Mid-Columbia sports briefs for Monday, Feb. 8

WSU baseball visits Tri-Cities on May 17

The Washington State baseball team will continue making its annual trip to the Tri-Cities this spring when the Cougars take on Gonzaga on Tuesday, May 17, at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.

WSU has a pair of former Kennewick players on the roster: sophomore catcher/outfielder J.J. Hancock and junior infielder/outfielder Trek Stemp.

Stemp redshirted last season but started 36 games as a sophomore and 37 as a freshman. Hancock started nine games as a freshman and played in 32.

The Zags also have a Kennewick product in junior infielder Jarod Gonzales, who redshirted last season after two outstanding seasons at Walla Walla Community College.

The Cougars have played eight games in the Tri-Cities since 2011, including a three-game series with Washington and a single game against Portland in 2013. They are 3-5 at Gesa, with all three wins against Portland.

Coleman leads big weekend for EWU track and field teams

Eastern Washington senior Kaytlyn Coleman, a former Kennewick High standout, set a school record of 66 feet, 5 3/4 inches in the women’s weight throw during Friday’s Big Sky Conference meet against Montana, Sacramento State and host Montana State.

Coleman’s winning mark broke the EWU record of 65-9 set by Nicole Luckenbach in 2010. It also placed her fifth on the Big Sky Top Ten list and gave her the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse record.

Coleman also won the shot put with a season-best throw of 47-9.

Several other Tri-City athletes starred for EWU in Bozeman. Larry Still (Richland) won the men’s pole vault with a mark of 16-4 3/4, third on EWU’s all-time list. Macey Weitz (Richland) and Aaron Cunningham (Hanford) hit qualifying marks for the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships later this month in Bozeman. Weitz cleared 12-5 1/2 — good for third place — in the women’s pole vault, and Cunningham had a second-place throw of 53-5 3/4 in the men’s shot put.

Benson starts fast for WWU softball

Emily Benson (Kamiakin) is off to a strong start with the Western Washington softball team.

The sophomore first baseman hit a game-tying, three-run homer Sunday in a 7-4 win over Regis in the Desert Stinger Softball Classic in Las Vegas.

In five games at the Desert Classic, Benton hit .294 (5-for-17) with two homers and six RBIs.

Three other area girls also are on the squad: Kamiakin’s Carlie and Cylie Richards and Connell’s McKenna Mathis. Carlie Richards is 1-for-5 with a double in four games, including two starts, while Cylie Richards is 1-for-4 in four games (three starts) and Mathis 0-for-2 in three games.

Mayfield second at WSU indoor

Whitworth senior Scott Mayfield (Richland) placed second in the weight throw at the Cougar Indoor at Washington State over the weekend.

His throw of 55 feet, 3 inches ranked in the top 15 nationally in NCAA Division III.

At the same meet, WSU freshman Lindsey Schauble (Kamiakin) finished third in the pentathlon with 3,322 points. She set personal records in three of the five events.

Tri-City athletes excel in snowshoes

A trio of Tri-Citians placed among the best in their divisions at the Western Pleasure Snowshoe Race in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Jan. 30.

Kennewick’s Brian Shur won the 5-kilometer race in 33 minutes, 18 seconds. Richland’s Phillip Buser placed second in 43:10.

Pasco’s Jennifer Comfort was third in the women’s 10K in 1:02.53 and was the ninth finisher overall.

Sunnyside’s Meza signs with Seattle U

Sunnyside’s Noe Meza has signed to play soccer at Seattle University.

Meza nothced 35 goals and 25 assists in his career with the Grizzlies and was a Big Nine Conference first-teamer the past three seasons.

Hawkinson, Sabonis are on Abdul-Jabbar finalists list

Washington State junior Josh Hawkinson and Gonzaga sophomore Domantas Sabonis are among 10 finalists for the 2016 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award.

Sabonis is averaging 17.3 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

Hawkinson is the Pac-12 leader and fifth in the nation with 16 double-doubles in 21 games. He’s averaging 15.9 points and 11 rebounds per game.

The list will be pared to five in March, and a winner will be announced April 8.

Herald staff

and news services

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia sports briefs for Monday, Feb. 8."