Quick hits
Firman just a warmup
Last weekend’s Bob Firman Invitational Cross Country meet in Boise might have shaken up regional rankings a bit when No. 4 Crater (Ore.) defeated No. 1 North Central 121-124, thanks to higher finishes by its second, third and fourth runners.
More important than the outcome, however, is that last weekend’s race at Eagle Island State Park served as a preregional testing ground for teams with aspirations to reach the fourth Nike Team Nationals in Portland on Dec. 1.
Teams for the previous three NTN meets were chosen by subjective regional ranking. This year, Western qualifiers will come from a Nov. 10 regional race, also at Eagle Island State Park.
The top two team finishers at seven regionals throughout the U.S. automatically advance to the nationals, four more teams will qualify based upon regional performance and four at-large teams will be added based upon NCAA-style criteria.
NC’s average team time – 16 minutes, 18 seconds per runner – was actually faster than Crater’s 16:21.40, with Andrew Kimpel finishing sixth (15:58) and Leon Dean 10th (16:06) overall. But three Crater runners were separated by a mere second (finishing between 16:28 and 16:29) and the Indians’ final three scorers were several seconds behind.
Mead finished fourth in the race, led by Kelly Lynch‘s 11th-place 16:08 time, and Central Valley was seventh.
Volleyball face-off
Lewis and Clark (5-0) risks its unbeaten record tonight when the Tigers host Shadle Park (3-1) at the midpoint of the Greater Spokane League season.
LC was second and Shadle eighth in state a year ago and both are among the top four league teams along with defending state champion Mead (4-0) and surprising East Valley (3-1).
Football this week
GSL games of the week: Tonight at Albi Stadium, 7:15, Mead and University (both 3-1 overall and 2-1 in league) meet to resolve part of the five-team logjam behind unbeaten Ferris. U-Hi’s Titans won 31-21 at home last year. Last week Mead rushed for 282 yards – Seth Moore and James Allen splitting 189 of them – and Glen Reser passed for 151 in a 40-6 victory over East Valley. U-Hi lost to Gonzaga Prep 20-17 but piled up the yards, with Danny Jordan throwing for 246 (119 of them to Dalton Puyear) and Tyler Carlson rushing for 123 on 30 attempts. Friday, Ferris (4-0, 3-0) is at G-Prep (3-1, 2-1), 7 p.m. Also Friday at Albi: Lewis and Clark (3-1, 3-1) vs. Shadle Park (1-3, 1-2), 5:15 p.m., followed by Rogers (0-3, 0-3) vs. Mt. Spokane (0-4, 0-4) at 8. Central Valley (3-1, 3-1) hosts East Valley (2-2, 2-2), 7 p.m. North Central (1-3, 1-3) plays Sandpoint today at 4:30 p.m. at Albi in a non-league game.
Other games of note: Great Northern League – It’s only the second week of the season, but the going gets serious for West Valley and Riverside if they are to entertain postseason ambitions. WV’s Eagles (1-3, 0-1) host Colville (4-0, 1-0) after a tough loss to Pullman 33-27 in overtime last week. “We were at the summit, but didn’t put the flag on top,” said coach Craig Whitney. They’ll still be without standout linebacker-receiver Tim Pring, who fractured a thumb in WV’s season opener. “He is our best defender (with more than 100 tackles last year) and one of our fastest kids,” said Whitney. “With him and Parker Flynn, we have a speed threat on each side of the ball.” Riverside (3-1, 0-1) proved a handful against Cheney, losing 20-17. It faces a Clarkston team (4-0, 1-0) that has outscored its foes 128-47.
Northeast A League – Standings can take shape when Kettle Falls (3-1) plays at Colfax (3-1) and Lakeside (4-0) is at Freeman (2-2) at season’s midpoint.
Northeast 2B – Traditional playoff teams meet when Davenport (1-3, 1-0) travels to Lind-Ritzville (2-1, 1-0). Reardan (3-0) hosts Asotin (3-1) in a non-league biggie.
News from WIAA
The sites for November’s State 2B/1B boys and 1A/2B/1B girls soccer tournaments have been switched because of renovations at scheduled host site Curtis High in Tacoma. The semifinals and finals will instead be played at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.
Also, the state cheerleading championships will be at Bellevue Community College on March 22 and dance and drill championships in Yakima, March 21 and 22.