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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports Small schools fare well at state By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ STAFF WRITER E UGENE — On Day 2 of the 2018 State Track and Field Championships, the small schools wrapped up their final events at Hayward Field. Echo’s top finisher was Morgen Marcum in the boys discus. After scratching on his first attempt, he rebounded with a throw of 121-10 to claim fifth place, and a new PR. In the Class 2A finals, Hep- pner’s Hunter Nichols returned to the track after a second-place fin- ish in the 1,500-meter run Thurs- day. Again, he was up against Ban- don’s Hunter Hutton but another Bandon runner proved to also be tough competition. Josh Snyder was running with his teammate to take a 1-2 fin- ish for the Tigers but the Mustang wasn’t far behind. Nichols finished in third after clocking 4:14.80, and had team- mate Trevor Antonucci close behind for a fifth place finish (4:17.90). Fellow Mustang Madelyn Nichols rounded out the top eight in the girls 1,500 meters. She was a few hundredths of a second off a seventh place finish. The fresh- man’s time of 5:23.73 was a mas- sive PR, shaving off over eight seconds. Jake Wallace took the eighth and final place in the boys 110-meter hurdles (17.90). Hep- pner’s 4x400-meter relay team ended the day on the track for the Mustangs with a seventh place fin- ish (3:41.60). In the field, the Mustangs had one of the most successful ath- letes of the day with Alex Lind- say clearing 6-feet even in the boys high jump to match his PR from last season. Lindsay quickly moved from third place in the high jump to atop the podium in the triple jump. On his fourth go, he recorded 41-11.00 to put himself just inches above his competition. Lindsay and the rest of the Hep- pner boys team’s effort led the Mustangs into a two-way tie for second overall with 52 points. Patty Burres made multiple appearances on the track for the Umatilla Vikings in the Class 3A final events. Her efforts earned her a state title and multiple top finishes. After competing in the girls 4x100-meter relay and the 100- meter dash, Burres carved out time for a quick jog to cool down, but as she was taking a lap she heard the announcer call for the next race. So before Burres powered through the grueling 400-meter dash, she had to sprint to the start- ing blocks. Once there, she returned to the basics that helped the Viking clock 1:00.02 to earn a state championship. “I knew I needed a good start and a strong finish,” Burres said. “I remember my coach telling me, ‘Just start your race how you usu- ally do but by the end you have to pump your arms.’ So, I think that’s what really helped me.” Umatilla’s girls 4x100-meter relay team — made up of Burres, Jacqueline Brown, Abigail Carde- nas and Nancy Ortiz — rounded out the top five with a time of 53.02. Burres also finished in the top five of the 100 meters, beating a Catlin Gabel sprinter by two one-hundreths of a second. Her time of 12.99 was good for fourth place. Ortiz also had a busy day, com- peting again in the 300-meter hurdles where she took fourth in 48.09. Fellow Viking Anthony Ibarra grabbed the final podium finish in the boys javelin throw. His mark of 142-09 was reached on his sixth and final attempt. Nancy Ortiz fin- ished eighth in the girls 100-meter hurdles (16.78) for a lone point for Umatilla and Trent Durfey, who competed in the boys 110-meter hurdles, finished seventh (16.29). Zayne Troeger picked up a fifth place finish in the boys 800 meters (2:02.68). Julian Gutierrez cleared 6-feet even in the high jump to fin- ish out the day for Umatilla. Other top local finishers included Irrigon’s Ana Zacarias, who placed seventh in the 100 meters (13.26) and fifth in the 200 (27.12), and Riverside’s Faith Rosen, who had a top five finish in the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.31. Hermiston’s farewell tour on last stop Bulldogs softball team begins state tournament at home on Wednesday By ERIC SINGER STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTOS BY KATHY ANEY Patty Burres of Umatilla (right) races to a state championship in the 3A girls 400-yard dash Thursday at the OSAA track and field state championships. Burres also competed in the relay and won a state title in the 400-meter dash. Hermiston High’s self-titled ‘OSAA Farewell Tour’ is making its last stop. The Bulldogs’ softball team marks the final one in OSAA competition before the move to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association this summer. And like their football classmates that began the sports season with a bang, the softball team has a chance to end it with a bang in the Class 5A state tournament. Hermiston begins the state tournament on Wednesday evening when the sev- enth-seeded Bulldogs host No. 10 Eagle Point at the Rocky Heights Elementary field at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs (16-9 overall) played their way into the state tournament with a decisive 10-5 victory on the road against St. Helens in the play-in round last week. Hermiston has proved itself against playoff-level talent this season, earn- ing victories against Pendleton (5A No. 1), Hood River Valley (5A No. 5), Rid- geview (5A No. 9) and La Grande (4A No. 1), and fell just short of a win against 6A No. 3 team in Clackamas. Home-field advantage has been help- ful to the Bulldogs this season as they are 7-2 at home. The only two losses are to No. 1 Pendleton by a 6-1 score on May 1 and 15-7 to No. 5 Hood River valley on April 14. Home-field could play a factor for the Bulldogs on Wednesday as Eagle Point, 12 miles north of Medford, will be mak- ing the seven-plus hour trip up to Eastern Oregon for the first-round game. However, Eagle Point has proved itself on the road, too, going 10-3 in true road games. The Eagles average 8.7 runs per game and allow 4.2 per game and are bat- tle-tested as well. They hold wins over South Umpqua (4A No. 7), Crater (5A No. 14), Lebanon (5A No. 15), Marist Catholic (5A No. 4) and Thurston (5A No. 12), while losing to Central (5A No. 11) and North Medford (6A No. 3). 3A SOFTBALL Hepper’s Alex Lindsay sails over the high jump Friday during the 2A OSAA State Track and Field championships at Hayward Field. Lindsay earned a place on the podium with a fifth-place finish. Team Results CLASS 1A Girls 1. Cove, 74 points; 2. Adrian, 52; 3. Hosanna Christian, 50; 4. Southwest Christian, 48; 5. Perrydale, 43; 6. South Wasco County, 42; 6. Griswold, 42; 8. Joseph, 34. Boys 1. Pacific, 74.5 points; 2. North Clackamas Christian, 53; 3. Cove, 46; 4. Triangle Lake, 38; 5. Camas Valley, 33; 6. Southwest Christian, 32; 7. Harper, 31; 8. Dufur, 30. Heppner’s Hunter Nichols races the 800-meter dash during the OSAA State Track and Field championships at Hayward Field. Derek Howard of Heppner throws the discus Friday at the OSAA State Track and Field championships at Hayward Field in Eugene. CLASS 2A Girls 1. Monroe, 80 points; 2. Grant Union, 65; 3. Central Linn, 59; 4. Kennedy, 49; 5. Weston-McEwen, 46; 6. Enterprise, 42; 7. Faith Bible Christian, 36; 8. St Paul, 31; 8. Culver, 31. Boys 1. Bandon, 70 points; 2. Regis, 52; 2. Heppner, 52; 4. Weston-McEwen, 45; 4. East Linn Christian, 45; 6. Enterprise, 42; 7. Monroe, 40; 8. Vernonia, 33. CLASS 3A Girls 1. Blanchet Catholic, 67.5 points; 2. Catlin Gabel, 65; 3. St Mary’s, 55; 4. La Pine, 37; 4. Pleasant Hill, 37; 6. Santiam Christian, 34.5; 7. Cascade Christian, 34; 8. Lakeview, 31.5. Boys 1. Pleasant Hill, 62 points; 2. Salem Academy, 60; 3. Catlin Gabel, 52; 4. Clatskanie, 49; 5. Burns, 34; 6. Amity, 31; 7. Dayton, 29; 8. Lakeview, 28. No. 8 ECHO/STANFIELD VS. No. 9 TAFT — After one year away, the Echo/Stanfield Cougars are back in the OSAA state playoffs and this time get to stay home for their first-round game. The eighth-seeded Cougars (19-6 overall) start the state playoffs after win- ning both their district’s regular season and district tournament championships. With the likes of Alyssa Ray, Monique Montoya, Kendra Hart, Alex Putman and Michelle Weems, among others, leading the way, the Cougars come in averaging 11.1 runs per game and allow only four runs. However the Cougars welcome in a talented team in the Taft Tigers (17-10). The Tigers have played numerous playoff teams this season and come in well-tested. The Tigers hold wins over Dayton (3A No. 1), Amity (3A No. 10), Blanchet Catholic (3A No. 12), Coleton (3A No. 13), North Bend (4A No. 11) and Newport (4A No. 14). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. in Echo. 3A BASEBALL No. 2 STANFIELD/ECHO VS. NO. 15 BLANCHET CATHOLIC — The Stanfield Tigers will host a first-round state playoff for the fifth consecutive sea- son on Wednesday when they welcome in the No. 15 Blanchet Catholic Cavaliers. The No. 2 Tigers (21-5 overall) come roaring into the postseason with 16 wins in their last 17 games, most recently a 8-1 win over Joseph/Enterprise/Wallowa co-op in the district title game. They boast an offense that averages 11.7 runs per game and allows 6.4 runs per game, led by standout pitcher/hit- ter Brody Woods and a lineup that has improved top-to-bottom. The Cavaliers (9-11) on the other hand present an easy opponent for the Tigers — on paper at least. The second-place Cavaliers from the PacWest Conference average 5.7 runs per game and give up 6.8 runs per game and are 3-4 in their past seven games. Blanchet Catholic also has only one win over a team with a winning record this season, a 3-1 victory over the 12-10 Toledo program on April 18. The six teams that the Cavaliers defeated com- bine for a 50-78 record, or a .390 win percentage. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Madigan Field.
