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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
A10 Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 21, 2018 WEDNESDAY February 21, 2018 Lusco wins wrestling title Sophomore wins in triple overtime By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant Union sophomore Drew Lusco claimed the state championship wrestling title in the 285-pound bracket Saturday at the 2A/1A OSAA State Wrestling Champion- ship at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. This was a return trip for Lusco who placed fourth at state last year at 220 pounds. “Drew wrestled well and Contributed photo/Angie Lusco Drew Lusco (285) of Grant Union wrestles at the 2A state wrestling championships in Portland. Lusco won the title. won his first match with a quick pin,” said Grant Union head coach Andy Lusco. “In the semifinals, he wrestled a kid from Lowell (Thomas Talamanthes-Ward) who was last year’s second-place fin- isher.” Drew won 3-1 in regula- tion. In the finals, Drew wres- tled junior Travis Jonsson of Neah-Kah-Nie. It was the third time they faced off this season, and Drew won the championship in triple over- time. “That was a tough match,” coach Lusco said. “Both are really physical kids. (Drew) rode the kid out in the third round — had 30 seconds to escape and couldn’t.” Coach Lusco added, “We’re excited. The hard work’s just beginning, but he feels like he wrestled hard, and he’s worked really hard.” Drew, who was also champion at the Special Dis- trict 4 meet, said it was a tough final match, and it felt good to reach his goals. See LUSCO, Page A13 LADY PROS OUTSHOOT OUTLAWS IN CHAMPIONSHIP The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Prairie City Panther Syd Holman pushes through to score over Jordan Valley Mustang Kirk Eiguren. Panther boys maul Mustangs in District 8 final Prairie City hosts second- round playoff Saturday By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley Prospector Hailie Wright shoots against the Enterprise Outlaws Saturday. Fourth-ranked Grant Union hosts Weston-McEwen at 6 p.m. Friday By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle T Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley Mariah Moulton of Grant Union drives the ball in the team’s 45-37 win over Enterprise Saturday at the district tournament. he Grant Union Prospector girls will host a round-one state play- off game this week after locking up the Enterprise Outlaws 45-37 on Saturday and winning the 2A Wapiti District Tournament. The Prospectors came in second at the tournament last season. Grant Union will host the Weston-McEwen TigerScots at 6 p.m. Friday at Grant Union in John Day. Prospector head coach Casey Hall- garth said he believes 2002 is the last time Grant Union won the district tournament. “This was one of our goals we set out to accomplish, and they did it,” he said. “The girls came out focused and ready to go.” Hallgarth was named Wapiti Coach of the Year. Grant Union defeated Enterprise in two meetings earlier in the season. “It is always hard to beat a team three times,” Hallgarth said. Junior Kaylee Wright, who was named Wapiti Player of the Year, led the Prospectors with 23 points, fol- lowed by Madi McKrola and Mariah Wright with 6 each. Grant Union led 15-12 in the first quarter and outshot the Outlaws 10-6 in the second. Enterprise came out strong in the third quarter, the Prospectors hanging onto a 29-27 lead, and Grant Union pulled ahead for the win. “Our defense carried us,” Hallgarth said. See GIRLS, Page A13 The Prairie City Panther boys advanced to the state playoffs after winning a 52-46 battle Saturday night against the Jordan Valley Mustangs. It was the championship final of the 1A-8 High Des- ert District Tournament held Thursday through Saturday at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School in John Day. The Panthers beat the Adri- an Antelopes on Friday 79-33 to advance to the final game. Jordan Valley put a lid on the Panther basket for most of the first quarter, and the Mus- tangs led 10-8 going into the second. Prairie City, led by head coach Sam Workman, made quick work of gaining the lead. Panther Levi Burke started off the second quarter with a 2-point bucket, and Dorran Wilson hit a 3-point shot. Jordan Valley scored again to tie it, 13-13. Then Panther Jojari Field landed a 3-pointer to give Prairie City the lead, and they never looked back. When Wilson laid up a bas- ket at the buzzer, the Prairie City fans cheered loudly for the Panthers as they exited the court for the halftime break. Defensive pressure on both sides heated up progressively in the third quarter, and Burke scored 2 points near the buzzer for a 42-30 lead. The Mustangs, led by head coach Clint Fillmore, outshot the Panthers 16-10 in the final minutes but were unable to come back. Panther Syd Holman said the night’s big win was a The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Prairie City Panther Lucas McKinley shoots a 3-pointer in the district tournament final against Jordan Valley. long-time goal. “It was all in a matter of years,” he said. “First we got third, then we got second and now we got first — I think it was our time to win.” Wilson said this game was something they’d long been preparing for. “We knew they were going to be tough since the beginning of the season,” Wilson said. “We knew this was coming, we prepared for it all season and we accomplished our goal. ... Winning the championship with these guys, you couldn’t ask for anything else.” Burke said it was bitter- sweet after a funeral for his uncle Greg Bremner of Can- yon City earlier in the day, but noted how meaningful it was to win the tournament cham- pionship. See PANTHERS, Page A13 Grant Union boys win Wapiti District Tournament Prospectors host Santiam for state playoff at 2 p.m. Saturday By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant Union Prospec- tor boys won the 2A Wapiti District Tournament decisive- ly with a 60-39 victory over the Elgin Huskies on Saturday at La Grande High School. Former and present school officials could not recall the last time the boys won the district tournament. This year was the first time in 28 years the Prospectors finished the regular season atop the league with a 7-1 re- cord. “I thought it was good to get a district win after a long time,” said Prospector Duane Stokes, who was named Wa- piti’s Player of the Year. “We played our game pretty well for the win.” Prospector Wade Reimers added it was a great team win. “It’s been a while since Grant Union has taken home the district championship, so that was exciting,” he said. “We paid attention to defense and how to stop their offense. I’m looking forward to prac- tice this week to keep our run going.” The Prospectors host the Santiam Wolverines at 2 p.m. Saturday for a round- one playoff at Grant Union in John Day. The winner will continue to the Thursday through Sat- urday, March 1-3, state tour- nament in Pendleton. Last Saturday’s game was Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley Grant Union’s Zack Deiter drives the ball against the Elgin Huskies Saturday. the third meeting between Grant Union and Elgin. Grant Union defeated the Huskies in John Day 56-34 on Jan. 12, and the Huskies took the 53-52 win on Jan. 27 at their home court in Elgin. Stokes said the Prospectors worked to keep a strong lead in the championship game. Reimers led Grant Union with 16 points, followed by Stokes with 14. For Elgin, Brandon Howes led with 22. Grant Union was ahead 17- 10 in the first quarter, and kept a 6-point lead at halftime. “We approached this game knowing that we could defi- nitely beat these guys,” said Grant Union head coach Kel- sy Wright who was named Wapiti Coach of the Year. “We knew their offenses and knew who their best play- ers were. We stuck our best players on their best players,” he said. “The boys performed awesome. We pretty much led the whole game from the start.” Grant Union was ahead 17-10 in the first quarter. The Prospectors stayed ahead 43- 28 going into the fourth and outshot the Huskies 17-11. One highlight from the game was Cauy Weaver’s excellent rebounding, Wright said, adding every team mem- ber contributed what was needed for the win. Wright said he expects Santiam to be good compe- tition, noting the Wolverines have some “great” shooters and guards. He said they ar- en’t a big team, but should be fast. “We’re also fast and can get up and down the court,” he said. “We have bigger kids, so I think rebounding will be an advantage. All we can do is practice hard and make sure our defense is on point. We’re just going to have to be aggressive on defense and offense.” See BOYS, Page A13
