Kamiakin girls get high ranking in early state ratings
It’s pretty early to get upset at where your high school basketball team is ranked right now – most teams have just three to five games under their belts – but the WIAA came out with its first RPI rankings on Friday.
The Kamiakin girls had the highest ranking among Tri-City area teams, with a No. 5 for Class 3A girls.
But there are some area teams who are already sitting among the top 10 of their respective classifications, including the Warden girls at No. 2 in 1A.
Sunnyside is ranked No. 6 in 4A girls, Connell boys are seventh in 1A boys, Columbia-Burbank is eighth in 2B girls, Sunnyside Christian boys are 10th in 1B, and Grandview is 10th in 2A girls.
Here are the top teams in each classification: for boys, Gonzaga Prep (4A), Eastside Catholic (3A), Aberdeen (2A), Lynden Christian (1A), St. George’s (2B) and Odessa (1B).
In girls, it’s Kentridge (4A), Prairie (3A), Lynden (2A), Lynden Christian (1A), Wahkiakum (2B) and Almira-Coulee-Hartline (1B).
Colten Northrup scored 28 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Garrett Streufert added 10 points and 13 rebounds, as visiting Richland’s boys beat Chiawana 79-69 in Mid-Columbia Conference play on Friday.
Matthew Kroner led the Riverhawks with 17 points.
▪ In the girls game, Kylie Thorne had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Mykila Burton added 14 points and six rebounds, as Chiawana beat Richland 64-48. Richland was led by Emily Garza, who had 17 points.
▪ Hanford’s Connor Woodward set another school record Friday night in the Falcons’ 64-53 win over Kamiakin. The senior sank nine 3-point field goals in the contest.
▪ Marissa Cortes scored 19 points for Prosser in the Mustangs’ 62-46 win at Othello on Friday. That gives Cortes 1,130 career points, putting her in sixth-place all-time on Prosser’s career scoring list, just ahead of Katie Hoefer’s 1,118.
▪ Calvin Maljaars scored 18 points, while Haden Hicks added 17, as Prosser’s boys hung on to beat Othello 71-70. … Zillah’s Antonio Salinas scored his 1,000th career point in the Leopards’ 68-8 boys basketball win over Highland on Friday.
Wrestling roundup
Watched Pasco boys wrestling take on Southridge on Thursday night. Bulldogs were impressive in a 62-6 MCC win. Isaiah Gonzalez (technical fall) at 145 pounds and David Tobias (pin) at 152 were especially outstanding.
Here are Washington Wrestling Report’s latest top contenders in their most recent rankings:
Class 4A boys – 170 pounds. 1. Tyson Stover, Chiawana; 182 pounds. 1. Sione Halo, Pasco; 2. Hayden Henry, Hanford.
Class 3A boys – 132 pounds. 1. Austin Almaguer, Kamiakin.
Class 2A boys – 285 pounds. 1. Isaiah Perez, Othello.
Class 1A boys – 145 pounds. 1. Rodrigo Ozuna, Warden.
Girls – 100 pounds. 1. Taylor Wilson, Hanford; 2. Aaliyah Escamilla, Warden; 3. Mariah Hinojosa, Pasco. 155 pounds. 1. Maloree Calzadillas, Kiona-Benton.
Last weekend’s tournament results
Chiawana had three champs out of the Inland Empire Invite at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley: Robby Vaughn at 145 pounds, Aidan Villarreal at 152, and Tyson Stone at 170. Vaughn, in fact, was named a WIAA state athlete of the week for his 5-0 performance that included two pins.
▪ Other tourney champs included Kamiakin’s Almaguer at 132, Richland’s Patrick Workman at 160, and Hanford’s Jonathan Burt at 220. … Southridge’s Brian Sims went 3-0 to win the 170-pound title at last Saturday’s Connell Invite.
Other champs included Warden’s Roly Martinez at 113 and Connell’s Conner Niel at 195. Roundup BYU volleyball lost to Stanford in the NCAA Final Four semifinal.
But earlier in the week, Lyndie Haddock-Eppich was named a first-team NCAA All-American. Why is this interesting? Because she is married to BYU senior javelin thrower Kraymer Eppich, who is a Connell High graduate.
▪ Congrats to Drew Saylor, the former Tri-Cities Dust Devils manager who was named Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year. Saylor managed the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Class A California League team, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, this summer.
▪ Southern Utah’s football team has hired Northern Arizona assistant coach Andy Thompson to be its new defensive coordinator. Thompson is a Walla Walla High School graduate.
▪ Chiawana LB AJ Vongphachanh has gotten a scholarship offer to play football at Utah State.
▪ Congrats to the Tri-City Americans’ Sasha Mutala, who was invited this week to play in the 2019 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, set for Jan. 23 in Red Deer.
Mid-Columbia Conference
Boys basketball standings Through Dec. 14
Hermiston 3-0 MCC/5-0 overall
Richland 3-0/4-2
Walla Walla 2-0/3-0
Kennewick 1-1/4-2
Kamiakin 1-1/3-2
Chiawana 1-2/3-3
Hanford 1-2/3-3
Southridge 0-3/1-5
Pasco 0-3/0-6
Mid-Columbia Conference
Girls basketball standings Through Dec. 14
Chiawana 3-0 MCC/3-1 overall
Kamiakin 2-0/5-0
Kennewick 2-0/3-1
Walla Walla 2-0/2-1
Richland 2-1/3-1
Pasco 1-2/3-2
Southridge 0-3/3-3
Hermiston 0-3/1-4
Hanford 0-3/0-6
SCAC East 1A Boys basketball standings Through Dec. 14
Wahluke 1-0 SCAC/4-1 overall
Connell 1-0/3-1
Warden 1-0/3-2
College Place 0-0/1-3
River View 0-1/3-1
Royal 0-1/2-1
Kiona-Benton 0-1/1-4
▪ SCAC East 1A
Girls basketball standings Through Dec. 14
Warden 1-0 SCAC/5-0 overall
Connell 1-0/2-2
Wahluke 1-0/1-4
College Place 0-0/3-1
River View 0-1/2-2
Royal 0-1/2-2
Kiona-Benton 0-1/0-5
EWAC 2B Boys basketball standings Through Dec. 14
▪ East Division
Kittitas/Thorp 3-0 EWAC/5-1 overall
Tri-Cities Prep 2-1/3-3
Mabton 0-1/0-4
White Swan 0-1/0-4
Lyle-Wishram 0-2/2-3
▪ West Division Columbia
Burbank 1-0 EWAC/4-2 overall
Liberty Christian 1-1/2-1
DeSales 1-1/2-3 WWVA 0-1/2-1
Dayton-Waitsburg 0-1/0-6