Area roundup: Noble, Pickler, Winger shine

Rogers High School graduate and University of Oregon standout Rebekah Noble, along with Washington State University’s Diana Pickler and University of Idaho’s Russ Winger, earned second-place finishes at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Noble, a sophomore, was runner-up in the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 3.47 seconds, just 1.23 seconds behind winner Alysia Johnson of Cal.

Winger, a junior, tossed the shot put a personal-best 67 feet, 4 inches after coming into the meet with the top men’s distance mark in the nation. Southern Cal’s Noah Bryant won the event with a mark of 67-5 1/4.

Pickler, a senior, set a school record in the women’s pentathlon with 4,339 points. Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson was the only one who scored better with 4,393 points to repeat as champion.

University of Washington senior Ryan Brown became the second Huskies athlete in the past 38 years to win multiple titles. Former University High grad Brad Walker accomplished the feat with back-to-back titles in men’s pole vault in 2003 and 2004.

Brown, the reigning outdoor champion in the men’s 800, won the indoors title with a time of 1:48.40 – the second-fastest time by an American this year.

Also at the meet, Idaho senior Melinda Owen placed fifth in the women’s pole vault – clearing a school-record 13-9 1/4.

WSU’s Julie Pickler, the twin sister of Diana, placed ninth in the pentathlon with 4,049 points.

Lewis and Clark High grad and Oregon senior Britney Henry placed eighth in the women’s weight throw with a toss of 66-7.

Central Valley High grad and Brigham Young University senior David Pendergrass tied for 10th place in the men’s high jump – clearing 7- 1/4.

Wisconsin won the men’s team title with 40 points, five points ahead of runner-up Florida State. Washington tied for seventh with Arkansas. It was a school-best effort from the Huskies and the Razorbacks’ worst showing since 1981. Wisconsin is the first Big Ten school to win the indoor title – a Southeastern Conference team had won every year since 1996. Idaho finished with 11 points to tie Cal and Oregon for 19th place. WSU tied for 32nd with six points.

Arizona State won its first women’s title with 38 points, five more than runner-up Louisiana State. The Cougars tied for 27th with eight points, while the Huskies tied for 34th with six points. Idaho had four points.

“Whitworth’s Cody Stelzer placed sixth in the men’s high jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

Stelzer cleared 6-8 3/4 – tying his personal best. He is the first Pirate to earn All-America honors at the indoor championships.

Baseball

The Whitworth Pirates (5-9, 3-2) rolled to a 4-1, 10-2 sweep of the Lewis & Clark Pioneers (6-6, 5-2) in Northwest Conference play in Portland.

Kyle Snell (3-1), the reigning NWC pitcher of the week, tossed a complete game in the opener, allowing just one ninth-inning run. He gave up six hits while striking out eight.

In the nightcap, the Pirates scored runs in five of the first six innings en route to their third straight victory. Dan Ramsey drove in three runs, while Joel Tampien plated a pair to lead the Whits. Brandon Zimmerman (2-2) allowed just one run and three hits in five innings of work to earn the victory.

“The Brigham Young Cougars (10-6) roughed up former teammate Chris Highmark en route to a 9-4 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-10) in non-conference play in Provo, Utah.

Highmark (2-4), who transferred to Gonzaga from BYU, allowed six runs, three earned, on eight hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Mark Ellis went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs for the Zags.

BYU won twice in the three-game series.

“Jeff Miller had three hits, including a first-inning grand slam, to power the Washington State Cougars (8-5) to a 7-4 win over the San Jose State Spartans (11-7) in the rubber game of a three-game non-conference series in San Jose, Calif.

Nick Ison (2-2) tossed six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts to earn the victory. Jaren Prince got the final four outs to earn his first save of the season.

“The Community Colleges of Spokane Sasquatch split a pair of games at the Spokane Invitational tournament.

Cody Brubaker had four hits to lead the Sasquatch to a 7-6 10-inning victory over Lane in the opener.

In the nightcap, CCS (3-3) scored twice in the bottom of the ninth but fell short in a 5-4 loss to Bellevue.

Bellevue blanked Lane 9-0 in the middle game.

Softball

Jessie LaPlante (5-0) and Heather Case (3-0) both went the distance and Lindsay Davis had three hits, two RBIs and a run scored as the Whitworth Pirates (9-0, 5-0) cruised to a 2-1, 6-1 sweep of the Pacific Lutheran Lutes (6-2, 4-2) in Northwest Conference play at Marks Field.

It was the first time the Pirates swept PLU in the 10-year history of the program.

The Whits rallied to edge PLU in the opener on Lacey Parry’s two-out run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth.

Whitworth used a four-run fourth to take control of the second game and improve to 9-29 all time against the Lutes.

“Gateway broke open a close game with a four-run sixth inning en route to a 10-4 victory over Community Colleges of Spokane at the Maricopa Tournament in Phoenix.

Angela Gouvela drove in three runs for CC Spokane (0-2).

Swimming

A pair of Whitworth Pirates earned All-America status in their final events at the NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Houston.

Samantha Kephart, a junior, finished third in the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:03:06. Kephart, who won the fly at last year’s championships, spent most of this season recovering from a severe back injury.

Natalie Turner, a freshman, placed seventh in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:21.04 – breaking one of Whitworth’s oldest records. She shattered the mark of 17:30.96, set by Nani Blake in 1993.

Both swimmers scored in all three of their individual events and each earned All-America honors twice. The pair combined for 69 points – currently 13th in the team standings.

“Washington State senior Erin McCleave set a school record en route to a 10th-place finish in the women’s 1,650 freestyle at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis.

McCleave clocked in at 16:13.20 to earn her second All-America honor at the meet and the third of her career. She is just the third WSU swimmer to earn All-America status and the second to do so multiple times.