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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2019)
A10 PAGE LABEL Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 24, 2019 WEDNESDAY Jul;y 24,2019 “IT’S NICE TO HAVE THE FEELING OF THE ENTIRE SWIM FAMILY HERE IN JOHN DAY — ALL THE TEAMS.” Haley Walker, president of the John Day Swim Team John Day swimmer Sierra May competes in a butterfly event at the John Day Swim Meet on Saturday. Contributed photo The 1A All-Star team with players from the High Desert and Old Oregon leagues competed with three other teams June 28-29 in Sisters. Front, left to right, Deven Barkley (Nixyaawii), Rhett Landon (Crane), Omar Benites (Powder Valley), Tyler Homan (Joseph), Tyler Gulick (Pine Eagle) and Brian Clark (Crane); back row, assistant coach Sam Workman (Prairie City head coach), Zeke Quintero (Jordan Valley), Levi Burke (Prairie City), Syd Holman (Prairie City) and head coach Shane Rivera (head coach Nixyaawii). Two Prairie City grads compete in All-Star basketball series By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Two Prairie City boys basketball athletes competed in this year’s 1A Seniors All- Star Series basketball tour- nament June 28-29 at Sisters High School. Levi Burke and Syd Hol- man, recent graduates of Prairie City High School, were on the High Des- ert and Old Oregon league combined team coached by Shane Rivera. Rivera, who coaches the 2019 State Champion Nixy- aawii Golden Eagles, was named 1A Coach of the Year. Sam Workman, the Prai- rie City Panther head coach, was assistant coach to Rivera for the All-Star competition. The tournament is arranged by the 1A Oregon Basketball Coaches Asso- ciation, and most years coaches whose teams com- peted at state are selected to coach the series. Rivera said each team at the tournament was com- prised of athletes from two leagues in the 1A class, with four teams total. The teams competed on June 28, then winners played on Saturday and a consola- tion match was also held. “We won Friday night then lost a close game (on Saturday),” Rivera said. “It was a good contest.” He said Saturday’s game was against the Big Sky league and a Portland area league. Rivera had one of his Nixyaawii players in the mix, Deven Bark- ley. Rivera said they had a young Golden Eagles team this year with only two seniors. Commenting on the Prairie City players, he said Burke and Holman are “both excellent players.” “Syd’s really athletic and an amazing defender, and Levi is a talented scorer and defender,” Rivera said. Burke and Jordan Val- ley Mustang Zeke Quin- tero were both chosen from Rivera’s group as first team all-stars of the tournament. Burke was recognized as this year’s Oregon 1A Player of the Year. “It was fun,” said Rivera. “They’re good kids and easy to coach.” The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Junior golf coach Ron Lundbom assists Colton Lindsay with putting during the golf scramble on the final day of lessons held at John Day Golf Club. Junior Golf lessons wrap up with fun scramble By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County Junior Golf coach Ron Lundbom wrapped up weeks of lessons at the John Day Golf Club with a two-day scramble — a chance for the kids to try out their newfound skills. This year’s group included 15 youths, and 14 of them were ages 12 and younger. Lunbom said he likes to focus on the basics. “All I want is for them to have fun and not feel rushed,” he said. He said the young group started off slightly ambiv- alent — several are base- ball players — but ended up enjoying the sport enough that several asked “When can we do this again?” The kids he thought would be the hardest to con- vince that golfing is fun were the ones most eager to con- tinue playing, he added. Silas Fansler, 9, didn’t need any convincing. This was his third year taking the lessons from Lundbom. Fansler said he enjoys the feeling when he hits the ball. “I’ve improved on chip- ping short distances on the green,” he said. Sawyer Quinton, 11, who’s been in Junior Golf for two years, said this was his fourth year playing the sport. “I’ve improved my stance and swing,” he said. Riley Gregg, 12, said he was glad he took the lessons. “I learned how to golf,” he said. “I’d never hit a ball before — it’s fun.” The youths were out on the course Thursday, July 18, finishing up a two-day golf scramble. Enjoying her first year taking the lessons, Allison Fansler, 7, was competing in the scramble on the final day and said “I’m just having fun with golf.” The event ended with an ice cream party at the clubhouse. Assistants for Lundbom this year were Yazzie Voigt and Mitch Saul. SWIM TEAMS MAKE WAVES AT LOCAL MEET By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle A tidal wave of 239 swim- mers plus coaches, fami- lies, friends, spectators and volunteers flooded Gleason Pool and the adjacent city park with excitement for the July 19-21 John Day Swim Meet. The John Day Sea Dragons hosted the event which included six other teams. Prineville won the event with The Dalles in second place, Lakev- iew third and John Day fourth. In fifth place was the Hi-Desert team from Burns, followed by Pend- leton Swim Association and La Grande Swim Club. “It’s overwhelming to see the outpouring of swimmers who came to enjoy this with us and to see the blend of year-round swim- mers and our seasonal swim teams join together,” said John Day head coach Sabrina Howard. Haley Walker, president of the John Day Swim Team, said the event ran smoothly, and their team of 37 performed well. Andrew Hunt earned a gold medal in the boys 13-14 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:16.38. “It’s nice to have the feeling of the entire swim family here in John Day — all the teams,” Walker said. “It’s just one big family event ... We couldn’t do this without all the volunteers, and the concession stand by Hope 4 Paws has been a great partnership for a good cause.” The big meet gives the swim- mers a chance to compete against tough teams before their “grand finale,” the Cascade East District Championships which will be held in John Day July 26-28. Members of the district include John Day, Prineville, Lakeview and Hi-Desert teams. It was John Day swimmer Jus- tin Hodge’s first meet of the sea- son. Due to his summer work schedule, he’s had to miss two pre- vious meets held in Prineville and Lakeview. The 15-year-old was glad to compete in the local invitational. “I like having a meet before dis- tricts, because we see a lot more teams than normal,” he said. His favorite thing about being a part of the swim meet and the team? “I like to hang out with friends 24/7, and it helps me keep in shape,” he said. It’s been 12-year-old Syrus Workman’s first year on the team. “I like that it’s really laid back,” he said. “There are nice people and a good crowd.” Jillie Thunell, 9, who is in her second year competing, said her favorite event was the freestyle. Among the John Day swim- mers earning points for the team’s fourth-place finish were, for the girls, Sierra May with 22 points, Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter John Day swimmers Brady Wyllie, front, and Grant Hall compete in the boys 13-14 200-yard freestyle on Friday evening. Hall placed second in the event and Wyllie was fourth. A crowd of swim team fans cheer from the stands Saturday at the John Day Swim Meet at Gleason Pool. including silver medals in the girls 11-12 100-yard individ- ual medley and 50 freestyle and bronze medals in the 200 free- style and 50-yard breaststroke; Allison Fansler with 15 points, including a silver medal in the girls 8 and under 50-yard free- style and bronze medals in the 25-yard butterfly and the 25-yard breaststroke; and Colbie Howard with 13 points, including a silver medal in the girls 10 and under 200 freestyle and a bronze in the girls 9-10 100 freestyle. For the boys, Quinn Larson earned 18 points and had a silver medal in the boys 13-14 200-yard freestyle and bronze medals in the 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle; Andrew Hunt earned 15 points. In addition to gold in the 100 butterfly, he earned silver in the 50 freestyle. Justin Hodge earned 15 points with one silver medal in the boys 15 and over 50-yard free- style and two bronze medals in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke and Jack Strong earned 13 points, including bronze in the boys 13-14 100 breaststroke. Howard said this event will help her guide the team as they prepare for what’s ahead. “This is a huge teaching tool on what practice will entail for this coming week to prepare for district championships,” she said.
