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)