BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 A5
SPORTS
BAKER CROSS-COUNTRY
Bulldog boys 2nd, girls 5th at Wallowa
as they did at Caldwell, which
was a flat, fast course. We still
have a couple more weeks un-
til we run a fast course again,
so we are working on trust-
ing the process and being pa-
tient, but they are putting in
the work and time so I have
no concerns — we just have to
keep positive and realize how
good they are running.”
Baker will travel to the Or-
egon Coast this weekend to
compete in the Three Course
Challenge on Saturday, Sept.
24 at Camp Rilea near War-
renton.
Baker City Herald
WALLOWA LAKE — With
Daniel Brown and Thaddeus
Pepera leading the way with
top 10 finishes, the Baker boys
cross-country team placed
second in the Wallowa County
Invitational meet on Friday,
Sept. 16.
Brown, a sophomore, fin-
ished eighth overall in a time
of 18:27.8.
Pepera, a senior, was 10th in
18:44.2.
Pine Eagle senior Cooper
Gover placed fifth overall in
17:39.4.
“Daniel Brown is running
really strong,” Baker coach
Suzy Cole said.
In the boys JV meet, Baker
finished first, with three run-
ners in the top four — Wil-
liam Spriet, 2nd, Tanner Lu-
cas, 3rd, and Angel DeArcos,
4th.
Spriet, who is a freshman,
will move to the varsity team
as a result of his time, Cole
said.
In the girls meet, Baker
sophomore Sofie Kaaen
placed fourth and the Bull-
dogs were fifth in the team
standings.
“Sofie Kaaen continues to
get stronger all the time,” Cole
said. “She ran really smart and
patient.”
Kaaen trimmed just over a
minute from her time on the
Wallowa Lake course from
last year.
Union won the boys title,
and La Grande was the top
girls team.
Wallowa County Invitational
Baker and Pine Eagle (PE) results
Kcia Fletcher/Contributed Photo
Baker’s Daniel Brown finished
eighth in the Wallowa County
Invitational cross-country meet
on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Wal-
lowa Lake, helping lead the Bull-
dog boys to a second-place team
finish.
“Friday’s race was a huge
success,” Cole said. “In
cross-country, with every
course being so different, the
best way to compare how a
runner or team is doing is by
comparing to their personal
records on that course. Ev-
ery runner who ran that same
course last year had a PR,
some by a minute.”
Lucas, for instance, ran 1
minute, 50 seconds faster than
Kcia Fletcher/Contributed Photo
Sofie Kaaen was Baker’s top
runner at the Wallowa County
Invitational on Friday, Sept. 16,
2022, placing fourth overall.
he did on the same course in
2021.
Avery Collier, who finished
ninth in the girls JV race, also
cut nearly 2 minutes off her
time from last year.
“Avery is a different runner
this year, much more confi-
dent and willing to push her-
self,” Cole said.
“I am really excited about
where we currently are and
the potential we have to keep
growing,” Cole said. “Some of
my kids are a little frustrated
because they haven’t ran as fast
Varsity Boys
Cooper Gover (PE), 5th,
17:39.4; Daniel Brown, 8th,
18:27.8; Thaddeus Pepera,
10th, 18:44.2; Nate Jen-
sen, 16th, 19:19.4; Karsten
Cikanek, 18th, 19:29.4; Hunter
Bingham, 20th, 19:37.2; Jor-
dan Mills, 24th, 19:54.6;
Gideon Tubbs (PE), 35th,
21:08.5; Seth Mastrude, 36th,
21:10.5; Gabe Brown (PE),
43rd, 21:40.5
Varsity Girls
Sofie Kaaen, 4th, 22:01.5;
Emma Timm, 22nd, 23:53.2;
Katie Spaugh, 23rd, 23:54.2;
Gwen Rasmussen, 27th,
24:21.7; Paige Marlia, 29th,
24:44.6; Tyler Gressley, 34th,
25:59.9
JV boys
William Spriet, 2nd,
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUND UP
Kcia Fletcher/Contributed Photo
Baker runners competing in the Wallowa County Invitational on Fri-
day, Sept. 16, 2022, at Wallowa Lake. From left, Gwen Rasmussen, Ka-
tie Spaugh, Emma Timm and Paige Marlia.
20:16.0; Tanner Lucas, 3rd,
20:21.1; Angel DeArcos, 4th,
20:49.3; David Farber, 8th,
21:53.0; River Clark, 9th,
21:57.5; Cade Hearne, 10th,
22:01.4; Clark Norton, 19th,
23:17.3; Sam Nelson, 25th,
24:33.5; Gideon Farber, 28th,
25:06.7; Seth Holden, 29th,
25:37.8; Dallin Guertz (PE),
34th, 27:55.7; Tristan Mulkey,
38th, 29:12.6
JV girls
Sage Cuzick, 6th, 27:23.1;
Riley Hurliman, 7th, 27:52.4;
Maddy Gagnon, 8th, 28:00.1;
Avery Collier, 9th, 28:47.1;
Evie Davis (PE), 11th,
29:14.6; Lilly Collins, 15th,
31:30.7
ESTACADA — The La
Grande football team is tired of
seeing the Estacada Rangers on
the scoreboard. Last season, the
Tigers were bounced out of the
hunt for a 4A championship by
the Rangers in a 44-22 loss in the
quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
La Grande again saw the
scoreboard read a Rangers win
as Estacada downed the Tigers,
32-28 on Friday, Sept. 16. The
Tigers came into the game with
a 1-1 overall record after a previ-
ous week’s blowout win over the
Ontario Tigers.
The Tigers will now attempt
to return to .500 on Friday, Sept.
23, with La Grande’s first home
game of the season, a matchup
versus Molalla (0-3 overall). This
will be the final nonleague game
for the Tigers before 4A Special
District 5 competition begins.
POWDER VALLEY 51,
SHERMAN/CONDON 12
NORTH POWDER — Pow-
der Valley football continues
to keep the home fans happy,
downing Sherman/Condon,
51-12 on Friday, Sept. 16, in 1A
Special District 2-West action.
The victory continues the
Badgers’ perfect overall record at
3-0 and hands Powder Valley its
first league win of the year.
Powder Valley will look to con-
tinue perfection as the Badgers
cross the state border into Wash-
Flight
Continued from A1
Cross, who lived in Sumpter
for about four years before
moving to Baker City three
years ago, already knew about
Honor Flight before he met
Anderson, who lives just
across the street.
As the two became friends,
Cross learned that Anderson,
who enlisted in the Navy in
November 1944, just before
his 18th birthday, had never
visited the nation’s capital.
This winter Cross got in
touch with Honor Flight of
Central Oregon, one of 130 re-
gion hubs for the nationwide
network.
He found out that although
the upcoming trip was already
booked, World War II veter-
ans have priority for flights.
Which is understandable,
he said, since the youngest of
these veterans are, like Ander-
son, in their 90s.
“We’re losing some every
day,” Cross said.
Next, Cross had to talk with
Anderson and find out if his
neighbor was interested in the
program.
“He said, ‘I’m up for that,’ ”
Cross said of Anderson. “And
here we are.”
The pair drove to Redmond
Tuesday, Sept. 20, where
they’ll catch their flight.
Middle School girls
Matty Gressley, 2nd, 11:19;
Ruby Heriza, 18th, 12:50.9;
Taryn Niday, 25th, 13:30.1;
Molly Rasmussen, 28th,
13:34.6; Grace Tracy, 30th,
13:56; Anne Hindman, 33rd,
14:27.6; Anaya Sanchez, 36th,
14:50.5; Olive Carlson, 47th,
15:37.9
Sixth grade boys
Gavin Tubbs (PE), 15th,
13:31.9
BAKER SOCCER
La Grande drops close decision to Rangers
BY JOHN BRAESE
EasternOregonSports.com
Middle School boys
Tristan Klecker, 23rd,
12:03.4; Orrin Anderson,
30th, 12:34.1; Jayce Allen,
46th, 14:26.1; Austin Mahon,
49th, 15:05.5
ington on Friday, Sept. 23 to
meet up with the combined team
of Lyle/Wishram/Klickitat in a
league game starting at 7 p.m.
ADRIAN 50, COVE 0
COVE — Cove athletic direc-
tor Levi Wiseman faced a diffi-
cult decision this season. With
the Leopards only looking at two
home games on the schedule,
picking a date for homecoming
came down to a date against de-
fending state champion Adrian
or waiting until the final game of
the season against Elgin.
Wiseman chose the Adrian
game on Friday, Sept. 16, for the
pomp and circumstance of the
high school tradition.
Even with the halftime show
going forward, the score did
not celebrate homecoming as
Adrian downed the Leopards,
50-0, handing Cove the team’s
first loss of the season.
The Leopards (2-1 overall)
travel to Dufur on Thursday,
Sept. 22, to meet St. Paul (2-0
overall) in a nonleague game.
ELGIN 60, WALLOWA 0
ELGIN — The Huskies held
their third opponent this season
scoreless, posting a 60-0 victory
over league rival Wallowa in 1A
Special District 2-East play Fri-
day, Sept. 16, in Elgin.
The win gives Elgin its first
league win of the season and
continues Elgin’s perfect season
at 3-0. Elgin has now outscored
They’ll spend two full days
— Thursday, Sept. 22 and Fri-
day, Sept. 23 — touring Wash-
ington, D.C., before returning
over the weekend.
Two veterans meet
Cross said he introduced
himself to Anderson after no-
ticing that his neighbor, de-
spite being in his early 90s,
was very active, working in
his yard and driving where he
needed to go.
“I said, I need to get to
know this guy,” Cross said.
During one of those conver-
sations, Cross learned that he
shared a military background
opponents 162-0.
The Huskies continue league
action on Friday, Sept. 23, with
a league matchup at Imbler (2-0
overall, 0-1 league).
Other scores:
• Echo 44, Huntington 6, Fri-
day, Sept. 16.
• South Wasco County 44,
Prairie City/Burnt River 21,
Thursday, Sept. 15.
• Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler 36,
Pine Eagle 0, Friday, Sept. 16.
VOLLEYBALL
Powder Valley went 3-1 in the
East/West Classic tournament
Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday,
Sept. 17 at North Powder.
The Badgers lost 2-0 to un-
beaten Damascus Christian in
the championship match on Sat-
urday. Earlier in the day Powder
Valley, 9-3 on the season, swept
Adrian, 2-0.
On Friday the Badgers beat
Open Door Christian Academy
2-0, and beat Joseph, 2-1.
Pine Eagle fell to 0-4 on the
season with losses to Spray/
Mitchell/Wheeler on Friday,
Sept. 16 at Halfway, and at Cove
on Saturday, Sept. 17.
The Spartans pushed Spray/
Mitchell/Wheeler to five sets.
Pine Eagle lost in three sets at
Cove.
Huntington won two straight
matches last week, sweeping the
Adrian JV on Wednesday, Sept.
14 and sweeping the Powder
Valley JV on Thursday, Sept. 15.
with Anderson.
Anderson, who has lived
in Baker City since 1989,
grew up a long ways from any
ocean, in Duluth, Minnesota.
And although he wanted
to enlist in the Navy after he
graduated from high school in
June 1944 — the same month
the Allies invaded Nazi-con-
trolled Europe at Normandy
— his mother wouldn’t allow
it.
Instead he worked on a
ship hiring iron ore across the
Great Lakes.
After learning the sailor’s
trade, Anderson enlisted in
the Navy. After attending en-
Baker’s Alan
Bedolla in action
against McCall,
Idaho, earlier
this season. The
Bulldogs tied
Fruitland 3-3 on
Saturday, Sept. 17,
2022, at Fruitland.
Ian Crawford/
Baker City Herald
Baker boys tie with Grizzlies
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
The Baker boys soccer team played to
a 3-3 tie at Fruitland, Idaho, on Saturday,
Sept. 17 in a back-and-forth match with
the Grizzlies.
Baker led 2-0 early.
Fruitland then scored three straight
goals, the last one in the second half, but
Baker senior Diego Quintela netted a pen-
alty kick with about 10 minutes left for the
tie.
Baker coach Victor Benites said the
Bulldogs “played good, never gave up, and
I’m very much proud of all the players.”
Baker’s record stands at 2-3-1.
“We started good, scored our first goal
about 10 to 15 minutes into the game by
Diego Quintela,” Benites said.
About 10 minutes later, the Bulldogs’
lead grew to 2-0 when junior Giacomo
Rigueiro scored on a penalty kick.
Fruitland rallied with two goals before
the intermission.
The Grizzlies then took their first lead at
3-2 with a goal with about 18 minutes left
in the match.
gineering school, he was as-
signed first to a ship that was
being repaired at Kirkland,
Washington, before shipping
off to the Aleutian Islands off
Alaska.
During a November 2020
interview with the Herald,
Anderson described his war-
time experience as “lucky.”
“We had submarine scares
a few times but nobody every
shot a torpedo at us,” he said.
Anderson was stationed in
San Diego, a motor machin-
ist’s mate third class, in August
1945, preparing to participate
in the U.S. invasion of Japan.
America’s military leaders
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Baker girls fall to Fruitland
The Baker girls soccer team’s three-
game unbeaten streak ended Saturday,
Sept. 17 at Fruitland with an 8-1 loss to the
Grizzlies.
After losing its opening match, Baker
won two of its next three, with a tie in the
third match.
Baker is 2-2-1 on the season.
The Bulldogs played Weiser on Monday,
Sept. 19 at the Baker Sports Complex.
Baker opens league play against La
Grande on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. at
the Sports Complex.
That led to Quintela’s second goal.
Baker returned to Idaho on Monday,
Sept. 19 to take on Weiser.
The Bulldogs open league play on
Wednesday, Sept. 21 by playing host to La
Grande at 4 p.m. at the Sports Complex.
“We’re certainly focused on preparing
ourselves mentally and physically for our
first league match,” Baker assistant coach
John Quintela said.
expected the operation would
be the costliest, in lives, of the
war. Anderson would likely
have been assigned to a land-
ing craft, making sure its die-
sel engine kept running to
deliver Marines to a beach. He
knew how dangerous an am-
phibious assault would be.
But it never happened.
While Anderson was train-
ing, word came that Japan had
surrendered after American
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B-29s dropped nuclear bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After his military service
ended in July 1946, Anderson
attended the Michigan College
of Mining and Technology
and earned a degree in min-
ing engineering and geology
in 1950. Since then he has
worked at mines around the
country, both as a mine man-
ager, consultant and at times
as a mine owner.
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