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

Gonzaga Prep’s Roy just misses spot in 200-meter breaststroke finals

Daniel Roy, 16, of Gonzaga Prep, finished in sixth place Wednesday in the 200-meter breaststroke semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska.

Roy missed a spot in Thursday’s finals by one place. Five swimmers from his heat advanced and the top three in the other semifinal also moved on.

Roy, the national 18-and-under champion in the event, finished with a time of 2:13.44 in the semifinals, which was 48 one-hundredths of a second from qualifying for the finals.

Kevin Cordes’ 2:08.54 set the pace in the semifinals.

Roy grabbed the 16th and last spot into the semifinal round by clocking a 2:14.70 in his preliminary heat.

The top eight finishers (by time) advanced to the finals on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Emma Schanz, of Colville, finished in 45th place in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:18.05, which was 6.39 seconds off the pace.

Schanz, who swims for UCLA, also competes in her best event, the 200-meter breaststroke on Thursday, and the 200-meter backstroke on Friday.

Taylor McCoy (Pullman) also swims Friday in the same 200-meter backstroke.

Zags’ golfer rolls

Gonzaga’s Ciera Min recently won a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying tournament which earns her a bid to the prestigious event in August.

Min won by three strokes Tuesday at the tournament at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Oregon. She fired a five-under-par 67 to win the tournament.

With the victory, Min, who is a rising senior, earned a spot in the U.S. Women’s Amateur which will be held Aug. 1-7 at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pennsylvania.

Min, of Hilo, Hawaii, is the second Bulldog to compete in the event after Dania Uy played two rounds in the same tournament in 2015.

Min’s victory follows a similar win at the West Coast Conference Championships, which was her first tournament victory in college golf.

Legion tournament

The annual Spokane/Coeur d’Alene 4th of July Wooden Bat Classic begins Friday in the area.

It’s three tournaments in one. In the senior division, 30 teams will play on fields in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls and at Ferris, Hart Field and A.K. Jackson Field at Shadle Park.

The junior division has 46 teams and the 16U tourney has 10.

The senior semifinals will be Monday at A.K. Jackson, beginning at 9 in the morning. The title game is at 2 p.m.

The defending senior champ, Bellingham Post 7, returns.

Local boxer advances

Israel Alvarez, 16, of Spokane, won his second bout Wednesday at the USA Boxing Junior Olympic National Championships, which started Monday in Dallas, Texas.

With the unanimous decision over Eduardo Mendoza, of Ulysses, Kansas, Alvarez now advances to the final four in the 145-pound weight class, his trainer Ray Kerwick said.

Also on Wednesday, Howard Street Boxing Club teammate Patrick Cody, 15, lost a split decision to Braden Reed, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, in the 101-pound weight class. Cody, who like Alvarez attends Lewis and Clark High School, won his first fight on Tuesday.

Alvarez, who also won on Tuesday, now gets a bye until Friday in the tournament that included more than 800 fighters, Kerwick said.