Cheney’s Gray goes for Thrill Ride
Cheney cowboy Ryan Gray got the 2005 rodeo season off to a good start by winning the bareback riding at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
Gray won the first round and finished second in the championship round on Sunday to tie two Texas cowboys for the overall lead with 248 points on three rides.
Gray, who won the first round with an 87-point score on a horse called Thrill Ride, won a total of $11,800.
Last summer the former state-placing wrestler won the collegiate bareback championship while a student at Odessa, Texas, junior college. He now attends Texas Tech.
College basketball
Eastern Washington post Felice Moore, a junior from Central Valley, earned player of the week honors after leading the Eagles to a 2-0 week, including a win over league-leading Weber State Saturday afternoon.
The junior hit 7 of 10 from the field against Idaho State Thursday and 4 of 4 from the charity stripe to finish with 18 points. Moore also pulled in four rebounds and had two blocks, one steal and one assist.
Against Weber State, Moore hit 4 of 8 from the field and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed four offensive and four defensive boards in the game, finishing with eight rebounds, 14 points, one assist and one blocked shot.
For the week, Moore averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game, while shooting over 61 percent from the field, and 83 percent from the foul line. The forward also averaged 1.5 blocks and one assist per game.
The Eagles, 11-5 overall and 3-0 in league play, go to Montana State (6-10, 0-3) on Thursday and Montana (10-6, 3-0) on Saturday.
Football
Jake Kragt, who helped lead Ritzville to the State B-11 football championship, has made an oral commitment to attend Eastern Washington next fall.
Kragt, a four-year starter for the Broncos, who made the playoffs every year, is expected to play defensive end. At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Kragt also played linebacker on defense and running back and tight end during his career.
In the past two years, he has 102 tackles, including 22 for loss. As a senior he ran for nine touchdowns and had five more receiving as Ritzville went 13-0.
Kragt also plays basketball and baseball, last year leading the Bi-County League with a .480 average.
A 3.99 student, he was a finalist for the Ray Flaherty Award and was also the Seattle Times B-11 Defensive Player of the Year. The paper also listed him as a White Chip player as one of the top 100 recruits in the state.
His plan is to become a third generation and ninth family member to become a chiropractor.
The official signing day is Wednesday, Feb. 2.
Girls high school basketball
Maria Barranco scored 28 points, was 12 of 17 from the free-throw line and added five steals as Newport (7-8) held off Post Falls (2-17) 52-46 in a non-league matchup in Newport.
In a game that was nothing short of a foul-fest, Newport finished 24 of 37 from the foul line, while the Trojans finished 12 of 22.