Locally

Former Mt. Spokane runner honored by Sports Illustrated

Chelsea Smith is “under the radar” no more.

The former Mt. Spokane distance runner, who started her collegiate career as a walk-on on the BYU-Hawaii cross country team and capped her freshmen season by winning the NCAA Division II cross country championship last year, has gained national recognition for a two-season winning streak that has reached 11 races.

Smith, undefeated in six races this year, is featured in the Oct. 25 edition of Sports Illustrated in the magazine’s “Faces in the Crowd.”

The sophomore has lowered her 5,000-meter time from 21 minutes, 32 seconds in high school to 17:22. She holds the school record for every distance run at BYU-Hawaii. Additionally, in her first attempt at a marathon during the summer, she placed first in the Deseret Morning News/KJZZ TV women’s marathon in Salt Lake City, covering the distance in 2:49.04.

On schedule to graduate a year early, Smith was a 2004 Academic All-American. She was also a finalist for the Honda Award, which goes to the top female athlete in NCAA Division II, was the West Region runner of the year as a freshmen and BYU-Hawaii’s female athlete of the year in 2003-04.

Smith was to be in Billings, Mont., Saturday for the Pacific West Conference Championships, the first stop on her bid to repeat as NCAA D-II champion. The West Regional is in Bellingham, Wash., on Nov. 6, and the NCAA Championships are Nov. 20 in Evansville, Ind.

Basketball

A mandatory state rules clinic for North Idaho high school basketball coaches and referees will be held Tuesday at Coeur d’Alene High School.

All returning referees and anyone interested in becoming a referee will meet at 6 p.m. The coaches meeting will be at 7.

Info: John Posnick, (208) 753-1131.

Bowling

Nick Schmehl started hot and finished hot, knocking off brother Josh to win the October stop of the Junior Bowlers Tour last Sunday at Go-Bowl in Pasco.

Nick Schmehl, who led the early qualifying, wound up second to Josh going into the five-man finals. Josh Schmehl, who has been the No. 1 qualifier consistently this fall but has run into some tough luck in the final match, was beaten 174-157 by his brother. Josh’s pin count was more than 100 pins less than the 258 he rolled to establish top game of the day for the boys.

Brandon Rousch, in his first top-five final, finished third; Matt Descoteaux was fourth; and Jared Descoteaux was fifth.

Ashley Brock had high game for the girls, a 226.

The next JBT is Nov. 7 at Players & Spectators.

Boxing

Spokane’s Dewey Welliver will take on Vince Phillips in the main event of a six-bout pro fight card Nov. 4 at the Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho.

Welliver is 15-9 with four knockouts. He recorded a decision over Livingston Bramble last year. Phillips, of Las Vegas, is 45-8-1 with 33 KOs. The two 154-pounders are scheduled for 10 rounds.

In other bouts:

At 185 pounds, Spokane’s Luke Munsen (14-2) vs. Winnipeg’s Peter O’Kane (14-4-1); at 160, Boise’s Chris Lords (2-1) vs. Billings’ Daniel Gonzales (0-1); at 160, Coeur d’Alene’s Jose Medina (6-3) vs. San Diego’s Vince Parra (6-4); at heavyweight, Jeremy Munsen (1-0) vs. Billings’ Ted Reiter (1-0); at 160, Post Falls’ Rafael Cansino (0-1) vs. Portland’s Curtis Frost (4-3-1).

College scene

Community Colleges of Spokane men’s soccer player Blane Bremer, a sophomore from West Valley, was named to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges All-Academic team with a 3.41 grade-point average.

• Notre Dame junior co-captain Katie Brophy of Gonzaga Prep tied her career-low round with a 3-under-par 69 to highlight a 54-hole score of 229 that earned her a tie for 12th and the Irish a fifth-place finish in the seventh annual Lady Razorback Invitational golf tournament that ended Tuesday.

After a sluggish start the first four holes, Brophy said, “I got it going and started making every putt. I made seven birdies … which is the most ever for me, and that was very exciting.”

Brophy’s teammate, junior Sarah Bassett from Lewis and Clark, had her best round of the tournament in the final round, a 5-over 72, for a 244.

• Yale freshman Ellie Brophy from Gonzaga Prep led the Bulldogs with a 36-hole total 159, good for fifth place overall, in the Yale Women’s Golf Invitational last weekend. Yale defeated Richmond in a playoff for the team title.

Brophy has consistently been among the Bulldogs’ top scorers this fall.