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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Whitworth swimmers hold big leads at conference championships

The Whitworth men’s and women’s teams have 100-point-plus leads after the first day of competition at the Northwest Conference Championships in Federal Way, Wash., on Friday.

The Pirates women, going for a third straight title, won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1 minute, 37.74 seconds. The team consisted of Jennifer Benson, Melissa Barringer, Marit Borth and Alisa Stang.

The Whitworth men, going for a 10th consecutive crown, also won a team relay. Wesley Walton, Rory Buck, Aaron Vaccaro and Nathan Ranno won the 400-yard medley relay in 3:24.55.

Walton claimed the title in the 200-yard individual medley.

The championships continue through Sunday.

Track and field

Washington State junior Cindy Robinson led area competitors with a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash on the first day of the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle. Her time was 24.74 seconds.

In the men’s 200, the Cougars’ Brett Blanshan took fourth place in 21.97.

Local teams included WSU, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Idaho and Whitworth.

The meet continues today.

Baseball

Whitworth scored five times in the second inning and cruised past Lewis & Clark (0-1) 14-5 at the Swing into Spring Classic at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.

Landon Scott, Tyler Pfeffer, Ryan Beecroft, J.R. Jarrell and Justin Liu all drove in two runs for the Pirates (3-2).

Spencer Ansett earned the win and improved to 2-0 after allowing three runs in eight innings.

Softball

Southern Nevada (8-10, 3-3) swept North Idaho (2-12, 0-6) in a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader in St. George, Utah.

In the opener, the Coyotes hit three home runs and beat the Cardinals 11-6. Southern Nevada scored eight of its runs in the first two innings.

Nicole Atkinson hit a third-inning grand slam for the Cardinals.

In the second game, Alicia Firelein, who homered in the opener, hit three homers and had five RBIs as the Coyotes won 8-5.

KaSara Wise, Brianna Bishop, Shelby Carter and Amber Meyers hit home runs for North Idaho.

Junior hockey

Jarrod Schamerhorn made 39 saves to lead the Golden Rockets (18-24-1-5) to a 4-1 win over the Spokane Braves (19-24-1-2) in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League play in Spokane.

Dylan Tappe scored the Braves’ lone goal.