Mid-Columbia athletes snapped up by NW universities to compete in 2021

Johan Correa has always liked to run.

And he’s always been good at it.

So it should come as no surprise that the Kennewick High School graduate signed a letter of intent to run cross country and track for the Washington State Cougars.

Correa ran cross country for Spokane Community College in the fall of 2019, when he ended up winning the NWAC Championship.

Before that, at Kennewick, Correa was a two-time Class 3A champ in the boys 800 meters at the state track and field championships in 2018 and 2019.

And he also won the 3A state cross country championship in the fall of 2018, his senior season for the Lions, at Sun Willows Golf Course.

Correa is just one of a number of area athletes who have signed with four-year schools in recent weeks.

Here are some more:

• Connell senior Emma Andrewjeski is a multi-talented athlete.

She’s played five varsity sports over her Eagles career — basketball, softball, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.

But it’ll be softball that gets most of her attention after high school.

The 6-foot-1 Andrewjeski signed a letter of intent to play softball for Brigham Young University, beginning with the 2021-22 school year.

Andrewjeski has spent a number of summers playing for elite softball travel teams, and is currently been with the USA Explosion program.

A 4.0 student and member of the National Honor Society, Andrewjeski can play catcher, third base or first base. So she’ll be pretty valuable for BYU over these next few years.

• Kamiakin senior Rylee Franklin is headed to Eastern Washington University next year to play women’s soccer for the Eagles.

Franklin is expected to play either midfielder or forward for EWU.

Last year, as a junior for the Braves, she was an honorable mention selection in the Mid-Columbia Conference all-conference team, as she helped Kamiakin advance to the Class 3A state quarterfinals.

Franklin played varsity her first two years of high school for Southridge, before transferring across town.

By signing Franklin, EWU head coach Chad Bodnar continues his pipeline from the Tri-Cities to Cheney.

Bodnar, a former soccer standout himself at Pasco High and then in college, developed an outstanding soccer program at Walla Walla Community College before being hired by EWU.

The Eagles will play a Big Sky Conference schedule in the spring after COVID-19 wiped out the fall season.

EWU currently has five Tri-City players on its roster: senior forward McKaley Goffard (Southridge grad), senior forward Taylor Matheny (Hanford), sophomore forward Maddie Morgan (Kamiakin), redshirt junior forward Kendall Pope (Southridge), and senior keeper Kelsee Winston (Hanford).

• Kamiakin grad Carson Green has spent the past two years playing baseball for Walla Walla Community College.

But Green has signed a letter of intent to play baseball for the Montana State University Billings team.

Green, a middle infielder who has also spent time during the summer playing for the West Coast League’s Walla Walla Sweets, was off to a blazing start last March for WWCC when the season got canceled due to the coronavirus.

In just 8 games for the Warriors, Green hit a blistering .538 (14 for 26), hitting two home runs and driving in 9 runs, as well as scoring 19 times.

In 2019, as a freshman, Green saw a lot of action for WWCC, batting .286, with 8 home runs and 39 RBIs.

• Tri-Cities Prep senior McKenna Martinez is a standout athlete in multiple sports.

But soccer is her specialty.

Martinez verbally committed to playing women’s soccer for Oregon State last year, now she made it official when she signed with the Beavers.

“McKenna is a 2-footed player who can flat out score goals,” said OSU head coach Matt Kagan. “She has the pace, size, and athleticism to be very impactful at this level. We are excited for her to bring her unquestionable talent to Corvallis.”

Martinez plays soccer for Richland High, since Tri-Cities Prep does not have a soccer program.

The senior forward has been named first-team All-Mid-Columbia Conference in both 2018 and 2019. She was also named all-state in 2019 by the Washington State Soccer Coaches Association.

• Richland High senior Carter Sheets has committed to playing men’s golf for St. Martin’s University beginning next school year.

As a sophomore for the Bombers in 2019, Sheets was named MCC boys player of the year.

Last season, of course, was wiped out because of coronavirus.

Sheets did get some summer play in this year, claiming the District 4 title in Washington Junior Golf Association play. He fired rounds of 68 and 72 to finish 4-under-par.

Sheets also won the Idaho Northern District Championship for junior golf, shooting a 75-71 for a plus-2 finish.

From there, Sheets went on to place third in the Idaho State Junior Golf Association finals, firing a 72-71-71.

Sheets becomes the next Bomber grad to move into the NCAA golf ranks in the last six years. Drew McCullough and Carl Underwood also played at Richland, and both moved on to the University of Wyoming.

• What makes Chiawana senior Lexi Barcomb so valuable as a softball player is she can just about play any position on the field.

As a sophomore and the partial junior season last spring stopped by COVID-19, Barcomb was mainly the Riverhawks’ shortstop.

But with the Washington Angels club, she can also catch, play outfield or any other infield position.

Western Washington University’s softball program liked that versatility, and the Vikings recruited her.

Barcomb signed this past week with WWU, and will begin playing there in the 2021-22 school year.

• Walla Walla senior Eliana Coburn has signed a letter of intent to compete in women’s track and field for Sacramento State University.

Coburn will compete in the high jump for the Hornets, as well as the 100 high hurdles.

Her personal best in the high jump is 5-foot-4, while her top time in the hurdles is 15.77 seconds.