Locally: Whitworth players gather honors
Emiko Kahler, Whitworth’s senior outside hitter who was the Northwest Conference Player of the Year, has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association 2019 Division III All-West Region team.
In leading the Pirates to a 21-7 record and into the NCAA D-III tournament, she led the NWC in kills per set (4.01) and total kills (413) and finished with a school-record 1,210 career kills. The conference offensive player of the week four times this season added 3.16 digs per set, 30 service aces and 0.4 blocks per set, all career highs.
• Lexi Mikkelsen, a Carroll College sophomore from Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), led the showing by four players from the area selected to 2019 Frontier Conference All-Conference volleyball teams.
Mikkelsen, an outside hitter who was the Frontier Freshman of the Year in 2018, was named to the first team. Carroll teammate Aliyah Williams, a sophomore setter from Coeur d’Alene HS, who was on the All-Freshman team a year ago, was named to the second team. A third teammate, Katherine McEuen, a right-side hitter from Mead, is on the All-Freshman team.
Morgan Ness, a Lewis-Clark State junior outside hitter from Central Valley and Walla Walla CC, received the L-C State Volleyball Champions of Character award.
• Joey Biel, Monmouth College’s dual-threat senior kicker from Northwest Christian, was named to the All-Midwest Conference football team for a third time as both the South Division all-conference punter and kicker.
Biel averaged 40.3 yards on 58 punts (No. 2 in the conference), with six of more than 50 yards with a long of 64 yards, landing 16 inside the 20-yard line.
As a kicker, he hit 9 of 15 field goal attempts and was 21 of 22 on PATs. His 48 points were fourth in the conference in kick scoring and 11th overall. He averaged just under 60 yards on 37 kickoffs, with 10 touchbacks.
• Whitworth seniors Zach Hillman and Andrew McCoy have been named to the 2019 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District 8 Division III football team.
Hillman, a strong safety from Post Falls, has a 3.89 GPA as a kinesiology major. He led the Pirates with five takeaways in 2019 (four interceptions, one fumble recovery).
McCoy, a defensive end from Snohomish, Wash., has a 3.72 GPA as a health science major. He led the Northwest Conference in sacks (9.5, 68 yards) and tackles for loss (15.5, 77 yards).
• Riley Sine, a Northwest University junior from Central Valley, earned his first cross country All-America honor with a 17th-place finish in the NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championships Saturday in Vancouver, Wash. An NAIA outdoor and indoor track All-American, Sine ran 8K in 25:17.1.
• Northwest Nazarene sophomore Tyler Shea from Northwest Christian earned All-West Region honors for his 20th-place finish in the NCAA Division II Western Regional Cross Country Championships last weekend in Monmouth, Oregon, and an at-large spot in the D2 nationals in Sacramento, California, where he finished 101st (31:37.0).
Shea’s time of 30 minutes, 37.4 seconds for 10K was the second fastest in school history.
• Gonzaga sophomore James Mwaura and redshirt junior Peter Hogan gained Division I All-West Region recognition from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for their finishes in the Western Regionals last weekend.
Mwaura finished third, the best-ever for a Gonzaga runner, timing a school-record 29:53.2 for 10K and earning a spot in the NCAA Division I Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he finished 138th (32:16.2). Hogan placed 15th at the Western Regionals in 30:02.6 – the second fastest 10K time in school history – but did not qualify for the Championships.
• Cross country runners Becky George, a Whitworth sophomore from Deer Park, and Kristen Wanke, a Whitman senior from North Central, earn All-West Region for their finishes in the Division III West Regional last Saturday in Claremont, Calif.
George finished sixth, running the 8K course in 21:12.0, and Wanke was 12th in 22:58.10. Both qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, where George finished 65th (22:34.8) and Wanke finished 156th (23:14.1).
Whitworth junior Joel Mott also earned All-West Region for his 26th-place finish in the men’s race. He ran 26:22.70.
• Jenna Jensen, a senior midfielder from North Central, scored her first goal of the season in the 60th minute to break a tie and give Eastern Oregon a 2-1 victory over Rocky Mountain in the championship game of the Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s soccer tournament last weekend and earn CCC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The win sent the Mountaineers (16-2-2) into the first round of the NAIA Championships for a third straight season, where they defeated Bethel (Tennessee) 1-0 and John Brown 3-2 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. The Mountaineers advanced to the round of 16 against fourth-seeded Central Methodist on Dec. 2.
• Two area athletes collected honors when the Great Northwest Athletic Conference named its 2019 men’s soccer all-conference teams.
Jake Levine, a junior forward at Northwest Nazarene from Central Valley, was named to the second team for a second straight year after receiving honorable mention as a freshman. Seattle Pacific junior defender Travis Swallow from Lake City was honorable mention.
• Gonzaga landed four players on 2019 All-West Coast Conference men’s soccer teams, with two of them collecting a couple of honors.
Sophomore forward Demitrius Kigeya and senior defender Garrett Wilson were named to the second team while goalkeeper Johan Garibay and defender Cole Rovegno received All-WCC honorable mention and were named to the All-Freshman team.
It was the third honor for Wilson, who was on the All-Freshman team his first year and was honorable mention in 2018. Kigeya was named to the All-Freshman team last year.
• Owen Leonard, a senior pitcher on the Washington State baseball team, was selected the male recipient of the 2019 Pac-12 Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Leadership Award.
Shannon Williams, an Oregon lacrosse player, was the female recipient.
Leonard is the second Cougar to win the award. Cicely Clinkenbeard (women’s track and field) won it in 2001-02.
The Pac-12 established the award in 2002 to recognize student-athletes who have served on their institutional SAAC and demonstrated exemplary leadership. It carries a $3,000 scholarship for postgraduate study.
Leonard serves as the WSU SAAC director of events and organized a number of events on campus and in the community. Leonard, who was a pen pal and a mentor to elementary students, has a 3.2 GPA in kinesiology. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in physical therapy and was elected a baseball team captain for his senior season.
• Three Whitworth athletes collected Northwest Conference weekly honors for their performances last weekend.
Ben College was the Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after the senior guard averaged 20 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3 assists in leading the Pirates to two victories, including an 85-64 triumph over 18th-ranked St. Thomas.
Jamie Siegler received women’s swimming honors after the junior posted three season-best marks and didn’t lose a race in leading the Pirates to dominating wins over Linfield and Willamette. She swam the 50 freestyle in 24.43 seconds, the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.08 and the 200 breast in 2:31.66.
Football defensive honors went to senior linebacker Kyle Wong, who had a career-high 16 tackles, one for lost yardage, as the Pirates held Pacific scoreless the last 2 1/2 quarters in rallying for a season-ending 28-14 win.
• Seniors Andrew McCoy from football and volleyball’s Emiko Kahler were named the Whitworth athletes of the month for October.
A defensive end, McCoy led the Pirates in sacks (five), sack yardage (35) and tackles for loss (eight) in three games during the month and was selected the NWC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20th for his play as Whitworth beat George Fox.
An outside hitter, Kahler led Whitworth to a 7-1 record in October, averaging 4.44 kills and 3.44 digs per set and added nine service aces. She was the NWC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21 for her performance against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.
• Brandon Arconado from football and Jocelyn Urias from volleyball are the Washington State Academic Services Student-Athletes of the month for November.
A graduate student working on his MBA after earning a degree in business administration last year, Arconado ranks in the top 15 nationally for receptions and yards per game. In the classroom, he earned a CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team honor this season and is a two-time All-Pac-12 academic selection. He’s also a Special Olympics volunteer.
Also a fifth-year senior who will graduate this year with a degree in digital technology with an eye toward digital design work, Urias is a member of the Mexican National Team. The 2018 AVCA All-American has played her way into WSU’s all-time top-10 lists in total blocks, block assists and blocks per set.
High school scene
The Greater Spokane League, in conjunction with the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, announced 2019 fall sports winners of the 19th annual NECA/IBEW GSL Award.
NECA/IBEW, which encourages high school students to consider a career in the electrical construction field, and the GSL select a girl and boy from each school for demonstrating superior balance in academics, athletics and community involvement.
The 2019 fall recipients by school:
Central Valley: Dori Ames, soccer; Tyler Hunter, cross country. Ferris: Halle Caviness, cross country; Jonah Bloom, cross country. Gonzaga Prep: Maria Strasser, soccer; Jonas Bears, cross country. Lewis and Clark: Bailey Babin, slowpitch softball; Nicholas Duncan, football. Mead: Castan Sturm, volleyball; Eli Gilbert, cross country.
Mt. Spokane: Sammie Maher, soccer; Kainoa Figueira, football. North Central: Christina McCarty, cheerleading; Nate Carter, cross country. Rogers: Lidiya Pankova, volleyball; Issak Chol, cross country. Shadle Park: Ariel Hall, slowpitch softball; Jake Rees, cross country. University: Joliana Poplawski, volleyball; Jacob Easton, cross country.
• Five Greater Spokane League schools are among 11 from the area to win 2019 WIAA Fall State High School Team Academic Championships.
There were 12 programs honored by the WIAA, Dairy Farmers of Washington and Les Schwab Tires. Colfax produced two 2B state champions, in boys cross country (3.89 gpa) and football (3.71).
GSL winners were Ferris girls cross country in 4A with a perfect 4.0; Central Valley, which tied in 4A boys cross country (3.887); Gonzaga Prep, 4A girls soccer (3.913); Mead, 4A slowpitch softball (3.641); and Mt. Spokane, 3A slowpitch softball (3.710).
Other area state academic champions: Northwest Christian, 2B girls soccer (3.78); Pullman, 2A football (3.41); Odessa, 1B football (3.553); Lind-Ritzville, 2B volleyball (3.876); and Oakesdale, 1B volleyball (3.994).