Locally: Spokane Chiefs’ Berkly Catton joins Canada at U18 World Championship

Spokane Chiefs forward Berkly Catton is among eight WHL players on Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship that began last week.

Catton is the WHL U.S. Division Rookie of the Year after leading 2006-born players with 55 points (23G-32A). Catton finished second on the Chiefs in goals and points. The 17-year-old was selected first-overall by Spokane in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.

Other WHL players representing Canada are Carson Bjarnason, G, Brandon; Lukas Dragicevic, D, Tri-City; Caden Price, D, Kelowna; Carter Yakemchuk, D, Calgary; Andrew Cristall, F, Kelowna; Ty Halaburda, F, Vancouver; and Tanner Howe, F, Regina.

The tournament runs April 20-30.

• Three members of the Spokane Chiefs have made the NHL Central Scouting final rankings ahead of the 2023 draft.

Cooper Michaluk of the Chiefs is the No. 23 ranked goalie and the sixth highest in the WHL. Defenseman Saige Weinstein is ranked No. 132 among skaters and center Tommaso De Luca is the 158th-ranked skater.

Topping the list of prospects is Regina Pats forward Connor Bedard, who led all CHL players in goals (71), points (143) and points per game (2.50) this season (min. 50 games played).

Academics

The NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference announced its spring Academic All-Conference team, with 25 student-athletes who graduated from area high schools garnering recognition.

Those honored for maintaining a 3.2 GPA among other requirements are (name, hometown, year, major, sport):

College of Idaho: Lukas Brown, Spokane, jr., Mathematics-Physics, History, men’s track and field; Kahealani Figueira, Mead, jr., Marketing and Digital Media, women’s track and field; Ambrie Jones, Colville, jr., Biomedical Sciences, softball; Haley Loffer, Hayden, Idaho, graduate student, sport administration, softball;

Corban: Sarah Bradshaw, Hartline, sr., Criminal Justice/Forensic Psychology, softball; Kyle Clay, Spokane, sr., Biology, baseball; Ryan Clay, Spokane, so., Business Administration, baseball;

Eastern Oregon: Garrett Beckman, Lewiston, sr., Health and Human Performance, baseball; Jalaina Jacobsen, Davenport, sr., History, women’s track and field; Elliot Marks, Asotin, sr., Chemistry/Biology, baseball; Winston Telford, Davenport, sr., Health and Human Performance, men’s track and field;

Lewis-Clark State: Jennah Carpenter, Lewiston, so., Secondary Education, women’s track and field; Kyla Currie, Coeur d’Alene, jr., Behavioral Science, women’s golf; Ian Gardom, Spirit Lake, Idaho, so., General Studies, men’s track and field; Carter Gordon, Coeur d’Alene, jr., Business Management, men’s track and field; Abigail Gorton, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, jr., Nursing, women’s track and field; Sara Hathaway, Sandpoint, jr., Biology, women’s track and field; Madigan Kelly, Lewiston, Idaho, so., Elementary Education, women’s track and field; Abigail Peightal, Spirit Lake, Idaho, sr., Kinesiology, women’s track and field; Keelyn Pilcher, Moscow, Idaho, jr., Computer Science, women’s track and field; Brooklyn Shell, Hayden, jr., Kinesiology, women’s track and field; Connor Turpin, Lewiston, Idaho, sr., Aerospace Engineering, men’s track and field.

Southern Oregon: Ashton Cathey, Chattaroy, sr., Healthcare Administration, softball; Lauren Forster, Coeur d’Alene, so., Nursing, women’s track and field;

Walla Walla: Marisa Hagerty, Coeur d’Alene, sr., Health Science, women’s golf.

Broadcasting

Longtime Tri-City Americans radio broadcaster Craig West is stepping away from the microphone after 25 seasons with the WHL team.

Wes was the radio play-by-play man for the Spokane Chiefs and Spokane Indians from 1990-98 and broadcast more than 2,500 WHL games in his career.

He came to Washington after beginning his career broadcasting minor league baseball in California.

Golf

Gonzaga’s Grace Lee was named the 2022-23 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year for women’s golf. Lee was joined by teammate Cassie Kim on the All-WCC Team.

Lee placed fifth at the WCC Championships, while Kim finished sixth. Lee is the first Zag to earn WCC Freshman of the Year honors since Quynn Duong in 2019. Kim received All-Conference honors for the second time in her career, earning the recognition in 2020-21.

Kim finished the season with a team-best 73.30 average round score, which ranks fifth all-time in program history. Lee had the second-lowest season average on the team at 74.50.

• Area golfers dotted the leaderboard at the PNW Senior Players’ Championship held last week at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, a 6,525 yard, par 72 layout.

Billy Bomar, of Bomar Putting Company in Post Falls, finished tied for third with a two-round total of 146, three strokes behind winner Mark Knowles of McCormick Woods Golf Course.

Spokane’s David Christensen finished tied for 11th at 149 and Craig Schuh of Deer Park Golf Club was tied for 18th at 153.

Steve Prugh (Manito Golf and Country Club), Mike DeLong (Coeur d’Alene Resort) and Chris Curran (MeadowWood Golf Course) were among 12 players tied for 25th place at 155.

Jim Holt from The Creek at Qualchan was the top local amateur at 157.