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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2018)
WEDNESDAY February 7, 2018 Grant Union High School LEAGUE CHAMPS • Girls Basketball • Wrestling • Boys Basketball Grant Union girls defend Wapiti League title Lady Pros will honor seniors at Thursday’s game By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector Madi McKrola overtakes the ball from a Union player in Friday’s game. For the second consecutive year, the Grant Union Prospector girls are Wapiti League basketball champions. Grant Union beat the Union Bobcats on Friday and the Imbler Panthers on Saturday to seal the deal. With just one more league game left, the Lady Pros are 7-0 and ranked No. 4 in state, followed by 4-2 Enterprise, ranked No. 10. Other teams in the league are Union, 3-4, No. 27; Elgin, 2-4, No. 24; and Imbler, 0-6, No. 34. Grant Union has one more league game left against Enterprise at 4 p.m. Saturday, which Grant Union head coach Casey Hallgarth expects will be a competitive game. “We need to continue to not back down and get after it on defense,” he said. Although he expects Enterprise will be a top contender at the district tourna- ment, Hallgarth said some of the other teams are also playing well. “Anything can happen,” he said. The Grant Union Prospector girls brought an energetic defense that led to many scoring opportunities in their 59- 32 win over the Bobcats Friday night. “We’re not being complacent and not taking anything for granted,” Hall- garth said. “They were ready to go off the bat.” Prospector Kaylee Wright wasted no time getting 2 points on the board at the start. She led the Prospector scoring with 21, followed by Mariah Wright with 13 and Mariah Moulton with 9. Prospector Whitney McClellan had a steal and scored 2, and Wright intercept- ed a Union pass and scored another 2. Grant Union held Union to 2 points in the first quarter and led 34-15 going into halftime. Union’s defense livened up in the third, but Grant Union was still able to power through. Prospectors Madi McKrola, Kaylee Wright and Mariah Moulton (with a 3-point shot) combined for 9 points be- fore Union found the basket. Union’s Brianna Kohr scored a 3-pointer, followed by another 2 from Moulton and 2 from Prospector Trinity See GIRLS, Page B12 Prospector boys clinch first league title in 28 years Eagle file photo Grant Union Prospector Drew Lusco puts Kaleb Kendrick of Irrigon in an arm bar at the Grant Union Wrestling Invitational earlier this season. Grant Union wrestlers blow away district competition Six Prospectors advance to state Feb. 15-16 By Angel Carpenter Toby Boatwright Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector Kellen Shelley fights for possession of the ball in Friday’s game against Union. Grant Union wins 2 league games at home By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant Union Prospector boys have claimed the 2A Wapiti League ti- tle, for the first time since 1990, after beating the Union Bobcats on Friday in John Day. Grant Union head coach Kel- sy Wright said they were 5-1 going into last week’s league games against Union, and Imbler on Saturday. “We knew we needed to win both,” he said. The Prospectors came away with victories in both games. Because Enterprise beat Elgin on Friday, Grant Union actually clinched the league title that night. Current league standings are Grant Union, 6-1, ranked No. 9; Elgin, 3-3, No. 21; Union, 3-4, No. 30; Enterprise, 2-4, No. 28; and Imbler, 2-4, No. 33. They have one more league contest in Enterprise at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, but win or lose, Grant Union will re- main the Wapiti’s top team. Wright said he spoke with his team last Thursday. Grant Union’s Duane Stokes flies up to score on a fast break in Friday’s game, Union Bobcat Jace Phillips (11) reaching forward, and Prospector Wade Reimers in back. “I told them if we get this win, it’s already clinched,” he said. “They were stoked about that. The boys were just ready for it. It’s been a long time since we’ve won a league championship.” Wright said the team will work hard to beat Enterprise Saturday to go out with a win and keep their RPI numbers high. In Friday’s game, the Grant Union boys built a strong foundation in the first quarter and continued an upward trend, leading to an 87-49 Wapiti League win on Friday over the Union Bobcats at the Prospector court in John Day. After some back and forth, Grant Union got to work. Prospectors Wade Reimers, Ty Mc- Daniel and Cauy Weaver combined for 9 points before Union Bobcat Keegan Glenn scored a 3-pointer. Moving forward with their offen- sive attack, Grant Union had 19 more points on the board before Union scored again. McDaniel and Reimers each scored Grant Union Prospec- tor wrestlers sophomore Drew Lusco (285) and se- nior Elijah Humbird (220) earned individual champion- ship titles to lead their team in defending their OSAA 2A/1A Special District 4 ti- tle at Friday’s tournament in Joseph. The two champions and four second-place wrestlers, freshman Ethan Moore (106), sophomore Eli Sheedy (113), sophomore Russell Hodge (182) and senior Toby Boat- wright (285), will advance to the OSAA Wrestling State Championships on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16, at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. This is the second consec- utive year the Grant Union team has brought home the title, this year earning 214 points ahead of Joseph/Wal- lowa, which had 131.5. Crane followed with 131 for third, Enterprise had 130 for fourth Elijah Humbird and Pine Ea- gle had 88 for fifth. “It was a very exciting tournament from start to Drew Lusco finish,” said Grant Union head coach Andy Lusco. “We faced some adversity with injury and illness this year, and we were a little con- cerned,” he said. “However, our wrestlers did a fantastic job and placed very well in the tournament individually, which leads to a team victo- ry.” Coach Lusco said he and his assistant coaches have a positive outlook for their wrestlers at state. “We are very proud of the efforts these wrestlers have put in all season, and it is pretty neat to see it result in See WRESTLING, Page B12 See BOYS, Page B12 “ I told them if we get this win, it’s already clinched. They were stoked about that. The boys were just ready for it. It’s been a long time since we’ve won a league championship.” Kelsy Wright, Grant Union head coach Contributed photo/Cindy Dougharity-Spencer The Grant Union wrestlers and assistants pose with their 2A/1A Special District 4 trophy at Friday’s tournament in Joseph.
