Central Valley, Ferris To Settle Gymnastics Title

The Greater Spokane League gymnastics title should be decided tonight.

Central Valley and Ferris meet for the final time in league competition. The Bears and Saxons are atop the GSL standings at 9-1 and 10-1, respectively. CV is ranked fourth and Ferris fifth in the first 4A state coaches poll that was released Wednesday.

Lewis and Clark and Rogers also will compete in the meet, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at CV.

While the GSL title is on the line, CV coach Kim Brunelle and her Ferris counterpart, Bill Christianson, say winning league isn’t a huge deal.

“Our ultimate goal is to be the (one) team (from the region) to go to state,” Brunelle said. “We have to win the regional meet. Nothing previous to that matters.”

So CV is focusing more on individual goals at this point, Brunelle said.

But the Bears do have to be ready anytime they go against Ferris, she said.

“If anything, it has helped us stay on track,” Brunelle said. “But you always want to have league-determining meets at the end of the season rather than beginning. But that’s life.”

CV practiced every day during Christmas break except Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The Saxons, meanwhile, had a less strenuous schedule over the break, Christianson said. He went to Las Vegas for a week.

“We didn’t have as much of a productive break as CV did,” he said. “I encourage a break during that time.”

But the Saxons still know the importance of this week, Christianson said. They haven’t won league in close to 20 years, he said.

“It should be close,” Christianson said. “Whoever wins the beam probably wins the meet. That’s typical in any meet.”

The meet features a good matchup in the all-around competition. CV junior Emily Roberts, arguably the top gymnast in the GSL, has edged Saxons senior Gail Larsen in two previous meetings.

State tourneys revamp schedule

All state basketball tournaments this year will have one session per day, which should reduce the lateness of final games for the first two days.

Previous tourneys scheduled Wednesday and Thursday’s eighth and final game at 9:30 p.m. Now those games will start at 8, without beginning the day’s session any earlier.

That benefit was realized by eliminating the 2-hour break between morning and evening sessions. The gap this year will be 30 minutes.

Friday’s semifinals will begin at 6:30 and 8 p.m., one-half hour earlier than under the old format.

Saturday’s placing games will be later except for championship games, still at 7 p.m. (girls) and 9 (boys). New starting times are 12:30 p.m. (fifth/eighth places); 2:30 (fourth/seventh); and 4:30 (third/ sixth).

Coaches differ from newsies

The coaches’ first Washington State B boys basketball poll has a different, and more realistic, view of teams to watch than the first Associated Press poll.

The first AP poll, selected by sportswriters, ranked Waterville No. 1. Waterville’s coach is one of the main voters in the coaches poll, which ranks the Shockers No. 7.

The AP poll left out defending state champion Chief Leschi, which is 6-3 but hasn’t lost to a B school, and Cascade Christian, which is 7-0 and No. 2 in the coaches poll.

Both polls agree that Valley Christian is the real deal. The Panthers are ranked No. 1 by coaches, No. 2 by AP.

Nighthawks lose guard

Senior Jim Thompson of Tekoa-Oakesdale suffered a season-ending knee injury while scrambling for a loose ball in a game against Colfax last month.

T-O (3-5) is looking for scoring punch. Junior Patrick Heaton, at eight points per game, leads the team in scoring.

Football news

Two Big Nine football coaches resigned just before Christmas. Ken Muhlbeier of Southridge and Steve Huff of Kennewick both cited personal reasons.

Muhlbeier built the Southridge program from scratch, starting with this year’s seniors when the school opened with freshmen only.

Huff was hired after Ted Homme was fired following the 1997 season. Huff plans to return to Oklahoma, where he’ll be reunited with his wife, who works at the University of Oklahoma.

Steve Graff, who guided Pasco to the state 4A championship in his second season, was named the Seahawks High School Coach of the Year by the state coaches association. The National Football League will award $1,000 to the Pasco program.