Idaho’s Kurrat leads heptathlon after first day of Big West meet
The University of Idaho’s Manuela Kurrat won three events Wednesday to take the first-day lead in the heptathlon at the Big West Conference track and field championships in Irvine, Calif.
Kurrat won the 100-meter hurdles in a lifetime best 14.42 seconds, then claimed the shot put (42 feet, 8 inches) and 200 (25.54) to total 3,280 after four of the seven events – a 121-point lead over Utah State’s Carrie Yost.
In the decathlon, Idaho’s Jereme Richardson stands second with 3,604 points after five events, 135 behind Justin Johnson of Cal State Northridge. Vandals teammate Marcus Luckstead is sixth.
“In Flagstaff, Ariz., Eastern Washington teammates Matt Ludwigson and David Sargent stand fifth and sixth after the first five events of the decathlon at the Big Sky Conference championships. Ludwigson’s 3,550 points leave him 541 behind leader Andrew Levin of Montana. Sargent totaled 3,530, helped by a 23-41/2 leap to win the long jump.
Montana State’s Erin Jones leads the heptathlon.
Men’s basketball
Derek Risper is nothing if not optimistic, but there appears to be much more to the 6-foot-8, 230-pound player.
Risper, a sophomore at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., has signed a letter of intent to play for EWU.
“The coaches are real good, the players are real good and they have a good chance to go to the (NCAA) Tournament the next couple of years,” said Risper, who helped the Gauchos win 50 games in his two seasons. “The chance to go to the tournament both of my years there was real cool to me.”
The second signee of the spring and third for next season, Risper helped the Gauchos to a 28-3 record and a berth in the semifinals of the California Community College State Tournament last season. He averaged more than seven rebounds and almost 10 points while making nearly 60 percent of his shots.
The Eagles signed 6-9 forward Brandon Moore, who led Bethel to the Washington State 4A championship, during the fall signing period and 6-3 shooting guard Neal Zumwalt out of Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., earlier this spring.
Women’s basketball
Former Central Valley star Emily Westerberg, a sophomore at Arizona State, has been invited to the 2005 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials.
Westerberg, a first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference selection, will miss the workouts May 19-22 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., because of off-season thumb surgery. She has applied for a medical waiver to advance into the pool of finalists.
Following the trials, chaired by Sue Donohoe, NCAA vice president for Division I women’s basketball, the committee will announce finalists for the 12-member USA Women’s U19 World Championship Team and the 12-member USA World University Games Team. Westerberg is eligible for selection to the University Games because of her age.
Westerberg led the Sun Devils and ranked 10th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 11.3 points per game.
“Washington State University’s Adriane Ferguson will compete with Athletes in Action as the team tours Spain from May 19 to June 3.
Ferguson and the Cougars toured Italy for 12 days last May.
Ferguson (Mead High) is coming off a sophomore season in which she scored 9.5 points per game, the second-best total for WSU.
She scored a career-high 26 points against Nebraska on Nov. 22.