1/11/02 Alumni Sandstorm Entry from Roger Fishback ('62)

TRI-CITY PREP SPORTS REPORT
Jan. 10, 2003
================================

By the Tri-City Herald sports staff

Welcome to the Tri-City Prep Sports Report. This
newsletter is published weekly during prep sports seasons.
Unsubscribe options are at the bottom.

Please send feedback to rferran@tri-cityherald.com

---------------------------------------------------------

PACIFIC NORTHWEST WINE

Do you love wine? Download Wine Press Northwest magazine's
FREE Merlot Report when you sign up for the FREE Wine of
the Week email newsletter.

Go to: http://www.winepressnw.com/newsletter.html

====================================

PREP BASKETBALL

WALLA WALLA BOYS

Christmas break came at the perfect time for the Walla
Walla boys basketball team.

After reaching the 4A state semifinals in football,
several key Blue Devils  Casey Waddell, Pierce Johnson,
Zac Widmer and Craig Mettler  were nursing injuries.
Waddell missed two games recovering from a sprained ankle,
while Johnson and Travis Poulson also were hobbled by
ankle injuries.

Since coming back from the two-week break, Wa-Hi has gone
3-0 and asserted itself into the thick of the Big Nine
Conference race at 
5-1, one game behind first-place Davis.

The Devils are in the midst of a nine-day stretch during
which they play five games, finishing with a road trip to
Eastmont on Saturday. They've beaten Pasco  with which
they're tied for second  and the Suns (4-2) during this
run.

SOUTHRIDGE GIRLS

At the other end of the spectrum are the Southridge girls,
who are finding the learning curve in the Big Nine to be
pretty steep.

The Suns came into the season with no seniors and one
returning starter (Vicky Guile), and they've started two
freshmen  point guard Kristie Johnson and forward Heather
Davis.

Their 0-7 start wasn't unexpected, but sixth-year coach
Darlene Harris didn't quite expect the struggles her
youngsters have faced.

"They work so hard in practice. This is one of the most
committed groups I've had in terms of wanting to get
better," Harris said. "It just hasn't come as easily as it
should for them. They have a long way to go."

That's especially true on the offensive end, where the
Suns have averaged just 30.9 points per game. Guile is the
team's leading scorer at 7.7 ppg.

"It's what concerns me the most," Harris said. "We can run
the offense just fine, but until we feel comfortable with
the ball in our hands and being the one who's going to put
points on the board, we're going to continue to struggle."

The Suns have a good shot at win No. 1 Friday when they
travel to Moses Lake, the Big Nine's other winless team.
They also play host to Eastmont and Moses Lake in the
second half of the season, so Harris is optimistic her
team won't finish winless.

KENNEWICK BOYS

The Kennewick boys suffered a blow last week when Cooper
Bates, a 6-foot-5 senior, left the team and returned to
Hagerman, Idaho, with his mother to tend to a medical
emergency in his family.

Bates, who averaged 10.7 ppg in the Lions' first six
games, transferred to Kennewick High this year.

"Cooper's doing the right thing," said Lions coach Ron
King. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his
family."

With Bates' departure, King is looking to senior Corey
Fannin and junior Matt Larson to fill the void. Fannin
took Bates' spot in the starting lineup Saturday at Walla
Walla and scored 12 points in a 57-44 loss.

CWAC/SCAC
The CWAC South and SCAC East division seasons kick off
this weekend with a pair of key matchups.

The Connell girls, who are 6-2 and whose only losses were
by two to 8-1 Chelan and in overtime to 7-1 Prosser,
travel Friday to defending 2A state champion East Valley
for an early-season showdown.

The following night, the defending East champion River
View boys take on a Royal team picked to finish in the
upper half of the divisional standings. The Panthers (5-3)
are the lone East team over .500 at the moment.

BURBANK

After leading the Columbia-Burbank girls to a fifth-place
finish at the 1A state tournament in March, Jerry Washburn
thought he was done with coaching.

So how did he end up on the sidelines at Liberty Christian
this season?
A mutual friend told Washburn, who coached at Burbank
eight seasons, about the LC opening in late May, and
Washburn was intrigued.

"Being a Christian school, the opportunity to coach there
was interesting to me," Washburn said. "I gave up coaching
because I thought I didn't want to any more. But I decided
to do this, and I'm really glad I did. I'm having a good
time."

The Patriots are 6-5 after a nonleague loss Tuesday at
Lyle. They are led by senior Alayna Brauer, a first-team
All-Blue Mountain League selection last season, sisters
Kaley a 5-10 senior who was a second-teamer last season 
and Kourtney Hawk, and freshman Caitlyn Dunham, their
leading scorer at close to 14 ppg.

SOCCER

There's been a shakeup in the soccer coaching staff at
Pasco High, with Marty Martinez let go as the girls coach
and Chad Bodnar hired this week to take over for Sean
Esterhuizen as boys coach.

Martinez went 57-34-3 in six seasons at Pasco and led the
Bulldogs to their only two state appearances, reaching the
quarterfinals in 1998 and the first round this season.

Athletic director Le Burns declined to discuss the
dismissal, saying it was a personnel matter. Martinez said
he was told the reason for his dismissal was "they felt
the program had gone stagnant and wasn't going in the
right direction.

"I was pretty devastated," Martinez said. "I didn't know
what to say. There was nothing else I could do. I don't
know where to go next now. I want to keep my coaching
career going, but positions just don't come open that
often."

The boys position came open when Esterhuizen left to add
the Hanford boys job to the girls position he already held
with the Falcons.

Bodnar is a 1996 Pasco graduate who went on to play at
Wisconsin-Green Bay and for one season professionally in
California. He has been working to get his teaching
credential, and in the meantime has coached at McLoughlin
Middle School and the Capital High club team in Boise,
Idaho.

TRACK AND FIELD

Organizers for the state track and field championships are
scheduled to meet today to begin hammering out the makeup
of the management committee agreed upon last month with
the WIAA to keep the meet in Pasco.

Burns will hold one of the main positions on the
committee, as will John Crawford, the former meet
director, as competitions chairman. Burns said the number
of members and their responsibilities has yet to be
decided.

"John was a one-headed monster with track and cross
country for a long time," Burns said. "He had people
around to help, but when things fell through the cracks,
they fell on him. We need to see how many people we need
and make sure everything is covered."

WRESTLING

Senior Jessey Adcock has executed plenty of takedowns
during his wrestling career at Richland High School. 
He's added to that total recently, as evidenced by his
21-1 record and four tournament titles in the 189-pound
class this season.

However, his biggest takedown may have come in practice 
against Bombers head coach Pete Nicacio.

Nicacio and the 11-member coaching staff  including
former college All-Americans Frankie Ferraro and Rick
Wilson  allow the students to engage them with techniques
and moves to see if they are done properly. 

They show no mercy if a maneuver is not done well. And it
is rare when a student takes down one of the coaches.

"If they get a good, clean shot we'll let them finish it,
but if not we'll make them pay," said Nicacio, who
wrestled for Richland and at the University of Washington
and Central Washington University. "I told (Adcock) if he
can score on me, he can take down anybody in the state. 

"It made me feel good to see him get to that level."

STANDINGS AND SCHEDULES

Boys basketball
Big Nine Conference
Davis   6-0
Pasco   5-1
Walla Walla 5-1
Moses Lake  4-2
Richland    4-3
Southridge  4-3
Eastmont    2-4
Kennewick   2-5
Wenatchee   2-5
Eisenhower  1-5
Kamiakin    0-6
Friday's games
Davis at Kennewick, 7:30 p.m.
Eastmont at Pasco, 7:30 p.m.
Kamiakin at Walla Walla, 7:30 p.m.
Moses Lake at Southridge, 7:30 p.m.
Wenatchee at Eisenhower, 7:30 p.m.

Scoring leaders
    GP  Pts Avg
Curfman, Ike    6   109 18.2
Groce, Pasco    6   103 17.2
Mangum, Davis   6   102 17.0
Krasowski, Wenatchee    7   116 16.6
Kast, Moses Lake    5   82  16.4
Thornton, Southridge    6   84  14.0
Keeler, Eastmont    6   83  13.8
Wattling, Eastmont  6   82  13.7
Jameson, Wenatchee  7   95  13.6
Bussman, Richland   7   90  12.9
Davis, Southridge   6   72  12.0
Ler.Nelson, Kennewick   7   83  11.9
Baker, Moses Lake   6   71  11.8
Hargrow, Pasco  6   71  11.8
Gadd, Pasco 6   69  11.5
Johnson, Ike    6   69  11.5

Greater Spokane League
American Division
    League  Overall
West Valley 6-2 7-2
Central Valley  5-2 5-3
Clarkston   4-4 4-4
Shadle Park 3-5 3-6
North Central   2-5 3-5
East Valley 2-6 3-6
Gonzaga Prep    2-6 2-7
National Division
Mead    8-0 9-0
Mount Spokane   7-1 7-2
Ferris  6-1 7-1
Lewis & Clark   5-3 6-3
University  4-3 5-3
Cheney  0-8 0-9
Rogers  0-8 0-9

Mid-Valley League
    League  Overall
Grandview   2-0 8-1
Selah   2-0 7-1
Hanford 2-0 6-2
Ellensburg  1-1 6-2
West Valley 1-1 5-2
Prosser 0-2 3-5
Wapato  0-2 3-5
Sunnyside   0-2 2-6
Friday's games
Ellensburg at Prosser, 8 p.m.
Grandview at West Valley-Yakima, 8 p.m.
Hanford at Sunnyside, 8 p.m.
Selah at Wapato, 7:30 p.m.

Scoring leaders
Strait, West Valley 7   149 21.3
Robertson, Ellensburg   8   159 19.9
Pistoljevic, Hanford    8   158 19.8
Bell, Selah 8   149 18.6
Kirk, Prosser   8   145 18.1
Perrault, West Valley   7   119 17.0
Braun, Hanford  8   120 15.0
Campos, Grandview   9   129 14.3
Hinojosa, Grandview 9   129 14.3
Garcia, Wapato  8   111 13.9
Mejia, Grandview    9   119 13.2
Estrada, Wapato 8   101 12.6

CWAC
North Division
    Division    Overall
Chelan  0-0 7-2
Cashmere    0-0 5-3
Quincy  0-0 5-2
Ephrata 0-0 3-4
Omak    0-0 2-6
Cascade 0-0 0-8
South Division
East Valley 0-0 6-3
Kiona-Benton    0-0 6-3
Othello 0-0 6-4
Connell 0-0 4-4
Toppenish   0-0 2-6
Naches  0-0 2-7
Friday's games
Connell at East Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Othello at Naches, 7:30 p.m.

South scoring leaders
Ramirez, Toppenish  7   135 19.3
Clyde, Connell  7   118 16.9
Linehan, Kiona-Benton   9   136 15.1
Gonzalez, Toppenish 6   86  14.3
Coffman, Othello    9   124 13.8
Dell, East Valley   8   107 13.4
Rose, Kiona-Benton  9   119 13.2
DeVries, East Valley    8   95  11.9
Weller, Naches  8   91  11.4
Reynolds, Toppenish 7   70  10.0

SCAC
West Division
    Division    Overall
Granger 0-0 8-0
Highland    0-0 7-2
White Swan  0-0 7-2
Zillah  0-0 4-4
Goldendale  0-0 4-5
Cle Elum    0-0 4-6
East Division
River View  0-0 5-3
Royal   0-0 3-5
Wahluke 0-0 2-6
Col.-Burbank    0-0 1-7
Dayton  0-0 1-8
Warden  0-0 1-8
Division openers
Saturday
Goldendale at Cle Elum, 6 p.m.
Granger at Highland, 6 p.m.
Zillah at White Swan, 6 p.m.
Dayton at Columbia-Burbank, 6 p.m.
Royal at River View, 6 p.m.
Warden at Wahluke, 6 p.m.

East scoring leaders
Sonderland, River View  8   131 16.4
Howard, Dayton  8   117 14.6
Rivas, River View   8   108 13.5
Remer, River View   8   107 13.4
Perkins, Royal  7   88  12.6
Olivares, Wahluke   8   91  11.4
Contreras, Col.-Burbank 8   88  11.0
C.Gradin, Col.-Burbank  8   88  11.0
R.Garza, Warden 9   95  10.6
Sandoval, Wahluke   8   78  9.8

Blue Mountain League
    League  Overall
DeSales 4-0 7-1
Waitsburg   4-0 6-4
Pomeroy 3-1 4-4
Liberty Christian   2-2 3-7
Prescott    1-3 4-6
Jubilee Christian   1-3 2-5
Touchet 1-3 1-6
Tri-Cities Prep 0-4 1-8
Friday's games
Jubilee Christian at Pomeroy, 7:30 p.m.
Liberty Christian at Touchet, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-Cities Prep at Prescott, 7:30 p.m.
Waitsburg at DeSales, 7:30 p.m.

Greater Columbia League
Yakima Valley Division
    Division    Overall
Sunnyside Christian 3-0 7-2
La Salle    3-1 6-4
Riverside Christian 1-1 5-3
Mabton  1-3 2-8
Yakama Tribal   0-2 4-4
Klickitat County Division
Lyle    4-0 7-3
Trout Lake  1-1 3-5
Glenwood    1-2 2-3
Bickleton   1-3 4-6
Klickitat   0-2 0-4
Friday's games
Klickitat at Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.
Mabton at Yakama Tribal, 7:30 p.m.
Riverside Christian at Sunnyside Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Trout Lake at Bickleton, 7:30 p.m.

Whitman County League
    League  Overall
Garfield-Palouse    2-0 7-2
Asotin  2-1 6-3
Tekoa-Oakesdale 2-1 5-5
St. John-Endicott   1-1 7-3
LaCrosse-Washtucna  1-1 3-5
Colton  1-2 7-3
Rosalia 0-3 1-9
Girls basketball
Big Nine Conference
Kennewick   7-0
Pasco   6-0
Richland    5-2
Kamiakin    4-2
Wenatchee   4-3
Davis   3-3
Eastmont    2-4
Eisenhower  2-4
Walla Walla 2-4
Moses Lake  0-6
Southridge  0-7
Friday's games
Eastmont at Pasco, 6 p.m.
Eisenhower at Wenatchee, 7:30 p.m.
Kennewick at Davis, 7:30 p.m.
Southridge at Moses Lake, 7:30 p.m.
Walla Walla at Kamiakin, 7:30 p.m.

Scoring leaders
    GP  Pts Avg
Mitchell, Kennewick 7   140 20.0
Sax, Richland   7   106 15.1
Felton, Eisenhower  6   85  14.2
M.Elliott, Pasco    6   81  13.5
Lusk, Kamiakin  6   73  12.2
Brasel, Kamiakin    6   72  12.0
Eggers, Walla Walla 6   70  11.7
Bullock, Kamiakin   6   69  11.5
Ford, Davis 6   63  10.5
Fulbright, Wenatchee    7   72  10.3
Halliday, Pasco 5   50  10.0
Faucher, Eisenhower 6   58  9.7
McDuffie, Davis 6   57  9.5
Bernsen, Pasco  6   52  8.7
Cammack, Eastmont   6   52  8.7

Greater Spokane League
American Division
    League  Overall
Central Valley  7-0 7-0
Gonzaga Prep    4-4 5-4
Clarkston   3-5 3-5
Shadle Park 3-5 3-5
North Central   2-5 3-5
East Valley 2-6 2-7
West Valley 1-7 1-8
National Division
Lewis & Clark   7-1 8-1
Mead    7-1 8-1
Mount Spokane   6-2 6-3
Ferris  5-2 6-2
University  5-2 5-2
Cheney  2-6 3-6
Rogers  0-8 0-9

Mid-Valley League
    League  Overall
Prosser 2-0 7-1
West Valley 2-0 6-2
Sunnyside   2-0 5-3
Ellensburg  1-1 6-2
Hanford 1-1 5-3
Wapato  0-2 4-4
Grandview   0-2 2-6
Selah   0-2 2-6
Friday's games
Ellensburg at Prosser, 6:15 p.m.
Grandview at West Valley-Yakima, 6:15 p.m.
Hanford at Sunnyside, 6:15 p.m.
Selah at Wapato, 6 p.m.

Scoring leaders
Mendez, Wapato  8   123 15.4
Gonzalez, Sunnyside 6   87  14.5
Lochrie, Prosser    8   104 13.0
Smith, Prosser  8   95  11.9
Ulmer, Ellensburg   8   95  11.9
Hilgert, Hanford    8   94  11.8
Higby, Hanford  6   64  10.7
Crawford, Prosser   8   82  10.3
Krzan, Hanford  8   72  9.0
Orcutt, Ellensburg  8   72  9.0
Smiscon, Wapato 8   71  8.9
Robinson, West Valley   8   68  8.5

CWAC
North Division
    Division    Overall
Chelan  0-0 8-1
Quincy  0-0 4-3
Ephrata 0-0 3-6
Omak    0-0 3-6
Cascade 0-0 2-6
Cashmere    0-0 2-6
South Division
East Valley 0-0 8-1
Connell 0-0 6-2
Kiona-Benton    0-0 4-5
Othello 0-0 2-8
Toppenish   0-0 1-7
Naches  0-0 1-8
Friday's games
Connell at East Valley, 6 p.m.
Othello at Naches, 6 p.m.

South scoring leaders
Burgess, Kiona-Benton   7   136 19.4
Juarez, Othello 9   150 16.7
Downs, East Valley  8   108 13.5
Hoke, Naches    6   77  12.8
Koelzer, Connell    7   87  12.4
Grier, Kiona-Benton 9   110 12.2
Knight, Connell 7   83  11.9
Johnson, Connell    7   75  10.7
Yallup, Toppenish   7   67  9.6
Mathews, Connell    7   56  8.0

SCAC
West Division
    Division    Overall
Goldendale  0-0 6-3
White Swan  0-0 5-3
Cle Elum    0-0 6-4
Zillah  0-0 4-4
Highland    0-0 3-6
Granger 0-0 2-6
East Division
River View  0-0 7-1
Warden  0-0 7-2
Royal   0-0 4-3
Dayton  0-0 5-4
Col.-Burbank    0-0 3-6
Wahluke 0-0 1-6
Division openers
Saturday
Dayton at Columbia-Burbank, 7:30 p.m.
Royal at River View, 7:30 p.m.
Warden at Wahluke, 7:30 p.m.
Goldendale at Cle Elum, 7:30 p.m.
Granger at Highland, 7:30 p.m.
Zillah at White Swan, 7:30 p.m.

East scoring leaders
Snyder, Dayton  8   110 13.8
A.Kisler, Warden    9   118 13.1
Wagner, Royal   6   77  12.8
Brandt, Warden  9   115 12.8
McPartland, Warden  9   111 12.3
Shelton, River View 8   90  11.3
Smith, Col.-Burbank 9   101 11.2
Woods, Col.-Burbank 9   99  11.0
Jensen, Wahluke 7   64  9.1
Bronson, River View 8   71  8.9

Blue Mountain League
    League  Overall
DeSales 4-0 7-2
Waitsburg   3-0 4-5
Touchet 2-2 4-5
Pomeroy 2-2 3-7
Liberty Christian   1-2 6-5
Prescott    0-3 2-7
Tri-Cities Prep 0-3 0-10
Friday's games
Liberty Christian at Touchet, 6 p.m.
Tri-Cities Prep at Prescott, 6 p.m.
Waitsburg at DeSales, 6 p.m.

Greater Columbia League
Yakima Valley Division
    Division    Overall
Sunnyside Christian 3-0 6-3
Riverside Christian 2-0 6-2
La Salle    2-2 6-3
Mabton  1-3 4-6
Yakama Tribal   0-2 3-3
Klickitat County Division
Lyle    4-0 9-2
Trout Lake  1-1 3-3
Klickitat   1-1 1-2
Bickleton   1-3 7-3
Glenwood    0-3 0-6
Friday's games
Klickitat at Glenwood, 6 p.m.
Mabton at Yakama Tribal, 6 p.m.
Riverside Christian at Sunnyside Christian, 6 p.m.
Trout Lake at Bickleton, 6 p.m.

Whitman County League
    League  Overall
Tekoa-Oakesdale 3-0 9-1
Garfield-Palouse    2-0 6-2
Asotin  2-1 5-4
St. John-Endicott   1-1 3-7
Rosalia 1-2 4-5
LaCrosse-Washtucna  0-2 3-5
Colton  0-3 3-7

Intermountain Conference
    Conf.   Overall
Mountain View   2-0 6-6
Hermiston   1-0 10-1
Redmond 1-0 9-2
Bend    0-0 3-7
Hood River Valley   0-0 0-7
Pendleton   0-1 7-4
Crook County    0-1 1-9
Summit  0-2 3-8
Roger Fishback (62) Reprinted from the Tri-City Heral Sports Report