U.S. Olympic hall will honor Driscoll

Paralympian Jean Driscoll, a 12-time Bloomsday champion, will be inducted into the initial class of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Driscoll, a three-time Paralympian who was born with spina bifida, won two Olympic medals, 12 Paralympic medals and holds the world record in the 10,000-meter (6.2-mile) track event. She won 12 straight Bloomsday titles from 1989 through 2000.

Driscoll retired from racing following the 2000 Paralympic Games and was inducted into the USA Wheelchair Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2012 will be formally introduced on July 12 during an awards ceremony at the Harris Theater in Chicago. The inductees, which include former Community Colleges of Spokane and University of Idaho standout decathlete Dan O’Brien, were determined by a voting process that includes Olympians, Paralympians, members of the Olympic Family and a public voting element.

Honors

The Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association will induct six new members to their Hall of Fame at the Kennewick Red Lion Inn on July 24 and at the Tacoma Elks Pavillion on July 26.

The Kennewick banquet will honor head coach Don Schumacher (Kamiakin) and assistant coach Pat Clark (Gonzaga Prep, North Central, Mead). The Tacoma Banquet will honor head coaches Tim Cummings (Idaho, Auburn) and Leroy “Lee” Sinnes (Yelm, Mark Morris, Port Angeles). Assistants Monte Walton (Sehome, Ferndale) and Mark Williams (Fife, Lincoln, Curtis) will also be inducted.

Cliff Gillies, former Executive Director of the WIAA, will receive the Ed Pepple Service Award for his contributions to high school basketball. Both banquets begin with a social hour at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and induction ceremony at 6. Cost is $30. RSVP Dave Dickson at (360) 201-5218 or email david.dickson@ bellinghamschools.org.

Track and field

The Western Athletic Conference honored University of Idaho senior track and field athlete Andrew Blaser with the Joe Kearney Award, annually given to the league’s top male and female student-athlete.

Blaser, a six-time WAC champion and 17-time All-WAC honoree from Boise, was voted co-award winner with Utah State football player Robert Turbin. Louisiana Tech track and field athlete Chelsea Hayes was voted as the women’s honoree. Blaser is just the second track and field athlete to win the men’s award in its 21-year history.

Blaser, a multievent athlete, ended his Idaho career as the team’s sixth-highest all-time scorer with 66.33 career outdoor conference points. His 10 outdoor All-WAC honors are the most in school history, as are his seven indoor All-WAC honors. He finished his career ranked second all time at Idaho in the indoor heptathlon, third in the 60 hurdles, third in the 110 hurdles, fifth in the decathlon and seventh in both the 400 hurdles and pole vault.

• University of Idaho distance runner Hannah Kiser was recognized as a Capital One Academic All-America honoree for the first time in her career.

Kiser, a sophomore runner from Wenatchee, was named to the Academic All-America Second Team in her first year of eligibility for the honor. She has a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average as a double-major in molecular biology and biotechnology.

Volleyball

Quincy (Ill.) University freshman Terence Veile, a 2011 graduate of Liberty High in Spangle, was named to the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association All-Conference team.

To make the Academic All-Conference list, athletes must have maintained at least a 3.0 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.