Casey Stangel, two Cougars win Pac-12 scholarships

Casey Stangel from Washington and two Washington State Cougars, Alexis Thode and Matthew Swanson, are among 22 student-athletes receiving Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.

Since 1999, the conference has selected up to two from each school who have maintained a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and demonstrated a commitment to education, campus and community involvement, and leadership to receive the $9,000 scholarships.

Stangel, a former Lake City standout, completed her softball career at UW this spring. An outfielder, she earned All-Pac-12 first team, National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region first team and was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic second team.

The Pac-12 website said the communications major planned to use the scholarship in the Vanderbilt University leadership and organizational performance master’s program.

Thode, a goalkeeper on the WSU women’s soccer team from Bothell, Washington, graduated with a 3.89 GPA as a sports science major. She was named to the President’s Honor Roll five times and was on the WSU Athletics All-Academic team three times. She plans to attend graduate school for chiropractic.

Swanson, a middle distance runner on the men’s track & field team from North Vancouver, British Columbia, completed his undergraduate degree in finance in May 2016. The three-time Pac-12 All-Academic first-team selection is continuing his education at WSU, studying business administration and data analytics.

—- Jordan Arakawa, an Academic All-American and three-time Big Sky Conference throwing champion during his track and field career at Eastern Washington from 2011-15, has become the second student-athlete in school history to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Arakawa, who graduated with a pre-medicine/biology degree with a 3.93 GPA, said he will use the $7,500 scholarship toward medical school and attend Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

Eastern’s first NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient was Steve Mattson, a defensive end on the 1997 football team.

Arakawa was the first EWU track and field student-athlete to be a Capital One Academic All-American when he was chosen in 2015. That year he also was EWU’s male recipient of the Big Sky Scholar-Athlete Award.

Basketball

Papermill Printing teams from Spokane collected three gold and one silver medal in 3-on-3 basketball at the 21st Washington State Senior Games July 22 in Olympia.

The 60-64-year-old team of Dave Huss, Robert Jones, Bill Tri and Dan Zenner finished 4-0 and won gold.

In 65-69, the No. 1 team of Bill Maxey, Terry Souhrada, Dan Steward and Doug Watson defeated the No. 2 team of Jim Carkonen, Al Hendren, Dave Steadman and Dave Wilson in the gold-medal game. No. 2 earned silver.

The 70-74 team of Jon Heimbigner, Tedd Nealey, Terry Nealey and Joe Pettit also went 4-0 and won gold.

Heimbigner is player/coach of the teams, which have compiled a record of 102-24, collecting 32 gold medals, three silver and one bronze, in 20 years competing in the event.

Golf

Mark Gardner, The Creek at Qualchan pro, shot a 5-under-par 211 to tie for sixth and lead the showing by area golfers in the Senior Oregon Open Invitational last week at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, Oregon.

Manito Golf & Country Club pro Steve Prugh tied for eighth at 4-under 212. Amateur Kevin Braegger of Qualchan and pro Mike DeLong of the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Club were in a seven-way tie for 15th at par 216.

Pro Jeff Coston from Semiahmoo Golf & Country Club in Blaine, Washington, won the tournament for the fifth time by an eight-shot margin at 16-under 200.

In the pro-amateur team competition, pro Billy Bomar from Prairie Falls Golf Club in Post Falls and amateur partners Dave Steinbach, Mike Kerns and Guy Stanford tied for fifth; pro Randy Buckenberger of Post Falls and partners Jim Holt, Braegger and Mike Kilgore placed eighth; and Gardner and partners Bob Witte, John Lefriec and John Bergeman tied for 10th.

Trapshooting

Travis Iksic of Irby, Washington, was runner-up in the Championship Singles Handicap division at the 86th annual Pacific International Trapshooting Association Grand Pacific Championships last week at the Spokane Gun Club.

Iksic, from the small unincorporated community 10 miles west of Odessa, was perfect on 25 targets to win a shoot-off after scoring 99 out of 100 during the competition. Ryan Costani from Medford, Oregon, won the division, shooting a perfect 100.

Iksic collected one of the top honors earned by a dozen local competitors in the field of more than 300 from the Western U.S. and Canada who converged on the Spokane Gun Club for the first time since 1954 for the week-long event.

In the Championship Singles Handicap division, Mike Rinard of Lewiston captured one of seven medals he earned during the week winning Veteran categories, and John McLendon of Spokane figured in a three-way tie for first in the Elder category for one of his three wins.

In other featured Grand Pacific events, Rinard won Veterans in High All Around, High Overall and Championship Singles. His other victories came in the White Flyer Handicap, All American Restoration Handicap and Black Diamond Gun Club Handicap, where he tied for first.

The Championship Singles division saw four of 306 competitors hit a perfect 200 targets. It took a 14-round shoot-off to decide the top positions, with Stu Welton of Star, Idaho, prevailing for one of his two championships. TJ Main of Moses Lake was third overall, winning the AAA Class.

Welton’s other victory came in Grand Pacific Doubles, where William Elliott of Spokane was in a tie for B Class runner-up honors, and Wayne McCulley of Lewiston won the Veteran category.

Other highlights included John Mullins of Bremerton shooting a perfect score in three separate disciplines and Jack Skaggs of Manteca, Calif., at 11 years, 4 months, setting a Grand Pacific record by becoming the youngest person to shoot a perfect score.

Richard Shrode from Bend, Oregon, won Grand Pacific High Overall, scoring 1,374, and Jim Warn from Aurora, Ore., won Grand Pacific High All Around with a 395.

Category victories in other events for area participants:

TrapshootingUSA Handicap – Eric Olson, Spokane, Veteran. All American Restoration Handicap – William Mackleit, Clarkston, 21-22.5 yards. Sportsman’s Warehouse Singles – Spud Storey, Lewiston, tie Veteran (perfect 100 score). Tilden Trophies Handicap – McLendon, 19-20.5 yards; Eric Olson, Veteran. Coon Creek Singles – McCulley, Veteran (perfect 100 score). Black Diamond Gun Club Handicap – McLendon, 19-20.5 yards; Guy Olson, Lewiston, 25-26.5 yards; Nathan Barron, Greenacres, Junior.