FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
B3
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
COLLEGE
FOOTBALL
PREP BOYS LACROSSE
UO, Ohio State
reschedule series
EUGENE — It’ll be 12
years later than originally
planned, but Ohio State
will finally play at Autzen
Stadium.
Oregon and Ohio State
have scheduled a home-
and-home series on Sept.
11, 2032 in Eugene and
Sept. 10, 2033 in Colum-
bus, a source confirmed .
The teams were sup-
posed to meet on Sept.
12, 2020, with the Ducks
hosting the Buckeyes in
what would’ve likely been
a top-10 matchup, but the
game was canceled due
to the pandemic.
Ohio State athletic di-
rector Gene Smith told
Ohio State fan site Eleven
Warriors the school will
now pay Oregon $3.5
million for the game in
Columbus on Sept. 11
(9 a.m. PT, FOX) this sea-
son, provided Ohio Sta-
dium is at full capacity
this fall.
“We just couldn’t find a
date next year or the year
after or even before ’26,
there was no way that we
could return the game.
And that’s why we had to
up the guarantee,” Smith
told Eleven Warriors.
Ohio State is the first
nonconference opponent
on Oregon’s schedule for
the 2032 and 2033 sea-
sons.
Oregon’s nonconfer-
ence schedules are filled
through 2026 and it has
two opponents scheduled
from 2027-29, with Michi-
gan State set for 2030.
— The Oregonian
GOLF
Corey Conners has
early lead at PGA
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.
— Amid the wind and the
havoc at Kiawah Island,
there was a semblance
of simplicity to the way
Corey Conners navi-
gated his way around the
Ocean Course for a 5-un-
der 67 and a two-shot
lead Thursday in the PGA
Championship.
He birdied all the par
5s. He made a couple of
long putts for birdie. He
dropped only one shot.
The scorecard alone made
it look like a walk on the
beach. It just didn’t feel
that way.
“I’d say it’s impossible
to be stress-free around
this golf course,” Conners
said. “You can’t fall asleep
out there on any holes. It’s
very challenging. I was for-
tunate to have a good day.
Made it as least stressful as
possible on myself.”
He led by two shots
over a half-dozen play-
ers. That group included
Brooks Koepka, who
started his day with a
double bogey and stayed
largely out of trouble
the rest of the way; and
Cameron Davis, who over-
came a triple bogey on
the sixth hole.
Keegan Bradley, Viktor
Hovland, Aaron Wise and
Sam Horsfield also were
at 69. The seven players to
break 70 were the fewest
for the opening round of
the PGA Championship
since there were five at
Hazeltine in 2002. Phil
Mickelson had four bo-
geys through six holes
and nothing but bird-
ies and pars the rest of
the way to join the large
group at 70 that included
defending champion Col-
lin Morikawa and former
U.S. Open champion Gary
Woodland.
More telling were those
on the other side of par,
including Dustin Johnson
(76), Justin Thomas (75),
Rory McIlroy (75) and Jor-
dan Spieth (73).
— Associated Press
Area
teams
find
success
Courtesy Chris Crowder
Summit’s Liam Ross runs up the field during the Storm’s 17-3 win over Sisters on May 4.
Summit and Mountain View boys cap off impressive seasons, going a combined 19-2
“The beauty of this season is it gave us a sense of urgency. Every moment counted.
Everything was important. It was a level of focus and appreciation
that doesn’t always find its way late into the spring season.”
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
T
he 2021 boys lacrosse season
proved to Mountain View coach
Dan Marut the value of high
school athletics.
Despite the uncertainty of what could
happen with Oregon high school lacrosse,
which was coming off a canceled year due
to the pandemic, Mountain View and
Summit boys were able to turn in great
records this spring.
— Summit boys lacrosse coach Luke Hansen
“This year really showcased what youth sports
are all about,” Marut said. “It was about learning
life lessons. They came to practice knowing that
the season could be canceled.”
Collectively, the two programs went 19-2 on
the season, with Summit winning all eight of its
games.
When it came time to gear up and hit the field,
the teams felt ready after working throughout the
long offseason.
“The beauty of this season is it gave us a sense
of urgency,” said Summit boys lacrosse coach
Luke Hansen. “Every moment counted. Every-
thing was important. It was a level of focus and
appreciation that doesn’t always find its way late
into the spring season.”
The Oregon High School Lacrosse Association
instituted a 150-mile radius travel restriction for
the season. That meant that the Central Oregon
high school teams — Summit, Mountain View,
Bend, Ridgeview and Sisters, all playing in the
High Desert League — could not play against the
Portland-area squads, which are considered the
top teams in the state.
Typically, the best Central Oregon teams would
compete in a postseason tournament against Port-
land-area teams and other teams from throughout
Oregon. Not long ago, in 2016, Summit advanced
all the way to the semifinals of the tournament.
See Lacrosse / B4
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Central Oregon athletes are
primed for state meets
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
N
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Summit’s Kohana Nakato races towards the finish line while competing
in the 4x100-meter relay at Summit High School on Wednesday at the
Central Oregon Large School Championships. Nakato has the state’s
best mark in the javelin going into the 6A Track and Field Showcase in
Oregon City on Friday and Saturday.
o official Oregon
School Activities Asso-
ciation track and field
state meets? No problem. State
champions in running, throw-
ing and jumping events will
be crowned this weekend, just
without the sanctioning of the
OSAA.
The state meets for the dif-
ferent classifications will be
staged throughout different
parts of the state on Friday and
Saturday.
The 6A Track and Field
Showcase will be held at Pi-
oneer Memorial Stadium in
Oregon City; the 5A Invita-
tional at Wilsonville High
School; the 4A State Track and
Field Championships at Siu-
slaw High School; the 2A meet
at Union High School.
None of the Class 1A schools
are competing at state meets
and the 3A meet was staged
Tuesday in Harrisburg.
Central Oregon has several
track and field athletes who
could very well find themselves
at the top of the podium in
their events this weekend.
Here are eight Central
Oregon athletes who enter
their state meets with the top
marks in their classifications.
See Track / B4
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
UO to face former coach in regional at Texas
BY JAMES CREPEA
The Oregonian
EUGENE — Mike White
recognizes the NCAA Re-
gional pairing of No. 12 seed
Texas with Oregon will natu-
rally draw interest, but don’t
count the former Ducks coach
among those who find the
likely postseason matchup en-
tertaining.
White, who spent nine years
at Oregon and led the Ducks
to a 435-111-1 record with five
Pac-12 titles and five Wom-
en’s College World Series ap-
pearances, left UO for Texas in
the summer of 2018. He and
former Ducks Lauren Burke,
Shannon Rhodes and Mary
Iakopo will host their former
team, as well as Saint Francis
(PA) and Texas State, in Austin
starting Friday afternoon.
“It’s something you kind
of expected that the political
forces would get together and
want to do something like this,”
White said. “Oregon doesn’t
deserve a (No.) 21 seed given
their record in a lot of people’s
eyes. You could say the same
for Clemson. You can say the
same for Washington not be-
ing the 16 seed. There’s a lot
of things that could have been
and maybe should have been
but they weren’t.
See Softball / B4
Leon Neuschwander/For The Oregonian
Oregon catcher Terra McGowan, left, and pitcher Samaria Diaz discuss
strategy against UCLA in Eugene on April 10 .