Seven Eagles on I-AA All-America team
Seven Eastern Washington University football players, all from the state of Washington, have been selected to the Football Gazette preseason NCAA Division I-AA All-America team.
Offensive guard Matt Alfred, a junior from Gig Harbor, earned first team honors and running back Ryan Cole, from Port Orchard, was a second team selection.
Five other Eagles received honorable mention. They are tight end Tim Calhoun from Zillah, offensive tackle Rocky Hanni from Sumner, linebacker David Eneberg from Mukilteo, defensive back Bryan Jarrett from Puyallup, and Brandon Keeler from Federal Way.
College scene
•Jason Guiffre, a senior at the University of Idaho, was chosen as the male recipient of the Western Athletic Conference’s Stan Bates Award, which is given annually to the male and female student-athletes who are deemed most outstanding in a vote of the league’s NCAA Faculty Athletic Representatives.
Guiffre is a four-year letter winner for the Idaho track and field program. He is a three-time all-Big West Conference selection and one-time all-WAC selection. He was also a member of the 4x400 relay teams that placed first and third at the Big West Championships events, second at the 2006 WAC Outdoor Championships, and seventh at the 2004 NCAA Regional.
Guiffre is a mechanical engineering major expected to graduate in December 2006. He currently has a 3.77 grade point average and is a three-time All-Academic Big West Team member and a 2006 WAC All-Academic Team member.
The award includes a $2,000 postgraduate scholarship.
•University of Idaho women’s golfers Jennifer Tucker and Kelly Nakashima have been recognized by the National Golf Coaches Association for their athletic and academic achievements.
Tucker, who graduated in May with a degree in Business Marketing, and Nakashima, who will be a junior majoring in Sports Science this fall, were recognized as All-American Scholars by the national group.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete needed to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 and to have participated in at least 50 percent of her team’s competitions.
Track and Field
Seven high school student- athletes, all from the state of Washington, have signed letters of intent to attend Eastern Washington University and compete in track and field for the Eagles.
The signees include Gonzaga Prep’s Erica Chaney, who set school records in the shot put (42-10.5) and discus (133.0). Joining Chaney will be sprinter Krystal Deyo from Castle Rock High School. Deyo won five State 2A titles in the last three seasons during a four-year run of competing at the State 2A/1A/B Championships at EWU’s Woodward Field.
Besides Chaney and Deyo, other female athletes signed were Lindsey Diaz from Heritage High School in Vancouver, Jessica Duran from Kent-Meridian High School, and Kristin Felderman from Rainier Christian (she competed for Mt. Tahoma High School).
Male athletes signed included Erik Church from Thomas Jefferson High School in Federal Way, and Stephen Praast from Tahoma High School in Maple Valley.
Miscellany
Spokane’s Marc Taylor and Cheney’s Kevin Gawgnit have been accepted into the Babe Ruth Baseball National Umpires Association.