CBC hires former NCAA Division II coach to lead volleyball program
Columbia Basin College named a new volleyball coach last week with the hiring of DiShondra Goree, who comes to the Hawks with some NCAA Division II experience.
Goree was the head coach at Shaw University for four seasons before running the Kentucky State men’s and women’s programs for two years.
She carries a 119-80 record from those two schools into taking over the Hawks program.
Goree is ready to go with an adjusted CBC schedule moved to the spring from the fall because of the pandemic, according to a CBC news release.
“I am most looking forward to building a successful volleyball program and cultivating meaningful relationships with a great group of young ladies,” Goree said. “I have coached at the Division II level for the past 6.5 seasons and it was a great experience. My previous positions have allowed me to recruit great talent from two-year colleges all over the U.S. I know what it takes to be successful at the next level and I can assist my players in preparing for that next level of play.”
Goree has a roster with eight sophomores, including middle blocker Lindsay Cummings from Decatur High School in Federal Way.
Last season, Cummings had 126 kills for the Hawks, who went 17-19 under then-head coach Michael Jordan.
Four Mid-Columbia athletes are on the CBC roster for the upcoming season: freshman Reana Deasy (Kamiakin grad), sophomore Kayla Lind (Prosser and Walla Walla Community College), sophomore Alaina Scott (Chiawana and WWCC), and sophomore Sophia Streeter (Hermiston).
CBC will open up non-league play at Wenatchee Valley on Feb 13. The Hawks’ home opener is Feb. 20 against Yakima Valley, and it is also a non-league contest.
High schools
I talked to long-time Kamiakin girls soccer coach Chris Erikson last week for a Sports in the Tri podcast (now available on Spotify and Anchor) as she gets ready for the coming season, moved from this fall to March.
When you start talking to her, you sometimes forget what she’s done with that program: 485 career victories in 33 seasons there.
Her teams are a consistent state tournament participant, with 23 of those teams qualifying — including three second-place finishes. The key to that success?
“Kamiakin has talented athletes,” Erikson said. “And honestly, I’m pretty competitive.”
By her estimate, she’s had anywhere from 60 to 75 athletes move on to either the two-year community college level or the four-year college level.
It’s pretty hard to keep a coach for a few seasons nowadays. So in this case, Kamiakin has a gem in Erikson. She still loves coaching. She’s still competitive. And her teams are usually at or near the top of the conference standings on an annual basis.
• The WIAA executive board announced recently that it was extending the open coaching window, moving the end of the that period from Nov. 30 to Dec. 19.
Many schools were unable to practice due to county health metrics and school board decisions.
The first sports season is scheduled to begin Dec. 28. It includes boys and girls basketball, boys and girls wrestling, gymnastics, girls bowling, and boys swimming and diving.
• Connell sophomore Cade Clyde is ranked as the No. 10 tight end in the nation for the Class of 2023, according to theprototyp.com.
Hockey
Former Tri-City American Parker Wotherspoon has agreed to a new two-year deal with the New York Islanders.
Wotherspoon, 23, was drafted in 2015 in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft, and he’s played for the Islanders’ AHL team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers pretty much ever since.
Wotherspoon started playing with the Americans in the 2012-13 season and finished his Western Hockey League career after the 2016-17 season.
The defenseman played 279 career games for the Ams, scoring 32 goals and 150 assists.
He got his first cup of coffee with Bridgeport Sound in the the 2015-16 season, and he’s been there ever since.
With Bridgeport Sound, Wotherspoon has played in 186 games, scoring 17 goals and 51 assists.
College sports
If you were thinking there would be college football in the spring for Central Washington University (and its Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents), think again.
The GNAC board announced earlier this month that there won’t be any spring schedule for football.
Board members were concerned about having two football seasons in the 2021 calendar year. Those who are seniors get another year of eligibility.
The GNAC board did approve spring seasons for men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball.
Cross country still is not solved — although there is a movement of allowing cross country races at track and field meets in the spring — i.e., a track meet is held at a certain site on Saturday, and the cross country race is held at the same location the day before.
Finally, the GNAC has pushed the start of men’s and women’s basketball season until after the first the year, starting Jan. 7.
• Last week, the NCAA released postseason tournament sites for nearly every sport for the next few years.
One of the best sports events annually is the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament that comes to the Pacific Northwest.
Some of my family and I try to go to the Spokane tournament when it’s scheduled there. Unfortunately, the coronavirus canceled the Spokane portion of the tournament in March of this year.
The next chance for the men’s tournament (first and second rounds) will be next March in Boise.
After that, four of the next five years will have Northwest sites: 2022 (Portland), 2024 (Spokane), 2025 (Seattle) and 2026 (Portland).
On the women’s side for Division 1 basketball, Spokane is set to host regional tournaments in both 2021 and 2022.
The next three years of regional sites: 2023 (Seattle), 2024 (Portland) and 2025 (Spokane).
Finally, the University of Oregon in Eugene will play host to the NCAA men’s and women’s track and field championships from 2024-27.