The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
63°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Area roundup: Whitworth’s Kayla Leland places fifth in 5,000 meters at Division III national meet

From staff reports

Kayla Leland, a Whitworth senior from Gonzaga Prep, finished fifth in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division III Indoor National Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday.

Leland finished in 17 minutes, 2.10 seconds to earn her third Indoor All-America award in two years in a third event. She earned two in 2017 with a fourth in the mile and eighth at 800. The top eight are All-Americans.

Leland opened the race with 25-meter lead after 35 seconds and held down first place for the first 3:15 before she was passed by Ithaca’s Taryn Cordani, the defending champion. She settled into seventh place before charging past two runners the final two laps to get fifth. Brittany Bowman of Tufts won in 16:31.32.

Leland was the only Pirate to qualify for the indoor championships this year.

  • Washington State redshirt senior Alissa Brooks-Johnson finished 11th in the women’s pentathlon at the Division I Championships in College Station, Texas. Brooks-Johnson scored 4,060 points to earn her first indoor All-American honor, on the second team. Arkansas senior Taliyah Brooks won with 4,572 points.
  • Seattle Pacific sophomore Scout Cai of Colfax placed 16th in the pole vault at the NCAA Division II Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas. After clearing the opening height of 11 feet, 8 1/2 inches on her first try, she missed on all three attempts at 12-2 1/2. She’ll compete in the pentathlon, where she’s seeded fifth, on Saturday.

Baseball

Gonzaga 7, Rice 5: Gunnar Schubert finished 3 for 4 and Austin Pinorini homered and drove in two runs as the Bulldogs (7-4) opened a four-game nonconference series by defeating the Owls (6-8) in Houston.

Calvin LeBrun (2-0) pitched four innings of relief, striking out five, to earn the win.

The Bulldogs struck for four runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Branson Trube had an RBI triple and Pinorini added an RBI double during the outburst.

Pinorini’s solo homer in the fifth gave the Zags a 5-1 lead.

Saint Mary’s 4, Washington State 3: Austin Chauvin’s two-out RBI single to left field in the top of the ninth allowed the Gaels (8-4) to edge the Cougars (3-7) in the second game of the four-game nonconference series at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.

Gaels reliever Nathan Schneider walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Conner Loeprich relieved and coaxed Jack Smith’s grounder to shortstop. The Gaels recorded the out at second and were late on the throw to first, but the second-base umpire ruled for a double play, saying that baserunner Blake Clanton interfered on the throw to first.

Smith’s RBI infield single capped a two-run fourth, giving WSU a 2-1 lead. The Gaels’ Kevin Milam had a two-run double in the sixth, but JJ Hancock answered in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double for a 3-all tie.