NIC will honor coaches, athlete
Two former coaches and a three-time national champion athlete will be inducted into the North Idaho College Athletics Hall of Fame during ceremonies April 24 in the Edminster Student Union Building on the Coeur d’Alene campus.
Mike Bundy, who formalized the track and field and cross country programs at NIC; Jack Bloxom, the winningest baseball coach in school history; and track and field standout Derek Woodske will be enshrined as the highlight of the night that will also include the booster club awards banquet and auction.
A social and silent auction will open the festivities at 5:30 p.m. with dinner, awards and hall of fame induction at 6:30. Awards will be given to the NIC senior male and female athletes of the year and scholar-athletes. Cost is $25. Reservations can be made by calling the athletic department at (208) 769-3348.
Bundy, who taught history at NIC for 31 years, coached from 1972-98. His 1987 women’s cross country team won the NJCAA national championship and earned Bundy national coach of the year honors. The men’s team that year finished fourth nationally, earning NIC the Nike Cup for top combined finish.
Bloxom, originally from Sandpoint, taught and coached baseball from 1968-97, collecting nearly 600 victories. His teams regularly finished in the upper division of the Scenic West Athletic Conference. In 1987, Bloxom was head coach of the West team in the U.S. Olympic Festival.
Woodske, from Creston, British Columbia, who competed from 1996-98, was the NJCAA record holder in both the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer when he won three national titles, the most for any athlete in any sport at NIC. After transferring to Wyoming, he was an NCAA All-American and competed for the Canadian national team.
Baseball
Teams from Spokane’s Senior American Legion program will conduct tryouts next Sunday at five sites.
The teams, tryout times and sites:
Cannons, for players from Central Valley, University, East Valley, Freeman and Liberty, 10 a.m., U-Hi.
Blue Devils, for players from North Central, Shadle Park, Cheney, Medical Lake, Lakeside, Lind-Ritzville and all high schools in Lincoln County, 1 p.m., Jackson Field (Shadle Park).
Northstars, for players from Mead, Mt. Spokane, Rogers, Riverside, Deer Park, Northwest Christian, St. George’s, St. Michael’s, Chewelah, Colville, Kettle Falls, Newport, Springdale, Cusick, Northport, Selkirk and Columbia, 1 p.m., Rogers.
Pullman Patriots, for players from Pullman, Colfax, Clarkston, Asotin, Pomeroy, Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia, St. John-Endicott, Garfield-Palouse, LaCrosse-Washtucna and Colton, 1 p.m., Pullman High School.
Bandits, for players from Gonzaga Prep, Ferris, Lewis and Clark and West Valley, 5 p.m., Gonzaga Prep.
Spokane will be the site for the 2010 American Legion Northwest Regional and World Series in August. The Spokane league champion will have a berth in the regional. The regional champion will be one of eight teams in the World Series.
Info: Mike Padden, 499-6709.
College scene
Five Washington State indoor track and field athletes with area ties were named to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Scholar-Athlete All-Academic teams.
Women: Kendall Mays, junior, North Central, 3.65 grade-point average; Loreah Winlow, freshman, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), 3.47; and Ashley Kenney, sophomore, West Valley, 3.40.
Men: Jason Stoker, freshman, Central Valley, 3.25; and Peter Miller, sophomore, Shadle Park, 3.15.
Golf
Sonnie Miller from Clarkston and Kelsey Berg from Mt. Rainier have signed with Community Colleges of Spokane, Sasquatch women’s coach Christie Dalsanders announced.
Track and field
Kelsey Bueno, a pole vaulter from Kent-Meridian High School, has signed a national letter of intent with the Washington State women, Cougars coach Rick Sloan announced.
Bueno, a two-time South Puget Sound League district champion, placed second in the State 4A championships last spring with a school-record height of 11 feet, 9 inches. She also competes in the 100, 200, long jump, and triple jump.