High schools move closer to state

PREPS

Some housekeeping. If you read my column about the structure of the new B tournaments in today’s paper and want to comment, click here.

Now let’s move on …

The 1B tourney gets underway tomorrow in Yakima (and it’s still February), with Sprague-Harrington’s girls one of the favorites.

The 2B Northeast regional is nearing completion, with four teams (two boys, two girls) already qualified for state in Spokane. Four more will qualify on Friday.

The 4A regional begins tonight with Greater Spokane League top seeds Ferris (boys) and U-Hi (girls) hosting Moses Lake and Wenatchee, respectively. Mike Vlahovich’s advance includes a summary of each game. There is also an advance of the boys’ games in the Yakima Herald-Republic.

By the way, the special guest I’ve been mentioning all week attending the University game tonight? Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. She is expected to fly in and watch Angie Bjorklund play. If she does and you are there, please respect her personal space. Tony Bennett was descended upon by autograph seekers and assorted Cougar fans during the action the other night, and that didn’t seem appropriate to me.

For more prep news, don’t miss Greg Lee’s Idaho Prep Sports blog and Mike Vlahovich’s Prep Report blog.

• Des Moines’ Evergreen Lutheran will have its boys’ and girls’ teams both in the 2B tournament. I received a nice note from the Eagles girls’ coach, Jeffrey Kurbis, reminding me that Erika Laete, the Eagles’ 6-foot-2 senior post, is from Spokane and will be returning home for the fourth time to play in state.

• Craig Smith’s Sideline Smitty column starts out dealing with a serious issue – flu concerns and athletics – but quickly shows how inventive student cheering sections can be.