Top local sports stories of 2024

Selected by The Press sports staff 

MANZARDO CALLED UP TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES

Kyle Manzardo, the Cleveland Guardians’ No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, made it to The Show in 2024. 

The former Lake City High and Washington State star was called up by Cleveland on May 6 to replace outfielder and leadoff hitter Steven Kwan, who went on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. 

"Obviously this has been my dream for as long as I remember, so it feels pretty surreal right now to get the opportunity to do it," Manzardo told The Press. "It means the world to me." 

Manzardo got the word he was being promoted from Triple-A from Columbus manager Andy Tracy, and called his parents, Paul and Windy, who live in Coeur d'Alene. 

"It was a super fun moment when I called my parents," Kyle said. 

The lefty hitting Manzardo made his major league debut May 6 at home against the Detroit Tigers, with more than a dozen friends and family members in attendance. 

Manzardo, a 2018 graduate of Lake City, appeared in 12 spring training games with the Guardians this season before being assigned to the team’s minor league camp. In 24 plate appearances (21 at-bats), he had eight hits, including two doubles, drove in two runs and scored twice. 

Manzardo, drafted in the second round (63rd overall) in 2021 by Tampa Bay, was acquired last year from the Rays at the trade deadline for pitcher Aaron Civale. 

The Guardians didn't want to rush Manzardo, so they had him open the season at Triple-A Columbus. But the 23-year-old was on a tear with the Clippers before being called up, hitting eight homers and driving in 14 runs in the last 14 games. 

In 109 at-bats with Columbus, Manzardo hit .303 with 9 homers and 20 RBIs.  

“He’s been good against left-handed pitching, his approach against lefties has improved,” president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said on May 5. 

“He’s worked really hard at his defense, both his footwork around the bag and his throwing and he continues to put up and manage really good at-bats.” 

Manzardo was mostly a designated hitter in his two stints with the Guardians this past season, and also saw some action at first base. 

In his first stint with Cleveland, Manzardo batted .207 (17 for 82) with the Guardians, with 10 doubles, 0 homers and seven RBIs before being sent down to Columbus on June 18. 

“Obviously Kyle had some huge hits for us, and contributed to a lot of wins,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told Cleveland media when the move was made. “We had to make a roster decision, and we felt Kyle getting down to Columbus, and getting consistent playing time every day, playing first base and getting back into a rhythm, and into a groove ... and he’ll be ready whenever we need him again. But, it was more about his playing time, and we’d seen his playing time dwindle over the past couple of weeks ... just wanting him to get consistent at-bats to work on the things that he needs to.” 

When he was called back up to Cleveland on Sept. 1, thanks to expanded rosters, Manzardo made a much bigger impact.  

He hit .270 (17 for 63) in the final month of the regular season, with five homers and eight RBIs, including a two-homer game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

In the postseason, Manzardo batted .316 (6 for 19) with a homer and two RBIs for the Guardians, who reached the American League Championship Series before falling to the New York Yankees. His homer came against the Yankees in Game 3. 

COEUR d'ALENE GIRLS BASKETBALL WINS SECOND STRAIGHT STATE TITLE

After winning a state title in 2023, the Vikings flew under the radar for most of the 2023-24 season after losing Wyoming signee Madi Symons to graduation and also due to injuries to key players, including UNLV signee Teagan Colvin. 

But Coeur d’Alene was healthy when it counted, and won its final seven games, including a 58-49 triumph over city rival Lake City in the state 5A championship game in February at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. 

Colvin scored 13 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the fourth-seeded Vikings beat the second-seeded Timberwolves. Coeur d’Alene lost to Lake City twice during the regular season, then beat the T-Wolves for the regional title. 

“Everyone doubted us and didn’t think we could do it,” Colvin said. “Back-to-back, nobody thought we could get it done. But to go out and show them what we could do, that’s my favorite part of this.” 

Colvin also had four rebounds and five assists for Coeur d’Alene, which won its 11th state title in program history. 

Kelsey Carroll added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Vikings. 

“I knew it was going to be back-to-back,” Coeur d’Alene coach Nicole Symons said. 

COEUR d'ALENE BOYS CROSS COUNTRY WINS SECOND STRAIGHT STATE TITLE

It was a dominant two-year run for the Viking boys, who were nationally ranked, as were their club team, the North Idaho Distance Project. 

In November, six Vikings earned medals for finishing in the top 20 as Coeur d’Alene captured the program’s second straight state title, winning the 6A crown at Eagle Island State Park.  

Seniors Max Cervi-Skinner (third) and Zack Cervi-Skinner (fourth), sophomores Wyatt Carr (sixth) and Gabe Heule (13th), freshman Rowan Henry (14th) and junior Mitchell Rietze (16th) led the way for the Vikings, who won with 40 points, beating Rocky Mountain of Meridian by 11 points for the team title.  

Coeur d'Alene's boys were ranked 13th in the nation by Dyestat.com. 

“It just shows the amount of dedication and work these guys put in,” first-year Coeur d’Alene head coach Emry Carr said. “It really solidifies the hard work and dedication they put into it. They spend a lot of time on their craft, and it showed today.” 

Max Cervi-Skinner, ranked ninth nationally by Dyestat.com, and Zack Cervi-Skinner led the race for the first 2 miles before eventual leader Nate Stadtlander of Meridian passed both en route to a second straight title in 14 minutes, 55.53 seconds, a classification record.  

Max Cervi-Skinner finished in 14:57.97, Zack Cervi-Skinner in 15:08.61. 

“Both Zack and Max were super aggressive in the first half of the race,” Carr said. “Zack had an unbelievable day and ran absolutely amazing with a personal best on that course. Max, he didn’t feel great, but was still third with another PR. That’s still a pretty good day.” 

FORMER LAKE CITY HIGH BASKETBALL STAR KATIE (BAKER) FAULKNER NAMED WOMEN'S COACH AT PEPPERDINE

In April, Katie (Baker) Faulkner, 33, was named head women’s basketball coach at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. 

“I always loved basketball, I loved leading people,” said Faulkner, an assistant coach at the University of Washington the past three seasons, including being associate head coach this past season. “Did I ever think it would lead to being the head coach at Pepperdine? No. Not in a million years. But I love impacting people — that’s always been ingrained in my life. And I love basketball. And the fact that both get to collide is just really special.” 

Faulkner graduated in 2009 from Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy, where she also played volleyball. In hoops, she led Lake City to a state title in 2007 (Charter did not have a varsity basketball team then), and was a three-time Gatorade Idaho Girls Basketball Player of the Year.  

At Montana, she led the Griz to the NCAA Tournament twice, was the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year as a senior and was fifth on the all-time scoring list when she graduated. 

In her first season as a college assistant, at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, the Mountain Lions advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II Tournament. 

Faulkner then spent a season as a grad assistant at Wisconsin.  

She then was an assistant under Scott Rueck at Oregon State for five seasons (2016-21). During that time, the Beavers played in four NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2018. 

“It was clear early on in our time working together that Katie possesses the qualities to lead a program of her own one day,” Rueck said in a Pepperdine press release. “I am excited for her to have this opportunity and wish her and her family all the best in this exciting new adventure." 

Faulkner spent the last three seasons under Tina Langley at Washington, where the Huskies reached the semis of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in 2023, and qualified for the new Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament this past season. U-Dub was 16-15 this past season, after going 19-15 in 2022-23. 

Under Faulkner, Pepperdine is off to a 5-5 start after dropping its West Coast Conference opener to Santa Clara last Saturday.

The Waves play at Washington State on Saturday and at Gonzaga on Monday.

YANKOFF MAKES COMMANDERS' 53-MAN ROSTER

Colson Yankoff, the former Coeur d'Alene High star quarterback, made the 53-man roster of the Washington Commanders in August, when NFL teams had to trim their rosters to 53 players. 

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Yankoff signed with the Commanders as a tight end following the NFL draft in April, and he also impressed Washington with his play on special teams. 

Yankoff had three receptions for 23 yards in the preseason. He played in six games during the regular season, mostly on special teams, but has been slowed of late by a hamstring injury. He was placed on injured reserve by the Commanders on Nov. 9, and has been on the IR since.

Yankoff played quarterback for one season at the University of Washington before transferring to UCLA. There, he shifted to wide receiver, then to running back and eventually returned kicks. 

COEUR d'ALENE HIGH FRESHMAN ELLA WILSON WINS STATE 6A GOLF TITLE

In October, Wilson became the first Coeur d’Alene High girl to win a state golf title. 

Wilson, who led the state 6A girls golf tournament by five strokes after the first round, bogeyed five straight holes and found herself in a playoff with defending champion Ella Arnzen of Timberline High of Boise at the end of the 36-hole event at Highland Golf Course in Pocatello. 

On the first hole of the playoff, Wilson eagled the par-5, 432-yard 18th hole after Arnzen missed her eagle putt to claim the individual title.  

“I was just going into the playoff thinking whatever happens is going to happen,” Wilson said. “It was going to take something amazing to win it, but if I didn’t, I’ve got the next three years.” 

Both Arnzen and Wilson made it to the green in two shots, with Arnzen putting first and missing her first attempt and setting things up for Wilson, who rolled in an eight-footer to become Coeur d'Alene's first state girls golf champion.  

“It didn’t feel real at all,” Wilson said. “I was just trying to put up a decent score. After it was over, it didn’t feel like that really happened. But it’s starting to kick in a little.” 

“I just tried to play it one good shot at a time,” Wilson said. “I hit a really good tee shot, then stuck my second shot on the back of the green. We basically had the same shot and she barely missed it. When she did, I had the line and knew in that moment, it needed to go in, and it did.”  

Wilson helped the Vikings equal their best finish at state, as Coeur d’Alene was runner-up for the second straight year. 

“Ella showed so much grit battling back,” fourth-year Coeur d’Alene girls golf coach Jeff Lake said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but she really got it back together on the back nine.” 

NIC CUTS MEN'S, WOMEN'S GOLF PROGRAMS

One of the more successful programs at North Idaho College fell victim to the budgetary ax, though its coach is not going down without a fight.  

In early December, North Idaho College announced that it will eliminate its men’s and women’s golf programs after the spring 2025 season (college golf consists of a fall season and a spring season), citing an “unsustainable” athletics budget that NIC’s accreditors recently highlighted as a risk. 

Golf is the first program to be cut at the college since NIC disbanded the baseball program in 2002. Cutting golf will save NIC more than $600,000, according to the college.  

“This was an extremely difficult decision,” NIC interim provost Lloyd Duman said in a news release. “It does not reflect on the quality of the program or people involved in any way. It was made so as to affect the least number of student-athletes and employees as possible.” 

Since the news dropped, NIC golf coach Russell Grove has led the fight to convince NIC to keep the programs.  

“This is going to negatively impact a lot of people,” Grove said in a Facebook post. “The golf program has run out of a net income for 9 of the last 10 years and has benefited so many people greatly. I’m truly heartbroken and at a loss for words. I think the only hope is for the new board to get involved.”  

In the fall of 2024, NIC’s golf programs returned to the NJCAA for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The Cardinals moved from the regionally based Northwest Athletic Conference, winning six men's titles in an eight-year span under Grove. The women’s team also won the conference title last season, as well as in 2015 and 2016. 

MULTIPLE STATE CHAMPIONS

Several area athletes won state championships. Among those who have won multiple state titles:  

Post Falls junior Rider Seguine won his third straight state wrestling title, rallying for a 6-5 victory over Aulani Macias of Nampa in the state 5A 120-pound final in February at the ICCU Dome (formerly Holt Arena).
"I wasn't really sure what had happened after that," Seguine said. "I was just happy I was able to make something happy there."
Seguine returned after suffering a broken hand during the Tri-State Invitational in December 2023, missing the month of January.
"Just being able to have that opportunity to come back and wrestle was big motivation for me," Seguine said. "It was kind of like when Jose (Laguna) broke his ankle at Tri-State last year and came back."
• Post Falls senior Tyson Barnhart, who won a title as a freshman at 106 pounds, capped his high school career with a 9-2 win over Logan Shaver of Meridian in the 145-pound final.
"I've been putting in a lot of work over the summer," said Barnhart, who was second at state as a junior and fourth as a sophomore. "I've been thinking about last year a lot, and just wanted to come and outwork everyone. I was really happy that all of that paid off." 

• If that final jump didn't tell you what Lakeland High junior Ziya Munyer thought after landing a jump of 36 feet, 6 ¼ inches, her dad — and jumps coach Jacob — did the speaking for her.
"Back-to-back, baby."
Munyer notched her second state 4A triple jump championship on her final attempt in May at Mountain View High in Meridian.
"It was kind of a crazy series," Ziya Munyer said. "I scratched my first two jumps in the prelims and finished fifth, but got into the finals. I had people in front and behind me so I had to kind of wait things out." 

• In the 6A swimming meet, Lake City sophomore Eli Shaw won the 100-yard butterfly for the second straight year. 

With a push from a regional rival, Shaw found himself back on the top of the podium for a second straight year, winning in 52.15 seconds.
Shaw said he was challenged by Post Falls senior George Lavy, who finished sixth.
"George has really been pushing me all year," Shaw said. "I think we just wanted each other to do our best. It's a competitive dynamic with him and I, but we really want each other to succeed." 

COACHING CHANGES

Among them ... 

• Longtime Coeur d’Alene High cross country coach Cathy Compton retired after nearly a quarter-century as Vikings coach.  

Between the boys and girls, her Coeur d’Alene cross country teams claimed seven state titles, the latest being the boys state championship in 2023. 

“I just felt it was time,” she said. 

• Nicole Symons resigned after five seasons as Coeur d’Alene girls basketball coach to spend more time with family, finishing with a 100-21 record and back-to-back state titles in 2023 and ‘24. 

Symons won three state titles as a player (Coeur d’Alene 1992, 1994, Lake City 1995). 

Coeur d’Alene beat Lake City 58-49 for the program’s 11th title on Feb. 17. 

“I had a feeling that was it after leaving the Idaho Center that night,” Symons said. “But I didn’t want to make an emotional decision one way or another. As a family, we just started talking about things. It’s something I’ve done for seven years (the first two as a Viking assistant) and worked with all those kids from youth basketball to now. The girls that are still there, they’re family and this is purely a decision I made as a mom.” 

Her daughter, Madi Symons, is a sophomore on the University of Wyoming basketball team. Her son Caden Symons, a junior, played quarterback and on the boys basketball team at Coeur d’Alene High. Her husband, Corey, is in his 11th season as head men’s basketball coach at North Idaho College, and 21st overall with the school. 

• Mike Divilbiss, who won 392 games coaching women's basketball in college at Lewis-Clark State and at Idaho, returned to the high school ranks for the first time in decades, being hired as Post Falls High girls basketball coach. 

“I just think there’s been more time passed. I’m in a different place,” Divilbiss said. “I just think priorities change in your life, and what’s important changes, for the better. I hope that I’ve learned a great deal, and grown a great deal in my 65 years of life.  

"One of the things I think I’ve realized, being out of college coaching for a while, what it takes to be successful coaching is such a tremendous singular focus, that many other things just get ignored, that shouldn’t be ignored,” he added. “I think coaching at that level, it just requires so much of you, and it’s very challenging, and things that should be a priority can’t be, or you’re not going to be successful. I think I’ve started to realize that, as I’ve grown, and I think this situation here is much different than that.” 

• Two well-respected coaches resigned this summer — Lakeland High boys basketball coach Tony Hanna and his wife, Post Falls volleyball coach Willow Hanna — to move to Florida, where they had eventually planned to move someday. 

Tony Hanna also coached boys basketball at Timberlake and Coeur d’Alene. 

Willow Hanna coached 13 seasons over two stints at her alma mater, She took Post Falls to state seven times, including a runner-up finish in 2011 and finishes of fourth, third and third the past three seasons. 

“I coach in the wintertime, but we don’t do winter sports, we don’t ski or snowboard or any of that kind of stuff,” Tony said. “So winters are just getting a little long for us. I like to golf, so we wanted to get somewhere where we could get outside, and be outdoors year-round.”  

Tony and Willow lived in Orlando more than 20 years ago, so they were familiar with Florida.  

Their daughter, Alexis, was entering her senior year of high school, and originally wanted to finish up at Lakeland. When she changed her mind and said she was OK with going her last year in Florida, that sped up the moving process. 

“We’ve really struggled with the last couple winters, especially, maintaining mood,” Willow said. “We both like to do things outside.”  

Also, while both are coaches, Tony and Willow’s “regular” jobs are in real estate, and toward that end, Florida was a better option — both in selling and investing.

    SUE OGROCKI/Associated Press Former Lake City High star Kyle Manzardo of the Cleveland Guardians hits a two-run home off New York Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt during the third inning in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series on Thursday in Cleveland. Manzardo's homer gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead — then things got real crazy later.
  

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Coeur d'Alene High senior Teagan Colvin (1) holds the trophy aloft as the Vikings celebrate after beating Lake City 58-49 in the state 5A girls basketball championship game Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
  

    Courtesy photo The Coeur d'Alene High boys cross country team capture a second straight state title, winning the 6A crown on Saturday at Eagle Island State Park. In the front row, from left are Wyatt Morgenstern, Rowan Henry, Max Cervi-Skinner and Mitchell Rietze. In the back are assistant coach Allison Howard, Gabe Heule, Zack Cervi-Skinner, Wyatt Carr and head coach Emry Carr.
  

    Courtesy Oregon State Athletics Katie (Baker) Faulkner was an assistant coach for Oregon State women's basketball from 2016-21.
  

    MARK NELKE/Press Coeur d'Alene High freshman Ella Wilson watches her chip shot on the 12th hole at the Coeur d'Alene Golf Club on Thursday, during the 6A District 1 tournament. Wilson was medalist with a 5-over-par 77.
  

    In this May photo, North Idaho College men's and women's golf teams celebrate after each were victorious at the Northwest Athletic Conference championships at Apple Tree Golf Course in Yakima, Wash. In the front row from left are Ava Young, Megan Quinton, assistant coach Russ Grove, Josh McCartain, Lauryn Bulger and Laila Jalil; and back row from left, assistant coach Brittany Pounds, Rien Solodan, Dyson Lish, Spence Matson, Jarett Giles, Quinn Abbott, Charlie Terwilliger, Sofia Lippiello and head coach Russell Grove. Photo courtesy of NIC.
  

    NICK WASS/Associated Press Former Coeur d'Alene High standout Colson Yankoff made the Washington Commanders as a tight end/special teams player.