NORTHWEST NOTES: Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Clifford, Hawkinson,
Iroegbu to return to WSU
PULLMAN — Washington State men’s basketball seniors Conor Clifford, Josh Hawkinson and Ike Iroegbu have withdrawn their names from the NBA Draft and will return for their senior seasons, they each announced Tuesday.
“I’m happy that Josh, Ike and Conor all had the opportunity to explore the NBA and the draft process,” WSU coach Ernie Kent said. “I think it’s going to not only give them, but also their teammate, Charles Callison, an excellent feel for what they need to do during the off-season and this upcoming basketball season, that’ll put them in the best position to play at the next level.”
The trio declared for the draft in early April, but didn’t hire agents. Men’s basketball student-athletes are afforded the opportunity to put their name into the draft process, but maintain their collegiate eligibility as long as they don’t hire an agent. The NBA Draft Combine ran May 11-15, and players who did not hire agents have 10 days following the combine’s conclusion to make a final decision to return to school or remain in the draft.
Hawkinson, a 6-foot-10 forward, led the team in scoring and rebounding, while leading the Pac-12 and ranking 11th in the nation with 11.1 rebounds per game in 2015-16. A native of Sacramento, Calif., Iroegbu was the only Cougar to start all 31 games in 2015-16 and has started 61 of WSU’s 62 games over the last two seasons. The 6-foot-2 guard led WSU and ranked 11th in the Pac-12 with 3.6 assists per game as a junior in 2015-16.
In just one season with the Cougars, Clifford averaged 6.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while shooting at a .640 (89-for-139) clip.
With Clifford, Hawkinson and Iroegbu returning, WSU returns seven letterwinners and three starters from last season’s team, including four of its top five scorers from 2015-16, bringing back 67 percent of its scoring and 68 percent of its assists.
NIC signs Meyer
to wrestling team
Trey Meyer, a two-time Washington state finalist and Tri-State Invitational champion from East Valley High in Spokane, has signed to wrestle at North Idaho College in the fall, Cardinals coach Pat Whitcomb announced.
Meyer, a four-time state placeer, was also a USA Wrestling Magazine All-American and Fargo National Champion during his prep career. Whitcomb said Meyer would likely wrestle at 149 pounds at NIC.
“Trey will be an immediate contender to win a national title,” Whitcomb said. “It is great to have another local wrestler with a huge following. After watching Trey grow up wrestling, it is awesome to have him join the team next year.”
L-C State seeded fourth;
NAIA World Series begins Friday
LEWISTON — Although the Lewis-Clark State College baseball team has known it would be making its 35th appearance in the Avista-NAIA World Series, what wasn’t known was what the Warriors’ seed would be and who they’d face, however, those questions were answered when the NAIA released the official bracket.
Lewis-Clark State finished the regular season ranked fourth in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll and received the same seed in the tournament. LCSC will square off against The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The Drovers will be making their first trip to Lewiston as the fifth seed.
The Warriors and Drovers will meet on opening night, Friday at 7 p.m. following the opening ceremonies celebrating 25 years at Harris Field and the 60th annual NAIA World Series.
The winner of Friday’s contest will receive a bye to Monday, at 6:30 pm. with the loser falling into the loser’s bracket of the 10-team, double elimination tournament and play on Saturday at noon.
LCSC is seeking national championship number 18 and look to become back-to-back champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2006-08. Bellevue (Neb.), Faulkner (Ala.) and Tennessee Wesleyan have each won one title while Point (Ga.) joins USAO as newcomers to the event.
The Warriors enter the event with a record of 48-7, tied for fourth best in the Series with Bellevue leading all teams with 51 victories.
First pitch of the NAIA World Series, the 25th at Harris Field, is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, and pits seventh-seeded Sterling (Kan.) vs. 10-seed Point.
See tourney schedule in Scoreboard.
Information: www.naiaworldseries.com.
Figure skating event
coming to Frontier Ice Arena
The Spokane Figure Skating Club will host the 26th annual Lake City Classic figure skating competition Friday and Saturday at Frontier Ice Arena.
Early morning test and practice sessions will start at noon Friday. The event commences at 1 p.m. with a flag ceremony. More than 100 skaters of all ages representing figure skating clubs from around the Northwest will compete in various events.
The Lake City Classic is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating and Skate Canada, the official track for skaters advancing to national and Olympic events, such as the 2010 national championships that was held in Spokane in January 2010.
Admission is free and the event is open to the public. Medals are awarded following each event. In addition, three artistic awards will be presented to event participants.
Information: www.spokanefigureskating.org, www.frontiericearena.org.
WSU men’s basketball to play
two-year series with K-State
Washington State’s men’s basketball team has reached a two-year agreement to play Kansas State beginning with a Dec. 10, 2016, meeting at the Sprint Center at Kansas City, the two schools announced Monday. The return contest will take place at Spokane Arena on Dec. 20, 2017.
It was announced earlier in May that WSU will take on Creighton in the first round of the 2016 Paradise Jam, Friday, Nov. 18. Washington State’s complete nonconference schedule will be announced at a later date.
WSU to induct seven
into Athletic Hall of Fame
Washington State will induct a seven-member class into its Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 16-17, 2016, WSU athletic director Bill Moos announced Tuesday.
The honorees will join the current 206 members of the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction dinner will be held Sept. 16 at the Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane with the 2016 class also being recognized at the Washington State-Idaho football game in Pullman the following day. More information on Hall of Fame Weekend will be released later this summer. For more information, contact Bridget Slaybaugh at 509-335-0220 or bslaybaugh@wsu.edu.
The list of seven inductees for the 2016 class includes:
Marv Chamberlain (baseball, 1970-74): Hit .383 with 16 homes runs during his senior season, which was capped by being named an ABCA/Rawlings First-Team All-American as an outfielder…he broke or tied 10 school records during that season, including games played (159), hits (166) and at-bats (494)…as a sophomore led the Pacific-8 Conference in hitting at .415.
Erin Eldridge (swimming, 1996-2000): Ended her WSU career as the school record holder in the 100 and 200 breaststroke…three-time All-American during her Cougar career…garnered team’s Most Outstanding Award each of her four years and was WSU’s Pacific-10 Conference Medal winner her senior year.
Jason Gesser (football, 1998-2002): One of Washington State’s most accomplished football student-athletes, setting 15 WSU records by the time he graduated…led WSU to back-to-back 10-win seasons (2001-02) for the first time in school history…First-Team All-American by College Football News in 2002…2002 Pac-10 Offensive MVP as selection by the league’s coaches.
Mark Hendrickson (basketball/baseball, 1992-96): A four-year letterwinner in basketball at WSU, he finished his career fourth in career scoring with 1,496 points and second all-time with 927 rebounds…two-time All-Pac-10 First-Team selection…also appeared as a pitcher for the baseball team as a junior…played four seasons in the NBA followed by 10 years in Major League Baseball.
Mike Price (football coach, 1989-2002): Guided Washington State to five bowl games in his 14-year Cougar career…the only coach in program history to take WSU to five bowl games…named National Coach of the Year after leading WSU to the 1997 Rose Bowl…led WSU to three 10-win seasons during his tenure and twice was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
Jennifer Robertson (track & field, 1988-93): A three-time All-American at WSU, all coming in the 3000m…as a freshman captured Pac-10 titles in the 3000m and 5000m…also captured the Pac-10 cross country title during her sophomore season…held school record in 1500m, mile, 3000m and 5000m upon her graduation.
Marcia Saneholtz (administrator, 1979-2007): A respected national figure in collegiate athletics during her time at WSU, particularly in the area of Title IX…1997 National Administrator of the Year by National Association of Collegiate Women’s Athletic Administrators…2010 recipient of NACWAA Lifetime Achievement Award, WSU’s Samuel H. Smith Leadership and WSU Woman of Distinction Awards.
The hall of fame was chartered in 1978.