Mid-Columbia sports briefs for Feb. 23: Saturday’s state regional quadrupleheader moved to Richland HS

Saturday’s four WIAA state regional basketball games originally scheduled to be played at Sunnyside High School have been moved to the Richland High gym.

The game times will remain the same. Touchet and Sunnyside Christian will meet in a Class 1B girls matchup at noon, and the Sunnyside Christian boys will face Lummi Nation at 2 p.m. The Kamiakin boys will face Lincoln of Tacoma in a 3A showdown at 4 p.m., and the Kamiakin girls will close out the day of hoops with a 6 p.m. game against Columbia River of Vancouver.

All-day ticket prices are $11 for adults and $8 for seniors (62 and over) and students (children ages 5-11 and students 12 and over with valid school ASB card). Kamiakin students with ID will pay $5.

HomeStreet Bank to sponsor Miss Madison hydroplane

HomeStreet Bank will sponsor the defending national H1 Unlimited champion Miss Madison hydroplane for the 2016 season.

The sponsorship of the former Oh! Boy Oberto boat was announced Saturday during the H1 Unlimited 2015 Awards Banquet in Seattle. The boat will be called Miss HomeStreet.

“We are thrilled to be sponsoring an H-1 Unlimited team again this year and even more thrilled to sponsor Miss Madison,” HomeStreet CEO and President Mark Mason said in a news release. “It will race this year for our customers in Seattle, the Tri-Cities and San Diego — communities where we do business and communities that we are proud to serve.”

The series also has scheduled stops in Madison, Ind., and Detroit.

The Miss Madison team has competed since 1961. Last year in the Tri-Cities, Jimmy Shane drove the hydroplane to the APBA Gold Cup title.

College swimming

Seattle University senior Nick Connors (Richland) and sophomore Will Wertz (Hanford) will race this week at the WAC Swimming & Diving Championships in Houston. The meet starts today.

Connors will try to break into the top eight in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle. He has finished ninth in the event the past two years and is seeded 14th (16:26.08) on the WAC championship psych sheet.

Connors also is entered in the 200 and 500 free. Wertz is entered in the 50, 100 and 200 free.

▪ Biola University sophomore Lisa Tixier broke older sister Christine’s school record in the 50 freestyle earlier this month, when she swam a 23.70 on the leadoff leg for the fourth-place 200 free relay at the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships in Monterey Park, Calif. That was four-hundredths of a second faster than Christine’s 50 free at the 2014 NAIA National Championships.

Lisa Tixier was second in the 100 freestyle (51.18), sixth in the 100 butterfly (56.13) and ninth in the 200 individual medley (2:04.84) at the PCSC championships.

College tennis

Trent Prussing (Richland) won the deciding singles match Saturday to lead Linfield College to a 5-4 victory over University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Prussing won the No. 2 singles match, beating Daniel Deuel 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.

College basketball

Two former Mid-Columbia basketball players were named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team.

Central Washington’s Melanie Valdez (Chiawana) and Northwest Nazarene’s CoCo Gall (Hanford) were honored Tuesday.

For Valdez, a senior majoring in clinical physiology, it was her third appearance on the team.

For the men, Seattle Pacific’s Bryce Leavitt (Kennewick) was honored. Leavitt is a senior majoring in political science.

To qualify for the GNAC All-Academic teams, a student-athlete must be in their sophomore year of eligibility with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better.

Golf

Kristin Strankman (Richland) tied for 23rd with a three-round total of 10-over-par 226 (75-74-77) as the University of Idaho women’s golf team finished 12th at the Gold Rush in Seal Beach, Calif.

“Kristin and Michelle (Kim, who shot 229 and tied for 38th) showed improvement from last week, and we are extremely happy with their overall games,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said in a news release. “Putting is such a significant part of the game, and we need to find ways to overcome our current struggles on the greens.”

The Vandals combined for a three-round total of 70-over 934. USC (1-under 863) won the tournament, while Gonzaga (41-over 905) was sixth and Boise State (48-over 912) was seventh.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia sports briefs for Feb. 23: Saturday’s state regional quadrupleheader moved to Richland HS."