Locally: Spokane Valley woman collects four gold medals at Washington State Senior Games
Lauriea Michels of Spokane Valley collected four gold medals, Mike Tonkyn of Spokane earned two golds and Papermill Printing of Spokane continued its dominance in men’s 3x3 basketball to lead the showing by area participants in the 24th Washington State Senior Games.
Michels won the women’s 55-59 age group 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter races in track & field, breaking records in the 200 and 400. Tonkyn was first in the men’s 70-74 1,500 in track and the 5K road run.
It was the first Washington State Senior Games for Michels, a masters track coach who runs for Inland Northwest Track & Field and usually participates in the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships at this time of year. “But they were in Iowa this year,” she said, “and I didn’t feel like taking a plane that far.”
She started running at age 5 and ran her first marathon at 7 “because I was following my older brother,” she said. She didn’t find out until much later that there were family and friends stationed around the course keeping tabs on her “because they didn’t think I’d finish.”
“I used to really annoy my brother and his friends” tagging along on their runs,” she added.
Other area residents collected three gold medals and a fourth-place finish.
In archery, Shawn M. Wood of Cheney was first in women’s 50-54 compound release, and Debra Johnson of Spokane was first in women’s 65-69 compound release. Kai Fong of Lewiston was first in men’s tennis singles, and Daniel L. Brown of Spokane Valley was fourth in men’s 60-64 5K time trial in cycling.
Jon Heimbigner’s Spokane-based Papermill Printing men’s basketball contingent captured gold, silver and bronze medals, bringing its 23-year record to 126-39 and its medal haul to 38 golds, seven silvers and two bronze.
The 70-74 teams won gold and bronze medals, and the 65-69 team took silver.
On the 70-74 gold team were Heimbigner; Bob Hutchens, Dayton; Terry Nealey, LaCrosse; Jack Soliday, Reardan. On a sad note, Todd Nealey, Terry’s twin brother and a longtime Papermill player, died in a farming accident on July 2, three weeks before the tournament.
The 65-69 silver team included K. Baumgartner, Reardan; Dave Huss, Everett; Terry Souhrada, Polson, Montana.; and Greg Stevens, Spokane. The 70-74 bronze team: Fred Ostermeyer, Post Falls; Dan Steward, Chehalis; Morgan Edwards, Fall City; Willie Brown, Marysville.
In individual basketball events, Soliday won gold in the 70-74 hot shot competition and silver in free throw shooting, and Stevens won gold in 65-69 free throw shooting.
College scene
Eastern Washington and Idaho both landed two seniors on the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America football teams.
Quarterback Eric Barriere, on the first team, and offensive lineman Tristen Taylor, on the second team, represent Eastern.
Idaho has linebacker Tre Walker on the first team and fullback Logan Kendall (Cheney) on the third team.
• Jack Reeves, a three-time All-Greater Spokane League golfer at Gonzaga Prep and a junior on the University of Northern Iowa men’s golf team, made the school’s Dean’s List with a GPA over 3.5.
Washington State and Idaho each had three men with stroke averages under 76.0 and minimum cumulative career GPAs of 3.2 named Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
WSU: Nicklaus Chiam, 5th-year senior; Eric Hagen, grad student; Max Sekulic, redshirt freshman. Idaho: Sean Mullan, GS; Jack Plaster (Gonzaga Prep), junior; Colt Sherrell, jr.
Football
Former Eastern Washington quarterback Reilly Hennessey, who finished his college career at Central Washington in 2018 and joined Parma in 2019, led the Panthers to a 40-34 overtime victory over Milano in the 40th American football Italian Bowl.
Hennessey passed for 1,672 yards and 17 touchdowns in leading Parma to an undefeated (10-0) season.
Golf
Loren Jeglum of Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman finished in a three-way tie for seventh at 1-under-par 143 (73-70) to lead the showing by area golfers in the National Car Rental PNW PGA Assistant Professional Championship last week in Salem, Oregon.
• Shane Prante of The Home Course in DuPont, Washington, won the title in a one-hole playoff with Colin Inglis of Shadow Hills Country Club in Junction City, Ore., after they tied at 1-under 134 for 36 holes.
Letters of intent
Idaho women’s track/cross country: Savannah Pratt, middle distances/distances, Central Valley, three-time All-GSL honorable mention in cross country.
Wrestling
The Inland Empire Wrestling Officials Association is in need of officials. No experience is necessary. Training starts in October at West Valley HS; the middle school season starts in early November with high schools starting in early December.
If interested, or for more information, contact Rich Tschirgi at (509) 448-5734 or email richtschirgi@gmail.com.
Volleyball
Lorelle Hoyer, an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and learning specialist at Southern Utah University the last three years, has been hired as an assistant coach at the University of Idaho, head coach Debbie Buchanan announced.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she lettered in volleyball, Hoyer was also director of volleyball operations of Texas San Antonio for a year and has extensive club coaching experience. She started her college coaching career as a graduate assistant at North Carolina Central.
Replay
Jordan Rabe, a Biola freshman from Northwest Christian HS, has a 3.86 GPA that earned her 2020-21 Academic All-PacWest recognition. Her name was misspelled in the Locally column that ran in the Sports section on Thursday, Aug. 5.