Athletes, coaches earn honors as Youth Awards finalists

It was a banner year for Inland Northwest high school athletes, coaches and teams, and their results are reflected in this year’s list of finalists who will be recognized at the 28th Youth Awards Luncheon.

Included are last year’s Junior Female winner, Rogers track star Becca Noble, and Lewis and Clark basketball player Briann January, both of whom are continuing their athletic careers collegiately.

Spokane Chiefs hockey player Derek Ryan, a June graduate of Shadle Park, is also tabbed as a finalist again.

Three coaches and their teams are also repeat finalists – Judy Kight and three-time champion Mead volleyball, Mike Hadway and three-time champion Ferris cross country, and Jeff Nelson and four-time champion LaCrosse-Washtucna football.

Colfax’s girls basketball 1A repeat champion will again be represented at the head table.

This year’s annual showcase of the Spokane Regional Sports Commission (SRSC) and Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters will be Feb. 8 at noon in the Spokane Convention Center.

In attendance will be more than 1,000 area student-athletes whose lunches are paid for by area businesses.

Major sponsors for the luncheon, whose chairman is Jeff Colliton, are State Farm Insurance and Rockwood Clinic, which will honor its sports Trainer of the Year, one of several special awards presentations.

For ticket information, the SRSC contact is Jan Neumann at 995-5629.

SWABS Youth Awards Finalists Junior Male Athlete

Chad Butorac – Northport sprint star won three events in the State B track meet, the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races, and established a meet record of 48.58 in the 400. His time beat the previous record by nearly a second.

Cory Fish – Repeated as State 4A wrestling champion for University High and compiled a 39-1 record en route to the 119-pound title for the state champion Titans.

Nick Grigsby – Central Valley junior captured the State 4A golf championship and numerous other tournaments. He was Greater Spokane League MVP with a scoring average of 70.25. Last summer he was third individually on Washington’s second-place Hogan Cup team and was also medalist at the PNGA Junior Amateur Championships.

Adam Hall – Two-time Bonners Ferry wrestling champion ran his winning streak to 77 matches (and has increased it to more than 90 this winter) while winning last year’s 145-pound Idaho state championship. He was second in last summer’s Junior Nationals at 140.

Ben Poffenroth – Ferris High distance runner capped his career with two victories in the State 4A track meet. Poffenroth timed 4:13.11 for the 1,600-meter triumph and came back 2½ hours later to win a stirring 800 at the wire in 1:54.95.

Derek Ryan – Shadle Park senior played 71 games with the Spokane Chiefs and was named Western Hockey League West Division Rookie of the Year. Ryan was fourth in scoring among rookies in the league with 46 points, which tied him for fourth among Chiefs players.

Paul Senescall – Mead football standout at running back and linebacker was named AP All-State after being named Greater Spokane League defensive MVP for the league champion and State 4A quarterfinalist Panthers.

Mike Thomas – Two-way All-State football player was a big reason Pullman High won the State 2A championship. Thomas rushed for more than 1,000 yards during the season as Great Northern League offensive MVP and also earned All-State honors as a defensive end.

Rashad Toussaint – West Valley track star became the state’s all-time best prep triple jumper when he reached 52-feet, one-half inch to win the U.S. Junior Track and Field championship and earned a berth on the Pan-American Games junior team. Toussaint, despite an injury-plagued spring, won both the long (24-1¾) and triple (49-11¾) jumps to lead WV’s State 3A title effort and was integral to a fourth-place state basketball finish.

Steven Wesley – AP All-State player and State 2A basketball tournament MVP led Medical Lake to the state title. He averaged 18.7 points per game during the year for the Cardinals and in the spring was State 2A triple jump champion at 43-10½.

Junior Female Athlete

Angie Bjorklund – University High sophomore was named a Parade Magazine All-American in basketball. She led the Greater Spokane League in scoring at 18.7 points per game, increasing her average to 22.3 per game during the postseason. She was AP All-State and Tacoma News Tribune Washington player of the year.

Jessie DePell – Multisport standout from Freeman was named State 1A basketball MVP and AP Player of the Year for the state runner-up Scotties. DePell had a 40-point effort in one state game. She placed in state track in the spring and was a standout on Freeman’s state-placing volleyball team.

Angela Hartill – Now playing at New Mexico, Hartill led Riverside to a third-place State 2A basketball finish that included games of 20 and 22 points. She averaged 16.0 points per game during the year and also won the State 2A shot put at 39-6¼.

Briann January – Four-year Lewis and Clark point guard is fifth all-time among Greater Spokane League players with 1,135 points . The Arizona State freshman helped the Tigers to three state tournaments and placed twice, including third last year. She finished second in the State 4A high jump at 5-8, 2 inches higher than her jump to win state in 2004.

Lauren Mellor – Colfax athlete was named State 1A Volleyball Player of the Year in leading Bulldogs to their second straight title and also was an integral part the team’s 1A basketball state championship.

Becca Noble – Rogers High track athlete won the U.S. Junior Track and Field championships in 2 minutes, 3.73 seconds, fastest all-time in state prep history and best junior time in the world last summer. She was Pan American Junior Athletics Championships winner in 2:04.07. Noble won her third State 4A 400-meter title, lowering her meet record to 54.14 seconds and added another meet record winning the 800 in 2:08.61.

Megan O’Reilly – Mt. Spokane distance star was at her best in the fall while winning her first State 4A cross country title. O’Reilly set a meet record timing 17:38 for 5,000 meters. She had earlier set records of 17:01 in regionals and 17:12.17 in the Jim Danner Invitational in Gresham, Ore. O’Reilly finished fourth in the Foot Locker National Cross Country meet.

Tonya Schnibbe – Three-sport standout at University High played on three state qualifying teams. The Greater Spokane League soccer scoring leader was named offensive MVP and a second-time All-State selection. She was starting point guard for the sixth-place state placing basketball team and All-GSL second baseman for fifth-place finishing softball team.

Megan Thigpen – Another three-sport athlete, Mead outside hitter was GSL MVP and All-State volleyball player and member of three state championship teams. She also started in basketball and softball, the latter team making its second straight state tournament.

Kelli Tikker – The Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) sophomore, was the Great Northern League MVP in volleyball and was named All-State for the state’s third-place 2A team. Tikker averaged more than 16 kills per match the latter part of the season in leading the Eagles to the state tournament. She also placed third in the State 2A 400 meters in track.

Junior Male Team

Ferris cross country – Saxons have become the latest Greater Spokane League distance dynasty, winning their third straight State 4A cross country championship after placing second in league and regionals to state runner-up Mead.

LaCrosse-Washtucna football – The Tigercats continued to make state football history, winning their record fourth straight State B-8 championship and tying the state’s longest winning streak with their 48th straight win.

Medical Lake basketball – Surprising Cardinals became the school’s first State 2A basketball champion. Medical Lake finished second in the Great Northern League but won final six games to go 22-4 for the year.

Pullman football – One of the best Washington football teams of any classification, the Greyhounds completed a 14-0 season that included a victory over State 3A runner-up Prosser en route to the State 2A title. They outscored the opposition 567-158.

University wrestling – Titans had a perfect season, including an unbeaten run through the Greater Spokane League. U-Hi also tied or won every invitational and postseason tournament to earn the State 4A title.

Junior Female Team

Colfax basketball – Fifth time was a charm for young team, which defeated fellow Northeast A League team Freeman for the school’s second straight State 1A girls basketball championship. The Bulldogs had lost four times to the Scotties during regular season.

Cusick basketball – The Panthers had never before qualified for the State B girls basketball tournament but made the most of their debut. They capped a 28-2 season by reversing a 35-point district loss to beat Almira/Coulee-Hartline 67-50 for the championship.

Mead volleyball – The Panthers have been the state’s premier team three years running while compiling a 95-4 match record. This year’s volleyball team was perfect, going 33-0 and winning the school’s third straight State 4A championship.

Moscow volleyball – Bears compiled a 29-0 record (that included a regular-season victory over Washington State 2A champion Pullman) and won the Idaho State 4A state championship.

Riverside cross country – Rams put it all together and won the State 2A championship after finishing second in the Great Northern League. It was the school’s second girls title.

Junior Coach

Arnold Brown – The former Medical Lake player and third-year coach took his team to the State 2A tournament for the second straight year. Following 2004’s third-place finish the team went 22-4 in 2005 to win the school’s first state basketball championship.

Judy Kight – Under Kight’s guidance, Mead volleyball has won the past three State 4A championships and in 10 state trips has finished in the top four nine times. This year’s team went 33-0, improving her record as Panthers coach to 386-125.

J. R. Bluff – Coaching at his alma mater, Bluff’s Cusick Panthers qualified for their first girls state basketball tournament, then proceeded to win all four games and a state title.

Aimee Graham – In her third year as Moscow High coach, Graham guided the Bears to a 29-0 record and Idaho 4A state volleyball title.

Jennifer Greeny – With no superstars or all-state performers, Pullman’s coach had the team thing going as the Greyhounds won 22 of their final 24 matches en route to the State 2A tournament title.

Mike Hadway – Longtime successful Saxons coach peaked his team at the right time, and the result was a third straight State 4A cross country championship over Greater Spokane League rival Mead.

Lance Lincoln – There have only been four local state baseball champions of Class 2A or higher, and Lincoln has coached two of them. Pullman last spring went 24-2 in adding a state title trophy to the one they earned in 2001.

Jim McLachlan – He’s won numerous cross country and track state team trophies in his long career of West Valley. But it wasn’t until last spring, in his fourth decade, that the Eagles’ mentor won an elusive State 3A track championship. WV edged Columbia River 40-38 for the crown.

Jeff Nelson – LaCrosse-Washtucna football coach became the second in Washington to win four straight state championships. The Tigercats ran their win streak to a record-tying 48 games en route to the State B-8 title and joined Bellevue in winning four in a row.

Don Owen – The successful coach of University wrestling swept through the season of dual, invitational and tournament competition and became the fifth Greater Spokane League coach to win a State 4A team championship.