Locally: Whitworth women’s soccer tabs Cameron Bushéy as next head coach
From staff and news services
Whitworth University conducted a nationwide search to fill its vacant women’s soccer head coaching position. Turns out, he was right in the neighborhood.
Cameron Bushéy, a Mead HS and Whitworth graduate, the top assistant of the men’s program at Stanislaus State University in California the past two years, was hired to take over the Pirates’ women’s team once coached by his father, the retired Sean Bushéy.
He replaces Bryan Olson, who resigned following the 2021 season to pursue overseas ministry opportunities.
Cameron Bushéy, a four-time All-Northwest Conference selection who helped the Pirates win three NWC titles before graduating in 2012, has extensive coaching experience at the university, junior college and youth clubs levels. He was the men’s assistant at Gonzaga University (2018-20) before taking the Stanislaus job.
He was also the head coach of the men’s first team at the Spokane Shadow Soccer Club, assistant men’s coach at Spokane Falls Community College and the director of coaching from 2015-18 at the Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club, a program in which he played growing up.
Baseball
Lewis-Clark State College announced it will hold a memorial service on March 19 at 1 p.m. at Harris Field in Lewiston for legendary coach Ed Cheff, who died Jan. 5. The event will be live streamed. The link will be available on lcwarriors.com the day of the service.
College scene
Garrett White, a Vanguard University senior from Post Falls, claimed his first career Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week honor on Feb. 14 after two impressive performances on the road the previous week.
The 6-foot-4 forward, who was home schooled and played his high school basketball for North Idaho Christian, averaged 24.0 ppg, 5.5 rbg and 1.5 apg as the Lions from Costa Mesa, California, defeated Westmont (76-75) and The Master’s (84-62).
He shot 52.8% (19 of 36) from the field, including 61.5% (8 of 13) on 3-pointers.
The transfer from Community Colleges of Spokane posted his sixth and seventh 20-point games of the season, tying his season high with 26 against Westmont, as he helped the Lions snap a three-game losing streak and remain in the hunt for a top-four seed in the GSAC Tournament.
Among the GSAC leaders, White ranks fourth in scoring (16.9) and 10th in both field-goal percentage (54.9) and 3-point field-goal percentage (39.6).
• For the fourth straight week and seventh time this season, Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart (Mt. Spokane) was named Mountain West Conference men’s basketball freshman of the week.
Degenhart scored in double figures in Broncos’ games Feb. 11 and 13, his 13th and 14th double-figure games, averaging 15.5 ppg (12 of 24, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers), 5.5 rpg and added two assists and two steals.
• Xavier Smith, a Central Washington senior guard who transferred from Idaho, received the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week on Feb. 14 after he averaged 20.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg to lead the Wildcats to a 2-1 record the prior week.
• The North Idaho College men’s and women’s basketball teams partnered with the NIC Booster Club and Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty on Jan. 29 during a doubleheader against Yakima Valley College in Christianson Gymnasium to raise $1,706 in a Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser for the Kootenai Health Foundation.
• Whitworth senior Amelia Hewson broke her school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, timing 8.89 seconds, with a third-place finish Feb. 12 during the Whitworth Indoor Invitational at The Podium. Her previous mark was 8.95.
• Gonzaga sophomore pitcher/first-baseman Gabriel Hughes is one of 55 players named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The award annually goes to the player considered the top amateur baseball player in the nation, high school through college.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander, projected as the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, was 4-3 in 2021 as the Bulldogs’ Saturday starter with a 3.23 ERA, 67 strikeouts in 61⅓ innings and hit .247 with four doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs.
He collected multiple postseason awards, including selection to Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman All-America Team.
• Ten athletes with area ties who are at least sophomores with 3.25 GPAs earned 2021-22 Frontier Conference Academic All-Conference honors in football.
Carroll College: Kaden Gardner, fr., Mead; Jack Peed, RS so., Lakeland of Rathdrum; Max Peed, fr., Lakeland of Rathdrum; Tug Smith, RS fr., Newport HS. Montana Tech: Derek Pearse, fr., Post Falls HS. Montana Western: Danny Bradbury, RS fr., Newport; Stephan Carr, Liberty HS, so; Nate Masterson, St. Maries, sr.; Luke Nichols, Newport, jr.; Derek Rauch-Edwards, Moscow, jr.
• The Whitworth women, who return All-Northwest Conference second-team junior Aleah Kert (Gonzaga Prep) and Community Colleges of Spokane grad student and senior Kyndl Locati, have been picked to finish third in the NWC tennis coaches’ preseason poll. Whitman, fourth a year ago, was tabbed to win the conference.
The NWC men’s coaches voted the Pirates fifth behind favorite George Fox. Back for Whitworth are junior second-team All-NWC pick Ethan Violette and seniors Cameron Brewer and Levi Garza.
• Whitworth was picked to finish last in the NWC lacrosse coaches’ preseason poll that picked defending champion George Fox to repeat. Whitworth returns sophomore first-team All-NWC midfielder Jenae Mercado, junior honorable mention midfielder Madison Perry and junior midfielder Kylee Walker.
Hockey
Spokane Chiefs goalie Mason Beaupit is one of 15 Western Hockey League players invited to participate in the 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game March 23 in Kitchener, Ontario.
The last Chief to participate was forward Jack Finley, who went on to be selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL entry draft by Tampa Bay. The game showcases the top 40 players eligible for the 2022 NHL draft from the WHL, Ontario and Quebec Major Junior leagues.
The players will be divided into two teams. Rosters and coaching staffs will be announced later.
Letters of intent
Eastern Oregon University football: Keoni Lindsay, RB, Ferris.
Rowing
Brandon Campbell, who has been with the Washington State University women’s rowing program since the fall of 2015 in a variety of roles while pursuing his graduate degree, has been elevated to the position of associate head coach, head coach Jane LaRiviere announced.
Campbell started rowing at E.L. Crossley Secondary School in Fonthill, Ontario, and was a four-time national champion. He finished seventh in the men’s pairs at the 2003 Junior World Championships as a member of the Canadian Junior National team.
At WSU, he started as a graduate assistant and in the fall of 2017 led the Cougars’ novice team, guiding the Novice 8+ to a third-place finish at the 2018 Pac-12 Championships. He was elevated to assistant coach prior to the 2019-20 season.
Volleyball
Kindra Gillen, an All-America player at University of Washington who has spent the past two years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, has been hired as an assistant coach at Gonzaga University by Bulldogs first-year head coach Katie Wilson.
Wilson called Gillen, an opposite-side hitter at UW who holds many Huskies records, “an excellent teacher (and) … a wonderful role model. She has played the game at the highest level.”
An assistant at Notre Dame when Wilson was the associate head coach of the Irish, Gillen played professionally in Puerto Rico, France, Greece and Germany and trained with the U.S. National Team in 2011 and 2013. She was also an assistant at Division I University of Wyoming.
The addition of Gillen and return of three-year assistant and recruiting coordinator Katie Palmer completes Wilson’s coaching staff for the 2022 season.