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.
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