Website gives kudos to top Benton County female athletes of all time

Todd Milles is a former longtime prep sports editor of the Tacoma News Tribune who left that newspaper a few years ago.

But that hasn’t stopped Milles from writing about sports. Together with Andy Buhler and former Gonzaga University basketball star Dan Dickau, they all have covered high school sports around the state with their website, Scorebook Live Washington, the past few years.

It’s not just a western Washington thing. They both hit Eastside schools on a consistent basis.

One of their projects during the coronavirus lockdown has been fun. They’ve been listing the best male and female athletes of each county around the state.

Benton County’s top female athletes has been the first story released about the Mid-Columbia.

They talked to fans, coaches, media and local historians, got their input, then put the list together.

Each story starts with the top four as sort of a Mount Rushmore, then goes into the others deserving mention.

Here are the first four in Benton County:

• Prosser High grad Kelly Blair LaBounty, who was a heptathlete in the Summer Olympics;

• Kennewick High grad Leilani Mitchell, who has played professional basketball in the WNBA and overseas for years;

• Richland High graduate Hope Solo, an Olympian and professional soccer player who at one time the best women’s goalkeeper in the world;

• Tondi Redden von Oelhoffen, a Kamiakin grad, who played women’s college basketball at the University of Hawaii.

The remaining nine athletes that deserved mention are Tori Baker, Hanford basketball; Lisa Bratton, Richland swimmer; McKenzie Burgess, Kiona-Benton volleyball and track; Meotis Erikson, Kamiakin soccer; Ellie Heiden, Kamiakin track; Kelly Keve, Hanford soccer; Chelsea McClammer, Richland Paralympian; Emily Faurholt Sann, Kennewick basketball; and April Utecht, Richland softball.

The stories will continue on into the summer, with Benton County males, and males and females from Franklin County.

Perkins leaves KNDU

Cooper Perkins, who has been the sports director at KNDU and SWX Sports the past two years, has left the station and headed back to his Los Angeles area family home.

His contract with the station was set to expire this summer, and he didn’t opt to re-sign with the station.

Perkins’ last day was last Friday.

He’ll announce in the near future what his plans are.

I worked with him both in the booth during live high school sports events, and with the weekly Prep Countdown show we did on SWX.

He was a joy to work with, and he’s very talented as a play-by-play man. His future is bright.

Bean earns major award

Former Tri-City American Jake Bean was named the American Hockey League’s top defenseman last week, winning the Eddie Shore Award.

Bean, who plays for the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, scored 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) in 59 games this past season for the Checkers. That was tops among all AHL defensemen.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Bean was also named to the AHL’s first team all-star unit.

Bean, 21, earned the Eddie Shore Award by a vote among league coaches, players, and members of the media who cover the league.

Other notes and college signings

• Northwest Christian University in Eugene has changed its name for the coming school year. It will now be called Bushnell University.

• Talia Borrego, a senior at Hermiston, will wrestle this winter for Eastern Oregon University’s women.

• Chiawana junior Cameron Breier is starting to pick up more college football offers.

Breier, a speedy linebacker, received an offer a few weeks ago from the Air Force Academy.

Last week, the University of San Diego and Valparaiso also extended offers.

But Breier already has announced that Air Force will be his school of choice.

• Jazmin Deike, a senior at Hermiston, plans to wrestle for the Eastern Oregon University women’s team.

• Stanfield senior Kaitlyn Lemmon has signed a letter of intent to wrestle for the Eastern Oregon University women’s team.

• Grace Nelson, a senior at Hanford, will be wrestling for the Corban University women’s team this coming winter.

• Emilio Ramos (Grandview/CBC) has signed to compete for the Arizona Christian University men’s wrestling team.

• Nayeli Roque, a senior at Walla Walla High School, will be wrestling for the Eastern Oregon University women’s team this winter.

• Chiawana senior Tyson Stover will be wrestling for the Corban University men next winter.

• Sunnyside senior Lourdes Torres has signed a letter of intent to wrestle for the Eastern Oregon University women this coming winter.

• Chiawana senior Robby Vaughn will continue his wrestling career at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. That’s where Southridge grad Mikael Failor just finished his freshman season.

• Chiawana senior Evan Wagner has signed a letter of intent to play baseball next spring for Columbia Basin College.

• Grace Wilbur (Kamiakin/CBC) will continue her women’s collegiate golf career with Lewis-Clark State after signing with the Warriors.

• Megan Wilkinson (Pasco) just finished her second season of women’s soccer at Spokane Community College. She’s transferring to the College of Idaho, where she’ll continue to play soccer.

• Taylen Wohl (WWCC) is transferring to Eastern Oregon University this fall to continue playing women’s soccer.

• Jada Wyms (WWCC) will be playing volleyball this fall for Lewis-Clark State College.

• Dillon Young (Walla Walla CC) has committed to continuing his men’s college basketball career at Life Pacific University this coming winter.