Unbeaten Gonzaga Prep football and girls basketball teams and coaches swept the 2015 Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters youth awards honors, winning the trophies in six categories.
Gonzaga University’s Elite Eight NCAA basketball team garnered two awards and the Bulldogs women added a third in voting by the 56-member Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters association.
Heading into the Pacific Northwest Classic wrestling finals, Deer Park held a five-point lead over tourney host University and both schools had four in title bouts.
A fortuitous confluence of circumstances on Saturday propelled the Gonzaga Prep girls soccer team to the State 4A semifinals next Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
What’s the answer to a team that towers over you and builds a 10-point lead almost entirely at the free throw line? Boom, boom; shoot out the lights. In a basketball game that amassed a plethora of records, the most telling statistic, though not a record, were the 15 3-point baskets that rallied Colton to its seventh straight State 1B Girls championship, 89-70 over Sunnyside Christian.
Colton continues to add to its legacy. The Wildcats qualified for their eighth straight girls State 1B championship game and are seeking their seventh straight title after winning their 70th straight game with a 69-23 rout of Neah Bay on Friday at the Arena. Next up is Sunnyside Christian, 71-59 winner over previously unbeaten Republic at 3 p.m. today.
A trio of individuals who for a quarter century and more have given of themselves for the welfare of Spokane area athletics were recognized for their contributions Saturday at the State 2B and 1B basketball tournaments at the Arena. Hal McGlathery, Kurt Danekas and Rick Lukens were recipients of the 2014 Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters 25-Year Award plaques presented by KHQ-6 sports director Sam Adams.
Evergreen Lutheran received an early morning wake-up call by Republic in the 9 a.m. opener of the State 1B girls basketball tournament Thursday at the Spokane Arena. Six minutes into the contest the Eagles (17-9) trailed 21-1 and things didn’t improve as the Tigers cruised to a 64-34 triumph and a date at 3:45 this afternoon against Sunnyside Christian, whose 75-44 pasting of Crosspoint Academy that followed mirrored Republic’s romp.
