Kennewick, Kamiakin battling for dominance in Mid-Columbia girls bowling

With the MCC girls bowling regular season about three-quarters of the way completed, there seems to be a battle between Kennewick and Kamiakin for conference dominance.

The Lions are on top of the MCC standings by half a game, with an 11-1 record.

The Braves are right behind with a 10-1 mark.

It’s close. Kamiakin has the best average team score at 156.58 pins, and is led by defending 4A individual state champion Hayden Bennett.

The Braves senior leads the entire MCC with an outstanding 190.9 average.

But Kennewick is the MCC leader in Baker scoring at 157.9. Baker scoring is when each of the five team members take turns rolling a frame in a game.

When the two teams met on Nov. 22, Kennewick won the match 1912-1889.

They’ll meet one more time in the regular season, at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 10, at Spare Time Lanes in Kennewick.

The top five MCC bowlers as of Jan. 4: 1. Hayden Bennett, Kamiakin, 190.9 pins average; 2. Malia Haynes, Richland, 170.9; 3. Kortnie Foss, Kennewick, 168.68; 4. Aubrey Johnson, Southridge, 168.63; 5. Alyssa Martinez, Kamiakin, 166.9.

Here are the latest MCC girls bowling standings (through Jan. 4):

Kennewick 11-1, Kamiakin 10-1, Chiawana 8-3, Richland 7-4, Pasco 5-6, Walla Walla 4-7, Southridge 4-8, Hanford 1-9, Hermiston 0-11.

The state bowling tournament is set for Feb. 1-4 at Bowlero in Tukwila.

Prep basketball

The big first high school basketball weekend of the new year approaches as the Mid-Columbia Conference gets going in earnest.

Here’s a look at the latest Mid-Columbia Conference boys basketball standings, through Jan. 4:

Kamiakin 3-0 MCC, 5-2 overall

Richland 3-0, 5-2

Walla Walla 3-1, 4-4

Kennewick 2-2, 6-2

Chiawana 2-2, 4-4

Hanford 2-2, 2-5

Hermiston 1-3, 3-6

Southridge 0-3, 2-5

Pasco 0-3, 0-6

• Jan. 3 — Richland 79, Pasco 30; West Valley-Spokane 61, Hermiston 55 (OT).
• Jan. 5 — Chiawana at Pasco, 8 p.m.
• Jan. 6 — Kamiakin at Kennewick, 7:30 p.m.; Pasco at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.; Richland at Chiawana, 7:30 p.m.; Walla Walla at Southridge, 7:30 p.m.; Hanford at East Valley-Yakima, 7:30 p.m.
• Jan. 7 — Hermiston at Hanford, 5 p.m.; Kamiakin at Walla Walla, 5 p.m.; Southridge at Richland, 5 p.m.
• Jan. 10 — Hanford at Chiawana, 7:30 p.m.; Pasco at Southridge, 7:30 p.m.; Richland at Kamiakin, 7:30 p.m.; Walla Walla at Kennewick, 7:30 p.m.

Girls standings

Here are the latest MCC girls basketball standings (through games of Jan. 4):

Kamiakin 3-0 MCC, 5-2 overall

Richland 3-0, 5-2

Walla Walla 3-1, 4-3

Kennewick 3-1, 4-4

Chiawana 2-2, 3-5

Hanford 1-3, 3-4

Hermiston 1-3, 3-6

Southridge 0-3, 1-6

Pasco 0-3, 0-7

• Jan. 3 — Hermiston 86, West Valley-Spokane 43; Richland 62, Pasco 26.
• Jan. 4 — Post Falls, Idaho, 68, Kamiakin 60.
• Jan. 5 — Chiawana at Pasco, 4 p.m.
• Jan. 6 — Kamiakin at Kennewick, 5:45 p.m.; Pasco at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.; Richland at Chiawana, 5:45 p.m.; Walla Walla at Southridge, 5:45 p.m.; Hanford at East Valley-Yakima, 5:45 p.m.
• Jan. 7 — Hermiston at Hanford, 3:15 p.m.; Kamiakin at Walla Walla, 3:15 p.m.; Southridge at Richland, 3:15 p.m.
• Jan. 10 — Hanford at Chiawana, 5:45 p.m.; Pasco at Southridge, 5:45 p.m.; Richland at Kamiakin, 5:45 p.m.; Walla Walla at Kennewick, 5:45 p.m.

Prep wrestling

Toppenish dominated both boys and girls team titles last week at the annual Winter Cup tournament at Hanford High School.

The Class 1A Wildcats rolled through their boys competition to compile 314 team points.

Sunnyside was a distance second with 180 points, while 4A power Chiawana had 154 for fourth place.

Individual boys champions included Richland senior Saul Salinas at 120 pounds. He now has a 19-2 record.

Kamiakin junior Juan Hoffman raised his record to 14-2 after taking the 126-pound championship.

And Hanford senior Jake Hubby and junior Caden Wilson gave the home fans something to cheer when they both won individual titles.

Hubby walked away with the 160-pound crown and now has a 19-2 record.

Wilson took the 170-pound title, and he now has an 18-2 record.

▪ On the girls side, Toppenish scored 211 points to win the Winter Cup team title. Sunnyside finished third with 137 points, while Richland was the best-placing Tri-City team with 136 points for fourth.

Chiawana’s Alanna Haney earned the 140-pound championship, and her record sits at 13-1.

Royal got a pair of individual titles with Alondra Morales (145 pounds) and Emma Villa (170).

▪ In the latest all-classification girls state rankings posted by Washingtonwrestlingreport.com, Haney, Morales and Villa are all ranked No. 1 at their weight classes.

Sunnyside’s Alexxus Ramos is ranked No. 2 at 115 pounds.

Notes

▪ Connell senior Cade Clyde announced last week that he’s committing to play football for Weber State University. Clyde is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end/tight end.

▪ Othello senior Analee Coronado surpassed the 1,000-point career mark on Dec. 28 in a 52-42 loss to the Warden girls. Coronado recently committed to playing for the Central Washington University women’s basketball team next year.