Spokane Pony Baseball 9-U wins state title

The Spokane Pony Baseball 9-U team captured the state championship Sunday in Seattle.

The team, comprised of players from the Spokane area and Post Falls, won two games Saturday and two Sunday, including a 13-5 decision over the Senators of Seattle in the title game.

As the Northwest Region champs, the team advances to the regional tournament next week in Walnut, Calif. The team opens against Arizona on July 26.

Team members include Carson Coffield (Mead), Teagen Hoard (Spokane), Ryan Schmidt (Mead), Jeter Schuerman (Mead), Brandon Bruegeman (Spokane Valley), Cole Rutherford (Post Falls), Reagan Crosby (Spokane Valley), Michael Schwarz (Greenacres), Garret Lundmark (Spokane), Garrett Primm (Spokane), Jeb Brown (Post Falls) and Joshua Lawson (Spokane Valley). Coaches are Cris Coffield, Tyrone Hoard, Chad Schmidt and Alex Schuerman.

Basketball

It’s usually this time of the summer that the Spokane Stars girls teams begin to fare well, and it’s no different this summer.

The Stars won the Mid-Summer Night Madness Nationals in Seattle last week, going 6-0. They defeated Y.E.A. of Seattle 63-55 in the title game.

“They played beyond my expectations,” Stars coach and director Ron Adams said.

It’s the seventh time a Stars team has won the Seattle tourney and fifth in the last seven years. It’s the first time a Stars team consisted of local players only, Adams said.

Team members include Victoria Lee-Nauta (Central Valley), Caelyn Orlandi (Coeur d’Alene), Hallie Gennett (University), Mariah Cunningham (CV), Katie King (Post Falls), Brooke Litalien (Post Falls), Kendalyn Brainard (CdA), Dani Failor (Post Falls), Madison Hovren (CV) and Sydney Williams (CdA).

The week before the Stars went 3-2 at the End of the Trail touney in Oregon City, Ore.

The Stars averaged 23 turnovers a game in Oregon City before cutting that down to 6.5 a game in Seattle. Orlandi led the way at Seattle, averaging 13.5 points and 4.7 assists. Gennett averaged 10.8 points.

The Stars’ No. 2 team, the Royal Blue, went 1-3 in Oregon City and 2-3 in Seattle.

The Stars play host to the Summer Heat tournament Sunday and Monday at the Warehouse. That will serve as a final tuneup for the MSNM Western Championships July 28-31 in San Diego. If the Stars win their first two games in San Diego they would likely face the Chinese National U-17 team, Adams said.

Track and field

The Spokane Mercury Track Club was well represented recently at the USATF Junior Olympics Region 13 meet in Bend, Ore.

All athletes finishing in the top five qualified for the national meet July 23-29 in Baltimore.

Here are the area placers: Girls, sub-Bantams (7 and 8 year olds) – Emily Hutchinson (1st, shot put) and Sarah Opfer (5th, shot); boys, sub-bantams – Graham Cleveland (1st, 1,500; 4th, 800) and Sean Karney (3rd, shot; 5th, long jump); Girls, bantams (9-10) – MacKenzie Allen (2nd, triathlon; 3rd, shot; 4th, 400; 4th, 800) and Jordynn Hutchinson (3rd, shot); Boys, bantams – Beckett Schoenleber (5th, 1,500) and William Greiner (2nd, shot; 3rd, javelin; 4th, high jump); Girls, midgets (11-12) – Emily Armstrong (4th, 800); Katie Thronson (1st, 1,500); 1st, 3,000); Bailey Swoboda (5th, 3,000); 1,600 relay, 1st (Swoboda, Kathleen Picanco, Katherine Eckhardt and Breanna Kostecka); 3,200 relay, 1st (Thronson, Armstrong, Molly Niedermeyer and Sophie Doneen); boys, midgets – Michael Ervin (2nd, 400; 3rd, long jump; 4th, 100), Xavier Guillory (2nd, 800), Sheamus Mahoney (1st, 3,000; 2nd, 1,500), Eric Floyd (4th, 800; 5th, javelin) and John Mires (5th, shot; 5th, discus); Girls, youth (13-14) – Micaela Kostecka (3rd, 800; 5th, triple jump) and Hannah Reiman (4th, 200 hurdles; 5th, high jump), 1,600 relay, 1st (Reiman, Kostecka, Ally Jones and Megan Floyd); boys, youth – Gaige Felix (2nd, triple jump; 4th, long jump) and Tony Rhodes (4th, javelin); Girls, intermediates (15-16) – 1,600 relay, 2nd ( Bernadette Franulovich, Shayla Myers, Hailee McKenzie and Sydney Doneen); Young women (17-18) – Courtney Hutchinson (2nd, shot) and Elisha Allred (5th, hammer); men – Cole Jensen (4th, high jump).

Golf

Kristen Hansen of Spokane finished eighth in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Sectional Qualifying at Manito on June 25.

Hansen finishes two strokes out of qualifying for the national tournament.