Locally: Jakobe Ford off to great start at Everett Community College
The spotlight continues to shine on Jakobe Ford.
A triple-event winner at the State 3A track meet last spring and the National Junior Olympics in the summer, the former Shadle Park standout has launched his collegiate career in impressive fashion.
The Everett Community College freshman broke a 43-year-old school record and 14-year-old stadium and meet records by winning the high jump at 7 feet, 1/4 inch at the Shotwell Invitational last weekend at the University of Puget Sound.
He also won the long jump, going 22-6 1/2.
“The incredible thing is, these aren’t even his best marks,” said Everett coach Tansey Lystad, alluding to the 7-4 1/4 Ford jumped at the UW Open indoor in February and the 24-6 1/4 at the JO championships.
Ford’s conference-leading marks, which earned him NWAC Men’s Track & Field Athlete of the Week honors, rank him among the national leaders in the junior college ranks.
“Jakobe is a budding world-class talent who has already made his mark on Everett CC,” Lystad said. “He has professional athlete aspirations, and we are excited to see what he is capable of this year and beyond.”
• Micaela Kostecka, a Community Colleges of Spokane sophomore from Mt. Spokane, was named NWAC Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Week after she won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Shotwell Invitational by more than a minute and 27 seconds.
In just her second steeplechase, Kostecka ran 10 minutes, 55.28 seconds, setting meet and stadium records. She was also third in the 800, running 2:24.29.
College scene
Vanessa Shippy of Oklahoma State, a two-time All-American and Academic All-American from Lake City, is one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award in softball.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award recognizes student-athletes who have shown notable achievement in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The recipient will be named during the Women’s College World Series May 31-June 6 in Oklahoma City.
During her Oklahoma State career, Shippy has placed herself among the elite players in the program’s history, collecting multiple major awards and school records all while carrying a double major – marketing and finance – and making significant contributions in the Stillwater, Oklahoma, community and beyond.
She leads the Cowgirls in four offensive categories – batting (.459), runs (51), walks (43) and on-base percentage (63.5) – and is fielding .959 at third base.
Nationwide fan voting on the Senior CLASS Award website through May 14 will help select a winner.
• Johnny Sage, a Yakima Valley sophomore from West Valley, was named the NWAC Baseball Player of the Week after he compiled a .636 batting average in four games last week.
“Sage is a Northern Colorado commit with a next-level approach,” YVC head coach Kyle Krustangel of Spokane said. “He was on base 13 out of 18 plate (plate) appearances. Johnny is off to a great start and has led the way to the (second-ranked) Yaks’ great start.”
Sage had seven hits, that included three doubles and a home run, six walks and four RBIs, accounting for six runs.
• Oregon Tech junior Josh Kallstrom from Ephrata was named Cascade Collegiate Conference Baseball Player of the Week for a second time this season after he had another big week for the Owls.
The power-hitting first baseman batted .500, driving in seven runs and scoring seven in a four-game weekend. He leads the NAIA-W in batting average (.388), hits (54), total bases (90) and is tied for first in home runs (six) and doubles (16) and is second in slugging percentage (.647).
• Community Colleges of Spokane had NWAC athletes of the week in men’s tennis and men’s track and field for the week ending March 29.
Tennis honors went to Kyle Smithgall, a sophomore from University, who won three of four matches, his loss coming in a third-set tiebreaker in singles to an opponent from Willamette. He also won a three-setter in singles and two close doubles matches.
“His game is built around movement, counter punching and competitiveness,” CCS coach Wally Heidenson said. “The closer the match, the better he plays.”
Sam Roddewig, a sophomore from Helena, was the track selection for his performance in the decathlon at the Sam Adams Classic.
“Sam had an almost 400-point improvement in his first decathlon since last season’s NWAC Championship, where he finished fourth,” CCS head coach Jason Cash said. “He had lifetime bests in the high jump, 400m, discus and 1500m; his pole vault is third in (his) overall standings, and his other marks were just off his bests from last season in much better weather.”
• Idaho junior Enrique Marin was named the Big Sky Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week for a fourth time this season for his performance in the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay (University Place, Washington), April 2-3.
Marin tied for fifth in a field that featured teams ranked in the top 50, compiling a 4-over-par 147, capping the 54-hole event with a 1-under 70 in his final round.
• Federica Torre, a 2018 Gonzaga women’s golf signee, won the 64th Women’s and Men’s City of Rome Golden Cup in Rome, Italy, last weekend on the Golf Club Roma Acquasanta.
Torre, third in the tournament last year on the course built in 1903, was 6 over par for 54 holes. She shot 76-70-73, battling rain, wind, and hail the first day, and wind the next two days.
The Italian Golf Federation-sanctioned tournament is regarded just behind the Italian Championships in order of national importance.
• Juniors Michelle Silva of softball and Hugh Smith of baseball have been selected the Whitworth Student-Athletes of the Month for March.
Silva, an infielder from Aloha, Oregon, got on base in nearly half her at-bats in the month with an on-base percentage of .492. She slugged .879 with four home runs and nine doubles to lead the Pirates to a 14-8 record in March. She has a team-leading .411 batting average and 21 RBIs.
Smith, a right-handed pitcher from Sammamish, Washington, with a 5-0 record, finished the month with a 1.25 ERA over five appearances and struck out 9.25 batters per nine innings. He walked just 12 and allowed only 21 hits in 36 innings.
• Eleven area athletes, six of them from Washington State, were named to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation 2018 Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Scholar-Athlete teams with grade-point averages of 3.0 or better.
Women: Washington State – Josie Brown, junior, Coeur d’Alene HS, 3.85 GPA; Kaitlin Krouse, jr., Chewelah, 3.57. Washington – Briegan Bester, RS freshman, Central Valley, 3.70; Mayson Douglass, senior, Mead, 3.61. BYU – Kaitlyn Gunnerson, jr., CdA HS, 3.74.
Men: WSU – Cameron Dean, sophomore, Mead, 3.32; Jake Finney, jr., Post Falls (Lake City), 3.95; Nick Johnson, so., Gonzaga Prep, 3.00; Paul Ryan, RS so., Moscow, 3.40; UW – Andrew Gardner, sr., Mead, 3.18; Khalil Winfrey, so., Rogers, 3.39.
• Five women and three men from area schools, four of them at Carroll College and three at Lewis-Clark State, were named to 2017-18 Frontier Conference basketball Academic All-Conference teams.
Women: Carroll – Sara Chalich, sr., Coeur d’Alene HS (repeat); Oona Harrington jr., Gonzaga Prep; Brittney Johnson, sr., Ferris (repeat). L-C State – Cali Moscrip, jr., Lewiston; Brittany Tackett, sr., CdA HS.
Men: Carroll – Match Burnham, jr., Liberty. L-C State – Race Martin, jr., Pullman/CCS. Rocky Mountain – Grant Wallace, so., Kooskia, Idaho.
Hockey
Zach Fischer, a 20-year-old forward who completed his Western Hockey League career last week when the Chiefs were eliminated from the playoffs, has left a lasting impression in Spokane.
Through his charity, “Z for Kids,” Fischer made a $2,000 donation to Wishing Star Foundation. It’s the third such donation from the charity Fischer created in 2017 while he played for the Medicine Hat Tigers before he was traded to Spokane in October.
“The well-being of kids is important to me,” said Fischer, a fifth-round selection of the Calgary Flames in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. “The values and vision of Wishing Star align with those of ‘Z for Kids’ and I am excited to partner with them.”
Fischer, from Lloydminster, Alberta, said he created “Z for Kids” because of his desire to give back to the community. With the help of businesses in Alberta, he was able to raise $20,000 for the nonprofit. Its first two donations were in Alberta.
Letters of intent
Montana Tech women’s basketball – Keelie Lawler, G, Timberlake of Spirit Lake, transfer from Western State of Colorado, four-time Idaho All-State, two-time MVP of Intermountain League.
Rocky Mountain football – Kaden Hagel, WR, Coeur d’Alene HS; Beau St. John, OL/DL, Liberty, All-NE 2B offense and defense, 2B All-State; Spencer Weisel, OL, CdA HS, All-IEL 5A.
Running
Former Idaho distance standout Kinsey (Gomez) Middleton, a second-team All-American at 10,000 meters in 2016, placed 50th out of 122 runners in the 2018 IAAF World Half Marathon late last month in Valencia, Spain.
Middleton, who ran for her native Canada after qualifying with a personal-best time of 1 hour, 12.30 seconds at the Houston Half Marathon, timed 1:13.52, the third of four Canadians. The winner, Netsanet Gudeta of Epthiopia, ran a world-record 1:06.11.