Mt. Spokane Cowboy Wins National Honor

An outstanding first season of high school rodeoing has earned Andy Bolich of Mead selection to the Wrangler High School All-Star Rodeo Team.

Bolich, 17, a junior honor student at Mt. Spokane, is the 1997 Washington state champion in bareback and saddle bronc riding and was selected the state association’s ‘97 rookie of the year.

Additionally, he was a top 10 Pro-West finalist and a top 20 qualifier at the National High School Finals. He also is the 1997-98 Lewiston Winter Series bareback champion.

Wrangler selects its prep all-stars based on leadership qualities and academic and athletic achievement. Team members receive a certificate, a photo of themselves in action and official competition apparel.

Bolich played junior varsity football at Mt. Spokane and is a member of the National Honor Society.

Academic awards

Melissa Schlettert of Moscow, Idaho, a junior at Albertson College in Caldwell, Idaho, was named an NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball All-America Scholar-Athlete. She has a 3.85 grade-point average in exercise science.

Heather Owen of Moscow, a senior at Stanford, was a second-team selection on the Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic women’s basketball team. She has a 3.19 GPA in political science.

Baseball

Ticket packages for the Spokane Indians’ 1998 Northwest League season are on sale.

Upper-box season tickets are available for $170. Mini-plans cost $126 for 21 games, $84 for 14 games and $42 for seven games.

Special group rates also are offered. Call 535-2922 for tickets or information.

Spokane’s home schedule begins June 19.

The Northwest Baseball Association, with divisions for players ages 19-29 and 30-and-over, will hold a tryout and draft April 4 from 1-4 p.m. at Seafirst Stadium.

Info: (509) 999-3900 or (208) 699-2900.

Basketball

The Spokane St. Luke’s Cyclones wheelchair team, which was playing at the Final Four this weekend, had the most valuable player and two all-tourney selections in winning the regionals last weekend in Las Vegas.

Paul Hill was named MVP and was joined on the all-tourney team by Lou Tomlinson, the tournament scoring leader with 63 points in two games.

“Paul does a lot of things for our team,” Tomlinson said. “He’s big and really dominates the middle. He really earned” the MVP award.

Bowling

Nadine Fulton of Tacoma made the biggest noise in the second week of the Washington State Women’s Bowling Tournament last weekend in Spokane.

In fact, the biggest noise in the 51-year history of the event.

Fulton rolled the highest game in tournament history, a 299 a week ago today during the doubles portion of the tournament at North Bowl. It helped her and her partner to a 1,285 and first place in Class A doubles.

Fulton also took over first place in A singles (728) and rolled on the team that assumed first in A team.

Other new leaders: A team-Big John Trophies, Tacoma, 2,791. D team-Pin Busters, Spokane, 2,356. B doubles-S. Duff-J. Zumdahl, Ritzville, 1,167. C doubles-L. Rochon-D. Donaldson, Longview, 1,053. E doubles-C. Steadman-D. Guerin, Davenport, 960.

F singles-Sharon Roberts, Davenport, 520. G singles-Christine Lindberg, Centralia, 478. D allevents-Evelyn Larson, Davenport, 1,538. E all-events-Sherri Duff, Ritzville, 1,488. F all-events- Roberts, Davenport, 1,446. G all-events-Theresa Sabin, Davenport, 1,388.

Volleyball

Dale Goodwin of Spokane, an 18-year veteran, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Affiliated Board of Officials (ABO), the national association of college women’s volleyball referees.

Goodwin, the public information officer at Gonzaga University, has officiated in three recent NCAA tournaments (1994, ‘95 and ‘96). He is officiating at a Junior National qualifier this weekend and has been selected to work the Junior National Olympics.

College scene

Paul Masiello of Spokane (Lewis and Clark), a junior at Central Washington, earned an NAIA All-American award for his performance on relay teams at the NAIA Swimming and Diving Championships.

Two Inland Northwest athletes are competing in spring sports at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Jeff Rinck of Spokane (Mead High School) is a junior on the Rams baseball team. Megan Esvelt, a 1997 graduate of Pullman High School, is a freshman on the softball team.

Golf

The Sundance Sunrisers women’s 9-hole golf club meets Tuesdays at the course. Newcomers are welcome.

Info: (509) 325-0318.

The Wandermere women’s 18-hold club will kick off its 1998 season Thursday at the course. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. with a breakfast at 9 and golf to follow. Membership fee is $35.

Info: Madaline Luher, (509) 326-1487.

Gymnastics

Elizabeth Dahl had a first and a second to lead five members of Northwest Gymnastics Academy at the Golden State International Friendship Challenge tournament March 6-7 in Burbank, Calif.

Dahl, 16, was first in the Level 9 floor exercise with a score of 9.20 and second in vault with a 9.0. Sheila Florin, 15, was 14th in vault (8.65).

In Level 8, Marcy Pederson, 13, was ninth in floor (9.20) and 16th in all-around and Ashley Hilmes, 14, was 12th in vault (8.40).

Skiing

Led by Erin Quinn-Hurst, who earned two silver medals, three Lewis and Clark High School students participated in the United States Ski Association Junior Olympic National Cross Country Championships two weeks ago in McCall, Idaho.

Quinn-Hurst, 18, a senior at LC, who won all the Pacific Northwest qualifying races in her age group, was second in the individual 10K classic and 3x5K relay as part of the Pacific Northwest team. She was also fifth in the 5K freestyle in the Older Junior age group.

Additionally, Quinn-Hurst was the Pacific Northwest nominee for the national Dave Quinn Memorial Award, given in the name of the late former competitor and coach.

Marshall Greene, 16, an LC sophomore, was 38th out of 82 competitors in the J1 15K classic and 42nd out of 82 in freestyle. Colin Quinn-Hurst, 15, an LC freshman, was 44th in the J2 5K class and 41st in the 5K freestyle.

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