Richland grad was one of best in nation. He’s being inducted into state hall of fame

It didn’t take Dick Cartmell long — two years, to be exact — to make the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

The Richland High School graduate will be inducted this year as part of the 2020 class. He was nominated a year ago and retired the year before that in 2018.

It’s safe to say Cartmell has been one of the best basketball officials in the country.

In September 2016, he won the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Naismith Men’s College Official of the Year award for 2016.

His numbers over the years are impressive: 35 years of officiating NCAA Division I games; he worked 24 NCAA tournaments; he made five Final Four appearances; and he worked three NCAA championship games.

Some rough math figures: Cartmell has worked over 1,500 NCAA basketball games.

Cartmell will join five other people in the 2020 class:

• Former Gonzaga men’s basketball standout Adam Morrison;
• Joe Kearney, who was the University of Washington’s athletic director from 1969-76;
• Former WSU pitcher Aaron Sele, who went on to play 15 seasons in the major leagues;
• Brad Walker, former U.S. pole vault record holder;
• And Don Zech, who coached successfully at the high school and college levels.

The addition of the six-member Class of 2020 brings the total to 228 men and women in the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame, and plaques for each hall of fame member are displayed at the Shanahan Sports Museum.

The organization was founded in 1960 by longtime Tacoma-based sports broadcaster Clay Huntington.

A panel that includes sportswriters and broadcasters from throughout the state — including myself — makes the selections.

Dates for induction ceremonies are pending.

Cartmell joins a number of Mid-Columbia residents already in the hall. They are:

• Byron Beck, former ABA and NBA star basketball player from Kittitas who played at Columbia Basin College;
• Kelly Blair LaBounty, the former track and field star from Prosser who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta;
• Drew Bledsoe, the ex-standout NFL quarterback who starred at Walla Walla High School and WSU;
• Raymond Borleske, the long-time Whitman College football coach who was an inaugural inductee in 1960;
• Gene Conley, the Richland High graduate who played for the Boston Celtics in the NBA and the Boston and Milwaukee Braves in the major leagues;
• Eddie Feigner, the softball-pitching, barnstorming legend who came from Walla Walla;
• Ray Mansfield, the Kennewick High grad who went on to play football for the University of Washington, and then had a great NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers;
• Mel Stottlemyre, the Mabton product who was a standout pitcher with the New York Yankees before becoming a much coveted pitching coach for a number of major league teams;
• And Ray Washburn, the Burbank product who pitched 10 seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Information about all Hall of Fame members is available at washingtonsportshof.org.

Notes

• Junior Forrest Smith (Walla Walla Community College) was the third leading scorer this season for the 14-16 Multnomah University men’s basketball team.

Smith averaged 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game.

• Kamiakin senior Stanford Smith made it official Tuesday when he signed a letter of intent to run men’s cross country and track and field for Gonzaga University, starting this fall.

• Richland High graduate Larry Still was an established pole vaulter at Eastern Washington University for the previous three years.

But for his senior year, Still transferred to Utah Valley University, where he made the Western Athletic Conference winter all-academic team in indoor track.

Still also qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships when he cleared 5.5 meters – 18 feet, one-half inch – in a meet.

That mark ranked him 10th in the nation.

But the coronavirus shut things down before Still could compete at nationals.

Kamiakin freshman Parker Morgan, while he did not compete in the indoor season, was ready to go for the outdoor season this spring for Utah Valley in the men’s sprints.

• Trevor Trimble (Richland) was named second-team All-American for the second consecutive year by the United States Collegiate Skiing Association.

Trimble earned the honor in the Freeski Skier-X competition. In that event, he made it to the quarterfinals of the bracketed event, which was held in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Trimble, a junior, placed 33rd in the giant slalom, and was 22nd in the slalom. Overall, he was 20th in the combined.

Trimble was also a first-team USCSA all-academic selection.

• California’s Evan Weaver was drafted in the sixth round Saturday by the Arizona Cardinals.

Chiawana fans may remember the inside linebacker a few years back as Gonzaga Prep’s outstanding defensive line force who could dominate play.

• Freshman Madison Wilson (Hermiston) had the best high jump in the winter indoor season for Eastern Washington University.

Wilson cleared 5 feet, 5.75 inches for the Eagles.

• WSU receiver Easop Winston Jr., was signed last weekend after the draft by the Los Angeles Rams, as an undrafted free agent.

• Junior Alexa Clark (Kamiakin) averaged 75.6 strokes over 15 rounds of competitive golf for the Eastern Washington University golf team this past school year. Because of that, Clark was an honorable mention selection to the Big Sky Conference women’s golf all-conference team.

• Jalen King, who played at Pasco High and Chiawana High before moving to Texas, completed his junior season for the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team, which finished with a 16-16 record.

King came off the bench in 31 games, averaging 1.7 points and 2.5 rebounds a contest.

This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.