Whitworth Hoops Trio Among Nation’s Best

Statistically, Whitworth College had three of the nation’s top-ranked basketball players during the 1996-97 season.

Pirates junior Ben Heimerman was the NAIA Division II leader in field-goal percentage, sinking 68.8 percent (150 of 218) of his shots.

Senior Nate Williams finished second in 3-point shooting (46 of 88 for 52.3 percent) after leading the nation the previous season and was 20th in free-throw shooting (83.3 percent, 65 of 78).

On the women’s team, senior Jennifer Tissue was second in free-throw shooting (86.8 percent, 66 of 76).

Postseason honors included selection to the Little All-Northwest third team for Williams and Tissue. Heimerman and Williams gained NAIA All-America honorable mention.

Academic awards

Five members of the Washington State women’s swimming team earned academic honors in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Senior captain Rachel Hawley, a zoology major, was a first-team All-Academic choice with a 3.94 grade-point average.

Tammy Coulter, a junior in pre-medicine, and Amber Hanley, a senior in biology, were second-team picks. And sophomores Julie Thom (kinesiology) and Aimee Walters (hotel administration) earned honorable mention.

College scene

North Idaho College’s Shawna Rainer, a sophomore forward from Spokane (Shadle Park), has been selected an NJCAA All-America honorable mention in basketball.

Rainer, being recruited by Massachusetts, Boston College, San Francisco and Idaho, averaged just more than 14 points and six rebounds per game.

Dickinson College sophomore Jen Harrell of Spokane (Gonzaga Prep) ran the second leg on the Red Devils’ victorious 4x400 relay team and had second-place finishes in the 100 hurdles (17.02) and 400 hurdles (1:08.91) as the school placed second in the Little 3 Meet last weekend.

Shane Wittstruck of Spokane (Gonzaga Prep) ran the third leg of Colorado College’s 4x100 relay team that turned in a season-best 47.11 time in last Saturday’s Colorado College Track and Field Invitational.

Junior Colin Charbonneau of Spokane (St. George’s) went into the season as Franklin & Marshall’s No. 3 golfer off an 89 scoring average in the fall. His career average at the Lancaster, Pa., school is 94.7.

Bill Hinz of Pullman, a sophomore at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind., threw an NCAA Division III national meet provisional qualifying mark of 166 feet, 2 inches in the hammer at the Depauw Invitational meet last Saturday. He is a 1995 Pullman High School graduate.

Gunder Gregerson of Spokane, a former all-state player from Central Valley, has transferred from Walla Walla Community College to Western Washington to continue his football career.

He’s a 260-pound offensive tackle who was second-team all-region last season as a sophomore at WWCC.

Wynn Henricksen of Spokane (Ferris), a sophomore, has earned his second hockey letter at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis.

He had a goal and seven assists playing in 25 games for the 21-9-1 Green Knights, who lost a first-round series to Wisconsin-Superior in their first NCAA Division III tournament appearance.

Football

The University of Idaho scrimmage on April 26 will be held at Coeur d’Alene High instead of Lake City. The move was necessitated because Lake City is hosting a track meet that day.

Scrimmage time is 11:30 a.m.

Soccer

The Spokane Shadow will once again be heard on radio station KTRW (970 The Score) when they play in defense of their USISL Premier League Northern Division championship this summer.

All games, home and away, will be broadcast, with Jay Stewart returning for his second season as play-by-play host. Air time is 15 minutes before game time. As last year, games will air without commercial interruption during play.

The Shadow will play 12 of their 22 games at newly refurbished Albi Stadium, starting with their season-opener April 26 against the Kelowna (British Columbia) Challenge. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Softball

Men’s modified teams in Spokane County that would like to play in the Amateur Softball Association National Invitational Tournament Aug. 15-17 at Franklin Park need to make their intentions known by May 15.

Spokane ASA commissioner Clarence “Fuzzy” Buckenberger said he will appoint a board to classify teams and assure all entered in the postseason tournament fall into the B category. Notification can be made through him at (509) 328-2131 or at 2527 W. Longfellow, Spokane, WA 99205.

He stressed that no berths have been allotted into the tournament. Those will be earned in the Metro Tournament July 31-Aug. 3 at Garry Park.

Track and field

The Comets Track Club of Pullman will launch its 20th season with an information and registration open house today from 5-7 p.m. at Godfather’s Pizza in Pullman.

The club is open to athletes of all ages. A birth certificate or other proof of age is required. Those unable to attend can register by contacting Karen Scheer at (509) 334-2476.

Team practices begin Monday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Pullman High School.

Info: Mike Hinz, coach, (509) 332-1168; Kat Odell, president, (509) 332-6994.

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