Nash captures bowling title
It was a wire-to-wire win for Evan Nash in the Junior Bowlers Tour’s first visit to Pullman on Oct. 8.
Nash took the lead in the first game, put together a 919 series for his first four games en route to qualifying first, then cut short fifth-place qualifier Nick Schmehl’s charge through the playoffs with a 176-167 win in the championship match.
Brandon Roush finished third, Jared Descoteaux fourth and Justin Johnson fifth. Schmehl came from 11th to capture the fifth qualifying spot and Johnson jumped from 18th to fourth. Descoteaux had high game, a 257. April Holdiman was high for the girls with a 193.
Baseball
Four Spokane high school players, three of them from Mt. Spokane, were members of the Washington East team that compiled a 4-1 record at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic in Peoria, Ariz., Oct. 12-15. It is regarded the top fall showcase event for the West Coast and attracted more than 300 colleges coaches and professional scouts.
The Eastern Washington team included Mark Purser, Paul Smith and Niko Sotolongo, all from Mt. Spokane, and Ryan Simmerlink from Central Valley. Sotolongo plays for the Spokane Northstars, the others for Club Spokane Dodgers.
Jeff Simmerlink, who coaches Club Spokane Dodgers, coached the East team.
Basketball
Washington State will place all single-game home men’s and women’s tickets on sale Monday beginning at 10 a.m. either online at www.wsucougars.com, or by phone at (800) GO-COUGS or (509) 335-9626.
Men’s tickets range in price from $20-50 with women’s tickets from $3-9. Group rates, with a minimum of 20, are also available.
Highlighting the men’s home schedule is a Dec. 5 game against Gonzaga and a March 1 visit from NCAA runner-up UCLA. Women’s highlights include a Jan. 13 visit from six-time defending Pac-10 champion Stanford, which advanced to the Elite Eight last season, and a Feb. 17 game with rival Washington.
College scene
Justin Houck, a University of Portland sophomore from Ferris, is a key member of the men’s cross country team that is preparing for the West Coast Conference championships next weekend in Belmont, Calif.
In recent meets, Houck finished 12th overall as the fourth Portland runner in a meet in Wisconsin, covering 8,000 meters in 24 minutes, 50 seconds after placing 37th as the sixth Pilot in the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore., with a 24:10 time for 8,000.
“The North Idaho softball team was named a Top 10 All-Academic Team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for the 2005-06 school year. The Cardinals tied for sixth place in the junior college category with an average team GPA of 3.28.
The Cardinals were honored during the summer as a National Junior College Athletic Association Academic All-America Team.
Softball
Gary Kuck, a 28-year veteran, received the F. Bruce Campbell Award at the Spokane Softball Umpires Association banquet on Oct. 14.
The award, in the name of a late former Spokane umpire in chief, recognizes an umpire for longevity, service and dedication to umpiring in Spokane. Kuck has served on the SSUA board of directors, umpired in nine Amateur Softball Association national tournaments and two state high school tournaments. He also regularly volunteers his time and was co-chairman of the awards banquet.
John Isles, who has umpired locally for three decades and served as the SSUA liaison to the Washington Officials Association for most of that time, received the Presidential Pride award from president Don Brock.
Ken Mathia and Thom Sutton shared the umpire of the year award for the adult level, and Kathleen Burns, Paul Clary and Bob Schloss shared the award at the youth level. Most improved awards went to Dan Hill (adult) and Larry Tichey (youth). David Ewing (adult) and Scott Mikos (youth) were named rookies of the year.
“Kuck was re-elected vice president of adult programs at the SSUA elections. Also retained were Chuck Latimer, secretary, and Rob Hough and Jerome Duffney, members at large.
Weightlighting
Bud Bauer of Pullman won gold medals in the squat and bench press, plus the overall title, in the masters division of an international competition in Killeen, Texas, the first week of October. Twenty-nine countries were represented.