Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009

Bunch of quick hits

Richland's state champion baseball team received another accolade this week.

The Bombers, who won the 4A state title late last month, finished No. 39 on Baseball America's final high school rankings of the season.

Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas won the mythical national title.

Also, Hanford junior Scott Kim narrowly missed out on qualifying for next month's U.S. Junior Amateur, finishing one shot back of medalist Zach Wanderscheid of Goldendale at the sectional at Manito G&CC in Spokane. Kim is the first alternate from the sectional, but I'm guessing he won't get the call to make the field.

Finally, a couple of athletes with Mid-Columbia ties will be participating in the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the U.S. Junior Nationals, both this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Hermiston's Michelle Coombs, who just finished her freshman season at Eastern Washington, will throw the javelin at nationals, while Benton City's Barry Leavitt, who just finished his senior season at WSU, will run the 400-meter hurdles.

The Kirkwood sisters, Courtney and Christine, will throw the javelin at the U.S. junior meet. Courtney comes in as the top seed after throwing over 170 feet during her freshman season at WSU, while Christine should be in the mix for a second-place finish -- her 151-10 that won the 2A state title is bunched among a group of four throwers in the 151-152 range. The top two finishers qualify for the Pan American Junior Championships at the end of July in Trinidad and Tobago's capital city of Port of Spain.

Til next time ...