Sadie Bjornsen, Koos and Pokorny all have the distinction of winning top female or male titles as teenagers at the annual 10K Spokane Langlauf at Mount Spokane.

Four Eastern Washington were in top form in the U.S. National Cross Country Skiing Championship races this week at the former Olympic course at Soldier Hollow, Utah.

• Erik Bjornsen, 22, of Winthrop finished first in the men's 15-kilometer freestyle.
• His sister, Sadie Bjornsen, 24, finished second in the women's 10k freestyle and second in the classic sprint.
• Torin Koos of Wenatchee won the men's classic sprint, his seventh U.S. nordic title.
• Annie Pokorny, 20, of Spokane finished fourth in the women's 10k freestyle.

Pokorny, who developed her skills as a teenager with the Spokane Junior Nordic Ski Team, left Lewis and Clark High School to complete her senior year in Sun Valley where she trained with national-class junior skiers. She's skiing collegiately at Middlebury College and has a shot at being named to a U.S. international team.

Sadie Bjornsen, Koos and Pokorny all have the distinction of winning top female or male titles as teenagers at the annual 10K Spokane Langlauf at Mount Spokane.

TOURNAMENT FISHING  — After a trip to a hospital to have a hook removed from his pinky, Brandon Palaniuk, 24, of Rathdrum powered forward through three days of fishing to dominate and win the Bassmaster Elite Series TroKar Quest tournament at Bull Shoals Lake, Ark., this weekend.

He'll have $100,000 in the bank after today's weigh-in, but that’s not going to change his lifestyle. He planned to spend tonight sleeping in the back of his pickup, just as he has every night this week and during most other tournaments.

 “It’s just easy,” said Palaniuk, who beds down in a bed  under the canopy of his pickup near launch sites. “I’ve got power and a shower, and it’s close to the water. That’s all I need. And it’s free.

“A hundred thousand dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to,” he added.

Read on for more details on Palaniuk's big win.

FLY FISHING – Registration is underway for the following fly fishing clinics being offered at Silver Bow Fly Shop, 13210 E Indiana Ave., telephone 924-9998.

Winter Steelhead Clinic: Learn winter Spey rod tactics from master guide and spey line designer Tom Larimer,  April 6, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Free.

Beginner Spey Class with Tom Larimer, April 7, 8 a.m.-noon. Cost: $150. Rods/reels provided.

Advanced Spey Class with Tom Larimer, April 7, 1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Cost: $150. Rods/reels provided.

TOURNAMENT FISHING — Brandon Palaniuk, 24, of Rathdrum, Idaho, had a horrible start among the 50 select anglers who roared off this morning to start the 2012 Bassmaster Classic on the Red River near Shreveport-Bossier City, La.

The weigh-in has just been completed, and Palaniuk is the only angler in the field who caught no fish.

He's in last place after Day 1. I don't have a report on what happened.

See more details on Rich Landers' Outdoors Blog.

WOMEN'S ROWING — Spokane's Jamie Redman — graduate of Lewis and Clark High School and Yale University — is packing home more gold in the  U.S. Women’s Rowing Team 8-seater boat.

On Sunday morning, USA's woman's-eight won gold at Switzerland's World Cup Regatta in Lucerne. Top teams from 50 countries were competing.

The previous week, Redman's women’s 8 team won the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames in England. Team members had to purchase hats to meet the dress code for the awards ceremony.

Redman already has won national championships on the Yale Rowing Team. Last fall, she was on the U.S.A. women’s 8 boat that won the World Championship in New Zealand.

Today, Redman returned to their rowing base camp in Princeton, NJ., where she said she's hoping to continue training and remaining relatively injury free for a shot at further European World Cup competition and possibly the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Check out results at www.row2k.com, or www.worldrowing.com.