From titans to underdogs, this year’s memorable sports moments take us from the soccer pitch to the rodeo arena to the basketball court. Here are the top 10 for 2023.

10 Heppner boys basketball earns a state trophy

HEPPNER — Anything can happen when you get to Pendleton. The Heppner boys basketball team worked its magic to knock off top-ranked Mannahouse Academy 41-34 in the first round of the 2A state basketball tournament, and went on to finish fifth.

The fifth-place finish ties the best performance at state by a Heppner boys basketball team, which was fifth in 2015.

The win over Mannahouse put the Mustangs in the state semifinals for just the second time in school history.

“Defensively, we were terrific,” Heppner coach Jeremy Rosenbalm said. “To hold a team like that to 34 points — and three in the fourth quarter — says a lot. Defense will take us to where we want to go.”

The Mustangs fell in the semifinals to Western Christian 43-38, and dropped the third-place game to Kennedy 60-35, but proved every game they belonged among the state’s best teams.

“Not many people outside this locker room believed we belonged here in Pendleton,” Rosenbalm said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how they stuck together and showed everyone they earned the right to bring a state basketball trophy back to Heppner.”

Tucker Ashbeck and Landon Mitchell were named to the all-tournament second team, while the Mustangs (21-7) also won the sportsmanship award.

9 TigerScots storm through state playoffs

ATHENA — The Weston-McEwen High School football team went undefeated in Blue Mountain Conference play and stormed through the 2A state playoffs to reach the title game for the second year in a row.

And for the second year in a two, the TigerScots fell short of bringing home the championship trophy as Lowell ran away with the title with a 74-42 victory at Hillsboro Stadium.

“There are 30 some teams that would like to hold this trophy,” W-M coach Kenzie Hansell said of the second-place hardware. “Yes, we wanted it to be the blue one, but it has been a great season.”

The TigerScots finished BMC play 5-0, including a 4-0 win over Heppner, then went on to beat Knappa, Illinois Valley and Regis to reach the championship game.

Against Lowell, Easton Berry threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns, with Maddox King, Seth Muilenburg, Sean Roggiero and Bryson Choin on the receiving end for touchdowns.

8 Western-McEwen makes it to championship game

ATHENA — Back in the 2A state softball title game for the first time since 2015, the TigerScots ran into Blue Mountain Conference foe Grant Union.

The Prospectors, who got 10 strikeouts from Drewsey Williams, beat W-M 10-0 in six innings. The TigerScots finished their season 21-8.

“Second is pretty good,” said W-M coach Jeff Griggs, who has taken his team to the playoffs 13 times in 19 seasons. “We could have gotten knocked out any time playing those higher-ranked teams to make it to the end.”

On the way to the championship game, the No. 8 TigerScots beat Monroe 8-7, top-ranked North Douglas 12-8 and No. 4 Willamina 7-2. Junior pitcher Hailey Stallings and sophomore outfielder Ava Sams were named to the 2A/1A all-state first team.

7 Lambert leads Bucks to second place

PENDLETON — Eleven Pendleton baseball players got the honor of graduating at home plate after the 4A state championship game.

But the celebration at Volcano Stadium came on the heels of a 12-2 loss to Scappoose in the championship game.

“It’s an accomplishment to get there, but we wanted more than getting there,” Pendleton coach TJ Haguewood said. “We will work hard next year to get back there.”

The Bucks finished the season 22-9. It was the final season for Haguewood, who coached eight seasons with a 112-70 record. He led the Bucks to two state championship games.

Senior Payton Lambert had a monster season for the Bucks. He was named 4A all-state player of the year and also was selected as the Greater Oregon League player of the year.

The last all-state player of the year for the Bucks was Rick Schimmel in 1987.

Lambert, who batted lead-off, hit .515 for the season with a school record 52 hits for a single season, breaking Schimmel’s record of 51 set in 1987. He had 11 doubles and a school record 11 triples and scored a school record 53 runs. He shattered the school record for triples, surpassing Blaine Goodwin, who had six in 2006. He also obliterated the record for runs scored, moving past Reese Merriman, who had 44 in 2012.

6 Tigers end historic season with second-place trophy

STANFIELD — The Stanfield girls basketball program put together the most successful season in school history.

The Tigers posted a 27-2 record and finished second at the 2A state tournament after dropping the title game to Gervais 37-21. The Tigers had won 24 consecutive games until the loss to the Cougars at the Pendleton Convention Center.

“It’s kind of a win-win,” Stanfield senior Maggie Sharp said. “Second is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a super accomplishment.”

It’s just the second state trophy for the Tigers. They finished sixth in 2022.

Stanfield dominated the Blue Mountain Conference with a 10-0 record, then opened the state playoffs with a 60-22 win over Oakland to earn a trip to Pendleton.

The Tigers beat Bandon 43-34 in the quarterfinals, and knocked off Central Linn 38-28 in the semifinals.

Sharp, one of the most dominant players on the court at the 2A level, was a first-team BMC pick, and also was named to the 2A all-state first team, and was a first-team selection for the 2A tournament.

Zuri Reeser was a first-team BMC selection, and was named to the all-state second team.

5 Top Dawgs on the mat

HERMISTON — Hermiston put together an impressive showing at the 3A state wrestling tournament, placing second in the team standings with two men — Jaxson Gribskov and Carlos Cervantes — placing second.

Gribskov, who won district and regional titles on his way to state, finished second at 182 pounds, while Cervantes was runner-up at 106.

“He’s here all the time; that’s how you get things done,” Hermiston coach Kyle Larson said of Gribskov. “He doesn’t have a big bag of tricks, but what he does, he does well and is persistent. He’s an absolute poster child of fundamentals. He’s a very easy kid to coach.”

Hermiston also had Aiden Favorite (120) and Jaysen Rodriguez (132) finish third, while Daniel Garza (138) and Ben Larson (170) were fifth, and Jacoby Rodriguez (113) was sixth.

For the second year in a row, the Bulldogs finished second in the team standings. Mead won the team title for the second year in a row with 199.5 points, followed by Hermiston (172.5) and Stanwood (162).

4 A pot of gold at the finish line

HEPPNER — It’s hard enough to win a state cross-country title, but Heppner had back-to-back champions as Grady Greenwood won the 2A/1A title by 10 seconds in November.

Trevor Nichols was the first Mustang to win a state cross-country title in 2022, and Greenwood, who was 15 meters back at one point Nov. 4, made his move and crossed the finish line in 16:12.90 in the pouring rain for the gold medal.

“It’s amazing,” Heppner coach Russ Nichols said. “He ran great.”

Stanfield/Echo got a fifth-place finish from Pablo Galindo, who turned in a personal best time of 17:03.90.

On the girls side, Heppner’s Lily Nichols finished fourth in the 3A/2A/1A race with a time of 19:32.50, and the Mustangs finished third in the team race.

“She was happy with that, and we were pleased as well,” coach Nichols said. “The girls race was stacked with talent.”

3 Massey finishes among the elite

HERMISTON — Dalton Massey’s season got off to a hot start. He won Rodeo Houston on March 19, and earned $54,250 during the three-week event.

That sent him to the top of the steer wrestling standings, a place he never left until the final day of the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

At the end of August, Massey set a single-season earnings record of $164,649 before the NFR, surpassing Ty Erickson’s mark of $163,152. He added more money to his pocket during events in September.

At the NFR, Massey won the first round and was third in the seventh round. Heading into the final round, Massey needed to finish first or second in the round to win the world title.

His time of 3.3 seconds on the run turned into 13.3 when he broke the barrier, leaving him second to Tyler Waguespack in the world standings.

For the season, Massey earned $283,993. Baker City’s Jesse Brown finished third in the world standings with $276,444.

“It was awesome,” Massey said of the NFR. “It was everything I expected it to be and more. It was fun to be in it until the last day, and be in it for a world championship. It wasn’t a failure, it just wasn’t a win.”

2 The underdog comes out on top

ECHO — For a team that hadn’t won a play game since 1987, the Echo Cougars looked liked they belonged among the elite from the first snap of the 1A six-man state football playoffs.

Echo had to win two league playoffs games to reach the first round, but from there, the Cougars were in control. They beat Alsea 38-6 in the first round, knocked off Powers 46-18 in the quarterfinals, and beat Elkton 34-19 in semifinals to earn a trip to the championship game against Joseph.

The title game, held just down the road in Hermiston, saw the Cougars fall behind 19-0 to start the game, but Echo (9-3) rallied for a 47-40 victory and the school’s first football title.

“This is amazing,” said Echo’s Dom Curiel, who was carefully holding the state championship trophy. “I would take it home and sleep with it if they let me. I have been wanting to win this since I was little.”

Curiel led the Cougars with 140 yards rushing and 171 yards passing and four total touchdowns.

Echo was rewarded for its efforts as Curiel, who was the SD1-West offensive player of the year, was named the 1A six-man all-state offensive player of the year, voted on by the state coaches.

Echo coach Thomas Van Nice was selected as the 1A six-man all-state coach of the year.

1 Simply the best

MILTON-FREEWATER — The McLoughlin boys soccer team was an overwhelming favorite for the top spot.

The Pioneers, who were fifth on the list last year, dominated all season long, allowing just 10 goals over 19 games, including 13 shutouts.

Led by Angel Castillo and Almikar Gracia, Mac-Hi won the 3A/2A/1A state title with a 3-1 win over Westside Christian. It was the Pioneers’ first state title since 2007.

“It was amazing,” Mac-Hi coach Jose Garcia said. “Everybody was focused, everybody played well. They all wanted it, all the way around.”

Mac-Hi dominated the game from start to finish. The Pioneers had 15 quality shots on goal, getting three balls past Westside Christian goalkeeper Gabe Wong. Almikar Garcia had two goals, while Danny Gonzalez had one.

The Pioneers finished the season 18-0-1. The one tie was against Catlin Gabel in the first game of the season.

It was hard to ignore the play of the Pioneers during the season. They won the Eastern Oregon League title with a 10-0 record, then cut through the state playoffs like a hot knife through butter, beating Brookings-Harbor (8-2), Oregon Episcopal (4-2) and Gatlin Gabel (4-3) before knocking off top-ranked Westside Christian in the title game.

Castillo, who had 40 goals and 24 assists this season, was named the EOL player of the year and the 3A/2A/1A all-state player of the year.

Mac-Hi coach Jose Garcia was named 3A/2A/1A all-state coach of the year for the second year in a row.

Also earning first-team EOL and all-state honors were midfielder Almikar Garcia (38 goals, 27 assists), forward Giovanny Sandoval (25 goals, 7 assists), and defender Danny Gonzalez (5 goals, 11 assists), who led the stingiest defense in the state.