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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Locally: Former Mead standout Kristen Hansen joins WWU women’s golf staff

From staff ,news services

Kristen Hansen didn’t go far – from the locker room to the coaches’ office.

The former Mead standout, who wound up a stellar four-year career at Western Washington last spring, is a graduate assistant coach for the Vikings’ women’s golf program.

“Kristen showed tremendous leadership on the golf course over her four years at Western,” head coach Bo Stephan said. “Her experience will be invaluable to the team moving forward.

“It’s so important to have someone like Kristen who has already earned the respect of the girls on the team.”

“I’m really excited to still be a part of this program,” said Hansen, who is working toward a degree in accounting. “Being on this team has helped me grow so much as a person and I look forward to giving that back to our players.”

Hansen, a four-time All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference first-team selection from 2012-16, was the Freshman of the Year, Player of the Year as a sophomore and conference champion as a junior. In 38 career tournaments, she compiled 78.63 scoring average, fourth best in program history, and had a school-record 135 birdies, seven better than the previous record.

Basketball

Molly McDermott, a 6-foot-2 senior guard at Gonzaga Prep, a member of the Bullpups’ 2014 and 2015 State 4A champions, signed a letter of intent with Carroll College in Helena.

McDermott averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Bullpups as a junior. She has a 3.86 grade-point average.

College scene

Brady Ulen, a Western Washington senior from Coeur d’Alene who graduated from Post Falls High School, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 12-18.

A transfer from North Idaho College, Ulen earned his first GNAC honor for helping anchor a Vikings defense that recorded its fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over No. 18 Fort Hays State. WWU held the nationally ranked Tigers to one shot on goal.

“Brady was instrumental with his leadership and his play on the field” in the victory, coach Greg Brisbon said. “His ability to organize the back four and limit the opponent’s chances on target has been real impressive this season.”

Four Whitworth athletes, two in football, collected Northwest Conference player of the week awards for the week of Sept. 12-18.

Ian Kolste, the Pirates’ junior quarterback, was the NWC Offensive Player of the Week after surpassing career highs in passing yards (502) and total offense (552) for a second time this season and passed for three touchdowns in leading the Pirates’ 48-42 comeback win at La Verne.

Kehn Reiley, the sophomore kicker from Moses Lake, earned Special Teams Player of the Week after making two field goals, four of five extra points, averaging 63.8 yards on kickoffs with seven touchbacks and 34.3 yards on three punts.

Jonah Snyder, a junior midfielder, was the men’s soccer Offensive Player of the Week for a second straight week after adding to his league-leading total with his sixth and seventh goals as the Pirates went 1-2 during the week.

Kayla Leland, a junior from G-Prep, was the women’s cross country Athlete of the Week after being the top Division III runner, 10th overall out of 284 runners, in the Sundodger Invitational 6K race in Seattle, timing 21 minutes, 17.9 seconds.

Amy Hasenoehrl, an Idaho senior from Lewiston, was the Big Sky Women’s Golfer of the Week after improving every round, finishing with a 4-under 68, to help lead the Vandals to the team title at the WSU Cougar Cup. She tied for second at 3-under 213 in the 54-hole tournament.

Brittany Gay, a North Idaho sophomore from Lake City, was the Northwest Athletic Conference East Region volleyball Setter of the Week after a performance that included 67 assists in wins over Yakima and Blue Mountain.

Golf

Derek Bayley of Rathdrum and his Washington State teammate, Aaron Whalen of Ephrata, placed third in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball qualifier last weekend at Falcon Crest Golf Club in Boise and are second alternate for the national championship next May in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Bayley, a junior, who plays out of Indian Canyon, and Whalen, a sophomore, who plays out of Lakeview Golf & Country Club, combined to shoot 32-33. Their 7-under 65 was six shots back of the leaders, Boise State juniors Jacob Byers and Tristan Rohrbaugh, who combined for a 13-under 59 to claim the lone qualifying spot.

Nate Hair of Edwall, Washington, who plays out of The Creek at Qualchan, and Ryan Duval of Bend, Oregon, also combined for a 65 but lost on the second playoff hole to Bayley and Whalen and placed fourth.

Shooting

Cassidy Wilson of the Spokane Junior Rifle Club claimed the bronze medal in the AG2 class for 15-17-year-olds at the 2016 Civilian Marksmanship Program 3-Position Air Rifle National Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio.

Wilson, 15, who is home schooled, shot 589 to finish third in her class and 14th overall among 207 competitors. She also led the SJRC Gold team to fourth place among 41 teams. Aidan Maddox, 16, Riverpoint Academy, who placed 34th individually; Maliya Hillman, 17, Lewis and Clark, 42nd individually; and Mike Cooper, 18, Mt. Spokane, 60th individually, also shot on the Gold team.

Soccer

Kohl Tomcho, starting goalkeeper on the East Valley boys team for three years, signed a letter of intent with Walla Walla University. As a junior, Tomcho had four shutouts and a save percentage of 83.7. A member of the National Honor Society, he has a 3.6 grade-point average.

Track and field/cross country

Eastern Washington added 14 athletes to its track and field and cross country teams for the 2016-17 season, including men’s recruits Matt Hommel, a cross country/distance runner from Central Valley who is transferring from Spokane Falls Community College, and Dawson Lack, a freshman sprinter from Medical Lake.

Women: Samantha Boudreau, shot/discus, Bonney Lake, Washington; Sophie Bowles, sprints, Bothell, Washington; Madi Bucy, throws, Maple Valley, Washington (Tahoma HS); Carli Corpus, cross country/distance, Meridian, Idaho (Rocky Mountain HS); Christina Johnstone, cross country/distance, Maple Ridge, British Columbia (Thomas Haney HS); Kaili Keefe, cross country/distance, Yakima (West Valley HS); Elizabeth Lowell-Forker, javelin, Bothell; Shaiyenne Monroe, sprints, Puyallup, Washington (Rogers HS).

Men: James Breen, cross country/distance, Vancouver, Washington (Heritage HS/Clark Community College); Colton Johnsen, cross country/distance, Bellingham (Sehome HS); Tremaine McAdams, sprints/hurdles, Seattle, (Nathan Hale HS); Keshun McGee, jumps, Silverdale, Washington (Olympic HS).