Whits win NWC men’s golf title

Whitworth won its second consecutive Northwest Conference men’s golf championship Monday in Sisters, Ore., and had the individual champion, too.

The Pirates, led by Andrew Parrott, posted a four-stroke decision over Linfield, 614-618, in the 36-hole tournament.

Parrott, who edged Dave Eaton of Willamette, 149-150, to earn medalist honors, had the tournament’s only sub-par round, a 2-under 70 on the first day at the Aspen Lakes Golf Course. He shot a 79 Monday.

Parrott and Pirates teammate Jordan Carter, who tied for fifth with a 154, earned all-conference recognition. Whitworth’s Warren Friedrichs was named coach of the year after leading a team composed entirely of freshmen and sophomores to the championship.

“Washington State senior All-American Anastasia Kostina shot her way to the top in the first round of the 54-hole Pacific-10 women’s championship in Tucson, Ariz.

Kostina fired a 2-under-par 70 on the 6,459-yard Oro Valley Country Club course to share the lead with Arizona State’s Azahara Munoz, who is ranked No. 6 by GolfWeek magazine.

WSU freshman Amy Eneroth from Mead opened with a 2-over 74 to tie for 17th. Cougar Jessica Black is another shot back at 75.

The Cougars, ranked 42nd by GolfWeek, is sixth after the first 18 holes with a 12-over 300, the team’s third lowest round of the season. Arizona State is the first-day leader off a 1-under 287. Washington, ranked 27th, is ninth at 308.

“Community Colleges of Spokane women breezed to victory and the Sasquatch men placed third in the Bigfoot Invitational that wound up a 36-hole run Monday.

Led by Kara Winey and Jenna Fetters, who placed second and fourth, respectively, with scores of 159 and 170, the CCS women defeated Southwest Oregon 509-546.

Paige Gifford, competing unattached, was medalist at 15-over 157.

CCS’ Aaron Biel was third at 156, 14 over par, in the men’s event. The Sasquatch had a 649 team score behind winner Columbia Basin (635) and runner-up Walla Walla (636). Brady Sharp of Walla Walla was medalist with a 10-over 152.

The first day was at The Links and Monday’s round at Prairie Falls.

Rodeo

Sandpoint bareback rider Rowdy Buechner, who has been battling injuries all season, had a big weekend at the 85th Red Bluff Round-Up in Red Bluff, Calif.

Buechner won the first go-round with an 84 on Flying Five Rodeo’s Rhonda Blue and was second in the final round with an 83 on Miss America Title of Big Bend Rodeo.

The 187 points on two rides gave him the average title and pushed his weekend earnings to $5,772. That vaulted him back into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys standings at 17th with $12,226 in earnings.

Buechner has only competed in nine rodeos. Will Lowe, the defending champion, is the current leader with $35,728. Lowe, from Canyon, Texas, has entered 18 rodeos.

Cheney bareback rider Ryan Gray is fourth with $26,887 in 10 rodeos.

Red Bluff was the 10th stop on the 2006 Wrangler ProRodeo Winter Tour. The top 12 in each event in total points after the 12 winter tour rodeos qualify for the Pace Picate ProRodeo Chute-out May 13-14 in Tulsa.

Gray is second with 78 points and Buechner a precarious 11th with 45.5.

Climbing talk canceled

A Mount Rainier climbing multi-media presentation scheduled for tonight in Spokane has been canceled.

Mike Gauthier, Mount Rainier’s head climbing ranger, had to cancel his presentation following the recent death of a close friend, according to a spokeswoman from Mountain Gear.

The program, “Mountain Adventures, Climbing, Rescue and Being Struck by Lightning,” has not yet been rescheduled, she said.