Locally: Bowler Eddie Williams matches his state record with 898 three-game series

Eddie Williams has a “streak” going. It just took 10 years to materialize.

On the last day of February 2007, the Lilac Lanes general manager stepped onto the lanes at his bowling establishment and rolled a 300 game followed by a couple of 299s for a state-record three-game series of 898.

Last Wednesday, the first day of February 2017, Williams was again bowling in the Pepsi Scratch League at Lilac … and it was deja vu all over again. First a perfect 300, followed by a pair of 299s for another 898 to tie his state mark that still stands. And for good measure, the 50-year-old former pro added a 279 for 1,177 that matches the fourth-best four-game score nationally.

“It’s a bit surreal when you break it down like that,” he said. “Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I’m going to bowl a 254 or whatever.’ I just come in and bowl and hopefully have fun. Good things happened (Wednesday) night.”

His scoring went like this: 23 strikes in a row – 12 in the first game, 11 in the second – before leaving the 7 pin on his 12th ball in the second game. In the third, he again strung 11 strikes before leaving the 2 pin with “my worst shot of the night.”

He started the fourth game with a strike, left the 4 in the second frame and picked it up for a spare, then ran off nine more strikes before leaving the 7 with his last ball for the 279 and 1,177.

What about 2027 and three in a row?

“Uh, I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “Somebody asked me about that. I’ll be 60 and …”

Yeah, he’ll still be bowling, but he’s not going to lose any sleep over it.

College scene

Brittany Tackett, a Lewis-Clark State junior forward from Coeur d’Alene High School, averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds as the unbeaten (23-0), second-ranked Warriors won twice the in the week ending Jan. 28 to be named Frontier Conference Women’s Division I Basketball Player of the Week for the third time this season and second in three weeks.

Seventeen area athletes at Eastern Washington and eight at other schools have earned Big Sky Conference All-Academic honors for the 2016 fall-quarter sports of football, volleyball, women’s soccer and men’s and women’s cross country with grade-point averages of 3.20 or higher.

The EWU athletes by sport:

Football – Zach Bruce, senior, University; Beau Byus, sophomore, Central Valley; Jonah Jordan, so., Mead; Marcus Saugen, junior, North Central; Stu Stinles, jr., Mt. Spokane; Keenan Williams, so., Cheney.

Volleyball – Hannah Absalonson, freshman, Mead; Taylor Larsen, so., Colfax.

Men’s cross country – Isaac Kitzan sr., North Central; Evan Sanford, fr., Mead; Steaven Zachman, fr., Cheney; Matthew Hommel, jr., Central Valley.

Women’s cross country – Kaelah Corrigan, fr., North Central; Kari Hamilton-Scharnhorst, sr., Clarkston.

Women’s soccer – Paige Gallaway, sr., Central Valley; Laci Rennaker, jr., Central Valley; Chloe Williams, jr., Lewis and Clark.

The others:

Idaho – Morgan Crosby, fr., University, women’s soccer; McCall Skay, so., West Valley, women’s cross country; Kara Story, fr., Coeur d’Alene HS, women’s cross country; Megan Ramseyer, fr., Coeur d’Alene HS, volleyball.

Idaho State – Drew Sharkey, sr., Ferris, football; Meaghan Bare, so., Lake City, women’s soccer.

Montana – Ashlee Pederson, jr., Mt. Spokane, women’s soccer.

Sacramento State – Caitlin Prothe, so., Ferris, women’s soccer.

Six athletes with area ties, half of them at Carroll College, were named to the Frontier Conference Volleyball All-Academic team with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better. All are seniors.

Carroll – Jonni Dorr, Mead; Natalie Kassa, Mead; Paige Montgomery, Mead. Lewis-Clark State – Kennadie Clute, Mt. Spokane/Montana State. Montana State-Northern – Jacy Vining, Colville/Spokane Falls. Montana Western – Callie Hanson, East Valley/Columbia Basin.

Letters of intent

Washington State women’s soccer – Brianna Alger, F, Monument, Colorado; Marin Auth, MF, Medina, Ohio; Gabriella Crenshaw, F, Marysville Pilchuck, Washington; Sarah Davidson, D, Camas, Washington; Shanya Dhindsa, F, Surrey, British Columbia; Hanna Goff, D, Glendora, California; Makamae Gomera-Stevens, F, Kapolei, Hawaii; Aaqila McLyn, D, Long Beach, California; Lauryn Payne, F, Chino Hills, California; Sydney Pulver, MF, Parker, Colorado; Rachel Thompson, GK, Nikiski, Alaska; and Courtney Worstell, GK, Moorpark, California.

Eastern Washington women’s soccer – Brittany Delridge, F, Missoula, Montana; McKaley Goffard, F, Southridge; Sariah Keister, MF, Lakes of Lakewood, Washington; Grace Klinkenberg, MF/D, Kentridge of Renton; Taylor Matheny, F, Hanford; Nia McFerris, D, Portland; Emma Schutt, D, Southridge; Emma Vanderhyden, MF, Murrieta, Calfornia; Brittany Wiehe, MF/D, La Mirada, California; Kelsee Winston, GK, Hanford.

Gonzaga women’s soccer – Brianna Aldridge, GK, Tahoma; Maggie Conners, F, Sunfish Lake, Minnesota; Maddie Robinson, D, Eastlake of Sammamish, Washington; Jordan Thompson, D, Sumner, Washington.

Spokane Falls baseball – Mitch Dean, INF, Capital of Boise; Cort Dietrich, RHP, Selah; Christian Padilla, INF, Eagle, Idaho; Dawson Keller, C, Pocatello; Jadan Vandervert, OF, Shadle Park, first-team All-GSL; Reed Harrington, RHP, Eagle; Gabe Martin, INF, Mt. Spokane, first-team All-GSL.

Shooting

The Spokane Junior Rifle Club Gold team placed seventh out of 13 teams at the U.S. Army National Air Rifle Championships last week at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Cassidy Wilson, 16, home school; Maliya Hillman, 18, Lewis and Clark; Taylor Christian, 15, Spokane Valley Tech; and Mary Maystrovich, 17, Northwest Christian, combined to shoot 4,580 out of a possible 4,800 on the 10-meter, 60-shot course from a standing position. The winning score was 4,691. SJRC Gold had placed seventh in its regional to qualify.

Wilson shot 1,159 to place 17th and Hillman 1,157 for 20th in the individual competition. The winning score was 1,197.