FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Mustangs show their class in
busy wrestling schedule
John Propheter wrestles an opponent at the Joseph Cosgrove
Eschler Invitational. Propheter won two silver medals last
week, one at the Joseph tournament and one at the Pomeroy
Christmas Tournament the Tuesday before. –Photo by Kandy
Boyd
The Mustang wrestlers
competed at two tourna-
ments over the past week,
one in Pomeroy, WA and
one in Joseph, OR. Both
tournaments were large,
with 18 teams in Pomeroy
and 23 in Joseph. Both
tournaments also included
teams from Oregon, Wash-
ington and Idaho with a
combination of large and
small schools.
On Tuesday the team
wrestled in the Pomeroy
Christmas Tournament and
competed against many
schools the Mustangs had
never seen before. Of
the seven wrestlers that
made the trip, three made
it through to the finals in
their weight classes.
In the evening cham-
pionship matches Ryan
Smith faced a Clarkston,
WA opponent, Cord Flynn
a Kittitas, WA opponent and
John Propheter a Selkirk,
WA opponent. Flynn won
his second gold medal at
182 pounds in four days,
having won the Mac-Hi
tournament the previous
weekend. Smith and Proph-
eter each earned silver.
Jacob Moses was the
other Mustang placer,
earning sixth place at 152
pounds. Jesse Boyd and
Will Lutcher also won
matches and scored team
points for Heppner.
Only four Mustangs
made the trip to Joseph for
the two-day Cosgrove Es-
chler Invitational. All four
wrestlers won matches by
pin and scored team points
competing in tough brack-
ets. Many of the weight
classes were full sixteen-
man brackets, and some
were large enough to re-
quire pigtail matches to
get into the sixteen-man
bracket.
John Propheter got his
second silver medal for the
week at 220 pounds.
Cord Flynn finished
fifth at 182 pounds by claw-
ing his way through the
consolation bracket fol-
lowing an overtime loss
in the quarterfinals to a
highly-ranked Weiser, ID
opponent.
Jesse Boyd and Will
Lutcher also competed for
the Mustangs at 138 and
145 pounds respectively,
two full weight classes that
featured returning state
champions and state plac-
ers.
Will Lutcher, pictured here in a Joseph match, wrestled his way
into match wins at both Joseph and Pomeroy, earning points
for the Mustang team. –Photo by Kandy Boyd
Mustang girls defeat Cobras in
Central Linn tournament
The Heppner Mustang
girls basketball team trav-
elled to Halsey to partici-
pate in the Central Linn
High School tournament.
They played three tough
games in three days and
came away with a 1-2 re-
cord.
After a long bus ride,
the Mustangs faced the
3A Willamina Bulldogs.
Heppner had trouble scor-
ing points in the game and
trailed 5-2 after the first
quarter. They were still
behind at the half 11-5 and
both teams scored nine
points in the second half.
The Mustangs could not
make up for their first half
scoring slump and lost the
game 20-14. Willamina
would end up winning the
girls’ side of the tournament
when they defeated Grant
Union in the championship
game.
Kelly Wilson had 6
points, 7 rebounds and 1
assist to lead the Mustangs.
Jessica Kempkin scored
2 points and pulled down
12 rebounds in the game.
Maddie Lindsay also had
2 points, 8 rebounds and a
blocked shot. Macy Gibbs
also recorded 2 points and
she crashed the boards for
6 rebounds. Paige Grieb
added 2 points and 3 re-
bounds for the team.
In the game with the
host Central Linn Cobras,
the Mustangs won by the
score of 37-34. The team
shook off the slow start
they had the day before
and put some points on
the scoreboard. The game
was tied 18-18 at halftime
and the Mustangs trailed at
the end of the third quarter
28-25. The Heppner team
closed out the game strong
with a 12-6 fourth-quarter
advantage to take the win in
the back-and-fourth game.
Wilson once again led
the team in scoring with 15.
She also had 9 rebounds and
3 steals. Maddie Lindsay
had a double-double with
11 points and 10 rebounds
in the game. Kempkin fol-
lowed with 9 points and
11 rebounds. Kacie Gray
scored the other 2 points
and she also grabbed 2
rebounds. Gibbs corralled
6 rebounds and Grieb had
2 rebounds and an assist.
Kaelyn Lindsay also had 2
rebounds for the Mustangs.
In their final game of
the three-day tournament,
the Mustangs were edged
by the 3A Harrisburg Ea-
gles 39-35. The game was
tied 10-10 after one quarter
and the Mustangs led at
halftime 23-20. They were
outscored 9-4 in the third
quarter to trail as the fourth
quarter started. It was a
back-and-forth game near
the end as Harrisburg was
up by two with just over
four minutes to play. Hep-
pner then forced the play
and caused some turnovers
by the Eagles. Heppner
then took a four-point lead
with just over two minutes
to play in the game. Har-
risburg took the lead again
near the end and held on to
it to get the win.
Recording a double-
double for the Mustangs
was Jessica Kempkin with
13 points and 12 rebounds.
Wilson had 12 points, 6 re-
bounds and 4 assists. Grieb
played her best all-around
game of the year with 8
points, 7 rebounds and 4
assists. Maddie Lindsay
hauled down 11 rebounds in
the game and Gibbs had 2.
For her outstanding
play in the tournament,
Kelly Wilson was named to
the All-Tournament team.
“It was a good tourna-
ment for us to play in. We
had some close games and
played against two quality
3A teams. The girls gave
tremendous effort all tour-
nament long and we learned
a lot about ourselves. It was
great to have these tough
games as we prepare for
our conference schedule,”
said head coach Melissa
Lindsay.
The Mustangs open
Columbia Basin Confer-
ence play on Friday, Jan. 9,
at Pilot Rock. Game time
is 6 p.m.
History, opportunity, skill
development…the Morrow
County Chronicles
The Morrow County
Historical Society is offer-
ing local history for local
people, as well as other
interested individuals.
An opportunity to
discover details of his-
tory sometimes ignored or
glossed over, or to develop
a new point of view, or
to develop writing skills
awaits contributors to the
2015 Morrow County
Chronicles.
Anyone interested in
contributing is invited to
an organizational meeting
to be held at Heppner City
Hall on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 2
p.m. The society’s goal is to
have the 2015 edition of the
Morrow County Chronicles
ready for publication by
April 1. Chronicles will go
on sale at the 2015 Morrow
County Fair & rodeo.
For anyone who might
be interested but who feels
they may not have the nec-
essary skills, the group
has the expertise of retired
English teachers and people
educated in English litera-
ture, etc. who are willing to
provide help. Everyone is
invited to come with ques-
tions and ideas.
Also, the histori-
cal society would like
to remind everyone that,
though Christmas is past,
the Chronicles make great
birthday presents. The full
set of MCC (27 volumes,
from 1984 to 2014) is avail-
able for purchase at a local
Bank of Eastern Oregon
branch or at city hall for
$100.
Heppner boys take second at
Cobra Holiday Tournament
The Mustang boys’ basketball team with its second-place award from the Cobra Holiday Tour-
nament. Front (L-R): Jake Lindsay, Kolby Currin, Caden Hedman, CJ Kindle and Coach Mike
Ehrsam. Back (L-R): Head Coach Jeremy Rosenbalm, Kevin Murray, Ross Cutsforth, Logan
Grieb, Weston Putman, Coach Ken Grieb. Not Pictured: Patrick Collins. –Contributed photo
The Heppner Mustang
boys basketball team took
second place at the Cobra
Holiday Tournament held
at Central Linn High School
in Halsey. The three-day,
eight-team event featured
many top-ranked 2A and 3A
teams from around the state.
The Mustangs defeated the
3A Willamina Bulldogs 49-
39 and then they beat the
host Cobras by the score of
58-42. Heppner lost in the
championship game to 2A
powerhouse Toledo 62-36.
In the game with Wil-
lamina, the Mustangs start-
ed out fast. They scored 17
points in the first quarter
and led 17-8. They then
stretched the lead to 29-16
at halftime. Heppner strug-
gled to score in the third,
but still led 35-23. The
Mustangs were outscored
16-14 in the fourth quarter
but won the game 49-39.
CJ Kindle led the team
in scoring with 17 points.
He also had 6 rebounds
and 1 assist. Logan Grieb
was next with 15 points,
7 rebounds and had 3 as-
sists. Patrick Collins had a
double-double for the team
with his 10 points and 14
rebounds. Ross Cutsforth
scored 4 points and had 9
big rebounds for the night.
Weston Putman scored 3
points and had 5 rebounds.
Caden Hedman got in the
game and had 1 rebound for
the team.
The Mustangs shot 38
percent from the field and
outrebounded the Bulldogs
40-29.
Against the host Co-
bras, Heppner put together
a stalwart defensive perfor-
mance. The Mustangs held
Central Linn to 29 percent
shooting in their home gym
while Heppner shot 49
percent for the game. Once
again the Mustangs started
fast, scoring many easy
baskets after they broke the
Central Linn press. Hep-
pner led 18-10 after the first
period and kept the pres-
sure on to stretch the lead
to 32-19 at halftime. The
Mustangs then outscored
the Cobras 26-23 in the
second half to secure the
win 58-42.
Grieb had the hot
hand as he hit four three-
pointers on his way to 21
points on the night. He also
had 4 rebounds and 4 as-
sists. Collins was next with
17 points and 6 rebounds.
Putman scored 8 points
and had 10 big rebounds
in the game. Cutsforth was
strong again with 7 points
and 9 rebounds. He also
had 4 assists in the game.
Kindle also had 4 assists to
go along with 4 points and
5 rebounds. Hedman had
1 point and Kevin Mur-
ray came in and grabbed
5 rebounds for the team.
The Mustangs continued
to dominate teams on the
glass as they outrebounded
the Cobras 39-20.
Collins left after the
game to fly down and watch
the Rose Bowl game. That
left only eight players avail-
able to play the highly-
ranked Toledo Boomers in
the tournament champion-
ship game. Toledo has a
team with a lot of senior
experience and talent, and it
showed early. They jumped
out to a 14-5 lead after the
first quarter. Heppner did
come back and outscore the
Boomers in the second but
still trailed 22-14 at half-
time. Outstanding shooting
by Toledo in the second half
helped contribute to them
outscoring the Mustangs
40-22 in the second half.
The Mustangs suffered their
first loss of the season by
the score of 62-36.
Ross Cutsforth had a
big game for the Mustangs.
He shot the ball well and
ended up with a season-best
17 points. He also had 5 re-
bounds and a blocked shot.
Grieb scored 10 points,
and had 5 assists and 2
rebounds. Hedman filled
in well and scored 4 points,
and had 3 assists and 2
rebounds. Putman played
hard and had 3 points and 7
rebounds in the game. Mur-
ray started in Collins’ place
and scored 2 points and had
7 big rebounds. Kindle had
4 assists and a rebound for
the team.
The Toledo coach
commented that his team
had never shot the ball so
well. They finished the
game shooting 64 percent
compared to the Mustangs’
total of 35 percent. Heppner
did outrebound the Boom-
ers 23-12.
Logan Grieb and Ross
Cutsforth were named to
the All-Tournament team
for their outstanding play
during the week.
Heppner currently has
a record of 9-1. They are the
number-one ranked team in
the state for 2A basketball.
They begin their Columbia
Basin Conference schedule
when they travel to Pilot
Rock on Friday, Jan. 9, to
play the Rockets. Game
time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Lady Cards take down
Huskies 44-39
The Cardinal game
against Sherman ended in
another loss for the Ione
boys’ basketball team last
Saturday. The loss of their
first league game of the
season gives the boys a
1-6 overall record and 0-1
league record.
The girls fared better,
winning their first league
game 44-39 over the Sher-
man Huskies. This gives the
Lady Cards a record of 1-6
overall and 1-0 league.
Girls’ stats were un-
available at press time.
Boys’ stats for the Sherman
game are as follows:
Ione Cardinals vs Sher-
man, 37-86
Jan. 3, 2015
Score by quarters:
Ione Cardinals: 10, 14,
8, 5
Sherman: 25, 25, 8, 28
Player: Reb, Ast, St, Pts
Donald McElligott: 2, 1,
1, 2
Austin Carter: 1, 0, 1, 2
Henry Padberg: 2, 0, 0, 6
Zack Irons: 1, 1, 0, 2
Joe Doherty: 4, 1, 0, 0
Tj Patton: 10, 0, 0, 13
Jason Juarez: 4, 3, 4, 12
David Smidmajer: 1, 1,
0, 0
Austin Morter: 1, 0, 0, 0
Totals: 26, 7, 6, 37
‘Start a lifesaving habit’ by
giving blood at Ione school
The American Red
Cross is encouraging eligi-
ble blood donors to “start a
lifesaving habit” by becom-
ing regular blood donors
this year, starting with Na-
tional Blood Donor Month
in January. As part of that
challenge, a mobile blood
drive will take place Jan.
20 at the Ione High School,
445 Spring St., Ione, from
noon to 5 p.m.
Donors of all blood
types are needed, especially
those with O negative, A
negative and B negative.
Type O negative is the uni-
versal blood type and can
be transfused to patients
with any blood type. Types
A and B negative can be
transfused to Rh positive or
negative patients.
To learn more about
donating blood and to
schedule an appointment,
download the Red Cross
Blood Donor App, visit
redcrossblood.org or call
1-800-RED CROSS (1-
800-733-2767).
Dates and times of
blood drives are subject to
change, especially during
inclement winter weather.
Scheduling an appointment
in advance to donate blood
is recommended.
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