Locally: Josten double winner of GU senior awards
George Josten collected two awards at the Gonzaga University Bulldog Club’s annual Senior Social last week.
Josten, from Idaho Falls, perhaps the most decorated men’s soccer player in school history, was named the Bulldog Club male athlete of the year and male scholar-athlete of the year.
Basketball player Michelle Elliott was named the female athlete of the year and soccer player Lauren Zuckerman was the female scholar-athlete of the year.
Josten was Gonzaga’s first Hermann Trophy candidate (soccer’s version of the Heisman) this season. He is the school’s first three-time All-West Coast Conference first-team pick, was a three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas All-Far West Region selection and earned three ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors. He had a 3.82 grade-point average in mechanical engineering. The No. 20 pick by the Columbus Crew in the January MLS Draft, he is with the Crew.
Elliott, from Pasco, in two seasons at GU, scored 626 points, grabbed 222 rebounds, dished out 126 assists and made 53 steals. She was selected most inspirational player by her teammates both her years with the Bulldogs.
Zuckerman, from Lafayette, Calif., a two-time WCC all-academic pick, has a 3.92 GPA in accounting.
Basketball
Jon Clift, a sophomore point guard from Community Colleges of Spokane, has declared his intention to attend Central Washington, Wildcats coach Greg Sparling announced.
A first-team All-Greater Spokane League player at Ferris, Clift earned second-team All-NWAACC East Region honors in helping the Sasquatch to a 30-2 record and second-place finish at the NWAACC tournament. He averaged 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
College scene
Women’s track and field and men’s tennis produced the Community Colleges of Spokane scholar-athletes of the month for April.
Lynnea Braun from Yakima, who transferred after two years of playing volleyball at North Idaho College, set the school record in the javelin at 163 feet, 8 inches to earn the female award. Her mark leads the NWAACC, is less than 3 feet from a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying mark and 6 feet from the national junior college record.
Michael Shelton, a sophomore from Burbank, Wash., received the men’s award. He has a 10-3 record at No. 1 singles, including 6-0 in league. He has a 3.5 grade-point average and has announced plans to attend Whitworth.
“Gonzaga collected a boatload of honors in the wake of the annual Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta last weekend near Sacramento, Calif.
Five Bulldogs women and four men were named to All-WIRA teams; the Bulldogs received the WIRA Efficiency Trophy for the best collective finish for the third time in four years; and Dan Gehn, in his 14th year at GU, was named men’s coach of the year for the second time in four years.
Hanna McClintock, Kelly Steinhaus and Kelsey Koenig were named to the women’s first team. Whitney Patrick and Emily Wilson made the second team.
Joe Dudley, Scott McCoy and Warren North earned men’s first-team honors. Sean Haase is on the second.
“Three area players were selected to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball team, with two of them also honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Outfielders Katie Antich, a Seattle University sophomore from Gonzaga Prep, and Kasey Druffel, a Central Washington senior from Colton, were first-team All-GNAC selections. Linse Vlahovich, a Central junior pitcher from University, received honorable mention. She had a 10-13 record and 3.16 ERA as one of Central’s two main pitchers.
Antich, who entered this weekend’s NCAA Division II West Regional batting .367 with 54 hits and a school-record 26 stolen bases, also was an NFCA All-West Region first-team selection. Seattle was eliminated in the West Regional on Friday. Druffel, an All-GNAC repeater, made the coaches’ second All-West team.
“Lianne Matkin, a sophomore from Northwest Christian, shot a 240 to tie for 18th and help Western Washington to a second-place finish in the NCAA Division II West Regional women’s golf tournament last week in Phoenix.
Second earned the Vikings a berth in the national championship tournament this week in Houston.
“Jayson Miller, a Washington State senior pitcher from Richland, was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-District VIII first team in baseball for the second time in his career.
“Eleven area athletes, eight of them in women’s track and field, were selected to Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-academic teams.
Those honored by sport:
Baseball – Hank Anderson (Ferris), senior, Central Washington.
Rowing – Amelia Whitcomb (Ferris), sr., Western Washington and Samantha Markis (Republic), sr., Western.
Women’s track and field – Amanda (Merrell) Peters (Mead), sr., Northwest Nazarene; Ashley Morman (Bonners Ferry), sophomore, NN; Lynsie Powers (Timberlake), so., NN; Lynelle Thompson (Post Falls), junior, NN; Shanie Benner (Central Valley), sr., NN; Anna Walters (North Central), so., Seattle Pacific; and Danielle Slaughter (Shadle Park), so., Western Washington.
“Community Colleges of Spokane had three athletes receive NWAACC Academic Leadership Awards, the most of any school in the conference.
Honored were Ashlee Michelson from North Central (3.75 GPA) and Kellee Neal from Ephrata (3.57) in women’s basketball, and Jon Clift from Ferris (3.61) in men’s basketball.
To be eligible, student-athletes must be second-year participants, have earned 60-plus credits with a 3.50 or better GPA and be active in campus and/or community activities.
“Four area indoor track and field athletes at Montana received Big Sky Conference winter quarter all-academic honors for maintaining GPAs of 3.20 or better.
Honored were sophomore Steven Gimpel from Mead, senior Allie Brosh from Sandpoint, grad student Baily Cox from Wilbur and freshman Brenna Lawson from Lake City.
Golf
Two University of Washington students from Spokane will be honored at the Husky Insider banquet at Manito Golf & Country Club on Monday at the conclusion of the 37th annual UW Coaches Tour golf tournament.
The tour is a regional scholarship fundraiser that’s raised more than $260,000 for student scholarships the last five years. This year’s winners include Ryan Murphy, a 2006 graduate of Ferris, and Allison Moran, a 2006 graduate of Lewis and Clark.
The golf and banquet are open to the public. Among UW coaches expected to be on hand are Tyrone Willingham, Lorenzo Romar and Tia Jackson.
Info: UWalum.com or call (800) 289-2586.
“The 2008 Washington State University Athletic Foundation golf tournament tour visits the Coeur d’Alene Resort on Thursday and Clarkston Country Club on Friday.
Among WSU coaches and staff scheduled to be on hand at both events are Jim Sterk, Paul Wulff and June Daugherty. Tony Bennett will only be at the Coeur d’Alene event.
Golf begins with a noon shotgun start with a dinner and auction to follow. Proceeds benefit the WSU student-athlete scholarship fund.
Info: wsucougars.com, or contact Lori Olson at (509) 358-7541 or olsonl@wsu.edu.
Letters of intent
Latest athletes to sign letters of intent with Community Colleges of Spokane, announced by the school, are:
Baseball – Taylor King, Sentinel of Missoula.
Men’s basketball – Griffon Jones, Cheney, and Chris Pynch, Riverside Christian.
Women’s soccer – Jessica McDonnell, Ephrata; Itzia Mendoza, Hill High School; and Jaymian Stuermer, Lakeland.
Cross country – Herschel Sanchey, Klickitat, Wash.
Track and field
Joe Abbott, a nationally ranked middle-distance runner from Reno, Nev., Brittnay Crabb, a nationally ranked hurdler from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and Jacki Hill, a sprinter from Bremerton, Wash., have signed national letters of intent with Washington State, Cougars coach Rick Sloan announced.
Abbott has a personal-best time in the 800 meters of 1 minute, 51.64 seconds, fourth best nationally among prep boys this season. Crabb ran the 300 hurdles in 42.57 seconds, which is ranked fifth nationally.
Hill, an all-around athlete, placed in the 200 at the last three State 3A championship meets and was second in the 400 as a junior.
Snowboarding
Ryan Anderson of Sagle, Idaho, took first place in the Men’s Open Slopestyle event at the USASA National Championships at Copper Mountain, Colo., last month. Anderson, 20, was also 11th in the Men’s Open Halfpipe and, thus, was honored as the top overall freestyle rider at the nationals.
Wrestling
Three North Idaho youngsters brought home five firsts and a second from the Idaho Kids State Tournament last weekend in Idaho Falls.
Buzzsaw Wrestling Club’s Hudson Staub and Team Real Life’s Seth McLeod placed first in both Greco and freestyle. Both went undefeated during the two-day tournament and earned Idaho Triple Crown Awards for winning state titles in all three styles. Both won their weight divisions in the Kid’s Folkstyle State Tournament in Post Falls in December.
Team Real Life’s Nathan McLeod took first in Greco and second in freestyle. He also had won in the folkstyle tournament and narrowly missed a Triple Crown award.
All three qualified to compete for Team Idaho at the Western Regionals the third week of June.