CBC golf teams hit the greens in return to actual competition
When Monday rolls around, we’ll actually have a local school involved in an official sports competition.
The Columbia Basin College men’s and women’s golf teams will be playing in the Northwest Athletic Conference opener at Suncadia.
It’s a one-day tournament, but most of the NWAC teams in the Northwest will be in Roslyn for the event.
A return to normalcy — sort of.
Since early May, golf has been one of the few sports given the OK to play from the state health department. That hasn’t stopped many tournaments — which can cause too much grouping together after play — from being canceled at numerous courses this summer.
Still, it will be nice to report on an actual sporting event.
The CBC men have nine players on the roster, with all but one from the Mid-Columbia.
Sophomores include Luke Gorham (Kennewick High grad), Joe Milks (Kennewick), Cameron Sjolund (Arlington, Wash.) and Clayton Whitby (Chiawana).
The rest are freshmen, consisting of Tyler Andersen (Hanford), Evan Harvill (Columbia-Burbank), Joseph McEnderfer (Pasco), Rocco Parrish (Grandview), and Rylan Simanton (Kennewick).
The CBC women’s squad has just four players on the roster — sophomore Hannah Bort (Hanford), and three freshmen in Janae Martinez (Pasco), Regan Schumacher (Kamiakin) and Alissa Slocum (Kamiakin).
The Hawks sent three golfers from last year’s squad — Mahala LaForge, Abby Ostrander and Grace Wilbur — on to four-year schools to play.
Both CBC teams have two other scheduled NWAC tournaments this fall: Oct. 12 at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla; and Oct. 26 at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon.
Notes
• Nikole Thomas still has three years of high school basketball left.
But that didn’t stop the Kamiakin sophomore from traveling the country this summer to attend evaluation camps, or playing with her AAU team, the Northwest Blazers.
All of that hard work is paying off for Thomas.
She’s already received basketball scholarship offers from three NCAA Division I schools: Washington State University, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Weber State.
She’ll definitely receive more.
• D-Bat Columbia Basin has been open since the middle of the month. But owners Tammy and Bob Benson want to remind members (and anyone else for that matter) they must call to reserve a time in the batting cages.
Call 509-940-3228 for a reservation. At this point, no one can just show up unannounced as the business tries to manage customer numbers.
• The Mt. Royal University Cougars men’s hockey team will have three former Tri-City Americans playing for its team this school year.
Kyle Olson, Riley Sawchuk and Dom Schmiemann will all be first-year students at the Calgary school.
The team would normally begin play in September, but the season’s start has been pushed back to January.
• Conner O’Neil update: the Southridge High grad turns 26 on Friday, and has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
O’Neil has been in the New York Mets’ farm system, and he should be ready to go next spring.
The right-handed pitcher played collegiately for Cal State Northridge.
• It’s hard to imagine, but Selah’s Noah Pepper only recently received his first college basketball scholarship, this one coming from George Fox University in Oregon.
Pepper, who will graduate from Selah High School next June, has been a starter for the Vikings since his sophomore year. He’s a solid shooter, and at 6-foot-4, he can muck it up with the best of them inside for rebounds.
Pepper is also an outstanding passer. But he might be a better defensive player. He has a knack for setting opposing players for offensive charges, and he usually draws 3 to 5 every game.
He’ll get more offers.
• From the MacBeth Report: former Tri-City American Juraj Valach has signed a one-year deal with Slovakian team Slovon Bratislava of the Extraliga.
Last season, Valach played for Austrian team Linz Black Wings of the Ernst Bank Liga.
Valach played in 32 games, scoring 1 goal and 8 assists.
The defenseman, 31, played one season for the Americans, in 2006-07. He scored 7 goals and 23 assists in 58 games for the Ams that season.
He was traded to the Vancouver Giants the following season.
• Pasco High grad Adam Leahy has a new gig this year: he’s the head coach for Green River Community College for men’s and women’s cross country.
After finishing his prep career as a cross country and track and field standout for the Bulldogs, Leahy went to Highline Community College to run, and then to the University of Washington.
He helped the Huskies to strong finishes at the NCAA cross country championships, fourth as a team his junior year, and 12th as a team his senior season.
After college, Leahy pursued the Olympic Trials and ended up running for both Nike and Brooks.
Leahy coached cross country and track at Tyee High School, then spent three years as an assistant coach at Highline Community College.
• Hole-in-one report: Suzanne Norris sank her first-ever hole-in-one on Aug. 3 at Columbia Point Golf Course in Richland.
Norris used a 7-iron to score the ace on the 120-yard No. 4 par-3 hole.
• More MacBeth Report: Former Tri-City American center Brendan Shinnimin has signed a one-year contract with German team Adler Mannheim, which plays in the ADL.
Last season, Shinnimin scored 5 goals and 17 assists in 50 games for Swedish team Vaxjo Lakers in the SHL.
The 29-year-old spent all or parts of five seasons with the Americans, from 2007 to 2012.
In his career with Tri-City, Shinninim scored 131 goals and 206 assists in 267 games for the Americans.
Shinnimin played 12 games with the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes back in the 2014-15 season, scoring an assist in a game. He’s been in Europe ever since.
• Three area high school football players will be attending the Cleats vs. Cancer All-Stars Evaluation Mini Camp on Saturday in Lacey.
Royal wide receiver Cooper Christensen, Walla Walla quarterback Ryan Martuscelli and Chiawana defensive back Jalen Webber each received mini-camp invites.
The non-added skills and drills camp will have players be evaluated for the main event, which is next year.
There will be another evaluation mini-camp Oct. 17 in Yakima.