wallowa Valley was able to muster offen- sively was a double by Flynn Nave and a single by Jaxon Grover. Brook- ings, which went onto win the title game later Satur- Enterprise: Continued from Page A9 Eagles: will tell you the costs of a round of 9 or 18 holes, a punch card, price of rental cart and who can ride. If you need to rent golf clubs, buy a sleeve of balls, a glove or pick up a score card, Alpine Meadows has it. Forgot your socks? Got those, too. Shoes? No, the shop doesn’t sell foot- wear, but has several new, but older golf shirts for sale. There’s a practice green and a driving range. Buy a bucket of balls and go for it. The golf course welcomes you. Now’s a good time to get started or restarted. We all agree COVID is still around, but the restric- tions are more relaxed. In all seriousness golfers can enth in 3:49.74. The Joseph girls took 26th with four points, all of which came from freshman Iona McDon- ald, who placed seventh in two events — the 1,500 in 5:40.27, and the 3,000 in 12:50.70. Lottie McDonald, the other competitor at the meet for the JCS girls, just missed out on the top eight when she placed ninth in the 300 hurdles (52.52 sec- onds) and the 400 (1:06.38) missing eighth in the 400 by just 0.27 seconds. She PR’d in both races. “We’re not in shape, and we know that,” he said. “The only ones that are in shape are our distance runners. Everybody else is six weeks out. I felt that they had a great season for this.” The EHS girls team had three top-eight finishes as they scored five points to tie for 30th. The Outlaws saved their best for last in the 4x400 relay, with Maddie Nordt- vedt, Kyla Hook — who was competing despite battling an injury — Maddie Wigen and Mandy Decker/Contributed Photo The Wallowa Valley baseball team poses with the third-place state trophy after defeating Rainier 14-11 on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Corvallis. day night, 11-2, over Yam- hill-Carlton, went a per- fect 16-0, shut out half of its opponents and outscored teams 168-22. Nave, in addition to hav- ing one of the two hits, pitched 1⅔ innings of hit- less relief, striking out three batters in the process. Evans scores late to send Eagles to the final site Wallowa Valley wouldn’t have even reached the final site of the 3A state baseball playoffs had it not been for a moment of redemption for Evans on Tuesday, May 18. Evans threw out the potential winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra innings — one batter after drop- ping the would-be final out — then scored the eventual winning run in the top of the eighth as the Eagles held on for a wild 9-8 victory over Warrenton in a quarterfinal game at the Dalles. In the bottom of the sev- enth inning, Nathan Strei- beck scored to tie the game at 8-8 when Evans dropped a Ryan Hoagland fly ball that would have been the third out. As baseball is wont to do, Evans was given another chance. The next batter, Josh Earls, singled to Evans in center field. This time, Evans made the play, and threw out Hoagland at home to save Wallowa Valley’s season. In the eighth, Evans walked to open the frame, moved over on a Homan single, and scored the even- tual winning run on an RBI groundout by Ramsden. Savannah Vaughn placing sixth in a time of 4:39.61. “Kyla especially, it’s just been getting worse all year long, she hasn’t been able to practice. She came through,” Moody said. “I gave her the option earlier to sit out of the 3,000 and the 1,500. She didn’t want to.” The other relay team, the girls 4x100 of Althea Komiskey, Nordtvedt, Ailena McEntire and Vaughn placed eighth in 55.40 seconds. Individually, Vaughn also cracked into medal range, placing eighth in the 200 in 28.65 seconds. “These kids are special for the circumstances they had to deal with,” Moody said. Enterprise’s Althea Komiskey passes the baton to teammate Maddie Nordtvedt during the girls 4x100-meter relay Saturday, May 22, 2021, at the 2A state meet in Union. The girls relay team placed eighth. Nave then struck out three batters in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the win. Nave pitched the final four innings in relief, allow- ing one run on two hits with three walks and eight strike- outs. He also went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Salim and Grover both had three hits, while Salim scored twice. Ramsden also scored two runs. The back-and-forth game saw Wallowa Valley take a 3-1 lead after two innings, but the Warriors scored three times in the bottom of the third to go ahead 4-3. Both teams scored three times in the fourth, and the Eagles retook the lead in the fifth with two runs to go ahead 8-7. That lead held until the dramatic finish. Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain