Quick hits

Signing time

Six Greater Spokane League softball players and one volleyball player were among those signing letters of intent this week, three at big-conference colleges.

Among them are pitching standouts Sam Skillingstad, who keeps her Shadle Park colors by playing for Pac-10 Oregon, and Kelsie Vallies of North Central, who will play at SEC Arkansas. Gonzaga Prep catcher Molly Anderson is signing with Big Ten Indiana.

Other softball players signing are pitcher Kristina DeMello, Mt. Spokane/Dade Community College, with Youngstown State and infielders Katie Kine, Mead, and China Frost, Shadle, both at Wright State.

Emma Olgard, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker who helped Mead to its fifth consecutive state volleyball title last weekend, signed with the University of Montana.

Award winners

The GSL has announced the fall winners of the NECA/IBEW GSL Award. This is the eighth year of the awards.

Scholar-Athletes from each of the GSL’s 11 schools are recognized by the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers each sports season for their accomplishments.

Honorees this fall are:

From Central Valley – Connor Janhunen, football, and Stefani Siddoway, slowpitch softball; East Valley – Kelsey Kurtz, volleyball, and Clete Hanson, football; Ferris – Liz Boyden, soccer, and Jeff Minnerly, football; Gonzaga Prep – Sarah Kries, cross country, and Aaron Page, football; Lewis and Clark – Valley Moua, volleyball, and Steve Johnson, football; Mead – Emma Olgard, volleyball, and Kelly Lynch, cross country; Mt. Spokane – Chelsea Jones, soccer, and Nate Basham, football; North Central – Kim Hare, slowpitch softball, and Sam Schaefer, football; Rogers – Brittanie Vargo, cross country, and Andrew Durant, football; Shadle Park – Ali Fenter, soccer, and Daniel Renz, cross country; and University – Kasey Jurich, volleyball, and Brock Crawford, football.

Here we go again

Shootouts have been the bane of Northwest Christian’s boys soccer team. Last fall they lost the state championship in one, 1-0 to Bear Creek.

This year the Crusaders have lost three matches to St. George’s in shootouts, two also by 1-0 scores, which means the teams were scoreless in regulation and overtime. In the other, the teams broke a 1-1 tie by penalty kicks.

Round four is Friday when the Crusaders and Dragons face off in the State 2B/1B semifinals at Sumner’s Sunset Chev Stadium. Match time is 4 p.m.

Other than those shootouts, NWC has been a prolific team, having scored 58 goals in a 10-5-1 season, half of them by Jared Friedly. Derek DeLaMatter added eight.

By contrast, St. George’s has 34 goals, one in regulation in the three matches with NWC, but a 14-2-1 record overall. Tyler Evans, Taylor Baek and Wyatt Orme have led a balanced scoring attack.

Whichever team wins on Friday will play for the state title at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Hope springs eternal

The pool of football state title hopefuls is smaller this week, but the GSL is holding up its end, with two teams still alive.

Ferris and Lewis and Clark are in the State 4A quarterfinals Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The Saxons (11-0) host Graham-Kapowsin (8-3) at Albi Stadium. The Tigers (8-2) play Inglemoor (7-4) at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell, north of Seattle.

•Pullman (11-0) meets Burlington-Edison (10-1) in the 2A quarterfinals, 6 p.m. Saturday at Albi. In the Greyhounds, the Tigers face the offense they played against in a 40-15 victory over W.F. West and former Pullman coach Bob Wollen. It is B-E’s first playoff season since 1990.

•Reardan (9-1) faces a tall order in Friday’s 7 p.m. game against DeSales (10-0) at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick. But then, the road to a championship has passed through the Irish in most years.

•Five teams either from the Southeast or Northeast 1B leagues fill the quarterfinals of B-8 play. Odessa (10-0) faces Colton-Pullman Christian (8-2), at 6 p.m. Friday at West Valley; and Almira/Coulee Hartline (10-1) plays Touchet (10-0), at 4 p.m. Friday at Lampson in Kennewick.

Winter seasons begin

Football plays on possibly into December and soccer concludes with the state semifinals and finals this weekend, but gymnasts, basketball players and wrestlers are already preparing for seasons that are two weeks away.