WSU senior Welch finishes tied for 3rd

Second-round leader Kim Welch of Washington State University ballooned to a final-round 75 Wednesday and finished tied for third place at the Pacific-10 Conference Women’s Golf Championships in Pleasanton, Calif.

Welch, who entered the day at Ruby Hill Golf Club with a three-stroke lead, finished at 5-under-par 211, four shots behind medalist Louise Stahle of Arizona State. Stahle, the nation’s top-ranked player, closed with a 67.

Welch, a senior, recorded the highest finish at the championships by any Cougars golfer, male or female. Welch also placed ninth in 2003.

WSU seniors Jay-Lee Longbottom (tied for 21st) and Maria Kostina (tied for 23rd) gave the Cougars three golfers in the top 25.

Arizona junior Lani Elston (Ferris High) finished tied for 23rd at 13-over 229.

WSU finished in seventh place with an 898, one shot behind Washington. The Cougars tied their best finish at the event with their best score at the event.

UCLA won team honors at 874, four shots ahead of ASU.

•Senior Carlie Allen and sophomore Sheena Prante tied for eighth place and led Eastern Washington to third place at the Big Sky Conference Championships at Palm Valley Golf Course in Goodyear, Ariz.

Allen, who shot a 3-over 75 during the final round, and Prante, who carded a 76, finished at 12-over 228. EWU freshman Brooke Henderson placed 25th at 237.

The Eagles finished at 58-over 922, 17 shots behind champion Portland State. Northern Arizona’s Sophia Choi was the medalist with a 219, five strokes ahead of Montana’s Krista Swanson.

Graybeal named interim at Weber

Jerry Graybeal, who resigned at Weber State’s football coach after last season’s 1-10 record, was named as interim athletic director at the Ogden, Utah, university.

Graybeal, who spent 15 years as an assistant coach at Eastern Washington University, including 10 seasons as defensive coordinator, will replace William J. Weidner.

Weidner resigned just five months after taking over the Wildcats’ athletic department. Weidner said he took the job as deputy AD at the University of Central Florida to be closer to his family.

One of Weidner’s largest tasks in his short time at Weber State was hiring a replacement for Graybeal. Weidner got former University of Utah coach Ron McBride to return to the state and take over the Division I-AA Wildcats.

Baseball

Bryan Winston finished 3 for 5, including a one-out RBI double in the eighth, to give Community Colleges of Spokane a 3-2 win and a split of a Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges doubleheader at Walla Walla (12-16, 3-11).

Dan Lau went 3 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs in the opener, but his Sasquatch lost 8-5. CCS (19-6, 10-4) began the day tied for first place in the East Division with Treasure Valley CC.

Men’s crew

Gonzaga won its 16th consecutive Fawley Cup, sweeping four races from Washington State at the 2,000-meter Silver Lake course in Medical Lake.

Men’s track and field

University of Idaho sophomore Russ Winger was named the Big West Conference field athlete of the week after winning the shot put and discus at last weekend’s McDonald’s Outdoor at Moscow, Idaho. Winger threw a personal-best 60 feet, 8 1/2 inches in the shot put and 169-10 in the discus.