CdA’s Gomez picks Beavers

Running: Coeur d’Alene distance running standout Kinsey Gomez signed a letter of intent Thursday to attend Oregon State University.

Gomez picked OSU over Arizona State and Utah, the other schools she visited. Most of the Pac-10 schools recruited her, she said.

“I actively pursued a Pac-10 school,” she said.

Gomez, the Gatorade Idaho Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year the past two seasons, captured her third State 5A championship last fall, winning in a time of 19 minutes, 1.92 seconds – more than 30 seconds ahead of the runner-up for a second straight year.

Gomez also won a state title as a freshman and was runner-up as a sophomore.

She took 48th at the Foot Locker West Regional championships (19:42) a couple of weeks after state.

Gomez will be out to defend state titles in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races in track this spring.

Greg Lee

Engel, Chiefs at Tri-City

Hockey: Facing their biggest rival, which happens to be one of the Western Hockey League’s hottest teams and almost impossible to beat at home, the Spokane Chiefs are likely to be without standout goalie James Reid.

Mac Engel will get his fourth straight start in net when the Chiefs play at Tri-City tonight in a game televised on FSN.

Reid, who holds the franchise record for wins, is still nursing a hip injury suffered two weeks ago.

Tri-City (31-13-2-1) has 65 points, one behind the Chiefs (31-13-4-2) with two games in hand.

Spokane is three points behind U.S. Division leader Portland with two games in hand.

The Americans, 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, are 19-3-0-1 at home, including two wins over the Chiefs.

Spokane is at Seattle on Saturday and returns home to meet Portland on Wednesday.

Dave Trimmer