Quick hits
NTN: Third time a charm?
For the third consecutive year, Ferris (Spokane XC Club) and Mead (Mead XC Club) are competing in Saturday’s Nike Team Nationals, an event that continues to grow in importance.
Ferris’ Saxons, in particular, are hoping for improvement. At the previous two races, Mead finished fourth and third while Ferris has been 13th and 10th. As of Oct. 31, before the Saxons beat the Panthers at state, Mead and Ferris were ranked 1-2 nationally by The Harrier magazine.
The event, run at Portland Meadows Race Track, is considered the only national cross country championship for high school teams. The race for the boys national championship is at noon. Live video of the event will be Webcast on DyeStat.com.
Several Ferris and Mead athletes will compete for the second time with their respective teams. Saxon David Hickerson is there for the third time.
The Nike Team Nationals bring together what are considered the 40 best high school teams (20 boys, 20 girls) in the country as ranked within eight respective regions.
Each region gets two teams and there are four at-large berths. Central Valley, although third in Northwest Region and ranked 24th nationally, was passed over for one of them.
In addition, more than 60 teams are running in open races and for the first time a boys and girls team from Kenya has been invited to participate.
Foot Locker regionals
The annual Foot Locker Western Regional in Walnut, Calif., will also be run Saturday.
CV’s boys are well represented there by state fourth-placer Tylor Thatcher, plus teammates Bryce Aguilar, Andrew Cesal, Jason Stoker and Jayson Taylor from the State 4A third-placers.
Top-eight finishers in the seeded races advance to nationals (highest-finishing two NTN finishers from the West will also qualify).
The girls field will include Shadle Park state runner-up Andrea Nelson as well as Mead’s Nikki Codd, Mt. Spokane’s Jessica Klier and CV’s Ari Rios.
Other boys in the seeded field are Peter Miller from Shadle, Max Reeder from Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) and Darrick Thompson from Lewis and Clark.
GSL Games of the Week
University at Lewis and Clark, Friday, 7 p.m.: Expect an entertaining early-season matchup between the league’s premier girls basketball programs. LC’s Tigers are defending State 4A champions. U-Hi’s Titans placed third.
Central Valley at Ferris, Friday, 5:30 p.m.: Boys State 4A second-place Bears, without last year’s leading scorer Luke Clift, face state-veteran Saxons, who looked impressive Tuesday at Mead.
Magnanimous gesture
Friday’s scheduled Gonzaga Prep-Mt. Spokane basketball game has been postponed until Feb. 2. “(Mt. Spokane activities coordinator) John Miller and I spoke about moving the game to Saturday, so that our football kids could play,” said Miller’s counterpart, Paul Manfred.
Wildcats coach Bill Ayers worried that it would put him at a practice disadvantage for Tuesday’s game with Ferris, Manfred said, so the new date was agreed upon, which corresponded to Mt. Spokane’s bye date.
“It was a genuine gesture of goodwill,” Manfred said.
Wrestling under way
Wrestlers test their skills Saturday with the annual season kickoff 16-team Deer Park Invitational.
It has become an annual preview of things to come, beginning a run of December meets that will test area athletes.
Deer Park’s matches begin at 9 a.m. with every Great Northern League school except West Valley. Ferris, LC, Mead, Mt. Spokane and Gonzaga Prep from the GSL, plus other area schools, will participate.