PAGE LABEL
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
A9
WEDNESDAY
March 27, 2019
Mathéo
Buchart
Levi
Burke
Lucchese
Douglas
Cole
Deiter
Kyla
Emerson
Jojari
Field
Syd
Holman
Courtney
Nichols
Faythe
Schafer
James
Kreamier
Lucas
McKinley
Denali
Twehues
Hailee
Wall
Donovan
Schafer
Drew
Wilburn
Samantha
Workman
Basketball players receive All-League recognition
Blue Mountain Eagle
Boys and girls basketball play-
ers received All-League honors for
the High Desert League.
Boys
Co-player of the Year, Levi
Burke, senior, Prairie City
First team
Levi Burke
Syd Holman, senior, Prairie City
Second team
James Kreamier, junior, Long
Creek/Ukiah
Cole Deiter, junior, Prairie City
Honorable mention
Mathéo Buchart, senior, Long
Creek/Ukiah
Drew Wilburn, junior, Dayville/
Monument
Donovan Schafer, sophomore,
Dayville/Monument
Lucas McKinley, junior, Prai-
rie City
Jojari Field, sophomore, Prai-
rie City
Girls
First team
Faythe
Schafer,
senior,
Dayville/Monument
Second team
Denali
Twehues,
junior,
Dayville/Monument
Samantha Workman, senior,
Prairie City
Honorable mention
Kyla Emerson, senior, Dayville/
Monument
Hailee Wall, junior, Prairie City
Lucchese Douglas, sophomore,
Long Creek/Ukiah
Courtney Nichols, senior,
Dayville/Monument
Prospector golfers start season with confi dence
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector freshmen Maverick
Miller, swinging, and Logan Namitz take in a
round of golf during a practice last week at
the John Day Golf Club.
Nine Grant Union/Prairie City
Prospector golfers enjoyed their
fi rst sunny days of the season,
practicing at the John Day Golf
Club last week after holding prac-
tice for several days in the Heri-
tage Barn at the Grant County
Fairgrounds because of ankle-
deep snow.
“They’ve been improving on
the green grass for a week,” said
head coach Ron Lundbom.
The Prospector boys have
three returning state competitors:
senior Garrett Lenz and sopho-
mores Devon Stokes and Parker
Manitsas. Freshman Maverick
Miller practiced with the team
last year as an eighth-grader, and
freshman Logan Namitz is new to
the team.
The girls team includes juniors
Emily Springer, Kaytlyn Wells
and Maddy Way and freshman
Billy Radinovich.
“Our team is really welcoming
to new people,” Wells said, add-
ing the members talk with each
other on the course and in the
hallways at school.
Wells said she’s also looking
forward to competing with girls
on the other teams.
“I’m getting back into the
swing of golf,” she said.
Springer said she’s happy with
the
progress
she’s made each
season.
“I’m excited
to control my
driving,”
she
said, and was
Garrett
looking forward
Lenz
to an upcoming
competition.
Lenz said his personal goal is
to make it back to state, at least as
an individual.
“From the looks of it, I should
be in the top notch of golfers,”
he said. “My swing is looking
good, and I’m ready to see what
the season has to come.”
Stokes said the team is young
this year, but he believes the
boys have a good chance at dis-
tricts to qualify for state.
“It’s going to be a really
good season,” said Manitsas.
“We have strong golfers out this
year, and I’m looking forward
to the outcome.”
Last season, the boys team
placed 12th at state.
Two on that team to state are
not returning, including Duane
Stokes who graduated and Kel-
len Shelley who moved.
Lundbom said his returning
players, girls and boys, are per-
forming well. He said Lenz has
the talent to return to state.
“They seem to be taking off
from where they were last year
GRANT UNION/PRAIRIE CITY GOLF SCHEDULE
April 5: @ Pendleton Invite at Pendleton Country Club, 8 a.m.
April 11: @ Heppner Invite at Heppner Golf Course, 11 a.m.
April 12: @ Wildhorse Invite at Wildhorse Golf Course in Pendleton, 10 a.m.
April 17: @ Burns Invitational at Valley Golf Club, 11 a.m.
April 19: GUHS Invitational at the John Day Golf Club, 11 a.m.
April 26: @ Enterprise Invitational at Alpine Meadows, 11 a.m.
May 3: @ 2A Invitational at Buffalo Peaks Golf Course, 10 a.m.
May 5: Districts at Pendleton Country Club, TBA
May 6: Districts at Pendleton Country Club, TBA
May 7: Districts at Pendleton Country Club, TBA
May 12: State Championship at Emerald Valley-Creswell, TBA
May 13: State Championship at Emerald Valley-Creswell, TBA
May 14: State Championship at Emerald Valley-Creswell, TBA
— not a big learning curve,” he
said.
The boys team will be in the
3A/2A/1A Special District 3
with 14 opponents.
The girls will be in the
4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 4
with 20 opponents.
A few of the Prospec-
tor teams’ shared competition
includes Burns, Enterprise,
Vale, Heppner and Burnt River.
“Heppner has two to three
boys who’ve been improving
their score every year,” Lund-
bom said. “They have good
coaching and lots of numbers.”
Cove, Nixyaawii and Echo
graduated some of their top
golfers, he said.
The Prospectors competed
on Friday at the Echo Hills Golf
Course in Echo. Several Pros-
pectors were unable to attend
the competition because of FFA
and FBLA events. The golf tour-
nament had been rescheduled
because of previous inclement
weather.
Lenz placed third for the
boys, scoring a 93. Springer
scored 126 for the girls.
“I was pleased with how the
kids did out there, having so lit-
tle practice,” Lundbom said.
He said the team members
have good attitudes.
“It’s just dialing it in,” he
said. “We’ll wait for the sun and
for things to click.”
He said he’s confi dent they’ll
reach their goals for the season.
“I want the boys in the low
80s and the girls in the mid-
90s,” he said. “They have the
ability.”
Grant Union track and fi eld starts season with 51
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The season looks bright for
the Grant Union Prospector
track and fi eld team.
There are 51 athletes out
for this year’s team, including
31 girls and 20 boys.
It’s not quite as many as
were out in 2007, when the
boys won the state champi-
onship, said Prospector head
coach Sonna Smith, but talent
is showing among the 51.
“Our strengths are across
the board,” she said. “For
girls we have runners, hur-
dlers, throwers and jump-
ers who should make it to
post-season.”
She said the numbers on
the girls team will allow for
three athletes in each event at
district.
“Our boys’ strengths are
also across the board, but we
do not have as much depth as
we do in girls,” she said.
Last year, the girls team
placed second at state, after
winning the state champion-
ship in 2017.
Prospector Kaylee Wright,
now a senior, earned the state
title in javelin last May, shat-
tering the state record she set
as a freshman. She also placed
fi rst in the 100-meter dash and
high jump.
Four boys and four girls
qualifi ed for state and placed
well last year, and Smith
hopes to see more runners
and throwers competing in the
post-season.
Yui
Asami
Shelby
Brooks
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union head track and fi eld coach Sonna Smith, back
left, watches as sprinters take off from the blocks in practice
on March 14, including, from left, Quade Brandon, CJ
Glimpse, Jordan Hall, Carson Weaver and Kaylee Wright.
GRANT UNION TRACK AND
FIELD SCHEDULE
April 5:@ Prairie City Annual Invite,
11 a.m.
April 9: GU Small Schools Meet, 4 p.m.
April 12: @ Burns Lions/Oster Track
Meet in Burns, 1 p.m.
April 20: @ Pepsi Invitational in Union,
11 a.m.
April 23: @ Weston-McEwen Small
Schools Invite in Athena, 3:30 p.m.
April 26: @ Don Walker Invitational in
Nyssa, 1 p.m. (MT)
May 3: Grant Union Invitational,
10 a.m.
May 10: District 5 Track Meet at Grant
Union, 11 a.m.
May 17: OSAA 2A State Champion-
ship Day 1 at Western Oregon Univer-
sity in Monmouth
May 18: OSAA 2A State Champion-
ship Day 2 at Western Oregon Univer-
sity in Monmouth
Trinity Hutchison placed
second in the triple jump last
season, and Sydney Brock-
way placed second in the 100-
meter hurdles. Both hope to
return.
Brockway and Hutchison
also joined Sierra Cates and
Wright to place second as a
team in the 4x100-meter relay
last year.
“We have a lot of potential
— possibly taking our girls
team to state and doing well,”
Brockway said.
Wright said she’s looking
forward to a fun track season.
“We have a bunch of kids
this year with tons of talent,”
she said. “I hope to win jave-
lin again this year, and hope-
fully we can take a bunch
more to state this year.”
Tanner Elliott, a senior,
said he also has a goal to
return to state. Last season, he
placed 12th at state in the 800-
meter run.
He said he likes the com-
petitive nature of the sport and
enjoys the mental skill that
goes into the running events.
“And I fi nd it fun,” he said.
Braden Spencer, a senior
pole vaulter and sprinter, has
been competing in track and
Sydney
Brockway
Trinity
Hutchison
fi eld since fi fth grade.
“I think the coaches are
great, and they’ve taught me a
lot,” he said.
Assistant coach Buzz
Gilmore teaches the pole
vaulters, and Smith and Ken
Boethin are over the sprint-
ers. Boethin also leads the
hurdlers.
Kelsy Wright coaches jav-
elin and high jump.
“Javelin has one of the
hardest techniques to learn,”
he said.
Still he’s coached many
successful javelin throwers,
including his daughter Kaylee
who’s been throwing since
seventh grade.
He said she’s back at it and
poised to repeat for the dis-
trict and state championship
this year.
Two others are returning to
javelin, including sophomore
Braden
Spencer
Tanner
Elliott
Quinten
Hallgarth and
junior Mason
Gerry, who
placed eighth
at state last
May.
Kaylee
Two more
Wright
are on board
with
the
sport, and coach Wright hopes
a few more athletes will add
the event.
John Houk, who coaches
the jumpers, said his athletes
are seasoned and know the
drills.
“Our goal is to get as many
to state as we can and do the
damage,” he said.
New on the high school
team is freshman Mason
Morris.
Although he only started
the jumping events last year as
a middle schooler, he qualifi ed
for the National Junior Olym-
pics last summer. Hutchison
and Hall also competed at the
regional Junior Olympics in
Bend and were just short of
qualifying for nationals.
Angie Lusco, over shot put
and discus, said she has some
talented throwers return-
ing, including defending dis-
trict champion discus thrower
Drew Lusco, who placed ninth
at state, and Abby Lusco, who
was district champion for dis-
cus and also qualifi ed for state
in shot put, placing sixth and
10th, respectively.
“I have a great group, and
they’re strong and hard work-
ers,” she said.
Last year, Grant Union
was in the Wapiti League, and
this year they are competing
in Special District 5, which
includes: Culver, Enter-
prise, Heppner, Pilot Rock,
Stanfi eld-Echo, Union and
Weston-McEwen.
“It is hard for me to judge
our competition at the district
level,” Smith said. “We are in
a new league, and due to bad
weather, Union is the only
team in our league that has
posted marks.”
She added, “Out of the top
10 women’s teams in state last
year, fi ve came from our new
special district, Grant Union
second,
Weston-McEwen
fi fth, Enterprise sixth, Culver
eighth and Union 10th.”
Union is the only team in
Special District 5 that also was
in the Wapiti League last year.
“The boys side had three
teams in the top 10 (last
year),” Smith said.
“We will have our work cut
out for us at our league meet,
which we will be hosting at
Grant Union on May 10,” she
said. “Our team goal is to have
girls win their fourth consecu-
tive district title, and our boys
to become district champions.”