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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2018)
WEDNESDAY April 25, 2018 Grant Union boys swept by solid Rocket team Prospectors look to win out regular season By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant Union Prospector head baseball coach Dusty Williams said his team per- formed well last week with few errors, but the team fell in three league contests to the Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/ Ukiah Rockets. On April 17 in John Day, the Rockets won 7-2. Sophomore Warner Rob- ertson and freshman Peyton Neault were on the mound for Grant Union. Pitching for Pilot Rock were seniors Levi Themie and Chris Weinke. In Saturday’s double- header, Grant Union fell to A Rocket runner slides toward second as Grant Union second baseman Logan McCluskey looks for the throw, short stop Wade Reimers in back. Grant Union Prospector Peyton Neault pitches in the April 17 game against the Rockets in John Day. the Rockets 6-0 and 6-5 in Pilot Rock. Grant Union is ranked No. 17 among OSAA’s 2A/1A Ukiah is ranked No. 6 in the state with an overall record of 11-2. “We played pretty good,” Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter teams with an overall record of 7-10 and 2A/1A Special District 6 record of 2-4. Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/ Williams said. “Pilot Rock is just a good team.” Commenting on the 6-0 loss, he added, “They threw a two-hitter, and they’ve got five good kids who can hit the ball.” Game two was a close contest, Grant Union had a 5-3 lead going into the bot- tom of the seventh. Prospector pitchers were switched due to the pitch count. Then the Rockets tied the score, and another runner slipped home when a teammate was walked. “I would rather have a game like that than a 20-0 win,” Williams said. But he added they may have to win out to reach the district playoff. Grant Union hosted the Weston-McEwen Tiger- Scots on Tuesday, past press time, and will travel to face Weston-McEwen at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Friday in Athena. The TigerScots have a 3-11 overall record, 1-3 league, and they are ranked No. 32. However, they beat Elgin one time out of three last week. Grant Union beat Elgin twice and lost once earlier this month. “They’re a well-coached team,” Williams said. “To make district playoffs we need to win this weekend and beat Union/Cove (May 1 and 6).” Union/Cove is 2-8 over- all, 1-3 league, and ranked No. 33. As of Monday, Grant Union was fifth in league with a 2-4 record, behind Pilot Rock 6-1, Elgin 4-3, Sherman 3-0 and Culver 3-0. Following the Prospec- tors are Weston-McEwen 1-3, Union/Cove 1-3, Hep- pner 0-3 and Dufur 0-3. Local athletes set records at Grant Union meet Prairie City, Monument/Dayville, Grant Union individuals place first By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle F reshman Mark Thomas from 1A Monument raced neck and neck with 3A Burns sophomore Ryan Robles in the 3,000-meter run, but rounding the last curve, Thomas kicked his speed up a few notches to pull away for the win at the April 17 Grant Union small schools meet. The freshman outran his oppo- nent by about 9 seconds with a time of 10:23.08. He crossed the finish line a little under 10 seconds faster than his previous record. Thomas, who last week ran the 1,500 and 800, said he enjoys the in- tensity of competing and cheering on his Monument/Dayville teammates. “I think the meet was really fun and well put together,” he said. Thomas’ coach Jeff Schafer said his team performed well. “They keep working hard, and it shows in their results — the whole team,” he said. “They encourage each other, and they’re having fun, and that’s key.” Grant Union head coach Sonna The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Burns’ Ryan Robles, left, and Monument/Dayville’s Mark Thomas race in the 3,000-meter run April 17 at the Grant Union small schools meet. Thomas kicked it up a notch during the final stretch to win, setting a personal record of 10:23.08. Smith said she was happy with the competition and her 2A team. Kaylee Wright won all her events, setting a season record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.02. “The entire team as a whole had a good meet,” she said. Setting personal records for the Grant Union boys were Dona- van Smith in the 100 and 200, Ben Henry in the 200 and 400, Quinten Hallgarth in the 400, Mason Gerry in long jump and Nate Hodge in the 300 hurdles. Personal records for the girls were set by Sierra Cates in the 200, Savan- nah Wyllie and Erica Dickens in the 1,500, Sydney Brockway in the 100 hurdles, Abby Lusco in discus and Sophie Brockway in shot put. Prospector senior Duane Stokes won the 100-meter dash, running in the event for the second time in his high school career with a time of 12.13, with 21 competitors. “I didn’t PR, but I got close,” he said. His first time was in 12.00 sec- onds on April 10 in John Day. Athletes from nine schools com- peted at the meet. The 3A Burns boys and girls teams won the event. For the boys, Burns with 203.5 was followed by Grant Union with 124.5, Crook County with 73 and Prairie City with 62. For the girls, Burns scored 210.33, followed by Grant Union with 156.33, Crane with 61.33 and Crook County with 47. “I thought it was good we had more competition, and we compet- ed pretty well even with the bigger schools,” Stokes said. Prospector senior Savannah Wyl- lie set a personal record in the 1,500 with a time of 6:08.75 for fourth place. “I felt like I competed pretty good,” she said. “I’m trying to get my mile time down to 5, which hope- fully I’ll do by the end of the season.” Luka Pesic of 1A Long Creek said many on his team are new to the sport, and they are improving with each meet. “It’s a new experience, and it’s great,” he said. “Today the 100 me- ters was my favorite part because there was a lot of competition with the bigger schools, which makes us work harder.” Long Creek athlete Ximena Mil- lan competed in the 4x100 relay and javelin. “I’m getting better at javelin,” she said. “At the last track meet, I beat my personal record. I really like it and enjoy learning how to throw and to run.” Jonathan Lawrence of the 1A Prairie City Panthers enjoyed the sunny day. “It was a good day to have a track meet,” he said. “Personally, I’ve (set personal records) every track meet. Today, I didn’t win my heat but had fun learning.” Barber said Lawrence ran the 800 for the first time and Jonathan Haskins competed in pole vault for the first time. “It was a learning experience,” he said. “We need as many people in as many events as possible.” Levi Burke said setting a new per- sonal record with a mark of 6-04 in the high jump “was awesome.” “I felt really good about my 4x100 race,” he said — the team, which in- cluded Haskins, Brandon Horrell and Tristan McMahan, placed third with a time of 48.76. “All around, it was a pretty good day.” Grant Union girls place second at home invitational Stokes wins boys competitions in John Day, Burns By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant Union’s golfers played well on their home course, the girls placing second and the boys third at the Grant Union Golf Invitational Friday. Competitors this year at the John Day Golf Club were greeted with a sunny, temperate day. By contrast, participants had to bundle up at last year’s tournament as a snowstorm blanketed the course. “I’m glad it’s not snowing this time,” said Lilli Burns of Vale. “It’s nice, and I really like the grass.” Grant Union’s Emily Springer said she was happy her family came to watch the tournament. “I have a really nice group,” she said. Grant Union’s Athena Tipton also liked their golfing group. “All the girls are really nice, and it’s fun to meet people from different areas,” she said. Caitlyn Scrivner of Heppner said the local scenery, field and green have a unique feel. “Being in John Day is great,” she said, adding the course reminded her of Bend. Grant Union’s Duane Stokes, who won the boys individual competition, said he was happy about the warm weather and strong golfers. “I’m glad to finally be able to compete with good competition on a nice day,” he said. Enterprise’s Brycen Locke was The Eagle/Angel Carpenter The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union’s Kaytlyn Wells hits her ball out of the sand trap at the home invitational. Burns golfer Jake Keady putts his ball in the hole as Duane Stokes prepares for his turn at Friday’s Grant Union Invitational at the John Day Golf Club. In back, from left, are Brycen Locke of Enterprise, Trevor Romans of Vale and Kellen Grant of Enterprise. also glad the weather was sunny. “It’s a great day to golf,” he said. “I’ll hopefully make it worth the trip.” Others in the group commented on the John Day course. “The golf course is in great shape,” said Kellen Grant of Heppner. “And the greens are fast,” added Jake Keady of Burns. Ron Lundbom, at the event, said the golfers seemed to be enjoying themselves. “We have seven teams represent- ing 60 kids,” he said. “Everything is moving along great.” The Grant Union girls placed sec- ond with 487, after Heppner, which came out on top with 387. Placing third was Vale with 523. The winner for the girls was Ni- cole Propheter of Heppner with 91, followed by Sophie Grant of Heppner with 92 and Claire Grieb of Heppner with 101. For the Grant Union girls, Fallen Bolman shot 111 for fifth, Kaytlyn Wells 121, Makenna Culley 121, Springer 134 and Maddy Way 139. The Grant Union boys placed third with 408. Heppner shot a 359 for first, and Burns shot 398 for sec- ond. Enterprise came in fourth with 423. The winner was Grant Union’s Duane Stokes with 83, followed by Cason Mitchell of Heppner with 85, Kellen Shelley of Grant Union with 88 and Logan Burright of Hep- pner with 89. Grant Union’s Devon Stokes scored 99, and Parker Manit- sas scored 138. Lundbom said he was happy to see his teams place, as well as the individuals. “The scoring keeps improving overall, and that’s what we want,” he said. “The hamburger feed was awesome, and everyone wants to come back next year.” A fundraiser was held Sunday for the Grant Union golf program with over 32 golfers competing in a scram- ble, 50/50 drawing and a putting con- test. “The winning team was 7 under, and Kathleen Lee won the drawing,” Lundbom said. “A big thank you to everyone who donated, played, and the golf course, whose support is greatly appreciated.” Grant Union traveled to Burns for a five-team tournament on Wednes- day. For the boys, Burns came out on top with a team score of 377, Lakeview 392, Grant Union 433, Nyssa 514 and Vale 544. The winner was Duane Stokes with an 85, followed by Reese Raines of Lakeview with 86, Dev- on Stokes of Grant Union 92 and Dakota Ceja of Burns 92. Grant Union’s Shelley was fifth with 94, and Manitsas scored 162. For the girls, Grant Union came out on top with 519, followed by Nyssa with 535 and Vale with 561. The winner was Zanizia Suarez of Nyssa with 110, followed by Mi- randa Raven of Vale with 118 and Wells of Grant Union with 120. Also for Grant Union girls, Culley scored 144, Way 143, Bolman 127 and Springer 129. “It was a very cold and windy day in Burns,” Lundbom said. “Both teams placed, and we built some confidence heading into the last two weeks of the season.” Grant Union travels May 4 for the 2A Invitational at 10 a.m. at Buffalo Peaks in Union. The district tour- nament is Sunday through Tuesday, May 6-8, at the Pendleton Country Club.
