Cardinals qualify eight to nationals
DES MOINES, Wash. - North Idaho College claimed its 10th straight Region 18 wrestling championship on Saturday at Highline Community College, defeating Clackamas by 19.5 points to win its 35th regional title overall.
Former Lakeland standout Kyle McCrite (125), Stevie Vasquez (174), Celic Bell (184), Kamron Jackson (197) and Roger McCovey (285) won regional titles for North Idaho. Jesse Nielsen (165) from Coeur d'Alene High finished second to also qualify for nationals for NIC.
McKray Jones (149) and Joey Pieroti (157) received wild-card selections to nationals for North Idaho.
“It’s mixed emotions,” NIC coach Pat Whitcomb said. “It’s always great to win a regional title. It was a tight race up until the finals, but we had a great performance in the finals to get it done.”
Gabe Miranda (133) and Nick Harris (141) failed to qualify for nationals after finishing fourth and not receiving a wild-card bid.
“I’m disappointed for Nick and Gabe,” Whitcomb said. “I know they gave it their best, but we’ve got to gear it up with our eight and go back to Des Moines and mix it up.”
The NJCAA tournament will be held Feb. 26-27 in Des Moines, Iowa.
TEAM SCORES — 1. North Idaho 94.5. 2. Clackamas 75. 3. Highline 66.5. 4. Southwest Oregon 60. 5. Yakima Valley 34.
NIC PLACING MATCHES
125 — Kyle McCrite, NIC, d. Justin Purbis, HL, 4-2. (championship)
133 — Gabe Miranda, NIC, d. George Mendez, YV, 3-0. (fourth place)
141 — Nick Harris, NIC, md. Nick Schmidt, HL, 11-3. (fourth place)
149 — Jack Culvert, YV, p. McKray Jones, 4:59. (third-fourth place)
157 — Jesse Chun, SO, d. Joey Pieroti, 6-4. (third-fourth place)
165 — Jake McCoy, SO, d. Jesse Nielsen, 5-1 (championship)
174 — Stevie Vasquez, NIC, p. Jake Morris, Clack, 6:27 (championship)
184 — Celic Bell, NIC, p. Brandon Jackson, Clack, 1:15 (championship)
197 — Kamron Jackson, NIC, d. Darren Faber, HL, 6-2 (championship)
285 — Roger McCovey, NIC, md. Kyle Stults, YV, 14-4 (championship)
n MEN’S BASKETBALL
Salt Lake 82
North Idaho 80
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake forward Collin Chiverton scored 27 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the 3-point line as the Bruins defeated the eighth-ranked Cardinals in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game at Bruin Arena.
North Idaho trailed by 15 points with 7:49 remaining before rallying to cut it to 81-80 with 12 seconds remaining. Darian Norris hit two free throws with nine seconds remaining and the Bruins (20-6, 11-5) were able to hold on after a 3-point attempt from Michael Hale, followed by a jumper from BJ Shearry went in and out to give the Bruins a win.
“Michael had a good look, but it went in and out,” North Idaho coach Jared Phay said. “It was one of those games that went down to the wire. Salt Lake did what they needed to do. We’ve still got a lead in the league — but it’s tough to be happy after a loss.”
Hale finished with 25 points and six assists for the Cardinals (22-4, 12-4 SWAC), who remain one game ahead of Salt Lake.
North Idaho travels to Southern Idaho on Friday and Saturday. NIC then wraps up the regular season at home vs. Eastern Utah on Feb. 25 and vs. Colorado Northwestern on Feb. 27.
NORTH IDAHO
Renado Parker 0-4 0-0 0, Michael Hale 7-13 4-6 25, Logan Jones 1-3 2-2 5, BJ Shearry 5-7 4-4 14, Guy-Marc Michel 1-2 1-2 3, DeAndre Taylor 0-0 2-2 2, Idell Bell 3-7 3-3 10, Nick Fromm 1-5 0-0 3, Taylor Stevens 5-10 5-8 19. Totals 23-51 21-27 80.
SALT LAKE
Darian Norris 4-8 2-4 11, Wil Carter 3-8 0-0 6, Jake Dastrup 3-6 0-0 8, Sol Jensen 2-6 5-6 9, Collin Chiverton 9-18 3-4 27, Craig Cusick 0-0 2-2 2, Josh Hayward-Mayhew 1-6 2-4 4, LeSean Wilcox 3-8 5-6 12, Tommy Barrett 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 26-61 20-28 82.
Halftime — SLCC 43-33. 3-point goals — NIC 13-25 (Hale 7-10, Jones 1-3, Bell 1-4, Fromm 0-1, Stevens 4-7), SLCC 10-24 (Norris 1-5, Dastrup 2-2, Jensen 0-1, Chiverton 6-11, Wilcox 1-5). Rebounds — NIC 33 (Shearry 10), SLCC 36 (Hayward-Mayhew 12). Assists — NIC 14 (Hale 6), SLCC 20 (Norris 8). Team fouls — NIC 21, SLCC 22. Fouled out — Carter. Technical fouls — Chiverton.
n WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Salt Lake 72
North Idaho 61
SALT LAKE CITY — Haley Holmstead scored 30 points to lead the fifth-ranked Bruins (20-5, 12-4 SWAC) past the No. 17 Cardinals (21-4, 12-4) at Bruin Arena to pull the teams even in the SWAC standings.
“There wasn’t a lot of energy on the court today for either team,” NIC coach Chris Carlson said. “We got a little bit of a lead early in the second half, but we just didn’t have a lot of energy.”
Katie Sanders was 7 of 8 from the field for 19 points and seven rebounds and Tugce Canitez had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals.
North Idaho was 0 for 15 from beyond the 3-point line.
“We had a good inside presence, but just couldn’t get a shot to drop,” Carlson said. “We’ve played this series four times and split each time, losing in the second game each time.”
North Idaho travels to Southern Idaho on Friday and Saturday.
NORTH IDAHO
Chantel Divilbiss 0-4 0-0 0, Camille Reynolds 4-10 1-1 9, Amy Warbrick 3-8 3-4 9, Kiki Edwards-Teasley 1-6 0-0 2, Kama Griffitts 0-6 2-4 2, Katie Sanders 7-8 5-6 19, Sadie Lazzarini 2-6 1-2 5, Amanda Carlton 0-3 0-0 0, Tugce Canitez 6-12 3-4 15. Totals 23-63 15-21 61.
SALT LAKE
Erin Rockwood 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Holmstead 11-23 7-7 30, Dayna Burgess 2-4 0-0 4, Sheila Adams 1-3 0-0 2, Vanna Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Mina Jovanovic 4-6 1-2 9, Kelsey Sparkman 3-4 2-4 8, Marcilina Grayer 0-1 0-0 0, Allie Blake 3-4 7-9 13, Arnie Jensen 1-1 0-0 2, Jamie Mokofisi 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 26-50 19-24 72.
Halftime — Tied 30-30. 3-point goals — NIC 0-15 (Divilbiss 0-2, Reynolds 0-2, Warbrick 0-3, Edwards-Teasley 0-2, Griffitts 0-2, Lazzarini 0-3, Carlton 0-1), SLCC 1-5 (Holmstead 1-3, Burgess 0-1, Adams 0-1). Rebounds — NIC 31 (Canitez 11), SLCC 38 (Sparkman 11). Assists — NIC 11 (Griffitts 3), SLCC 13 (Holmstead 4). Total fouls — NIC 20, SLCC 15. Fouled out — Edwards-Teasley.
n SOFTBALL
North Idaho 5-8
Snow 2-7
ST. GEORGE, Utah — North Idaho scored eight unanswered runs in the second game to sweep a doubleheader with Snow College (3-9, 0-4 Scenic West Athletic Conference).
Lauren Maloney hit a two-run home run in a five-run third inning for the Cardinals in the first game. Alyssa Erickson had three strikeouts in a complete-game win.
North Idaho (8-8, 5-3) rallied from a 7-0 deficit after the top of the first inning in the second game to score the next eight runs for the win.
Amanda Krier and Shelby Gonzales each hit home runs for North Idaho in the nightcap, with Gonzales’ three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth putting the Cardinals ahead to stay.
North Idaho faces Colorado Northwestern today and Monday in doubleheaders in St. George.
FIRST GAME
Snow 100 010 0 — 2 6 1
North Idaho 005 000 x — 5 7 1
Heather Black and Jennifer Stanley; Alyssa Erickson and Renae Kimbell and Shelby Gonzales. W — Erickson. L — Black.
HITS: Snow — Hyland, Mangleson 2, Mendes, Gardner 2. NIC — Hawley, Maloney 2, Ross, Hartnett, Gonzales, Stark. 2B — Mangleson, Gardner. HR — Maloney.
SECOND GAME
Snow 700 000 0 — 7 5 0
North Idaho 302 030 x — 8 10 2
McKenzie Hatch, Heather Gardner (3) and Jennifer Stanley; Kathy Comack, Jessica Ross (1) and Shelby Gonzales. W — Ross. L — Gardner.
HITS: Snow — Minniear, Grifith, Taylor, Mendes, Stanley. NIC — Hawley, Maloney, Krier, Hartnett 2, Ross, Plenger, Gonzales, Springer. 2B — Minniear, Taylor. HR — Stanley, Krier, Gonzales.