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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
SPORTS SCHEDULE Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Football WEDNESDAY October 14, 2015 Friday, Oct. 16 Prairie City/Burnt River vs. Jordan Valley in Unity, 1 p.m. Dayville/ Monument vs. Adrian in Dayville, 1 p.m. Volleyball Friday, Oct. 16 Grant Union Prairie City vs. Jordan Valley in Unity, 1 p.m. Grant Union @ Union in Union, 4 p.m. Dayville/ Monument vs. Adrian in Dayville, 4 p.m. Prairie City Saturday, Oct. 17 Grant Union (Dig Pink) vs. Cove, El- gin in John Day, Noon/5 p.m. Monument athlete sprints at Junior Olympics Dayville/Monument Grant Union @ Union/ Cove in Union, 7 p.m. B1 Freshman has passion for track competition By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle MONUMENT – A couple thou- sandths of a second means a lot to Monument School sprinter Sophia Pettit. The freshman had an opportunity to compete, for a second time, at the AAU Junior National Olympics last summer. Although her mark of 13.11 in the 100-meter dash wasn’t what she’d hoped, she still ¿ nished with a time that would have earned a sec- ond-place ¿ nish at the OSSA state high school track championship. She earned ¿ rst placed at Oregon’s mid- dle school track competition as an eighth-grader. “I should be under 13 every time,” Pettit said of her time. “Even a couple thousandths of a second off is a lot for a sprinter.” Contributed photo Sophia Pettit, right, sprints to the finish line at the AAU National Junior Olympics last summer. The Monument High School ninth-grader continues to train in the sport she loves. She also competed in the pentath- lon, 200-meter, long jump and triple jump at the Aug. 1-8 event held in Norfolk, Virg. When she’s not training for track, she plays on the Dayville/Monument junior varsity volleyball team and she plans to attend a Jane Goodall Science Seminar in Portland this year. She said track is her passion, when it comes to sports. This year, she realized a “drastic difference” in the level of competi- tion, going from competing with the 13-year-old division last year to the 14-year-old group. “That was most true of the triple jump, because 14 is the average age that athletes start training for the tri- ple,” she said. Pettit said she’ll have to train harder to be competitive, and she’s already working toward that goal. “I spend a lot of my spare time training for future track meets, spending time in the weight room building muscle,” she said. She added she learned some les- sons which she plans to apply this spring when she competes on the Monument track team. “It taught me there are people out there who will be dif¿ cult to beat, and that I’m going to face challenges throughout seasons to come,” she said. Commenting on what she enjoys about the sport, she said, “I really like the rawness of talent sets – for every event it’s a different skill set. Also, it’s an individual sport where everything is on you.” Sophia is the daughter of Earl and Nittaya Pettit. D IG PINK ACTION ON THE WAY PC vs. HH in Prairie City, 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 Grant Union vs. Crane, 5 p.m. Cross Country The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Thursday, Oct. 16 The Tiger team listens to their coach Tiffnie Schmadeka during a timeout. Monument @ Kyle Burn- side Wildhorse Invite in Pendleton, TBA Lady Tigers serve and pass to 3-1 win Friday, Oct. 16 Grant Union hosts Run the River in Mt. Vernon, 1 p.m. Girls take win in Monument By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle MONUMENT – The Dayville/Monument Lady Ti- gers battled for a homecoming win 3-1 against Harp- er/Huntington. Tiger scores were: 22-25, 25-15, 25-11 and 25-14. The Hornets squeaked by for a three-point win in the ¿ rst set, then the Tigers worked in the second and third sets to catch an early lead and build on it. After tying 7-7 in the fourth, the Tigers pulled away. “We played really well as a team, and our serving was much better than it has been,” said head coach Tiffnie Schmadeka. “Passing was good, so we were able to run and get a lot of kills. We had lots of good leadership from our older players. The team, overall, played really well.” The Tigers are on the road Wednesday, Oct. 14, to play South Wasco County at 4 p.m., and they host Adrian in Dayville at 5 p.m. Friday. Prairie City upgrades are ‘on track’ Athletic facility will get new equipment, tennis court, storage facility %\&KHU\O+RHÀHU Blue Mountain Eagle PRAIRIE CITY – Just a few more steps to go, and the Prairie City School Ath- letic Complex will be com- plete. The school recently fin- ished rubberizing and paint- ing the track, high jump area and tennis court. Up next is to purchase track and field equipment, such as hurdles, high jump and pole vault mats and standards; remov- able partition fencing to separate events; and a stor- age facility for equipment. Funding for the latest phase of renovations came from a $60,000 grant from United States Rural De- velopment’s Community Facilities Program. Prairie City School District No. 4 contributed an additional $120,000 loan from Bank of Eastern Oregon to the proj- ect. The facility’s improve- ments will allow the school to host track meets and other sporting events as well as enhance the community. Prairie City School Su- perintendent/Principal Julie Gurczynski, “This is a won- derful opportunity for the school and the town.” Gurczynski said they are looking forward to running the school’s first track meet next spring. See TRACK, Page B2 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Eagle file photo Grant Union Prospector Samantha Brock (3) spikes the ball in last year’s Dig Pink games with Rheanna Cartner and Heather Mosley ready. Dayville/Monument Tiger Kyla Emerson (4) stretches for a dig in the homecoming game against Harper/Huntington, her teammates Ravyn Walker (18, left), Kendall Hettinga (2) and Skylar Powell (8) in the action. Mountaineers show mental toughness in close sets By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle LONG CREEK – The Uki- ah/Long Creek junior varsity volleyball team has had its share of setbacks this season, but they proved what they’re made of at their homecoming doubleheader last Saturday, taking the sweep over Crane and Dayville/Monument’s ju- nior varsity teams. The Ukiah/Long Creek Mountaineers had the advan- tage of a bigger roster, with 14 girls versus Crane’s six. While the teams tied scores early on, for the most part the Mountaineers kept a steady lead, toppling the Mustangs with scores of 25-20, 25-14 and 25-23. The Mountaineers also stayed ahead of Dayville/ Monument. They beat the Tigers 25-20 and 25-14 in the ¿ rst two sets. ,n the ¿ nal set the teams were tied at 22-22 when the Mountaineers made a save and then closed out the game 25-23. “I couldn’t be more proud of the Ukiah/Long Creek girls,” said head coach Rea- gan Enriquez who coaches with Linda Studmann. “They ¿ nally showed everyone what kind of team they are. They are committed to each other and show more support for one another than most teams.” Saturday’s games were Ukiah/Long Creek’s ¿ nal league games, but they faced nonleague opponents, includ- ing Nixyaawii on the road Wednesday, past press time, and were scheduled to face the Rockets in Pilot Rock at 12 p.m. Saturday. Ukiah/Long Creek volleyball player Alejandra Cabral and her teammates focus in on the game. The team toppled both Crane and Dayville/ Monument’s junior varsity teams for a Saturday homecoming sweep. Contributed photo Linda Studtmann