Locally
Turbulator inducted into state racing hall of fame
World record holder Turbulator, a former Horse of the Year at Playfair Race Course, was chosen to be inducted into the Washington Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame.
The newest class also includes jockey Russell Baze, trainer Charlie Whittingham, breeder George Drumheller and horse Saratoga Passage. Emerald Downs president Ron Crockett, Jr., received the lifetime achievement award.
Turbulator won 11 stakes races during his career and hit the board in 35 of 47 starts with 21 victories and lifetime earnings of $102,457. “Tubby” as he was affectionately known, was the only horse in history to earn Horse of the Year honors at Longacres, Playfair and Yakima Meadows. In addition he set the 6½-furlong world record (1:14) at Longacres in 1970.
He was named after the tub-shaped water treatment machine used to nurse an injured leg, which delayed his racing career until he was a 4-year-old. At 5, however, the stretch runner earned a permanent place in Washington history. He won five stakes, set a world record for 6½ furlongs in the Governor’s Handicap, and a Longacres track record for 11/16 miles in the Washington Championship.
Inductees into the Washington Thoroughbred Hall of Fame were selected by a 16-member committee consisting of members of the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, Washington HBPA, Emerald Downs and outside media members.
The Washington Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame Class of 2004 will be inducted into the Washington Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame during a special banquet at Emerald Downs on Sept. 18. Tickets to the Hall of Fame dinner can be purchased by contacting the WTBA at 253-288-7878.
Baseball
Brian Munhall, a 1998 graduate of Ferris High, has been promoted by the San Francisco Giants to their AAA club, the Fresno Grizzlies. Munhall, who received his second promotion in two weeks, was previously with the San Jose Giants (an Advanced-A affiliate). Prior to his experience with San Jose, Munhall played for the Long-A affiliate, the Hagerstown (Maryland) Suns. Munhall signed with the Giants in 2002 as an undrafted free agent out of Gonzaga University.
•The Spokane Riverhawks Fall High School Baseball League will conduct tryouts Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The league has been in operation for six years.
This will be the league’s only tryout, and players must attend in order to be selected. The $150 league registration fee, which also covers jersey and hat, will be collected at the tryout. There will be no telephone registration. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.
For the first time, the league will feature a two-tiered program. Players with the highest ability level will compete in the AAA Division, and the remainder of the players will play AA. Coaches will select 12 to 14 players per team. Players will be contacted by coaches Saturday evening and practice will be held Sept. 12.
League play begins Sept. 19, with doubleheaders on Sundays at 1 p.m. through Oct. 17 at Central Valley, Mt. Spokane, Mead and Gonzaga Prep high schools.
Info: Keith Snyder, 533-3648 or Joe Everson, 354-6031.
Bowling
In the first Junior Bowlers Tour event of the season, held at Colonial Bowl on Aug. 22, 64 bowlers competed in the 7-700 series. Tony Threthewey finished the first four with a 951 but faded in match play as Matt Descoteaux bowled a 908 to move into fifth spot. Marshall Pancoast put together a 949 to move into the fourth spot. High games were Mike Fereree, 282, and Ashley Brock, 267.
College scene
At least four Washington State men’s basketball games will be televised on Fox Sports Net, including the Cougars’ Jan. 23 game with cross-state rival Washington in Seattle, during the 2005 season. FSN will also broadcast WSU’s home games against Oregon State, Jan. 13, and UCLA, Feb. 3, along with the Cougars matchup on the road at Arizona State on Jan. 27.
In addition to the games scheduled to air on FSN, ABC will also air a Cougars basketball game for the first time in nearly nine years. The road game against Oregon is scheduled to air Feb. 12. Since 1995, the Cougars have been featured four times on ABC Sports, the last being Feb. 24, 1996 against California in Berkeley.
•Kate Reome, a Lakeside High graduate, earned the Great Northwest Athletic Conference player of the week award. The 5-foot-8, Central Washington University setter had 195 assists, including a career-high 70 in a 3-2 win over nationally ranked Minnesota State.
•Gonzaga University has added two players for the upcoming baseball season. Shadle Park graduate Brandon Harmon, a 6-5 right-hander, redshirted last season at Columbia Basin College. As a Highlander, Harmon earned All-Greater Spokane League honors in football and baseball and earned second-team All-Pacific International League honors during the 2004 summer season for the Wenatchee AppleSox. He posted a 4-2 record with a 2.25 ERA and 30 strikeouts.
The Bulldogs have also added Alex Parrott, a shortstop from Seattle. Parrott played at Redmond High School, where he helped lead the team to back-to-back 20-6 seasons and consecutive appearances in the Washington State 4A playoffs. He earned second-team All-KingCo honors and finished his senior season with a .420 batting average while leading the conference in doubles.
•The Eastern Washington University tennis team has added three student-athletes for the 2005 season. The athletes include Keitan Gregg of Montana, Cal State Northridge transfer Sayaka Yoshimoto and Jacksonville University transfer Brian Garfield. Gregg was a four-time State B champion at Cut Bank High and was a four-time Montana All-State selection (2001-04). His career record is 102-2.
•Toriano Towns has been hired as the new assistant coach for the University of Arizona women’s basketball program. Towns served as an assistant at Gonzaga for the past three seasons. He will work with the Wildcat post players and will also be heavily involved in recruiting and scouting.
Golf
GolfWorld magazine has named Washington State two-time All-American Kim Welch the No.3 golfer on its 2004-05 “Top 50 Players to Watch” list in its Sept. 3 issue. Welch, who is the topic of the feature story in the magazine, makes her second appearance on the list. The senior from Sacramento, Calif., was ranked as the No. 9 Player to Watch at the beginning of the 2003-04 season. She is coming off a junior season in which she was named to both the National Golf Coaches Association All-America first team and the Pac-10 first team. Welch led the nation with five tournament wins, including four consecutive tournament victories. In each of the 11 tournaments she played during her junior year, she finished no lower than 19th.
Running
St. George’s graduate Chrissy Francek and University High graduate Jaime Miller were two of 12 members of a women’s relay team that won the Hood to Coast Relay on Aug. 27-28. The 197-mile relay starts at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and ends in Seaside, Ore. Francek, Miller and their 10 teammates, whose team was Girls Just Want to Have Fun/Runners Soul, completed the run in 21 hours, 52 minutes.
Soccer
The final weekend of summer competition for the Spokane Shadow saw three youth teams qualify for the Super Y-League North American Finals in Orlando, Fla. The 13U boys, 14U and 15U girls will be in attendance at the event, which will be held Nov. 19-23.
The 14U girls finished the season with a record of 11-1 after beating Crossfire Sounders (Seattle) 3-0 and FC Portland 2-0, securing the top spot in their division. The 13U boys, who secured a second place finish behind the Vancouver Whitecaps, finished 8-2 after dispatching Crossfire 2-0 and FC United (Tacoma) 3-0. The 15U girls finished 10-1-1, a record good for a first-place tie with the Whitecaps.
The 13U boy’s Shadow team has been drawn into the Orlando tournament to face teams from the Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic divisions. The 14U girls will meet teams from the New England, Metro and Midwest divisions, while the 15U Shadow girls will face teams from the Metro, South Atlantic and New England divisions.
13U boys: Casey Ames, Jordan Baker, Trevor Dornquast, Casey Duclos, Tyler Florez, Jack Gilles, Nicholas Hamer, Brandon Johnson, Chance Johnstone, Zach Knechtges, Mikey Ramos, Garrett Tate, Conor Wigert, Hayden Nordstrom, Alec Cutter and James Matern. Coach: Stuart Saunders.
14U girls: Elizabeth Boyden, Aubrey Bot, Katy Sloyer, Chelsea Jones, Ali Fenter, Angie Hughes, Marissa Mykines, Jackie Hakes, Danielle Razakowski, Stacy Hamer, McKenzie Davis, Averi Hallman, Mariah Knopp, Erica Smith, Kristi Wirtz, Megan Lawrie, Emily Davis and Lauren Layton. Coach: Jeff Robbins.
15U girls: Brittany Dillon, Rachael Lowe, Nicole Ervin, Alisha Madison, Brittney Bronson, Shayla Roberts, Alyshah Smith, Alyssa Van Noy, Rachel Lopez, Ceri Palk, Kaitlin Whitfield, Tiara Pittman, Jaimey Etten and Marissa Poorboy. Coaches: Robbins and Missy Strasburg.