Chiefs lose veteran in draft

The Spokane Chiefs lost 19-year-old J.P. Szaszkiewicz, a veteran left winger for the Chiefs, to the Edmonton Oil Kings in Tuesday’s Western Hockey League expansion draft.

Szaszkiewicz scored a career-high eight goals and recorded 16 points in his 63 games last season. In his three-year stint with Spokane, Szaszkiewicz accumulated 11 goals and 32 points in 169 games.

Szaszkiewicz will play for the expansion Oil Kings in his hometown of Edmonton for the 2007-08 season.

Football

The arenafootball2 league announced that Spokane Shock wide receiver Antwone Savage was selected as the Schutt’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Savage had 14 receptions, one short of Spokane’s record set by Charles Frederick in 2006, four touchdowns, and 179 yards during Saturday’s win over Everett. He is the first member of the Shock to win the award this season.

The Oklahoma alum ranks second in the league in touchdown receptions with 25 and in scoring with 156 points. He also ranks among the league’s elite in receptions (74), receiving yards (994) and all-purpose yards (1,713).

Track and field

Washington State University senior heptathlete Diana Pickler was honored as the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I West District co-Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for 2007 outdoor season.

Pickler, a four-time All-American from Sachse, Texas, shared the honor with Arizona State thrower Sarah Stevens. Pickler is the national collegiate leader in the heptathlon with a school-record and Pacific-10 Conference-record 6,205 points.

Pickler is among a dozen Cougars participating in the NCAA championships today through Saturday at Sacramento, Calif.

Men’s basketball

Whitworth coach Jim Hayford hired Craig Fortier and Josh Downey as his assistant coaches for the upcoming season.

Both Fortier and Downey played in college, were graduate assistants at Gonzaga and bring collegiate-level coaching experience to the Pirates’ staff.