CCS’ Mangum, Hughes collect Eastern Region basketball honors

For a second straight year, Community Colleges of Spokane had the Eastern Region most valuable player and coach of the year in men’s basketball. Both went to the individuals who won them last season.

Sophomore Jeremy Mangum from Davis of Yakima became the first CCS men’s player to win back-to-back MVP honors.

Eric Hughes repeated as coach of the year after leading CCS to a 21-7 overall record and Eastern Region title with a 10-4 mark.

Mangum followed up a record-breaking 2004-05 season in which he had 283 assists, with 209, a 7.7 average. With 492 career assists he has a good shot at topping 500 in the NWAACC tournament beginning Thursday in Kennewick. He averaged 14.9 points and 2.2 steals.

CCS also landed sophomore Erik Bell from Selah on the first Eastern Region all-star team. Bell shot 42 percent from 3-point range and averaged 17.8 points and 4.58 rebounds a game.

Freshman Humberto Perez (Davis HS of Yakima) was a second-team all-region selection. He shot 43.6 percent on 3-pointers and averaged 14.1 points and 4.67 rebounds.

Bicycling

Bill Misner of Spokane has moved up to 14th place from 16th in 2004 on the Perimeter Bicycling Association of America’s list of more than 100 riders who have complete at least 1,000 miles on certified perimeter courses (such as around towns, cities, lakes, mountains, etc.) of 50 miles or more.

Misner, who first made the list in 2001, has accumulated 8,032 miles.

Bowling

Three from Spokane brought home trophies from the singles competition at the high school state tournament in Tacoma two weeks ago.

Meisha LaFave of Rogers was first in the girls B Division with a 1,351 (168.875 average); Dennielle Felton of North Central was fourth in girls B (1,294, 161.75 average); and Trevor Harvey of Lewis and Clark was fourth in the boys B Division (1,442, 180.25 average).

The top five in each of two boys and two girls divisions received trophies.

College scene

Heidi Horobiowski of Spokane, who has led Eastern Oregon University into the NAIA Division II national tournament in women’s basketball, has been named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year.

A senior guard from Mt. Spokane, Horobiowski averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in also earning a second straight first-team all-conference selection.

“She’s one of the most coachable players I have ever worked with,” EOU coach Anji Weissenfluh told the LaGrande Observer after the conference tournament title game in which Horobiowski had 20 points. “She sacrificed her game and her offense to play here. People might thing she’s selfish because she takes people one-on-one and takes shots, but she’s not.”

EOU junior Sheena Henderson from Coulee City earned CCC honorable mention. She had 10 points and seven rebounds in the title game.

•For a second straight year, Sean Mallon of Spokane (Ferris), a junior forward on the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, has been named to the West Coast Conference winter quarter all-academic team.

Mallon has a 3.27 grade-point average in political science.

Cross country

Community Colleges of Spokane has announced the addition of two runners for its cross country teams.

Gary Lorace, the Washington 3A runner-up from Selah, will enter this fall as a freshman. He recently timed 15 minutes, 30 seconds for the indoor 5,000 meters to earn an invitation to the Nike Indoor national this coming weekend in Maryland. He’s run 4:25 for 1,600 meters and 9:30 for 3,200.

Christine Eckstein from Bend, Ore., will transfer from Lane Community College, where she earned a cross country All-America award in 2002. She’s run 19:15 for 5,000 meters, 10:52 for 3,000 and 4:53 for 1,500.

Football

New University of Idaho coach Dennis Erickson will be in Coeur d’Alene for a Kootenai County Vandal Boosters function Wednesday.

A reception to welcome back Erickson will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Coeur d’Alene Inn. Cost is $15 for hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar. The public is welcome.

Gymnastics

Amy Brandle, a senior at University High School and national placer the last three years, has committed to the University of Washington, her family announced.

A Level 10 gymnast at Northwest Gymnastics in Spokane, Brandle has been a competitive gymnast since the first grade. This is her fifth season at that elite level and she has placed in the top five at the Junior Olympic National Championships on floor exercise the past three years.

Skiing

Three members of the Selkirk Nordic Junior Racing Team have been selected based on their results throughout the season to represent the Pacific Northwest in the Junior Olympics National Championships beginning Monday in Houghton, Mich.

Michael Townshend will compete in the J2 division for 14-15 year olds and Brendon Townshend and Romany Redman will be in J1 (16-17).

•Annie Pokorny and Molly Cole of the Selkirk Nordic Junior Racing Team finished 1-2 in the J3 division for 12-13 year olds at the divisional championships. Since J3 racers don’t advance to nationals, this was their season-ending race.

Soccer

Kati Bronson from Mead, a four-year varsity starter, has signed to play at Northern State University, the NCAA Division II school in Aberdeen, S.D., announced.

Bronson, a defender, was a team captain at Mead, and also a team captain on her Spokane Shadow club team that was the 2005 State Cup runner-up.

•Brian Farber from Sandpoint, who played at North Idaho College, is making an impression as a rookie midfielder for the California Cougars in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Farber, 23, has three goals, one assist and 12 blocks and is one of only a handful of players who have played in the team’s first 19 games.

“Brian Farber is not the most technical players we have, but he is faster than the ball,” his coach, Troy Dayak, is quoted as saying in a team press release. “Every day he does something to surprise you.”

Farber was mentioned in a poll of players at the league all-star game as an “up-and-comer or player on the rise.” Dayak concurred. “I believe he has a great future in soccer and in this game,” the coach said.

Softball

Several former area high school stars, all of whom played for Spokane Sliders select teams, have a couple of “reunions” this month in the south.

Stephanie Trudeau (Shadle Park), who is at Dartmouth; Christine Keeton (University), Connecticut; Logan Free (Sandpoint), Georgia Southern; and Destiny Gordon (U-Hi), Florida A&M, are in the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic this weekend.

In mid-month, Trudeau and Gordon will be at the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla., where JoAnna Gonzales (Ferris) and Butler University are also slated to compete.

Swimming

Three from the area have been recognized as All-Americans by United States Masters Swimming in short course meters competition.

And they and four others rank among the organization’s top 10 nationally in their age divisions.

The All-Americans, for having the fastest times in the country, are Susanne Simpson, 45, tops in three events; Suzanne Dills, 60, one event; and Larry Krauser, 52, four events. All are from Spokane.

Others with top-10 rankings are Sister Madonna Buder, 75, Spokane, two events; Margaret Hair, 50, Coeur d’Alene, one event; Imre Schmidt, 85, Coeur d’Alene, four events; and Robert Morrison, 51, Colville, one event.