Kephart national swimming champ
Whitworth’s Samantha Kephart captured the championship of the 100-yard butterfly on the second day of the NCAA Division III women’s swimming and diving championships Friday in Minneapolis.
The win was Kephart’s first individual national swimming title. Kephart’s time of 55.45 seconds broke the Whitworth and Northwest Conference record she set last month and topped defending national champion Marika Ross of Middlebury College in Vermont by .05 seconds.
Kephart will compete as the top seed in the 200 butterfly on the final day of competition today after setting an NCAA Division III record with a time of 2:01.45 last month. Whitworth’s Brittany Gresset will also swim in the 100 freestyle today.
College baseball
Four pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as Gonzaga topped Chicago State (2-6) 6-0 in a game moved to Lewiston because of snow in Spokane on Wednesday.
Clayton Mortensen allowed one hit in three innings of relief to pick up his third win for the Bulldogs (11-7). Gonzaga’s pitching staff recorded 12 strikeouts while extending its scoreless inning streak to 21.
Shawn Neubauer allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings and lost his first decision for the Cougars (2-6).
Softball
Community Colleges of Spokane went 2-2 on the first day of the Maricopa Tournament in Phoenix.
The Sasquatch topped South Mountain 10-0 and Chandler-Gilbert 10-2 in their first two games, then fell to Phoenix 7-2 and Paradise Valley 12-1.
Stephanie Day recorded six hits, including three doubles and two home runs, on the day. Jessie LaPlante and Day each pitched one win and one loss.
Track and field
Idaho’s Russ Winger placed second in the shot put at the NCAA Division I indoor track and field championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Vandals sophomore got off a toss of 63 feet, 9 1/2 inches for runner-up honors behind Florida State’s Garrett Johnson, who reached 67-2 1/4.
In preliminary races, Rogers High School graduate Becca Noble of Oregon won her heat of the women’s 800 meters in 2 minutes, 5.72 seconds to advance to today’s final.
Idaho’s Dee Olson advanced in the women’s mile with the day’s third-fastest time, 4:40.60. Teammate Driss Yousfi failed to advance in the men’s 800, and Bonners Ferry’s Forest Braden was 16th in the men’s 5,000 final.
Golf
Whitworth took home the team championship and individual medalist at the Puget Sound Invitational in Tacoma.
The Pirates entered the round in third place but shot a combined 301 to finish five strokes ahead of second-place Pacific Lutheran. Andrew Parrott shot a combined 150 over the two days for the lowest individual score.