WEDNESDAY
May 16, 2018
Statebound: Grant Union girls three-peat as Wapiti track champs
12 athletes
move on to state
Thursday-Friday
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union head track
and field coach Sonna Smith
said several girls made vital
contributions by stepping up
to compete in extra events,
leading to the girls team win-
ning the Wapiti League title
for the third consecutive year
at Friday’s district meet in
Union.
“If it was not for these
girls’ selfless attitudes, we
would not have come out on
top as a team,” Smith said.
The Grant Union boys
team improved their finish,
moving up from fourth last
EO Media Group/Paul Wahl
Grant Union Prospector Rhea Mead keeps her pace in
the 1,500-meter run at the district meet in Union.
EO Media Group/Paul Wahl
Grant Union Prospector Kaylee Wright outsprints her competitors to place first in the
100-meter dash at the district meet Friday in Union.
year to second this year.
Twelve Grant Union track
and field athletes will be on
the road to Hayward Field
this week, the site of the
Thursday-Friday, May 17-18,
OSAA 2A Track and Field
State Championships at the
University of Oregon in Eu-
gene.
“District track was an
eventful meet for us,” Smith
said. “We had some high and
some low points.”
The Prospector girls
claimed nine individual dis-
trict titles out of 17 possible
events.
Title winners include:
Kaylee Wright, high jump,
100 meters and javelin; Syd-
ney Brockway, 100-meter
hurdles; Jozie Rude, shot put
and pole vault; Abby Lusco,
discus; and Trinity Hutchison,
See CHAMPS, Page B2
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Tressa Ranft gets a hit in
Friday’s game against the Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa
Cubs in John Day.
Grant Union softball
wins district title
Prospector girls
host playoff
Friday
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector second baseman Logan McCluskey throws to first after getting an out.
Grant Union boys face Elgin
for third to state Friday
Pros advance
after 8-7 win
over Mustangs
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Zack Deiter slides home, beating
the Heppner/Ione catcher on this play.
The Grant Union Pros-
pector baseball team will
move on to their second
2A/1A Special District 6
playoff game after a come-
from-behind 8-7 win over
the Heppner/Ione Mustangs
Friday in John Day.
Grant Union will face
the Elgin Huskies at 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 17, in John
Day in a contest which de-
cides who takes the third
spot to state.
Elgin beat Culver 3-0 on
Friday. In the regular sea-
son, Grant Union was 2-1
over Elgin, the Prospectors
beating the Huskies 12-0 in
Elgin on March 10.
Grant Union dropped
game one of a May 14 dou-
bleheader 2-0 to Elgin, then
came back to win game two
8-7.
Grant Union is ranked
No. 17 among OSAA’s
2A/1A teams with a 7-5
league record, 13-11 overall.
Out of 24 games, they’ve
scored 166 runs and allowed
115 runs.
Elgin is ranked No. 22
with a 6-6 league record,
and 7-7 overall. Out of 14
games, the Huskies have
scored 64 runs and allowed
61 runs.
On Friday, Grant Union
was down 4-2 going into the
fourth inning when Prospec-
tor Wade Reimers singled,
sending Russell Hodge and
Zack Deiter home.
Heppner broke the tie in
the sixth, coming back with
a score of 7-4. In the bot-
tom, Reimers scored Deiter,
and then two Grant Union
sacrifice flies tied the score
again, 7-7.
Warner
Robertson
pitched five innings with
Logan McCluskey reliev-
ing in the sixth. McCluskey
struck out two batters, and at
third base, Robertson caught
a foul for an out in the top of
the seventh.
Prospector Jacob Vaughan
played aggressively in the
bottom of the inning, steal-
ing two bases after hitting a
single. He scored off of De-
iter’s bunt for the win.
“We never gave up,” said
Grant Union head coach
Dusty Williams. “We were
down twice, and we kept
battling back. We played
good team baseball today.”
Williams said “a little
squeeze play” won the game.
Deiter said now the team
will have take it game by
game to keep playing.
“It was nice to see us all
working low, playing good
and all the hard work paying
off,” he said.
Williams said he’s look-
ing forward to Thursday’s
game.
“It’s going to be a heck of
a game,” he said. “I hope the
community comes out and
supports these boys.”
The Grant Union Pros-
pector softball team has
earned the 3A-Special Dis-
trict 2 league title with an
8-0 record.
Grant Union will host
district playoff games in
John Day on Friday.
Vale plays at 1 p.m., fac-
ing the winner of the Tues-
day, May 15, game between
Nysaa and Enterprise/Jo-
seph/Wallowa (played past
press time). Grant Union
plays the winner of that
game, afterward.
Admission for the
games is $6 for adults and
$4 for students. No passes
will be accepted but the
gold card.
Grant Union sophomore
Taylor Allen’s grand slam
on Friday contributed to
the Prospector girls’ 2-0
sweep over the Enterprise/
Joseph/Wallowa
Cubs
played in John Day with
scores of 9-7 and 11-1.
It was Grant Union’s fi-
nal league doubleheader of
the regular season.
Grant Union won game
one 9-7, making a come-
back after being down in
the first three innings.
Prospector
Mariah
Moulton had a 3-run homer
to tie the score 6-6. Hailie
See SOFTBALL, Page B10
Four Grant County 1A track
athletes earn trip to state
Emerson,
Thomas, Burke,
Camarena
move on
By Angel Carpenter
Megan
Camarena
Mark
Thomas
Kyla
Emerson
Levi
Burke
Blue Mountain Eagle
Track and field athletes
from Grant County’s three
1A teams competed at Fri-
day’s 1A-4 District Champi-
onship in Baker City.
From Monument/Day-
ville Kyla Emerson will
compete in the 100 hurdles
and 300 hurdles, and Mark
Thomas will run in the 1,500
at state.
Prairie City’s Levi Burke
qualified for state in the high
jump, and Megan Camarena
received a wild card oppor-
tunity in shot put.
Long Creek’s boys
4x100-meter relay team of
Jaimie Ballesteros, Luka
Pesic, Kim Donggyu and
Rafael Gumerato came
close to qualifying, but
placed third, setting a per-
sonal record.
Monument/Dayville’s
state qualifiers and several
others on the team pushed
themselves and outdid their
previous personal records.
Emerson, JT Hand and Au-
brey Bowlus each set two
personal records.
“All of the athletes left
the track happy with them-
selves and their efforts,”
said
Monument/Dayville
coach Peter Bogardus. “All
seven had one or more PR’s
(personal records) and are
looking forward to going to
state and cheering each oth-
er.”
Long Creek head coach
See TRACK, Page B10