Purdy places second in sporting clays national

Bryce Purdy of Reardan placed second in Class A of the Sub Junior competition for his best finish in the 20th annual Sporting Clays National Championship last weekend in San Antonio.

Purdy, 13, compiled 225 points, 13 behind the winner in a class that saw just 16 points separate the top five.

Baseball

Charles Smith, who grew up in Colville and received a sports management degree from Washington State, is returning to the area to become the new assistant general manager of the Spokane RiverHawks, owner Irv Zakheim announced.

Smith has been working for the Jacksonville (Fla.) Suns, the Double-A farm team in the Florida Marlins’ organization.

Bowling

Sabrina Groves put together a 660 three-game series in the finals to win the Spokane County USBC Queens Tournament that was resumed this year at Players & Spectators after a two-year absence.

Jennifer Cunningham, one of a half-dozen newcomers in the 25-woman field, finished second with a 600 series. Krishel Meadows won the newly initiated consolation bracket with Michelle Sommer second.

Robyn Carlton had high series for both three (689) and four (903) games. Meadows’ 265 was high game.

College scene

Eight players from area schools were named to ESPN The Magazine All-District VIII academic football team.

Selected in the University Division were: T.J. Conley, Idaho, senior, punter, 3.6 grade-point average; Chris Thomas, Eastern Washington, junior, offensive line, 3.77; Micah Hannam, Washington State, sophomore, OL, 3.57; and Jacob Kragt, EWU (Ritzville), jr., defensive line, 3.85. Kragt is a repeater.

Named to the College Division team are four from Whitworth: offensive linemen Dan Sanders (Freeman), sr., 3.94, and Emilio Sulpizio (Mead), soph., 4.0; defensive back McLane Stone, sr., 3.90; and defensive lineman Travis Niles (Mt. Spokane), soph., 4.0. Sanders is a repeater.

•Ten area athletes were named to Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-academic teams in three sports.

Football: Buddy Wood, Central Washington (Riverside), jr., 3.36 GPA; and Anthony Zackery, Western Washington (Ferris), soph., 3.94. Wood was selected for a third straight year, Zackery for the second time.

Volleyball: Megan Thigpen, Alaska Anchorage (Mead), jr., 3.28; Erin Norris, Central Washington (Mead), jr., 3.44; Amy Herron, Western Oregon (Mead), jr., 3.90; and Kayla Mainer, Western Oregon (West Valley and North Idaho College), sr., 3.57. Thigpen, Norris and Herron are repeaters.

Soccer: Annie Weisbeck, Central (Central Valley), soph., 3.77; Alex Butler, Seattle Pacific (Gonzaga Prep), sr., 3.35; Kayla Stiegemeier, SPU (Lakeland), jr., 3.20; and Kylie Broadbent, Western Washington (Lewis and Clark), sr., 3.66.

•Washington State senior Brittany Johnson is a repeater on the ESPN The Magazine All-District VIII academic second team in volleyball. She has a 3.80 GPA.

•Brianna Harbour, a North Idaho sophomore outfielder from Lake City, was named an All-American Scholar-Athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for the 2007-08 academic year. To be eligible, an athlete must maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher.