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