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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.