Here’s the plan for Northwest community college sports for the fall and spring

The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), which oversees all community college athletics in Washington and Oregon, along with some schools in British Columbia and Idaho, has announced that it is moving most fall sports into the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Only men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s golf will get to start this fall, with cross country holding its championships in November, while golf will have its championships in the spring like it usually does.

The NWAC said it has a “comprehensive plan of health and safety protocol recommendations for member colleges to implement for practice, competition and championship events.

“Each school is to follow state, local, NWAC and institutional guidelines as they relate to bringing student-athletes back to campus, as well as health and safety of all participants.”

NWAC Executive Director Marco Azurdia said his organization has spent a lot of time putting this plan together.

“We have been thoughtful, comprehensive, flexible, and listened to our constituents,” Azurdia said in a news release. “It is time to move forward. The plan pushed the conversations with our member college administrators, thus leading to the Executive Board’s decision.”

“We have said from the beginning that flexibility, creativity, adaptability, and patience are essential to the success of our return to play. NWAC will continue to follow the guidance and direction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local and state health agencies, and member college presidents.”

And if the COVID-19 situation changes, so will the NWAC.

“We have contingencies in place that will help us address NWAC sports,” Azurdia said. “As additional information becomes available we will look to update our plans and strategies.”

Plans for other fall sports

• Men’s and women’s soccer will be rescheduled to start Feb. 3, with the championships set for June 4-6 of 2021.

• Volleyball is now set to begin Feb. 27, with the championships also set for June 4-6.

• Men’s and women’s basketball, which isn’t allowed to work out during the fall, will get a start date Jan. 16, and the championships are scheduled for May 14-16.

• Spring sports — such as baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s track and field – will have normal starts in February. And all of their championship events will be in May, like normal.

For Columbia Basin College athletic director Scott Rogers — whose school has men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball normally in the fall — bringing the student-athletes back to the Pasco campus is important.

“We’ve had students on campus since May 11, doing things you can’t virtually,” Rogers said.

Such as engineering, chemistry labs and automotive technology.

And while the school announced a few months ago that classes would be virtual in the fall, it’s also important to get those student-athletes settled in to get ready for those classes.

A big consideration is out-of-area athletes who have apartment or dorm leases they will be signing.

The Hawks have athletes from Hawaii, California and Nevada who will be playing for different CBC teams.

It’s not a normal situation. The NWAC is buying time with this plan, as everyone hopes for a vaccine/cure.

But at least it’s a plan.

Earl Barden Classic

The annual all-state football game for small-school players, the Earl Barden Classic, was set to be played last month in Yakima.

But, alas, the event was canceled by the covid outbreak.

However, organizers decided to release the rosters they had to at least give those players some recognition. The organizers also say that some of the players had yet to let them know whether they had planned to play or not.

But they still released the rosters, and there were eight athletes from the Mid-Columbia who were list on the East team.

They are:

• Tri-Cities Prep running back/linebacker Landon Amato;

• Royal defensive back/running back Tyler Allred;

• Columbia-Burbank running back/linebacker Jacob Debord;

• Mabton lineman Jesus Mata;

• Royal running back/defensive back Lorenzo Myrick;

• Tri-Cities Prep lineman Zerric Pardini;

• Othello tight end/linebacker Isaiah Perez;

• And Connell lineman Vicente Rodriguez.

Notes

• Walla Walla High School graduate Kamryn Coleman, a sophomore at Central Arkansas University, pitched 9 2/3 innings for the softball team that went 18-9 before the season was stopped in March.

Coleman made six appearances and struck out eight batters. She had to starts and had a 2.17 earned run average, although she had no won-loss record.

• Former Tri-City American Spencer Asuchak, a forward, has signed to play an eighth season for the Allen Americans in Texas.

These Americans are members of the East Coast Hockey League, and are an affiliate with the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild.

Asuchak had 32 points in 47 games last season for Allen.

Asuchak has also spent the last two years as a member of the Allen Fire Department.

• Ameer Ismail, who was a former linebacker and then defensive coordinator for the Tri-Cities Fever Indoor Football League team, was recently named the new head coach of the IFL’s Iowa Barnstormers.

Ismail was most recently the head coach for the Massachusetts Pirates of the National Arena League, where he led his team to an 11-5 record.