SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 7A
Winter sports season, set
to start Dec. 28, not certain
■ Oregon School Activities Association executive board to meet Dec. 7
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
After a hiatus of more than
nine months, organized high
school sports in Oregon are
set to resume Dec. 28 with a
season for traditional winter
sports.
Or maybe not.
Earlier this fall the Oregon
School Activities Association
(OSAA) set Dec. 28 as the
date schools could start prac-
tices for basketball, wrestling
and swimming.
The fi rst interschool compe-
titions were slated to start
Jan. 11, 2021.
But the Oregon Health
Authority (OHA) considers
both basketball and wrestling
“full-contact” sports, and with
COVID-19 cases surging
in most parts of the state,
athletes in those sports can’t
even have regular practices.
OSAA’s executive board is
scheduled to meet Dec. 7 to
decide how to proceed with
the winter season.
“The fact that the student
athletes can’t be basically
in contact with each other,
until that ban is lifted the
effect will basically be that
there’s no possibility to do
those sports as they normally
would be,” said Buell Gonza-
les Jr., athletic director for the
Baker School District.
Pendleton Athletic Director
Mike Somnis said he’s seek-
ing one thing: clarity.
“I think clarity is what
everyone is needing right
now, it’s just the uncertainty
we are all in,” Somnis said.
“Are we going to play? How is
this going to work? We have
a plan in place on (Dec.) 28th,
and starting games on (Jan.)
11th, but some of the restric-
tions in place will allow us to
get to that point.”
Stanfi eld Athletic Director
Daniel Sharp feels that the
OSAA should be doing more.
“I don’t think they (OSAA)
are doing a whole lot with
anything, I think they are
taking their marching orders
from the health authorities
and the governor’s offi ce,”
Sharp said. “I think people
are ready to adjust and make
it happen. It’s just kind of
those regulations and the fear
of schools hosting and being
sued.”
Starting in September,
OSAA allowed schools to
have a series of three “mini-
sessions.” Each month-long
session allowed practices, and
some unoffi cial interschool
contests, starting with tradi-
tional spring sports, followed
by fall sports and fi nally win-
PRACTICES
Blazers draft
WSU’s Elleby
By Anne M. Peterson
AP Sports Writer
Portland has a new CJ.
The Trail Blazers selected forward CJ Elleby out of
Washington State with the 46th pick in the NBA draft
Wednesday night.
Elleby, the fi rst Cougar drafted since Klay Thompson
in 2011, averaged 18.4 points and 7.8 rebounds as a
sophomore last season.
A 6-foot-6 lefty known as a disruptive defender, El-
leby matched his career high with 30 points in his fi nal
game with Washington State, an 82-68 victory over
Colorado in the opening round of the Pac-12 tourna-
ment. He added 10 assists.
His 30 points were the most for a Cougar in the
conference tournament since Thompson had 43 points
in a game in 2011.
In his two seasons with the Cougars, Elleby aver-
aged 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. He becomes
Portland’s second CJ, joining guard CJ McCollum.
Earlier in the draft, the Blazers selected Isaiah Stew-
art out of Washington with the 16th pick, but the 6-foot-
9, 250-pound forward won’t be heading to Portland.
The Trail Blazers reportedly traded the pick to
Houston along with forward Trevor Ariza on Monday
for veteran Robert Covington, according to a report by
ESPN. The deal could not be formally announced by the
Blazers until after the draft.
PAC-12 FOOTBALL
Pac-12 will allow
nonconference games
Kathy Orr/Baker City Herald File Photo, 2019
Baker’s Gabe Gambleton drives past Pendleton’s Tanner Sweek in a December 2019
basketball game at Baker High School.
ter sports. The mini-session
for winter sports started Nov.
17 and continues through
Dec. 18, although practices
are on hold during the two-
week statewide “freeze” that
continues through at least
Dec. 2.
Darren Goodman, athletic
director at La Grande High
School, said the mini-ses-
sions have been benefi cial.
“It’s been good, we’ve been
making sure we’ve been fol-
lowing safety procedures in
practices,” Goodman said.
His feelings were echoed
by Athena-Weston Athletic
Director Shawn White.
“We’ve just been having
practices with what’s allow-
able,” White said on Nov. 12.
Jason Crenshaw, ath-
letic director at Joseph High
School, said he and his col-
leagues have had to learn to
adjust, and to not expect any
schedule to happen without
changes.
“It’s hard to plan your
year, we (athletic directors)
have to plan ahead and it’s
really hard to anticipate
what would happen with this
pandemic,” Crenshaw said.
“You have to plan like it’s not
going to be there when you
get to that point.”
White said he sympathizes
with athletes who have been
waiting so long to compete,
and now might be deprived
of a winter sports season.
“They just want to have a
season, and they are obvi-
ously in the same boat as
everybody else is,” White
said. “We are just wondering
what can they do.”
In the meantime, Good-
man said he focuses on the
activities that are allowed.
“We are going to do
whatever it is that we can
do; conditioning, skill work,
things that you are allowed
to do,” he said.
Gonzales said he is pre-
paring to move ahead with
a winter sports season if
the OSAA executive board
makes that decision during
its Dec. 7 meeting.
“We will do everything we
can within the guidelines,”
he said. “It’s been super frus-
trating for our kids and fami-
lies to have to go through
this. The district, athletic
department and the coaches
have done a really good job
of offering opportunities for
the kids.”
Somnis intends to reassess
the scenario at Pendleton
High School as soon as the
OSAA executive board has
made a decision.
“Whatever comes out of
that meeting, we will have to
assess where we are at and
where we are going to be,
and what our ability to actu-
ally play not only season two
and into season three and
season four,” Somnis said.
“We will be very proactive
making sure the kids have
an outlet in some form or
other.”
“If any coaches want to do anything outside
under the certain guidelines for outside condi-
Continued from Page 6A
tioning they can, I know our tennis program
Goodman said he doesn’t intend to set up
intends to meet to have the kids do a little
an online conditioning program, based on the running,” Somnis said. “I think boys basket-
idea that the freeze will end Dec. 2 and schools ball may look into using the track to get a little
can resume practices during the mini-session. conditioning in.”
“If the weather is decent we can do some
He said the unexpected interruption in
conditioning outside but we aren’t going to do practices was particularly disappointing
online conditioning for the sports,” Goodman
because Pendleton athletes had been taking
said.
advantage of the opportunities during the
At Baker High School, meanwhile, coaches mini-sessions throughout the fall.
will be meeting online with athletes during
“The last ten weeks have been great, our
the freeze.
weight training classes, our dance teams and
“We moved to a virtual format where the
our volleyball team have been able to use the
coaches will connect with kids individually
gym for workouts, conditioning and practices
and provide direction and provide an opportu- and we haven’t had a single issue,” Somnis
nity to connect,” Gonzales said. “That is going said.
to continue as long as we are in this freeze.”
Though the two-week freeze is a setback,
In Pendleton, Somnis said indoor sports,
Goodman is steadfast in pursuing the main
such as basketball, will transition to outdoor
objective — maintaining responsibility, getting
training with the hope that a regular winter
back to playing sports and above all keeping
sports season will start Dec. 28. He said other everyone safe.
sports might also have outdoor workouts.
“We all want sports back, we all want the
The Oregon School Activities Association
athletes to have those experiences, but we
(OSAA) executive board is slated to meet Dec. also have to be responsible and if the numbers
7 to decide whether to move ahead with that
are high right now then let’s protect our kids,”
plan.
Goodman said.
The OSAA’s current sched-
ule for 2021:
• Winter sports: Dec. 28
through March 6
• Fall sports: Feb. 22
through May 1 (May 8 for
football)
• Springs sports: April 19
to June 26
More information is avail-
able at www.osaa.org/corona-
virus.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
— The Pac-12 Conference
has approved a plan to
allow member schools to
schedule nonconference
football opponents subject
to certain conditions if
games are canceled.
The conference has had
fi ve of its 18 scheduled
games during the fi rst
three weeks canceled
amid COVID-19 issues.
California and UCLA
were able to schedule a
game against each other
last weekend on 45 hours’
notice after Cal’s game
against Arizona State and
UCLA’s matchup against
Utah were canceled due to
the Sun Devils and Utes
having several positive
COVID-19 tests.
Colorado was slated
to host Arizona State on
Saturday but that game
was called off earlier this
week.
The conference’s new
scheduling plan could give
the Buffaloes the pos-
sibility of facing Colorado
State or Wyoming if the
Mountain West Confer-
ence doesn’t schedule a
rematch between the two
schools.
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