Locally: Lewis and Clark graduate Briann January to be inducted into Arizona State Hall of Fame
From staff and news services
Less than a year after Briann January had her basketball jersey number honored and hung from the rafters at Arizona State University’s Desert Financial Arena, the former Lewis and Clark High School standout will return to the school’s Tempe campus for another honor.
On Oct. 8, she’ll be among nine former Sun Devils who will be inducted into the ASU Sports Hall of Fame in the first ceremony since 2019 and two years of pandemic-forced cancellations.
It was on Nov. 12 that January was there to see her No. 20 saluted for a four-year career (2006-09) that included two Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year Awards, All-America honorable mention (2009) and four trips to the NCAA Tournament that included two Elite Eight appearances.
She still ranks in the top seven of a half-dozen career statistics, including free-throw percentage (first), free throws (second), steals (second) and assists (second), and in 2015 was named to the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball All-Century Team.
Now a plaque that will be enshrined on the concourse level of the University Activity Center will also include highlights from a 14-year WNBA career that is coming to an end this season with her fourth franchise, the Seattle Storm.
Since being drafted sixth by the Indiana Fever in the first round of the 2009 WNBA draft, January won an WNBA championship (2012, with the Fever), was named to the WNBA All-Star Game (2014) and has been named to the WNBA’s All-Defensive first team five times and second team twice.
In 2017-18, January served as an assistant coach for the Sun Devils under her head coach, Charli Turner Thorne. Thorne, who announced her retirement March 3, will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Distinction for a 25-year career in which she became the winningest women’s basketball coach in ASU history and No. 2 in the Pac-12.
College scene
Maddie Lee from Mead, a senior volleyball player, and senior men’s basketball player Garrett Paxton from Kennewick (Kamiakin) were named Whitworth’s 2021-22 first-team scholar-athletes by the Northwest Conference.
One male and one female were selected from each conference member for their academic achievement, character and athletic performance as determined by the school.
A 4.0 student, Lee led Whitworth to an unbeaten record in the NWC (16-0) for the first time in school history with conference-leading kills per set, total kills and points per set (4.36) and was named NWC Player of the Year.
Paxton had a 3.97 GPA, graduating summa cum laude, and was accepted into Baylor College of Medicine to get his master’s in science. He helped lead the Pirates to a share of the NWC regular-season title and 2022 NWC Tournament championship and was named second-team All-NWC as a senior.
• Gonzaga’s Cade McGee picked up two more All-America honors for a breakout freshman baseball season. The third baseman was one of 10 position players on the Freshman All-America second team for both D1Baseball.com and Baseball America.
McGee, who batted .298 with a team-high 10 home runs, 62 hits and 31 RBIs, and outfielder Enzo Apodaca were earlier named Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. McGee was West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and All-WCC honorable mention.
• Travis Swallow, a Seattle Pacific senior men’s soccer player from Lake City with a 3.95 GPA, earned his fifth Great Northwest Athletic Conference Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award to lead 10 athletes with area ties who were honored for 2021-22 with GPAs of 3.85 or greater.
The others by school:
Seattle Pacific: Annika Esvelt (West Valley), sophomore, women’s cross country/track and field, 4.0, her second; Hailey Marlow (WV), so., women’s basketball, 3.91, second; Libby Michael (Deer Park), junior, women’s CC/track and field, 3.94, third.
Northwest Nazarene: Tyler Shea (Northwest Christian), jr., men’s CC/track and field, 3.93, fourth; Carolyn Moravec (Lewis and Clark), so., women’s soccer, 3.91, third.
Central Washington: Ashley Kaufman (Lake City), so., volleyball, 3.89, second; Mikayla Uhlenkott (Pullman), freshman, 3.92, first; Chloe Williams (Central Valley), fr., women’s basketball, 3.96, first.
Western Oregon: Carly Cox (Ferris), so., volleyball, 3.90, second.
• Whitworth’s women’s and men’s swimming teams and three individuals were recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for academic excellence during spring semester.
The Pirates women had a 3.23 GPA and the men a 3.09 to be named CSCAA Scholar All-America team. Freshman Emma Thompson (Mead), senior Ryan Grady and grad student Jacob Goguen (Ferris) were selected to the Scholar All-America first team with GPAs of 3.50 or higher.
• The area’s four Division I schools – Washington State, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington and Idaho – all placed student-athletes on the 2021-22 Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team with minimum GPAs of 3.50.
Eastern had six honored – its entire roster – WSU and Gonzaga three each and Idaho one.
EWU: Morgan Baum, sophomore, her third WGCA All-American scholar award; freshmen Stephanie Chelack and Carisa Padilla, their second; junior Jaelin Ishikawa, redshirt sophomore Meghan Singh and freshman Kami Twining (Central Valley), their first.
WSU: Amy Chu, senior, 3.77 GPA, her fourth WGCA All-American Scholar award; Darcy Habgood, sr., 3.68, and Emily Cadwell, freshman, 3.64, their first.
Gonzaga: Quynn Duong, sr., and Cassie Kim, jr., their third awards; and Kaysa Panke (Davenport), sr., her first.
Idaho: Jenna Bruggeman, freshman, her first.
Hockey
For the first time in four seasons, the Spokane Chiefs will see teams from the Eastern Conference of the Western Hockey League.
Spokane, which has been confined to playing Western Conference teams since the 2018-19 season, will travel to the Eastern Division for six games in December and will play host to six Central Division teams throughout the season.
The 68-game regular-season schedule, starting in Victoria, British Columbia, Sept. 23-24, will include 34 in the Arena, including 29 on weekends (13 Fridays, 13 Saturdays and three Sundays), four Wednesdays and one Tuesday. The Chiefs’ home opener is Oct. 1 against Kamloops. The annual Teddy Bear Toss will be Dec. 3, against Lethbridge.
To see the full schedule, visit the Chiefs’ website at spokanechiefs.com.
• Saint John, New Brunswick, defeated Hamilton, Ontario, 6-1 on June 29 in its hometown to win the 2022 Memorial Cup, capturing the championship of Canadian junior hockey for the second time in its 17-year history. The Sea Dogs, established in 2005, also won in 2011.
Soccer
Jodi Ulkekul, a two-time West Coast Conference All-Academic selection during her four years at Gonzaga University (2015-18), has signed with the OL Reign as a National Team Replacement Player, the Seattle team announced. The veteran defender from Sammamish, Washington, has been playing professionally in Spain and Italy.
Track and field
University of Idaho graduate Zack Short was a double gold medal winner for Honduras at the 2022 Central America Championships earlier this month in Managua, Nicaragua. The former Vandals All-American won the shot put at 61 feet, 2¾ inches and the discus at 166-5.
• Lara Holzhauer from Germany, a 19-year-old who has consistently been in the top three in the 400-meter hurdles in U20 international competition, has signed with Idaho, Vandals director of track and field/cross country Tim Cawley announced. She’s competed in events from 100 to 600 and the pentathlon.