Locally: North Central sophomore Teigen Brill wins Pacific Northwest Junior Amateur Championship
Teigen Brill of Spokane defeated Forrest Van Alstine of Vancouver, British Columbia, by a score of 4 & 2 to win the 68th Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship last week at North Bellingham Golf Course.
Brill, a rising sophomore at North Central High, was the No. 25 seed in the Junior Boys’ match play bracket. Brill had a one-up lead over Van Alstine through the first round of the championship match. Brill won three of the first six holes in the second round and closed out the match after the 16th hole with a 4 & 2 victory.
“I feel great,” said Brill when asked about how it feels to get the win, “coming in as the underdog, the 25 seed doesn’t win often, so it was a good upset.”
Earlier this summer, Brill won the WJGA District 5 championship, and earlier this month, he placed 7th at the WJGA State Championship.
Brill adds his name to the rich history of the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship, which includes past champions such as World Golf Hall of Fame member Fred Couples and Korn Ferry Tour players Alex Prugh and Andrew Yun.
Other local competitors who advanced to match play included Benjamin Barrett, Justin Krasselt, Trey Lambert, and Grant Potter.
In the girls bracket, Jenny Kwon of Vancouver, British Columbia, defeated Ella Arnzen of Boise, Idaho, 12 & 10.
Youth baseball
Two area teams – Spokane Bombers and Spokane Americans – competed in the 96-team Cooperstown All-Star Village 12U tournament Aug. 2-8 in Cooperstown, New York.
The Bombers went 3-2 in pool play and advanced to the 32-team championship round where they won their first game on a walk-off, three-run home run by Travis Collins Jr. before losing to the No. 1 seed in the next round.
The Bombers had a couple of high finishes in skills competitions, with Liam Cable taking second in the King of Swat home run derby and Jackson Monigold placing sixth in the Road Runner race around the bases.
The Americans went 4-4 overall at the tournament and also reached the round of 32, scoring 50 runs in their three pool play games.
The Americans hit 16 home runs, including four grand slams.
The rosters:
Bombers – Mason Miller, Hudson Ereaux, Cable, Matthew Sage, Monigold, Derek Taylor, Travis Collins Jr., Elijah Beck, Miles Gerstner, Cole Del Mese, Tyce Kelly, Clay Van Gemert, Zachary Goligoski and Layton Parks. Coaches were Mark Miller, Kevin Ereaux and Chris Cable.
Americans – Brooks Freebourn, Jordan Templeton, Grady Zehm, Mason Sautter, Carson Mills, Max Nichczynski, Nolan Lagerstom, Braven Hodl, Bret Smith, Brody Beaudoin, Nolan Bennett, Henry Yarno and Garrett Gollehon. Coaches were Ryan Beaudoin, Robert Lagerstrom, Chad Freebourn and Josh Mills.
Preseason polls
Washington State volleyball was picked to finish second in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches’ Poll, as announced by the league office Thursday. The Cougars also came in at No. 21 nationally in the first American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll of the season.
The Cougars open their season on Friday at a tournament hosted by Louisville. WSU plays Wright State on Friday, No. 4 Louisville on Saturday and Troy on Sunday.
• Washington State women’s soccer senior Margie Detrizio was selected to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.
Detrizio returns to the frontline as a reigning Pac-12 All-Conference selection last fall. The Arizona native led the Cougars in total points last season with 28 and also led the team with 11 goals (t-third in Pac-12).
WSU placed fifth in the preseason Pac-12 poll.
• Gonzaga’s Willow Collins and Kelsey Oyler were named Preseason All-West Coast Conference in women’s soccer, and the Bulldogs were selected fourth in the league’s annual poll released last week.
Collins was named to the league’s All-Freshman in 2021 and has started all 38 games in her collegiate career. A key piece to the GU defense, Collins scored twice last season and had three assists.
A defensive teammate, Oyler was tabbed honorable mention All-Conference last season with a goal and three assists. She also has started all 38 of her collegiate appearances.
Tennis
Cameron Williams, who has served as Whitworth’s men’s tennis coach since 2019, is stepping down from that position to become the club manager at the Wellness Center at Central Park.
Williams has been part of the Pirate men’s tennis program for more than a decade, first as an All-Northwest Conference player for the Bucs, then as an assistant coach from 2014 through 2019 and finally as head coach.
Track and field
After serving as a volunteer assistant for the Gonzaga men’s cross country/track program in 2022-23, Devin Fahey has been named the program’s Graduate Assistant for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
Prior to Gonzaga, Fahey earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Houston. During his time there, Fahey competed under coach Steve Magness in both cross country and track from 2017-2021.
• McKenna Lee-Hansen has been hired as a graduate assistant for the Gonzaga women’s cross country and track teams.
Prior to Gonzaga, Lee-Hansen earned a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Business Management with a minor in Family Studies at BYU. She will work toward a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership while at Gonzaga.
Volleyball
Ashley Kaufman, an outside hitter at Central Washington, and Wildcats teammate Hannah Stires, a defensive specialist, have been named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason team.
Kaufman is a senior from Hayden, and Stires is a junior from Nine Mile Falls.
• Gonzaga announced that Adrian Leiser will serve as the program’s third assistant coach and will continue in the role of Director of Volleyball Operations.
Leiser joined Wilson’s coaching staff in fall 2022 after spending two seasons as a volunteer assistant at Weber State.
Youth basketball
Registration has begun for players and coaches to participate in the Hooptown Youth League.
Divisions include: K-2nd Recreational; 3rd-6th Recreational; and 3rd-6th Competitive. Recreational divisions are for players at any skill level who want to play for fun, including beginners. The Competitive division is for players who have prior team basketball experience, know the rules, have strong skills for their grade level, and the desire to play in a competitive league and in tournaments.
Complete information can be found at spokanehoopfest.net.