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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
Sports Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 21, 2018 A13 PANTHERS Continued from Page A10 “It’s something you dream of,” he said, recalling how he watched his older brother compete. “At the beginning of the game, we started off slow, but we know how to collect our- selves and get going. It was awesome, and I’m glad we could get it Dorran’s senior year.” Coach Sam Workman said he feels fortunate to be at this point as a first-year coach of the Prairie City boys varsity team. “It feels pretty good. They earned it. It was a dogfight the whole game,” he said. “I’m pretty lucky to have Dorran Wilson. It’s like having another coach on the floor. Levi, Syd and the younger kids stepped up this year, and it ain’t over.” Prairie City is seeded seventh in the state champi- onships and will have a bye in the first round of state playoff games taking place this week. Condon/Wheeler hosts Joseph Feb. 21, and the Panthers will host the winner on Saturday, Feb. 24. The winner of that game advances to the Thursday through Saturday, March 1-3, 1A OSAA Boys Bas- ketball State Championship at Baker High School. Prairie City Dorran Wilson: 23 points (four 3-pointers, 1-6 free throws) Levi Burke: 11 Lucas McKinley: 9 (three 3-point- ers) Syd Holman: 6 (2-3 free throws) The Eagle/Angel Carpenter The Prairie City Panther boys celebrate their 52-46 win over the Jordan Valley Mustangs in the championship game of the 1A-8 District Tournament at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School in John Day. LUSCO Continued from Page A10 Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley The Grant Union boys basketball team poses after winning the 2018 Wapiti District Tournament Saturday in La Grande. BOYS Continued from Page A10 The coach said he hopes to have the gym packed with a great crowd. “I think it’s going to be a dogfight all the way to the end,” he said. Grant Union met up with Santiam once before this school year — during football season when the Prospectors fell to the Wol- verines in the quarterfinals held in John Day. Grant Union’s quarterback Wade Reimers was injured early in that game. “It’s definitely going to be a grudge match to beat them,” Stokes said. Santiam is No. 8 among OSAA-ranked teams and have a No. 10 RPI ranking. The Wolverines finished third in the Tri-River Conference with a 9-3 league record, and 17-9 overall. The Wolverines have scored 1,370 points this season and allowed 1,186 points. Grant Union is ranked No. 10 in OSAA, with a No. 7 RPI ranking, and they are 17-6 overall. The Prospectors have scored 1,371 points this season and allowed 1,095 points. Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley Zack Deiter of Grant Union shoots over an Elgin defender in Saturday’s district tournament championship in La Grande. Grant Union won, 60-39. Grant Union Wade Reimers: 16 points (one 3-pointer, 3-6 free throws) Duane Stokes: 14 (2-3 free throws) Zack Deiter: 9 (one 3-pointer, 2-5 free throws) Cole Deiter: 9 (one 3-pointer, 2-2 free throws) Kellen Shelley: 6 (2-2 free throws) Cauy Weaver: 4 Ty McDaniel: 2 “The hope is that I can pull it off two more times,” the sophomore said. “It’s great to be a part of such a great group of guys.” Grant Union senior Elijah Humbird,, who won the dis- trict championship wrestling at 220 pounds, was at the state championship for his first time. He lost in the semifinals to the wrestler who finished sec- ond. Humbird ended up in fifth after competing in the consola- tion semifinals with the wres- tler who finished third. “Humbird has come a long way,” Lusco said. “To be a district champion and go on to state is a really great accom- plishment. Your first year at state is difficult because it’s new, and it’s a big meet.” Second-time state quali- fier, senior Toby Boatwright (285), who finished second at the district meet to Drew Lus- co, lost the state quarterfinals to the No. 1 seed and then lost to the wrestler who finished fourth. “We were pretty tickled he made as much progress as he did, having wrestled only two years,” said coach Lusco. He said having Drew Lus- co, Humbird and Boatwright wrestle each other in practice was an asset. “The three of them made Contributed photo/Angie Lusco Grant Union’s Drew Lusco stands atop the podium for the 285-pound weight class at the 2A state wrestling tournament in Portland. each other better, fast,” the coach said. “No surprise, a lot of Drew’s success has to do with those partners, Dillon Maley (who was injured earli- er in the season) included — all those kids make each other better.” Other first-time state qual- ifiers for Grant Union were sophomore Russell Hodge (182), sophomore Eli Sheedy (113) and freshman Ethan Moore (106). Coach Lusco said Moore is about 20 pounds lighter than everyone he wrestles and has a “bright future.” Sheedy won a match in the consolation quarterfinals, then lost in the semifinals to the wrestler who finished fourth. The coach said Hodge en- tered the state competition unseeded and won his first match against the No. 4 seed. “He’s a skilled wrestler, and he did a good job,” he said. Hodge, competing with an arm injury, lost his next match in the semifinals to the first- place wrestler. “It was a new experience, and there were a lot of people there,” Hodge said. “I didn’t do as well as I wanted to, but I have two more years.” Coach Lusco said he looks forward to seeing the young- er state qualifiers return next season, as well as others who have been working hard on the team. “We’re pretty excited to see them progress,” he said. GIRLS Continued from Page A10 Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley Grant Union’s Trinity Hutchison in action against the Enterprise Outlaws in the championship game at the Wapiti District Tournament Saturday in La Grande. The Prospectors won, 45-37. He said he would have liked to see the team shoot the ball better, but they attacked the rim and also rebounded well. “We made our foul shots and did the little things right,” he said. “We had the lead go- ing into the third, when Enter- prise made a run. We held our ground and fought through it.” He said Kaylee Wright went down in the third with a sprained ankle then returned in the fourth for a great finish. She scored 12 points in the final minutes, including two 3-point shots. “These girls have already accomplished so much this year and, what is great, they are still hungry to prove them- selves even more,” Hallgarth said. “I am so very proud of each girl in the GU family. I am blessed to have this team and the coaches. I count my lucky stars every day. This team deserves everything they get, and hopefully that will be four more wins.” Senior Mariah Wright was excited at the win. Contributed photo/Elizabeth Shelley The Grant Union girls basketball team poses after winning the 2018 Wapiti District Tournament Saturday in La Grande. “I’m stoked to be league champs and district champs,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for better teammates, or coach. I can’t wait to see what happens at state.” “We knew what to ex- pect from Enterprise,” said Kaylee Wright. “We knew we couldn’t let up, and defense won the game for us. Now we face Weston, and I think we’ll be ready for it.” Weston-McEwen is ranked No. 14 among OSAA’s 2A teams. The TigerScots finished the season second in the Co- lumbia Basin Conference with a 6-2 record, 16-9 over- all. In the season, they’ve scored 1,290 points and al- lowed 1,138. Grant Union, ranked fourth, was 8-0 in league and 20-3 overall. They’ve scored 1,304 overall and allowed 815. “Weston is going to be tough, but we will be well prepared and ready for the test,” Hallgarth said. “We are wanting everyone to wear white for a ‘whiteout’ Friday at 6 p.m.” The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the Thursday through Saturday, March 1-3, OSAA Girls Bas- ketball State Championship. The quarterfinals are held at Pendleton High School, and the semifinals and finals are at the Pendleton Convention Center. Grant Union Kaylee Wright: 23 points (two 3-point- ers, 5-6 free throws, four rebounds, six deflections, two steals) Mariah Wright: 6 (2-2 free throws, four rebounds) Madi McKrola: 6 (2-4 free throws, eight rebounds) Hailie Wright: 4 Makenna Culley: 3 (one 3-pointer) Mariah Moulton: 3 (3-4 free throws)
