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Grant Union boys, girls place 5th at districtsThe Grant Union boys and girls track teams left the 2A Special District 4 Championships in Hermiston with a pair of fifth-place team finishes while crowning a trio of individual district champions in the run-up to the state meet in Eugene on Thursday and Friday, May 16 and 17.

The Grant Union boys had two state qualifiers in track events. Landon Boyd won the district title in the 400 meter race with a time of 52.99 seconds. The Prospector 4×400 relay team comprised of Alex Finley, Taylor Gosnell, Skylor Boyd and Landon Boyd also punched their ticket to the state meet, finishing as district runners-up with a time of 3:40.99.

Finley was the lone qualifier for the Grant Union boys in field events, earning berth as a wild card in the shot put following a fourth-place district finish.

The Grant Union girls were led by Morgan Walker, Maddie Bailey and Heidi Jackson’s individual district championships. Bailey and Jackson tied for first-place honors in the pole vault with vaults of 2.23 meters, and Walker left with a district championship in the discus with a throw of 31.13 meters.

Also qualifying for a state berth was Mallory Lusco, whose second- and third-place finishes in the discus and shot put saw her through to the state meet. A third-place finish in the shot put by Walker means Grant Union’s dynamic duo of Walker and Lusco will both compete at state in the discus and shot put.

As a team, the boys scored 49 points to finish behind fourth-place Culver, with 69 team points, and third-place Enterprise, scoring 80. Second-place Stanfield/Echo left Hermiston with 103 team points, and champion Weston-McEwen ran away from the field, finishing with 218.5 team points.

The girls completion saw the Lady Pros score 87 team points to finish just behind fourth-place Weston-McEwen’s 88.5 point tally. Third-place Stanfield/Echo finished with 110 team points, and runner-up Heppner racked up 114.5 points.

Meet winner Enterprise finished with 158 team points. Of those 158 team points, 30 were awarded to Enterprise due to para-athletes competing at the meet.

Enterprise was the only girls squad to log a para-athlete score at the meet.

The Grant Union state qualifiers will compete at the University of Oregon’s storied Hayward Field in Eugene on Thursday, May 16, and Friday, May 17, at the OSAA 2A state meet in what will be the final competition of the 2024 track season.

Panthers, Tigers compete at district meetThe Prairie City, Dayville and Monument boys and girls track teams competed in the 1A Special District 4 Championships at the Baker Athletic Complex on Friday, May 10, with two individuals and a 4×100 relay team qualifying for the state meet.

Sophomore Maison Teel was the only Panther boy to qualify as an individual for the state meet, placing third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.77 seconds. Lady Panther Jaylan Duke will make an appearance at the state meet as a freshman after a fourth-place finish in the pole vault with a vault of 2.38 meters.

Prairie City’s 4×100 relay team, comprised of Teel, Sawyer Quinton, Tucker Wright and David Sharpe, continued the tradition of strong Panther relay teams, placing third with a time of 45.45 seconds to qualify for the state meet.

Dayville did not have a state qualifier following the meet. The team’s highest finisher in the boys competition was Preston Fretwell, who finished sixth in the pole vault.

The highest Lady Tiger finisher at the district meet was senior Jasmine Athens, who finished 16th in the discus.

As a team, the Panther boys finished with 30.5 points, good enough for a middle of the pack finish of seventh out of 14 teams. Eventual meet winner Imbler finished with 139.5 points, with second-place Adrian racking up 87.5 points.

Cove (81 team points), Joseph (76.67 team points) and Union (73 team points) rounded out the meet’s top five finishers.

Dayville did not log a team score in the girls competition and finished 14th in the boys field with three team points. Monument did not log a team score in either the boys or girls competitions.

The Prairie City state qualifiers will compete at Hayward Field in Eugene with the rest of the county’s state track qualifiers on Thursday, May 16, and Friday, May 17, at the OSAA 2A state meet.

Long Creek ends 2024 track seasonThe Long Creek Mountaineers have competed in their final track meet of the 2024 season following the 1A Special District 3 Championships at the Deschutes River Athletic Complex in Maupin on Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11.

The Mountaineers did not log a score in the girls competition and finished in 17th place in the boys competition with .5 team points. The highest Long Creek finisher at the meet was Pun Leadsuk, who finished eighth in the high jump with a jump of 1.53 meters.

Boys meet winner Condon finished with 84.5 team points. South Wasco County placed second with 68 team points, and third-place Trout Lake logged 65 team points.

Overall girls champions Trout Lake finished with 154 team points to second-place South Wasco County’s 86. Third-place Sherman ended the district meet with 76 team points.

Lady Pros take pair against IrrigonThe Grant Union/Prairie City softball team got a pair of dominant wins over Irrigon at the Seventh Street Sports Complex in John Day on Wednesday, May 8, defeating the Lady Knights 15-0 and 18-0 in a league doubleheader.

The first game saw the Lady Pros score eight runs in the second inning to cruise to a 15-0 win. Drew Williams and Lilly Rockhill pulled double duty in the circle, pitching two innings each, with Williams striking out six batters and Rockhill sitting down five Lady Knight batters.

Neither Rockhill nor Williams allowed a hit to the Lady Knights in the first game of the doubleheader.

Leading the Lady Pros on offense in Game 1 was Halle Parsons, who finished 2-3 at bat with three RBIs. Taylor Palmateer and Gracee Hueckman were perfect at the plate as each recorded a pair of RBIs in the game.

The second game of the evening saw a Reece Jacobs three-run homer cap a 13-run first inning for the Lady Pros as they cruised to an 18-0, third-inning mercy rule win.

Again, strong pitching carried the day for the Lady Pros as the duo of Halle Parsons and Lilly Rockhill combined for four strikeouts while again holding the Lady Knights without a hit through three innings of work.

Three Lady Pros — Addy Northway, Parsons and Hueckman — were perfect at the plate with three RBIs. Northway and Parsons finished 2-2 at bat, while Hueckman finished 3-3 at the plate.

Two other Lady Pros, Savannah Watterson and Rockhill, finished with a pair of RBIs for the Lady Pros.

Grant Union/Prairie City is still locked into the No. 1 ranking among class 2A softball squads, boasting a 20-3 regular season record with a 12-2 league mark.

The Lady Pros will welcome Pendleton to town on Tuesday, May 14, before concluding the regular season at Burns/Crane on Thursday, May 16.

Start time for the Pendleton game is set for 4 p.m. at the Seventh Street Sports Complex in John Day. The Lady pros will battle Burns starting at 5:30 p.m. in Burns.