Trout Lake Boys Told To Go Fish

District 5 eligibility committee members didn’t budge from last week’s decision, meaning boys Class B third-ranked Trout Lake won’t compete at next week’s state tournament in the Arena.

Despite emotional pleas Monday from school members and the family of 6-foot-10 post Mark Gottschalk, the committee stood by its ruling that Trout Lake must forfeit 17 wins for not clearing Gottschalk for eligibility when he transferred this year from White Salmon.

The Mustangs’ record dropped from 18-1 to 1-18. They didn’t have enough wins to qualify for the district tourney, which began Wednesday.

Many high-ranked teams have encountered turmoil this year.

Taholah’s boys, who climbed to eighth in The Associated Press poll by winning 14 consecutive games, forfeited four wins for using an ineligible player. The Chitwins were eliminated at district after two consecutive losses.

Curlew’s boys reached No. 1 late in the season, then dropped to No. 2 after forfeiting three games for using an ineligible player. The Cougars hadn’t lost on the court until last weekend, when they dropped a one-point game to Republic in the Panorama League tourney title game.

Clallam Bay’s girls finished their league tournament with a 21-0 record and state No. 2 ranking. The Bruins dropped their first two district games and were eliminated.

New teams headed for State B

Eight teams had qualified for the State B through Tuesday, and the early theme was new blood.

The Chief Leschi boys, Napavine girls and Cascade Christian girls all will make their first state appearances. Napavine is coached by John Foulkes, who led Ritzville to last year’s girls title.

Blackshire gets state honor

Ferris senior Missy Blackshire has received the Gatorade Circle of Champions Washington high school volleyball player of the year award.

The Washington State University-bound Blackshire is eligible for regional and national honors that will be announced this week.

The awards program, in its 13th year, honors student-athletes in 10 sports. Past volleyball winners from Spokane include Jessica Sanborn of Mead High, now at Michigan State, and Gonzaga Prep’s Brandy Barratt, at Long Beach State.

Two nominated for All-America team

Senior guard Ryan Smith of Central Valley and senior forward Paul Malisani of Cheney were nominated for the 1998 McDonald’s All-America High School Basketball Team.

A panel picked 20 players out of 1,500 nominated for the McDonald’s All-America game, but the local players didn’t make the final cut.

State 3A games on television

Fox Sports Northwest, cable channel 24 in Spokane, will offer a live broadcast and replays of the girls and boys State 3A championship games at the Tacoma Dome. The girls game will be played at 6 p.m. on March 7, followed by the boys at 8. The girls game will be replayed at 3 p.m. March 12, the boys at 3 p.m. March 13.

GSL runners dominate all-star team

Greater Spokane League boys runners left little room for others on the Washington Cross Country Coaches Association’s East-West all-star team.

The GSL snatched 10 of the 12 positions, including three apiece for University, Mead and Gonzaga Prep, which finished 1-2-3 at the State 4A meet.

The association honored 12 boys and girls runners in each state classification. The list is limited to seniors with the fastest times at state.

The area was represented by 11 girls and 16 boys.

Double dribbles

North Central failed to make the GSL boys playoffs but the Indians didn’t go down without a fight. They were eliminated by Mead, falling 72-71 on a late basket. But in that game, NC made 15 3-pointers in 29 attempts.

Mead coach Jim Preston was impressed and is trying to find out if that is a record. No one else can remember any team doing that.

NC might also have another record. Chris Allen and Chris Blotsky finished 1-2 in the scoring race. No one can remember teammates doing that in GSL-City League history.

Mt. Spokane decided the girls scoring race. Amy George of Ferris scored 12 points against the Wildcats but missed the second game with the flu. CV’s Rikki Jackson scored 10 points in two games against Mt. Spokane.

Take away Jackson’s six points in the second game and have her sit out, the two tied for the scoring lead.

They’ll produce quite an argument for MVP. George easily could have led the league in rebounding, no doubt Jackson led in assists. George outplayed Jackson as Ferris swept the Bears, but George struggled as the Saxons split with Mead while Jackson was dominant against the Panthers. , DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: EARLY RETURNS Not that these votes count, but we’re going to cast ours anyway. We’re going to go out on a limb and say Chris Allen of North Central is the MVP for the GSL boys. True, the Indians missed the playoffs, but in the absence of a dominating player, he was the best player on his team and made everyone around him better. Allen was also entertaining to watch. From a playoff team, we would go with LC’s Pat Luce over CV’s Tom Perkes because of the Tigers’ big turnaround. Plus, every other team could split the vote among teammates. LC’s turnaround, however, does get Terry Reed the vote for top coach. The 14-5 Tigers were 3-17 last year. LC’s Jim Redmon gets the nod over Linda Sheridan of Shadle Park for the girls coaches. - Dave Trimmer