Locally: Mead golfer Matt Jones participates in juniors event at PGA TOUR Champions stop at Pebble Beach
Matt Jones of Spokane shot 3-under-par 140 for 36 holes but missed the juniors cut for the final 18 holes at the PGA TOUR Champions PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach, California, last weekend.
Jones, 17, a senior at Mead, had rounds of 4-under 67 at Poppy Hills Golf Course and 1-over 73 on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in the senior tour event that included 78 juniors who were selected through their participation in the First Tee program. Jones plays in First Tee of the Inland Northwest. The juniors cut was at 132.
Jones’ PGA pro partner, Cliff Kresge, shot 5-over 148 and also missed the cut in the main event that was won by former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett in a playoff after shooting 9-under 206 for 54 holes.
• Fifteen-time reigning Spokane Area Women’s Golf Association champion Beth Wrigley led the showing by a large contingent from the area at the 2019 Pacific Northwest Golf Association Senior Women’s Amateur Championship last week at Kalispel Golf & Country Club.
Wrigley shot 14-over 160 for 36 holes to tie for eighth. The 4-handicapper’s 152 tied her for 17th overall in the net category. She was eighth net in the first flight.
Two other area golfers were in the tie for 17th in the net category – Debbie Burks, Spokane Valley, a 17 handicapper, and Robin Hayford, Spokane, a 19-handicapper. Hayford also tied for fourth net in the third flight.
Leslie Folsom of Tukwila, Washington, posted a one-stroke victory over Karen Darrington of Boise, 149-150, for the championship. The net champion was Patty Chandler of Seattle with a 2-under 144 on a tiebreaker with Di Chow of Redmond, Washington. Both are four handicappers.
Janet Skaife of Spokane was second among 12 local entries in the 49-woman field. Her 24-over 170 placed her 26th overall and ninth in the second flight.
• Anita Walsh and Marcy Holt, both of Spokane, led the showing by 21 area women in the 30-player field at the PNGA Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship also at Kalispel last week.
Walsh, an 18 handicapper, was the overall net champion on a tiebreaker with an even-par 146. Holt was fourth overall in the gross category and second in the first flight with a 15-over 161. The six-handicapper tried for eighth overall and for fourth in the first flight net category at 149.
Holly Horwood of Vancouver, British Columbia, was the Super Senior champion with an 8-over 154.
Three other area golfers had top-10 overall finishes – Karen Madison, Spokane Valley, fifth with a 164; Penny Jacks, Lewiston, seventh at 169; and Sue Hedequist, Spokane, tied for eighth at 175.
Hedequist was among five other area golfers who had top-two flight finishes. She was second in first flight net with her 13 handicap giving her a 149.
Pam McClenny, Spokane, edged Linda Bonuccelli, Spokane, for first in second-flight gross on a tiebreaker with a 179. McClenny, a 16 handicapper, was fifth in the overall net standings.
Coco Spurway, Mead, was first in second-flight net with a 146 with Bobbi Luher, Spokane, second at 148. Luher tied for sixth overall net at 148. Both are 20 handicappers.
Others in the tie for eighth overall at 149 in the net category included Dona Lockyer, Spokane, a 45-handicapper, and Mary Alberts, Spokane, who has a 51 handicap.
• Corey Prugh, a PGA professional and golf coach at Community Colleges of Spokane, and his amateur partner, Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake Country Club, finished third in Pacific Northwest Pro-Amateur Championship that wound up Friday at Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Oregon.
Prugh and Hatley finished at 15-under-par 129 on rounds of 64 and 65. Pro Derek Berg of PNW Golf Academy and amateur John D’Amelio, Kenmore, Washington, posted a four shot victory with a 20-under total of 124 for 36 holes.
Three other area teams were within 10 shots of the winners. Pro Gordon Corder and Jeff Sweat of Manito Golf & Country Club were among four teams tied at 12-under 132. Pro Trevor Fox and Tim Kohn from the Golf Club at Black Rock and pro Russell Grove, the North Idaho coach, and Tony Hanna from Avondale Golf Club were among four tied at 134.
Baseball
A Project: BTO (Back to Omaha) groundbreaking ceremony will be part of the Washington State baseball alumni weekend Oct. 18-19 in Pullman.
Events begin Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. at Bailey-Brayton Field in a meet-and-greet with the new coaching staff, a Cougars practice followed by a scrimmage at 3:15. An alumni social is planned for the evening.
Groundbreaking for the roughly $10 million project to modernize and upgrade Bailey-Brayton Field will occur Saturday three hours prior to kickoff of the homecoming football game against Colorado. That time hasn’t been set. Afterward, the baseball coaches will host a pregame tailgate at the entrance to the baseball stadium.
To sign up, alumni should visit wsucougars.com and click on the baseball link.
College scene
Jake Levine, a Northwest Nazarene junior from Central Valley, was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after he scored two goals in the Nighthawks’ 3-0 win over Mary in their final nonconference match.
On his first goal 6 minutes into the match, he took a through ball and hammered a bouncing shot past the keeper. The second came off a crossing pass. The goals give him five for the season, all in the last three matches, matching his career high for goals in a season.
• Four area Division I programs, including the Gonzaga women and men, earned a Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches for the 2018-19 academic year.
The GU women had a 3.52 grade-point average and the men a 3.30. Also honored were the women’s teams from Idaho (3.61) and Washington State (3.08). Idaho’s GPA led Big Sky Conference women.
• Whitworth senior outside hitter Emiko Kahler was named the Northwest Conference Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for a second straight week after she led the Pirates to home wins over Whitman and Pacific.
Kahler averaged 3.86 kills and 4.75 digs per set and scored 29.5 points in the two matches as the Pirates took over sole possession of first place in the conference.
• Eastern Washington senior Madalyn Ardueser shared the Big Sky Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week award after winning the Rose City Collegiate in Aurora, Oregon, with a 1-under-par 215 (70, 69, 76).
The 69 tied her career record for lowest one-round total as she won back-to-back tournament titles. It was just the second time in program history anyone has won back-to-back tournaments. It was the second weekly award of her career.
• Gonzaga sophomore James Mwaura broke the school men’s cross country 8K record Friday when he clocked 23 minutes, 30.80 seconds with an eighth-place finish in a field that included some of the country’s top runners at the Joe Piane Invitational in Notre Dame, Indiana.
The old record of 23:32 was set by Willie Milam in 2013.
Former Mt. Spokane standout John Dressel, a senior at Colorado, finished 10th in 23:32.44 to help lead the Buffaloes to the men’s team title. GU, which finished 14th, also got a personal-best 24:07.27 from junior Peter Hogan, seventh on the school’s all-time list.
• Idaho senior Dwain Stucker and sophomore Nathalia Campos received Big Sky Conference athlete of the week awards in cross country for their performances in the Bill Dellinger Invitational last weekend in Marcola, Oregon.
Stucker shared the men’s honor after running the 8K course in 24 minutes, 45.2 seconds, placing 65th overall in a field that included 25 regionally and nationally ranked teams. Campos was the women’s recipient, finishing 50th and running 6K in 20:54.5.
Hockey
Two former Spokane youth hockey players turned on-ice officials have been chosen to work the IIHF World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2020.
Sean MacFarlane has been chosen as one of the referees, and Riley Bowles will work as a linesmen.
During the season, MacFarlane works for the East Coast and American hockey leagues and Bowles works the AHL out of the Chicago area. Both have come up through the Inland Empire Hockey Officials Association and USA Hockey’s officials development program.
The World Juniors is the third-largest IIHF tournament after the Olympics and the men’s worlds.
• The Spokane Chiefs announced that 16-year-old forward Grady Lane, their eighth-round pick in the 2018 Western Hockey League bantam draft, has been reassigned and is expected to join the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
Lane, who appeared in one of Spokane’s first three games with one shot on goal but no points, was the first overall pick by Winkler in the 2018 MJHL Draft. His departure leaves the Chiefs with 25 players, including 14 forwards.
Softball
Impressive hitting numbers were the key component that led team MVP selections for the four Spokane-based teams that participated in the Senior Softball USA World Masters Championships late last month in Las Vegas.
Mike Lang hit .933 (14 for 15) with 17 RBIs to earn the award for Morris Clark Roofing’s 55+ AA team that had a 1-4 record, the losses by a total of eight runs.
Lynn Hargraves batted over .800 on an NW Merchants 55+ AAA team that had a team batting average of over .800. It had a 3-2 record and made it to the quarterfinals in the elimination bracket.
All-around play and solid hitting led to the selection of Jack Parker as team MVP for NW Softball/Underdogs in the 60+ Major Division. After losing its two pool games, Underdogs went 2-2 in bracket play.
Mark Reilly hit .917 (11 for 12) and Jim Hardenbrook had an .833 batting average (10 for 12) as they shared team MVP honors for the 65+ AAA Greysox that had a 2-3 record.
Other team members:
Morris Clark Roofing – Steve Goodman (coach), Kenny Fergen, Kevin Schwartz, Ed Love, Orie Winter, Phil Termath, Bart Clark, Mike Kosoff, Mike Lang, John Herron, Ray Gains, Joe Young.
NW Merchants – Allen Martin (coach), Matt Seeliger, Al Sato, Dave Fukumoto, Steve Turbin, Kerry Pease, Roger Williamson, Kris Anderson, Tim Clinton, John Giampietri, Kurt Krauth, Scott Roberts, Mike Klemke.
NW Softball/Underdogs – Allen Arnold (coach), Jerry Coulter, Don Owen, Brian Williamson, Mike Reeder, Lee Libra, Doug Payne, Dick Stauffer, Marlin Harris, Jim Pierce, Jim Palombi, Rick Parker, Don Freund.
Greysox – Ron Klawitter (coach), Steve Bergstrom, Dan Loughlin, Wayne Terry, John Higgins, Dan Griffith, Jerry Coulter, Tom Adams, Cam Preston, Tom Crouch, Dwayne Phinney, Tim Wheatley.