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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2018)
Sports Blue Mountain Eagle A13 Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Grant Union athletes ‘on track’ for successful season Girls hopeful for state title this season Grant Union track and field schedule April 6: @ Oregon Trail Invitational in Vale at 11 a.m. April 10: hosting Grant Union Small Schools Meet in John Day at 3:30 p.m. April 14: @ Meet of Champions at Willamette University in Salem at 11 a.m. April 17: hosting Grant Union Small Schools Meet at 3:30 p.m. April 21: @ 12th annual Pepsi Invitational in Union at 11 a.m. April 27: @ Don Walker Invitational in Nyssa at 1 p.m. May 4: hosting Grant Union Invitational at 11 a.m. May 11: hosting 2A-6 Wapiti League Districts at 11 a.m. By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant Union has their big- gest track team since the boys took state in 2007. “That year there were over 50 on the varsity team, and this year there are 48,” said head coach Sonna Smith. The big goal this year is well within reach — a state championship for the girls. “Our girls’ goal is to win district and win state,” Smith said. “It’s encouraging,” she said. “We won district the last two years, and we’ve gone one (2016) and two (2017) in state, so we have lofty goals. We want to repeat being dis- trict champions and take our state championship back.” For the boys, Smith said they’d like to improve their district standing. “We improved by one place last year, and this year we’d like to move up several places,” she said. All five girls who compet- ed at state last year are back on the team, including state championship title winners Kaylee Wright for javelin and Trinity Hutchison for the tri- ple jump. Jozie Rude, Sydney Brockway and Sierra Cates also competed well at state, contributing to the team’s sec- ond-place finish, just 4 points behind East Linn Christian. This year, Smith hopes to give the girls track team an edge by adding the 4x400-me- Jozie Rude Savannah Wyllie Duane Stokes Daven Mauseth Hadley Boethin The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union sprint coach Ken Boethin instructs Ellie Justice during Tuesday’s practice in John Day. ter relay to their events. Grant Union lost three se- niors to graduation, and this year, there are seven seniors, seven juniors, 18 sophomores and 10 freshmen. One of the new members of the team is junior Alcie Moore, a transfer student. “She is showing promise in the 200-yard dash and the 400-meter run,” Smith said. The seven seniors include, Rude and Savannah Wyllie on the girls team and Duane Stokes, Cauy Weaver, Hadley Boethin, Cameron Hallgarth and Daven Mauseth for the boys. Rude, who competes in pole vault, shot put, discus and javelin, said she’s excited for the season. “I’m hoping to take girls state again this year,” she said. “Just the fact that it’s my senior year is going to make me push harder because this is my last year to win All State. We’re ranked right now where we could win the state title again.” The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector Kaylee Wright launches her javelin in practice. Stokes said he is looking forward to seeing the new and returning athletes compete. “We have a lot more boys this year, and it’s going to give us a lot better chance to win districts,” he said. Weaver said it’s his first year out for track. He’s com- peting in shot put and javelin and may add some running events. “I’m just going to do as good as I can,” he said. Cameron Hallgarth Cauy Weaver Assistant coaches are back this year to assist Smith. Smith coaches distance, re- lay and sprints; Ken Boethin, sprints and hurdles; Angie Lusco, shot put; John Houk, long jump and triple jump; Kelsy Wright, javelin; Buzz Gilmore, pole vault; and Emma Robertson, high jump. Grant Union took a small group to the Crook County Icebreaker on Thursday, but a school science fair kept some of the athletes at home. Highlights include Hutchi- son placing first in the triple jump with a mark of 32-0 and second in the long jump with 13-11.25. Rude placed first in jave- lin with a throw of 100-4 and first in shot put with 36-7. She pole vaulted for second place at 9-0 and was fourth in discus with 88-1. For the boys, Mason Ger- ry had a fourth-place finish in javelin with a mark of 151-7. S PORTS R OUNDUP Lady Pros defeat Union/Cove soundly in home opener The Grant Union Pros- pector softball team started off 2-0 in the first inning and chipped away for a 10-2 vic- tory over the Union/Cove Bobcats. “Our girls played tough defense for their first game of the season,” said Grant Union head coach Zach Williams. The Prospector defense committed only two errors and had a two-out rally in the fourth. “They stayed with broken plays and got outs,” Williams said. Cody Jo Madden pitched six innings for Grant Union with two strikeouts and one walk, keeping the Bobcat bat- ting average to .130. Brianna Zweygardt fin- ished off in the seventh for the Prospectors, allowing no hits and striking out two. The Prospectors hit .432 as a team. Mariah Moulton went 4 for 5, Hailie Wright 3 for 5, Zweygardt 4 for 4, Whitney McClellan 2 for 4 and Mad- den 2 for 4. “I thought it was awe- some,” Madden said. “We were completely ready for this game. I’m proud of all my teammates. They all did awesome as well. Everyone was positive and encouraging, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season.” Grant Union is on the road Saturday for a double- header against Lakeview with games starting at noon and 2 p.m. Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Studio Grant Union Prospector Cody Jo Madden pitches in Friday’s game against Union/Cove. Golf team starts season at Echo Hills Golf Course Seven Grant Union golf- ers, three boys and four girls, competed at Friday’s Echo Hills Golf Course for Hep- pner’s invitational. Grant Union head coach Ron Lundbom said the em- phasis was helping his newer players prepare for the sea- son. “We helped with how to walk off the green, where to put your bag when you putt, also with some shot making and scoring,” he said. “There are a lot of new players this year, and this match was a good teaching opportunity for all.” For the Grant Union boys, Duane Stokes scored 86, Kellen Shelley 98 and Parker Manitsas 114. For the girls, Makenna Culley scored 119, Kaytlyn Wells 126, Fallen Bolman 136 and Emily Springer 146. Lundbom said all the re- turning players improved from their first match last year. Prairie City, Long Creek compete at Diana Thurmond Invite Prairie City senior Megan Camarena placed first in shot put at 31-10, out-throwing second-place finisher Caro- line Bruton of Vale by 7 inch- es. Haley Pfefferkorn had a first-place finish in javelin with a mark of 101-04, just over 6 feet farther than her second-place opponent. For the Prairie City boys, SPORTS SCHEDULE Thursday, March 22 Grant Union baseball vs. Homedale, Idaho, at Triangle Oil Tournament at 11 a.m. Friday, March 23 Grant Union baseball vs. Lost River at Triangle Oil Tournament at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24 Grant Union baseball vs. Nyssa at Triangle Oil Tour- nament at 2 p.m. Grant Union softball @ Lakeview (2) at noon, 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 27 Grant Union softball @ Riverside-Arlington at Riverside Tournament at 11 a.m. Grant Union softball @ Knappa at Riverside High School at 4:30 p.m. Danner Davis placed second in shot put and Jake McHat- ton was fourth. McHatton also placed third in discus. “I was very pleased with everyone,” said Prairie City head coach Nate Barber. “Our throwers were excellent, our long jumpers and triple jump- ers got good marks to work to improve on and it was good to see our relay teams with good handoffs in traffic.” The Prairie City girls 4x100-meter relay team of Rilee Emmel, Abbey Pfeffer- korn, Deja Amsden and Sa- mantha Workman placed third with 1:01.30. The Long Creek girls were close behind, taking fourth with a time of 1:03.92. The team included Jenny Kim, Dorotha Johnson, Ximena Millan and Lucchese Doug- las. The Long Creek boys 4x100 team placed third with a time of 50.33. The team included Jaime Ballesteros, Luka Pesic, Kim Donggye and Rafael Gumerato. Gumerato also placed seventh in the 100 meter out of 27 competitors. Ximena Millan placed third in the girls 800-meter the run with a time of 3:43.40, and her teammate Dorotha Johnson finished fourth with 3:52.33. Johnson also placed sixth in long jump out of 23 competitors. The Long Creek team is led by head coach Linda Studtmann. Prairie City competed at the Oregon Trail Invitational in Vale on Tuesday, past press time, and they will host a meet on Friday, April 6, with nine teams invited, including Long Creek, Baker, Crane, Condon/ Wheeler, Mitchell/Spray, Pine Eagle, Powder Valley, Jordan Valley and Joseph. Grant Union athletes chosen for Shrine game Grant Union’s Wade Re- imers and Cameron Halgarth were selected to compete in Oregon’s 66th annual East West Shrine All-Star Football Game Aug. 4 in Baker City. Zack Deiter and Cauy Weav- er were selected as alternates. The game benefits the Port- land Shriners Hospital for Children corner’s HOT SH T EEK OF THE W CLARA CARR School: Grant Union Grade: 9 Parent: Nancy Falk & Mike Carr Sport: Dance What I like best about my sport: “I like competing and working hard.” Coach’s Comment: “Clara works hard in every practice. She always has a positive attitude and a passion for dance. She is a great asset to the team.” Wednesday, March 28 -Coach Kattie Piazza Grant Union softball @ Irrigon at Irrigon High School at 1 p.m. Grant Union softball @ Willamina at Riverside High School at 3:30 p.m. PROUD SPONSOR OF GRANT COUNTY ATHLETES 100 E. Main • Stoplight in John Day 541-792-0425 16515