Here are the latest honorees to be inducted into the CBC Athletic Hall of Fame
Two former athletes and one team will be added to the Columbia Basin College Athletic Hall of Fame Friday, Feb. 23, on the school’s Pasco campus.
Former baseball star Frank Lolich, volleyball standout Renee Finke, and the 1989-90 men’s basketball team will get the call in the 16th annual Follow Your Dreams Athletic Banquet.
The sold-out event helps fund CBC athletic facilities and scholarships.
CBC athletic director Scott Rogers said that the event began in 2007 as a way to raise money for the department. The first year, it collected $20,000.
After a few fits and restarts, the event has become a big source of revenue. Last year, it raised $55,000.
Meanwhile, the pool of athletic greats to be honored continues to grow. Former CBC football coach Dwight Pool was the first inductee in 2008.
Before Friday’s inductions, the hall had 32 individuals and 10 teams enshrined.
This, says Rogers, is the big draw.
“It’s not about how much money we make for athletics,” he said. “It’s about filling the room with sports-minded people to celebrate our past and present athletes. To people who have not attended in a while, it’s an eye-opener — in a good way.”
Here’s a look at the newest inductees:
Frank Lolich
Hawks baseball coach Len Pyne found the pitcher in Portland, and Lolich helped CBC claim its second straight junior college championship in 1964. Lolich, who is the uncle of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich, would transfer to BYU.
Frank Lolich spent five years in the New York Mets farm system (after being drafted by them) until a back injury ended his career.
Reneé Finke
Finke was an original member of the women’s athletic movement which was spawned by Title IX, starring in both volleyball and basketball at Pasco High.
Then-CBC coach Lynda Meyers recruited Finke to play volleyball at CBC starting in 1978. She helped lead the Hawks to winning seasons, including an appearance in the 1979 community college championships.
Finke has also served on the CBC Board of Trustees, including being the chair in both 2011 and 2012.
1990 CBC men’s basketball team
Coach Ed Weidenbach and his assistants, Ken Owens and Rich Sanders, led a group of players that started out as a group of 16 — but whittled down to nine by season’s end — to the Northwest Athletic Conference championship.
The Hawks beat Bellevue 109-76 in the title game. That team was popular in the community, as it consisted of a number of Mid-Columbia high school graduates.
Team members were Tony Beo, Heath Dolven, Don Flynn, Will Franks, Rolando Garcia, John Hunt, Bruce Robertson, Jim Salmi, and Wade Venters.
Team manager was David Schick, and Todd Lewison was in charge of basketball operations.
College update
Idaho sophomore Taryn Vrieling (Kamiakin) led the 1-27 volleyball team in kills last fall with 219. She was also second on the team in both service aces (16) and digs (138).
▪ Tyler Jones, a Hanford High grad, was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference’s Indoor Track men’s field athlete of the week for Jan. 29 to Feb. 4.
Jones, competing for Eastern Oregon University, cleared 2.10 meters in the men’s high jump to win the event in the EOU Lew Thorne Invite.
That translates to 6 feet, 10.6 inches.
It was a PR for Jones and a facility record, as well as the nation’s seventh best mark in the NAIA.
▪ Sophomore Paris Wilson (Sunnyside) leads the 12-10 Yakima Valley Community College women’s basketball team in both scoring (16.6 points) and steals (2.4), and she’s second in both rebounds (7.7) and assists (2.7.
Meanwhile, teammate and sophomore Faith McCarty (Echo) leads the team with 3.4 assists per game. She’s also averaging 12.1 points per contest.
▪ Sophomore Diego Gutierrez (Pasco) is among the stat leaders for the Wenatchee Valley College men’s basketball team this season.
Gutierrez leads the 7-17 Knights in both assists (5.8) and steals (1.8). He second on the team with 5.0 rebounds, and he’s third in scoring with 12.0 points per game.
▪ What a game for Talia von Oelhoffen last week. The Oregon State junior sank a 3-point field goal as time expired to give the Beavers a 79-77 Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball victory over visiting UCLA in front of over 8,000-plus rabid OSU fans.
The Chiawana grad scored a team-high 22 points, had 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Beavers are 21-4 this season, as von Oelhoffen is averaging 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds. She leads the team with 130 assists, and she has 27 steals and 16 blocked shots.
▪ Freshman Matty Wolff (Chiawana) has been a bright spot for the 10-16 Big Bend Community College women’s basketball team this season.
Wolff, who averages 4.7 points a game, leads the Vikings with 2.5 assists a game, and she’s third on the team 1.2 steals.
Signings
Richland High senior Davis Sheets has committed to playing next fall for the Saint Martin’s University men’s golf team, where his older brother, Carter Sheets, is a junior on the team.