Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2017)
WEDNESDAY March 29, 2017 SPORTS SCHEDULE Wednesday, March 29 Grant Union softball @ Irrigon, 1 p.m. Grant Union softball @ Willamina in Boardman, 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30 Grant Union baseball vs. Joseph/Enterprise/Wal- lowa, 2 p.m. Friday, March 31 Grant Union baseball vs. Sheridan, 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1 Monument track and fi eld @ Columbia River Invita- tional in Boardman, 11:30 a.m. Grant Union baseball vs. Oakland, 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 Grant Union Small School Meet, 3:30 p.m. (GU, Prairie City, Dayville, Monument, Long Creek) Athletes shine as Special Olympics hoops season ends Next up, track and field season starts in May an McKrola and Caleb Madsen. Unifi ed partners were also a part of the 5-on-5 teams this year. For Grant County, this included Special Olym- By Angel Carpenter pics volunteers David Gill of Blue Mountain Eagle Step Forward and Chester’s Thiftway and Eddie Humbird, The Grant County Special executive director of Value Olympics team closed out their Added. basketball season on a positive Lallatin said the games note Saturday, March 18, at the were tough, but the team en- regional basketball tournament joyed the competition. in Grants Pass. Other volunteers at the Among the Grant County event were Sarah Lallatin, Jan- competitors, Katie Shockley net Hoeffner, and Jessica Car- earned second place in the In- ter, who helped throughout the Contributed photo season as she worked on her dividual Skills competition for her division. She was coached Grant County Grant Union senior project. by Michael Shockley with Special Olympian Coach Deronda Lallatin, Katie Shockley Lauri Shockley assisting. who is also the local Special The 3-on-3 basketball wins a silver medal Olympics co-coordinator with team, coached by Kathy Sher- in Individual Skills Kathy Jo Gill, said the athletes wood, received bronze med- competition at had a good experience. als, including Katie Latham, the Grants Pass “It was fun,” she said. “We Elizabeth Swarthout, Josiah regional basketball all got to root for each other.” Hoeffner and Rodney Bron- tournament. She said track and fi eld sea- son. son starts the fi rst part of May. The 5-on-5 team, coached by Deronda The 2017 Summer State Games will be Lallatin, received bronze medals, including held July 8-9 at the Oregon State University Charley Fronapel, Crystal Wimberley, Bri- campus in Corvallis. Grant Union track and fi eld team aims for return to state Grant Union will host first meet Tuesday, April 4 By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant Union track and fi eld head coach Sonna Smith said her team is picking up where they left off last year. After seeing the team’s performance at the March 16 Prineville Icebreaker, the fi rst event of the season, Smith said she’s hopeful for their future. “Almost everyone im- proved, which is extremely en- couraging,” she said. The girls team placed third in Prineville, and the boys had some strong individual perfor- mances, she said. Last season, the girls team earned the 2A state champi- onship title and were district champions. Five on the roster are return- ing athletes who went to state last year, including Chelsie Kodesh, Jozie Rude, Kaylee Wright, Sydney Brockway and Duane Stokes. Smith, leading a team of 31 this season, has coached Grant Union track and fi eld for 22 years. She said she’s seeing strengths in several events this year. “We’re really strong in the girls javelin,” she said. “We have four that are throwing close to 100 feet right now, and we can only take three to dis- trict.” Three athletes from each school can go to state in each event. “We’re strong in high jump,” she added. “Kaylee (Wright) jumped 5’1” in Prineville, ran 13.06 in the 100 and 28.22 in the 200. She’s starting right where she left off.” Wright won the 100 at state last year with a time of 13.18, making the dash at Prineville .12 seconds faster. Prospector Jozie Rude, tak- ing up discus this year, fi nished third at the Prineville meet in the event. She won fi rst in shot put and javelin at state last year and second in pole vault. “She has come back really strong,” Smith said. Smith said she’s seeing the same thing from Kodesh, who was in the top eight in shot put, discus and javelin in Prineville. The are seven girls new to G RANT C OUNTY S PORTS R OUNDUP TRACK Monument athletes gain season, personal records at Buck Track Classic Several members of the Monument Tiger track and fi eld team improved their marks at their second competition of the season at the Buck Track Classic in Pendleton. Up against 26 teams, including the 5A class Hermiston and Pendleton, the Monument girls team earned 10th place. Six girls and three boys on the Ti- ger teams competed at the meet. Sophie Pettit fi nished second in the 100- and 200-meter dash, with improved times in both events, 13.22 in the 100 and 27.83 in the 200. She also fi n- ished fi fth in the triple jump with a leap of 29-07.00. Also improving her marks for the girls team was Kyla Emerson in the 100, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and discus. Faythe Schafer placed seventh in the 400 with an im- proved time of 1:06.93. Aubrey Bowlus improved her mark in the shot put by nearly two feet with a throw of 27-06.50. Dinorha Vidrio Landin also showed improvement in the triple jump, landing at 26-00.75. She also shaved off time in the 100 and 800 meter races. Miranda Cook also competed in the 100 and 300 hurdle events. For the boys, Monument’s John Ramirez had a personal record in the 100, placing 12th with a time of 12.02. Jess Hoodenpyl shaved off seconds in the 800 and 3000. Hayden Schafer improved his throw in the shot put with a mark of 35-09.00. Next up, the team will compete at the Columbia River Invitational at Riverside Junior-Senior High School at 11:30 a.m. in Boardman. On Tuesday, April 4, at 3:30 p.m., they’ll join 12 other teams for the Grant Union Small School Meet in John Day. SOFTBALL Lady Pros shut out Bulldogs in Culver The Grant Union Lady Prospectors won a 34-0 shut- out on the road Friday over the Culver Bulldogs in Game One. Game Two was a similar story, the Lady Pros winning 22-1. “The games at culver were not as competitive as we would have liked but we were able to work on the little things that will pay off in future games,” coach DeAnna Nash said. “Our younger athletes also got varsity experi- ence which also will be beneficial.” Everyone had multiple hits, she said, with Grant Union racking up 40 in the first game and 20 in the second. The Grant Union girls were scheduled to face River- side/Arlington and Knappa on Tuesday, March 28, past press time, in Boardman at the Riverside/Irrigon Round Robin. On Wednesday, March 29, Grant Union will face Irri- gon at 1 p.m. at the Irrigon Tourney and Willamina at 3:30 p.m. at the Riverside Round Robin. BASEBALL Grant Union team defeats Honkers in 5-2 victory in Lakeview The Eagle/Angel Carpenter The Grant Union track and field team, including, from left, Braden Spencer, Ellie Justice, Nick Springer and Bo Olsen, warm up at the start of their Monday, March 20, practice. Chelsie Kodesh Trejan Speth Nick Springer Reitta Wyllie Grant Union track schedule Tuesday, April 4: Grant Union Small School Meet, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8: @ Prairie City Invitational, 12 p.m. Saturday, April 15: @ Burns Lions Invitational, 12 p.m. Tuesday, April 18: Grant Union Small School Meet, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22: @ Pepsi Invitational in Union, 11 a.m. Saturday, April 29: @ Meet of Champions at Willamette University, 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 2: Grant Union Small School Meet, 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 5: @ Baker Invitational, 10 a.m. Friday, April 12: @ district track meet in Union, 11 a.m. Thursday, April 18: @ state track meet, TBD Friday, April 18: @ state track meet, TBD the team this season, including six freshmen who all have ju- nior high track experience and one junior new to the sport. “We are just waiting to see how they do,” Smith said. She noted the boys team is in a building season due to the number of underclassmen, in- cluding six of the seven fresh- men boys on the roster who were on the junior high team last year. “We have a huge contingent of freshmen throwers,” shes said. “We’ve set some long- term goals, looking down the road for the next two to three years. Last year, we took two boys to state, hopefully more this year.” The 2A-6 Wapiti League includes Elgin, Enterprise/Wal- lowa, Grant Union, Imbler and Union. This year’s competition is slightly lighter with Burns moving up to the 3A class and Cove moving down to 1A. Smith is aided by six as- sistant coaches who help train athletes in the various events, including Ken Boethin, hur- dles; John Houk, long jump and triple jump; Kelsy Wright, jav- elin; Angie Lusco, discus and shot put; Buzz Gilmore, pole vault; and new assistant coach Emma Robertson, high jump. Smith trains athletes for sprints, distance and relay. This year’s seniors include returning athletes Kodesh, Nick Springer, Reitta Wyllie and Trejan Speth. Springer, who competes in high jump, javelin, shot put and discus said this year’s team is strong. “It’s a great group of peo- ple,” he said. “I’m looking for- ward to going to districts.” Kodesh, whose events are javelin, shot put and discus, said she’s encouraged by how the girls team is performing this year. “The girls have a good chance to be district champs again this year,” she said. “Track’s my favorite sport,” Wyllie said. She competes in the shot put, discus and 800 meter run. “I’m looking forward to my throwing events,” she said. Speth said he’s looking for- ward to his events, the 1,500 and 800, and is aiming for per- sonal records. “We already have a great team out this year,” he said. “We have a lot of good incom- ing freshmen as well. I’m look- ing forward to helping the team out and getting PRs.” Smith said their fi rst home meet will be the Tuesday, April 4, Grant Union Small Schools Meet. “We have 13 teams coming, so it could be a pretty good- sized meet,” she said. Those interested in vol- unteering to assist with fi eld events and as timers that day can call Smith at the school, 541-575-1799, ext. 42. The Grant Union Prospector boys took down the Honk- ers in Lakeview in a low-scoring game, winning the contest 5-2. The Prospectors will host the Les Schwab Invitational Spring Break Tournament Thursday through Sat- urday at Seventh Street Complex in John Day. Grant Union is scheduled to face Joseph/Enterprise/Wallowa at 2 p.m. Thursday. On Friday, the Prospectors will meet up with Sheridan at 2 p.m., facing Oakland on Saturday at 2 p.m. the corner’s HOT SH T EEK OF THE W DEVIN PACKARD School: Prairie City Grade: 12 Parents: Tish and David Packard Sport: Track and field Events: Shot put, discus & javelin What I like best about my sport: “I like hanging out with everyone on my team. They’re a great bunch of people.” Coach’s Comment: “Devin did a really good job at our last track meet, and was consistent in his events and placed well. He has been working hard in practice, helps his teammates, and is a positive voice at practice. He is always there to cheer on his teammates.” -Coach Nate Barber PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES 100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day 541-792-0425 05438