Golfers Drive To The Fore

The Greater Spokane League golf season begins April 10 with a different look.

The girls will have six members per team compete over 18 holes, the same as the boys. In the past, girls teams consisted of four scoring members playing nine holes.

The University boys, led by state champion Mark Waddington, ended Mead’s seven-year reign as league champion last year. Even with Waddington gone, the Titans return five of seven varsity players, including first-team all-GSL seniors Matt Johnson and Tim McElhinny.

Mead and Central Valley should also contend for the title.

The other returning first-team player is North Central junior Kyle Kelly.

The girls race includes the usual - Gonzaga Prep and Mead. Prep won its fourth straight title last year. The Panthers tied Prep four years ago to run their streak to four. Ferris should also be strong, with Shadle Park as the dark horse.

Returning all-league first-teamers are Mead sophomore Briney Holt, Gonzaga Prep senior Allison Moffitt, and junior Jennifer Hatley and sophomore Hillary Prugh of Ferris.

The state tournaments are in Spokane this year, the Monday and Tuesday before Memorial Day. It will be the first year the boys 36-hole championship runs two days, and the first time the girls will play 36 holes.

The boys will play at The Creek at Qualchan, but the site for the girls has not been determined.

The Inland Empire boys tournament at Indian Canyon, the biggest competition in Eastern Washington, is May 8. The top 24 GSL finishers advance to the second round of state qualifying.

Athletic directors honored

Longtime Oakesdale teacher and administrator Buddy Gibson will be inducted into the Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame during its convention next month in Wenatchee.

Gibson, who retired last year, will be honored with Keith Cantwell (Auburn), Leroy Faling (Kelso) and Donald Norling (Highline) at the April 12 banquet.

The Washington athletic director of the year will be chosen from among eight district winners. The finalists include Nancy Hobbs of Liberty and the late Jack Blair of Lewis and Clark. The others are Rich Gustafson (Shoreline), Al Strand (Bellevue), Shelly Thief (Enumclaw), Dennis Gillingham (Prairie), Roger Krening (Ellensburg) and Jim Brucker (Omak).

Openings

Wilbur-Creston lost two successful basketball coaches in one shot when Steve Jantz and Mike Crowell resigned.

Jantz, the boys coach the past five seasons, took the Wildcats to the State B tournament in 1992 and 1994 and compiled a 79-52 overall record.

Crowell, in his second tour of duty with the Wildcats, had a 77-23 record the past four years, giving him a career record of 154-38 after coaching from 1982-85. W-C was fifth in the state tournament this year.

Smart and tough

Nearly half of the state’s AAA wrestling academic champions came from the Greater Spokane League.

On the team (selected by weight class) are Andrew Richardson (122 pounds) and Mike Clark (190), University; Jeff LeBret (135) and Josh Robertson (141), NC; Corey Laughary (148), Shadle; and Rick Giampietri (158), CV. Richardson, LeBret and Giampietri are 4.0 students.

Twins Ben (129) and Bart (148) Orth of Lakeside made the Class A/B list with identical 3.94 GPAs. Also honored was David Cassels (108) of Medical Lake.

Different look

There have been a couple of notable transfers among GSL athletes. Dealy Etter, a three-sport player at NC, has enrolled at Lewis and Clark. D.J. Vick and Adam Hieb, who quit the Ferris basketball team in midseason, have transferred to LC and NC, respectively. Julie Hinckley left CV for University during the basketball season.