Locally: McKenna district coach of year
Dave McKenna, who led Gonzaga Prep into the State 4A quarterfinals, received the District 8 Coach of the Year award from the Washington State Footall Coaches Association last weekend during a clinic in Everett.
McKenna was the Greater Spokane League Coach of the Year after Gonzaga Prep was a co-champion with Mead. This is the first district award as a head coach for McKenna. He had been honored previously as an assistant coach.
The WSFCA District 8 Assistant Coach of the Year Award went to Rick Sloan from Central Valley. Bob Nedved, who has been an assistant at Gonzaga Prep for more than two decades and completed his third year as head coach of the Bullpups’ freshmen team, was named the District 8 Middle School Coach of the Year.
College scene
Grant Fink from Mead, a senior third baseman at Missouri Western State University, has been selected to the 2013 NCAA Division II Central Region preseason first team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
In 2012, Fink was an All-Mid-America Conference selection and also received a regional offensive player of the week award.
• Nicole Hare, a Washington State freshman rower from Calgary, shared the 2012 Junior Female Sculler of the Year award given by Rowing Canada Aviron.
Hare, who has collected numerous awards and honors rowing for the Calgary Rowing Club, finished first in junior women’s single last November at the RBC National Rowing Championships.
• The Western Washington men’s 4x400-meter relay team that includes senior Jason Nokes from Mt. Spokane, bettered by more than 3 seconds the school record it set two weeks ago with an NCAA Division II provisional national qualifying time of 3 minutes, 17.01 seconds at the Husky Invitational indoor track meet last weekend.
• Whitworth’s Wade Gebbers and Dustin McConnell have been named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-District 8 Division III team recognizing excellence in the classroom and on the basketball floor.
Gebbers, a senior from Brewster, Wash., with a 3.88 grade-point average in business management, is a repeater on the team. McConnell, a junior from Clarkston, was selected for the first time. He has a 3.90 GPA as an education major.
Both are eligible for the Capital One Academic All-America Division III team.
• Thirteen student-athletes from the Spokane area were named to Big Sky Conference All-Academic teams for the 2012 fall quarter with grade-point averages of 3.20 or better.
Those honored by sport:
Football – Jake Miller, sophomore, Central Valley; Jeff Minnerly, senior, Ferris; McKenzie Murphy, sr., Ferris; Jordan Tonani, fr., Ferris.
Volleyball – Celeste Crosby, junior, Lewis and Clark; Shelby Puckett, sr., Tekoa-Oakesdale.
Men’s cross country – Jordan Curnutt, jr., Mead; Nathan Fall, so., North Central; Isaac Seward, fr., CV.
Women’s cross country – Jessi Johnson, sr., Clarkston; Acacia Smith, so., CV.
Soccer – Taylor Berdar, fr., University; Shayla Weiler, fr., U-Hi.
Softball
Chuck Stewart, who retired following the 2009 season after serving 16 years as Spokane ASA umpire-in-chief, was inducted into the ASA Northwest Region 15 Hall of Fame on Jan. 26 in Wilsonville, Ore.
He is the 12th person from Spokane in the region hall.
Jim Bedard, the Spokane ASA Player Representive who has been involved in softball since 1969 as a sponsor, player and coach, was elected to the region hall in the contributor category and will be inducted during the 2014 Region 15 council meetings in Coeur d’Alene. Bedard also was elected the Region 15 adult player representative and will begin a two-year term in January 2014.
During his softball umpiring career, Stewart officiated in three ASA national tournaments, qualifying for the organization’s National Indicator Fraternity, and served as UIC for seven ASA national tournaments. He was also a national tournament assistant UIC and an umpire coordinator at five other nationals. He also was UIC for 51 ASA metro and/or regional tournaments. Stewart is a retired sportswriter for The Spokesman-Review and continues to work part time for the newspaper.
Bedard started as a player in men’s fastpitch in the Tri-Cities and continued playing and coach in men’s modified and men’s and coed slowpitch. He stepped away from the modified game in 2008 but continues to play senior slowpitch. He participated in five ASA modified national tournaments as a player, and also coached teams in two of those, finishing as high as fourth. He has sponsored at least one team a year since 1978 through businesses he has owned, first through a tavern and currently with his company that deals in insurance and investments.
• North Idaho College has signed three players from University High School – four-year starting shortstop Karly Schuh, two-time All-Greater Spokane League pitcher Brittany Hecker and All-GSL outfielder Ryelynn Mendoza – Cardinals coach Don Don Williams announced.
Volleyball
Paige Montgomery, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter from Mead who was a first-team All-Greater Spokane League selection in 2012 after earning second-team honors in 2010 as a sophomore, has committed to play at Carroll College in Helena, Saints coach Moe Boyle announced. Montgomery was a four-year starter and two-time team MVP for the Panthers, who won the State 4A championship in 2009 and finished second in 2012.
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