Criteria For Hosting Region 18 Tournament Could Change
The presidents of the Scenic West Athletic Conference have recommended that the regional tournament hosting rights be changed.
Under the proposal, the women’s team with the best conference record will host both tournaments one year and the best men’s team will host the next. The alternating format would begin next season with the best women’s team hosting.
The proposal still needs to be approved by a vote of the SWAC athletic directors at a meeting in June.
“It’s a big step in the right direction,” NIC athletic director Jim Headley said.
The current system alternates annually between the men’s winner of the North and South divisions.
It’s a boy
For all but two teams, the Region 18 Tournament will be remembered as an ending point. For North Idaho College athletic trainer Randy Boswell, though, it will always be remembered as a beginning.
While the opening round of the tournament was taking place Wednesday at 4 p.m., Boswell was with his wife Jennifer while she was giving birth to the couple’s second child.
Ethan Boswell, an 8-pound boy, was doing well Thursday morning so Boswell headed back to work.
“She’s been very understanding and knows that I’d like to be there, but I need to be here,” Boswell said. “We keep in contact over the phone and they’re doing fine.”
Boswell said that the outpouring of congratulations from the community has been very touching and he would like to thank his student trainers for their help.
Self Promotion
NIC women’s basketball players Angie Dickson, Mandy Jacques and Jana Nearing have been trying to generate recruiting interest on their own behalf over the past couple of months.
The three sophomores have sent out letters and called coaches to see if they want game footage or information. Jacques went to the NIC library to research schools in California that she would like to contact.
“We’ve been trying to send out a lot of information and usually the coaches have been calling back,” women’s assistant coach Kristi Johnson said.
The three should also get noticed by recruiters in attendance for the tourney. An estimated 14 four-year college scouts attended Thursday’s morning session.
His efforts were noted
NIC men’s guard Andre McKanstry picked a good time to get hot. With a plethora of recruiters watching, the sophomore guard scored 21 points to lead the Cardinals to a comeback win Wednesday night over Salt Lake.
After the game, numerous scouts talked to men’s coach Hugh Watson about McKanstry. Included in the list of interested teams were BYU, Utah State, Austin Peay and Virginia Commonwealth.
Little helpers
Jacques was in a good mood before NIC’s opening game, thanks to a group of third-graders from Winton Elementary. The students in the class, in which Jacques was a student teacher last semester, sent her hand-made good-luck cards for her game Thursday night.