CCS will induct 13 into school’s hall of fame
Seven athletes, three teams and three in the coach/contributor category will be inducted into the Community Colleges of Spokane Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies April 26 at the Red Lion River Inn.
Men’s basketball players Andre Ervin and Chris Allen are the most recent athletes selected for induction, and were members of the 1999-2000 team that will also be inducted.
That team, coached by CCS hall of famer Sam Brasch, had a 20-10 record and won the NWAACC tournament. Ervin was NWAACC MVP. Allen was an all-region selection, team captain and team MVP. Ervin still holds the CCS season and career scoring records. Both Ervin and Allen made the all-tournament team.
Other athletes are men’s soccer players Rick Mullins, Brian Dreves and Pat Dreves, who were members of the 1990-91 team coached by hall of famer Cor van der Meer that is also being inducted.
Mullins was team captain and went on to play at Central Washington. Brian and Pat Dreves both were NWAACC all-stars and went on to play at Whitworth.
Gymnastics rounds out the team and athlete inductees. Karen Erickson, a two-time NJCAA All-American and two-time national champion in balance beam (1981-82 and 1982-83), and Theresa Peterson, an NJCAA All-American in 1980-81 when she placed second in balance beam, are being honored.
They’ll be joined by NJCAA championship teams from 1979-80, ‘80-81 and ‘81-82 coached by Rick Harrison, who is in the hall of fame.
Going in as a coach is Jo McDonald, assistant gymnastics coach from 1977-85, who was the NJCAA national coach of the year in 1980-81. She was CCS women’s athletic commissioner from 1980-94.
Being inducted as contributors are Terry Brown, the retired CCS CEO, who has been involved at the school since 1986, and Dr. Mark Kondo, a state community college board member who has been an active supporter of the school since 1985.
Ceremonies will begin at 5 p.m. Cost is $25.
Info: Athletic director Bobby Lee, 533-3644.
Award
Pam Parks, associate athletic director/senior woman administrator at Eastern Washington University, was one of 12 individuals honored as “Girls’ Sports Pioneers” in northern Idaho during ceremonies Feb. 23 in Coeur d’Alene.
The 1974 Eastern graduate served as EWU’s volleyball coach for three years before moving to Sandpoint, where she led the Bulldogs to their first state title in 1980.
Parks compiled a 65-10 record in her three years at the high school and was co-founder of the Ohana junior volleyball program in North Idaho.
Bowling
Todd Benner picked up a couple of honors during the Junior Bowlers Tour stop in Pullman last Sunday.
Benner had high game for the boys, a 267, and beat leading qualifier Justin Johnson 182-153 for the title.
Alex Earle was third, Michael Johnson fourth and Brandon Roush fifth. Megan Froman had a 202 for high girls score of the day.
The JBT finals will be March 30 at Lilac Lanes. The season-ending fun tournament is April 6 at Valley Bowl.
Boxing
Dustin Major, a fifth-grader at Roosevelt Elementary who fights out of the Howard Street Boxing Club, stopped Damion Hatch of Bend, Ore., in the third round to win the 10-year-old 100-pound novice division at the Fred Enslow Memorial Tournament last weekend in Portland.
College scene
Taylor Rochestie, a redshirt junior at Washington State, is one of 14 finalists for the eighth annual V Foundation Comeback Award.
It is presented in conjunction with ESPN in memory of the late coach Jim Valvano and is open to men and women basketball players in all divisions who have had a personal triumph in the face of true adversity.
Rochestie, in his second full season at WSU, accepted a scholarship from Tulane and made the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans prior to Rochestie’s sophomore season, forcing the team to relocate to College Station, Texas. Two weeks before the 2005-06 opener he sustained a season-ending knee injury requiring major surgery.
With the team’s relocation and lack of facilities and tools for rehabilitation, Rochestie left Tulane and transferred to WSU. Earlier this season, Rochestie announced he will give up his scholarship next season and play as a walk-on during his senior year to open up a scholarship for an incoming freshman.
•Lianne Matkin from Northwest Christian is a sophomore member of the nationally 15th-ranked Western Washington women’s golf team.
•Caitlin McGrane of Colville got her sophomore outdoor track and field season at Puget Sound off to a solid start, winning both the long jump (15 feet, 2 inches) and 100 meter hurdles (15.23 seconds) in a meet last Saturday in Tacoma.
•Four area athletes made Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball academic all-conference teams.
The men’s team includes Travis Welt, a senior at Seattle University from St. George’s, who was a repeater with a 3.37 grade-point average in mechanical engineering.
Sade Smith, a Saint Martin’s senior from Pullman, had the highest GPA on the women’s team, 3.94 in psychology. She was joined by Megan Thigpen, an Alaska Fairbanks sophomore from Mead with a 3.52 GPA (major undeclared), and Alira Carpenter, Lewiston, Montana State-Billings, junior, 3.56, biology/chemistry.
•The Idaho men’s and women’s cross country teams were named Division I All-Academic teams by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The women had a 3.25 GPA to earn distinction designation.
Rodeo
Mallory Brown, a senior at Mt. Spokane, was selected a co-captain of the Wrangler High School All-Star Team by all-star team members.
Brown competes in goat tying, breakaway roping, team roping and barrel racing. All-stars are chosen based on performance and academics.
Signings
Community Colleges of Spokane announced the signing of seven high school senior student-athletes for four sports.
Volleyball: Nicole Graybeal, North Central, and Casey Williams, Skyview of Vancouver, Wash.
Men’s soccer: Nick Reilly and Christopher Wright, both Mt. Spokane, and Richard Gomez, Mt. Vernon.
Men’s cross country: Trevin Goodrick, Mt. Spokane.
Men’s golf: Jason Molner, Mark Morris of Longview, Wash.
Soccer
Sophie Johnson of Gonzaga Prep, a forward/midfielder who was a second-team All-Greater Spokane League selection, has signed a letter of intent with Carroll College in Helena.
A four-year starter at G-Prep, she also played on the two-time Washington State Cup champion Spokane Shadow club team.
Track and field
Chris Selvar, the 2007 Washington 4A 800-meter champion from Kentwood of Kent, has signed a national letter of intent with Washington State, Cougars coach Rick Sloan announced.
Volleyball
Karyn Mockel of Mead, a two-time all-state selection and the MVP of the State 4A tournament last fall, has committed to play at Montana.
The 5-foot-7 setter has been on the last three state championship teams. She is also a two-time All-Greater Spokane League selection and was a prep volleyball third-team all-academic All-American. She has a 4.0 GPA and is a member of the national honor society.
•Cassie Hamilton, an outside hitter from Murrieta, Calif., agreed to attend the University of Idaho, coach Debbie Buchanan said.
Hamilton is a two-time selection to the Southern California Volleyball Association high-performance team and played on two Junior Olympic teams that had top-five national finishes, one winning the title.