A10
SPORTS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Lady Pro spikers advance
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Grant
Union volleyball is moving
on to the quarterfi nals of the
state playoff s after the team
defeated Sheridan 3-0 in
front of a hometown crowd
on Saturday, Oct. 30.
The Lady Prospectors,
after putting down Stanfi eld
in a three-set thriller Oct. 26
on the road (25-19, 26-24,
26-24), had spring in their
step on Saturday and made
quick work of the Spartans
in the fi rst two sets, handily
winning both 26-14.
Sheridan stubbornly held
on in the third set, at one
point knotting up the score at
22 apiece.
However, according to
sophomore Jaydika Ander-
son, the team leaned on each
other to forge ahead in the
decisive third set, 27-25, to
run away with the win.
Grant Union sophomore
Drewsey Williams said the
energy the hometown crowd
brought made a signifi cant
impact.
For her part, senior Paige
Gerry said the team had con-
fi dence in one another to pick
up the win.
Shanna Northway, Grant
Union’s volleyball coach,
told the Eagle in a Sunday
email that the squad is cur-
rently playing well as a team.
Northway added that the
Lady Pros’ serving game was
on point Saturday and they
had just four serving errors
the entire match.
Overall, Northway said
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Lady Prospectors beat the Sheridan Spartans 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 30, to advance
to the quarterfi nals of the state championships and were set to host Vernonia on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union senior Grace Taylor goes up for a kill Saturday, Oct.
30, during the fi rst round of the state playoff s against Sheridan
at Grant Union High School.
the team is special and an all-
around great group of student
athletes.
“They put in the time on
and off the court,” Northway
said. “They work incredi-
bly hard and have very high
expectations of themselves
and their teammates.”
As an example, she said
that over the past two seasons
the team has spent an incred-
ible amount of time working
on serving and passing.
“These girls have great
fundamentals, high volley-
ball IQ, and the drive and
composure to win when
faced with intense games,”
Northway said.
Grant Union is now
22-10 overall and, as of Oct.
26, was ranked No. 4 in the
state.
Grant Union’s volleyball
program has had postseason
success in the past.
According to Northway,
former Grant Union volley-
ball coach Shae Speth led the
team to a state championship
in 2017 after making runs for
the title in 2015 and 2016.
And, Northway said, when
Ali Abrego was at the helm,
the Lady Pros took second
at the state championships in
2018 and sixth in 2019.
Due to the pandemic, the
state championship tourna-
ment did not take place last
season. However, Northway
said her team is excited to
still be in the hunt this year.
The Lady Pros were set
to host the fi fth-ranked Ver-
nonia Loggers at an undeter-
mined time Tuesday, Nov. 2.
The Loggers are 20-5
overall and 11-5 in league
play.
Northway said the Log-
gers will be a great matchup
for the Lady Pros.
Vernonia, according to
Northway, is a fundamentally
sound team.
“Much of our success this
year has come from keep-
ing teams out of system,” she
said.
When opponents are
unable to get their off ense
going, Northway said, her
team can capitalize on it.
In addition to Verno-
nia’s sound fundamentals,
the team has a pair of nota-
ble hitters and an outstand-
ing senior setter, according to
Northway.
It will be crucial that
Grant Union’s serve/pass
game is on against Vernonia,
she said.
“Tuesday will be a great
game,” Northway said. “If
we keep playing with the
focus and intensity that we
have in the past couple of
weeks, things will go well
for us.
“Our strength of schedule
has really taught these girls
how to battle and fi ght for
every point. We are prepared
for this to be a battle and are
excited to play some good
volleyball on Tuesday.”
Grant Union boys take third at district
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The Sev-
enth Street Sports Complex
became a cross country race
course for the second week in a
row on Friday, Oct. 29, as Grant
Union’s cross country team
hosted the 3A/2A/1A-Special
District State Championship.
The boys’ team fi nished
third overall with 101 points
behind Heppner, which fi n-
ished second with 55 points,
and Union, which won the
meet with 27.
Prospectors cross country
coach Sonna Smith told the
Eagle that the boys’ team did a
great job closing the gap from
a 100-point spread to 50 points
between them and Heppner.
“That was a monumental
feat in itself,” she said.
She said no Grant Union
runners qualifi ed for the state
tourney this year. According
to Smith, the Oregon School
Activities Association changed
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union junior Quinn Larson runs the Seventh Street Sports
Complex course Friday, Oct. 29, during the 3A/2A1A-Special Dis-
trict Championships.
its process from last season.
This year, only the district’s
fi rst- and second-place 2A
teams meet qualifi ed for the
state championships, with no
wild cards.
Nonetheless, she said, fi ve
of the seven runners on the
Grant Union boys squad set
personal records in Friday’s
race.
According to Smith,
juniors Brady Dole and Quinn
Larson cut 30 seconds off their
times and sophomore Landon
Boyd cut a minute off his pre-
vious best.
“Our top three runners set
the pace for the entire team,”
Smith said.
Leading the pack for the
boys were Dole, who ran in
11th place in 17:35, and Lar-
SPORTS
ROUNDUP
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Prairie City
volleyball team falls
on the road
Prairie City volley-
ball ended its season in a
first-round playoff match
against Central Christian
on the road.
Jordan Bass, Panther
volleyball head coach,
said several fundamental
breakdowns in the match
contributed to Wednes-
day’s loss.
Bass said three fresh-
men were on the floor,
Reece Jabobs, Sky-
lar McKay and Savan-
nah Watterson, and they
played
exceptionally
well.
According to Bass,
the freshman trio primar-
ily played on junior var-
sity, but they stepped up
and contributed in the
postseason.
McKay served 100%
in Wednesday’s match,
Bass said. Jacobs, who
was the team’s setter on
the JV squad, played a
huge role in the Lady
Panthers’ success at the
district tourney.
For her part, Watter-
son stepped in for an
injured player in the play-
off game on Wednesday
and added four aces and
four kills in the last two
sets of the match.
Bass said middle
blockers Jaycee Wine-
gar and Brooke Teel, both
sophomores who lost
their freshman season to
the pandemic, learned
quickly and contributed
this season.
The Lady Panthers
have the majority of their
squad returning next year.
“We have lots of
young talent and a few
older girls that have great
potential to lead a win-
ning team,” Bass said.
Going forward, Bass
said, the goal is to get the
team plenty of competi-
tion so they are prepared
to face challenging oppo-
nents in league and post-
season play.
“They have incredible
potential and a passion
for volleyball,” she said
of her returnees. “That is
really exciting.”
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Brady Dole, a Grant Union junior, competes in the district meet.
son, who fi nished 21st in
18:28.
Landon Boyd came in 31st
with a time of 20:07, while
junior Max Bailey took 40th
in 20:48. Not far behind was
sophomore Skylor Boyd, who
fi nished 45th in 21:05, while
freshman Logan Randleas fol-
lowed to take 46th in 21:20
and freshman Reid Dole fi n-
ished 50th, clocking a time of
22:09.
While the girls did not have
enough runners to compete as
a team, Smith noted that soph-
Shawna Clark, DNP, FNP
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omore Aliciana Archibald
ran her second-best time ever
for the fi rst time in her high
school career. Meanwhile,
freshman standout Maddie
Bailey was close behind with
another great time.
Archibald placed 29th out
of 62 runners in 23:41, while
Bailey fi nished 32nd in 24:05
and senior Katelyn Hughes,
who set a season record, came
in 34th in 24:20. Smith noted
that Hughes shaved an entire
minute off her time in last
week’s race.
Smith said the Prospec-
tors have the entire boys’
squad returning next season,
while Bailey and Archibald
would be heading up the girls’
team.
Smith thanked the John
Day-Canyon City Parks and
Recreation District and the
volunteers who braved the
rain to make the district meet
a success.
Grant Union football
loses first playoff
game
We s t o n - M c E w e n
handed the Pros a 28-26
loss on the road Fri-
day, Oct. 29, in the
squad’s first playoff
game.
Jason Miller, Grant
Union’s football coach,
told the Eagle the team
played hard.
According to Miller,
his team would have won
the game if the Pros con-
verted a 2-point try or had
one less turnover.
“We played tougher
than ever this year,”
Miller said. “We just ran
out of gas.”
Miller said Umatilla
had a bench stacked with
50 players, while the
Prospectors had 16.
On Friday, Grant
Union will go on the road
to face Lakeview in the
state playoffs.
SPORTS SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3
“Hanging with the Gnomies”
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Friday, November 12, 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Ceramic Truck with Tree
Saturday, November 13,
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Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
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Grant Union football @ Lakeview, 6:30 p.m., fi rst round of
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“Christmas Ceramics” Paint Party
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