Scott, Rijon get tourney invites

Deejuliano Scott, and Nick Rijon, 2008 North Central graduates, will participate in the basketball competition at the USA Junior Nationals International Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, July 21-27.

Scott and Rijon were invited to play based on their performance at the USA Junior Nationals all-state high school basketball competition at Bellevue Community College earlier this spring. Rijon is a four-year letterman in basketball at NC and was named to the 2008 all Greater Spokane League team. He also played on the Class 3A all-star team named by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association. Scott is a two-year letterman, won the sportsmanship award at the USAJN regional tournament in Kennewick in February and placed third in the USAJN all-state tournament in 2007.

The USA Junior Nationals, based in Madison, Wis., offers competitions at more than 40 sites throughout the country. Athletes who demonstrate advanced skills, team leadership, competitive spirit and sportsmanship at state and regional competitions are invited to the International Sports Festival.

Information about participating athletes is provided to colleges throughout the U.S. and Canada for possible scholarship opportunities.

Weidemier pitches no-hitter

Eric Weidemier, 17, a senior this fall at Riverside High School, pitched a no-hitter in an 11-3 Riverside win over North Central in a Junior American Legion baseball game last Friday. He totaled 12 strikeouts in seven innings and collected two singles and two doubles in the first game of a doubleheader.

In the second game, which Riverside won 15-7, Weidemier had a single and a double.

Sideout at Jr. Olympics

Spokane’s Sideout Volleyball Club’s under-16 girls team is in Dallas representing Spokane and the Evergreen Region of USA Volleyball in the Junior National/Junior Olympics Volleyball Championship Tournament today through Friday.

Sideout’s U16 team won the Evergreen regional championship tournament held in Spokane in April to earn the national bid in their age division. In Dallas they will compete in the national division against the top 48 club teams.

The 2008 Sideout roster includes Katie Bagdon, Emma Barrington and Chelsey Pangborn (Mead), Halee Brown, Marissa Ferraro, Vanessa Karwacki, Anna Mahoney and Olivia Skierka (Gonzaga Prep), Alex Daggy (Lakeside), LeAnna Lloyd (Mt. Spokane), Kaiti Lunde (Sandpoint) and Shaniqua Nilles (West Valley).

Tennis players recognized

A group of local tennis players have been selected by the United States Tennis Association Pacific Northwest to represent the region on national, intersectional and zonal teams.

Britta Stime (Mead) is on the girls team that will compete in the 18U National Team event beginning July 29 in Novato, Calif. Lea Jansen (Freeman) is on the regional team for the Girls 16 Intersectional Team event in Shreveport, La., beginning July 6. Anna Lambert (Gonzaga Prep) is on the regional team for the Girls 16 Zonal Team event, beginning July 23 at Winston-Salem, N.C. Catherine Cable (The Oaks school) is on the Girls 12 Zonal Team (July 23, Knoxville, Tenn.) and Nikolas Cable (The Oaks school) is on the Boys 12 Zonal Team (July 23, Knoxville, Tenn.).

The USTA/PN section includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, north Idaho above the 45th parallel and British Columbia, making it the USTA’s largest geographical section. Over 200 volunteers organize 300 tournaments throughout the region.

Expanded Legion tourney

The annual American Legion Fourth of July Wood Bat Classic baseball tournaments have grown in scope and locale.

Forty-eight teams and some 700 players from six states and Canada will be involved at 11 sites in Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane areas. The teams will play 126 games in four days beginning Thursday.

It will be, said tournament director Mike Padden, the largest ever. He said the league is partnering with the Spokane Indians and River Hawks for Legion baseball nights, will host a cook-out for visiting teams and is producing a program. Sponsors are Red Lion River Inn, Brett Brothers Bats and the Spokane Regional Sports Commission.

This year’s Senior tournament features 18 teams – seven from Idaho, two from Montana, three from Canada, four from Washington, including Spokane’s Bandits and Cannons, the Kailua Americans from Hawaii and Chugiak Mustangs from Alaska. Games are at Al K. Jackson Field and Whitworth College in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene High and McEuen Field in Idaho with the finals at Gonzaga University’s Patterson Baseball Complex Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The 30-team Junior tournament, half from the Spokane League, will be scattered among fields at Central Valley, Cheney, Gonzaga Prep, Mt. Spokane, West Valley, Lake City and McEuen. Semifinals and finals will be Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. Among the entrants is a team from Utah.

Additionally, a 10-team 16 and under wood bat tournament will be played at University High.

Let hoops begin

Summer basketball gets serious with a series of high profile tournaments for select area girls basketball players beginning with the End of the Trail in Oregon City, Sunday through July 9 and continuing July 10-13 with the Midsummer Nights Madness in Seattle.

The Spokane Stars Blue and Red teams, Northwest Blazers, North Idaho Elite, Spokane Sandpipers, Jam On It and Tiger Basketball No. 1 all are entered in one or both of the tourneys with players from local high schools.