Former LCSC baseball coach Cheff named to Hall of Fame class
Former Lewis-Clark State College baseball coach Ed Cheff will be inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Cheff, who retired in 2010 after 34 seasons with the Warriors, was one of seven individuals named to the 2012 class. He is joined by a number of college baseball greats, including former major leaguers Nomar Garciaparra, Lou Brock and Brad Wilkerson.
The 2012 class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the College Baseball Night of Champions celebration on June 29-30 in Lubbock, Texas.
Cheff led the Warriors to an unprecedented 16 NAIA World Series titles and is the NAIA’s all-time leader in victories at one school. He posted a 1,705-430-2 record with LCSC for a .799 winning percentage. His win total ranks second only to Wichita State’s Gene Stephenson’s 1,763 wins for most victories with the same program in all of college baseball.
Also included in the 2012 HOF class are Tim Jorgensen, star shortstop at Wisconsin-Oshkosh from 1992-95; the late Frank Sancet, who coached the Arizona Wildcats from 1950-72; and Wayne Graham, who was named Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s Junior College Coach of the Century for his time at San Jacinto College in Texas and led Rice to a national championship in 2003.
Under Cheff’s leadership, the Warriors captured 16 NAIA national titles during a 25-year span, won at least 40 games for 30 straight seasons, and produced 114 players who were selected in the major league draft, including 14 who have made it to the big leagues thus far.
Basketball
In addition to four Gonzaga women’s basketball players that were honored, Saint Mary’s freshman Carli Rosenthal was named to the West Coast Conference’s all-freshman team, which was announced Tuesday. The 6-foot-3 forward won three state titles in four years at Coeur d’Alene High School.
College scene
Ryan Nicholas, a Portland sophomore from Gonzaga Prep, was selected to the West Coast Conference All-Academic team in men’s basketball with a 3.44 grade-point average majoring in psychology.
Cross country
Gonzaga University’s men’s cross country team is one of 147 institutions to earn 2011 Division I All-Academic Cross Country honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
The Bulldogs women also earned the same honor earlier this month.
To be nominated, a school must have started at least five runners in their NCAA Division I Regional Cross Country Meet and had a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Gonzaga has a 3.20 cumulative GPA.
Football
Lewis and Clark High School senior Josh Syrotchen has signed a letter of intent to play football for Harding University, according to LC coach Dave Hughes.
Harding is a NCAA Division II school located in Searcy, Ark. Josh. 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, played inside linebacker for Lewis and Clark. Hughes said he is projected to play defensive end for Harding.
Fishing
Eastern Washington University has qualified its two bass angling teams to the 2012 FLW College Fishing Series Western Championship.
The EWU team of Nick Barr and Jesse Squires finished fourth in a 39-team field at the second stop of the Western FLW College Fishing Series on Feb. 25 on Lake Havasu, Ariz.
The team of Jarred Walker and Robert Trukositz also qualified, finishing in fourth place at the first FLW College Fishing Series stop this year on Lake Shasta, Calif.
This is the first year EWU has qualified teams to the Western Region Championship. EWU Sportsman’s Club is the only competitive college fishing organization in Washington.
Golf
Richland High School senior Cole Lorenzo signed a letter of intent to join the Community Colleges of Spokane men’s golf team in the fall of 2012.
Lorenzo was the 2011 Columbia Basin Big Nine Conference most valuable player.
Soccer
Three sophomores from North Idaho College’s National Junior College Athletic Association eighth-ranked women’s soccer team have signed or orally committed to four-year programs.
Rachel Crawford, a defender and a former Coeur d’Alene High School standout, has signed with Western Oregon of Monmouth, Ore.
Lauren Gibson, a goalkeeper from Mountain View High School in Vancouver, Wash., has committed to Hawaii Pacific University of Honolulu.
Nicole Medeiros, a former Lake City High School standout, will play at Eastern Washington University.
• Jen Klein has been named an assistant soccer coach at Washington State University, head coach Keidane McAlpine announced.
Klein comes to Pullman from UNLV, where she spent five seasons, including the last two as head coach.
Track and field
Jesse Jorgensen, Dominique Keel, Mercedes Young and Kristine Felix signed national letters of intent to compete in track and field for Washington State University starting in the fall of 2012.
Running for the Community Colleges of Spokane, Jorgensen turned in a personal-record 800 time of 1 minute, 49.88 seconds for second place at the Oregon Twilight meet. He went on to win the NWAACC 800 title.
Keel, a senior at Westview High in Beaverton, Ore., is a two-time state of Oregon 6A champion in the 200 meters with a wind-aided personal-best time of 24.58 seconds in 2011. She has also won a state title and been a runner-up in the 100.
Young is a sprinter at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, Ill., and Felix is a two-time state pole vault champion from H.P. Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii.