Quick hits
Wrestling, it’s a wrap
The Greater Spokane League had fewer state wrestling qualifiers with this year’s combined 4A and 3A total of 28 nearly half of the previous year’s 47. But an impressive 25 placed – nearly 90 percent – which compared favorably to last year’s 34 medal winners. Included were nine finalists and three state champions.
GSL 4A schools placed 14 of 15 and University trophied (fourth). The 3A schools placed 11 of 13, with two state champs and third-place team trophy winner East Valley.
Lakeside’s fifth 2A team title led a Great Northern League showing in which 27 of 39 state qualifiers medaled. Included were seven finalists and three champions.
District 7 1A/B schools medaled 24 of 42 state qualifiers with five state champions among seven finalists. Newport trophied in second and Republic was fourth among teams.
Violation could benefit GSL
A rule broken by Skyview’s gymnastics team could result in Mead and University both moving up a spot in the State 4A team competition.
Because of a club gymnastics meet, two Skyview gymnasts showed up halfway through Saturday’s individual event finals, and that could cost Skyview its third-place trophy, won on Friday.
A WIAA rule states that “…barring injury, illness or unforeseen events, the team or individuals representing the school will participate in every game or competition that is part of the championship event, until the final conclusion of the meet, contest or championship.”
WIAA assistant executive director Cindy Hettinger told The Columbian that she would ask the WIAA Executive Board to drop from the team totals Friday’s scores in the events the two gymnasts missed Saturday.
That would drop Skyview to eighth, pushing Mead into fifth and U-Hi to seventh.
Academic titles
Three area basketball teams won winter academic awards, including the Mt. Spokane girls taking the 4A with a 3.85 grade point average. Wilbur-Creston’s girls (3.9) and Northwest Christian’s boys (3.66) won B awards. Ferris’ gymnastics team (3.76) was also honored.
Great Northern League
Deer Park’s girls may have experienced déjÀ vu walking off the court after upsetting third-seeded Chewelah in overtime in a loser-out game Tuesday. Last year the Stags were on the other end of a season-ending OT upset. … The four-team double-elimination portion of the district tournament begins Friday (boys) and Saturday (girls) at Pullman and Lakeside, before moving to Mead. Two of the four teams in boys and girls qualify for the State 2A tournament, March 8-11 in Yakima.
1A
There’s still a chance for the Northeast A’s Freeman and Colfax to send both boys and girls teams to state based on how they do in Saturday games at Brewster. Freeman’s girls (18-3) will play Brewster at 1 p.m. in a loser-out regional game to determine a state berth, while Colfax (19-4) has a 6 p.m. tilt with tonight’s loser of the Liberty Bell/Lake Roosevelt District 6 second-place game. On the boys’ side, Colfax (18-4) will play Oroville at 8 p.m. in a loser-out regional matchup, while Freeman has a 3 p.m. game with the Lake Roosevelt/Brewster loser.
The Bs
District 7: A Bi-County sweep of the opening round of the District 7 boys tournament will create some familiar matchups in winner-to-state games tonight at Mt. Spokane. Reardan (14-11), which finished sixth in the Bi-Co, plays Northwest Christian (21-3) in the 5 p.m. opener. Reardan’s Travis Teaford is averaging 20.3 points a game during the Indians’ four-game postseason winning streak. NWC beat the Indians by 12 and seven in their regular-season meetings. The second game pits Lind-Ritzville (16-8) against Wilbur-Creston (14-11), which comes off an upset over second-ranked Republic. The Broncos won the two regular-season games with W-C.
District 9: St. John-Endicott (20-3) and Liberty Christian (18-6) have earned two of the three boys berths to next week’s State B and will face off Friday at WSU for the district championship at 8 p.m. Jesse Butcher is averaging 23.3 points in the postseason – including 27.0 in two district games – for SJE, which has won eight straight. … SJE (17-6) and LC (19-5) will also play in Friday’s 6:30 girls district championship at WSU. The winner clinches a state berth, while the loser will play for the final berth Saturday.