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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2025)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 16, 2025 -- SEVEN Heppner Track & Field Shines Heppner/Ione Baseball 3-2 in District at La Grande Invitational Heppner Senior Nick Wenberg in the 100m at La Grande. -Photo by Susan Hisler The Heppner women’s 4x400 relay team (L-R): Lily Nichols, Riley Archer, Healy Hisler and Hallee Hisler. -Photo by Susan Hisler The Heppner High School track and field team brought their energy and talent to the La Grande Invitational on Saturday, April 12, turning in a string of standout performances on both the track and in the field. Competing against 10 teams from across the re- gion, the Heppner girls delivered a strong show- ing, finishing in fifth place overall—just a point and a half shy of surpassing Elgin for fourth. The boys’ team claimed seventh place in a competitive field. Junior Chris Hum- phreys continued his im- pressive season in the field events, launching himself to a first-place finish in the javelin and securing second in the discus. Fellow junior Joseph Albitre also made waves, earning a personal best in the long jump at 5’ 4”. On the track, junior Hallee Hisler led the charge for the Heppner girls, blaz- ing to a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash. She also notched a personal record in the 100-meter, finishing second in a tight- ly contested race. Healy Hisler added to the team’s sprinting success with a third-place finish in the 400-meter. Distance runner Lily Nichols impressed in both her events, taking third in the 1500 meters and again in the 3000 meters, where she set a person- al record with a time of 11:11.37a. The Heppner 4x400 girls’ relay team capped off the day with a strong second-place finish, solidifying the team’s over- all success. With personal records falling and top finishes across the board, the Hep- Chris Humphreys at the La Grande shot put finals. -Photo by Susan Hisler pner team looks to carry their momentum into the next meet this Saturday, April 19, at the 1A-2A-3A Regional Invitational in Cove. Full La Grande Stats are as follows: Men’s Results 100 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 7th – Hayden Mc- Mahon (12) – 12.02a 17th – Nick Wenberg (12) – 12.51a SR 200 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 5th – Hayden McMa- hon (12) – 24.71a SR 15th – Marty Medina (12) – 25.78a PR 3000 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 7th – Marty Medina (12) – 10:40.39a SR Shot Put – 12lb ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 4th – Chris Hum- phreys (11) – 37’ 8.75” 8th – Landon McMa- hon (11) – 35’ 0.5” PR 13th – Gage Heide- man (9) – 32’ 1.75” 17th – Austin Willis (11) – 30’ 1.75” PR Discus – 1.6kg ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 2nd – Chris Hum- phreys (11) – 126’ 0” PR 11 t h – L a n d o n M c - M ah o n (11 ) – 9 5 ’ 7 ” 15th – Gage Heide- man (9) – 79’ 1” DNS – Lucas King (9) Javelin – 800g ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 1st – Chris Hum- phreys (11) – 154’ 11” 19th – Landon McMa- hon (11) – 85’ 10” SR 31st – Austin Willis (11) – 63’ 11” H i g h J u m p ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 1st – Joseph Albitre (11) – 5’ 4” L o n g J u m p ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 4th – Joseph Albi - t r e ( 11 ) – 1 8 ’ 0 ” P R 5th – Nick Wenberg (12) – 17’ 10” Women’s Results 100 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 2nd – Hallee His- ler (12) – 12.88a PR 4th – Healy His- ler (10) – 13.65a SR 1 9 t h – Te a g a n K e l t - on (11) – 15.37a DNS – Natalie Piper (10) 200 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 1st – Hallee His- ler (12) – 26.51a SR 14th – Laia Puelles (10) – 32.64a 23rd – Loren Trujillo (11) – 36.15a SR 400 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 3rd – Healy Hisler (10) – 1:02.89a SR 800 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 6th – Riley Archer ( 11 ) – 2 : 4 5 . 2 3 a S R 8th – Brooklyn Hendricks (10) – 2:54.79a PR 1500 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 3rd – Lily Nich- ols (11) – 5:09.20a SR 6th – Riley Archer ( 11 ) – 5 : 3 8 . 8 1 a S R 15th – Loren Trujillo (11) – 7:01.76a PR 3000 Meters ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 3rd – Lily Nichols ( 11 ) – 11 : 11 . 3 7 a P R 5th – Brooklyn Hendricks (10) – 12:51.21a 4x400 Relay ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 2nd – Heppner – 4:20.95a Riley Archer (11), Healy Hisler (10), Lily Nichols (11), Hallee Hisler (12) Shot Put – 4kg ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 13th – Avia Boutefuhr (9) – 23’ 9.5” PR Discus – 1kg ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 18th – Avia Boutefuhr (9) – 58’ 11” PR Javelin – 600g ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 1 0 t h – Te a g a n K e l t - o n ( 11 ) – 8 0 ’ 7 ” P R 1 4 t h – Av i a B o u t e - fuhr (9) – 66’ 0” PR 16th – Loren Trujillo (11) – 62’ 7” H i g h J u m p ( Va r s i t y - F i n a l s ) 8th – Natalie Piper (10) – 4’ 2” Mustang softball drops hard-fought battle to TigerScots in league matchup The Heppner Lady Mustangs fell to the Weston-McEwen Tiger- Scots 7-3 on Wednesday, April 9, in a gritty softball league contest that saw momentum shift multiple times before the TigerScots pulled away late. Heppner was the first to strike, putting a run on the board in the top of the third after CiCi Stefani delivered an RBI single. Weston-McEwen quickly answered back in the bot- tom half of the inning when Sams connected on a single to even the score at 1-1. The TigerScots took their first lead in the fourth inning when Hope Berry launched a solo home run over the left-field fence, giving Weston-McEwen a 2-1 edge. The Mustangs weren’t finished, however. Maya Payne came through with a clutch RBI double to right field in the top of the fifth to knot the game once again at 2-2. But the bottom of the inning proved costly for Heppner. A series of defensive miscues opened the door for the TigerScots, who capitalized on two errors and a scoring play to plate four runs and seize a 6-2 advantage. K. Kramer extended the TigerScots’ lead with a solo shot to center in the sixth inning, pushing the score to 7-2. Despite the setback, Heppner’s offense showed signs of life, collecting nine hits in the contest. Kee- ley Nairns and CiCi Ste- fani each tallied two RBIs, with Nairns also showing excellent plate discipline by drawing three walks. The Mustangs collectively worked six free passes, displaying patience at the plate. On the mound, Payne went the distance for Hep- pner, allowing seven hits and seven runs—only three of which were earned— while striking out six and walking one in six innings of work. The Mustangs will look to bounce back on home turf when they host Irrigon on Friday, April 18. Andrew Lindsay hits a single. -Photo by Brian Bunch By Brian Bunch The number-six ranked Heppner/Ione Mustangs baseball team came out hot against the Elgin Hus- kies on Friday, April 11, after a mid-week tilt with the Stanfield/Echo Tigers went sideways in the rain. The weather was much improved on Friday from earlier in the week, as it was around 57 degrees for the first pitch with a slight breeze and light, passing clouds. Ryan Haugen would dominate Friday’s Game One on the mound for the Mustangs, pitching 5.0 shut-out innings, allowing only one hit and one walk with 11 strikeouts on 16 batters faced on his way to earning the win. A Husky error in the first inning allowed Caleb George to pick up the first of his team-leading four runs in the game. R. Haugen would deal three straight strikeouts in the top of the second to bring the Mustangs back to the plate up 1-0. The bottom of the sec- ond inning would reveal how the rest of this game would go. A lead-off walk for Mason Orem would go on to start the scoring again for the Mustangs, who would find themselves up 13-0 before the second inning was over, their big- gest of the game. A one-run third inning and a five-run fourth inning would bolster the run-away second inning and the game would be called in the mid- dle of the fifth inning at 19-0. George and Keaton Coiner led the team with two hits each, and R. Hau- gen, Orem, Andrew Lind- say, Caylan Proudfoot, Al- akae Rodriguez and Jace Wilson each added one hit. The run and RBI tal- lies went through the roof as 12 of the 14 Mustangs scored at least one run a piece, and 10 of the 14 were responsible for RBIs, with everybody contributing in one way or another. Coiner got the start and the win on the mound in the second game. He pitched 3.0 innings, allowing one hit and two walks with six strikeouts. Rodriguez would finish the game, pitching 2.0 innings and allowing one walk and deal- ing three strikeouts. The Mustangs would open scoring early with four of the first six batters crossing home in a first in- ning that saw eight Mustang batters. The second inning saw nine Mustang batters and another five runs cross the plate. Four Husky errors in the first two innings would prove costly as the Mus- tangs carried a 9-0 lead into the third off of only five hits. Lindsay scored after a lead-off walk in the third in- ning when George smashed a triple to left field. George would also score in the third, on a Wilson ground- out RBI. In the fourth in- ning, with the Mustangs up 11-0, and Rodriguez on the mound dealing, Blake Van- dever tacked on another run on a Shad Greenup sacrifice fly RBI to secure the 12-0 lead. That lead ended the game in the middle of the fifth by way of the 10-run rule. Wilkins led the Mus- tangs with two RBIs, fol- lowed by George, Greenup, Proudfoot and Wilson, all with one. George, Lind- say, Orem and Rodriguez all put up two runs, while Proudfoot, Vandever, Wil- son and Darby Spivey all added one. Mid-Week Tilt Goes Sideways in the Rain The Heppner/Ione baseball team fell to the Stanfield/Echo Tigers when a late rain delay iced Mustang pitching. The game was tied at four after six innings. The April weather that had been threatening all day couldn’t hold off any longer; the skies opened up and Keaton Coiner walked two batters in the top of the seventh before a wild pitch to the third batter finally induced the umps to pause the game for the weather. Coming out of the rain-delay, Caleb George took the mound to get the last three outs of the half, but not without allowing four runs (one earned) on three hits. Couple those runs with the two runs Coiner was responsible for, and the Tigers took the field in the bottom of the seventh up 10-4. Mason Orem worked a lead-off walk to give the Mustangs a sliver of hope. Coiner popped out and Shad Greenup would strike out to bring Jace Wilson to the plate with Orem stand- ing on second base. Wilson hit a line drive to center field for a single, but Orem got thrown out trying to advance to home. Ryan Haugen got the start, going 3.0 innings al- lowing one run on one hit with four walks and four strikeouts. Coiner took the loss, pitching 3.0 innings in relief, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. George pitched 1.0 innings and gave up four runs (one earned) on three hits with two walks and one strikeout. George led the team with two hits, followed by Wilson and Karver Wilkins, each with one. Special District 7 Chaos As the dust settles on the weekend, the Mustangs find themselves in fourth place in league play at 3-2 (6-4 overall). The Mustangs traveled to Stanfield Sec- ondary School (1-4 league, 5-6 overall) on Tuesday, April 15, for a shot at re- demption for their last loss. They will host Sherman (0-2, 3-6) in a double head- er on Friday, April 18, with the first game at 1 p.m. Irrigon (4-1, 6-3) sits atop the league, their lone league loss to the Mustangs. Union/Cove (3-0, 8-0) and Grant Union/Prairie City/ Monument (3-0, 4-7) sit between the two Morrow County Schools in second and third respectively. Opening Day Little League -Continued from PAGE ONE felt rendition of the national Teams spread out across anthem. The ceremonies continued with the Little League Pledge, reminding players of the values of teamwork, sportsmanship and doing their best. Adding to the excite- ment, Cam Adams had the honor of throwing the first pitch of the season, official- ly getting things underway. After the ceremonies, the excitement continued with teams engaging in a (R) Cam Adams throwing friendly round-robin se- out the first pitch. - Photo by ries of games, allowing Rachel Sykes everyone a chance to play. Heppner to compete on various fields. Overall, the Opening Day ceremonies were a success, setting the tone for what is sure to be an exciting and memorable baseball season in Heppner. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. We’re Growing GENERATIONS TOGETHER WITH OUR COMMITMENT TO AG FAMILIES AMBER SCHLAICH 270 N. Main Street Heppner (541) 676-9125 Ag/Commercial Loan Officer SHANE LAZINKA 280 Main Street Ione (541) 422-7466 Ag/Commercial Loan Officer PERSONAL BANKING / BUSINESS BANKING / LOANS An Independent Community Bankers Assoc. TOP-PERFORMING AGRICULTURAL LENDER OF 2024 $300M-$1B in assets Member FDIC
