Two From Spokane Star At Whitman

Leslie Whitten and Amy Fong of Spokane will have a tough act to follow in their senior tennis season at Whitman College next spring.

Their own.

The Missionaries’ No. 1 doubles team completed a perfect Northwest Conference season with three victories in the league tournament, although Whitman lost a 5-4 decision to Linfield in the semifinals and was deprived a shot at the league title. Pacific Lutheran defeated Linfield in the finals while Whitman beat Lewis & Clark 7-2 for third.

Whitten, from University, and Fong, from Mead, both juniors, were named to the all-conference team for a third straight year. And Whitten, who also plays No. 1 singles, was named the conference player of the year in a vote of the coaches.

Whitten and Fong have stretched a two-year conference winning streak to 23 matches. They were 15-0 in conference and 20-1 overall. Their three-year overall record is 37-6.

In singles, Whitten finished 13-2 in conference and 15-4 overall. Fong, playing No. 2, was 12-3 and 14-4.

Basketball

All-Greater Spokane League forward Chris Watts of Ferris has signed a letter of intent to attend Carroll College in Helena.

The 6-foot-7 Watts averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game as a senior, helping the team to a 26-3 record and a second-place finish at the State 4A tournament.

Two Spokane teams won titles at the 21st annual Inland Empire Association Championships in Spokane last weekend to qualify for national AAU tournaments in July.

Spokane Heat won in girls 14-U and will play in Virginia Beach, Va., July 16-24. Players are Heidi Bunkowske, Anna Damascus, Jessica Gordon, Stefani Kauppila, Brynn Kelly, Jenae Monforton, Megaen Paladin, Chloe Williamson, Brook Young, Emily Westerberg, Breanna Mulvey and Katie Sadler. Mike Kelly, Tom Monforton, Nick Damascus and Nick Westerberg are the coaches.

Spokane Stars won in 12-U girls and will play in Springfield, Mo., July 16-24. Players are Katy Baker, Jami Bjorklund, Sami Ellig, Terri Fender, Katee Nauert, Emily Kuipers, Jamie Morris, Katie Jo Murray, Brandi Stevenson, Katie Storey, Lindsay Whitley and Katie Douglas. Duane Ranniger is the coach.

Winner in 10-U boys was Brewster Heights, which will play in Detroit July 10-17.

College scene

Track and field performers claimed athlete of the month honors for March at Community Colleges of Spokane.

Windi Selle, a sophomore, was the female choice after smashing the school record and taking the conference lead in the women’s hammer with a throw of 155 feet, 6 inches, 4 inches short of the conference record.

Selle, the school record-holder in the 20-pound weight throw at 44-5-1/4, has improved 40 feet this season in the hammer.

Male winner is sophomore James Tomlin. He’s the conference leader in the 800 meters - in fact, he has the four fastest times. His best is 1:53.90. He’s also run a 4:05 1,500.

Two soccer players carted off the major awards at Gonzaga University’s 16th annual Bulldog Club Senior Athletes Luncheon, and a longtime booster was honored for his contributions to GU athletics.

Keeper Josh Fouts and midfielder Shannon Stanford were named the male and female scholar-athletes of the year, and Gene Cunneely received the Bulldog Club service award.

Stanford, who started 77 of the 78 matches in which she played in a four-year career, has compiled a 3.74 GPA in business, and is a two-time West Coast Conference All-Academic selection. She has been nominated for one of an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship.

Fouts, a three-year starter, led the WCC in goals-against average for the second straight year (0.68), posted a school-record nine shutouts and helped lead the Bulldogs to a share of the WCC regular-season title for a second straight year. He has a 3.34 GPA in special education and in the fall was a WCC All-Academic pick.

Cunneely was Gonzaga’s director of annual giving for 14 years until his retirement in 1992, raising more than $27 million in annual gifts.

Wrestler Shaun Williams and cross country/track athlete Teresa Viebrock were named male and female athletes of the year at North Idaho College’s first silent auction/awards banquet last week.

Williams, a sophomore, won an NJCAA title at 125 pounds. He was 28-6 and led the Cardinals in pins (eight), takedowns (127) and 3-point nearfalls (20). His losses all came to wrestlers from four-year schools.

Viebrock, a sophomore from Rathdrum, ranks 12th in school history with a 5K time of 19:12. Last month she anchored NIC’s 3,200-meter and distance medley relay teams to third-place finishes at the NJCAA indoor championships. She has qualified for two events in the outdoor championships.

Sophomore Julie Freeman was named female academic athlete of the year. She has a 3.88 cumulative grade-point average, including a 4.0 this year, while studying pre-physical therapy. She’s a five-time national qualifier in track and cross country.

Freshman Trevor Carlson was chosen male academic athlete of the year. He was No. 2 on the cross country team and has qualified for the NJCAA track and field championships next month while maintaining a 4.0 gradepoint average in pre-engineering.

Idaho senior Katrina Burke was selected to the All-Big West first team in women’s tennis for singles and doubles, joined by Zalijka Vidic in the latter. Vandal Pooja Deshmukh was second team in singles.

On the men’ side, Idaho’s Darin Currall was chosen first team in singles and doubles. Doubles partner Amod Wakalkar also made the second team for singles.

Two athletes from the Spokane area were among Golden Eagle Award winners (highest GPA in each sport) at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Ryan Monroe, a sophomore from Mead, earned the honor for men’s basketball with a 3.61 GPA in business/economics. Annaka Gustafson of Deer Park, a senior, was the recipient in women’s track and field with a 3.32 GPA in biology.

St. George’s graduate Mike Thomas is a pitcher and catcher for the NCAA Division II St. Michael’s College baseball team in Vermont.

In a recent doubleheader sweep of Norwich (Vt.), he had two doubles in the opener and pitched a shutout in the second game.

Shannon Anderson of Spokane (Lewis and Clark) was named the outstanding female athlete at the Spike Arlt Team Track and Field Meet in Ellensburg last weekend in leading Western Washington to the women’s title.

Anderson, a junior, won the 400 meters in 56.99 seconds and led off the victorious 4x400 relay team that met the provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division II Championships with a 3:52.13.

Sarah Hiss, also a junior from LC, qualified for the regional meet in the women’s 200, with a 26.03. She’s also qualified in the long and triple jumps. Anderson is qualified in the 200 and 400.

Brandon Smith of Spokane (Central Valley) tied for 49th with a 72-hole score of 22-over-par 302 for Arizona at the Pac-10 men’s golf championships last week in Seattle. He had rounds of 76-77-73-76 as the Wildcats placed eighth.

University of Idaho’s Shalyne Lynch is a first-team volleyball selection in the 1999 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Awards.

The honor recognizes student-athletes of color who excel on and off the court.

Lynch, a junior, majors in sports science and was a Big West Conference All-Academic selection last fall. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter averaged 1.84 kills and had a .204 hitting percentage.

Figure skating

Frank Hornby of Mead won the gold medal in the Bronze Men’s III category (45 and older) at the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships last month in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Novice-level skater Kim Ryan of Gonzaga Prep has been selected to represent the United States at the North American Challenge Skate in Vancouver, British Columbia, Aug. 12-15.

Ryan earned her selection by placing 10th at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in February in Salt Lake City.

Golf

Ryan Smith, a senior veteran on the Shadle Park High School team, has been selected to receive one of four Chick Evans Caddie Scholarships that have been awarded in Washington.

Evans scholars receive full tuition and housing for the 1999-2000 academic year. Smith, who caddies at Downriver, and the other three will use it to attend the University of Washington. Selections are based on caddie record, academic record, financial need and character. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years.

The Evans program was founded in 1930 by Charles “Chick” Evans of Chicago, winner of the 1916 U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur.

The second annual Pacific Northwest AAU Junior Golf Championships for boys and girls 19 and younger will be held at Apple Tree in Yakima on June 14.

Participants must be high school seniors or below. Top four in each of five age divisions will have a chance to advance to the national finals.

Info: (509) 453-2696.

Longtime former Gonzaga Prep football coach Bill Frazier will be the grand marshal at the inaugural Gonzaga Prep Football Golf Tournament and dinner June 19.

Golf will be at Indian Canyon with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. Cost is $60, which includes dinner, or $30 for dinner only. Dinner will be at G-Prep. It’s a four-person scramble with teams matched by the tournament committee. Proceeds will provide scholarships for G-Prep football players in the summer program.

Hockey

The Inland Empire Warhorses finished sixth in the eight-team USA National Championship Tournament for Peewee AAA Tier 1 teams last month in Laurel, Md.

The Spokane team of 12-and 13-year-olds compiled a 1-3 record in round-robin play. They defeated the Valley Junior Warriors of Massachusetts 5-2 while losing 3-2 to the Cleveland Barons, 3-1 to the eventual champion Valley Forge Minutemen and 8-1 to the Alaska All-Stars.

Running

Kari McKay, who prepped at Almira/Coulee-Hartline High School before starring at Eastern Washington University, won the Ice Breaker 5K at Great Falls, Mont. last Sunday. Her time was 28:07, 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Toughman

Idaho’s first Toughman Contest will be staged at the Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley May 19-20.

The event is restricted to “guys off the street,” according to the release, with three weight divisions - 135-160, 161-185 and 186-400.

Info: (208) 325-7328.

Track and field

Sprinter Whitney Schmaljohn, a sophomore at Community Colleges of Spokane, has signed a letter of intent with the University of Montana.

The Central Valley graduate has personal bests of 12.19 seconds in the 100 meters, 24.7 in the 200 and 56.5 seconds in the 400.

She was the 1998 NWAAC champion in both the 100 and 200.

Swimming

The Washington State women’s swimming team signed six junior national qualifiers for the 1999-2000 season to rebuild a program that will lose eight seniors to graduation.

The newest signees are: Lindsay Henahan, Rochester, N.Y., 100-200 butterfly; Melissa Hubley, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, 100-200 fly; Rebecca Cohen, Portland, 200-500-1,650 freestyle; Rachelle Carano, Reno, Nev., utility; Sara Schmied, Woodinville, Wash., sprint freestyle; and Jill Olson, Seattle, 1,000-1,650 freestyle and 400 individual medley.