Paton Wins National Award

Former Rogers and Shadle Park baseball coach Jim Paton is one of three national winners for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association HEROES award.

“There were a lot of qualified people and I didn’t think I had a chance,” said Paton, who heard of the honor over the weekend.

Paton will receive $3,000 plus an SGMA contribution of $15,000 that he can donate toward his sports program. He already received $100 and a $400 donation for being one of 50 SGMA state winners.

Paton said the $15,000 will go to local American Legion baseball.

Mayor Jack Geraghty will present Paton with a certificate of appreciation at 9:30 a.m. today at City Hall.

Paton, 52, was honored for his commitment to youth baseball. He coached at Shadle (seven years) and Rogers (17), during which time he founded an all-star feeder game system and produced fund-raisers for GSL baseball.

Although Parkinson’s disease forced Paton to retire as a teacher two years ago, he continues to volunteer with Legion and Pony League baseball.

“I feel pretty good,” said Paton, who plans to serve as a volunteer assistant for the Rogers varsity this spring. “The Parkinson’s has affected the speech a little bit.”

Paton’s major duty for local Legion play is as groundskeeper at Shadle’s Al K. Jackson Field. He coaches a Pony League team that finished 68-7 last summer.

Paton started the Rogers baseball camp and the Spokane baseball clinic.

The other winners are Stan Rowe of Huntsville, Ala., and Mavis Derflinger of Fairfax, Va. All three will be honored Feb. 5 at the SGMA industry breakfast in Atlanta.

Wrestling

Dan Vega’s win at 118 pounds and Jesse Schaeffer’s decision at 126 helped North Idaho College beat visiting Central Washington 29-9.

Volleyball

Mandy Nyrop resigned as North Idaho coach on Tuesday and her assistant, Carly Killen-Curtis, was named as her replacement.

Nyrop, a former Gonzaga University coach, left the team in the latter part of the year to be with her husband Bill, who was dying of cancer. Bill Nyrop, a former NHL standout, died Dec. 31.

Brayton to manage

Chuck “Bobo” Brayton, Washington State University’s retired baseball coaching great, will be announced today as the new manager of the Tri-City Posse of the Western Baseball League.

Brayton, 70, will be introduced at a Pasco news conference at 1 p.m. in the Red Lion Inn. He succeeds exmajor-league manager Tom Trebelhorn, who handled the Posse during the WBL’s first season.

An All-American shortstop for WSU in 1947, Brayton coached the Cougars for 33 seasons, posting 1,162 victories and winning 21 divisional titles. He retired in 1994.

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