Northwest Notes, May 3, 2014
Two new champions to
be crowned at Bloomsday
SPOKANE - Last year's Bloomsday champion, Belete Assefa, won't be returning this spring, but 2011 champion Simon Ndirangu will, and so will 2012 winner Allan Kiprono, together with a talented group of international stars who have their sights set on the Bloomsday crown for Sunday's race.
And in the women's race, last year's champion Buzunesh Deba will pass on defending her crown as she recovers from a blistering 2:19:59 runner-up performance at the recent Boston Marathon. Her absence will open the way for a new champion from among a talented women's field, one of the strongest in Bloomsday history.
Top Americans will be Aaron Braun and Shadrack Biwott. Braun is the 2013 U.S. Road Racing champion, and Biwott recently represented the U.S. at the World Half Marathon Championships.
In the women's race, American Janet Cherobon-Bawcom was considered to be a favorite given her second place showing in 2012 and a recent American record set at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile, but she has had to withdraw due to a foot injury sustained in a recent workout. Even so, the women's race promises to be hotly contested, with 2014 World's Best 10K champion Mary Wacera of Kenya, and three-time Bloomsday champion Lineth Chepkurui, who won last summer's AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, two of the leading contenders.
Nearly $100,000 in prize money is offered, including a $10,000 purse for the top male and female Americans who finish in the top 25. A field of nearly 50,000 runners, joggers and walkers are expected to have entered by the time registration closes this evening. Procrastinators will have until 6:30 tonight to sign up.
Locals on roster for Shadow,
which open tonight
The Spokane Shadow announced a large contingent of its player pool in preparation for the team's season opener in the Evergreen Premier League vs. Bellingham United tonight at 7 p.m. at the newly-renovated Spokane Falls Community College stadium.
Those named to the 18-man roster for tonight's game for the Shadow include Christian Botuli and Adam Talley from North Idaho College.
Roos named
Sandpoint volleyball coach
SANDPOINT - Erin (McGovern) Roos, a standout setter at Sandpoint High and the University of Michigan in the early 90's, has been named volleyball coach at Sandpoint.
Roos was never able to win a state title while at Sandpoint, and is hoping to rectify that now that she is coaching.
"My senior year we were runner up to Bonneville, and it's been bugging me for the last 20 years," admitted Roos. "So I guess I'll have to get a state championship coaching."
Roos has coached many of the current players at the club level in recent years.
Sandpoint girls hoops coach
Bender steps down
SANDPOINT - Due to the health of a family member, Sandpoint girls basketball coach Bill Bender recently tendered his resignation.
Bender had a highly-successful two-year stint guiding the program, taking the Bulldogs to state this year for the first time in 10 years. Sandpoint won its first regional title since 1982.
Bender is currently spending time in the midwest, where his mother in law fell ill. Along with the recent resignation of boys coach Tyler Haynes, both the boys and girls basketball head coaching jobs are currently open.
WSU nonconference schedules
now complete through 2018
PULLMAN - Washington State athletic director Bill Moos announced the Cougars' nonconference football schedules have been filled through the 2018 season.
WSU will play seven home games in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018, with six home games on the 2015 schedule. Dating back to the start of the 2000 season, the Cougars have played seven home games in a season, including The Seattle Game, just three times, the most recent coming in 2008.
In addition to the nonconference games through 2018, WSU also has BYU (2019) and Wisconsin (2022, 2023) on future schedules.
The Cougars open their season Thursday, Aug. 28 against Rutgers in The Seattle Game at CenturyLink Field.
The Cougars nonconference schedules through the 2018 season follow.
2014 - Aug. 28, vs. Rutgers (Seattle). Sept. 6, at Nevada. Sept. 13, vs. Portland State.
2015 - Sept. 5, vs. Portland State. Sept. 12, at Rutgers. Sept. 19, vs. Wyoming.
2016 - Sept. 3, vs. Eastern Washington. Sept. 10, at Boise State. Sept. 17, vs. Idaho
2017 - Sept. 2, vs. Nevada. Sept. 9, vs. Boise State. Sept. 16, vs. Montana State.
2018 - Sept. 1, at Wyoming. Sept. 8, vs. San Jose State. Sept. 15, vs. Eastern Washington.
Assistant Chris Haslam
remains on MSU hoops staff
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - New Montana State men's basketball coach Brian Fish is keeping assistant Chris Haslam, who joined the MSU coaching staff last year.
Fish says Haslam's work ethic, knowledge of the game and overseas recruiting ties all help the team.
Haslam is from Southport, England, and played basketball at Wyoming from 1993-97. He played professionally in Europe for 13 years before becoming a coach. He came to MSU from Lamar Community College in Colorado.
Fish says Haslam's playing and coaching experience gives him credibility with the team's post players.
Point guard Marcus Colbert, the former Post Falls High standout, recently completed his sophomore season playing at Montana State.
Chiefs trade for
goaltender Moodie
SPOKANE - The Spokane Chiefs announced the acquisition of 19-year-old goaltender Alex Moodie from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for a future draft selection.
"We feel Garret Hughson has earned the opportunity to be a starter in the WHL and if Alex Moodie can regain the form he showed as a young goaltender, we'll have two capable starting goaltenders," Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said. "We also expect Tyson Verhelst is ready to make the jump to the WHL, so we have good depth and competition for our goaltending position."
In exchange for the goaltender, Spokane will send its 2016 fourth-round WHL Bantam Draft selection to Saskatoon.
Moodie was Saskatoon's fifth round (108th overall) selection in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft.
Lewiston High boys,
girls hoop coaches resign
LEWISTON - Lewiston High now has openings for both of its varsity basketball coaches, after Bengals boys coach Corey Williams resigned earlier this week after five seasons.
Earlier this spring, Pat Teichmer stepped down as Lewiston girls coach.
Williams, who is in his first year as the Bengals' interim AD, told the Lewiston Tribune he worried he was spreading himself "too thin."
"I officially resigned and I'm looking at becoming the full-time athletic director," said Williams, who added that his ascension to full-time AD has already been approved by the Lewiston school board, but that the decision is still pending at the state level.
Lewiston's boys went 5-17 last season.
Spokane native Clinesmith
joins Gonzaga women's staff
SPOKANE - Stacy Clinesmith, former WNBA veteran and Spokane native, has been hired as an assistant women's basketball coach, Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier announced.
Clinesmith, who joins Jordan Green as members of Fortier's coaching staff, comes to Gonzaga after three seasons as an assistant coach at Santa Clara.
Clinesmith began her coaching career in the collegiate ranks serving as Oregon State's Director of Basketball Operations in 2008-09 and went on to become the assistant coach at Central Washington in 2010-11.
Clinesmith starred at Mead High and at UC Santa Barbara.
After her collegiate career, Clinesmith was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in the second round of the 2000 WNBA Draft and spent two seasons playing for Sacramento before joining the Detroit Shock in 2002. She went on to play with the Springfield Sprint of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) and the Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico.