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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2019)
A10 PAGE LABEL Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 27, 2019 WEDNESDAY February 27, 2019 Hutchison wins girls state wrestling title Lusco, Young place second Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant Union girls wrestling team made history at the fi rst ever girls state tournament this year. Senior Trinity Hutchi- son won the title at the 155- pound class, and freshman Arionna Young placed sec- ond at 115. The two brought home the fourth-place tro- phy for the Grant Union girls team as a 2A team, facing off against all sizes of schools in the girls tournament. On the boys side, defend- ing state champion Drew Lusco, a junior, placed sec- ond in the heavyweight divi- sion after a close champion- ship match. “We had a pretty good state tournament,” head coach Andy Lusco said. “Girls wrestling has no divi- sions, as 1A-6A are all com- bined, so placing at state is a big accomplishment, and a championship is incredible.” Hutchison faced junior Noelle Acosta of Nyssa in the fi rst round, pinning her in 3:51. Acosta then defeated Fatima Albanian of Bend for third place. Contributed photo Grant Union’s Trinity Hutchison is victorious over Nyssa’s Noelle Acosta in the 155-pound semifi nal match Saturday at the girls state wrestling tournament in Portland. Hutchison went on to win the state title with a 5-1 decision over Lilliann Restrepo of Century. Grant Union wrestlers, from left, Trinity Hutchison, Drew Lusco and Arionna Young pose after the state championships. Hutchison placed fi rst, and Lusco and Young placed second. The girls team placed fourth. In the fi nals, Hutchi- son defeated senior Lilliann Restrepo of 6A Century in a 5-1 decision, earning 3 points in the second period for a near fall and 2 points in the third period for a takedown. Restrepo earned her point in the third for an escape. Coach Lusco said it was “a well earned and deserved championship” in “the fi rst offi cially sanctioned state tournament for girls in Ore- gon history.” Young earned a forfeit in the fi rst round when Kend- all Martin of Sandy failed to make weight, coach Lusco In the fi nals, Justin Malone, a senior from Cen- tral Linn, won by a 2-1 deci- sion, earning 1 point on a penalty in the fi rst period and 1 point for an escape in the third. Drew Lusco scored his point for an escape in the second period. “His fi nals match was tough and came down to a penalty point being the dif- ference,” coach Lusco said. “He is also looking forward to working hard to get to the top of the podium again next season.” Junior Russell Hodge lost in the fi rst round at 182 Contributed photo/Kristi Cason said. In the fi nals, Kyleigh Lopez, a senior from North Medford, won by pin in 0:27. “A second-place fi n- ish for a freshman is pretty exciting,” the coach said. “I’m looking forward to great things from Arionna.” The two wrestlers form- ing the Grant Union girls team earned 32 points for fourth place, tied with La Pine, out of 37 teams. Hood River Valley placed fi rst with 48, followed by Hills- boro with 38 and Bend with 33. “This was an amazing start for our girls program, which we hope will grow in the future with the return of Arionna Young, Ashley Henry and Sophie Brock- way,” coach Lusco said. “Sydney Brockway and Trinity Hutchison have done a great job as senior leaders for our girls team.” Boys team Drew Lusco pinned Andrew Kintzley of Low- ell in 1:28 in the fi rst round. In the second round, he defeated senior Daniel Jones of Chiloquin in an 8-4 decision. pounds to Dyllan Houser, a senior from Rogue River who went on to win the weight class. The 1-0 deci- sion came after an escape in the third period. “(Hodge) actually wres- tled him tougher than any- one else in the tournament,” coach Lusco said. “He has a great chance of placing next season.” Hodge won his next match over senior Nick Glover of Reedsport by pin in 1:59 but lost to senior Pat- rick Shawver of Siletz Val- ley in a 12-7 decision to fi n- ish just outside of placing. Grant Union girls advance to tournament Prairie City boys claim Prospectors face Coquille at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Pendleton Panthers face Sherman at 1:30 p.m. today in Baker City By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant Union Pros- pectors are advancing to the OSAA 2A Girls Basketball State Championship after claiming a 69-47 win over the Gervais Cougars Satur- day afternoon in John Day. The Prospectors will take on the Coquille Red Devils at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Pendleton Con- vention Center. One could say the Pros- pectors shot the lights out Saturday. The scoreboard darkened midway through the third quarter as Grant Union was ahead 46-26. No one tripped over a cord. The system is wireless. After a delay of about 10 minutes, the game continued with a tabletop scoreboard, and the wall mounted score- board lit up a short while later. Grant Union was hot from the start, beginning with Prospector Kaylee Wright’s tip, Madi McKrola scoring the fi rst 2 points of the game. Hailie Wright and McKrola added another 2 points with Marissa Smith sinking 1-2 and Hailie Wright 2-2 at the free-throw line before Ger- vais’ Katie Hanson scored 2. The Prospectors ended the fi rst quarter with a 21-11 lead. Six Prospectors were in on the scoring in the second, and Grant Union was ahead state playoff victory By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector Kaytlyn Wells (20) takes a tough stance on defense with Kaylee Wright on the left and Marissa Smith at right as Gervais Cougar Isabel Vasquez looks for a way to the basket. GRANT UNION STATS Hailie Wright: 18 points (4-4 free throws) Madi McKrola: 15 (3-5 free throws) Kaylee Wright: 12 (one 3-pointer, 3-7 free throws) Marissa Smith: 10 (one 3-pointer, 1-3 free throws) Kaytlyn Wells: 6 (6-8 free throws) Tyler Blood: 3 (1-2 free throws) Baylee Combs: 2 Tiler Voigt: 2 Alcie Moore: 1 (1-2 free throws) 40-26 at halftime. Gervais missed a couple attempts at the start of the third, and Prospector Kayt- lyn Wells grabbed a rebound and Hailie Wright scored. Wells had another defen- sive rebound, and Kaylee Wright was fouled going up to the basket. Kaylee sank 1-2 at the free-throw line, and when Gervais inbounded the ball, Hailie Wright stole it and scored for a 45-26 lead. McKrola scored 1-2 at the free-throw line just before the scoreboard went out. Grant Union continued their forward push in the fourth, with several younger Prospector players taking the court in the fi nal minute. “This whole week we prepared for tight defense — to use our defense to take them out of their game,” said Grant Union head coach Kristi Moore. “They came out determined. They shot well and had good rebounding and second-shot opportunities.” She said Hailie Wright was “unstoppable” and McKrola played a “solid game.” See Girls, Page A13 The Prairie City Pan- thers boys basketball team “sounded the bell” Fri- day night after their 66-49 victory over the Dufur Rangers. Sounding the Prai- rie City school’s old-fash- ioned school bell is an honor reserved for special occasions, including win- ning a home state playoff contest. The High Desert League Panthers, ranked No. 9 among OSAA’s 1A teams with a 25-2 overall record, continue their upward climb at the OSAA State Basketball Champion- ships at 1:30 p.m. Wednes- day, Feb. 27, at Baker High School where they will face the No. 1-seed Sher- man Huskies (24-3) of the Big Sky League. One of Sherman’s three losses was to Prairie City on Dec. 27. The Panthers won that contest 54-52 in Prairie City. In Friday night’s game, Prairie City jumped out ahead from the start scor- ing 16, while holding Dufur to 3 points. Levi Burke scored 8 points in the quarter, with Cole Deiter adding 4. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Prairie City Panther Cole Deiter scores in Friday’s second round state playoff game against the Dufur Rangers. Lucas McKinley and Jojari Field scored 2 each with Field sinking a shot at the buzzer. Dufur’s Trey Darden and Derek Frakes each scored a 3-point shot in the second quarter, and Prai- rie City’s Syd Holman also landed a 3-pointer. Prairie See Boys, Page A13 AAU basketball tournament in Prairie City slated for March 2 Blue Mountain Eagle A youth AAU girls basketball tournament, hosted by the local Hot Shotz team, will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 2, in Prairie City School’s new gym with games running every hour. The Hot Shotz team, led by head coach Justin Jacobs and assistant coach Zane Rookstool, includes seven girls in grades 3-4 from Prairie City, John Day and Dayville. The traveling team started practicing in October with games beginning in late December. Other teams scheduled to compete in the March 2 tour- nament include Pilot Rock, Echo, Athena and Burns, with girls in grades 3-5. Admission is free for spectators, and concessions will be available as a fundraiser for the Hot Shotz. Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography The AAU Hot Shotz girls basketball team, left to right: Anna Jacobs, Zoey Rookstool, Colbie Howard, Haven Giffi n, Gracee Hueckman, Kara Hansen and Rylee Workman.
