Locally: Colville grad Emilee Gisler named to Linfield Hall of Fame

Colville High alumna Emilee Gisler has been named to the Linfield University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Gisler (previously Emilee Lepp) set multiple Division III softball records, including a single-season mark of 29 home runs while leading Linfield to the 2011 national championship. She was honored as NFCA Catcher of the Year and was a two-time NFCA All-American and four-time West Region all-star.

Former Linfield women’s tennis coach Amy Dames Smith, football star Paul Dombroski, basketball/football standout O.J. Gulley, national champion pole vaulter Catherine (Street) Bridge and the 2011 national championship softball team will also be inducted in a ceremony on Nov. 11.

Golf

Julia Goodson has been hired as an assistant coach for Washington State women’s golf.

Goodson comes to Pullman after spending the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State University, the school where she ended her collegiate playing career. The Buccaneers finished fourth at the 2023 Southern Conference Championship in her lone season as an assistant with ETSU.

Goodson, a native of Hudson, Ohio, began her college career at Kent State (2016-19) before going to East Tennessee State as a graduate transfer before the 2020-21 season. She is remembered for her clinching par putt on the final hole of the 2021 SoCon Women’s Golf Championship.

Hockey

Spokane Chiefs forward Berkly Catton has been named to Canada’s 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18 team.

The annual invitation-only tournament will take place in Trencin, Slovakia and Breclav, Czechia from July 31-Aug. 5 and will feature the best of the 2024 NHL draft class.

Canada has won gold 23 times since the tournament’s inception in 1991. Chiefs defenseman Saige Weinstein was on last year’s gold-medal team.

• The Chiefs have signed two more players selected in this year’s WHL Prospects Draft.

Forward prospect Cohen Harris, a third-round selection, has signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. Harris was selected in the third round.

The 2008-born Harris is first eligible to join the Chiefs as a full-time player during the 2024-25 season and can play up to five games as an affiliated player in 2023-24.

The Chiefs also signed sixth-round pick Lukas Kral, a 2006-born winger out of Prague, Czechia. He is eligible to play this coming season.

Soccer

The 2023 fall schedule is set for Eastern Washington women’s soccer.

The Eagles begin their season with a tough road match against Pac-12 opponent Washington on Aug. 7 and the home opener is set for Aug. 10 against Trinity Western (Canada).

In total, the team plays nine games at home, with five nonconference and four in conference.

The nonconference schedule includes visits from Nebraska (Aug. 24), San Diego State (Sept. 3) and Saint Mary’s (Sept. 10).

Other key nonconference matches are at Washington State (Sept. 17) and at Boise State (Sept. 7).

EWU’s first home conference game will be against Montana on Sept. 28.

Softball

Two teams from Spokane won division championships at the Jim Sherman NW Championships in Salem, Oregon, July 11-13.

Spikes/Proton won the 70’s AA men’s bracket, going 1-2 in pool play before winning both playoff games.

The championship game was a 20-5 rout and helped Tom Adams, Steve Bergstrom, John Higgins, Steve Erenberg, Mike Owen and Wayne Terry earn all-star recognition. Terry was named MVP after going 10-for-13 with three triples, four doubles and 10 RBIs.

Spikes/Proton qualified for the Tournament of Champions national tournament in Lakeland, Florida. The team has dedicated the season to teammate Ken Krogh who died in March.

Other team members were Gary Blake, Connie Burnett, Tom Crouch, Roger DeShaw, John Higgins, John Hollett, Ron Martin, Ron Newcome, Jim O’Hare, Cam Preston and Mark Reilly.

Fire-Mike’s won the 60AA division in Salem, going 5-0 throughout the tournament, including a 22-17 win in the championship game.

Allen Arnold, Tim Wheatley, Kevin Oldenburg, Chris Roe and Doug Fredrickson were named all-tournament.

Other team members were Ron Klawitter, Dan Griffith, Mike Lang, Mike Kosoff, Jerry Coulter, Randy Searcy, Jack Parker, Ray Gaines and Randy Willis.

Fire-Mike’s also qualified for the Tournament of Champions.