Kennewick High grad off to hot start in Australian pro league

Kennewick High grad Leilani Mitchell left the WNBA bubble in September, when her Washington Mystics were eliminated in postseason play.

She had roughly two months to let her body heal before picking things up again in the WNBL, the Australian women’s professional league.

Playing for the Southside Flyers for the second consecutive season, Mitchell is again tearing it up at the age of 35.

She leads the team, and the league, with 6.5 assists a game. She also averages 8.1 points for the Flyers, who lead the league standings with a 9-2 record.

Normally an October to February season, the WNBL has tightened things this year, with the season opener Nov. 12, and the league championship set for Dec. 20.

The Tokyo Olympics, which were scheduled for the summer of 2020 but postponed because of the pandemic, are rescheduled for 2021. The Australian National Women’s Team, of which Mitchell is a member, is scheduled to play in those Tokyo Olympics.

Mitchell also has another season left in her two-year deal with the WNBA Mystics.

Prep basketball

No one knows what’s going to happen Feb. 1, but we’re all hoping high school sports will get the OK to start.

It’s supposed to begin with winter sports.

To that end, Scorebook Live Washington’s prep guys, Todd Milles and Andy Buhler, put together a top-50 rankings for boys and girls basketball, regardless of classification.

It definitely gives prep sports fans something to talk about.

The boys rankings start with four Seattle-area teams, all Class 3A: No. 1 O’Dea, No. 2 Garfield, No. 3 Eastside Catholic, and No. 4 Seattle Prep.

The highest ranking Mid-Columbia team is Class 4A Chiawana at No. 12. The Riverhawks expect a huge lift with a healthy Kobe Young to add with outside shooters Connor Mendez, Jaden Martinez and Taylor Perez.

At No. 17 is Class 3A Walla Walla, led by inside standout Michael Cornia.

Kamiakin, now a 4A school, is ranked No. 23. The Braves boast Messiah Jones and Trey Arland among their leaders of a standout squad.

On the girls side, the website ranks Class 4A Woodinville as the top team in the state.

Spokane’s Central Valley (4A) is second, followed by Glacier Peak (4A) in third, and Eastside Catholic (3A) fourth.

At No. 5 is Chiawana (4A), led by Oregon State-bound Talia von Oelhoffen and Delaney Pink, who signed with Providence in Montana.

Throw in transfer A’niyah Heavens from Pasco, and the Riverhawks are loaded.

Sunnyside (4A) comes in at No. 26, with Analyssa Maldonado and Paris Wilson leading the Grizzlies this year.

Kennewick (3A) is ranked 40th, and has some tough inside players in Madeline Gebers and Alexes Stein leading the way.

Finally, Warden (2B), which made the state 1A quarterfinals last year, is ranked 50th. Kiana Rios is the Cougars’ star.

Wrestling

Kamiakin grad Sione Halo is a sophomore wrestling for Grays Harbor Community College, and last month he was part of a contingent for the Grays Harbor Chokers Wrestling Club to compete at the United World Wrestling Junior and U23 National Championships in Omaha, Neb.

Halo, wrestling in the 97 kg division in the Junior Greco-Roman portion of the tournament, finished third in his division.

Halo defeated Tristan Wilson of Service, Calif., 12-7 to clinch the podium spot.

Halo is not the only Tri-Citian wrestling for Grays Harbor this season. Southridge grad Mikael Failor is a freshman listed on the roster.

Failor, a former WIAA 3A state champion, spent his first year of college wrestling at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa in the 2019-20 school year.

But he was redshirted and didn’t compete. Thus his freshman status at Grays Harbor.

Hockey

▪ Former Tri-City American forward Kyle Olson recently signed a contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Last season, Olson — now 21 — played in 30 games in the Western Hockey League, first for the Americans before being traded to the Calgary Hitmen.

The forward scored 13 goals and 19 assists combined for the two teams.

Olson was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, but never signed a deal with them. He spent time in the Buffalo Sabres training camp a year ago.

W-B/Scranton sent Olson to the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, where he will compete in training camp.

▪ The Wenatchee Wild was forced two weeks ago to throw in the towel on having a 2020-21 season in the BCHL.

The Wild announced that it was taking a hiatus for one year from the 18-team league in which Wenatchee is the lone franchise not located in Canada.

The U.S.-Canada border is closed until at least Dec. 21, and BCHL regular-season play was scheduled to begin this month.

But the final blow, said Wild management, was the recent Washington restrictions placed on gyms and arenas that wouldn’t allow the team to train its players.

As a result, the team released all of its players so they have a chance of catching on somewhere else, as many of them are hoping to get college hockey scholarships.

The Wild said it plans to field a team for the 2021-22 BCHL season.