Sophs Pilkington, Long Ccs Athletes Of Month
A couple of sophomore basketball players, who their coaches count on for strong inside play, are the Community College of Spokane’s athletes of the month for February.
Kelli Pilkington of Spokane (Shadle Park High School), who averages 12.7 points and a team-leading 10.2 rebounds a game, is the female selection.
She has 347 points, 242 rebounds, 60 assists and 46 steals.
Male honors went to Kurt Long of Missoula, who is bound for Eastern Washington University.
He has 201 points with a high game of 26 and shot 59.1 percent from the floor.
“Kelli has been an outstanding performer,” said CCS women’s coach Bruce Johnson. “She is a pleasure to work with and is very coachable.”
“Kurt has done a great job all season long for us,” CCS men’s coach Sam Brasch said of Long. “Though not quite 6-foot-4, he continually outplays bigger opponents because of his relentless desire to succeed.
“He is a real pleasure to coach.”
Baseball
Gonzaga University’s baseball staff will offer two camps during spring break - April 6-7 and April 8-9 - for youngsters ages 6-18. Both will run from 9 a.m.-noon.
Cost is $65 in advance, $75 on the day of the camp.
Info: (509) 328-4220, ext. 4226 or 4209; or (509) 533-3648.
The Spokane Red Sox, a summer team made up of players from area and Pacific Northwest colleges, need a sponsor or sponsors.
Info: Jim Hardenbrook, (509) 448-6839.
The Spokane Invaders, a select baseball team for players 16 and under, is looking for players for all positions for the 1998 season.
The Invaders travel and play a schedule that includes about 65 games, said coach Daniel Clubb.
Info: Clubb, (509) 534-5112.
Registration for the Lakeland Little League program will be Tuesday and Wednesday at John Brown Elementary in Rathdrum, Idaho, from 6-8 p.m. It’s for players ages 5-15.
Cost is $30 for T-ball, minors, Triple A and majors and $40 for seniors. There’s a $5-a-player discount for families with more than one player in the program.
Info: Barbara Puckett, (208) 683-5503.
Basketball
Second was the best Eastern Washington entries could manage in the Elks Hoop Shoot state championships last weekend in Seattle. Four were runners-up, three third.
State champions qualified for the regionals this coming weekend in Portland.
Eastern Washington placers: Derek Gianukakis, Republic, third, boys 8-9, 20 of 25 free throws; Amanda Grumbach, Danville, third, girls 8-9, 16 of 25; Cameron Kroupa, Curlew, second, boys 10-11, 19 of 25; Kyla Whitaker, Ephrata, second, girls 10-11, 15 of 25; Chase Earling, Spokane, second, boys 12-13, 22 of 25; Laura Higby, Richland, third, girls 12-13, 21 of 30 (includes shootoff).
Hoopaholics, a basketball “fix” for men 30 and older, is registering for a May 17-19 camp at Shadle Park High School and Gonzaga University. Cost is $300. It’s a fund-raiser, primarily for Shadle Park High School.
Info: Darcy Weisner, (509) 220-0997; Tim Gaebe, (509) 220-0299.
Bowling
Matt Descoteaux, a freshman at Northwest Christian, collected his first perfect game Jan. 10 when he rolled a 300 during junior league action at Valley Bowl.
Descoteaux, 14, who has a 200 average, rolled his 300 after a rather unassuming 150 in his first game. He finished strong and earned a 700-plus series.
More than 700 teams are registered for the Washington Women’s Bowling Association State Championships, which open a three-month run in Spokane on Saturday.
Dual opening ceremonies will be at 11:30 a.m. at Silver Lanes and 1 p.m. at North Bowl.
Silver will be the site of the team event, with doubles and singles at North. There are four team categories, five doubles and seven singles and all-events. Competition will be held most weekends through May.
In conjunction with the tournament, the State Queens will be held April 18-19 at Colonial Bowl.
College scene
Community Colleges of Spokane had two players on the first team and a third on the second of the NWAACC Eastern Region All-Star women’s basketball team.
Sophomores Shelley Massingale of Kennewick and Kelli Pilkington of Spokane (Shadle Park) were first-team choices while sophomore Alana Carlander of Riverside was named to the second team. They also were selected to play in the sophomore all-star game.
Also selected on the second team was Big Bend freshman Andrea Kallas of Spokane (Central Valley).
Led by seniors Lydia Ledgerwood and Carl Crider, Gonzaga University placed four players on the West Coast Conference All-Academic basketball teams. Both are two-time selections.
Joining Ledgerwood, who has a 3.75 grade-point average in English literature, on the women’s team is senior Staci Andrews (3.67 GPA in history).
Crider, who has a 3.92 GPA in math, is joined on the men’s team by sophomore Ryan Floyd (3.22 with an undeclared major).
Ryan Looney of Spokane (Central Valley), a senior at Eastern Oregon University, tied or broke three school free-throw records this basketball season.
Looney was a record-tying 8 for 8 while scoring 27 points in a season-ending 99-87 win over Cascade College. He set records by making 45 of 48 free throws (93.8 percent) during the season and 67 of 76 (86.4 percent) in his career.
Hamilton College senior captain Brian Guastella of Spokane (Gonzaga Prep) scored the winning goal in the Clinton, N.Y., hockey team’s 4-3 triumph over UConn.
Jen Harrell of Spokane (Gonzaga Prep) was a member of the Dickinson College women’s 4x200-meter relay team that set a school record at 1:53.1 in a track meet at the school Feb. 14. She also was on the team that set the previous mark of 1:54.72.
Jeff Hollenbach of Spokane (University), a sophomore at the Naval Academy, qualified for the IC4A/ECAC track championships this weekend with a shot put of 55 feet, 2 inches to earn him second in a meet at Blacksburg, Va.
Football
Spokane native Bill Diedrick, a member of Jim Lambright’s University of Washington staff the past four years, has been named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Stanford.
Diedrick, 51, a football standout at North Central High School and Eastern Washington University, has been quarterbacks coach at UW the past two years after a stint as offensive coordinator.
Diedrick replaces Dana Bible on fourth-year Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham’s staff. Bible left to become offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles.
At UW, Lambright said offensive coordinator Scott Linehan will also assume Diedrick’s duties as QB coach. Linehan will give up his duties as receivers coach and a new receivers coach will be named, Lambright said.
Golf
The Deer Park Golf Club men’s club will hold its first meeting of the season Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the clubhouse. A putting competition is set for 6.
The men’s club is soliciting used equipment to be used by boys and girls turning out for a new golf program at Deer Park High School.
Info: Richard Heydet, (509) 276-8502.
The Downriver women’s 18-hole club will have its opening day March 31. Sign-in at 8:30 a.m. will be followed by 18 holes of golf. Play will be Tuesdays through October.
Hockey
The Inland Empire Warhorses will play in the regional tournament March 19 in Tacoma after winning the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association Tier II Pee Wee state championship last weekend at Eagles Ice-A-Rena.
The Warhorses went 5-0 in the tournament, beating Tri-Cities 6-2 in the championship game. At the regional, they’ll face teams from Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, California and Tacoma.
Shooting
Pat Kelley of Spokane won the Washington State Gallery Pistol Championships last weekend at the Spokane Rifle Club.
Kelley was first overall in international standard pistol as well as having the grand aggregate total.
Bill Leach of Bonners Ferry won the conventional pistol and air pistol events and was second to Kelley in standard pistol and grand aggregate.
In conventional pistol, Eric Schaffer of Spokane was first in expert, John Van Hersett was first sharpshooter and Daniel McMeekan was first marksman. George Bratina of Spokane was first-place marksman in international standard pistol.
Skiing
Hoping to build a winter skiing equivalent to Bloomsday, a Spokane real estate company has announced support for the first Mt. Spokane Snowfest Team Dualies.
The March 14 event will be a four-person ski-racing competition for males and females ages 13-18.
“We need something for kids in wintertime,” said Mark Pinch, president of Tomlinson Black Commercial.
Application forms are available at LouLou’s, Wintersport, Sportscreel, Petersen’s, Alpine Haus, and many other ski shops, junior highs and high schools. Deadline is March 9.
Soccer
The Spokane Shadow, reigning Northwest Division champions of the USISL Premier League, will conduct a tryout March 14 from 10 a.m.-noon at Albi Stadium.
Coach Sean Bushey said the tryout is open to anyone, but players under 18 need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to complete a liability waiver form. Players can register at the Shadow office on the North Side of the stadium starting at 9:30 a.m.
Players selected from the morning session will join returning Shadow players in a workout at 1 p.m.
The Shadow open a 20-game season April 25.
Info: (509) 326-4625.
The Spokane Skyhawks will have tryouts for boys and girls premier teams April 13-17 at the North Side Complex. Registration is at 5 p.m. with tryouts at 5:30-7:30.
Dates and ages: April 13, 15, 17 - U13; April 13, 15 - U14, U15; April 14, 16 - U16, U17, U18.
Info: Eddy Birrer, (509) 467-3174 (girls); Chris Corativo, (509) 466-7886 (boys).
Softball
The Spokane Softball Umpires Association and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association will hold a mandatory rules clinic for umpires and coaches Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Gonzaga Prep theater.
Info: John Isles, (509) 487-3557.
Track and field
Eastern Washington University throwing coach Marcia Mecklenburg has been named the 1997 Inland Northwest Master Athlete of the Year.
The award is based on accomplishments as an athlete as well as promotional work within the sport.
The third annual Performance Athletics and Inland Northwest USATF track and field camp will be Saturday in the Eastern Washington University fieldhouse from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
The camp will include all events and feature some of the area’s top coaches. Cost is $15, which includes a T-shirt. Participants should bring their own lunch.
Info: Arnie Tyler, (509) 466-5801.
Wrestling
West Central Community Center is looking for some financial help for its kids wrestling team.
Recreation manager Rick Harris said a big increase in participation - from 25 last year to 70 this year - has left the center strapped. Funds are needed to rent a full-sized bus to take wrestlers to tournaments as well as buy wrestling shoes and singlets for needy kids.
Contributions are tax-deductible, Harris said.
Info: (509) 326-9540.
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