Locally

Spokane-area shooters excel at international, state competitions

A team from the Spokane Junior Rifle won the women’s air rifle bronze medal at the Great Britain International Junior Championships that took place Aug. 5-15.

Lauren Furrer, 16, led the way with a score of 380, good for fourth place among individuals. Amanda Furrer, 14, had a score of 375 and Rena Hopkins, 15, had 371 for a total of 1,126.

A men’s team from the same club finished in sixth place with 1,662 points. Its leading scorer was Eric McNett, 18, with 573 points followed by Keith McBeth, 17, with 544, and John Jenkins, 15, 550.

The teams qualified for the event by winning at the CMP/National Guard Bureau Air Rifle Championships that took place in June.

The event in Britain took place in Bisley, about 40 miles southwest of London.

•A team of seven Spokane-area shooters sponsored by the Eastern Washington Youth Outdoor Education Foundation won first place among teams from Washington, Oregon and California at the Washington State Sporting Clays Championships Aug. 18-21 at Sumner, Wash.

The team included Shelby Buckner, Bryce Purdy, J.R. Snodgrass, Dean Flager, Christopher Yarboro, Casey Ostrander and Clint Davis.

All of the shooters had high individual performances in their age divisions, topped by Davis, who won the main event to become the Junior Class State Champion. Ostrander placed third among juniors and Yarboro finished third in the sub-junior division.

Meanwhile, Spokane adult shooters, who work with the youth team, racked up some impressive scores themselves. Bob Dunn won the A Class State Championship and Rocky White, a Spokane master class shooter, was the runner-up for the overall state championship.

College scene

Rathdrum, Idaho, product Travis Pascoe has been hired as an assistant wrestling coach at Fresno State University.

In a release from Fresno State it was announced that Pascoe, a Gonzaga Prep graduate and All-American at Nebraska, will become coach Shawn Charles‘ second assistant for the 2005-06 season.

Pascoe was a four-time NCAA tournament qualifier at Nebraska and finished sixth at 184 pounds this past year.

He was a three-time state champion for the Bullpups between 1998 and 2000 and second in Idaho as a Lakeland freshman compiling a four-year 138-8 record.

He will continue training in an effort to qualify for the upcoming world championships and Olympic Trials.

•Gonzaga University has added 11 baseball players to its roster for the upcoming 2006 season.

Ryan Weigand (San Diego), Cory Powell (Boise/Treasure Valley CC), Clayton Mortensen (Rexburg, Idaho), Dustin Colclough (San Jose, Calif.) and Tyson VanWinkle (Vancouver, Wash.) all signed national letters of intent this week.

Mark Castellito (San Diego), Austin Weymouth (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Nick Dietzen (Moses Lake Christian), C.J. McClure (Kennewick), Tom Johnson (Denver) and Bryan Winston (Richland/CC Spokane) will all walk on.

Winston earned All-Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Eastern Region honors, as well as a first-team All-NWAACC selection last season. He hit .406 with 13 doubles and 13 stolen bases for the Sasquatch.

•The first annual Gonzaga University Student-Athlete Scholarship Benefit Dinner will be held on Sept. 14 at Anthony’s HomePort at Spokane Falls.

Dinner is $250 per person, and all proceeds will benefit Gonzaga student-athlete scholarships. A social and silent auction will be held at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7. The dinner will also honor former GU basketball player Frank Burgess.

For reservations, call 323-5970.

Golf

Justin Haase, 13, won the boys 12-13 division championship at the Frank Rodia Invitational, which concluded Tuesday at Alderbrook Golf and Yacht Club in Union, Wash.

Haase shot a two-day total of 154 to win the tournament, which features the top junior golfers in Oregon and Washington. He qualified for the tournament by finishing in the top 10 at the Washington Junior Golf Association state championships last month.

Track and field

George Mathews of Hayden Lake, Idaho, won the men’s 60-64 weight throw Friday at the World Masters Athletics Championships in San Sebastian, Spain.

Mathews won the event with a throw of 19.84 meters (65 feet, 1¼ inches). He will also compete in the hammer throw, shot put and weight pentathlon this week.

Hockey

Tickets are on sale for the Spokane Chiefs’ lone home exhibition game, Sept. 16 against the Tri-City Americans at Eagles Ice-A-Rena.

Tickets cost $5 each and can be found at the Spokane Chiefs office and Eagles Ice-A-Rena. For more information, call 535-PUCK.