Ten Finalists For Scholarship
Six football players from the Greater Spokane League, one from the Frontier and three from Idaho are the finalists for the first Ray Flaherty Memorial Scholarship.
Announcement of the winner will highlight the Inland Northwest Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame banquet Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Spokane Club. Former Washington State football coach Jim Walden will be the featured speaker.
A few seats remain, but chapter president Paul Sorensen said, “Basically, it’s a sellout.” Ticket information can be obtained by calling (509) 467-4646.
Scholar-athlete finalists, selected from a field 29 nominees, are: Soren Olson, tight end, Lewis and Clark; Erich Hannan, lineman, Pullman; Matthew Miethe, lineman, Rogers; J. Eric Schaefer, lineman, Priest River (Lamanna HS); Ian Hughes, receiver/ defensive back/kicker, Central Valley; Jeff Olsen, quarterback, Rogers; Mike Drake, back, Coeur d’Alene; Jimmy Lake, defensive back, North Central; Brian Smith, lineman, Sandpoint; and Jim Salters, linebacker, Gonzaga Prep.
Finalists were chosen by a 10-man panel based on athletic ability, academic achievement and citizenship and service.
The Flaherty winner will receive a $500 scholarship. Other awards also will be given. Additionally, the names of all 29 nominees will be on a plaque displayed at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.
The Inland Northwest Chapter was formally chartered Dec. 31 with 66 members. KXLY, Spokane Club and Athletic Round Table are the primary sponsors.
Baseball
The Seattle Mariners’ annual winter caravan will be in Spokane on Saturday for a free 2-hour clinic at Gonzaga University.
Mariners coaches Bobby Cuellar, Lee Elia and Matt Sinatro will conduct the session for youngsters of any age in Martin Centre from noon to 2 p.m.
Each participant will receive a free T-shirt provided by the tour sponsor, SAFECO, and the Mariners.
Info: (206) 628-3555.
The tour also will stop at the Yakima YMCA on Thursday and Sottlemyre Indoor Batting Cage in the Tri-Cities on Friday.
Unused on the field, commemorative baseballs for a 1994 World Series that wasn’t are available.
Rawlings Sporting Goods has produced 50,000 balls that read “Official Ball, 1994 World Series.” It annually sells balls that are unused after the World Series. This year, the demand has been unusually heavy, the company says, largely as a collector’s item.
Cost is $34.95, including shipping and handling. They can be ordered by credit card at (800) 294-3642, or by check or money order through Ballpark Furnishings, 56 South 33rd Ave., Ste. 106, St. Cloud, MN 56301.
A search is on for a head baseball coach and an assistant coach at Mary Walker High School in Springdale. Anyone interested may contact athletic director Dwayne Watts or principal Gary Coe at (509) 258-4533.
Volleyball
The 2-year-old Pacific Coast Conference, a two-division, 16-team league of men’s clubsport college teams, will make its first Inland Empire visit Jan. 28 with a tournament at Washington State.
The league started a year ago, primarily in Oregon. Now it has a seven-team Oregon division and a nine-team Washington division. Teams play two or three matches at each of three league tournaments. Top divisional teams will enter a regional at the end of February with a spot in the nationals at stake.
Besides WSU, other Washington teams are at Western Washington, Pacific Lutheran and Bellevue Community College, which have two teams each, and University of Washington and Seattle University, with one each.
For more information on the league, contact Orlin Jespersen at (206) 738-7892.