6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021
BAKER SWIMMING
Baker second
in district meet
BAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL
Baker rally falls short at La Grande
By Corey Kirk
■ Bulldogs claim multiple titles, now
prepare for a state meet this weekend
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Baker girls basketball
coach Mat Sand is no fan of
losing, but he can still have
fun watching his team even
when they don’t win.
Such was the case Friday,
June 18 in La Grande when
the Bulldogs’ rally fell short
against the unbeaten Tigers,
44-35.
“I hate losing but that had
to be the most fun of a loss
I’ve ever had in my career
just because I saw how well
the girls played, the decisions
they made and them real-
izing they can play with a
team packed with seniors and
experience,” Sand said. “To see
the advancement of the team
was the most exciting thing of
the season.”
Baker, playing with just one
senior, Sydney Keller, was up
against a La Grande squad
led by seniors Camryn Coll-
man and Ella Dunlap.
Coming off wins against
Ontario and Vale earlier in
the week, Sand knew he had
to change his game plan.
Keller, who usually guards
the opponent’s top scorer, was
dealing with an ankle injury.
Sand assigned sophomore
guard Sydnee Pierce with
the daunting task of trying to
slow Collman, who scored 24
points in La Grande’s 51-32
win over Baker on June 8.
Collman started well,
scoring all 11 of La Grande’s
points in the fi rst quarter,
including a trio of three-
pointers.
La Grande dominated the
second quarter, outscoring
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Baker’s Sydnee Pierce, right, guards La Grande’s top scorer, Camryn Collman on
Friday, June 18 at La Grande. The Tigers won, 44-35.
Baker 17-2 to take a 28-11
lead at halftime.
But the second half was a
different matter.
“You encourage them,
you tell them what you see
potentially and what they are
capable of doing,” Sand said.
“I told them you guys can play
with these guys.”
Pierce clamped down on
Collman, holding her to just
fi ve points in the second half.
“She (Pierce) was on (Coll-
man) the whole game for the
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Baker’s Jozie Ramos, left, scored 16 points to lead the
Bulldogs on Friday, June 18 at La Grande.
most part, and as a sopho-
more going up against some-
one like Collman, who is a
seasoned senior, she basically
shut her down,” Sand said.
With sophomore Jozie
Ramos scoring nine of her
team-high 16 points in the
third quarter, Baker outscored
the Tigers 16-6 to narrow the
lead to 34-27.
Baker couldn’t continue
the momentum in the fourth
quarter, but Sand said the
third-quarter rally, and the
contributions of Baker’s
underclassmen, illustrate the
team’s potential in 2022 and
beyond.
Sophomore Macey Moore
had eight points, and sopho-
more Rylee Elms had seven.
“It just shows you the
dynamic of this team, the
potential of this team,” Sand
said.
Baker fi nished the con-
densed season with an 8-4
record. The Bulldogs didn’t
qualify for a nonsanctioned
Class 4A state tournament in
North Bend.
Sand said he will have high
expectations for the Bulldogs
when they return to the court
in late fall. Baker won the
2019 state championship and
wasn’t able to defend that title
when the 2020 tournament
was canceled due to the CO-
VID-19 pandemic just before
Baker’s fi rst-round game.
“You are going to see a
much different team next
year,” Sand said. “I believe we
have a lot of momentum, that
there is no reason why when
things go back to normal, and
the OSAA starts doing what
they are doing, I expect us to
be on the top of our league,
I expect us to go into the
state tournament, I expect
us to jump right back to the
routine.”
Not even a brief power outage at the Sam-O-Swim
Center could stop the Baker Bulldogs from having a
strong outing as they played host to the district swim
meet on Saturday, June 19.
Baker faced off against swimmers from La Grande
and Cove.
Baker coach Paula Moe was thankful for the collab-
orative effort that made the event possible.
“It was amazing teamwork,” Moe said. “La Grande
came and brought their offi cials and their administra-
tion offi cials, and they helped us run it and it went
smooth as silk.”
Baker fi nished second overall, with 93 total points
(girls and boys teams) to La Grande’s 126. Cove had 40
points.
Baker junior Brianna Stadler, a two-time state
champion (in the 100-meter butterfl y in 2020, and the
100-meter backstroke in 2019, when she set a state
record), fi nished fi rst in both the 200 individual medley
and 100 butterfl y in Saturday’s meet at Sam-O.
Senior Salena Bott also won two events — the 200
freestyle and the 100 freestyle. Junior Sydney Lamb is
district champion in the 500 freestyle.
Baker’s relay team of Bott, Stadler, junior Caitlin Lien
and senior Avril Zickgraf won two events — the 200
medley and the 400 freestyle.
On the boys side, Baker sophomore Gabe Bott won
the 100 freestyle.
Moe was proud of the entire team’s effort.
“We have swam against these folks for the last couple
of weeks, and lost to several of them, so it was wonderful
to come in fi rst,” Moe said. “Baker was the highlight of
the meet.”
Baker will compete in a nonsanctioned state meet
this weekend at Cottage Grove High School.
Moe knows that her swimmers are ready to give their
best effort this weekend.
“They are very anxious and very excited, we are
swimming against folks we generally don’t swim
against, so it’s kind of fun to go and compete against
different people,” Moe said.
She is thankful for many organizations and people
who helped put on the district meet, including Baker
High School employees, Baker City offi cials who worked
to get the city-owned pool ready, Oregon Trail Electric
Cooperative for helping with the power outage, and the
Baker County YMCA, which operates Sam-O Swim
Center for the city.
Time
has
come...
hit the trail
with a set
of the best!
Lightning sparked 2 small fires
Fire bosses called in helicopters to drop
buckets of water on both blazes, he said. Both
Temperatures aren’t the only thing more
were controlled within two days.
typical of late July than of late June in North-
Although lightning is not unusual in mid
eastern Oregon.
June, McCraw said the fi res, both of which
Wildfi re conditions are also ahead of sched- started in stands of lodgepole pine, burned
ule.
more rapidly in what he calls “heavy” fuels
“Things are defi nitely dry out there,” said
— larger down logs — than is typical for the
Joel McCraw, fi re management offi cer for the fi nal week of spring.
Whitman District on the Wallowa-Whitman
“Everything we’re seeing is ahead of where
National Forest.
we usually are,” McCraw said.
Dry enough that a pair of small blazes
He said burning conditions are approxi-
sparked by lightning early on June 15 smol-
mately four weeks ahead of normal for late
dered for a few days before growing.
June.
The fi rst, reported on Thursday, June 17,
Graphs that plot the “energy release com-
burned about a third of an acre in Trout
ponent” — which projects how much potential
Creek Meadows near the North Fork of the
energy is available to be released in a fi re —
John Day River north of Granite.
show that measure as being above average
Two days later, on Saturday, June 19, a
in all fuel types in Northeastern Oregon, and
forest visitor reported a blaze near Beaver
near record levels for this time of year in the
Meadows, about four miles south of Granite. central Blue Mountains, John Day Valley and
That fi re burned about 1.1 acres.
juniper-sagebrush areas.
Both fi res were started by lightning during
The fi re danger is likely to worsen with hot
the June 15 storm, McCraw said.
temperatures forecast over the next week.
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Serving Baker and Surrounging Counties
We offer landscape curbing and full service specialty
and decorative concrete installation.
541-519-5268
We’ve got what
you want!
Come see our
full line of
ATV/UTV
tires and wheels
Lew Brothers Tire Service
541-523-3679
stone.elitesprinklernland@gmail.com
210 Bridge St. Baker City, OR
CCB#231936 LCB# 9809