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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports IN BRIEF Swimmer Barnard leads Dawgs to second LA GRANDE — Herm- iston’s boys swim team clocked a second-place fin- ish behind overall champi- on La Grande on Saturday at the La Grande Invitation- al. The tournament host won the girls’ and boys’ team titles with a combined 245 points, which was more than double that of second-place Hood River. Pendleton placed third in combined team scores with 83 points, and its girls team placed third as well. Herm- iston was fifth in combined scoring with 65. The Bulldogs won two events on the boys side thanks to a big day from sophomore Ryan Barnard. Barnard cut three sec- onds from his personal record to win the 100-yard freestyle in 52.66 sec- onds, and also swam the anchor for the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished with its best time of the season in 3:34.97. Barnard also was second in the 200 freestyle with a new PR of 1:59.32. Hermiston’s Gutierrez makes exclusive roster HERMISTON — Herm- iston safety Joey Gutierrez has will get a jump start on his senior football season playing on one of the na- tion’s most selective 7-on-7 squads. After a recent tryout, Gutierrez was chosen for the Ford Sports Perfor- mance (FSP) 7on7 squad, which is the official Adidas National Travel team out of the northwest and fin- ished ranked No. 10 in the nation in 2016. FSP fields two varsity level teams, and regularly features the top high school players in the region. Fifty-five former par- ticipants have gone on to play Division I football in college, and 14 four-star recruits have come through the program. Gutierrez is coming off a junior season in which he led Hermiston defensive backs with five intercep- tions and four pass defens- es. He also had 60 tackles from his strong safety posi- tion. Senior golf association gets set to tee-off The Columbia Basin Se- nior Blues Golf Association plays monthly at courses throughout the region. Open to men 50-and-old- er, the association tees off the second Monday of each month, beginning April 10 at The Dalles. In addition, there’s an opportunity for two special play dates. Dues are $85 for the sea- son, which includes greens fees and the prize fund for each course. Golfers are re- sponsible for their own cart rentals and food. The fee must be paid by Friday, Feb. 17 at Big Riv- er Golf Course, 709 Wil- lamette St., Umatilla. For more information, contact Megan Olsen at 541-922- 3006 or megan@golfbi- griver.com. STAFF PHOTO E.J. HARRIS Hermiston’s Kody Moss puts up a shot guarded by Hood River’s Erick Siekkinen and Carson Orr (32) in the Bulldogs’ 69-61 win against the Eagles on Thursday in Hermiston. STAFF PHOTO E.J. HARRIS Hermiston’s Jordan Ramirez shoots the ball guarded by Hood River’s Dakota Kurahars in the Bulldogs’ 69-61 win against the Eagles on Thursday in Hermiston. Bulldogs open season with pair of wins Hermiston Herald HERMISTON — The first 16 minutes of Thurs- day’s contest between Hermiston and Hood River Valley looked more like a track meet than a basket- ball game. Both teams’ offenses were efficient, as the Bull- dogs (14-25 FG, 56 per- cent) and Eagles (12-26, 46 percent) spent most of the game action simply running up and down the court as the teams traded baskets left and right. In total, there were 14 lead changes and three ties just in that first half alone. But the Bulldogs were able to tighten up some weak spots on defense at the halftime break, which helped boost them to a 69- 61 victory over the Eagles to remain unbeaten in Co- lumbia River Conference play. “We were just bad on defense, honestly,” Herm- iston senior Xavier Rambo said of the first half effort. “They were getting wide open looks and we really didn’t do anything about it. But we had a talk in the break to keep our hands up and don’t let off, do the simple things we weren’t doing in the first half and it worked.” Rambo was a big factor for Hermiston’s offense in the first half, scoring 16 of his game-high 21 points there. The Eagles defense was slow to keep track of the quick six-footer, as Rambo hung out in the middle of Hood River’s zone defense at the free throw line and turned sev- eral entry passes into easy floaters and lay-ins. Holding a 36-30 lead at the halftime break, Herm- iston came out in the third quarter with some fresh legs and a renewed intensi- ty on both ends of the floor. The Bulldogs shot 7-12 (58 percent) from the floor in the third quarter and then held Hood River to 5-11 (45 percent) to grow their lead to 10 points at 55-45 to end the third. Hermiston bench play- ers played a big factor in the third and fourth quar- ters on Thursday, includ- ing sophomores Cesar Ortiz and Ryne Andrea- son who each chipped in two 3-pointers and seven points. Andreason only recent- ly came back to play after missing approximately six weeks due to a fractured wrist, and Arstein said he was really impressed with how Andreason played. “I was really proud of Ryne,” Arstein said. “He’s one of the smartest kids in the program, basketball IQ-wise and he has a great looking shot. He had a See BULLDOGS, A9 Hermiston wins home Farm City Tournament STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER Hermiston senior Freddy Rodriguez, center, poses for a photo with Hermiston boys soccer coach Richard Harshberger, left, and Walla Walla Community College coach Ben Rotert, right, on Tuesday at Hermiston High School after Rodriguez signed his NLOI to play soccer at Walla Walla starting this fall. Rodriguez signs with Walla Walla Hermiston soccer star takes talents to college By ERIC SINGER Staff Writer HERMISTON — Fred- dy Rodriguez, a star of the Hermiston soccer team, has signed on with Walla Wal- la Community College to continue his athletic and academic career. “It’s honestly a great feeling,” Rodriguez said Tuesday, Jan. 24 during the signing ceremony. “It’s good to know you’re want- ed and it feels good to be playing at the next level with friends and team- mates, and they’ll all just build on you and you’ll build on them.” Rodriguez departs Hermiston as a four-year letterwinner at the varsity level, a four-year staple on the all-league teams, and a two-year team captain. Ro- driguez capped his career with 24 goals and 12 assists this season — both team highs — plus a first team all-state selection in Class 5A as Hermiston went 12- 4-1 overall and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the second straight year. Walla Walla head coach Ben Rotert was in atten- dance for Rodriguez’s sign- ing, and said that he’s had his eye on Rodriguez since the 2015 high school sea- son. “I came out to a match and his movement on and off the ball, the work rate he put himself in goal-scoring opportunities is what really caught my eye,” Rotert said. “He’s a great soccer player and probably a better person, so to have a guy that loves the game, loves to work hard, but is also willing to work in the classroom and just be that overall good ambassador for the pro- gram makes it a perfect fit.” Rotert’s Walla Walla Warriors squad is coming off of a solid season where the team finished 10-6-4 overall and tied for second in the NWAC East division with a 7-6-2 record and 23 points. The Warriors advanced to the NWAC Championships, where they were ousted in the first round by eventual-champi- on Tacoma 3-1 on penalty kicks. HERMISTON — After pinning his first two oppo- nents in just two minutes, 44 seconds combined, Hermiston’s Gage Shipley needed nearly eight min- utes to edge Milwaukie’s Jacob Ashley in the 113-pound championship of the Farm City Tourna- ment in Hermiston on Sat- urday. Shipley finally got the point he needed in the sec- ond 30-second tiebreaker period, which had come after a one-minute over- time, and beat Ashley 3-2 for the first of four Bulldog titles at their home meet. Hermiston also won the team title with 271.5 points. Milwaukie was second with 238.5 and Oregon City was third with 228. Also winning titles for Hermiston were C.J. Hen- don at 145 pounds, Valen Wyse at 170, and Beau Blake at 285. Riverside and Heppner/ Ione also each had one individual champion but placed sixth and seventh in team points, respectively. Riverside’s Aristot- le Rockwell topped the 132-pound bracket, and Heppner’s Cord Flynn was victorious in the 195 finals. Flynn went up against Hermiston’s Kenny Bevan in his final, and won 8-4. He went 4-0 on the day and pinned his first two oppo- nents. Rockwell beat Bend’s Daniel Bazan 12-1 in his final after pinning his other three opponents. Hendon won his title at 145 with a 9-3 decision over Mathew Lee of Mil- waukie. He won his first two matches by pin. Wyse pinned Bak- er’s Dylan Felmeier with 10 seconds left in their 170-pound final. His first three opponents didn’t make it past the first round and he finished with four pins. Blake also pinned each of his opponents to go 3-0. He stuck teammate Emilio Landin 1:11 into their heavyweight title show- down, and totaled just 3:56 for his three matches. Also reaching finals but placing second for Herm- iston were Alice Todryk (106), Jesus Rodriguez (126), Julio Leiva (182), and Corey Mason (220). 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