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Fall rec softball signups

in Cd’A underway

The Coeur d’Alene Recreation Department is accepting team entries for the fall coed softball league and men’s softball league.

The league team entry fee is $545, which includes the players fees and sponsor fee.

Entry deadline for the coed league is Aug. 12 or when the league is full. There are limited openings. The competitive league will play doubleheaders on Thursdays and the recreational league will play twice a week — Mondays and Wednesdays. Games will start the first week in September.

The men’s league entry deadline is Aug. 12. League play is Tuesday doubleheaders with makeup night on Wednesdays. Teams will play 10 games total. Games will start the week of Aug. 26. The men’s league is limited to 10 teams.

Information: 208-769-2250

Lewis-Clark State AD Henze

earns national administrator honor

Lewis-Clark State College athletic director Brooke Henze has been named the Women Leaders in College Sports Administrator of the Year for the NAIA and community college level, the organization announced.

Henze, who is in her third year as athletic director and 14th year overall in athletic administration at L-C State, will be honored during the Women Leaders in College Sports national convention on Oct. 15 in Phoenix. Henze is one of eight female college administrators who will be honored.

After serving as assistant and associate athletic director for 11 years at LCSC, she took over as athletic director on July 1, 2017, when Gary Picone retired.

Henze inherited a strong athletic program with LCSC sending either individuals or teams from 11 sports to an NAIA national championship over a three-year span. She has overseen continued success with the naming of five new coaches, including men’s basketball coach Austin Johnson, who led the Warriors to the Final Four of the NAIA Tournament in his first season, a program best.

For the 2018-19 school year, LCSC finished No. 21 in the Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup standings, a huge accomplishment considering the college does not offer 10 of the 24 sports that Learfield uses to determine the standings.

During Henze’s tenure as the athletic director, the college has been honored twice as the NAIA’s Best Championship Host for its work with the Avista NAIA World Series. The 10-team double-elimination tournament has been held at LCSC 28 times, including the last 19 straight. Henze recently worked out a contract extension with the NAIA that guarantees the tournament will remain at the college through 2024.

This past spring, Henze successfully worked on the college’s acceptance into the Cascade Conference. L-C State will transition from the Frontier Conference to the Cascade Collegiate Conference this year and will become a full member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference in 2020.

Henze was raised in Lewiston and is a 1997 graduate of Lewiston High School. She played basketball for four season at LCSC and helped the team qualify for the NAIA National Tournament all four seasons. During her senior year, the Warriors advanced to the NAIA Final Four and finished with a 33-4 record, which at that time, was a program best. During her four years, LCSC posted a 106-23 record.

Henze graduated from LC State in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in athletic administration from Gonzaga University in 2007.

She was named assistant athletic director in 2006 and served in that position until 2009 when she was promoted to associate athletic director. Since 2011, she has served as tournament director of the Avista NAIA World Series.

EWU men’s basketball team

to play in Gotham Classic in November

The Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team will play four games this November — including a home game against Belmont — as part of the Gotham Classic, it was announced.

Besides EWU and Belmont, other teams include Saint Louis, Boston College and High Point. The Eagles appeared in the 2015 Gotham Classic, and in recent years have participated in several other events hosted by the Gazelle Group.

Eastern’s four games in the tournament are highlighted by a home game vs. Belmont on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Reese Court in Cheney. Located in Nashville, Tenn., the Bruins finished 27-6 a year ago and received an at-large bid as a No. 11 seed to the NCAA Tournament. Belmont beat Temple 81-70 in the “First Four” and then fell to Maryland 79-77 in the first round.

As part of the Gotham Classic, EWU will also play at Saint Louis on Nov. 13, Boston College on Nov. 20 and High Point on Nov. 23.

WSU offensive lineman Lucas named

to Outland Trophy Watch List

DALLAS — Washington State redshirt sophomore right tackle Abraham Lucas was named to the 2019 Outland Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America announced Tuesday.

Lucas is one of 12 players from the Pac-12 Conference named to the award watch list given to the top interior lineman in college football. Former Cougar left guard Cody O’Connell earned the same honor prior to the 2017 season.

As a redshirt freshman last season, Lucas started all 13 games at right tackle and earned Freshman All-America honors from the USA Today and The Athletic and also garnered All-Pac-12 second-team accolades. The Everett, Wash., native was rated the No. 14 offensive tackle in the country and second-best pass-blocking tackle in 2018 by ProFootballFocus.com.

Ex-Zags Rice, Smith sign

professional contracts overseas

Former Gonzaga women’s basketball players Zykera Rice and Chandler Smith will continue their basketball careers overseas as both have signed professional contracts for the 2019-20 season.

Rice will play for Peli-Karhut out of the Finnish Korisliiga, the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland. After a second-place finish in league play during the 2018-19 season, Peli-Karhut advanced through postseason playoffs and claimed the league championship with a 3-1 series win over Lappeenranta W. Peli-Karhut, which is based in Kotka, Finland, finished the 2018-19 season with a 19-8 overall record.

Smith will play for the Snæfell women’s basketball team out of the Urvalsdeild (Iceland-Dominos) League, the premier women’s league in Iceland. Last season, Snæfell just missed playoffs after finishing fifth overall in league play with a 16-12 record. The club is based in Stykkishólmur, Iceland.

Rice completed her career with 1,061 points to rank 20th all-time, and her 50.6 career field goal percentage ranks fifth in the program. The Tacoma, Wash., native was named First Team All-West Coast Conference in 2019 along with WCC All-Tournament, and she led the Bulldogs in points per game (15.0), rebounds (5.8) and blocked shots (0.8) while ranking second in field goal percentage (52.3). Rice led the Bulldogs to three WCC regular-season championships, two WCC Tournament titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Rice completed her bachelor’s degree in international relations in three years while pursuing her master’s in organizational leadership in her final season.

Smith was instrumental in Gonzaga’s historical 2018-19 season as the Brewster, Wash., native ranked second in scoring at 9.2 points per game in a team-best 28.6 minutes per game. She is a two-time All-WCC performer, picking up First Team All-WCC in her final season. Smith was part of three WCC regular-season championships and two WCC Tournament titles along with three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Smith graduated in 2017 with a degree in marketing followed by her master’s in business administration in 2018, and during the 2018-19 season she was pursuing her second master’s in organizational leadership.

Montana’s Olson named to

Butkus Award Watch List

Montana senior linebacker Dante Olson was named to the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award. The honor is given annually to both the top collegiate and high school linebackers with each watch list consisting of 51 linebackers.

Olson, the only Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) player on the list, returns for the Griz after a very successful junior campaign. The Medford, Ore. product and 2019 Big Sky Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, led the FCS with 151 tackles.