17. Grant Union outside hitter Mariah Moulton was named Oregon 2A Volleyball Player of the Year. Head coach Shae Speth was also named Coach of the Year.

Many Grant County athletes soared above the competition, providing thrills for their fans during 2017. There were plenty of exciting moments along the way, and here are 17 highlights from throughout the year, presented in chronological order.

The Prairie City Panthers, led by head coach Jonathan Gill, beat Echo at the Prairie City court in the round one state playoff, then fell 55-33 to No. 3-ranked Hosanna Christian in Klamath Falls Feb. 24 in the second round.

Grant Union Prospector senior wrestler Clay Johnson (138) had a second-place finish at state, and Drew Lusco (220) wrestled for fourth place. Toby Boatwright and Dillon Maley also competed at the state championships Feb. 24-25. The Grant Union wrestling team, led by head coach Andy Lusco, claimed the Wapiti District championship title.

After beating Pilot Rock in the state playoffs, the Grant Union Prospector girls basketball team, led last season by head coach Mark Mosley, fell to Kennedy in the quarterfinals at the championships in Pendleton. Grant Union had a 45-29 loss March 3 to East Linn Christian in the first-round consolation match.

The Grant Union golf team placed third at their home tournament on April 14 at the John Day Golf Club. For individuals, Grant Union’s Tiana Allen earned third place for the girls, and she went on to place 13th at the May 8-9 district tournament in Pendleton. Grant Union’s Duane Stokes placed third for the boys, and he went on to place 15th at the district tournament. The team is led by head coach Ron Lundbom.

Led by head coach Sonna Smith, the Grant Union Prospectors girls track team, including Kaylee Wright, Trinity Hutchison, Jozie Rude, Sydney Brockway and Sierra Cates, finished second at the OSAA State Track and Field Championships on May 19 in Eugene, just 4 points behind the 11-member East Linn Christian.

Wright placed first in javelin, second in high jump, second in the 100-meter dash and second in the 4×100 with teammates Brockway, Hutchison and Sierra Cates.

Hutchison had a first-place finish in the triple jump and second in the long jump; Brockway placed third in the long jump; and Rude finished second in javelin, third in pole vault and third in shot put.

Monument Tiger Sophie Pettit defended her state title in the 100-meter dash on May 19 at the state track meet in Eugene. She also placed fourth in the 200. The 4×100 team of Pettit, Kyla Emerson, Faythe Schafer and Dinora Vidrio Landin placed fourth. Emerson also earned fourth in the 100-hurdles. The Monument team was led by head coach Darrin Dailey.

Kristina Humpheys of Dayville School went the distance in javelin this year, earning second place on May 19 at the OSAA 1A State Championships in Eugene. The Dayville team was led by head coach Peter Bogardus.

The Grant Union Prospector softball team, led last season by head coach DeAnna Nash, reached the round one playoff game at the state championships in Vale where they fell 8-6 to Glide May 24. Grant Union ranked 10th to advance to the championships.

GW Clark of Long Creek placed third in steer wrestling in the June 8-10 Oregon High School Rodeo Finals in Prineville, riding for the Harney County club. He went on to compete at the July 16-22 National High School Rodeo Finals in Gillette, Wyoming.

Cauy Pool of Long Creek had a second-place finish at the June 10-17 California High School Finals Rodeo in Bishop, California, riding for the District 1 team. He advanced to the July 16-22 National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming.

The Grant County Wildfire softball team, with players ranging from 8 to 9 in age, earned third at the July 20-24 Oregon State Little League Softball 8-9-10 Tournament in Medford. The team, led by head coach Zach Williams, also earned the District 3 championship title at the tournament in La Grande in June.

The John Day swim team, led by head coach Sabrina Howard, placed second at the July 28-30 District Swim Meet in Prineville. Of the boys teams, John Day won first place. Quinten Hallgarth, who swam in the 13-14 boys division, won the Richard G. Bogart Memorial Award for the highest point swimmer for ages 5-18 on the John Day team.

Eleven players on the Ukiah/Long Creek junior varsity soccer team, led by coach Amos Studtmann, enjoyed three wins, two ties and no losses on the season.

The Prairie City Panther girls volleyball team, going in as the No. 4-seed, won the 1A-8 High Desert District Volleyball Tournament on Oct. 21, defeating Adrian 3-2 with scores of 24-26, 25-16, 20-25 and 25-22. Led by coaches Lance and Louanne Zweygardt, Prairie City advanced to the second round state playoff against Days Creek Oct. 28, falling 2-3 in a close match. Days Creek won 25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 23-25 and 15-8.

The 2A Grant Union volleyball team beat Culver 3-1, with scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-17 and 25-20 Nov. 4, making it the first time since 1989 that Grant Union won the state championship in Redmond — when Prospector head coach Shae Speth was herself a junior on the varsity team. The team also won the Wapiti District title this year.

After shutting out Central Linn 52-0 on Nov. 4 in the first round of the 2A playoffs, the Grant Union Prospector football team had a 50-14 loss to Santiam on Nov. 11. Grant Union, led by head coach Jason Miller, hosted both games in John Day. The Prospectors earned the Wapiti League title this year.

It warrants another mention that Grant Union volleyball head coach Shae Speth was named Coach of the Year and outside hitter Mariah Moulton was named Player of the Year after the team won the state title.