A10
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
WEDNESDAY
September 20, 2017
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Long Creek/Ukiah Mountaineer Brooke Harrison sets
the ball with Gladys Johnson watching in Friday’s game
against Monument/Dayville.
Tigers sweep
Mountaineers
in Monument
Mountaineers
host Ukiah
Sept. 21 at 5 p.m.
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Monument/Dayville
Tiger varsity team took a 3-0
sweep Friday, hosting the ju-
nior varsity Long Creek/Uki-
ah Mountaineers.
Meeting up in Monument,
the Tigers won with scores of
25-11, 25-3 and 25-13.
Tiger head coach Kristi
Emerson said, although her
team needs to work on com-
munication on the court, she
was proud of them.
“What I’m completely
happy about is the bench got
to play, and they did very
well,” she said. “I’m glad
they got the opportunity to
play.”
Tiger freshman Sam Ad-
ams said she was glad to get
in on the action.
“It was fun to get the ball
over the net on the front row,”
she said.
“It was a good practice to
raise our expectations,” said
Tiger starter Kyla Emerson,
a junior. “It was nice to work
everyone in, so we can even-
tually have subs.”
Mountaineer head coach
Linda Studtmann said her
team wasn’t quite them-
selves, letting jitters get the
best of them.
“They fell apart for the
second game, then got a few
nerves calmed down,” she
said. “Overall, they’re getting
used to each other and learn-
ing the game.”
Long Creek/Ukiah’s Jua-
na Wagner, a foreign student
from Germany, said she was
nervous.
“We lost, but it’s just a
game,” said Wagner, who is
a junior. “We’ll do better next
time.”
Freshman Jenny Kim, a
transfer student from Alaska,
played volleyball in middle
school.
She said this was her fi rst
high school game, facing var-
sity players.
Kim said the team made
some mistakes, but she was
pleased with their effort.
“They did good and tried,”
she said.
Joe Mun, a junior who
hails from South Korea, said
she appreciated everyone’s
friendliness.
“It’s my fi rst sports team,”
she said. “It’s hard, but excit-
ing.”
Monument/Dayville was
scheduled to face Mitchell/
Spray in Spray Tuesday, past
press time.
They travel to the Crane
Tournament at 9 a.m. on Sat-
urday.
Long Creek/Ukiah hosts
Nixyaawii at 5 p.m. Thursday
in Ukiah, and is on the road to
Spray Friday for a 4:30 p.m.
match.
Ridin’ and ropin’
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union cross country athletes, including sophomores Eli Sheedy, Airron Glimpse, Nathaniel Hodge
and freshman Jacob Smith work out in last week’s practice.
Cross country runners build
endurance while having fun
Grant Union has full
boys varsity team
this year
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Head coach Sonna Smith has 17
high school athletes out for the cross
country team this year.
“This is the largest team I’ve ever
had, which is encouraging to me,”
she said.
With 13 boys on the roster, a full
fi ve-member varsity team was easy
to form.
One of the fi ve varsity girls is
down with an injury, so the remain-
ing members run as individuals at
the meets.
The team was surrounded by the
beautiful scenery of Catherine Creek
near Union on Saturday, running
through forested areas, up hills —
and through a mud pit, twice.
Smith said the athletes were in
mud up to their mid-thighs, and exit-
ing the mudpit was slick.
She said having extra boys run-
ning on the Grant Union team this
season makes them more competi-
tive.
That friendly rivalry is needed for
the big fi eld of opponents in Special
District 5, which includes 16 other
teams in the 3A/2A/1A class, and
some schools combine for a team.
“Our boys district division has
the top seven runners in the state, so
our boys have tough competition,”
Smith said.
With the athletes they’ll face, the
Grant Union boys have looked at
what they need to do to be compet-
itive.
“Their goal from the timed trial
is to cut a minute a month off their
5K time,” Smith said. “That’s a lofty
goal.”
Grant Union cross country runners, sophomores Gage Brandon, left,
and Donavan Smith, start off with a jog during practice last week.
Training for the
entire team includes
different types of
running.
Smith said they
work on base run-
ning, and take on
Savannah
hills to build en-
Wyllie
durance and speed.
Tempo runs and re-
peats, running a certain pace for an
alloted time, and cross training in the
weight room to strengthen their core
are other workouts on their list.
The coach said a couple athletes
joined the team this year to condi-
tion for winter sports.
“They have been a pleasant sur-
prise,” she said.
Smith started the cross country
program in 1995, and the school has
had a team off and on since then.
The program sparked back up
four years ago, after the last hiatus.
The coach also trains younger
runners — seven middle schoolers
and one elementary school athlete —
whom she hopes will build the high
school team in years to come.
In practice last week, all the
athletes joined for “game day” and
were given a choice between four
activities to get them running in
short bursts.
The majority enthusiastically
chose a game called “Bigger Better.”
Divided into four teams, the
runners ventured out, making stops
along their way to trade a large pa-
per clip for something bigger and
better, trying to increase the size
and value of the item as they ran
along.
“We’re having a fun season and
that is due to the many personalities
that are present on this team this
year,” Smith said.
Grant Union cross country
schedule
Sept. 22: Footrace to Valhalla in
Umatilla, girls varsity starts at 1:40
p.m., boys at 2:10 p.m.
Sept. 29: Baker Invitational at
Quail Ridge Golf Course in Baker
City, girls at 4:30 p.m., boys at 5:15
p.m.
Oct. 7: Tigers Invitational at Buf-
falo Peak Golf Course in Union,
TBD
Oct. 14: Burns-Idlewild Meet at
Idlewild Campground, boys at 10:45
a.m., girls at 11 a.m.
Oct. 27: 3A/2A/1A Special District
5 Cross Country Championship at
Pendleton Community Park, TBD
Panthers corral the Bulls at Prairie City court
Fans asked to
wear pink at
Friday’s game
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo/LindseyWyllie.com
Chad Finley of Mt. Vernon competes in tie-down
roping, winning fourth place at the Sept. 10 Northwest
Professional Rodeo Association’s rodeo in Burns.
The NPRA Finals Rodeo will be held Sept. 22-23 with
performances beginning at 7 p.m. each evening in
Prineville. Local cowboy Tucker Wright of Canyon City is
slated to compete in steer wrestling at the event.
The Prairie City Panthers
dominated Friday’s volley-
ball match against the Burnt
River Bulls, a 3-0 sweep at
the Prairie City court.
Prairie City won with
scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-
10.
“The match with Burnt
River was a learning expe-
rience for the team,” said
Prairie City coach Louanne
Zweygardt. “We dressed ev-
eryone down and managed to
get playing time for all 17 of
our players.”
She added, “The girls did
a good job of maintaining a
high level of play even with
all the substitutions.”
The Panthers’ high point
this week was winning Sat-
urday’s North Powder Tour-
nament.
Prairie City beat Mon-
ument/Dayville 2-0 with
scores of 25-20 and 25-17,
then toppled Cove in three
sets in the championship
match.
The Panthers beat Cove
with scores of 25-16, 20-25
and 15-13.
“We won the fi rst set,
lost the second and then
came from behind to win the
third set,” Zweygardt said.
“We were very happy with
the team’s ability to main-
tain focus and keep pushing
through for the win.”
“Think Pink” on Friday,
as Prairie City hosts Harper
for a homecoming and can-
cer awareness game, with ju-
nior varsity starting at 4 p.m.,
followed by varsity.
Senior player Brianna
Zweygardt is gathering do-
nations for two raffl e bas-
kets, and she’s also making a
homemade goody basket.
Brianna plans to use the
proceeds to help local fami-
lies with expenses associated
with cancer treatments.
“She is working with
the hospital foundation in
determining the best way
to distribute the proceeds,”
Louanne said. “She will
be selling raffl e tickets this
week.”
The coach added, “Every-
one is encouraged to wear
pink to the game to show
support.”
Prairie City travels to the
Crane Tournament on Satur-
day with pool play beginning
at 9 a.m. and bracket play at
1:30 p.m.
Louanne said the team will
be working to improve cover-
age and blocking, along with
keeping up on all their skills.
“The team is working
hard, and it feels like they are
poised to take their play to
the next level,” she said.
Prairie City has a 9-1 over-
all record, and they’re 1-0 in
the High Desert League.