FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN " WEd NEs day, Ma r c H 17, 2021
COLLEGE
SPORTS
OSU board to meet
to discuss president
The Oregon State
board of trustees will
meet this week to discuss
president F. King Alexan-
der’s role in the mishan-
dling of sexual miscon-
duct cases at his former
school, LSU.
Board chair Rani Borkar
wrote an open letter to
the Oregon State com-
munity saying the board
would meet Wednesday
to review a report by an
outside law firm commis-
sioned by LSU to look into
how the school handled
the cases. The report con-
cluded the school suffered
“a serious institutional
failure” in its handling of
physical and gender vi-
olence.
After six years at LSU,
from 2013-19, King ar-
rived at Oregon State,
which has endured issues
of its own inside the ath-
letic department. An Asso-
ciated Press investigation
uncovered an abusive
environment inside the
school’s volleyball pro-
gram. Three players have
told the AP of contemplat-
ing suicide over the past
five years, while at least
a dozen have transferred
from or quit coach Mark
Barnard’s program.
Barnard has been in-
vestigated, but remains
the team’s coach, and
Oregon State is suing the
AP to block the news or-
ganization’s open-records
requests for information
about investigations into
Barnard and the program.
The school turned
down requests to speak
to King during the inves-
tigation and, through a
spokesman, disputed
characterizations made by
players and others close to
the program of the volley-
ball team as engendering
an abusive environment.
In an open letter to
the school community
last week, Alexander said
he regretted not taking
stronger action against
football coach Les Miles,
who was a central figure
in the 2012 investigation
at LSU. Miles was fired ear-
lier this month from his
job at Kansas.
— Associated Press
MEN’S NCAA
TOURNAMENT
6 officials out
due to COVID-19
INDIANAPOLIS — Six
officials won’t be working
the NCAA Tournament
because one tested posi-
tive for COVID-19 and five
others were deemed close
contacts after arriving in
Indianapolis.
NCAA senior vice pres-
ident of basketball Dan
Gavitt confirmed the de-
tails Tuesday. CBS Sports
first reported that the
officials received permis-
sion to leave for dinner to-
gether when their rooms
weren’t ready and no food
was available as they ar-
rived at their hotel.
They later returned to
the hotel and one of the
officials tested positive.
The amount of time they
would have to quarantine
meant they wouldn’t be
available for the entirety
of the tournament, which
begins Thursday with four
games before 16 more on
Friday.
Gavitt didn’t name
the six officials who were
removed. He noted that
when the pool of 60 of-
ficials was selected for
the tournament, another
17 alternates continued
to test in case they were
needed. Four of those al-
ternates have arrived in
Indianapolis to replace the
six who were removed.
— Associated Press
bendbulletin.com/sports
PREP VOLLEYBALL
A change in perspective
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin photos
Summit volleyball coach Jill Waskom, right, runs through drills with her players during practice last week at Summit High School.
With no state tournament this season, Summit volleyball switches goal from championship to enjoyment
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
Y
ear after year, Jill Waskom has been coaching talented volleyball teams that are
some of the best in the state. Six times since 2007, Summit has reached the state
championship match, and has twice brought a state volleyball title to Central Oregon.
Looking at the team she had returning for the 2021 season, the pieces were in place for
Summit to add to that total. The Storm had one of the state’s top players in Harper Justema,
multiple all-conference players and state tournament experience.
“We would have been making a really good run at all high school sports in Oregon were canceled for
the state championship,” Waskom said. “It is
nearly an entire year.
not often that you have depth.”
Still, it is only natural for a team to think
But due to the effects of COVID-19,
of
what could have been for a group that
Inside
there will be no state championships
had been playing together since grade
Prep scores
this season.
school.
and sporting
“It sucks of course to not have the
“It is bitter sweet not to go back to
events on deck in
same opportunity to have a chance
the state tournament for one more
Scoreboard,
to make the state title this year,” said
time,” said senior Hannah Sauer. “It is
A6
junior Hannah Kendall. “But it is nice
always so different from other tourna-
to be back in the gym and I think we are
ments and the season because it is so com-
making the most of what we have.”
petitive and all the best teams are there. It is
The past year has been all about continuously
sad that I won’t get to experience that again.”
See Summit / A6
making adjustments and finding the positives when
COLLEGE BASKETBALL | AP ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Harper Justema hits the ball over the net during practice
last week at Summit High School.
MOTOR SPORTS
Gonzaga, Baylor dominate Suarez makes a historic
mark for himself, NASCAR
BY DAVE SKRETTA
AP Basketball Writer
Gonzaga and Baylor spent
almost the entire season hold-
ing down the top two spots
in the Top 25. Makes sense
they’d hold down a bunch of
spots on The Associated Press
All-America teams.
The Bulldogs’ Corey
Kispert and the Bears’ Jared
Butler led the way with first-
team nods Tuesday from the
national panel of 63 media
members that vote each week
in the AP Top 25 poll. They
were joined by unanimous
pick Luka Garza of Iowa, a
two-time selection, along with
Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and
Cade Cunningham of Okla-
homa State.
Kispert and Butler had
plenty of company, though.
The Bulldogs also landed
BY JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
Young Kwak/AP file
Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert dunks against BYU in Spokane,
Washington, in January.
big man Drew Timme and
freshman sensation Jalen
Suggs on the second team
while Joel Ayayi was an hon-
orable mention pick. The
Bears had Davion Mitchell
on the third team and MaCio
Teague as an honorable men-
tion.
See All-Americans / A6
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —
Bubba Wallace is the face of
NASCAR diversity. Daniel Su-
arez plays an equally import-
ant role.
His road to NASCAR first
stopped in upstate New York
in the dead of winter. His En-
glish was limited and most of
Suarez’s racing had been at
lower levels in Mexico. But a
K&N Pro Series team owner
had offered to mentor him, so
here Suarez was in Buffalo. In
January.
He was back home in Mex-
ico in a matter of months.
Suarez returned to the
United States the next year
only this time he headed di-
rectly to North Carolina, the
hub of NASCAR. His English
was still a struggle, but the
Nicolas Cage movie “Gone
in 60 Seconds” with subtitles
helped him with both the lan-
guage and American culture.
Roughly nine years after
he left Mexico determined to
make it racing stock cars in
America, Suarez last weekend
became the first Mexican in
the Fox Sports broadcast booth
for a national NASCAR race.
To signify the occasion, Su-
arez called a lap in Spanish — a
well-meaning crossover cut
short by an untimely caution.
“Tenemos una bandera am-
arilla!” Suarez called. “Caution
is out, amigos.”
See Motor sports / A7