Northwest Notes: March 6, 2022

Randles wins NAIA wrestling

championship at 165 pounds

Casey Randles, a senior from Coeur d'Alene High, beat Trenton Munoz of Hastings 3-2 in the 165-pound championship match at the NAIA Wrestling Championships in Wichita, Kan.

Randles scored an early takedown in the first period, then had an escape to clinch the title.

Grand View of Des Moines, Iowa won its 10th national title in 11 years, finishing with 206.5 points.

Esco Walker, who competed at NIC in 2019, also won a national title at 125 pounds for Grand View.

Sandpoint native Davis

claims NAIA championship

TJ Davis, a junior from Sandpoint, claimed the NAIA title in the heptathlon at the NAIA Indoor Meet in Brookings, S.D.

Davis entered the day as the event leader with 3,000 points. He kept his momentum from day one placing in the top-five in the final three events to walk away with 5,439 points and as the NAIA's best and top heptathlete. He edged second place by 55 points.

In the first event of the day, the 60-meter hurdles, Davis dominated the field. He ran 8.24, getting past second place by .23 seconds. In the pole vault, Davis had a valiant effort as he held on for a tie for fifth place. He cleared the bar at 13-7½ to secure the top-five spot. In the final event, the 1,000-meter run, Davis left no doubt in winning the overall title as he placed second in the race. He ran a 2:41.42 and became the second ever Heptathlon National Champion in EOU history.

Davis joins Robbie Haynie as the only other national champion in the Heptathlon for EOU. Haynie won the Heptathlon title back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012.

Holmgren, Timme finalists

for Wooden Award

Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme were named to the 2022 Men's National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Saturday on ESPN's College GameDay.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the National Ballot consists of 15 student-athletes who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and Wooden Award Trophy as the most outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

Holmgren tied the West Coast Conference record averaging 3.7 blocks per league game, matching Hondre Brewer’s mark in 2002. Holmgren is fourth in the nation with 97 blocks and fourth averaging 3.59 blocks per game. His 97 blocked shots are the fourth-most in a single season in WCC history. Former GU player Brandon Clarke owns the record at 117. Holmgren is two blocks shy of seventh for most in a career in program history. The Minneapolis native has more blocks (97) than missed shots from the field (85) so far this season. Holmgren leads the conference grabbing 9.7 rebounds per game, which is 21st in the country. He is eighth in the nation pulling down 7.96 defensive boards per outing. Holmgren is eighth in the WCC averaging 14.4 points per game. He is seventh in the country shooting 61.6 percent from the field, which leads the WCC. The freshman is fifth in the nation making 72.7 percent inside-the-arc.

Timme, a Preseason All-American and the 2022 West Coast Conference Player of the Year. The Dallas native was named First Team All-Conference the last two seasons, after being named All-Freshman in 2019-20. He is second in the West Coast Conference averaging 17.6 points per game, and first scoring 18.5 points per WCC outing. The junior is third in the conference shooting 58.3 percent from the field, which ranks 17th in the nation. He is eighth in the WCC grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game, and sixth blocking 0.89 shots per game. Timme won the Karl Malone Award last season, which is given to the nation's top Power Forward. He boasts a record of 86-6 (.935) in his Gonzaga appearances, going 43-2 (.956) in conference play.

Two schools have multiple players on the Wooden Award National Ballot, Auburn (Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith) and Gonzaga (Holmgren and Timme). The Big Ten leads all conferences with five selections, followed by the SEC with three, the Pac-12 and WCC with two each, and the ACC, Big East and Big 12 with one selection apiece.