Prep soccer–WV nets shootout win at Richland

RICHLAND — A week ago a shootout was not West Valley’s best friend. But Tuesday they got along just fine.

After a scoreless defensive battle in regulation, the Rams topped previously unbeaten Richland 1-0 in a shootout at Fran Rish Stadium.

Haley Curtis, Morgan MacDonald, Lee Hanses and Lindsay Burns made their shots in the shootout, which West Valley won 4-3, and Hanses made six saves in the CBBN match for the shutout.

The Rams moved to 5-1 in conference and 7-1 for the season.

First half: No scoring.

Second half: No scoring

Shootout: West Valley 4 (Haley Curtis, Morgan MacDonald, Lee Hanses, Lindsay Burns), Richland 3.

Saves: Hanses (WV) 6. Olivia Diaz (R) 3.

MOSES LAKE 4, DAVIS 1: At Moses Lake, the Pirates were within 2-1 at halftime but Moses Lake pulled away with goals in the 54th and 61st minutes.

First half: 1, ML, Colby Happer (Megan Sutherland), 3:42; 2, ML, Sydney Kimbro (Megan Sutherland), 13:32; 3, Davis, Mackenna Morton (PK), 16:30.

Second half: 4, ML, Keiley Garcia (Becca Byam), 54:57; 5, ML, Byam (Magie Munoz), 61:44.

EISENHOWER MATCH MOVED: Eisenhower’s home match with Chiawana, originally schedule for Tuesday, was moved to today at 7 p.m.

CWAC

EAST VALLEY 6, ELLENSBURG 0: At East Valley, Kaylah Gonzales had two goals and an assist in the first half and Hollie Thierolf made five saves for the Red Devils (6-0, 6-1), who play at Selah on Thursday.
First half: 1. EV, Ashlee Betancourth (Adrianna Jones), 4:00; 2. EV, Jones (Kaylah Gonzales), 7:00; 3. EV, Gonzales (Jones), 18:00; 4. EV, Gonzales (Yasi Mohsenian), 30:00.

Second half: 5. EV, Shalise Rodriguez (Gracia Carrillo), 77:00; 6. EV, Samatha Herzog (Carrillo), 79:00.

Saves: Lianne Day (E) 13; Hollie Thierolf (EV) 5.

SELAH 4, GRANDVIEW 0: At Grandview, Monik Martinez punched in two first-half goals and Sharayah Ott scored in each half for the Vikings.

First half: 1, Selah, Monik Martinez, 8:00; 2, Selah, Sharayah Ott, 10:00; 3, Selah, Martinez, 24:00.

Second half: 4, Selah, S. Ott, 45:00.

Saves: Courtney Cable (S) 0, Lexie Graf (S) 0, Stephanie Soto (G) 7.

PROSSER 5, EPHRATA 3: At Ephrata, Kelli Wilson’s goal in the 56th minute broke a 2-2 tie and teammate Madison Moore scored a goal in each half for the Mustangs.

First half: 1, Eph, Alex Youngberg, 22:30. 2, Pro, Madison Moore, 32:30.

Second half: 3, Pro, Moore, 47:00. 4, Eph, Youngberg (Emily Sween), 49:00. 5, Pro, Kelli Wilson, 56:00. 6, Pro, Karley Crawford, 58:00. 7, Pro, Helen Petersen, 61:00. 8, Eph, Youngberg (Sween), 77:00.

Saves: Suarez (P) 9, Skylar Lund (E) 13.

QUINCY 3, TOPPENISH 2 (SO): At Quincy, Cheyenne Hyer assisted on Quincy’s first goal, scored the second and made her kick in the shootout.

First half: 1. Quin, Belen Hernandez (Cheyenne Hyer), 33:00.

Second half: 2. Quin, Hyer, 45:00; 3. Topp, Erica Rojas, 65:00; 4. Topp, 78:00.

Overtime: No scoring.

Shootout: Quincy 2, Toppenish 1 (Q: Hyer, Kylie Williamson)

Saves: Kacie Reynolds (Q) 10; Elizabeth Regis (T) 15.

OTHELLO 8, WAPATO 4: At Othello, Hannah Cordova had a a pair of goals for the Wolves, but Lindsey Garza’s four goals led the Huskies to the victory.

First half: 1. Othello, Vanessa McDonald, 3:00. 2. Othello, Lindsey Garza, 6:00. 3. Wapato, Janet Macias, 15:00. 4. Othello, Garza, 17:00. 5. Wapato, Hannah Cordova, 20:00. 6. Othello, Alexis Martinez, 30:00. 7. Othello, Garza, 37:00.

Second half: 8. Othello, Garza, 44:00. 9. Othello, McDonald, 50:00. 10. Wapato, Cordova, 55:00. 11. Othello, Tiffany Martinez, 60:00. 12. Wapato, Bertha Valencia, 70:00.

Saves: Madison Haynes (W) 8. Ana Ramos (O) 21.

SCAC

NACHES VALLEY 2, KIONA-BENTON 0: At Naches, the Rangers’ defense and goalkeeper Kelsie Taylor handed the Bears their first conference loss.

Second-half goals by Shaylynn Withers and Kellie Bernhardt helped keep Naches Valley (6-2-1 overall) undefeated in SCAC play at 5-0.

First half: No scoring

Second half: 1. NV, Shaylynn Withers (Delaney Romero), 53:00; 2. NV, Kellie Bernhardt, 75:00.

Saves: Kelsie Taylor (NV) 3; Jessica Brown (KB) 6.

LA SALLE 10, WARDEN 0: At Marquette Stadium, Ally Hernandez knocked in four goals and Savannah Bonny contributed two goals and three assists as the Lightning moved to 6-0 in league.

First half: 1, LaS, Kellie Roy (McKenzie Andringa), 13:00; 2, LaS, Ally Hernandez (Colleen Newell), 17:00; 3, LaS, Hernandez (Katie Knoebel), 21:00; 4, LaS, Newell (Andringa), 26:00; 5, LaS, Knoebel (Savannah Bonny), 29:00.

Second half: 6, LaS, Andringa (Emma Avalos), 45:00; 7, LaS, Bonny, 49:00; 8, LaS, Hernandez (Bonny), 52:00; 9, LaS, Hernandez (Bonny), 56:00; 10, LaS, Bonny, 77:00.

Saves: Chelsea Adkins (L) 0, Alexys Jolley (W) 9.

MABTON 8, GRANGER 0: At Mabton, Alma Leon was involved in all but one goal for the Vikings, combining four goals with three assists.

Teresa Flores knocked in two second-half goals in Mabton’s first league win.

First half: 1. Mab, Marlen Chavez (Alma Leon), 8:00; 2. Mab, A. Leon, 13:00; 3. Mab, A. Leon (Jessica Leon), 20:00; 4. Mab, J. Leon (A. Leon), 30:00; 5. Mab, A. Leon, 38:00

Second half: 6. Mab, Teresa Flores (A. Leon), 46:00; 7. Mab, Flores (PK), 56:00; 8. Mab, A. Leon, 65:00.

Saves: Bridget Garcia (M) 2;  Granger 8.

GOLDENDALE 5, CLE ELUM 0: At Goldendale, Sydney Ross and Nicole Seward scored two goals apiece for the Timberwolves, who led 4-0 at halftime. Dallas Smith made five saves in the shutout.

First half: 1. Gold, Sydney Ross, 15:00; 2. Gold, Nicole Seward, 18:00; 3. Gold, Ross, 27:00; 4. Gold, Andrea Keffeler, 30:00.

Second half: 5. Gold, Seward 64:00.

Saves: Cle Elum 9; Dallas Smith (G) 5.

CONNELL 6, HIGHLAND 1: At Connell, Brianna Casper scored four goals in the first half for the Eagles in a meeting of SCAC unbeatens.

First half: 1, High, Geenna Mount (Alma Garcia) 5:00; 2, Co, Brianna Casper (Rosa Hernandez) 13:00; 3, Co, Casper (Kayla Koelzer) 21:00; 4, Co, Casper (Sara McGary) 26:00; 5, Co, Casper (Lisa Alvarado) 38:00.

Second half: 6, Co, Rachel Taylor 67:00; 7, Co, Taylor 74:00.

Saves: Karina Angel (H) 7, Maci Whitby (C) 5.

Prep volleyball–Hounds rally on the road for win

EPHRATA — Rallying from an 0-2 deficit on the road, Grandview had to dig deep to keep its CWAC record unblemished but did so with a 17-25, 22-25, 25-8, 25-17, 18-16 victory at Ephrata on Tuesday.

The Greyhounds, now 5-0 in conference, got a stellar all-around game from Payton Parrish, who contributed 12 aces, 11 kills and 23 assists. Teammate Gabby Suave led the defense with 30 digs.

Grandview highlights: Payton Parrish 30 service points, 12 aces, 11 kills, 23 assists; Gabby Sauve 30 digs; Jessica Hall 5 kills.

PROSSER 3, OTHELLO 2: At Othello, on a night when two other CWAC matches went five sets the Mustangs pulled out a marathon as well, winning 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-27, 15-9.

Tamara Jones and Taylor Flores combined for 16 kills for the Mustangs.

Prosser highlights: Tamara Jones 9 kills; Taylor Flores 7 kills, 23 assists; Haily Larson 14 digs; Tayshia Hunt 7 digs; Rachel Anderson 7 blocks.

WAPATO 3, QUINCY 0: At Wapato, A.J. Yarlott and Nakota Strom combined for 24 kills to power the Wolves to a 25-11, 25-18, 25-16 sweep.

Wapato highlights: A.J. Yarlott 13 kills, 5 blocks, 2 aces; Faith Draculan 23 assists, 2 aces; Nakota Strom 9 kills; Stephanie Velasco 2 kills, 2 aces; Hayley Strom 4 kills; Lizette Melendez 3 aces; Jaylene Gomez 2 blocks, 2 kills.

ELLENSBURG 3, TOPPENISH 0: At Toppenish, the Bulldogs raised their conference mark to 4-1 with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-15 sweep. Kaitlyn Quirk and Bailey Carlson combined for 16 kills and eight aces.

Ellensburg highlights: Kaitlyn Quirk 9 kills, 5 aces; Bailey Carlson   7 kills, 3 aces, 7 digs; Keni Lorimer 14 digs; Acacia Yang 3 blocks.

Toppenish highlights: Andrea Padilla 5 kills; Nataly Sabalsa 15 digs; Belen Carriedo  3 blocks, 3 kills.

SELAH 3, EAST VALLEY 2

Selah highlights: Samantha Harris 6 aces, 9 kills; Veronica Sanchez 15 digs; Erin Smith 13 kills; Kayla Dexter 5 blocks, 5 kills; Natalie Fickes 11 assists, 3 blocks; Jamie Alliston 15 assists.

East Valley highlights: Annie Martinez 12 kills; Kayla Alaniz 6 kills, 24 pp; Mercy Yates 6 kills, 17 digs, 19 pp; Jamie Miller 42 assists; Kayla Davis 6 kills; Kaitlyn Walker 4 kills; Karlee Harris 4 kills; Dani Najera 15 pp, 26 digs.

CBBN

WEST VALLEY 3, MOSES LAKE 0: At Moses Lake, Rachel Hanses’ nine kills and Ally Moore’s six aces led the Rams to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-10 sweep.

West Valley highlights: Rachel Hanses 9 kills; Morgan McDowell 4 kills; Emily Yost 5 kills, 3 blocks; Lexi Filliol 16 digs; Julia Nathe 25 assists; Ally Moore 8 digs, 6 aces; Sarah Joffs 5 kills.

CHIAWANA 3, SUNNYSIDE 1: At Sunny-side, Kessie Robert recorded seven kills and Alissa Martin had 45 prefect passes for the Grizzlies, who fell to the Pasco team in a hard-fought four-setter, 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 28-26.

Sunnyside highlights: Lani Ramos 6 kills, 2 aces; Kessie Robert 7 kills; Kiana Ramos 5 kills; Melissa Amaro 18 assists; Jill Stini 2 blocks; Hannah Morro 2 blocks; Alissa Martin 45 perfect passes.

EASTMONT 3, DAVIS 0: At Davis, Suzi Davison’s 24 assists, 10 digs and five aces led the Wildcats to a 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 win.

Davis highlights: Sydney Thogerson 3 kills, 2 digs; Brooke Lybeck 3 aces, 7 assists; Raini Weaver 2 aces, 4 kills, 3 digs; Rachel Noe 2 digs; Colleen Fontana 7 digs, 1 kill; Maggie Castenada 2 aces, 2 digs; Lyndsey Smith 7-7 serving, 3 digs.

SCAC

GRANGER 3, HIGHLAND 0: At Granger, Lindsay Oswalt and Sam Zapien combined for 38-for-39 serving with 15 aces as the Spartans stayed unbeaten in league with a 25-10, 25-5, 25-16 sweep.

Granger highlights: Sam Zapien 23-24 serving, 7 aces; Emily Carpenter 3 kills, 2 aces; Italia Mengarelli 3 kills, 9 perfect passes; Lindsay Oswalt 4 kills, 15-15 serving, 8 aces; Ashlee Reddout 5 kills, 5 pp; Cassie Russell 4 pp; Martay Gunnier 10 assists, 2 aces.

Highland highlights: Aissa Wise 3 kills, 3 digs, 7 perfect passes; Cassidy Ulrich 5-5 serving, 2 kills, 3 digs; Jessica Pellicer 5 digs; Jordan Preston 6-6 serving, 3 kills, 6 digs; Kalynn McIntyre 10-11 serving, 11 assists; Tavi Wise 8 assists.

GOLDENDALE 3, ZILLAH 1: At Goldendale, Sadie Shattuck piled up 26 kills and Haley Hoffman collected 49 assists in the Timberwolves’ 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-15 victory.

Goldendale highlights: Sadie Shattuck 26 kills, 2 blocks, 4 digs; Lexi Cameron 14-14 serving, 9 kills, 19 digs; Haley Hoffman 24-24 serving, 49 assists, 5 kills, 7 digs; Monique Scherf 20-20 serving, 20 digs; Amber Ihrig 6 digs, 4 kills; Cassie Kelly 13-13 serving, 7 digs; Alex Counts 7 kills; Tayler Bradley 3 digs, 2 kills; Karrisa Ihrig 6 kills.

NACHES VALLEY 3, MABTON 0: At Mabton, Justine Benner’s eight kills and seven blocks and Jamie St. Martin’s 26 perfect passes sparked the Rangers to a 25-18, 27-25, 25-23 sweep.

Naches Valley highlights: Kayla Curtsinger 15-16 serving, 3 aces, 14 perfect passes, 8 kills; Kelsey Schafer 14-14 serving, 2 aces, 10 pp; Justine Benner 8 kills, 7 blocks; Jamie St. Martin 26 pp.

Mabton highlights: Marisol Cruz 5 kills, 2 digs, 2 perfect passes; 12-13 serving; Corrina Queseda 29 assists, 2 digs, 4-6 serving; Crysta Reynolds 17 kills, 10 digs, 28 pp, 6-8 serving; Melissa Gutierrez 7 digs, 7 pp, 12-14 serving; Terryanna Wheeler 3-3 serving; Jacki Cruz 9-12 serving; Jazzee Sustaita 3 kills, 2 aces, 3 digs, 10 pp, 8-11 serving; Vernonica Vasquez 7 kills.

NORTH CENTRAL 2B

KITTITAS 3, SOAP LAKE 0: At Kittitas, the Coyotes keep on cruising through league play, this time dispatching the visitors 25-16, 25-10, 25-5  to push their NCB record to 5-0.

Kittitas highlights: Kayvonne Vaver 13 kills, Jordan Paul 10 kills, Ali Kilgore 7 kills.

NORTH CENTRAL 1B

THORP 3, MANSIELD 0: At Thorp, the Tigers moved to 4-1 in league with a 25-5, 25-13, 26-24 sweep. Kelsey Hutchinson, Christina Price and Carli Haas combined for 17 aces.

Thorp highlights: Kelsey Hutchinson 10 aces, 21 digs; Morgan Lowery 6 kills, 17 digs; Jerica Reiners 10 assists; Christina Price 4 aces; Carli Haas 3 aces.

GREATER COLUMBIA 1B

KLICKITAT 3, SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 0: At Sunnyside, Klickitat picked up the road victory, sweeping the Knights 25-19, 25-12, 25-14.

Sunnyside Christian highlights: Janelle DeGroot 12-13 serving, 3 kills, 7 perfect passes; Maddy Wavrin 3 kills, 3 blocks; Alyssa Haak 3 digs, 7 pp; Kelly Newhouse 9-11 serving, 6 pp.

NON-LEAGUE

LA SALLE 3, KIONA-BENTON 0: At Queen’s Gym, Rachel Gasseling’s 29 assists led the Lightning offense to a 25-12, 25-10, 25-20 victory.

La Salle highlights: Whitney Anderson 16-17 serving, 3 aces, 4 kills, 5 perfect passes, 4 digs; Hanna Fischer 10-11 serving, 4 digs; Rachel Gasseling 7-8 serving, 29 assists; Tori Gonzalez 6-8 serving 3 aces, 9 pp, 3 digs; Tori Heckart 14-17 serving, 2 aces, 5 kills, 3 digs; Danielle Juarez 3 kills, 2 blocks, Jenessa McElrath 8-9 serving, 3 aces, 8 kills, 6 digs; Maddie Morford 2 kills; Regine Standley 8 kills.

BICKLETON 3, RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN JV 1: At Bickleton, led by senior setter Morgan McBride the Pirates won 25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11.

Prep cross country–Locals sweep

RICHLAND — Combining for nine of the first 10 girls places, Eisenhower, Davis and West Valley all went 4-0 in the second round of CBBN dual meets Tuesday at Leslie Grove Park.

The third-ranked Cadets, with sophomores Berenice Penaloza and Mayra Chavez leading the way in third and fourth overall, boosted their conference record to 10-0 and will try to close out the unbeaten run on Oct. 15 at Southridge.

West Valley’s Audrey Urlacher was the top local in second, helping the Rams improve to 6-4. Davis put its top three among the first nine finishers and is now 7-3.

Eisenhower’s Timothy Cummings won the boys race, covering the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 57 seconds. The Cadets were 4-0 on Tuesday, lifting their conference mark to 8-2.

All three teams will compete Saturday in the Sunfair Invitational at Franklin Park.

BOYS

Team scores: Eisenhower 23, Eastmont 35; Eisenhower23, Hanford 33; Eisenhower 17, Kennewick 46; Eisenhower 16, Moses Lake 45; Davis 19, Kennewick 37; Davis 22, Moses Lake 33; Eastmont 23, Davis 32; Hanford 20, Davis 37; West Valley 19, Kennewick 40; West Valley 22, Moses Lake 33; Eastmont 23, West Valley 32; Hanford 21, West Valley 37.

Winner: Timothy Cummings (Ike) 15:57.

Eisenhower: 6, German Silva 16:22; 11, Santos Vargas 16:59; 17, Grey Peone 17:19; 24, Delfino Dominguez 17:33; 26, Peter Troianello 17:41; 32, Luis Aguero 17:51.

Davis: 12, Jaziel Rodriguez 17:10; 23, Joe Knox 17:28; 27, Alberto Melchor 17:42; 35, Christian Alvarez 18:18; 38, Kyle Ketcham 18:26; 50, Garred Kirk 19:49.

West Valley: 13, Chase Mears 17:15; 20, Joseph Matheson 17:22; 30, Alejandro Munguia 17:48; 36, Kyle Mellander 18:20; 37, Benito Rodriguez 18:23; 44, Casey Croshaw 18:49.

GIRLS

Team scores: Eisenhower 17, Eastmont 45; Eisenhower 20, Hanford 42; Eisenhower 15, Kennewick 35; Eisenhower 15, Moses Lake 49; Davis 17, Eastmont 40; Davis 20, Hanford 38; Davis 15, Kennewick 49; Davis 17, Moses Lake 45; West Valley 19, Eastmont 36; West Valley 21, Hanford 38; West Valley 15, Kennewick 53; West Valley 18, Moses Lake 46.

Winner: Erin Hegarty (Han) 18:33.

Eisenhower: 3, Berenice Penaloza 18:51; 4, Mayra Chavez 18:56; 7, Kirsten Sheffield 20:05; 14, Katherine Bravo 20:43; 17, Sydney Raymond 21:04; 22, Kirsten Kaplan 21:33; 26, Lindsy Thomas 21:54.

Davis: 5, Kaitlin Kaluzny 19:19; 8, Hannah Kaluzny 20:21; 9, Erica DeMond 20:23; 15, Kathryn Kibbe 20:56; 11, Emily Gerardi 21:38; 28, Grace Noe 21:56.

West Valley: 2, Audrey Urlacher 18:51; 6, Margret Parobek 19:57; 10, Siena Noe 20:26; 19, Chantel Jaeger 21:21; 29, Ashley Packard 22:06; 36, Tia Dearinger 22:47; 37, Alyssa Sebren 23:03.

At Sunnyside

BOYS

Team scores: Sunnyside 20, Chiawana 43; Kamiakin 15, Sunnyside 50; Richland 15, Sunnyside 45.

Winner: Anthony Armstrong (Kam) 16:09.

Sunnyside: 25, Juan Reynoso 18:09; 30, Jesus Mendoza 18:23; 31, Jordan Esqueda 18:31; 34, Nathan Gonzalez 18:39; 35, Patrick Watts 18:47; 38, Andres Cantu 19:08; 39, Jaime Garcia 19:16.

GIRLS

Team scores: Sunnyside incomplete vs. Chiawana, Kamiakin and Richland.

Winner: Rachel Nelson (Walla Walla) 19:22.

Sunnyside: 25, Jocelyn Yanez 22:23.

Pass-to-Pass: Going the distance

YAKIMA, Wash. — Last Thursday, sometime around noon, Pat Sexton was sitting on a rock at the edge of the Bumping River, his boots off , his feet immersed in the cold water and his eyes taking in nature’s ongoing wardrobe change into its autumn colors. Sounds like an idyllic way for a 70-year-old outdoors lover to spend a beautiful late-September day, yes?

Well, for Pat, it was. But then, Pat’s not your typical 70-year-old. He’s a Cascadian, and a fairly hard-core one at that. And that foot-cooling break at the Bumping River was merely a rest stop  at the midway point of a nearly 29-mile hike from Chinook Pass to White Pass, a pass-to-pass adventure he shared with three other Cascadian friends — two going north from White and two going south from Chinook, the duos passing at midpoint.

Pat and 69-year-old Jerry Farnsworth were the southbound pair, while Phil Fisher and Suzanne DeBusschere — a couple of relative youngsters two or three decades younger — did the White-to-Chinook path. Each pair had left a vehicle at the starting point for the other duo to drive home.

Most of us on a 29-mile hike with several thousand feet of elevation gain and loss would, excluding ultramarathoners and the recreationally insane, be focused simply on surviving the ordeal and recovering from the aches and pains. When I talked to Pat a day or two later, though, that sort of thinking never came up. After all, this is a guy who will be going to Arizona in two weeks to do a  23.9-mile hike from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (elevation about 7,200 feet) down a switchback trail to the canyon floor (2,600 feet) and up the other side to the North Rim (8,200 feet). He’ll spend the night in a lodge, then hike back to the South Rim the next day.

For fun.

Sort of like the pass-to-pass trek.

“It was a fun hike,” he told me about his Chinook-to-White experience. (No, I am not making this up. Fun. He used that exact word.) “The weather was beautiful and there wasn’t bug one. No mosquitos, nothing.”

No lazy people either.

– Scott Sandsberry

P.S. I’m just kidding about the “recreationally insane” stuff. That’s just the kind of sarcasm that escapes the typing fingertips of lazy writers in awe of people who, well, aren’t.

Fall means game on for hunters

YAKIMA, Wash. — Although some of the hunting seasons in Washington started in September, or even in August, the bulk of the general hunting seasons open in October. The general modern firearm hunting season for deer opens on Oct. 17, followed by the Oct. 31 opening of the general elk hunting season.

Other seasons open in October as well, including upland bird hunting for quail and pheasant, and waterfowl hunting for ducks and geese.

With all of those popular seasons quickly approaching, hunters are looking forward to another good year. But just what can hunters expect when they head to the forests and fields in the days and weeks ahead?

According to local wildlife biologists, hunters in Central Washington will find a few more birds, but fewer deer and elk than in years past.

“We’re not expecting a banner year at all,” said Jeff Bernatowicz, biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, of the upcoming deer-hunting season. “Last year deer harvest was still going down and it’s still not looking good.”

Mule deer and blacktail deer throughout Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties have been affected by exotic lice that cause the deer to scratch and lose their hair, giving them no protection to fight the cold temperatures during the winter months.

Bernatowicz said the parasite is still spreading and is pretty much throughout Eastern Washington. It also has been detected in Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota.

He said the biologists still don’t have a handle on the problem and hunters working the typical deer holding areas in the region will not see many animals, or at least not near the numbers we had a decade ago.

According to harvest data, hunters are taking about half the number of deer they did in 2003, and the numbers are down 70 percent to 80 percent from the 1990s.

“We’ve hopefully bottomed out,” Bernatowicz said. “But we’ve not turned the corner yet.”

Deer numbers in other parts of the state, particularly in northeast and southeast Washington, are actually still doing well. In the far eastern counties of the state, there are good numbers of whitetail deer and the lice don’t seem to affect the whitetail like they do the mule deer.

“There are still some deer out there,” Bernatowicz said of the prospects here in the south- central part of the state. “But we have a long ways to go to get back to where we were.”

Unfortunately, it is looking like this year’s elk season is going to be tougher, too. The general rifle season allows hunters to take spike elk only, and because of lower calf production the past couple of years, there will be fewer of the yearling spikes out there for hunters to hunt this year.

“The trend in the elk harvest is matching deer,” Bernatowicz explained. “Since about 2000 the elk harvest is down 50 percent.”

He said last year’s calf crop was the lowest biologists had seen in a long time, and while the Yakima elk herd is still around 9,500 animals, the yearling recruitment is just not there, meaning fewer spikes available to hunters.

And, he said, biologists don’t know what the reason is for the lower calf production.

Branch-antlered bull elk hunters, who have received special permits via a drawing earlier in the year, will still have a decent opportunity, because many of those bulls are five years old or older, from good calf crops earlier in the decade.

The other unknown factor in all big game hunting will be the weather. Snow and rain always help hunters, but can never be counted on. Hunters will just have to wait and see on that one.

There is better news on the bird-hunting front. According to biologists for the Yakama Nation, both the quail and pheasant populations are up this year based on their brood count surveys done in August.

“We’re looking better,” says Yakama Nation biologist Nathan Burkepile. “Finally, Mother Nature has helped us a little and the birds responded.”

While pheasant numbers in Central Washington have been declining, or at best, staying even over the last decade, it looks like this season may be the best in some 13 years. The biologists found their pheasant brood counts are up to the levels of 1996. That year they counted one pheasant per two miles traveled, and that is right where they were earlier this year. In between those years, the brood counts dropped as low as one bird per every five miles traveled. Last year the count was one pheasant per four miles traveled. So, based on those numbers, pheasant hunters should find twice as many birds as last year.

Burkepile said the California quail in the area are also doing well. Their brood count surveys show quail populations are at an all time high. This year’s count showed almost four quail per mile. Last year’s survey showed only one quail for every two miles, so this could be a fantastic quail year.

Bernatowicz concurs.

“There seems to have been a decent hatch of quail and chukar,” he said. “It is way better than last year.”

One challenge for upland hunters will be the abundance of standing corn. More unfarmed fields have been planted in corn this year, giving the birds plenty of sanctuary until the corn is cut.

It will make the hunting more difficult early in the season, but should help hold some birds until the later part of the season.

The quail hunting season opens Saturday, throughout Eastern Washington, but does not open on Yakama Nation lands until Oct. 17. That is when pheasant season opens on the reservation as well, which is a week earlier than the general pheasant hunting season throughout the rest of Eastern Washington. The general pheasant opener is Oct. 23 elsewhere in the region.

Waterfowl hunters are in for what should be an average year. Local goose production was off some, causing the WDFW to do away with the early goose season that has occurred the past several years throughout the region. But, there are still plenty of ducks and geese around.

And, with more corn in the Valley, the birds that migrate to and through the area later in the season should have plenty of feed to keep them hanging around.

Many of the general hunting seasons will be upon us shortly. Big game hunters wanting to hunt close to home will most definitely be in for a tougher year, but bird hunters should find more pheasants, quail and chukar than last year.

October is almost here. Let the hunting begin.

• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

Snowmobilers forced to fork over funds

YAKIMA, Wash. — Snowmobilers in this part of the state are reaching into their own wallets and bank accounts to help a state agency make up for a budget shortfall — not because they want to, but because the alternative would effectively shut down snowmobiling in the Ahtanum and a handful of other popular trail areas.

Department of Natural Resources representatives told trail users at a public hearing last Tuesday in West Valley the agency would have to close the five

Sno-Parks on DNR-managed land. All are in Central Washington  — two in the Ahtanum and one each at Manastash (southwest of Ellensburg), Rattlesnake (off Highway 410 in the Nile) and Lily Lake, near Mission Ridge.

Mark Mauren, the DNR’s assistant recreation manager, told about 90 snowmobile enthusiasts at the meeting that budget cutbacks had left the agency without the $25,000 it would take to provide oversight at the Sno-Parks. And without oversight, the DNR could not allow the trail grooming — paid for by the Washington State Parks’ Winter Recreation Program — to continue at those DNR Sno-Parks.

The snowmobilers got angry, ranted some, and then proceeded to start raising the $25,000.

But they’re not happy about it.

“We’re afraid this is opening a bad can of worms, a bad precedent,” said Paul Younie, this area’s district representative to the Washington State Snowmobile Association. “But we feel the position of doing nothing is worse.”

“We’re going to fight it, but it’s in the works. It’s done,” said Carl Denton, president of the Yakima Ski-Benders snowmobile “We’re just a few weeks away from having snow, and if we don’t have the Sno-Parks, we’ll be parking on the road and fighting our way in to the trails and they won’t let the groomers in there. And the law enforcement will be out there giving tickets for people parking the wrong way, and it’ll be just a mess out there.”

The Ski-Benders club will host another meeting for interested snowmobile enthusiasts to get some answers from DNR personnel next Tuesday  (Oct. 6) at 6 p.m. at the El Rincon restaurant in Yakima (3702 Fruitvale Blvd.).

Mauren said because DNR’s recreation budget was slashed during the 2009 legislative session from $1.2 million per biennium to $440,000, the agency couldn’t justify the same staff time in its winter recreation program — including the seasonal employee who for the past two winters has overseen the Sno-Parks.

“I didn’t want to spend as we would normally spend and then six months later see that we really have problems now, and then have to make some really draconian cuts,” Mauren said.

The agency got nowhere with a financial appeal to the Snowmobile Advisory Committee last summer, and three weeks ago found out they had not been approved on their application for a federal grant that would have covered the winter-recreation shortfall.

That made the Sno-Parks expendable, at least in the short-term.

“The agency is not in the business of closing down opportunities,” Mauren said. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to live within our budget.”

All five Sno-Parks get lots of snowmobile use, though the two Sno-Parks in the Ahtanum (Ahtanum Meadows and the Ahtanum guard station) are particularly popular, with an estimated 28,000 snowmobile visits last winter.

Why the $25,000 figure? Mauren broke it down as roughly $14,000 for the seasonal employee to provide a presence at the Sno-Parks; $4,000 to cover a proportional part of the salary of Southeast Region’s Ellensburg-based recreation manager, Mike Williams; and the rest basically divided between travel costs, site vandalism repairs and the cost of pumping out the DNR’s vault toilets at campgrounds used by snowmobilers.

Those toilets used to be locked for the winter, but the locks and doors were broken so often the DNR elected to leave them unlocked to minimize the damages caused by break-ins. During last year’s two-week extended grooming season, Williams said, the Ahtanum sites incurred about $5,000 in vandalism expenses, including the cost of five picnic tables that were chopped up and used as firewood at the Ahtanum campground.

Mauren made it clear in last Tuesday’s meeting that should somebody come up with the $25,000 — say, through a fundraising campaign — the DNR would keep the Sno-Parks operational and the trail grooming could go on as before. Mauren then offered to contribute the first $250, and wrote out a check on the spot.

“(Mauren) put a good face on it,” said Denton, the Ski-Benders president, adding that while he appreciated the gesture, he wasn’t at all pleased with the snowmobile community having to make up for the DNR’s budget shortfall.

“It’s terrible, but we’re going to be proactive as heck. We’re not going to be cut off at the knees on this deal.”

As of Monday, Denton said, about $10,000 had already been raised.

9-29 What’s Happening

Shepard’s successor named at Naches RD

It hasn’t been any secret that Naches District Ranger Randy Shepard has been planning to retire at the end of the year after more than a decade in that position. The only question has been who would replace him.

The answer came Monday, when Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Supervisor Becki Heath selected Irene Davidson, who is in her third year as ranger on the Aspen/Sopris Ranger District in Colorado’s White River National Forest. Previously she had been a forest planner for the Forest Service’s Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Davidson has deep Northwest roots, having graduated from Oregon State University and then begun her professional career as a botanist in Oregon on the Malheur and Umpqua national forests.

Davidson will report Nov. 23 to the Naches district to begin the transition process, with Shepard retiring Jan. 1 after 36 years in the Forest Service.

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Fishing rules meeting Wednesday in Yakima

Public meetings on the state’s proposed 2010-12 sportfishing rules began this week, with the third of a scheduled seven such gatherings across the state set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Carpenter’s Hall (507 Third St.) in Yakima.

The proposed changes are posted on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Web site (wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/rule_proposals/index.htm), and printed copies can also be obtained by calling the WDFW at 360-902-2700.

The department has extended its comment period through Dec. 1, and the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has postponed a public hearing on the proposals until its Dec. 4-5 meeting in Olympia.  Written testimony can also be submitted during that meeting.

Other meetings (all with 6:30 p.m. starts) will be today at the WDFW’s Spokane office; Oct. 6 at WDFW’s Mill Creek office; Oct. 7 at Peninsula College in Port Angeles; Oct. 8 at the WDFW’s regional office in Vancouver; and Oct. 13 at the Natural Resources Building in Olympia.

*******
Skip Morris to host fly-fishing workshop

A fly-fishing workshop with renowned fly-fishing Skip Morris author and instructor has been scheduled for 1-5 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Yakima River Fly Shop in Cle Elum.

The workshop will focus on mayflies, explaining the hatches and how, when and where to fish each fly, plus a seminar in fly-tying. Bring your vise and equipment for the tying portion of the class.

Morris is well-known in fishing circles for his how-to books and instructional videos, and used to be a TV fishing-show host on the old Outdoor Life Network (now Versus).

Registration is $35 in advance, $45 at the door.

*******

BIG YAK TRAP SHOOT

Gar Hill of Ellensburg broke 100 straight targets to capture the championship trophy in the opening day’s 16-yard event during the annual Big Yak trapshoot, which drew about 100 shooters to the Pomona shooting grounds Sept. 19-20.

Five coveted Big Yak blankets — donated by the Joe King family and Ideal Lumber — were awarded, along with 28 gold belt buckles and prize money.

In other first-day 16-yard competition, D.J. Blankenship took the C class with 96×100, with Kyle Malesich and Jake Switzer winning the junior and sub-junior classes, respectively. Heavy winds affected Saturday’s handicap scores, though the Klingele family had three generations of winners in the event — Wayne taking the seniors at 88×100, son Ed taking the short-yardage class at 89×100 and grandson Jason taking the overall championship at 91×100. Todd Peterson won juniors at 90×100.

The 16-yard winners of Sunday’s windless shooting included Bob Gray, 99×100 in A class; Jason Klingele, 98×100 in C class; Jordan Taylor in the juniors; and Jake Switzer in the sub-juniors. Blanket shoot winners were D.J. Blankenship, Gar Hill, Norm Baird, Roy Zimmerman and Randy Chandler, with Billy Lemmel, Joe Scheef, Fred Schultz, Jordan Taylor and James Grage taking second-place buckles.

Sunday’s handicap winners were Tom Pratt, 93×100, mid-yardage; Jason Klingele, 90×100, juniors; Jake Switzer, sub-junior; and Wayne Klingele, seniors.

Shooting starts at 10 a.m. Sundays and Wednesdays.

*******
BIRD ALERT

Five local birders enjoyed a beautiful fall hike along the Bear Creek Mountain Trail, which took them through open country, passing through subalpine forests and meadows, and open, rocky slopes. They were rewarded with great scenery and a bird list that included such mountain specialties as those seed-eating finches of mountains and conifer forests, the white-winged crossbill and red crossbills, as well as gray jays, both mountain and chestnut-backed chickadee, pine siskin, Cassin’s finch and Clark’s nutcracker.

A Parker Heights resident reports that two Anna’s hummingbirds are somewhat peacefully sharing the feeder in his yard and that other migrants this week included a gray catbird in the shrubbery as well as warbling vireo, yellow-rumped warbler, orange-crowned warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, red-breasted nuthatches, white-crowned sparrow and dark-eyed juncos.

Highlights of the Audubon Wednesday morning Poppoff Trail walk included Vaux’s swifts flying low over the Yakima River, American pipit, spotted sandpiper, over fifty cedar waxwings as well as that compact and fast flying falcon the merlin.

Both American three-toed and black-backed woodpeckers were spotted in the burn up in the Klickitat Meadows area. The uncommon black-backed woodpecker of the northern coniferous forests, prefers burned-over sites and it moves from place to place, following outbreaks of wood-boring beetles in recently burned habitats.

Wenas Lake had three pectoral sandpipers hanging out together, two eared grebes and a western grebe. Waterfowl included mallard, northern shoveler, northern pintail, green-winged teal, and ring-necked duck.

Please call your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 248-1963.

— Kerry L. Turley

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AROUND AND ABOUT

HORSEMANSHIP CLASS: “Horses and Horsemanship,” begins next Tuesday (Oct. 6) in Selah, with subjects including evolution of the horse and different breeds; causes, effects and prevention of unsoundness; anatomy and physiology; corrective shoeing; horse nutrition; pasture management; horse health and horse psychology. The course will include five three-hour evening class sessions at the Raptor House rehab facility in East Selah on Wise Acre Road. Sessions will be Oct. 6, 8, 13, 15 and 22, each beginning at 7 p.m. Class size is limited to 16, and tuition is $35. To enroll, call instructor Don Witke at 654-9705.

PICK UP A MOUNTAIN: Volunteers from throughout Region 4 of the Pacific Northwest 4-Wheel Drive Association spent the Sept.

18-20 weekend cleaning up trail trash in the Jim Sprick Park area in the Nile as part of the “Pick Up a Mountain” project.

MOUNTAINEERING JOURNAL ONLINE: The 2009 issue of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal, which has feature articles about such things as alpine climbing, skiing, rock climbing, mountain rescue and bicycle mountaineering, is available online (www.nwmj.org). The archive page lists all NWMJ articles since 2004.

*******
ON THE CALENDAR

TODAY: The Cascadians’ Tuesday hikers will head to Shoe Lake. The group meets at 7:30 a.m. (it’ll go to 8 a.m. starting next week) at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot and carpools from there, breaking into faster and slower groups. Next week: The “Kendall Catwalk” on the Pacific Crest Trail.

WEDNESDAY: The Mount Adams Cycling Club will hold its final 25-mile Naches loop ride of the season, beginning at 5:30 p.m. for slower riders (5:15 if possible) at the Fred Meyer parking lot to Naches and faster riders taking off 30 minutes later. For information, go to www.mountadamscycling.org.

THURSDAY: The Cascadians’ Pokies hike will be a trip to Cooper Lake in Kittitas County to hike through the vine maple. For meeting time and place, call Joyce Whitney at 574-8331.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY: The Cascadians plan hikes to Mount Aix on Saturday and Ingalls Lake on Sunday. For meeting time and place for either hike, call Ted Gamlem at 697-5051.

It’s Sunfair week

  On to this week. At the end of the usual heavy days — Tuesday, Thursday and football Friday, Sunfair awaits on Saturday as the centerpiece of the cross country season. Below is the latest state coaches poll and teams in bold are slated to attend. For a full list of teams and other info, see www.sunfairrun.com.

BOYS

Class 4A — 1, Jackson; 2, Ferris; 3, Gig Harbor; 4, Kamiakin; 5, Southridge; 6, Skyline; 7, Auburn Riverside; 8, Redmond; 9, Curtis; 10, University. Others: Issaquah, Wenatchee, Mead.

Class 3A — 1, North Central; 2, Bellevue; 3, Mt. Spokane; 4, Seattle Prep; 5, Lindbergh; 6, Peninsula; 7, North Kitsap; 8, Glacier Peak; 9, Blanchet; 10, Nathan Hale. Others: Liberty, Mercer Island, Columbia River.

Class 2A — 1, Burlington-Edison; 2, Sehome; 3, Squalicum; 4, Cheney; 5, Lakewood; 6, Selah; 7, Ellensburg; 8, Chehalis; 9, Colville; 10, Mark Morris. Others: Kingston.

Class 1A — 1, Charles Wright; 2, Lynden Christian; 3, King’s; 4, Lakeside; 5, Seattle Christian; 6, Zillah; 7, Chelan; 8, Cashmere; 9, Ilwaco; 10, Bellevue Christian. Others: La Center, Royal, Kiona-Benton.

Class 2B-1B — 1, Republic; 2, Northwest Christian (Lacey); 3, Mt. Rainier Lutheran; 4, St. George’s; 5, Northwest Christian (Spokane); 6, Valley Christian; 7, Waitsburg-Prescott; 8, Tri-Cities Prep; 9, Bear Creek; 10, St. John-Endicott. Others: North Beach, Wahkiakum.

GIRLS

Class 4A — 1, Eastlake; 2, Gig Harbor; 3, Eisenhower; 4, Richland; 5, Stanwood; 6, Tahoma; 7, Central Valley; 8, Curtis; 9, Kamiakin; 10, Bellarmine. Others: Redmond, Wenatchee, Mead.

Class 3A — 1, Glacier Peak; 2, Shadle Park; 3, Mt. Spokane; 4, North Kitsap; 5, Columbia River; 6, Mercer Island; 7, Capital; 8, Seattle Prep; 9, Bellevue; 10, Hanford. Others: Enumclaw, Blanchet.

Class 2A — 1, Cedarcrest; 2, Sehome; 3, Kingston; 4, Squalicum; 5, Sequim; 6, Riverside; 7, Lakewood; 8, Deer Park; 9, Bellingham; 10, Ephrata. Others: Fife, Hockinson, Chehalis.

Class 1A — 1, King’s; 2, Chelan; 3, La Center; 4, Lakeside; 5, Lynden Christian; 6, Bellevue Christian; 7, Nooksack Valley; 8, Meridian; 9, Onalaska; 10, Bush. Others: Tonasket, Kiona-Benton, Zillah.

Class 2B-1B — 1, Northwest Christian (Lacey); 2, Northwest Christian (Spokane); 3, Asotin; 4, St. George’s; 5, White Pass. Others: Riverside Christian, Cross Point.

 

 

9/28/09 Prep Cross Country Roundup

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Eisenhower won the girls championship at the Bellevue Invitational, while the boys team took third place on Saturday at Lake Sammamish State Park.

Mayra Chavez and Berenice Penaloza took second and fourth respectively in the girls’ top flight, while Timothy Cummings and German Silva took seventh and 10th in the boys’ top flight.

West Valley’s girls finished eighth, while East Valley’s girls took 22nd.

East Valley’s boys finished 13th. West Valley’s boys were 24th.

Bellevue Invitational

LAKE SAMMAMISH STATE PARK

Boys

Team scores: 1, Bellevue 25; 2, Seattle Prep 45; 3, Eisenhower 76; 13, East Valley 247; 24, West Valley 346.

Winner: Joel Ambo, Bellevue, 15:20.86.

Locals, Heat 1-2: 7, Timothy Cummings, Eisenhower, 15:53.67; 10, German Silva, Eisenhower, 16:01.09; 16, Mason Yates, East Valley, 16:32.07; 28, Chase Mears, West Valley, 17:01.52; 32, Joseph Matheson, West Valley, 17:06.31; 33, Joshua Assink, East Valley, 17:08.42. Heat 3-4: 2, Grey Peone, Eisenhower, 16:33.92; 9, Santos Vargas, Eisenhower, 16:58.93; 23, Konner Hopkins, East Valley, 17:31.10; 30, Jacob Assink, East Valley, 17:50.09; 34, Alejandro Munguia, West Valley, 17:52.88; 55, Aparicio Fischer, West Valley, 19:15.65. Heat 5-6: 12, Luis Aguero, Eisenhower, 17:32.27; 17, Marcus Lopez, East Valley, 17:37.42; 20, Dennis Diaz, Eisenhower, 17:46.62; 37, Conner Schnieder, East Valley, 18:29.00; 41, Casey Croshaw, West Valley, 18:39.06; 42, Benito Rodriguez, West Valley, 18:39.45. Heat 7-8: 7, Delfino Dominguez, Eisenhower, 17:21.39; 9, Peter Troianello, Eisenhower, 17:30.65; 40, James Himes, East Valley, 19:10.07; 49, Zan Irvine, West Valley, 19:28.79; 51, Benjamin Montano, East Valley, 19:35.80.

Girls

Team scores: 1, Eisenhower 36; 2, Cedarcrest 44; 3, Stanwood 74; 8, West Valley 172; 22, East Valley 314.

Winner: Mina Fields, Stanwood, 18:29.71.

Locals, Heat 1-2: 2, Mayra Chavez, Eisenhower, 18:33.81; 4, Berenice Penaloza, Eisenhower, 18:39.35; 5, Audrey Urlacher, West Valley, 18:45.52 17, Katrina Radach, East Valley, 19:57.14; 42, Azayla Alvarado, East Valley, 21:17.69. Heat 3-4: 1, Margret Parobek, West Valley, 19:25.17; 3, Kirsten Sheffield, Eisenhower, 19:37.59; 4, Katherine Bravo, Eisenhower, 19:59.49; 14, Siena Noe, West Valley, 21:00.59; 30, Ashley Ommen-Nunley, East Valley, 21:55.46; 45, Teresa Zarate, East Valley, 23:32.65.  Heat 5-6: 3, Kisten Kaplan, Eisenhower, 20:38.35; 4, Sydney Raymond, Eisenhower, 20:49.08; 5, Chantel Jaeger, West Valley, 20:54.65; 11, Ashley Packard, West Valley, 21:23.03; 49, Tori Keonig, East Valley, 24:29.80; 50, Brittany Roy, East Valley, 24:56.97. Heat 7-8: 1, Lindsy Thomas, Eisenhower, 20:56.34; 15, Ana Solorzano, Eisenhower, 22:37.34; 37, Allyson Ingraham, East Valley, 25:10.85.

9/28/09 Prep Volleyball Roundup

KENT, Wash. — Selah went 3-1-1 at the Kentlake invite on Saturday.

Selah opened by spliting with Auburn 25-19, 25-27. The Vikings then defeated Mount Si (25-11, 25-19), Rogers of Puyallup (25-23, 25-20) and Seattle Prep (25-19, 25-11) before falling to Olympia (20-25, 25-17, 13-15).

Selah Highlights: Jaime Alliston 13 kills, 47 assists, 9 aces; Natalie Fickes 9 kills, 47 assists, 8 blocks; Erin Smith 55 kills, 7 blocks, 7 aces; Samantha Harris 19 kills, 10 aces; Veronica Sanchez 39 digs; Kayla Dexter 13 kills, 8 blocks.

Royal 3, Cle Elum 0: At Royal City, Hailey Bator had 15 assists for the Warriors on Saturday, who fell 25-13, 25-19, 25-20.

Highlights: Hailey Bator (CE) 15 assists, Chloe Newton 7 digs, Kodi Jones 4 kills, Danielle Sweigard 3 kills.

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