Mahoney, three teams selected for CCS hall
One individual and three teams will be inducted into the Community Colleges of Spokane Athletics Hall of Fame at a banquet April 24 at the Red Lion River Inn.
Mike Mahoney, who spent nearly four decades working behind the scenes in the athletic department, will be inducted in the coach/ contributor category along with two championship women’s cross country teams and CCS’s first conference championship baseball team.
Mahoney, a 1966 graduate of Rogers High School, started his CCS career in athletics as manager of coach Hank Coplen’s 1967 Spokane Falls College championship men’s basketball team. Mahoney continued in a work-study capacity before becoming the school’s first full-time sports equipment manager in 1976.
Working under then-athletics director Maury Ray, Mahoney was a jack-of-all-trades before retiring in 2005.
Joining him in the Class of 2010 will be the 1987 and 1988 women’s cross country teams coached by Ken Christen and led by Kari McKay of Almira, and the 1987 baseball team coached by Keith Snyder.
The ’87 women’s team was co-champion of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges, while the ’88 team won the title outright. McKay was individual champion both years, and Christen was named the NWAACC coach of the year both times.
The ’87 baseball team won 13 of its final 16 games, including three on the final day of the NWAACC tournament. Outfielder Steve Camyn hit a home run in each of the final three games and was named tourney MVP. Snyder was the conference coach of the year.
A dinner at 5:30 p.m. will precede the induction ceremonies. Tickets are $25 a person and can be reserved by contacting Nancy Zacher at 533-3630 or nancyz@spokanefalls.edu.
Bowling
Dalton Shears continues to be the hottest bowler on the Junior Bowlers Tour, capturing a second straight tournament title by winning the February stop at the Fun Spot at Fairchild Air Force Base last Sunday.
Shears, who had to charge through the field from the fifth qualifying position to win the January tournament at Sunset Bowl, won last weekend as the No. 1 qualifier. He beat No. 2 qualifier Thomas Locke 236-192 for the title.
Curtis Lindeman, who had the day’s high game, a 246, was third; Korey Zeller was fourth; and Jared Giori was fifth.
Megan Froman had high game for the girls, a 195.
The next JBT is March 7 at Spare Time Lanes in Kennewick.
College scene
A couple of graduates of East Valley High School are the Community Colleges of Spokane scholar-athletes of the month for January.
Eleaya Schuerch, a sophomore captain on the women’s basketball team, is the female choice. She’s one of the Sasquatch’s top defensive players and rebounders, averaging four boards a game. She is hitting 43 percent of her shots. In the classroom, she has a 3.5 grade-point average the last two quarters.
Danny Marshall, a freshman forward on the men’s basketball team, collected male honors. CCS coaches said he is a key offensive player inside and is one of the conference’s best rebounders and shot- blockers. He has a 3.22 GPA.
•Oceana Bush, a libero/defensive specialist as a freshman on the Washington State volleyball team from Lewis and Clark, is in Colorado Springs, Colo., this weekend to participate in the annual open tryouts for the U.S. Women’s National Team and associated training programs.
Bush, who had double-digit digs in 29 of WSU’s 31 matches, was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team.
Cross country
Rhianna Grossman of Lake City, second in the 5A Region I championships last fall and an all-district selection, has signed a letter of intent with Carroll College in Helena.
Grossman competed on four regional championship teams and was team MVP as a senior.
Soccer
Graeme Abel, an assistant coach at Oklahoma the last two years, has been named as assistant at Washington State, Cougars head coach Matt Potter announced.
Prior to Oklahoma, Abel coached three seasons at Nevada. He was goalkeeper coach at both schools.