Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2019)
A10 PAGE LABEL Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, January 2, 2019 Wednesday January 2, 2019 Sports Schedule WEDNESDAY, JAN. 2 Prairie City basketball vs. Powder Valley, girls 5:30 p.m., boys 7 p.m. THURSDAY, JAN. 3 Long Creek/Ukiah basketball vs. Crane in Long Creek, girls 5 p.m., boys 6:30 p.m. FRIDAY, JAN. 4 Grant Union wrestling @ Jo-Hi Tournament in Joseph, TBA Long Creek/Ukiah basketball vs. Dayville/ Monument, girls 5 p.m., boys 6:30 p.m. Grant Union basketball @ Enterprise, boys 6 p.m., girls 7:30 p.m. Prairie City basketball @ Burnt River, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY, JAN. 5 Grant Union wrestling @ Jo-Hi Tournament in Joseph, TBA Prairie City basketball vs. Long Creek/Ukiah, girls 2 p.m., boys 3:30 p.m. Dayville/Monument basketball @ Harper, girls 4 p.m., boys 5:30 p.m. (MT) Grant Union basketball vs. Union, boys 4 p.m., girls 5:30 p.m. Angel Carpenter is a reporter for the Blue Mountain Eagle. She can be contacted at angel@bmeagle.com or 541-575-0710. Panther boys hold off Huskies By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The final 3 minutes of Thurs- day’s basketball game between the Prairie City Panthers and Sherman Huskies boys had fans on the edge of their seats as the teams tied the score three times. Prairie City, now 7-0 on the season, came out victorious 54-52 in the competitive match between the teams that met up at last season’s quarterfinal round in the Panthers’ climb to second in state. Levi Burke led Prairie City in scoring with 27 points, fol- lowed by Jojari Field with 12. Burke, Field, Cole Deiter and Lucas McKinley combined for the first 10 points of the game before Sherman found the basket. The Panthers, up 30-18 at the half, never gave up the lead. Sherman tried to come back, outshooting the Panthers 19-9 in the third quarter to come within a 2-point margin, 39-37, head- ing into the final 8 minutes. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Prairie City Panther Cole Deiter (24) drives for the basket past Sherman Huskie Caleb Fritts (35). Deiter grabbed a defen- sive rebound, and Burke sank a shot for 2. Holman added 2, followed by 2 from Field at the free-throw line. When Sherman tied the score, 47-47, Prairie City’s tall- est, 6-foot-5 Deiter and 6-foot-4 Burke, worked together on two of the final three shots. Deiter assisted Burke to make it 49-47, and later with a minute and a half to go, Burke again broke a tie with a 3-pointer. Sherman’s Wade Fields answered back with a 3-pointer to tie it again, 52-52. At the buzzer, Deiter assisted Burke who sank a long 2-point shot. Prairie City head coach Sam Workman said he was pleased with his team. “It shows how hard they can try,” he said. “They played hard on defense. Sherman is a tough team. I knew that they’d be hunting for us, and we don’t ever want to lose in our own house.” Burke said the game made them realize they can’t let up while facing quality teams like Sherman. “It was definitely good for us because we haven’t been in a situation like that,” he said. “We’ve got some big games this weekend.” The Prairie City girls and boys teams planned to travel to the Friday-Saturday Les Schwab Shootout at the Pend- leton Convention Center, past the Eagle’s early dead- line. They were scheduled to face Weston-McEwen and Enterprise. Prairie City hosts Powder Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 2, with the girls game starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by the boys at 7 p.m. Grant Union girls catch the wrestling wave Five female athletes hit the mat By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Wrestling has traditionally been male dominated, but an increasing wave of girls are also enjoying the sport, statewide and at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School in John Day. Out of 21 high school wrestlers on the Grant Union Prospector ros- ter, five are girls — this is the most Andy Lusco, who is in his seventh year as head coach, has seen join the team. Last year, Savannah Wyllie was the sole girl wrestler on the high school team, and a few years ago Hannah Deming was the first girl on the team. There have also been a few junior high girls wrestling since 2003, said Cindy Dougharity-Spen- cer who has assisted the team in the past. Lusco said this year there are over 400 girls wrestling in Oregon. He said the great statewide num- bers should ensure that his five girls have plenty of opportunities to compete with other girls in their weight class. “I think girls-only tournaments will help us see an increase in our overall numbers,” he said. He said the girls can choose to wrestle girls or boys through- out the regular season. Then at the state qualifying meet they’ll have to make a decision about whether to take on a girls or boys bracket and stick with it if they advance to the state tournament. Lusco said he thinks most will The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector senior Sydney Brockway maneuvers, attempting to get the upper hand on her sister sophomore Sophie Brockway in wrestling practice Friday, Dec. 21. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter The Grant Union Prospector girls wrestling team has five members this season. Front row, left to right: Ashley Henry and Arionna Young; back, Sophie Brockway, Trinity Hutchison and Sydney Brockway. This is the first year Grant Union has had more than one girl on the team, and head coach Andy Lusco hopes to see more girls join in the future. choose the girls bracket, and he believes having that option will increase the interest for girls wres- tling, resulting in a larger pool of skilled female competitors. Of the five Prospector girls on the team, two have previous experience. Freshman Arionna Young is in her fourth year in the sport, having wrestled her junior high years as well as in a mat club in sixth grade. “I also work at home on the mats, wrestling with my brothers,” she said. “I think we’ve got something good here,” she said. “You go out there and give it your best. On the mat, it’s all on you, but at duals it’s a group effort. We have a great team.” Young helped recruit her class- mate Ashley Henry, and sophomore Sophie Brockway inspired her sis- ter Sydney Brockway, a senior, to join. Trinity Hutchison, who was on the second-place state champion- ship volleyball team with Sydney, also decided to try the sport for her senior year. Lusco said Young has been well coached and Henry is “tough as nails.” The two girls are in the same weight class and often practice together. Henry said wrestling takes a lot of hard work but is also fun, espe- cially when it translates into win- ning at competitions. “I’m proud to be a part of this team,” she said. Sophie Brockway had two wins and three losses at the Dec. 14-15 John Rysdam Memorial Tourna- ment in Elgin for a first-place finish. “There’s always something good to look at, even though there’s always something to improve on,” she said. Sydney said, although she feels nervous before her matches, “when you win, the hard work pays off.” Hutchison said it’s been awhile since she’s wrestled — she began at age 3 and continued through fifth grade. “A lot of it came back to me, but I’m still pretty novice, and there is a lot I’m learning,” she said. She said, at tournaments this season, the most important thing to remember is to give everything you have in the competition. “There’s always going to be peo- ple more experienced than you, but you want to go in with the mindset that you can beat them if you work hard enough and leave it all out on the mat,” she said. She added the girls on her team are “athletic, talented and hard working.” “If we really put our minds to it, we could end up at state this year,” she said. Lusco said the surge in partic- ipation from girls has brought a renewed enthusiasm to the sport. “We are excited to see the growth of girls wrestling state- wide and here at Grant Union,” he said. “My girls have been physi- cally and mentally tough, and I’m pleased with that.” tinue playing tough with good defense and shooting, working through some illnesses. in Long Creek for their first league game of the season. The teams host Dayville/Monument on Friday at 5 p.m. (girls) and 6:30 p.m. (boys) in Long Creek, then travel to Prairie City Saturday to face the Panthers at 2 p.m. (girls) and 3:30 p.m. (boys). SPORTS ROUNDUP Grant Union girls start league play with 2 wins, boys take win and loss The Grant Union Prospector girls took no holiday from winning and earned two league wins with a 65-53 road victory over Heppner on Dec. 21, followed by a 75-38 win over Pilot Rock in John Day on Saturday. Grant Union head coach Kristi Moore said the Heppner Mustangs were tough competitors. “It was our first league game, and the girls played well with defense, which led to some good offensive opportunities,” Moore said. The Prospectors and the crowd got into the festive spirit, donning ugly Christmas sweaters, when they hosted Pilot Rock. “We started out with a big defen- sive push, and it allowed us to keep the intensity in our favor for the whole game,” Moore said. The Grant Union boys took a 59-55 loss to Heppner on Dec. 21 and beat Pilot Rock 57-49 the next day. Grant Union hosted Lakeview on Dec. 28, past the Eagle’s early deadline. The Prospectors will be on the road Friday, facing Enterprise Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Pho- tography Grant Union Prospector Duane Stokes ups his defense in the Dec. 22 game against Pilot Rock in John Day. with the boys playing at 6 p.m., the girls at 7:30 p.m. Grant Union hosts Union Saturday with the boys play- ing at 4 p.m., followed by the girls at 5:30 p.m. Prairie City Panthers host alumni games, prepare for first league games Prairie City basketball player Levi Burke organized the Panthers boys and girls alumni games on Dec. 22 for his senior project. The high school players faced graduates from as far back as 1989 to 2018 for friendly and fun competition. Burke made the event a fund- raiser, and the proceeds from admission and a spaghetti feed raised nearly $1,500, which will be donated to the Prairie City Ameri- can Legion Post 106. “I personally don’t think the veterans get enough recognition,” Burke said. “We’re here for a rea- son, and they are definitely part of that.” The Prairie City boys and girls teams competed at the Pendle- ton Les Schwab Shootout Dec. 28-29, facing Weston-McEwen and Enterprise (past the Eagle’s early deadline). The teams will host Powder Val- ley on Wednesday, Jan. 2, the girls playing at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 7 p.m. On Friday, in their first league game of the sea- son, the teams face Burnt River on the road in Unity, the girls at 6 p.m. and the boys at 7:30 p.m. On Satur- day, Prairie City hosts league oppo- nents Long Creek/Ukiah with the girls playing at 2 p.m. and the boys at 3:30 p.m. Prairie City boys head coach Sam Workman said the team, which is 6-0 on the season, plans to con- Long Creek/Ukiah teams set for three league hoops games Tigers basketball After facing tough out-of-state team prep for competition at the Dec. 21-22 Helix Tournament, the Long Creek/Ukiah league play Mountain Lion basketball teams are gearing up for their first league games of the season. The Mountain Lion girls fell 57-30 to Klickitat (Washington) on Dec. 21, and the following day fell to the 5A Pendleton junior varsity 2 team 46-29. The Long Creek/Ukiah boys were defeated 69-51 by Bickle- ton (Washington) on day one of the tournament and lost to Klicki- tat-Glenwood (Washington) 57-42 on day two. Long Creek/Ukiah coach Amos Studtmann said they faced quality competition and said his teams need to work together and rebound more. “It’s always the fundamentals,” Studtmann said. The Mountain Lions will host Crane at 5 p.m. for the girls and 6:30 p.m. for the boys on Thursday After hosting their alumni games on Saturday, past the Eagle’s early deadline, the 1A Dayville/Mon- ument Tigers will take on league competition. The teams face 1A Long Creek/ Ukiah on Friday in Long Creek and travel to Harper on Saturday where they’ll face the Hornets at 5:30 p.m. (MT) for the girls and 7 p.m. (MT) for the boys. The Tiger boys and girls com- peted at the Dec. 20-22 Bobcat Classic in Union. The boys fell in four, 82-42 to 1A Powder Valley, 50-30 to 1A Cove, 63-36 to 1A Elgin and 63-36 to Elgin again. The Tiger girls fell to Powder Valley 60-14 on day one, then beat Cove 44-30. On Saturday, they fell to 2A Union 49-32.