Wide array makes list of finalists for awards

Talented athletes and state championship teams and coaches made this year’s field of finalists for the 27th Youth Awards Luncheon.

The annual showcase of the Spokane Regional Sports Commission (SRSC) will play before a packed audience of area student athletes. This year’s event will be at noon on Feb. 9 in the Ag Trade Center.

Inland Northwest sportswriters and broadcasters (SWABs) compile the list of finalists and vote for Junior Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Coach and Teams of the Year who will be announced during the lunch.

Major sponsors for the event again are Bank of Whitman and State Farm Insurance. Rockwood Clinic will sponsor and present its Trainer of the Year, one of several special awards given yearly during the lunch.

There are several repeat finalists again this year, including Mead’s two-time state champion volleyball team, its coach Judy Kight and two-time State 4A Most Valuable Player Rachael Schurman.

State championship sprinter and cross country placer Becca Noble from Rogers, Gonzaga Prep soccer standout Alex Butler, and the Ferris boys cross country and LaCrosse-Washtucna football teams also were finalists last year.

SWABS Youth Awards Finalists

JUNIOR MALE ATHLETE

Jeff Bafus – The 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior lineman was a big reason LaCrosse-Washtucna won its third straight State B-8 football title and 35th straight game. He was named All-State and B-8 Player of the Year and was also the PacNW8 Regional player of the year.

Caleb Cazier – Timberlake’s sub-49-second 400-meter runner and Boise State recruit turned in a gutsy state effort. Despite a painful hamstring injury, he won the 400 and anchored the winning 1,600 relay for state championship Tigers. He also hobbled to last places in the 100 and 200 for additional team points.

Luke Feist – Sandpoint wrestler, now at Stanford, became a three-time Idaho state wrestling champion while compiling a 33-2 record last year at 171 pounds. During his four-year career at Sandpoint, Feist’s only loss at state was to his brother Chris, 2-0, when he was a sophomore.

Kevin Hatch – Freeman multi-sport star led Scotties to first State 1A title game and was All-State player after rushing for nearly 1,700 yards and providing standout defense. He also won four titles and placed second twice in state track and field, having a 22-6 long jump, 44-6 triple jump and 6-7 high jump and 14-9 pole vault. Hatch was a member of Freeman’s state-placing basketball team last winter.

Josh Heytvelt – Clarkston basketball star and 3A All-State player, now at Gonzaga University, led Bantams to the Greater Spokane League title, averaging 22.5 points per game during regular season. He finished his year with 597 points in 27 games for the state seventh-place Bantams.

Brett Hite – University soccer All-State player, now at the University of Washington, was named the Premier Development League U-19 Player of the Year after leading the Spokane Shadow with 14 goals and 34 points last summer. Hite was the GSL’s leading scorer last spring despite missing several games with a knee sprain.

Ben Hough – St. George’s standout tennis player, now at Claremont-McKenna College in California, captured his third straight State B Tournament singles championship, winning all his matches in straight sets. His effort also meant the team State 1A/B title for the Dragons.

Garret Johnson – Medical Lake wrestler, now competing at North Idaho College, won his third straight title, all at 215 pounds, in State 2A tournament. Johnson was the sixth Spokane-area wrestler to win three Washington titles. Johnson ended his Cardinals career with 106-18 record.

Brandon Kennedy – Gonzaga Prep senior was named a two-way Washington AP All-State football player, as a receiver and defensive back, for the State 4A semifinalist Bullpups. He caught 13 passes for six touchdowns and a 32.7 yards average in the GSL. He also had four TD catches in the playoffs, including ones of 98 and 44 yards. Kennedy was a member of last year’s Bullpups regional basketball qualifier.

Derek Ryan – Shadle Park student was named the MVP in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Murdoch Division for the Spokane Braves last year. Ryan, a center, scored 70 goals and had 58 assists for the division’s second-place finishers. His performance earned him a promotion to the Spokane Chiefs, for whom he currently plays.

JUNIOR FEMALE ATHLETE

Amber Borders – Kettle Falls senior infielder was the defensive and offensive catalyst for the Bulldogs, who captured last spring’s State 1A softball championship. Borders was named to the Washington sportswriters’ All-State team and selected the 1A MVP.

Alex Butler – Gonzaga Prep midfielder followed up her GSL MVP offensive soccer honor as a junior with the defensive MVP designation last fall. Butler was named All-State for the third-place 4A finishers and last summer played on the Spokane Shadow national championship U-19 team. Butler also starts on G-Prep’s basketball team and finished third in the state track and field 400 with a time of 57.01.

Amanda Furrer – The Spokane 13-year-old, competing for the Spokane Rifle Club’s junior team, won two age group medals at the Junior Olympic National Shooting Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. She won gold in the 3-position free rifle, setting a national age-group record in the 50-meter event. She also won bronze in air rifle.

Jessica Heidenreich – Ritzville multi-purpose athlete averaged 21 points per game during the State 1A tournament, in which her team finished second to Colfax, to earn All-Tournament honors. She was also the State 1A high jump champion at 5-3.

Briann January – Lewis and Clark third-year basketball point guard helped the Tigers to their second straight state appearance with her playmaking and 10.2 scoring average. In the spring, she won the State 4A high jump at 5-6.

Becca Noble – Rogers sprinter led the Pirates to second-place team finish in state. Noble won the 400 by nearly two seconds, in 54.31 (and earlier in the season recorded the second-fastest prep time in Washington history at 53.5); won the 200 (with a 24.74 preliminary time); was fourth in the 100 (12.33); and anchored the 1,600 relay champion winnersm (3:58.89). Five months later, Noble placed third in State 4A cross country race.

Reagan Pariseau – Central Valley basketball point guard, now at Arizona State University, became more than a playmaker, averaging better than 17 points a game for the State 4A seventh-place Bears. She was named the GSL MVP and an All-State performer.

Breanna Sande – Few athletes in Idaho history can match the prep distance record of Lake City’s Sande. State cross country champion as a sophomore, last fall she added her third second-place state finish. The previous spring she won state 800 (2:18.29), 1,600 (5:11.3) and 3,200, and she also ran a leg of a victorious 1,600 relay that was .29 off the state record.

Rachel Schurman – Mead volleyball standout middle blocker was named All-State by Washington sportswriters for the second straight year and also was their 4A MVP for the back-to-back championship Panthers.

Natalie Shaw – Four-year Colfax standout overcame injury the previous year to be named basketball MVP of the Northeast A League, averaged more than 18 points per game, led the Bulldogs to the State 1A title and was named AP Player of the Year.

JUNIOR MALE TEAM

Ferris cross country – The Saxons won their second straight State 4A championship in the fall. In a dominating performance, they scored 46 points, half as many as runner-up Mead, by placing five scorers among the top 23 runners during the 150-runner meet in Pasco.

LaCrosse-Washtucna football – The B-8 juggernaut rolled on with its third straight state championship and an unbeaten season. The Wildcats have won 35 games in a row. Last year they outscored their opponents 580-89 during a 12-0 season, only twice allowing more than a touchdown in a game.

Lind-Ritzville football – Broncos won the State B-11 championship. They completed a 13-0 season and outscored opponents 517-139, including their 24-21 win over DeSales in the Gridiron Classic, rallying from a 21-point, second-half deficit.

Republic basketball – The Tigers, with nary a senior on the team, went 28-1 by winning their final 26 games and captured the State B championship. The lone loss, to Wellpinit, was by a point and the team had only a handful of close games thereafter. Republic beat Wahkiakum 65-43 in the title game.

Timberlake track – The Tigers won the Spirit Lake, Idaho, school’s first state title in any sport in its six-year history. Timberlake scored 69 points, as 13 of the 14 boys qualified for state scoring in the meet.

JUNIOR FEMALE TEAM

Colfax basketball – Defeated Lind-Ritzville for the fifth time in seven meetings to win the State 1A championship. The Bulldogs compiled a 27-4 record in capturing their second title in three years.

Kettle Falls softball – The Bulldogs completed a 25-2 season by winning eight straight playoff games and the State 1A championship behind junior pitcher Kassy Schernitzki’s 21-1 record.

Lake City track – The Timberwolves won their second straight state title with a whopping 118 points. Lake City got half of those points by winning three relay races and getting three individual distance titles by Sande.

Mead volleyball – Despite a relatively new lineup, Panthers won their second straight State 4A title during a 29-2 season. Although second during the regular GSL season and third in the Crossover Classic, the Panthers peaked at season’s end with nine straight playoff wins and twice beat Eisenhower, in regionals and state finals.

St. George’s basketball – The Dragons had five regular-season losses, but completed their 24-6 season by reversing a district playoff defeat to Almira/Coulee-Hartline and winning the State B championship. They won the title for second time in three years. It was their third straight finals appearance.

JUNIOR COACH

Sue Doering – Despite undergoing treatment for cancer, Doering coached the Colfax Bulldogs to their second straight State 1A volleyball title and the school’s fourth championship in the past decade. During that time the Bulldogs have been finalists seven times and finished no lower than fourth.

Mike Hadway – It took two decades for Hadway to win a state cross country championship. It was so nice, he did it twice, coaching Ferris to its second straight state title last fall and No. 1 regional ranking with a dominant effort in Pasco.

Judy Kight – The Mead volleyball team peaked at the right time, winning district, regional and state. It was Kight’s second straight state title and the Panthers’ eighth trophy, including three thirds, two fourths and a fifth during her tenure. Over the past nine years, Kight’s teams have gone 111-14 in the GSL, finishing either first or second each year.

Mike Lynch – Lind-Ritzville’s longtime football coach capped his successful 31-year career with the State B-11 championship. It was his second state title, the first coming in the first of 15 playoff appearances since 1980. His career included five state title appearances and a 216-94-2 overall record.

Jeff Nelson – LaCrosse-Washtucna football coach has built a dynasty. In his decade at the school, the Tigercats have compiled a 102-18 record and been in the State B-8 playoffs eight times. This year’s unbeaten state titlist was his third straight during a string of 35 straight wins.