Wednesday, April 13, 2022
A9
SPORTS
EHS girls take fourth at La Grande; boys place seventh
Chieftain staff
LA GRANDE — The
Enterprise girls track team
had fi ve top-three fi nishes
as the Outlaws turned in
a fourth-place fi nish with
49 points at the La Grande
Invitational Friday, April 8.
Nevaeh James provided
a spark with two individual
second-place fi nishes and
as part of a second-place
relay team. The freshman
turned in a personal best
of 13.49 seconds to place
second in the 100-meter
dash, and clocked a time
of 52.51, also a PR, to take
second in the 300 hurdles.
She also ran as part of the
second-place 4x400 relay
team, as she and teammates
Alisha Melville, Kendall
Wigen and Maddie Nor-
dtvedt took second with a
time of 4:34.57.
And the 4x100 relay
team, which consisted of
James, Nordtvedt, Lan-
nie Stonebrink and Althea
Komiskey, came in third
in 55.24 seconds. The fi fth
top-three fi nish came from
Sophia Espinoza, who took
third in the discus with a
mark of 80 feet, 1½ inches.
Three athletes scored
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Enterprise’s Madison Wigen competes in shot put during the
La Grande Invitational Friday, April 8, 2022. Wigen didn’t
place in shot put, but did take fourth in the high jump.
for the Outlaws in the high
jump, as Madison Wigen
took fourth at 4-feet-6 and
Komiskey and Jada Gray
tied for sixth at 4-feet-4.
Nordtvedt, in addition to
her roles on the relay teams,
took fi fth in the 200 in
29.15, and Michaila Caine
was sixth in the 3,000 in
14:03.07.
The Enterprise boys
scored 37 points to take
seventh. Twenty of those
points came from Zac
Knapp in individual events,
as the Outlaw standout won
the 800 in a time of 2:04.87,
and the 1,500 in 4:13.89. He
SOFTBALL
also ran a leg in the 4x400
relay, and with Andrew
Nordtvedt, Ransom Peters
and Levi Ortswam, placed
fourth in 3:51.63.
The 4x100 team of
Ortswam, Nordtvedt, Peters
and Cory Walker was fi fth
in 48.07. Individually,
Ortswam was fi fth in the
200 (24.46), Weston Wolfe
was seventh in the 300 hur-
dles (46.17), one second
ahead of teammate Roan
Flynn, who was eighth
(47.17) and Nordtvedt was
eighth in the 400 (56.07).
See Track, Page A10
GOLF
Jennings,
Homan
go 1-2 at
Heppner
Chieftain staff
Melissa Kirkland/Contributed Photo
Wallowa Valley’s Rilyn Kirkland gets set to throw to second
during a doubleheader against Burns Friday, April 8, 2022.
Outlaw softball drops two in
Burns to start district play
Chieftain staff
BURNS — The Wallowa
Valley softball team dropped
a Special District 2 double-
header to Burns, putting the
Outlaws on their heels to start
SD2 action.
The Outlaws, who had
averaged almost 10 runs per
game in their fi rst nine con-
tests, were limited to just three
runs and eight hits in a pair of
road losses to Burns, 4-1 and
4-2, to open district action.
Abby Straight had two hits
in the opener, including an
RBI single that drove in Coo-
per Nave with the lone run.
But Wallowa Valley didn’t
tally any extra base hits and
recorded 15 strikeouts in the
contest. Nave and Aimee
Meyers had the only other
hits.
Liz Rowley tossed six
innings in the loss, allowing
three earned runs on four hits,
walking three and striking out
10.
In the second game, Row-
ley had two hits, including a
double, and Rilyn Kirkland
had a double, an RBI and
drove in a run. Nave singled
and drove in the other run for
Wallowa Valley.
Meyers worked fi ve
innings in the circle, allow-
ing three earned runs on six
hits with a walk and four
strikeouts.
Wallowa Valley (6-5 over-
all, 0-2 SD2) travels to Vale
April 15 and to Grant Union
April 16.
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Enterprise head coach Mike Crawford, center, speaks with his team during a game
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.
Refl ecting on 33 years
Mike Crawford recounts
highlights of his time
on the EHS sidelines
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
NTERPRISE — Mike Crawford rode
a wave of emotions — as one would
expect — in the days and weeks fol-
lowing his last game on the sidelines
for the Enterprise girls basketball program.
Crawford, who retired at the end of the
season after 33 years leading the Enterprise
girls basketball program, said in a sit-down
with the Chieftain last month he needed to
shift his focus away from the fact his time
on the sideline is over.
“At this moment, it’s still new, and it’s
one of those things, but I have been kind of
pouting, there is no doubt about it, because
it’s not normal,” he said.
The normal thing for Crawford would
be planning next season.
In fact, he said that on Feb. 27 as
he was driving the bus back from the
E
See Crawford, Page A10
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Enterprise girls head coach Mike Crawford,
right, and his wife, Tammy, stand on the
court during a ceremony at halftime of the
boys basketball game Saturday Feb. 12,
2022.
Two Wallowa County
golfers found themselves at
the top of the leaderboard on
Thursday, April 7.
Dylan Jennings of Enter-
prise claimed the top spot
and Chase Homan of Wal-
lowa/Joseph placed second
to lead their respective team
— and the fi eld — at the
Heppner Invitational.
Jennings fi nished with a
round of 72, besting Homan
by just three shots as the
senior carded a 75.
Homan’s eff ort was part
of a fourth-place fi nish for
Wallowa/Joseph, as the team
turned in a score of 371,
which was 28 strokes behind
winner Hood River Valley.
Enterprise was fi fth at 426.
In addition to Homan,
Wallowa/Joseph saw Owen
Gorham post an 88, while
Willie Gibbs turned in a
102 and Jonas McKee shot
a 106.
For the Outlaws, Gunnar
McDowell shot a 98. Parker
Siebe was right on his tail at
102, and Mike Young carded
a 154.
For the Enterprise girls,
Jordan Stonebrink recorded
a score of 111 to tie for sec-
ond. Kimber Stein followed
closely at 115, Codi Cun-
ningham turned in a round
of 119, Tina Ayad had a 128
See Golf, Page A10
BASEBALL
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Valley’s Liz Rowley delivers a pitch against Pilot Rock
on Friday, April 1, 2022, during a game in Enterprise.
Outlaws bash Heppner/Ione
Chieftain staff
The Wallowa Valley soft-
ball team piled up the runs in
its fi nal contests before Spe-
cial District 2 play, blasting
Heppner/Ione in a road dou-
bleheader Tuesday, April 5,
14-0 and 19-2.
A combination of power
at the plate — the Outlaws
hit four home runs, two from
Rilyn Kirkland — and dom-
inance in the pitcher’s cir-
cle resulted in an easy win in
the opener. Kirkland fi nished
4-for-4, going deep twice,
with fi ve RBIs and three
runs scored. Aimee Meyers
and Cooper Nave also hom-
ered in the victory, and Wal-
lowa Valley fi nished with 20
See Outlaws, Page A10
Wallowa Valley drops two heartbreakers
Baseball team
swept on the
road by Burns,
6-5 and 13-11
Chieftain staff
BURNS — The Wal-
lowa Valley baseball team
dropped two heartbreakers
to the Burns Hilanders on
Friday, April 8, in Special
District 5 play, with Burns
grabbing a 6-5 walkoff win
in the opener, then outlast-
ing the Eagles in a slugfest
in the nightcap, 13-11.
In the opener, Lane
Rouse scored the tying run
in the top of the seventh to
even the score at 5-5, but
Burns plated the winning
run in the home half to win
the back-and-forth battle.
Jackson Decker, Trace
Collier
and
Spencer
Decker all scored in the
third to briefl y give the
Eagles a 3-2 lead before
Burns tied the score in the
bottom of the third. Both
teams scored in the fi fth —
one run by Jaxon Grover
before Burns responded
with two — to set up the
late-inning dramatics.
Maclane Melville col-
lected three hits for the
Eagles,
and
Jackson
Decker added two hits.
In the second game,
Burns broke an 8-8 tie
with fi ve runs in the bot-
tom of the sixth, send-
ing 11 batters to the plate.
Wallowa Valley responded
in the seventh when Spen-
cer Decker, Melville and
Cody Fent all scored runs,
but the rally fell short.
The Eagles spent most
of the game trying to rally,
as they fell behind 4-0
after one inning and 6-2
after three frames.
Wallowa Valley briefl y
pulled ahead in the fi fth,
7-6, as both Deckers, Gro-
ver and Rouse all scored.
The Hilanders retook
an 8-7 lead before Fent
scored the tying run in the
sixth.
Wallowa Valley (5-5
overall, 2-2 SD5) visits
the Pendleton/Griswold
JV for a doubleheader
April 15 and hosts the
Baker/Powder Valley JV
on April 18.
JAC’s Innovative Sales and Marketing Solutions
209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com
Contact Jennifer Cooney TODAY
jacs.isms@gmail.com • 541-805-9630
Independent
Sales Contractor