The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current, March 25, 2015, Image 12

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    B2
Sports
Blue Mountain Eagle
DANCE
Continued from Page B1
Astoria, which claimed the
championship title with a score
of 75.56.
Finishing out the rankings
were: Santiam (3rd), Banks
(4th), Sweet Home (5th), Ban-
don (6th), Portland Lutheran
(7th) and Seaside (8th).
This year’s Gold included
seniors Carli Gardner, Amy
Lallatin, Lucrezia Noseda, Auna
Waldner, Jenny McCloskey, and
manager Charli Bowden.
“Everything came togeth-
er – our costumes, the music,
the choreography all matched,”
said Waldner, who has learned
dance from Adair since she was
a young girl.
She said she was pleased
with the way the team bonded.
“We’re all friends on the
team,” she said.
She added that this year’s
state competition routine was
her all-time favorite, and mak-
ing it even more meaningful,
each dancer contributed to the
choreography.
Taking a major role in the
choreography with coach Adair
were Waldner, Reannah Lem-
ons, Mackenzie Woodcock and
2014 graduate Hannah An-
drews.
“I really couldn’t have asked
for a better season,” Waldner
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ish off my senior year.”
Lallatin said the team
worked hard this year.
“I’m glad that everything
paid off well,” she said. “It’s
been a fun season, and I love the
team very much.”
“This is such an excellent
group,” Adair said. “They’re
a very diverse group from dif-
ferent backgrounds, yet they
worked well together as a team
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Contributed photo/Cindy Dougharity-Spencer
Grant Union Gold dancers, from left, Auna Waldner, Serena Pace Rebecca Batease, Lucrezia Noseda and
Mackenzie Woodcock compete with their team at the state championships in Portland.
PROS
The Grant
Union
Prospectors
break out of
their after-
game huddle to
high-five their
opponents,
the Pilot Rock/
Nixyaawii
Rockets.
Continued from Page B1
The tie sent the game into
extra innings.
Taking the mound in the
eighth, Zack Dieter, Win-
ters and Copenhaver kept the
Rockets at bay.
The Prospectors sealed the
win in the bottom of the inning
when Young singled to second
base, scoring Dieter.
Brady Burch and Young
The Eagle
Angel Carpenter
GU
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
EST.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Continued from Page B1
“My coaches always taught
me to be a part of something that
is bigger than yourself, meaning
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ing up for practice every single
day,” he said. “That’s the kind of
1883
SILVIES VALLEY RANCH
Open to Grant and Harney County Students.
Postmark deadline is
April 1, 2015
Applications are available from your
school’s guidance counselor or online at
www.silviesvalleyranch.com
10-12
work ethic that you try to teach
kids.”
Another important part of
Sharp’s program is the time team
members spend together bonding
and developing friendships.
He said the teams’ annual tra-
ditions include a visit to the Crane
Hot Springs when they play the
Mustangs, a trip to see a Univer-
sity of Oregon Ducks game, the
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le, the Seaside Tournament.
“The kids are making a huge
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hard, you’re rewarded,” he said.
Sharp said he’s only as good as
his support staff and parents.
“I would like to thank the peo-
ple who supported our team, and
the girls for their dedication and
hard work, and coming to practice
– it was a big commitment they
made,” he said. “We had a couple
fundraisers, and the girls had to
work hard – they didn’t get any-
thing handed out to them.”
had two RBIs each, and Grant
Union overall had 12 hits to
the Rockets’ six.
Dieter took the mound for a
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strikeouts.
“They’re just a bunch of
gritty guys who like to play
for each other – not for them-
selves,” Delaney said. “They
don’t know how to quit. We
have a lot to work on still, but
if they can grind these games
out and wear down pitchers,
they’ll do well.”
He added, the Rockets are
“a talented, quality team.”
The Pros had a 6-7 loss in
Culver last Friday, the coach
attributing the result mainly to
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Grant Union hosts the Les
Schwab Icebreaker Tourna-
ment this Thursday-Saturday
and will play the winner of
Country Christian vs. Oakland
at 11 a.m. Friday. The Prospec-
tors also will hold heir annual
fundraiser dinner and auction
at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Grant
Union.
Junior varsity girls
With no freshman girls team
at Grant Union this year, coach
Lisa Weigum’s junior varsity
group had 10 freshmen, two
sophomores and two juniors.
“Overall, based on the win-
loss ratio, we had a successful
season, but more importantly, I
think our success could be de-
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She noted her team sees a
higher level of competition, and
it’s not uncommon for them to be
up against seniors.
“It’s about development for
the future and preparing them to
play at the varsity level, which
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Union varsity basketball pro-
gram holds.”
This season the girls held a
10-5 overall record and were 7-5
in league.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting
to know the kids,” Weigum said.
“I appreciated their positive at-
titudes and their work ethic and
commitment to the sport – it was
a great group of girls this year.”
Weigum, also assistant coach
for the varsity girls team with
head coach Mark Mosley, said
she’s proud of what that team ac-
complished this year – making it
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years to get to the state playoffs,”
she said.
“Mark did a great job, and
Doug does a great job preparing
the girls,” she said. “They’re great
coaches, and we’re on our way to
building a successful program.”
Junior high and junior
varsity boys
Coaching the junior high sev-
enth-grade and combined sev-
enth- and eighth-grade teams this
year was Kelly Stokes who also
assisted Casey Hallgarth in coach-
ing the junior varsity boys.
Stokes said the younger teams
worked through injuries and faced
tough competition in club basket-
ball tournament but ended with a
winning season overall during the
interscholastic basketball season,
showing great improvement.
Besides training his team in
the fundamentals of basketball,
Stokes said he tries to teach them
the importance of family and
friends, respect for others, keeping
their composure in stressful times,
preparing them for the next level
in high school basketball.
“It was a fun season, and
they’re a great group of kids,” he
said. “They’re going to do well, as
long as they keep playing togeth-
er.”
He said the junior varsity boys
played hard also, and with a lot of
heart.
“It’s nice seeing the kids af-
ter coaching them at a younger
level, and watch how much they
improve, each at different in-
crements, as they become great
young men,” he said.
He hopes they’re now ready
for the next level of basketball.
“I anticipate them doing well,
competing at districts and even at
state over the next several years –
with this year’s junior high group,
maybe even further,” he said.
10