Locally: Former Central Valley star Madison Hovren tops Patriot League
It may have taken Madison Hovren a season to crack the starting lineup with the U.S. Military Academy’s women’s basketball team, but now that she’s there, the former Central Valley standout is showing no signs of wanting to make a seat on the bench her starting position.
Hovren, who played all 32 games for the Black Knights a season ago as a reserve, has started the first six games this season, averaging nearly 30 minutes a game. She not only leads the Cadets in scoring at 20.2 points a game, but also the Patriot League. Her 9.2 rebounds a game lead Army and are third in the league. She’s the only Cadet scoring in double figures.
In recognition of her efforts, the 5-foot-11 sophomore forward was selected the Patriot League Player of the Week for the first time in her career for the week of Nov. 20-27 and was named the Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week for the first time. She was the league Rookie of the Week in mid-November as a freshman in 2015.
Hovren averaged a double-double with 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in a pair of Army wins for the week she was honored. She matched career highs of 22 points and nine rebounds in a win over Air Force and posted her first double-double, with 16 points and a new career-best 13 rebounds, in a win over Dartmouth. She finished the week shooting 17 of 33 (.515 percent) from the floor, while also averaging three steals a game.
College scene
Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington’s talented wide receiver who has been much-honored for his record-setting achievements on the field, has become the school’s first three-time Academic All-American.
A senior from Davis of Yakima who has completed his degree work, Kupp was selected to the NCAA Division I Academic All-America first team for a second straight year by College Sports Information Directors of America with a 3.62 grade-point average as an economics major. He was a second-team selection as a sophomore.
Eastern football players have earned 13 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since 1989, seven on the first team.
Duke DeGaetano, Whitworth’s senior running back from Bend, Oregon, who led the Northwest Conference in scoring and touchdowns this season, has been named to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division III first team in football with a 3.82 GPA.
DeGaetano, who serves on the Whitworth Student-Athlete Advisory Council and will graduate in May with a degree in psychology, is the fifth Pirates football player selected as an Academic All-American since 2006, but the first named to the first team. The others were second-team selections.
Four college basketball players with area ties, including Brandon Gfeller, a Montana senior from Colfax, have been nominated for the 2017 Allstate National Association of Basketball Coaches and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Good Works Teams.
The teams recognize athletes for community service achievements.
The NABC nominees also include Eastern Washington senior Felix Von Hofe and Nigel Williams-Goss, a Gonzaga junior. Emma Wolfram, a Gonzaga junior, is among the WABC nominees.
There are a record 181 nominated for the NABC team and 97 for the WABC. Ten members will be selected for both teams – five from Division I and five from Divisions II, III and NAIA – in February.
Kyle Roach, a Whitworth sophomore guard from Marinwood, California, was the Northwest Conference Men’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 21-27 after leading the Pirates to a pair of wins in the Quality Inn Whit Classic.
Roach had career highs of 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 95-87 win over Texas Lutheran and add 20 points and seven boards in an 87-63 win over Schreine University of Texas. He hit 61 percent of his shots from the field, 60 percent on 3-pointers and was 11 of 11 from the free-throw line.
Aleisha Hathaway, Western Washington’s senior guard from Shadle Park who missed the first six games of the women’s basketball season recovering from offseason foot surgery, made up for lost time in the Vikngs’ 100-54 victory over Alaska on Thursday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener.
Hathaway hit all three of her shots, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half, and finished with seven points and one rebound in 11 minutes off the bench.
Sam Dowd, a North Idaho sophomore point guard from Gonzaga Prep, was named most valuable player and teammate Markus Golder, a freshman guard, was named to the all-tournament team after the Cardinals held off Snow to win the championship of the Battle of the States men’s basketball tournament in Portland.
Sean McLachlan, who guided Community Colleges of Spokane to a fourth consecutive championship and 15th in program history, shared the NWAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year award with Matt Koenigs of Everett, who took a Trojans team that had finished last in 2015 to a second-place finish behind the Sasquatch.
Jake Finney, a junior from Post Falls and Lake City High School, and Steffie Pavey, a senior from Oldtown, Idaho, and Priest River Lamanna High, were selected to first teams to lead a list of five area athletes at Washington State named to Pac-12 All-Academic teams in cross country.
Finney, who has a 3.92 GPA in mathematics, was joined on the men’s team by Paul Ryan, a sophomore from Moscow, Idaho, a second-team choice with a 3.54 GPA.
Pavey, president of the WSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee with a 3.92 GPA in accounting, was joined on the women’s team by Josie Brown, a sophomore from Coeur d’Alene High with a 3.84 GPA, a second-team choice, and Morgan Willson, a senior from Colfax (3.42), who was honorable mention.
Three Washington juniors, Katie Knight and Keith Williams, both from North Central, and Andrew Gardner of Mead received honorable mention with GPAs of 3.0 or higher.
Football
The Inland Empire Football Officials Association selected Lakeside High School and Rodrick Jackson from East Valley High School for special recognition at its annual awards banquet.
The Lakeside Eagles varsity team was presented with the IEFOA’s annual Sportsmanship Award at the school’s football awards celebration in recognition of the “outstanding sportsmanship exhibited by the team in 2016.” The IEFOA noted that nearly 30 nominations were received from all levels of play, the most in the 12-year history of the award.
Perhaps the emotional highlight of the evening came when Jackson, the EV player whose story has been well chronicled about how his life turned around when he was taken in by coach Adam Fisher and his family, was presented a $500 scholarship from the IEFOA.
Kevin Malone received the Larry Becker/Chic Sale Award, recognizing his many years of service to IEFOA and to football in the area; Steve Felker was recognized as official of the year for his work on the field and contributions off the field; Ryan Eucker received the Jack Shagool Award for first-year officials; and Junior Ikahihifo was chosen top second-year official.
High school scene
The Greater Spokane League, in conjunction with the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, announced the fall sports winners of the 16th annual NECA/IBEW GSL Award that go to a girl and boy from each school for demonstrating superior balance in academics, athletics and community involvement.
The winners by school:
Central Valley – Kearan Nelson, cross country; Travis Hawkins, football. Ferris – Summer Reid, volleyball; Braden Brock, football. Gonzaga Prep – Mia Padon, soccer; Max Johnson, football. Lewis and Clark – Savannah McConnell, slowpitch softball; James Aragon, football. Mead – Katie Greene, soccer; Collin Grosse, football.
Mt. Spokane – Jenna Brim, volleyball; Jared Mehring, football. North Central – Erinn Hill, cross country; Christian Barnes, football. Rogers – Gracie Olsen, slowpitch softball; Andrew Radford, football. Shadle Park – Josie Walser, volleyball; Andrew Wiebers, cross country. University – Gretchen Maughan, volleyball; Ethan Jones, football.
Officiating
Thirty four area officials were selected to work state high school semifinal and final championship playoffs in football, volleyball and soccer in Washington and Idaho this fall.
The officials by sport and the associations they represented:
Football
Washington: Inland Empire Football Officials Association – John Love, 4A final, back judge; John Ehrbar, 2B final, umpire; Chuck Latimer, 1B final, back judge; Steve Bartlett, 4A semifinals, referee; Danny Adams, 1A semis, umpire; Kevin Wellington, 2B semis, head linesman; Jayson Loffredi, 2A semis, head linesman; Jeremy Rash, 1B semis, line judge; Tim Davis, 4A semis, back judge. Colville Valley – Terry Salo, 2B semis, umpire. Southeast Washington – Gary Boone, 2A final, umpire; John Cole, 1A semis, head linesman; Aaron Hensarling, 2B semis, back judge.
Idaho: North Idaho Officials Association worked the 4A championship game – Rich Poulson, referee; Jacob Iverson, umpire; Josh Behrens, head linesman; Jesse Lenz, line judge; Chad Duce, back judge.
Volleyball
Washington: Spokane Area Volleyball Referees Association – Barb Silvey, 4A; Tom Konis, 4A; Alex Collins, 2A; Patty Kells, 1B/2B/1A; Keven Peden, 1B/2B/1A. Inland Empire (Southeast Washington) – Jessie Poland, 1B/2B/1A; Rochell Holman, 1B/2B/1A. Colville Valley – Blaze Smith, 1B/2B/1A.
Idaho: North Idaho District 1 Officials Association – Rayna Longstreet, 5A & 3A (3A championship match); Kelley Kostelecky, 1A Divisions 1 & 2 (1A Div. 1 championship match).
Soccer
Washington: Inland Empire Soccer Officials Association – Deb Brock, 3A/4A, referee; Avery Smith, 3A/4A, assistant referee; Jeff Pucel, 2A, referee.
Idaho: North Idaho District 1 Officials Association worked 5A boys and 5A girls. Boys – Mark Patton, referee; Matt Hamlin, 4th official. Girls – Hamlin, referee; Derek Kohles, 4th official.
Softball
Two Spokane-based teams had top-four finishes in the Senior Softball USA Winter Nationals last month in Phoenix.
Northwest Merchants, with players from Spokane, North Idaho and Walla Walla, finished second in the 55+ division when its championship game was rained out in the middle of the fifth inning with it trailing. Northwest Softball Club, with players from Spokane, North Idaho, Kalispell, Montana, and Wenatchee, placed fourth in the 60+ division.
The 55+ team, which dedicated its tournament to teammate Mark Hilborn, who is battling cancer and couldn’t play: Jerry Coulter, John Giampietri, Dan Griffith, Allen Martin, Jack Parker, Kevan Parker, Doug Payne, Kerry Pease, Terry Propect, Mark Reilly, Scott Roberts, Matt Seeliger, Brian Williamson and Roger Williamson.
The 60+ team: Allen Arnold, Tim Bieber, Paul Cooley, Donn Etherington, Jack Foster, Greg Hart, Marlon Harris, Lee Libera, Jerry Miller, Jim Pierce, Jim Polumbi, Dick Stauffer and Johnny Walkington.