Roundup: Area athletes earn academic honors
Fifteen area athletes, including seven from Whitworth and three from Washington State, have been named to ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District teams in football.
WSU placed juniors Micah Hannam, an offensive lineman with a 3.59 grade-point average, who was honored for the third time; defensive back Chima Nwachukwu, 3.79; and defensive lineman Casey Hamlett, 3.72, on the District 8 University Division first team.
The team also includes Eastern Washington seniors Chris Thomas, an offensive lineman with a 3.78 GPA, and defensive lineman Jacob Kragt from Ritzville, 3.88; and Idaho junior defensive lineman Aaron Lavarias, 3.33. It was the third first-team honor for both Kragt and Lavarias and the second for Thomas.
Eric Stoll, a Montana junior defensive back from Sandpoint (3.95), repeated on the District 7 University first team.
Whitworth dominated the District 8 College Division first team, led by junior repeaters Emilio Sulpizio, an offensive lineman from Mead (3.82), and Travis Niles, a defensive lineman from Mt. Spokane (3.98).
Also from Whitworth are sophomores Andrew Durrant, a quarterback from Rogers (3.67), and offensive lineman Zak Richardson (3.97); junior defensive backs Robert Schaefer (3.56) and Derek Stottlemyer (3.81); and senior offensive lineman Michael Nahl (3.59).
Central Washington senior linebacker Buddy Wood from Riverside (3.47) is also on the team.
•Wood and Central teammate Andy Roof, a senior offensive lineman from East Valley and Washington State (3.53), are on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team. It is the third honor for Wood.
College scene
Jackie Albright, a Washington State senior, is on the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA District 8 University Division All-Academic first team in volleyball with a 3.56 GPA.
Two former Mead standouts and Whitworth junior Randi Stephens (3.85) are on District 8 College Division teams.
Erin Norris, a Central Washington senior (3.35) joined Stephens on the third team. Western Oregon senior Amy Herron (3.93) is on the first team.
•Annie Weisbeck, a Central Washington junior from Central Valley (3.71), and Kylie Broadbent, a Western Washington grad student from Lewis and Clark (3.66), are repeaters on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer All-Academic team.
The men’s soccer All- Academic team includes Montana State Billings junior James Henry from Lake City (3.70).
•Five former Greater Spokane League runners, led by a fifth place from Rich Nelson (Shadle Park) for BYU at the Mountain West meet, ran in conference cross country meets last month.
Other finishes: Jeff Howard (North Central), Boise State, 14th Western Athletic Conference; Dylan Hatcher (Mead), Arizona State, 25th Pac-10; Cameron Quakenbush (Ferris), Washington, 41st Pac-10; and Leon Dean (NC), Texas, 76th Big 12.
•Idaho will honor its senior football players and coaches at the annual Vandals football banquet Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.
The cost is $35 per person. An RSVP is requested by Dec. 9 to (208) 885-0275 or to smclam@uidaho.edu.
Triathlon
Haley Cooper of Spokane was the top female finisher from the area at the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 10.
She finished 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and the 26.2-mile marathon in 10 hours, 23 minutes, 19 seconds, 471st overall and 34th among professional women.
Australia’s Craig Alexander and Great Britain’s Chrissie Wellington, for the third consecutive year, were the male and female champions.
Coeur d’Alene’s Greg Gervais was the top area male, 472nd overall and 95th in the men’s 35-39 division (10:23:34).
Other area finishers: Sam Picicci, Spokane, 10:36:20, 564th; Jeff Blackwell, Colbert, 10:52:42, 466th; Keith Hertel, Sagle, Idaho, 11:00:18, 775th; Steve Waco, Spokane, 11:16:29, 886th; Molly Obetz, Coeur d’Alene, 11:43:47, 1,044th; Eve Nelson, Spokane, 12:19:50, 1,193rd; and Kevin Glynn, Liberty Lake, 12:30:11, 1,219th.