Locally: Spokane says farewell to ‘grandmother’ of youth bowling Patti Dudley
They held a farewell party for the “grandmother” of youth bowling in Spokane on Aug. 28 and 29.
“It was a huge success,” the recipient proudly acknowledged.
Ninety registered to bowl, including 18 from the Junior Bowlers Tour that Patti Dudley shepherded for 34 years, and at least that many more showed up at Valley Bowl to join the celebration.
“It was very emotional,” said Dudley.
“Forty-five years ago, I walked into a bowling establishment knowing very little about bowling and nothing at all about running leagues and tournaments,” she said in a prepared speech. “Within weeks I was hooked into being part of the bowling community.”
She started bowling, and soon was involved in running leagues and tournaments locally, and with traveling teams that toured the West Coast, even working in a trip to Hawaii for a big tournament.
Eleven years later, she took over the JBT, and was not only running the program, but also teaching and coaching the kids.
“Little did I know it would be one of the most memorable, fun and gratifying thing I have ever done in my life,” she said.
“Watching kids achieve their dreams no matter how big or small has been the driving force for staying this long. Watching them grow up and form lifelong friendships has made me respect the sport of bowling in so many ways.”
Dudley, who was inducted into the Spokane County United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 2008, isn’t one to retire to the couch.
“I’ll still be around, watching my kids and grandkids bowl,” she said. “And I’ll be involved, I just won’t be tied to it every weekend.”
Her JBT kids fared well in the farewell-party competition.
Ashton Hoskinson placed second, Logenn Storer eighth and Jeff Gore 13th in Saturday’s singles. In Sunday’s Swiss team event, Caleb Kearl was on the first-place team, Gore on the second, Ashton Hoskinson on the fourth, Gavin Hoskinson on the fifth, Kelson Ramelow on the sixth and Candice Vantine on the seventh.
Maliya Asadi had high game for the JBT girls both days (233 and 236) while Storer’s 277 led the boys on Saturday and Gore’s 248 was high for the boys on Sunday.
All the kids shared in the $1,006 scholarship money that was raised during the weekend.
“Most of all I want to thank the kids for giving me endless years of spending time with them,” Dudley added. “They have made me laugh, cry and have given me the best memories I will ever have. I will miss this most of all.”
Basketball
Spokane native Wayne Tinkle, a former Ferris HS standout who is entering his eighth season as head men’s coach at Oregon State, has been named chair of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball ethics coalition for next year.
With changes coming at a rapid pace in Division I men’s basketball – the one-time transfer exception; name, image and likeness endorsement deals; and possible changes to the governance structure of the NCAA – there are numerous issues for coaches.
Tinkle said he wants the coalition to focus on the three pillars that are the foundation of the group – education, leadership and mentoring – to influence younger head and assistant coaches to do things by the book.
In an Oregon State release, Tinkle is quoted as saying, “We don’t have the power, but we hope to get some momentum to get people to think more seriously about handling their business the right way. If we don’t do that, it will be hard to help mentor the up-and-coming coaches.”
Golf
Billy Bomar of Prairie Falls Golf Club in Post Falls shot 7-over-par 151 (77-74) for 36 holes to finish 10th in the Pacific Northwest Senior PGA Championship that wound up Friday at Rainier Golf and Country Club in Seattle.
Bob Rannow of Ocean Dunes Golf Links in Florence, Oregon, the only player to go under par, posted a one-shot victory with a 143.
Mike DeLong of the Coeur d’Alene Resort placed second in the Senior Division net competition, and was fourth in the division overall, with a 157.
• Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, a two-time champion, tied for fourth in the WSGA Washington Mid-Amateur last week at Bellingham Golf and Country Club with a 2-over-par 146 (74-72) for 36 holes. Jacob Koppenberg of Bellingham posted a six-stroke win with a 5-under 139 on his home course.
Hockey
Former Spokane Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz has been named the new general manager of the American Hockey League’s Henderson (Nevada) Silver Knights, an affiliate of the NHL Vegas Golden Knights.
Speltz was Chiefs GM for 26 years (1990-2016), winning two Western Hockey League championships and two Memorial Cups, before leaving to become the western area head of amateur scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has been the Leafs’ head of amateur scouting the last three years.
He is the second former Chief with the Henderson organization. Manny Viverios, the Chiefs’ head coach for the 2019-20 season, is the Silver Knights’ first head coach.
Rowing
Gonzaga women’s coach Andrew Derrick has added two new assistants to his staff, Olivia Betz, who spent last year at Rutgers during the most successful season in that program’s history, and Gillian Edgar, a two-time All-American who rowed for Derrick at Seattle Pacific for three years before he took over at Gonzaga.
Tennis
Fons Verberne, assistant women’s coach at the University of Delaware the last two seasons, has been hired as the Washington State University assistant women’s coach, Cougars’ first-year head coach Raquel Atawo announced.
Verberne, who played collegiately at Saint Leo University, where he led the school to its first NCAA Division II national tournament in 2016, spent 2018-19 as a volunteer assistant coach for the women’s program at the University of Missouri. He also was a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s program at Saint Leo for two years.
Softball
The Spokane Metro Softball Hall of Fame will grow by 20 people in a combined 2020 and 2021 induction ceremony on Oct. 2 at the Spokane Eagles Lodge, 6410 N. Lidgerwood, honoring “individuals who have played a major role in the growth and development of ASA adult softball in Spokane.”
Five will come from the Class of 2021 – Randy Olson, who played men’s slowpitch, senior slowpitch and men’s modified fastpitch; Debbie Hjortedal, women’s fastpitch, women’s slowpitch and women’s modified fastpitch; Les Hancock and Steven Shaw, both MMFP; and player/coach Mark Reilly, MFP, MMFP, MSP, coed SP and senior SP.
The other 15 are in the Class of 2020, which was named last year but whose induction was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, Harvey Schuyler was selected to receive the Denny Waltermire Distinguished Service Award “for his longtime outstanding support and dedication to softball in the Spokane Metro area,” board member Don Love is quoted in the induction ceremonies announcement.
College scene
Rory Buck is a four-time NCAA Division III national champion and a six-time All-American swimmer. Now the former Whitworth standout from South Africa is a candidate for the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America’s list of Top 100 Greatest Swimmers & Divers of the last 100 years.
There are 973 candidates from 221 schools, 739 of them swimmers, from which 100 men and 100 women will be selected.
Buck, inducted into the Whitworth Heritage Gallery hall of fame in 2019, was the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimmer of the Year as a junior in 2011 when he broke records in the both 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events. He went on to defend both national titles in 2012.
The six-time Northwest Conference champion – his records in both breaststrokes still stand – represented South Africa at the 2011 World University Games. Following graduation in 2012, he placed third at the South Africa national championships, missing a spot in the Olympics by one place. He was also a second-team Academic All-American 2011 and first team in 2012.
• Caden Kaelber, a Washington State junior right-handed pitcher, led a list of five area college baseball players named to the West Coast League All-Star team for their performances in the premier summer league.
The transfer from Community Colleges of Spokane, who played for the Walla Walla Sweets, was named to the first team.
Honorable mention selections were Collin Montez, OF, WSU, Bend Elks; Brock Bozett, IF, CC Spokane (Ferris), Cowlitz Black Bears; Enzo Apodaca, OF, Gonzaga, Wenatchee AppleSox; Dylan Bishop, RHP, Whitworth, Yakima Valley Pippins; and Owen Wild, RHP, Gonzaga, Pippins.
• The Gonzaga men’s and women’s cross country teams will enter the season with their best USTFCCA regional rankings in history. The men, who also claimed a program-best 27th national ranking, are tabbed No. 5 in the West Region and the women ninth.
Other area preseason national and regional rankings: Men: Washington, 13th nationally, third in West; Washington State, seventh in the West; Idaho, 15th in the West. Women: Washington 10th nationally, second in the West; WSU, fifth in the West; Idaho, 12th in the West.
• The GU men were picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference cross country coaches’ preseason poll. The Zags landed juniors James Mwaura and Yacine Guermali and sophomore Wil Smith (Lewis and Clark), all members of the Zags’ spring NCAA qualifiers, on the preseason All-WCC team.
Gonzaga juniors Kristen Garcia and Lauren Haas were named to the WCC women’s preseason cross country all-league team and GU was tabbed fourth in the coaches’ poll. Garcia was the first GU woman since 2015 to qualify for the NCAA championships after finishing 12th in the WCC meet, where Haas was 18th.
The BYU men and women were unanimous choices to win both WCC championships, the men for a seventh straight year and the defending NCAA champion women for a fourth straight.
• The Whitworth men were selected by the Northwest Conference cross country coaches in their preseason poll to finish third and the Pirates’ women, who return NWC runner-up Becky George (Deer Park), fifth. George Fox led the men’s voting and Pacific the women’s.
• The Whitworth men’s and women’s soccer teams were both voted by Northwest Conference coaches in their preseason polls to finish fourth. Pacific Lutheran was selected to win both in close voting.
• Whitworth, which returns 21 starters from a team that went 4-0 in the pandemic-truncated 2020-21 season, has been selected to finish second behind Linfield in the Northwest Conference football coaches’ preseason poll.
• With five starters, 15 letter winners and some key newcomers on hand for veteran coach Kati Bodecker, Whitworth has received the nod from Northwest Conference volleyball coaches in their preseason poll to win the 2021 championship. Pacific Lutheran was second. Both schools received votes in the AVCA Coaches Preseason Top 25 national poll.
Football
Trent “Buck” Cowan, a tight end during his four-year playing career at the University of Idaho (2013-16), has taken over as the new color commentator for Idaho football radio broadcasts.
Cowan replaces Ryan Phillips, who stepped aside to follow his twin daughters play college volleyball after providing color commentary the previous six seasons.