Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
A9
WEDNESDAY
July 22, 2015
OHHH, SO CLOSE!
Grant County Wildf ire
comes up short in state
championship game
I
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
n a heartbreaking loss with extra
innings during the Oregon Lit-
tle League Junior Softball State
Championship game the Grant
County softball team ended their sea-
son second in state.
The Grant County Wild¿ re softball
team lost, 6 - 5, to Parkside/Beaumont
of Portland July 14 in Pilot Rock in 9
innings.
The ¿ rst four innings were score-
less for both teams and back-and-forth
from the fourth inning on. At the top of
the fourth inning, Grant County got on
the board ¿ rst with one run scored and
Portland answered during the bottom
with two runs. In the ¿ fth inning Grant
County scored three runs and held Port-
land to no hits in the ¿ fth inning, ending
the inning 4-2. During the sixth inning
Grant County was unable to score leav-
ing two girls on base
and Portland came
out with three hits and
three runs.
At the top of the
seventh inning with
two outs and Grant
County
Wild¿ re
down 5 – 4, Taylor
Allen hit a single to
center¿ eld that got
under the center¿ eld-
er’s glove, allowing Hailie Wright (10) is welcomed
the tying run to score back at home plate by her team
from second base and after hitting a home run during
take them into the the Tillamook game. Grant
bottom of the sev- County Wildfire won, 12-2.
enth. Grant County
Wild¿ re was able to hold Parkside/
Photos by Tanni Wenger Photography Studio
Beaumont to no runs and go into extra
Shaine Madden warming up between innings during the
innings.
championship game against Parkside/Beaumont. Grant County
See GAME, Page A18
Wildfire lost in extra innings, 6-5.
Anna Jacobs reaches out to throw the flag in the
bucket at the June 28 Cinnabar Mountain Playdays
Rodeo as her mom Jenny looks on.
Rounding up fun at
Cinnabar Playdays
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
MT. VERNON – Cinnabar
Mountain Playdays cowboys
and cowgirls endured hot tem-
peratures for their June 28 ro-
deo.
The competition held at
Burton Arena in Mt. Vernon
drew 19 participants for events
which included barrel racing,
pole bending, goat tying, key-
hole and dummy roping.
The next Playdays rodeo
will start at 10 a.m. Sunday,
Aug. 2, at the Grant County
Fairgrounds in John Day.
Top three results:
Open leadline
Josie Kimball, 1st
Kara Hansen, 2nd
Caja Jo Timko, 3rd
Peewee – 6 and under
Tatyn Harper, 1st
Cooper Holly, 2nd
Kodee Kimball, 3rd
Junior – 7-9
Bailey McCracken, 1st
Wyatt Nolan, 2nd
Riley Gregg, 3rd
Intermediate – 10-14
Paige Pentzer, 1st
Denali Twehues, 2nd
Sam McCracken, 3rd
Contributed photo/Gloria Stratford
The Grant County Special Olympics team gathers
near the Summer Games torch in Newberg at the
July 11-12 event.
Special Olympians
compete with heart
at Summer Games
Team effort and
fun highlight
state event
By Angel Carpenter
The Grant County Wildfire team celebrate with their second place in
state medals after the championship game against Parkside/Beaumont
in Pilot Rock. The team includes Taylor Allen, Baylee Metcalf, Madi
McKrola, Hailie Wright, Kaylee Wright, Brianna Zweygardt, Macy
Strong, Tiler Voigt, Shaine Madden, Baylee Combs, Jordyn Young,
Savanna Randleas, Marissa Smith and coaches Zach Williams, Mike
Strong, Tammy Clark and Lance Zweygardt (not in picture).
Blue Mountain Eagle
Taylor Allen (4) gets an out at
first base from a throw pitcher
by Shaine Madden during the
Tillamook game.
Sea Dragons swim to second
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
BURNS – The John Day Sea Dragons swim
team made strides at last weekend, placing second
at the Burns Swim Meet. There were 44 John Day
team members competing at the meet, many ¿ nish-
ing well, which moved the team up to their highest
placement this season.
“Our kids are doing really well,” said head coach
Crista Waldner. “A lot of them are improving their
times, and we had a lot of swimmers winning their
heats.”
The team hosts the District Swim Invitational
in John Day this weekend, Friday through Sunday.
See SWIM, Page A18
The John
Day Sea
Dragons
swim team
place
second at
the Burns
Swim
Meet last
weekend.
Contributed
photo
NEWBERG – After sever-
al weeks of training, the Grant
County Special Olympics team
Tuali¿ ed for the Summer State
Games. The Grant County team
of nine athletes came home with
a few medals and a bright out-
look. The games, held in New-
berg, drew 1,600 athletes and
2,000 volunteers.
Coaching the Grant Coun-
ty team were Tony and Sharon
Busch.
“I thought it went pretty
well,” Tony said. “Everybody
seemed to put out a good effort
in their events – I think they had
fun.”
Bill Pauley and Caleb Mad-
sen each brought home a gold
medal.
“I enjoyed being with all my
teammates and being able to
compete,” said Pauley, a Seneca
resident. “I’m grateful to all the
2,000 volunteers, and so grateful
to all my coaches.”
Besides the competition, the
athletes also took in a dance
Saturday night. Tony said the
Summer Games event was fun,
but his favorite part of the pro-
cess is coaching the athletes in
practice.
“I like helping them im-
prove,” he said.
Summer
Games results
Bill Pauley: 1st, 400 meter
walk; 3rd, 100-meter run
Caleb Madsen: 1st, 400-meter
dash; 5th, 200-meter run
Charley Fronapel: 2nd, pen-
tathlon
Relay team 4x100: 3rd, Bill
Pauley, Josiah Hoeffner, Caleb
Madsen, Charley Fronapel
Relay team 4x100: 7th, Eliza-
beth, Brian, Jay Colson, Crystal
Wimberley
Crystal Wimberley: 2nd, shot
put
Jay Colson: 4th, shot put; 8th,
400-meter walk
Josiah Hoeffner: 3rd, softball
throw; 7th, 100-meter run
Katie Latham: 7th, 400-meter
walk; 7th, 100-meter walk
Elizabeth Swarthout: 7th in
softball throw; 7th, 100-meter
run
Brian McKrola: 6th, 100-meter
run; 7th, shot put