Ramonda Thompson

for the Burns Times-Herald

Travis Landon of Crane drives to the basket. (Photo by BARBARA MAHER)

With two more games in the win column last week, the Crane Mustang boys earned a trip to the State 1A Championship Tournament. The tournament will take place in Baker City Wednesday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 2. Crane will match up against the Elkton Elks on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Baker City High gym.

Crane hosted the Cove Leopards Wednesday, Feb. 20, in their first game of the playoff bracket, and came out on top 61-57 in overtime.

The game was fought hard, and the lead changed hands several times. Crane had a 16-14 edge at the end of the first quarter, and led 30-27 at the half.

Zalin Arritola, Nic Nyman and Travis Landon hit three-pointers to start the Mustangs scoring in the third period, and Crane went into the final period up 48-37.

But the Leopards turned things around over the next eight minutes, taking advantage of Crane’s turnovers to outscore the Mustangs 16-5 and tie the game up, 53-53.

Crane settled down again in the overtime period and took the ball to the inside for points, drawing fouls and converting on the charity stripe to seal the game and advance in the playoffs.

         1  2   3   4  OT Final

Cra 16 14 18  5   8   61

Cov 14 13 10 16  4  57

 On Friday, Feb. 20, the Mustangs were in action against the Triad Timberwolves of Klamath Falls. Crane downed Triad 69-55, giving the Mustangs a berth in this weekend’s state 1A tournament.

The lead went back and forth over the first three quarters of Friday’s game, as both teams understood a loss ended their season.

The Mustangs were up 14-12 after one quarter, but shortly into the second period, the Timberwolves full-court press resulted in a turnover and a basket for 14-all. Turnovers plagued the Mustangs, and the Timberwolves capitalized on their own possessions. Triad’s offense relied on their quick moves to the basket and pushing the ball up the court, and Triad went up 28-26 at the half.

Triad continued to wreak havoc on Crane in the third quarter, with one of the quickest defensive transitions that Crane had seen. Any lapse of ball control by the Mustangs resulted in steals and lay-ins for the Timberwolves, and they soon had a 34-26 lead. Crane called a time-out at 6:32, and came out of it to battle back into the game. Tyler Opie scored, followed by Nyman and Arritola. The Mustangs started to rebound better on both ends of the court. Over the rest of the third period, and into the fourth quarter, the lead changed many times.

Midway through the final eight minutes, Triad tied the score, 53-53, and called a time-out. The Mustangs took the floor with possession of the ball and took control of the game’s outcome for good. Opie opened up the last four minutes with two points, then hit Arritola under the basket for four more. Landon gave Crane a 10-point lead with just over one minute remaining. Arritola found Matt Witzel wide open under the basket for two more, and Witzel connected on two free throws at the end of the game for the Mustang win, 69-55.

Arritola and Nyman scored in every quarter to keep the Mustangs in position to win. Arritola led Crane with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Nyman dropped in 22 points and grabbed nine defensive boards in the winning effort to extend his last year in the Mustangs uniform. Opie added seven points and eight rebounds, Witzel five points and eight boards. Landon had four points and Corbin Hammond one.

         1    2    3    4   Final

Cra  14  12  19   24   69

Tri  12  16  13   14   55

Trailing 10-6, Dustin Ramge of Crane pinned his opponent to win the 106-pound weight class. (Photo by RANDY PARKS)

1A and 3A state in Portland Feb. 22-23

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The Crane Mustangs had five individual champions and racked up 245 points on their way to winning the team title at the 12-team 2A/1A District 4 tournament on Saturday, Feb. 16, at Crane Union High School.

The five champions, plus four runner-ups, qualified for the OSAA 2A/1A State Wrestling Tournament to be held in Portland Feb. 22-23.

Taking home gold medals for Crane were Dustin Ramge (106), Jake Clark (113), Andy Lamborn (120), Wyatt Clark (138) and Michael Casey (285).

W. Clark was also named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Second-place finishes went to Austin Roath (126), Corey Jenkins (132), Justin Baldwin (170) and Clay Duckworth (182).

Hunter Davis (182) finished third, Joe Davis (170) and Amadeo Jones (120) placed fourth, and Tim Thomas (160) came in sixth.

Imbler placed second in the team standings with 157 points, followed by Heppner 156, Grant Union 100.5, Enterprise 92, Joseph 71, Irrigon 63, Union 55, Pine Eagle 46, Elgin 39, Adrian 15 and Wallowa 13.

Individual results for Crane are as follows:
106 — Ramge won by maj. dec. 8-0; won by fall (4:40).
113 — J. Clark won by fall (4:46); won by fall (1:40).
120 — Lamborn won by fall (1:27); won by fall (1:54); won by dec. 3-2.
120 — Jones lost by fall (1:37); won by fall (1:44); lost by dec. 19-13.
126 — Roath won by fall (5:43); lost by dec. 9-7 OT.
132 — Jenkins won by fall (:51); won by dec. 7-1; lost by maj. dec. 15-7.
132 — Colton Witzel lost by fall (1:02); lost by fall (1:00).
138 — W. Clark won by fall (2:59); won by fall (3:28) won by fall (2:37).
160 — Thomas won by dec. 9-6; lost by fall (1:13); lost by fall (:27); lost by fall (1:35).
170 — Baldwin won by fall (2:48); won by fall (1:25); lost by dec. 9-2.
170 — J. Davis lost by fall (2:54); won by fall (1:48); won by fall (1:22); lost by fall (4:15).
182 — Duckworth won by fall (:39); won by fall (2:59); lost by dec. 6-0.
182 — H. Davis won by fall (:16); lost by maj. dec. 10-0; won by fall (:26); won by fall (:59).
285 — Casey won by fall (1:52); won by fall (2:36).

The Burns Hilanders will send 10 wrestlers on to the OSAA 3A State Wrestling Tournament in Portland Feb. 22-23.

Burns placed fourth as a team with 177 points at the Special District 4 Tournament in Boardman on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Vale won the tournament with 269.5 points, Nyssa was second with 215 and Riverside third with 195.

The top three finishers in each weight class advance on to the state tournament, and Burns had three individual champions, three second-place finishes and four wrestlers place third.

The Hilanders’ Brennan Bailey won the 152-pound weight class, Seth Nonnenmacher took first at 160 and Matson Gahley was the 170-pound champion.

Finishing in second place were Tyson Nelsen (132), Peter Cain (145) and Jake White (182).

Third-place finishes went to Thomas Cain (126), Beau Blackburn (160), Scott Lovelady (182) and Jordan Daugherty (220).

Garrett Blackburn (152) and Austin Ryder (195) placed fourth, and Jack Van Tassel (126) and Zach Nelsen (138) came in sixth.

Ethan Peasley picks up two points with a takedown. (Photo by RANDY PARKS)

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Young wrestlers from all over Oregon, as well as Western Idaho, gathered at Burns High School on Saturday, Jan. 26, for the Les Schwab Buckle Classic hosted by the Hi-Desert Mat Club.

Before the action got under way on the mats, Hi-Desert coach Doug Gunderson made the announcement that the tournament was being held in memory of Jay Winn, who lost his life in a truck accident last fall.

A buckle was presented to the Winn family and Gunderson stated that the tournament would now be known as the Jay Winn Memorial Les Schwab Buckle Classic.

Individual results for the local mat club are as follows:
Peewees
33.8-35 lbs. — Jayce Wright 1st; Trask Lardy         2nd; Hayden Cornell 3rd;              Kaleb Decroo 4th
36.6-40 lbs. — Lucian Miller 1st; Tommy Winn 2nd; Cannon Kemper 3rd; Henry Barnes 4th
39.4-44.8 lbs. — Kale Cornell 2nd; Jasper Skunkcap 3rd; Foster Otley 4th
48.2-55 lbs. — Joseph Weil 2nd; Orion Houck 4th

Bantam
37.4-44 lbs. — Canon Winn 2nd; Kempton Richardson 3rd

50 lbs. — Carter Lardy 2nd
55 lbs. — Andy Barnes 4th
61.2-63.8 lbs. — Tallon Berry 3rd
65-70 lbs. — Lashawn Strain 3rd

Intermediate
45.8-55 lbs. — Oliver Barnes 1st; Ethan Peasley 2nd; Devin Dickie 3rd
56-60 lbs. — Hunter Kemper 4th
65 lbs. — Justin Winn                         2nd
70 lbs. — Cody King                            1st; Kevin Peasley 4th
75 lbs. — Ian Dawson 4th
88.6-94.1 lbs. — Toby Clow 3rd
93.8-98.8 lbs. — Dalton Puckett 1st

Novice
83.2-86.2 lbs. — Harlan Gunderson 1st
88.6-94.1 lbs. — Colby Bryant 3rd
112 lbs. — Isaac Vantassel 3rd
115.2-122.6 lbs. — Matthew Drushella 3rd
Schoolboy
73.6-83.2 lbs. — Kyran Simpson 4th
86.2-95.6 lbs. — Evan Gunderson 1st
97-104.8 lbs. — Hunter Freitag 2nd
112 lbs. — Zane Bailey 2nd
152 lbs. — Keynan Runnels 3rd
175 lbs. — Dillin Holtby 2nd
Cadet
121.2-150.8 lbs. — Riley Harris 2nd

Madison Carson banks in two of her eight points in Burns’ win over Umatilla. (Photo by RANDY PARKS)

Hilanders improve to 1-2 in EOL

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Charli Siegner scored 15 points and Shelby Sanders 14 to lead  Burns to a 50-39 win over Umatilla in Eastern Oregon League (EOL) girls basketball action on Saturday, Jan. 19.

After trailing most of the first quarter, the Hilanders closed on a 5-0 run to lead 11-9 after the first eight minutes of play.

With the score tied 13-13 early in the second period, Burns scored four unanswered baskets to go up by eight, and then stretched the lead to 10 by halftime.

Leading by nine in the third quarter, Siegner hit two free throws and Jordon Long, Sanders and Madison Carson scored consecutive baskets to give Burns a 38-21 lead, and the Hilanders finished the quarter up by 14.

The Hilanders maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest and came away with their first league win of the season.

Carson finished with eight points for Burns, Anna Reid and Long each had six and Megan Lee one.

Ashley Longoria led the Vikings with eight points.

Burns won the JV game 51-30.

The Hilanders (1-2, 8-10) continue with EOL play on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they travel to Nyssa to take on the Bulldogs (2-1, 11-5).

1    2     3    4   Final
Uma  9   6    14   10   39
Bur  11  14   18    7   50

Senior guard Cam Hueckman hits a 3-pointer to help Burns to a win over Vale. (Photo by RANDY PARKS)

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

The Burns boys varsity basketball team opened up Eastern Oregon League (EOL) play with a convincing 77-48 home win over Vale on Friday, Jan. 11.

The Hilanders weren’t as fortunate the following day, as they traveled to Boardman to take on Riverside in EOL action and lost 59-31.

Burns never trailed in their win over Vale, getting out to a quick 6-0 start and leading 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Cam Hueckman buried a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, putting the Hilanders up by four, and then with the score 26-21, Burns closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run.

Burns opened up the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by Austin Martin and Austin Feist, and never looked back as they opened up a 60-34 lead headed into the final perriod.

With more than five minutes left in the game, Burns had most of the starters on the bench, as they cruised to the win.

Feist led all scorers with 25 points, Martin added 14 and Jeff Garner 10.

Austin Lattin led the Vikings with 11 points.

1    2     3    4   Final
Val   18    3   13   14    48
Bur  19  16   25   17    77

Burns won the JV game 49-42.

•••
Burns and Riverside were tied at 11-11 at the end off the first quarter, but the Pirates took command of the game in the second period, outscoring the Hilanders 17-8.

Riverside kept things rolling after halftime, extending their lead to 45-24 by the end of the third, and closing out the game on a 14-7 run.

1     2     3    4   Final
Bur   11    8    5    7    31
Riv   11   17  17   14   59

The Hilanders continue EOL play on Saturday, Jan. 19, when they host Umatilla.

By Randy Parks

Gabe First Raised, a member of the Burns Paiute Tribe, is a former stand-out for the Nadzitsaga team. (Photo by RANDY PARKS)

Burns Times-Herald

Last November, Rick Roy, the head coach of the local Nadzitsaga lacrosse team, received an invitation to participate in the Six Nations High School Field Lacrosse Invitational, to be held May 23-26 at the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada.

“For me, it’s like being invited to the White House. Not everybody gets invited to do this,” Roy said.

To understand the true importance and significance of the invitation, Roy said you have to look back at the history of the game and the direction, or misdirection, it has taken in recent years.

Roy said that the invitation came from Iroquois Lacrosse, a program that promotes the game from the Iroquois perspective. “They are viewed as the originators of the game,” Roy said. “Their game is a spiritual one, played to please the Creator, and sometimes called the ‘Creator’s game.’ With the expansion of the game, the understanding and real meaning is being lost to commercialism.”

To combat the commercialism, Roy said Iroquois Lacrosse has jumped to the forefront. “They’re saying, ‘This is our game and it’s being misrepresented.’ We’re all working to preserve the traditional approach to the game,” Roy stated.

Part of that work includes introducing the game to youths on reservations as a way to address several social issues, including the nine reservations in Oregon. “It’s a matter of helping and healing kids through the spiritual aspect of the game,” Roy said.

Roy has been coaching the Nadzitsaga team since 2008, and has remained true to the game’s roots, including pre- and post-game prayers. “We’re the only tribal-affiliated lacrosse team in the state, working with the Burns Paiute Tribe,” Roy said. “We weren’t invited because we’re good. It’s recognition from the Iroquois, in their way, and it’s a huge honor to be invited to play the game, on their turf, against the inventors of the game.”

The Six Nations High School Field Lacrosse Invitational
Roy said he wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than 20 teams at the event, including Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, N.Y., Kahnawake Mohawk Nation, Quebec, Cattaraugus Seneca Nation, N.Y., and Oneida Nation, Wisc.

The Nadzitsaga team will be made up of a core of Harney County players, and rounded out with players from other programs around the state who have indigenous backgrounds. “This is going to be cultural education for the kids. They’ll learn a lot of history and get to see the originators of the game play. It’s much larger than just going there and playing,” Roy said.

To help pay for the trip, the team will be conducting a number of fund-raisers. They have a collection bin for returnable cans and bottles at Glory Days and are planning a couple of dinners. They’re also exploring the possibility of getting grants. Anyone wanting to make a donation can contact Schelly Daugherty at Shepherd Graphics in Burns.

“The kids will have to raise some money, but this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime trip,” Roy said.
Bill Rexford, coach of the Sisters lacrosse team, will also accompany the team as co-coach.

The game
Roy said he hopes the players that make the trip go back to their programs and talk about the experience, as well as teach it from a Native American viewpoint.

“We’ve got to get the game away from being a suburban-Anglo-yuppie game,” Roy said. “People have to understand there’s another side to the game, the real side.”

To help retain the game’s history and integrity, U.S. Lacrosse, the sport’s governing body, has started the Keeper of Lacrosse Project.

According to the U.S. Lacrosse website: “The Keeper Project is a grassroots movement focused on protecting and promoting the values of lacrosse. It is critical that each generation that played the sport own the responsibility of safeguarding the integrity and spirit of the game for future generations. The game is in your hands. Take good care of it.

“The purpose of the Keeper Project is to launch a culture preservation campaign and instill the six core values that are the foundation of the sport in the next generation.

“The six core values are:
• Spirit of the game
Participating in lacrosse for the love of the game, with the pure intention of playing hard and fair while nurturing the soul, is pursuing lacrosse in the spirit of the game. Play lacrosse because you love it.

• Tradition
The handing down of information, beliefs, or customs from one generation to the next invites you to be a part of something bigger than yourself. These form the basis of the culture of lacrosse and the character of those who participate. You have a duty to share the history of the sport as a means of continued connection, enjoyment and honoring the game for the next generation.

• Virtues: respect, honor, integrity
These virtues are positive traits that are fundamental to the development of good character. All lacrosse participants — players, coaches, officials, spectators — who consistently hone these traits form enduring habits of head, heart and hand, faithful to the spirit of the game.

Respect — To act in a way that shows you are aware of and fully value the participants, rules and spirit of the game means that you hold the sport’s traditions in the highest regard and esteem.

Honor — To behave with high moral standards that show you fully appreciate the privilege of playing lacrosse. Honor the opportunity to participate through grace and humility.

Integrity – To serve the game well means that you will act with honesty and sincerity on and off the field, undivided in head, heart and hand.

• Good sportsmanship
Displaying qualities of conduct and attitude highly regarded in sport – fair play, courtesy, generosity, observance of the rules, striving spirit and grace in losing – is paramount. Each person, teammate or opponent, is part of the same game. Valuing the experience over the outcome serves the greater good and is integral to the spirit of the game.

• Teamwork
A joint action performed by a group of people in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group. No one is bigger than the game; it is important to recognize the team as the defining entity in lacrosse, and the reason for the game.

• Connection
Long after the last game, something else remains: connection, camaraderie, community. Lacrosse forges friendships, unity and family. As the game grows, you must embrace the spirit and philosophy of a shared identity.”

“Lacrosse is no longer a regional sport,” Roy said. “It’s spread across the country, it’s being played in Europe and all around the world. It’s important to keep the game true to its roots.”