Local Athletes Make Good

You can pick up the fragrance in the fields and the woods. It's the smell of fall in the air, and for many athletes and fans alike it heralds the first sports season of the school year. The Times will be previewing all the fall sports teams starting next week, but before we get all excited about the Cardinals/Tigers or Bulldogs, there's something else I wanted to draw your attention to before everyone goes back to school: college sports.

This year, we have the highest number of Waits- burg, Prescott and Dayton graduates playing college sports in recent memory. Four athletes from each school or combine will be competing at a whole new level starting later this month or early next month. That should give everyone reason to feel proud, particularly the players and families them- selves, but also the coaches, teammates and fans who helped get them there.

And of course, don't miss an opportunity to go see them play. The home games for several of our graduates are close enough to attend.

I have mentioned Zach Bartlow before in this col- umn. He will be starting quarterback in his Eastern Oregon University football team's first game against Portland State University on Thursday, Aug. 29, and then at home in La Grande at 1 p.m. on Sept. 7 against Montana Tech.

He may well be joined by 2013 WHS graduate Dalton Estes, who tried out as a wide receiver but ended up making the grade as a defensive back and now seems comfortable in that position, Cardinals football coach Jeff Bartlow said. If he makes the travel squad for the Moun- taineers, Estes likely will start on Zach's team.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes on Seth Deal, who also graduated this year and is already attending Lewis & Clark State College on a par- tial scholarship to run cross country and track. He should be well-prepared. Not a day went by this summer when Seth wasn't doing some sort of training run up to half the distance of a marathon. Now that he's on the team, he meets the other runners at 6 a.m. at least twice a week to hit the road or the trail before it gets really hot.

Seth's first competitive run, a 6-kilometer warm-up event (most cross-country runs are 8 kilometers), is at Mead High School in Spokane. Later on in the season, his home meets in Lewiston are on Oct. 19 and Nov. 8.

"We set pretty high goals for ourselves," the 2013 Cardinal grad said about him and his L&C teammates. "It should be a fun year."

Also still competing in track - shot and discus to be precise - is James Lehr, who is a junior at Central Washington University in Ellensburg this year.

Producing four college athletes in four years is a lot for a small 2B combine like Waitsburg-Prescott, Bartlow said. "It's exciting. They're all such hard workers; they love their sports."

The Bulldogs' lineup for college sports is equally impressive, starting with Nicole Lambert, who made the volleyball team at Walla Walla Community College and may start as a libero.

Her team, the Warriors, is scheduled to compete in the Highline Tournament in Des Moines, Wash., on Friday, followed by the Spokane Falls Community College Invitational on Sept. 6 and a first home match at WWCC against Columbia Basin on Sept. 18.

Another Lambert should be mentioned here. Dayton's Brett Lambert, who graduated as a Bulldog several years ago, wrapped up his sophomore season as a pitcher for the Whitman College Mis- sionaries this year.

Of course, we all remember Garett Turner, who helped take the Bulldogs to state this year. His dad Jeff said he will be on the roster at Walla Walla Community College as a shooting guard or a wing this winter if all goes well.

And 2013 Dayton High graduate McKayla Bickel- haupt may well appear for the Warriors on the hard- wood soon. For now she's been red-shirted, because the team already had a full roster by the time she signed up. But injuries or other unforeseen absences on her team could bring her off the bench this season.

Last but not least is Jessica Tate, also a 2013 DHS grad who will start on the War- riors' softball team, possibly as a middle infielder or in the outfield.

Bickelhaupt's dad and DHS football coach Dean Bickelhaupt said the college- bound Bulldog athletes will get plenty of support from their community "because Walla Walla is so close."

Whether they are near or far, I hope all our communi- ties' grads do well in this year, and will let us know what it's like to navigate the bigger world of college sports.

Go Mountaineers (Eastern Oregon)! Go Missionaries (Whitman)! Go Warriors (L&C)! Go Wildcats (Central Washington)! Go Warriors (WWCC)!