Valley grads making plays at regional colleges

Soccer success just seems to follow the women from Central Valley.

A pair of Lady Bears played a role in bringing Eastern Washington its first Big Sky Conference women’s soccer championship Sunday and will take the field when the Eagles cash in their automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

The Eagles beat Northern Arizona in a shootout in the championship game after playing to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtime periods.

Defender Laci Rennaker helped anchor an Eastern Washington defense that limited Northern Arizona to just four shots in 110 minutes of play, with just two on goal.

Rennaker also scored her penalty kick in the game-deciding shootout.

Eastern Washington blanked Montana in its first-ever playoff game, 1-0, then knocked off No. 1 seed Idaho in the semifinals by the same score.

The redshirt junior was a first-team All-State defender after her senior season at Central Valley and was named the Greater Spokane League Defensive Most Valuable Player twice.

Junior teammate Savannah Hoekstra saw significant minutes in an Eastern Washington attack that kept pressure on the Lumberjacks throughout the game.

Hoekstra, an All-Big Sky second-team selection as a sophomore, was the Washington State Class 4A Player of the Year after a senior season that saw her help lead Central Valley to the first of its back-to-back state championships.

The pair, along with senior Paige Gallaway, from Central Valley, and redshirt junior Taylor Lang, the team’s back-up goalkeeper, helped Eastern Washington to reach the postseason for the first time in the program’s history.

Two more Central Valley School District graduates contributed to Eastern Washington’s football success.

Senior safety Zach Bruce is one of the Eagles’ top stoppers. The former University Titan has made 80 tackles through the first nine games, 44 of them solo. He’s also intercepted three passes, including one that he returned 50 yards against Northern Arizona.

Tight end Beau Byus, a redshirt sophomore from CV, has played in all nine games thus far this season and he made the most of his one catch – a 23-yard touchdown against Northern Iowa.

The wealth is spread around at area schools.

A pair of freshmen from East Valley have found a home at Lewis-Clark State.

Jordan Phelan saw playing time as outside hitter with the Warriors’ volleyball team in her first season in Lewiston.

And her former teammate, Hannah Burland, is preparing to make her debut with the Warrior basketball team.

At Whitworth, Phelan’s older brother, J.T., has left the football team, where he was a stalwart linebacker for two seasons, to concentrate on playing baseball for the Pirates.

Meanwhile, former Central Valley defensive back L.J. Benson leads Whitworth in interceptions. Former Freeman standout Teigan Glidewell, a defensive tackle, is among Whitworth’s leading tacklers with 23 off the bench.

Kaiti Pannell, a 5-foot-10 forward from University, is preparing to make her debut with coach Helen Higgs’ Whitworth women’s basketball team. Pannell was a first-team All-GSL selection last year and was named the U-Hi team Most Valuable Player as a senior.

Junior midfielder Jennifer Loehner has played in every game for the Whitworth women’s soccer team for the past three seasons.

Former U-Hi standout Kayleigh Valley is beginning her senior season on the Montana women’s basketball team.

Former East Valley cross country and track and field standout Scott Kopczynski completed his first season running cross country for Gonzaga.