Mid-Columbia athletes set sights on Summer Olympics in Tokyo. One already has a spot
As we get closer to the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, there are some area athletes who are attempting to make Olympic teams.
The one person who has already done so is Kennewick High graduate Leilani Mitchell, who was named last month to the Australian women’s basketball team, better known as the Opals.
Mitchell holds dual citizenship as an American and Australian, and when she’s not playing for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, she’s living in Australia and playing in that country’s women’s professional league, the WNBL.
Meanwhile, Richland High grad Lisa Bratton is in the middle of the USA’s swimming trials.
Competing in both the women’s 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, Bratton made it through the first round and semifinal round of the 100 meters event — with the final set for the night of Tuesday, June 15 in Omaha, Neb.
She will begin competition later this week in the 200 backstroke, where Swimming Magazine named her as a possible surprise qualifier in that event to make the team.
The USA Track and Field Trials begins its 10-day run in Eugene starting Thursday.
Pasco High grad Marisa Howard will be competing in the women’s 3000 steeplechase. Howard, who competed collegiately for Boise State University and was a member of the USA’s Pan American Games team a few years ago, has the sixth fastest time in the nation going into the event.
Finally, BYU junior Ashton Riner, a Connell High grad, enters the women’s javelin event with the sixth best throw in the country.
Basketball
▪ The Mid-Columbia Conference basketball season finishes up this week, with regular-sea salon games June 15-16.
Then, the culminating events occur Friday and Saturday a various sites.
On Friday, the top four teams in the standings will play, with the top seed hosting No. 4, and No. 2 hosting No. 3.
Winners will then meet Saturday at the higher seeded team’s gym.
The same setup occurs for the fifth through eighth-place teams, with No. 5 playing host to No. 8 on Friday, and No. 7 visiting No. 6 on the same day.
Winners meet Saturday at the higher seed; losers also meet Saturday at the higher seed.
The No. 9 teams in both boys and girls basketball will have their seasons end early.
▪ Kamiakin senior Messiah Jones set a school record last week when he grabbed 22 rebounds in a single game. Jones set the record in a 76-45 win over Hanford on June 8.
Braves Coach Brian Meneely says Jones is just 13 rebounds away from setting the career rebounding record for the school.
Jones will have two regular-season games this week to get there — Tuesday at Richland, and hosting Southridge on Wednesday — plus two more culminating event games this coming weekend.
Jones is headed to Eastern Washington University to play football in the fall.
▪ Kennewick’s Madeline Gebers joined the 1,000-point club June 10, in a 49-39 victory over Hermiston.
Gebers now has 1,027 career points for the Lions.
The senior is headed to Spokane Community College in the fall, where she’s scheduled to try something that’s rarely been done: play three sports.
Gebers will play volleyball, basketball and track and field for the Sasquatch.
Baseball
▪ Western Oregon pitcher Mike Peterson (Walla Walla Community College) and Central Washington University infielder Zach Berryman (WWCC) were both named to the first team of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball team.
Peterson went 6-0 with a 3.31 ERA, while Berryman hit a sizzling .409, with a homer and 20 RBIs for the Wildcats.
Three others from this area were named to the second team: NNU outfielder Ryan Dearing (Kamiakin/Columbia Basin College), Montana State University Billings utility player Carson Green (Kamiakin/WWCC), and CWU third baseman Mitch Lesmeister (Walla Walla High School).
Green hit .268 with 4 homers and 22 RBIs for MSUB, while Lesmeister hit .364 with 35 RBIs for Central.
▪ Whitman’s baseball team finished the season with a 20-20 record, and senior pitcher Dexter Aichele was 3-3 with a 3.97 earned run average. Aichele was named second-team All-Northwest Conference.
▪ Montana State University Billings has signed Walla Walla Community College pitcher Mike Ouwehand, who will begin playing for the team next spring.
Track and field
CWU’s Austin Albertin (Kennewick) ran the lead anchor leg for the men’s winning 4x400 relay team May 1 at the WWU Invite. The winning time was 3:24.62.
Albertin, a junior, also placed third in the men’s 400 hurdles at 55.85 seconds.
Soccer
Jessica Macias (Wahluke) was second on the Blue Mountain Community College women’s soccer team in scoring this spring. She had 6 points (2 goals, 2 assists) for the 4-5 Timberwolves.
Wrestling
Wrestlers from all nine MCC schools will get together at Richland High School at noon Wednesday for a final tournament, for both boys and girls.
Bowling
On Thursday, the top four girls bowling teams will compete at noon at Spare Time Lanes in Kennewick.
The fifth through eighth place teams will meet at the same time at Atomic Bowl in Richland.
Everyone will roll three games, with total pin count the determining factor as to who wins.
This story was originally published June 15, 2021 at 12:58 PM.