SPORTS
Wednesday, april 3, 2019
HerMisTOnHerald.COM • A9
There for everything you need
good here.”
Dan Emery has spent
18 years caring for
Hermiston student-
athletes
Immediate help
While athletic trainers
cannot order an X-ray or
read an X-ray, their training
and experience is invaluable.
“It’s more beneficial to
see us sometimes,” Emery
said. “There’s only so much
we are trained to do, but I
can diagnose most ankle
sprains by looking at them
and hearing what happened.
Our background is more
orthopedic and emergency
medicine. Most times, kids
don’t need to spend $400 to
have their ankle looked at.”
Emery also has an intern
program, where students can
learn the the basics of the
job. Some have even gone
on to join the profession.
“I have had four or five
kids go on to be athletic
trainers, and a couple are
physical therapists,” Emery
said. “(Former wrestler)
Jeremy Larson is a dentist.
He’s my dentist.”
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
At Hermiston High
School, athletic trainer Dan
Emery is appreciated every
day of the school year —
not just during Athletic
Trainer Appreciation Month
in March.
“He is unbelievably valu-
able to our athletic depart-
ment,” Hermiston athletic
director Larry Usher said.
“He is more valued than
the athletic director. He
does such an incredible job
with his dedication and his
experience in evaluating
our athletes. And, he has a
good relationship with our
coaches.”
Emery, who is in his 18th
year at Hermiston, is a full-
time employee of the school
district, which is not the
norm for some trainers, but
that allows him to be avail-
able for early morning prac-
tices and late nights with
football games.
“Among Oregon high
schools, only 46 to 48 per-
cent have athletic trainers
who are full-time,” Emery
said. “The ones who do
have them full-time are
extremely blessed. A lot of
people don’t realize what
we do on a daily basis. The
coaches, parents and ath-
letes appreciate what we
do.”
Hermiston boys basket-
ball coach Casey Arstein
had a season full of injuries,
the worst in his three sea-
sons, but Emery was able to
help his players stay on the
court or heal more quickly.
“Dan is one of the best
staff photo by e.J. Harris
Hermiston High School athletic trainer Dan Emery wraps junior Jonnathan Mosqueda’s foot before track practice Tuesday in
Hermiston.
around,” Arstein said. “He’s
like an assistant coach. You
can trust Dan — he wants
the best for his athletes.
He gets kids healthy with-
out pushing it. He could be
at a Division I school or in
the pros. He is a plus for our
program.”
During the season, bas-
ketball players Jordan
Ramirez, Cole Smith and
Andrew James were regu-
lars in the training room.
“Jordan knows Dan
really well,” Arstein said.
“He’s had ankle problems
the last three years. Dan
knows what it’s like to play
with an injury. He was able
to give Jordan confidence.”
James, who hurt his
shoulder during football,
still sought treatment during
basketball season so that he
could play. He had surgery
after the season was over.
“He does an awesome
job, and he respects your
body and what the coaches
and your parents say,”
James said. “He has gotten
me through a lot. We are
extremely fortunate to have
him.”
Other than treatment,
James said it’s the little
things like taping wrists
and ankles before practices,
and being a confidant, that
makes Emery special.
“As a person and a men-
tor, the communication
between him and the kids
is important,” James said.
“He’s almost like a guid-
ance counselor too.”
Other plans
Emery, 52, grew up in
Luverne, Minn., where he
played football and bas-
ketball at Luverne High
School.
“I wanted to be a coach,”
Emery said. “Our high
school coach used to tape
us because we didn’t have
a trainer. I took a class the
summer of my sophomore
year of college, and that’s
when I learned what an ath-
letic trainer did. I get to help
people and stay involved in
athletics. I don’t have to sit
in an office all day.”
Emery played two years
of basketball at Norman-
dale Community College in
Bloomington, Minn., before
transferring to the Univer-
sity of South Dakota, where
he completed his under-
graduate work.
He did his graduate
work at San Jose State, then
worked at the university as
a graduate assistant.
From there, he worked
at Menlo College and Port-
land State before landing at
Hermiston.
“Hermiston is very sim-
ilar to where I grew up in
Minnesota,” Emery said. “A
small town, a one-school
town. It doesn’t take an
hour to drive 5 miles. We
have no weather here. Min-
nesota has blizzards, floods
and tornados. We have
wind. We have it pretty
A rewarding job
Emery tries not to play
favorites when it comes to
sports, but there is one that
rises to the top.
“I like working basket-
ball games,” he said. “There
is no weather. I’m not sitting
at a doubleheader when it’s
38 degrees.”
There also are the ath-
letes “who are a daily
grind,” but for the most part,
Emery enjoys coming to
work every day. In fact, he
has only missed two days of
work in 18 years.
“Ten years ago, I had
a player who sprained his
ankle pretty bad on a Tues-
day,” Emery said. “On Fri-
day, we had a big game
against a team with the best
player in the league. He did
the work, but I helped get
him there.”
TRACK
Romero wins javelin event at Clay Lewis invite
in the 4x400 relay for a
first-place finish (4:27.25).
Young also took second
in the long jump with a leap
of 15-3¾.
In the javelin, Hermis-
ton’s Sydney Seavert took
third with a mark of 96-6,
with Sheridan Deike fol-
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
H
ermiston’s Jazlyn
Romero was the
only Hermiston
athlete to win an
event Saturday at the Clay
Lewis Invite in Richland.
Romero took top honors
in the javelin with a toss of
138 feet, 4 inches. Team-
mates Sydney Seavert (7th,
108-7) and Sheridan Deike
(8th, 105-5) also earned
points in the event.
The Hermiston girls fin-
ished fourth in the team
standings with 79 points.
Hanford won the team title
with 157.33 points.
Deike also was sixth
in the discus (109-10),
while Romero was seventh
(108-7).
In the shot put, sopho-
more Paige Palzinski was
second with a mark of 35-6
— just one-quarter inch
behind the winner.
Also for the Bulldogs,
sprinter Elsa Torres placed
second in the 100, cross-
ing the finish line in 13.01.
MaKaylee Young was
fourth (13.08).
Sophomore
Amanda
Nygard placed second in the
800 with a time of 2:33.13,
while in the 1,600, fresh-
man Cydney Sanchez was
fourth (5:47.83).
In the high jump, fresh-
man Morgan Brown placed
fourth with a height of 4-10.
The Hermiston boys
were fifth in the 4x100 relay
staff photo by Kathy aney
Hermiston’s Amanda Nygard, center, competes in the 800 meter run Saturday during the Clay
Lewis Invite in Richland. Nygard took second with a time of 2:33.13.
in a time of 45.46, while in
the shot put, Sean Stewart
was eighth (42-10).
In the 800, senior Freddy
Mendoza finished fifth in a
time of 2:02.67, while Greg-
ory Anderson was seventh
in the 3,200 (10:38.71), and
Seth Buck was sixth in the
pole vault (10-6).
MCC meet at Hanford
Hermiston may not have
been the top team at Thurs-
day’s Mid-Columbia Con-
ference track and field meet
at Hanford High School,
but that didn’t stop Garrett
Walchli from posting some
winning times.
The junior placed first
with a personal record of
23.63 seconds in the 200,
and was second in the 100,
clocking in at 11.51.
Walchli also teamed with
Thomas Reagan, Donovan
Wilson and Deryk Ander-
son for a second-place fin-
ish in the 4x100 relay
(45.18). The same team also
placed third in the 4x400
relay with a time of 3:45.82.
Hermiston also took
home strong performances
in the boys 800, with Freddy
Mendoza taking second
(2:04.77), and Simon Head-
ings third (2:08.98).
Sean Stewart placed
third in the shot put with
a distance of 43-1¼, and
Chase Bradshaw was right
behind him at fourth with a
mark of 40-6.
Stewart also finished
second in the discus with a
toss of 123-08, while Brad-
WRESTLING
Hermiston’s Coleman earns Pac-12 honor
By HERMISTON HERALD
Oregon State junior
Bob Coleman was named a
Pac-12 All-Academic sec-
ond-team selection for the
first time in his career.
The 2016 graduate of
Hermiston High School
is an agricultural business
management major carry-
ing a 3.06 GPA.
He is coming off a suc-
cessful season that saw him
win his first Pac-12 individ-
ual title at 184 pounds, as
well as his first berth to the
NCAA Wrestling Champi-
onships. Coleman finished
the season with a 17-16
overall record.
shaw took fourth (118-02).
Elsa Torres finished
strong for the Hermis-
ton girls. She took first in
the 100 (12.87, a season
record), second in the 200
(27.04), and teamed with
MaKaylee Young, Amanda
Nygard, and Kamry Aldred
CLAY LEWIS INVITE
Hanford High School, Richland
Top 8 Pendleton and Hermiston
finishers
Boys
Team scores — Kamiakin 156.5, Chi-
awana 88, Hanford 78, pendleton 76,
southridge 74, Kennewick 49.5, pasco
45, davis 44.5, sunnyside 41, Col-
lege place 32, Hermiston 19.5, Moses
lake 17, Kiona-Benton 13, Highland 6,
Columbia-Burbank 1.
100 — 3. aiden patterson (p), 11.59; 8.
Cam sanford (p), 11.72. 200 — 8. aaron
luke (p), 23.62. 400 — 5. aaron luke (p),
53.55. 800 — 5. Freddy Mendoza (H),
2:02.67. 3200 — 7. Gregory anderson
(H), 10:38.71. 110H — 2. lane Maher (p),
16.14; 3. Mathias patrick (p), 16:58. 300H
— 1. lane Maher (p), 41.20. 7. Mathias
patrick (p), 44.21. 4x100 relay — 2.
pendleton, 44.37; 5. Hermiston, 45.46.
Shot put — 3. everett Willard (p), 43-5
1/2; 8. sean stewart (H), 42-10. HJ —
3. shawn yeager (p), 6-0. PV — 6. seth
Buck (H), 10-6; 7. Mark yarbrough (p),
10-0. LJ — 2. edwin linares (p), 20-3 3/4;
6. skyler stubbs (H), 18-11 1/2. TJ — 4.
edwin linares (p), 41-4 1/2; 8. Jonathan
lowing up at fourth with a
throw of 93-8½ distance.
Deike also took second in
the discus with a mark of
109 feet.
Paige Palzinski finished
second in the shot put (35-
6¼), and Bailey Young took
third (34-6¼).
swaggart (p), 37-10 3/4.
Girls
Team scores — Hanford 157.33, south-
ridge 146, Kamiakin 132.5, Hermiston
79, Kennewick 72, Chiawana 58.33, syn-
nyside 27, pasco 26, College place 20,
Highland 12, pendleton 10.5, davis 8.33,
Columbia-Burbank 5, Moses lake 4.
100 — 2. elsa Torres (H), 13.01; 4.
MaKaylee young (H), 13.08. 200 — 7.
Kamryn aldred (H), 28.37. 400 — 7.
Muriel Hoisington (p), 1:04.75. 800 — 2.
amanda nygard (H), 2:33.13; 7. ashlee
Zaugg (p), 2:43.51. 1600 — 4. Cydney
sanchez (H), 5:47.83. 300H — 8. Jenni-
fer Fuentes (H), 52.67. 4x100 relay — 5.
pendleton, 56.06; 7. Hermiston, 59.14.
4x200 relay — 5. Hermiston, 1:57.17.
Shot put — 2. paige palzinski (H), 35-6;
8. Bailey young (H), 32-1 3/4. Discus —
6. sheridan deike (H), 109-10; 7. Jazlyn
romero (H), 108-7. Javelin — 1. Jazlyn
romero (H), 138-4; 7. sydney seavert
(H), 108-7; 8. sheridan deike (H), 105-
5. HJ — 4. Morgan Brown (H), 4-10; 6.
Jamie Gau (p), 4-8. LJ — 4. MaKaylee
young (H), 15-9 1/4; 8. paige palzinski
(H), 15-3/4.
McKay Creek Estates
FREE Cognitive
Screening
Is Mom a
little more
forgetful
lately?
There are many early warning signs of a
potential memory disorder, such as Alzheimer’s
disease. That’s why we’re offering a FREE
and CONFIDENTIAL cognitive screening. We
encourage anyone who is concerned about
cognitive decline to take this short, in-person
screening. The screening is administered by a
qualified health care professional.
To schedule your cognitive screening today, please call (541) 704-7146.
Coleman
McKay Creek Estates
7607 Southgate Pl.
Pendleton, OR 97807
www.PrestigeCare.com