For more than half of her pitching career at Central Valley, Alyssa Erickson was linked in tandem with Lauren Mandler. When Mandler suffered an arm injury that cost her much of last season and subsequently ended her career, Erickson found herself going it entirely alone.
Ferris midfielder James Matern ripped a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box into the upper-right corner of the goal 2 minutes into the second overtime and capped a marathon four hours of soccer with the Saxons’ 3-2 win over University in a doubleheader Wednesday at Joe Albi Stadium. The Saxons’ win came on the heels of East Valley’s 2-1 shootout triumph over North Central in the Greater Spokane League bill. Ferris and U-Hi were tied for fourth place and jockeying for 4A playoff position. EV’s Knights and NC’s Indians are vying for top 3A seed and a bye in May’s regional playoffs.
I’ve said it before and will say it again. The ability of high school students to excel both on the athletic field and in the classroom never ceases to amaze. The release of the names of this year’s Greater Spokane League scholar-athletes is an annual reminder that those who discount the value of high school sports are missing the correlation between academics and athletics and the importance of both.
A bit of the bizarre, coupled with a late rally, factored in during an Inland Empire League softball split between rivals Lake City and Coeur d’Alene. Timberwolves pitching standout Lela Work was in the middle of it all.
When Kyle Brown joined Central Valley track and field as a freshman, he was a distance runner. Intrigued by the pole vault, four years later he’s the Bears’ school record holder.
Central Valley missed All-Greater Spokane League softball catcher and normal No. 3 hitter Becky White, out of the lineup following a spring-break foot injury. Shadle Park likely wished the hobbled hitter remained on the disabled list. Used judiciously this week as a pinch hitter, White came off the bench at Shadle Thursday with the Bears trailing by a run and made her appearance count.
Goals haven’t come often for the Ferris soccer team this year. North Central gave the them a hand at Albi Stadium. A hand ball in the box late in the match resulted in James Matern’s penalty kick for Ferris and 1-0 Greater Spokane League victory Wednesday.
North Central boys soccer, winless the past two Greater Spokane League seasons, was seeking salvation. It came like a bolt from the blue. Jake Hess, a military dependent whose soccer background is international in scope, arrived at NC almost by happenstance and has been a big reason why the Indians have a surprising 3-2 record.
Financing high school sports and maintaining the viability of the Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association was the topic of discussion by district representatives during the March 25 meeting of WIAA Executive Board. Reps from the nine state districts that make up the WIAA all gave reports during the meeting. Summarized in the minutes were thoughts of school officials discussing ways of adapting during this time of economic downturn.
Gonzaga Prep and East Valley began the baseball season uncertain of their prospects, but the 4-4 teams were jockeying Tuesday for a place in the upper half of the Greater Spokane League. The host G-Prep Bullpups, who had opened 0-3, ran their way to a 10-0 five-inning victory Tuesday for their fifth win in six games.
Katie Reidy, St. George’s second-place state cross country finisher and runner-up in both the 1,600 and 800 races during last year’s State 2B track meet, has had a renowned distance runner for a mentor. Rick Riley, one of the greatest in Spokane high school and area college annals, is bringing his expertise to Reidy and her distance teammates as the Dragons distance coach.
If Thursday’s one-run, 10-inning Greater Spokane League baseball game between University and Central Valley was a classic, their rematch Friday was considerably less so. Hitters took advantage when pitchers struggled and defenses faltered at times.
Simply providing a cushion at the time, the home run ultimately proved Marvel-ous. Shaina Marvel’s sixth-inning blow was the difference as visiting University held off Central Valley 7-6 Thursday on another day of taut Greater Spokane League softball.
Scot Stuart’s name has been in The Spokesman-Review a handful of times as a public defender in Omak, but never in his moonlighting capacity as a softball coach. Stuart, a former club coach, is entering his fourth year at the helm of the Colville Indians, since moving there as a Stevens County prosecutor and replacing Clyde Brown.
Dave Hughes considers himself a member of the “Reyburn Cradle of Coaches.” You could also dub his ascent to the head football position at Lewis and Clark as one more chapter in the “Saga of the Daves.”
When news that former Central Valley football coach Charlie Dean had died got out, phone calls and e-mails from players of another era starting coming in. One, Randy Cornwell, transcends past and present. He has coached the Colville Indians to the State 2A football playoffs six times in the last seven years. Much of his philosophy, he said, was instilled when he played for Dean.
Great Northern League and Northeast A League put a total of five baseball teams into state tournaments a year ago. Pullman, in 2A, and Freeman, in 1A, both reached the state semifinals before losing to eventual state champions.
For whatever reason, the injury bug continues to bite the Mt. Spokane baseball team. Wildcats pitching star Nic Fowler tore a ligament in his elbow in his first start this year and is done pitching for the season. Four games later against Gonzaga Prep, sophomore Carson Blumenthal took a line drive off his wrist and suffered a hairline fracture that could cost him four to six weeks.
Mead right fielder and slugger Seth Peterson embodies this year’s Panthers baseball team. Peterson crushed his third home run in as many games, helping a high-octane offense that has scored 49 runs to a 3-0 Greater Spokane League start.
Mead needed a pick-me-up and junior center fielder Jill Pecka provided one in the Panthers’ 7-3 victory at Central Valley Thursday afternoon in Greater Spokane League softball. Swinging at the first pitch, Pecka clubbed a three-run homer in the second inning for a 3-1 lead. Mead (3-1) nursed it into the seventh inning before adding four insurance runs to hand the Bears (2-1) their first loss.
Charlie Dean’s tenure as football coach at Central Valley was relatively brief, but successful. During 11 seasons from 1964-74, the Bears went 84-11-1 and had seven unbeaten seasons while playing in the now defunct Border League.
The basketball season ended last week. But for someone who became enamored with the sport early and once wrote a job application letter to become a professional basketball player (fat chance) as a writing assignment for my fifth-grade teacher and future Hall of Fame University High basketball coach Marv Ainsworth, I can never get enough: •The Seattle Times and Tacoma News-Tribune announced their All-State teams. Shadle Park’s Anthony Brown made the first team on both. Lewis and Clark’s Jeneva Anderson was named first team on the TNT list and second team with the Times. LC’s Sarah Kliewer was second team on the Tacoma team.
A common thread runs between tennis player Ethan Vaughn and his coach at Mead, Bill Wagstaff. Both began as baseball players who found ultimate success and satisfaction after trading bat for racquet, horsehide for a fuzzy green ball, fence for net.
When long Greater Spokane League softball winning runs have been ended, coach Jon Schuh’s teams have been the streak busters. He was coach at Central Valley years ago when the Bears ended a University streak that had extended beyond 40 games. Monday, his Titans put an end to the remarkable 77-game GSL run dating to 2005 by Shadle Park, winning 10-4 in a makeup game at home.
There is no defense, the adage goes, against the walk. Mead will concur, what with pitcher Taneesha Pounder struggling to find the plate and No. 2 pitcher Alisha Meade under the weather and unavailable.
