WEDNESDAY
December 18, 2019
Grant Union wrestling team positioned for success
13 girls on the roster create new opportunities
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The 2A Grant Union Prospec-
tor wrestling team, with 21 boys
and 13 girls, is busy working
drills and preparing for the tough
schedule ahead.
With several new wrestlers,
Andy Lusco, in his eighth year
as the Prospector head coach,
reminded the team they need to
work through their sore muscles
and pain with mental toughness.
“We have 34 kids here, and
20 are new,” he said. “When you
get kids like that, it’s learning to
retrain the brain. This is very dif-
ficult. They’re to be commended
for sticking with it.”
Lusco has three assistant
coaches with Tye Parsons return-
ing, and Donny Speakman and
Andy’s wife, Angie Lusco, also
lending a hand.
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector senior Drew Lusco wrestles junior Quinten Hallgarth in the team’s Dec. 5 practice.
The breakdown
Senior Drew Lusco, wrestling
in the 285-pound heavyweight
bracket, had a second-place fin-
ish in the state championship final
round last year as a junior, fall-
ing to a Central Linn senior by 1
penalty point. Drew Lusco was
state champion in 2017, during his
sophomore year.
Senior Russell Hodge quali-
fied for state after placing second
(182) at the Special District 4 tour-
nament in Halfway. He was just
shy of making the podium, plac-
ing fifth at state.
Senior Damion Young, soph-
omore Justin Hodge and sopho-
more Ethan Moore, who made the
podium at last year’s district tour-
nament, are also expected to be
major contenders this year. Moore
qualified for state his freshman
year.
Girls team
Last season was a one for the
record books for the girls.
Trinity Hutchison, who gradu-
ated in June, won the champion-
ship title in the 155-pound bracket,
and Arionna Young, as a freshman
last year, had a second-place fin-
ish, wrestling at 115.
The girls had their work cut out
for them, competing with other
females in 1A-6A class schools,
and that will be the case again this
season.
Two girls are returning to the
mats, junior Sophie Brockway and
sophomore Ashley Henry. The
team has more than doubled their
numbers, growing from six wres-
tlers to 13.
Season outlook
The coach mentioned five
wrestlers from the boys team
expected to be major contenders
this season.
“Drew is in the hunt for trying
to win the championship,” Andy
Lusco said. “I think he’s pretty
motivated.”
Russell Hodge — “Looking to
see improvement there.”
The other threats, Damion
Young, Justin Hodge and Ethan
Moore, are also expected to per-
form well.
“Justin is one of the best in the
state,” coach Lusco said. “We just
need to get him out of districts. We
Grant Union
wrestlers compete
in Culver
Samantha
Floyd
Megan
McManama
Fallen
Bolman
have a tough district.”
There are other team members
also making a statement on the
mats.
The biggest challenge among
the district competition is the Cul-
ver Bulldogs.
“Culver is a perennial chal-
lenge,” Andy Lusco said. “They
had a total of 11 qualifiers for state
in 2A last season.”
The seniors
There are seven seniors this
season, four boys with experience
and three girls who are new to the
program.
Drew Lusco, who was district
champion last season, said his
goal is to become state champion
again. He said missing the title last
year was disappointing, but he’s
ready to increase his skills and
conditioning to take on the chal-
lenge this season.
“You have to want to win,” he
said. “Usually the guy who wants
to win the most wins.”
Russell Hodge, second at the
district meet last season, said he
might have a better chance this
year since it appears his major
contenders have graduated.
“My goal is to place first in
state,” he said. “When I practice,
I think of my competitors practic-
ing, and I try to work harder than
they would.”
Damion Young, who has been
wrestling for six years and cur-
rently wrestles at 160, said he
hopes to qualify for state.
“I’m going to have a good part-
ner (in practice), and he’s going to
push me, and I’m going to push
him to work hard,” he said.
Frank Douglass said his goal is
to push himself to go as far as he
can this season by staying focused
and asking for assistance when
needed.
“The coach gives orders, and I
follow them,” he said. “I hope to
get a few wins.”
Fallen Bolman is new to the
sport, but she’s been the team’s
Frank
Douglass
Damion
Young
statistician for the past three years.
She said she’s found the team
to be welcoming and the coach
“super helpful.”
Bolman said she’ll be “trying
to remember everything that I’ve
learned and not letting ‘myself’
get me — keep my mind in the
game.”
Both Megan McManama and
Samantha Floyd said they’ve been
wanting to join the team the last
few years.
“It’s a lot of work and it’s hard,
but it’s worth it,” McManama
said. “You start as strangers but
leave with a family.”
Floyd said she didn’t have the
confidence to join until she saw
the team had grown. She hadn’t
played a sport since middle school,
so just getting through the first day
of warmups was a win, she said.
“I’ve learned that I’m capa-
ble of much more than I thought I
was,” she said. “I want to encour-
age others.”
Andy Lusco said that girls
wrestling is growing at a pretty
fast rate statewide.
“We’re seeing more than half
the other teams have at least one
girl,” he said. “I think it’s going
to grow. They’ve doubled their
opponents this year, and that
means twice as many will be
going to state. There are no divi-
sions for girls who wrestle at state,
so they compete with other girls in
1A through 6A. The divisions will
eventually come.”
He added, “Most of the girls
are new, but 13 girls working hard
is awesome, and it’s fun to coach
them.”
Looking at the season ahead,
coach Lusco is known for pushing
the basics.
“Conditioning and working on
fundamentals,” he said.
The team gathered in a large
circle around assistant coach Par-
sons as he demonstrated a drill
with freshman Jack Strong. Then
the team — filling the Grant Union
old gym on the mats — paired up
Drew
Lusco
Russell
Hodge
GRANT UNION 2019-
2020 WRESTLING
SCHEDULE
Dec. 20-21: Boys @ Elgin Tournament,
TBD
Dec. 21: Girls @ Liberty Tournament,
TBD
Jan. 4: Both @ Riverside Tournament,
TBD
Jan. 11: Both @ Echo Tournament, TBD
Jan. 17-18: Both @ Oregon Classic in
Redmond, TBD
Jan. 23: Boys @ Baker, Mac-Hi in Baker,
TBD
Jan. 24: Both host Grant Union Tourna-
ment, TBD
Jan. 24: Both @ Hood River Tour-
nament, TBD
Jan. 28: Boys @ Crane, Burns in
Crane, TBD
Feb. 1: Boys @ Heppner Tourna-
ment, TBD
Feb. 7-8: Girls @ Girls Districts in
Springfield, TBD
Feb. 8: Boys @ Pine Eagle Tourna-
ment in Halfway, TBD
Feb. 14-15: Both @ Special District
4 Tournament in Union
Feb. 28-29: Both @ State Tourna-
ment in Portland
and went to work.
Parsons is also the head coach
for the Grant County Wrestling
Club with 54 team members from
ages 4-15.
Coach Lusco said more club
members will move through that
program and up to the high school
level.
“We’re keeping the program
alive — that was the goal, to have
a good program for kids who’ve
been wrestling since they were
4,” he said. “The best kids are
club kids.”
He said wrestling as a club
sport is popular statewide, includ-
ing in Eastern Oregon — Pendle-
ton, Baker City, Burns, Prineville,
Joseph are just a few.
“We’ve got to get there to
meet those teams on equal foot-
ing,” he said.
Grant Union Prospector Drew
Lusco placed first (4-0) at the Cul-
ver Invitational in the 285-pound
bracket with wins by fall over
Shain Beymer of Madras and Jacob
Washington of Sisters and by deci-
sion over Michael Heutzenroeder
of La Pine and Daniel Underwood
of La Pine.
At 160, Justin Hodge (5-1)
placed third with wins over Lean-
der Smith of Madras, Harley Miller
of Joseph/Wallowa, Craig Puckett
of North Lake, Scotty Metcalf of
Gold Beach and Dylan Hankey of
La Pine. He lost in the semifinals to
Ray Solis of Crook County.
Also at 160, Damion Young
(4-2) placed fifth with wins over
Connor Fowler of Ridgeview,
Tom Kallenbach of Madras, Jose
Orozco of La Pine and Scotty Met-
calf of Gold Beach. He lost to
Hunter Augustynovich of Culver
in the semifinals and Dylan Han-
key of La Pine.
At 182, Russell Hodge (4-2)
placed fourth with wins over
Andreas Mendez of Culver, Isaac
Andres of Culver, Landen Roggen-
kamp of La Pine and Cade Wynne
of Mazama. He lost to Ethan Rich-
ards of Mazama in the quarterfi-
nals and again in the third-place
match.
Dan Henry went 0-2 at 106.
Ezra Beam went 0-2 and placed
fourth at 113. Dylan Clark went
0-2 at 126. Ben Henry went 1-2 at
132. Riddick Hutchison went 1-2
and 138. Jack Strong went 1-2 at
145. Isaac Koopman went 2-2 at
145. Sam McCracken went 0-2 at
152. Frank Douglass went 3-2 at
160. Quentin Hallgarth went 202
at 170. Tucker Carpenter went 0-2
at 170. Rylan Cox went 2-2 at 285.
Grant Union girls
Ashley Henry (3-0) placed
first at 122 with wins by fall over
Aubbry Hill of Glide, Ariana Hill
of Glide and Kylee Boynton of
Madras.
Mercedes Locke (2-1) placed
second at 156 with wins over Ori-
ana Foltz of Madras and Ronne
Puterbaugh of Ridgeview after a
first-round loss to Peyton Dennis
of Madras.
Abby Lusco (2-1) placed sec-
ond at 179 with wins by fall over
Belen Leonard of Ridgeview and
by forfeit over Megan McManama
of Grant Union. She lost in the sec-
ond round to Anastasia Kuglar of
Mazama.
Ashleigh Ostberg (2-1) placed
second at 195 with wins by for-
feit over Fallen Bollman of Grant
Union and by decision over Si
Imas Fry of Gold Beach. She lost
in the first round to Ashlyn Dennis
of Madras.
Kristin Cantrell (1-1) placed
second at 232 with a win over
Natalie Shaw of Glide. She lost to
Monique Hansen of Mazama.
Megan McManama went 0-3 at
179 for fourth place. Fallen Boll-
man went 0-3 at 195 for fourth
place.
SPORTS ROUNDUP
Grant Union girls victorious
over Umatilla
The 2A Grant Union girls won
in overtime 38-37 on Dec. 13 over
the 3A Umatilla Vikings at the
Columbia River Clash.
“It was a good learning experi-
ence this weekend, and it was some
of our best basketball this season,”
said head coach Kristi Moore. “We
learned a lot about energy lev-
els and working together and put-
ting what we practiced into game
time.”
Another key factor that led to
the win was excellent teamwork
from the girls and doing well at the
free throw line.
The girls lost to the Irrigon
Knights 34-59 on Dec. 12, and
to the Nixyaawii Golden Eagles
43-31 on Dec. 14, but they learned
how to maintain energy levels and
to continue working together for
future games.
The Grant Union girls are
scheduled to play in Burns on Dec.
19 at 6 p.m.
Ukiah/Long Creek boys
notch victories, while
injuries prevent girls from
playing
The Ukiah/Long Creek Moun-
tain Lion boys basketball team is
bouncing back with back-to-back
wins this past week.
The Mountain Lions inched a
63-60 win over Helix on Friday
in the Arlington Snowball Tour-
nament. Head coach Amos Studt-
mann said the team is learning to
be patient and playing high-inten-
sity defense.
Ukiah/Long Creek continued
the tournament with a 53-47 win
over Dayville/Monument.
“It was close at the end,” Studt-
mann said. “One of our tall play-
ers — rim protectors, rebound-
ers — got hurt and had to sit the
last four and a half minutes of the
game. Ultimately, I think the game
came down to fouls. We made a lot
of free throws. The team got a lot
of assists as well.”
The boys are scheduled to com-
pete at Griswold High School on
Dec. 20-21 for the Helix Holiday
Tournament.
“We have a positive outlook for
the season,” the coach said. “We’re
never complacent or satisfied with
where we are. We want to grow
and improve.”
The girls team has only played
once this year, hampered by inju-
ries, but Studtmann said the team
has enough players for the tourna-
ment this weekend.
“Obviously, it’s stressful and
frustrating not knowing if you’re
going to have enough to start
the next game, but it’s encour-
aging to see them stepping up
and being strong for each other,”
he said. “I’m proud of them for
being willing to play. They’re
playing and practicing hard with-
out knowing how the season is
going to go.”
Studtmann said there are six
girls on the roster, but one will be in
Alaska this weekend, leaving only
five for the games. One returner
from last year’s team plans to play
in her first game of the year after
missing the first due to injury.
The girls are scheduled to face
Griswold at 6 p.m. Friday in Helix.
Panther boys continue
winning streak at Badger
Tournament
The Prairie City Panther boys
basketball team won 58-31 against
the Bickelton, Washington, Pirates
at the Badger Tournament Dec.
13 in North Powder. The momen-
tum carried the Panthers into their
next game on Dec. 14 against the
St. Paul Buckaroos. Prairie City
won 61-55 and extended their win
streak to three.
The Panthers are scheduled to
play in Burns at 6 p.m. Dec. 19.
Panther girls split wins in
Idaho
The Prairie City Panther girls
basketball team won against the
Council, Idaho, Lumberjacks
35-21 on Friday, Dec. 16. The Pan-
thers lost their next game against
the Tri-Valley, Idaho, Dawgs.
Tri-Valley won the game 43-13.
Dec. 20 Prairie City will face
Sherman in Moro at 4:30 p.m. On
Dec. 21, the Panthers will face 5A
Hood River Valley’s junior varsity.
Grant Union boys lose two at
Columbia River Clash
The 2A Grant Union Prospector
boys lost against two 3A schools
over the weekend after a win
Thursday at the Columbia River
Clash in Umatilla.
On Dec. 12, the Prosectors beat
Irrigon, 54-42.
On Dec. 13, the Prospectors
faced the Umatilla Vikings and
narrowly lost 46-49.
The next day, Grant Union
faced the Riverside Pirates and lost
53-38. Grant Union is scheduled to
play in Burns on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
and then at the Willamina Tourna-
ment on Dec. 20-21. These are the
last three non-league games sched-
uled for the season.