Note: YVCC men and women play Sunday due to regional wrestling in Sherar Gym on Saturday. Women play CBC at 2 p.m. Sunday, men follow at 4 p.m.

GNAC MEN
    Conf    Seas
Western Washington     12-1    21-3
Alaska Anchorage    11-3    17-5
Seattle Pacific          10-4     18-5
Western Oregon    8-5    15-7
MSU Billings    8-6    13-9
Central Washington    5-8    11-10
NW Nazarene    5-8    11-10
Saint Martin’s    4-9    8-14
Simon Fraser    3-10    8-13
Alaska Fairbanks    1-13    4-20
Thursdsay’s scores: Central Washington 99, MSU Billings 89; Western Washington 59, Alaska Anchorage 50; Simon Fraser 79, Alaska Fairbanks 71; Seattle Pacific 73, Northwest Nazarene 60.
Saturday’s games: Central Washington at Seattle Pacific; Alaska Anchorage at Simon Fraser; Alaska Fairbanks at Western Washington; Northwest Nazarene at MSU Billings, Western Oregon at Saint Martin’s.

GNAC WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Alaska Anchorage    12-2    21-4
Western Washington    9-4    15-6
Simon Fraser    9-4    14-7
Seattle Pacific    9-5    15-7
MSU Billings    9-5    17-8
NW Nazarene    8-5    14-7
Western Oregon    4-9    5-18
Central Washington    3-10    6-14
Saint Martin’s    2-11    7-16
Alaska Fairbanks    2-12    6-18
 Thursday’s scores: MSU Billings 61, Central Washington 52; Alaska Anchorage 72, Western Washington 50; Simon Fraser 72, Alaska Fairbanks 64; Northwest Nazarene 81, Seattle Pacific 77.
Saturday’s games: Seattle Pacific at Central Washington (7 p.m.), Simon Fraser at Alaska Anchorage, Western Washington at Alaska Fairbanks, MSU Billings at NW Nazarene, Saint Martin’s at Western Oregon.
 
NWAACC EAST MEN
    Conf    Seas
Spokane    6-1    17-3
Walla Walla    7-2    15-6
BigBend    6-3    16-4
Yakima Valley    6-3    13-8
Blue Mountain    3-5    7-11
Columbia Basin    3-6    7-13
Treasure Valley    2-6    3-16
Wenatchee Valley    1-8    5-13
Friday’s games (men and women): Treasure Valley at Big Bend, Blue Mountain at Spokane.
Saturday’s games: Walla Walla at Wenatchee Valley, Blue Mountain at Big Bend, Treasure Valley at Spokane.
Sunday’s games: Columbia Basin at Yakima Valley (women at 2 p.m., men at 4 p.m.).
NWAACC EAST WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Columbia Basin    8-1    20-2    
Walla Walla    7-2    16-5
Yakima Valley    7-2    17-5
Blue Mountain    4-4    12-7
Big Bend    4-5    14-8
Wenatchee Valley    2-7    7-14
Spokane    1-6    6-13
Treasure Valley    1-7    3-17

UPDATED THROUGH FRIDAY FEB. 10

CBBN 4A BOYS
Friday, Feb. 10
Game 1: Chiawana 65, Wenatchee 42, loser out.
Game 2: Walla Walla 56, Moses Lake 54, loser out.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Game 3: Chiawana (11-10) at Richland (12-8), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Walla Walla (10-11) at Davis (17-2), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
Game 5: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, championship, winner to state.
Game 6: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, loser out.
Saturday, Feb. 18
Game 7: Winner 6 vs. Loser 5, loser out, winner vs. GSL No. 2 on Feb. 21 for state berth.

CBBN 3A BOYS
Friday, Feb. 10
Game 1: Southridge 64, Hanford 61, loser out.
Game 2: West Valley 64, Eastmont 22, loser out.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Game 3: West Valley (13-7) at Kennewick (17-3), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Southridge (8-14) at Kamiakin (19-1), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
Game 5: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, championship, winner to state, loser vs. GSL for playoff.
Game 6: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, loser out. winner vs. GSL for playoff.

CBBN 4A GIRLS
Friday, Feb. 10
Game 1: Wenatchee 45, Moses Lake 31, loser out.
Game 2: Richland 53, Davis 34, loser out.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Game 3: Wenatchee (14-7) at Walla Walla (14-6), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Richland (12-9) at Chiawana (15-3), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
Game 5: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, championship, winner to state.
Game 6: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, loser out.
Saturday, Feb. 18
Game 7: Winner 6 vs. Loser 5, loser out, winner vs. GSL No. 2 on Feb. 21 for state berth.

CBBN 3A GIRLS
Friday, Feb. 10
Game 1: Hanford 53, Kennewick 39, loser out.
Game 2: Sunnyside 50, West Valley 44, loser out.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Game 3: Hanford (10-11) at Eastmont (15-5), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Sunnyside (11-10) at Kamiakin (20-0), semifinal, 5 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
Game 5: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, championship, winner to state, loser vs. GSL for playoff.
Game 6: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, loser out. winner vs. GSL for playoff.

CWAC BOYS
Monday, Feb. 13
Game 1: Ephrata (9-11) at Grandview (14-6), loser out, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Prosser (11-9) at Wapato (14-6), loser out, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Game 3: Winner 1 at Ellensburg (16-4), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Winner 2 at Toppenish (16-4), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18
At West Valley
Game 5: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, winner to regionals, loser out, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, championship, both to regionals, 5 p.m.

CWAC GIRLS
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Game 1: Ellensburg (10-10) at Ephrata (14-6), loser out, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Toppenish (12-8) at Prosser (12-8), loser out, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
Game 3: Winner 1 at Wapato (18-2), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Winner 2 at East Valley (19-1), semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18
At West Valley
Game 5: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, winner to regionals, loser out, 3 p.m.
Game 6: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, championship, both to regionals, 7 p.m.

SCAC BOYS
Thursday, Feb. 9
Game 1: Naches Valley 75, Mabton 52.
Game 2: Kiona-Benton 46, Goldendale 40.
Game 3: Granger 58, Royal 51.
Game 4: Zillah 52, Burbank 40.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Game 5: Mabton (8-13) vs. Goldendale (13-7) at Toppenish MS, loser out, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Royal (10-11) vs. Burbank (9-13) at Toppenish MS, loser out, 2 p.m.
Game 7: Naches Valley (19-2) vs. Kiona-Benton (17-4) at Wapato HS, semifinal, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Granger (17-4) vs. Zillah (19-2) at Wapato HS, semifinal, 8 p.m.

SCAC GIRLS
Friday, Feb. 10
Game 1: Granger 59, River View 36.
Game 2: Kiona-Benton 58, Zillah 53.
Game 3: Connell 59, Goldendale 37.
Game 4: La Salle 49, Mabton 30.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Game 5: River View (12-9) vs. Zillah (10-11) at Wapato HS, loser out, 2 p.m.
Game 6: Goldendale (14-6) vs. Mabton (9-12) at Toppenish MS, loser out, 6 p.m.
Game 7: Granger (18-3) vs. Kiona-Benton (17-4) at Wapato HS, semifinal, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Connell (16-4) vs. La Salle (18-2) at Toppenish MS, semifinal, 8 p.m.

GREATER COLUMBIA 1B BOYS
Friday, Feb. 10
At Goldendale
Game 2: Lyle-Wishram 49, Trout Lake-Glenwood 40.
Game 4: Sunnyside Christian 70, Bickleton 28.
Saturday, Feb. 11
At Goldendale
Game 6: Trout Lake-Glenwood vs. Bickleton, loser out, 3:30 p.m.
Game 8: Lyle-Wishram vs. Sunnyside Christian, semifinal, 6:30 p.m.

GREATER COLUMBIA 1B GIRLS
Friday, Feb. 10
At Goldendale
Game 1: Trout Lake-Glenwood 52, Lyle-Wishram 34.
Game 3: Sunnyside Christian 70, Klickitat 9.
Saturday, Feb. 11
At Goldendale
Game 5: Lyle-Wishram vs. Klickitat, loser out, 2 p.m.
Game 7: Trout Lake-Glenwood vs. Sunnyside Christian, semifinal, 5 p.m.

YAKIMA, Wash. — At least it can’t be a four-way tie for first. That’s some relief for the logjam at the top of the CWAC boys basketball standings, but it could still be a three-way tie for the title.

Heading into Friday’s final games, Toppenish and Grandview share the lead at 14-3 with Ellensburg a game back.

Here’s your triple-knot scenario: Toppenish loses at Prosser and Grandview loses at Ellensburg, thus three teams at 14-4. If that happens the first-round byes for district would go to Ellens-burg (No. 1) and Toppenish (No. 2) with Grandview taking the No. 3 spot based on quality wins.

If Toppenish beats Prosser and Ellensburg defeats Grandview, the Wildcats would win the title outright with Ellensburg still owning the tiebreaker criteria over Grandview for the No. 2 seed.

If both Toppenish and Grandview win, they share the title and the first-round byes. Ellensburg can’t fall any lower than a No. 3 seed because even if Wapato (12-5) moves into a tie for third the Bulldogs own the head-to-head sweep.

On the girls side, Wapato is playing at East Valley in a game that will decide the league title. Both have long since locked up the top two seeds.

Only one district berth remains up for grabs. Grandview and Ellensburg are tied for the sixth and final girls spot and they play in Ellensburg on Friday.

District starts next Monday for boys and Tuesday for girls.

Pirates get rested up

After squeezing five games into the final nine days of the regular season, Davis’ top-ranked boys basketball team has the opportunity for some serious practice time.

The Pirates (17-2) can reach the state quarterfinals in Tacoma by playing just once in each of the next three weeks — two of those games being at home. Here’s the route:

Win Saturday’s CBBN 4A district semifinal and advance.

Win the district title on Feb. 17 and advance to state.

Win a regional game on Feb. 24 at Spokane Falls Community College and that punches Davis’ ticket to Tacoma.

“We sure like having the practice time,” said coach Eli Juarez. “We can fine-tune some things and get guys healthy. Last week was kind of hectic but now we can reset things.”

The Pirates are bracketed with tonight’s Walla Walla-Moses Lake winner but Saturday’s opponent could end up being Wenatchee if the sixth-seeded Panthers upset No. 3 Chiawana tonight.

Back-to-back breakouts

So what are the chances of two girls in the same league living 10 miles apart — both juniors, no less — putting up the same blockbuster career games of 35 points and 18 rebounds?

Grandview’s Payton Parrish did exactly that, following Prosser’s Sydney Mercer less than a week later.

Parrish connected on 11 of 17 field goals and 13 of 14 free throws and grabbed 13 of her 18 rebounds on the defensive end in a 61-59 loss to Toppenish on Feb. 3.

Getting to the foul line was a common thread for Parrish and Mercer, who were a combined 24 of 27 in their big games.

They went head-to-head on Tuesday and it was nearly a draw with Parrish going for 23 and Mercer 22. Mercer’s Mustangs got the win, however, 58-50.

Parrish’s 35 points tied a school record held by Megan Buchmann (1997) and Kinzi Poteet (2009). Mercer’s tally was for a program that has produced two of the Valley’s biggest single games — Katie Hoefer’s 44 in 1992 and Kelly Blair’s 43 in 1989.

Top-Hi girls rising also

While Toppenish’s boys are close to the program’s first conference title in 25 years, the Wildcat girls have quite a turnaround going as well.

Top-Hi’s last winning season was 14 years ago — 11-10 in 1998 — but the current crew is tied for fourth in the CWAC at 10-7 and 12-7 overall heading into tonight’s conference finale at Prosser.

And, like last week’s mention here of Davis and Sunnyside and their youth, coach Akil White’s team is young. Sophomores Tara Bremer and Kaleea Zick, who combined for 39 points in a recent win over Grandview, are starters and freshmen Payton Greene and Brenda Garcia are in the rotation.

The only team to knock off East Valley this season, Toppenish is aiming for its first home district game in more than 20 years. That will be decided tonight in the Toppenish-Prosser game, a pairing that will be repeated in the first round of district on Tuesday.

Yakima vs. Mead

The juggernaut that is Mead wrestling will pose quite an intimidating presence at the 4A Region IV tournament in Moses Lake on Saturday, and Yakima’s two state-ranked wrestlers — Davis’ Austin Wagner and Eisenhower’s Humberto Acevedo — are right in the Panthers’ path.

Wagner (29-2) is bracketed opposite Mead’s Jeremy Golding, a two-time state champ, at 145 pounds while Acevedo (28-3) could meet the Panthers’ former state champ Chandler Rogers in the 160 final.

Mead rolled up 500.5 points in winning the GSL district title last week with nine champions and 23 regional qualifiers.

• Scott Spruill’s prep blog is at sportsyakima.com He can be reached at 577-7686 or sspruill@yakimaherald.com

YAKIMA, Wash. — I’ve been getting some input this morning from people who read today’s “More sweeping changes?” story, and one of the folks I’ve heard from is Jonathan Guzzo of the Washington Trails Association. And he thinks the recreation groups are doing a lot of worrying about, well, probably nothing.

Those recreationists’ fears about the potential sweep of their dedicated rec funds into the general fund during the budget process, Guzzo said, are both premature and about something that is very unlikely. From a lot of folks, I’d just take that as “OK, thanks, have a nice day” input. But as the WTA’s advocacy director, Jonathan spends a great deal more time than I do in the halls and offices of Olympia talking with legislators, so his opinion carries some weight.

He told me the inevitable backlash of such a sweep would make it de facto political poison for the very people who would have to pass the legislation necessary to make it happen.

“I would say if it’s an option, it certainly is one of the least attractive options for the legislature,” Guzzo told me, adding that it was probably “counterproductive” to those recreation entities to be publicly sounding the alarm — i.e., calling reporters — this early in the budget process. “I think it’s extraordinarily unlikely to happen.”

Guzzo said the same thing Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina) told me yesterday — that there is no budget yet, so fears about what might be in it can’t and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Guzzo also said if legislators did decide to do in 2012 what they did in 2009, when the NOVA and marine accounts were swept into the general fund to prevent the impending closure of dozens of state parks, would generate “a lot of heat from a lot of people — including Washington Trails Association.”

“We would fight it,” Guzzo said, noting that NOVA funds help maintain trails that are popular not only with motorized users, but with hikers as well.

It may well be true that the funds are very unlikely to be swept; I wouldn’t be at all surprised if these fears are unfounded, just much ado about nothing. But the fact that so many people are up in arms anticipating the worst is, well, kind of news in itself. That speaks of a general feeling of mistrust in the system and in the people responsible for making it work.

Then again, maybe that feeling has been out there long enough that it’s no longer news to anybody. And that’s pretty sad.

– Scott Sandsberry

Ah, the home-court advantage.
Valley basketball fans who are at or near my age of 60 years (but I read at a 61-year-old level) can recall when playing at home was a huge advantage, especially in the old Valley A League.
Old gyms and good teams meant life on the road was often a losing proposition — Marquette (and later Carroll) rarely lost in the Yakima Armory, Mel Bowden’s Prosser Mustangs were tough to handle in their old-school venue and White Swan and Cle Elum offered unique challenges to their visitors with gyms that were old and courts that were small.
Highland was no bargain in its old building, one in which Pat Fitterer’s squads won 67 straight during the 1980s.
Fast-forward to 2012, however, and the home mystique has faded.
It has this season, at least, especially regarding the upper tier of the SCAC West which will feature a Granger-Zillah showdown Saturday night on the Leopards’ floor.
At this writing, Zillah tops the division at 8-1 with NV and Granger following, each at 8-2. And here’s the intriguing thing — all five of their collective losses have come at home.
Zillah lost to the Rangers at home, 48-45 on Jan. 6, but then won at NV 74-68 on Jan. 24; Naches Valley lost at home to Granger, 65-52 on Jan. 10, but beat the Spartans in overtime, 70-65 on the road last Saturday; and Granger lost its first meeting with Zillah, at home, 60-56 on Jan. 14.
Saturday night was to have marked the end of the SCAC West regular season, but snowouts have necessitated Monday games featuring Zillah at Highland and La Salle at Goldendale.
Stay tuned.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE

“People would say, ‘Well, you guys always seem to get every call up there.’ And instead of trying to deny that, I’d say, ‘Yeah, we seem to.’”

— Pat Fitterer, on the mystique of the old Highland gym, where he coached for 11 seasons

YAKIMA, Wash. — Following up a state championship season is never easy, especially for a team that graduated two all-state scoring stars and has a new head coach.

But the Prosser girls are finding their way.

And for a time last Saturday night, Sydney Mercer gave the Mustangs a nice flashback that they hope is a glimpse of things to come.

The 5-foot-10 junior forward put up three career highs in one night, collecting 35 points, 18 rebounds and eight steals in a win over Selah that leveled Prosser’s records at 7-7 in league and 8-8 overall. Mercer had been averaging 12 points.

“Syd has this little fade on her jumper and it doesn’t draw much contact,” said coach Scott Yetter, a former assistant who took over for Mark Little. “I told her, ‘look, you’re not getting to the line enough. You need to attack the hoop more.’”

Mercer responded to the call for aggression, as evidenced by the 18 boards, and she connected on 11 of 13 free throws.

Prosser has four conference games left and is hopeful of earning a home game for the first round of district on Feb. 14. The transition has settled in.

“We talked about that a bunch at the start of the season, that December would be kind of rough,” Yetter said. “We don’t just throw the ball to Tamara (Jones) and Tayshia (Hunt) anymore and watch the ball go in the hole. But we’re doing some good things now and hopefully they’re beginning to believe in themselves.”

Adding to the legacy ||

When Cooper Kupp enrolls at Eastern Washington University in the fall, he’ll become the third generation in his immediate family to play college football.

Grandfather Jake played at the University of Washington before a 14-year career in the National Football League, and father Craig starred at Pacific Lutheran University before spending two seasons in the NFL.

All that experience was not lost on Cooper when he signed his letter of intent Wednesday.

“I’ve been really lucky to have two former NFL players to motivate me and help keep my mind focused,” he said. “It’s cool looking back and remembering those times I had with my day and grandpa, and realize how much they helped me, not just skill-wise but to build my character.”

On a related note, Cooper will also be the second Kupp to play for the Eagles, joining great-uncle Jeff Kupp, who was an offensive lineman there from 1982-84.

Grand update ||

Justine Benner’s addition to the 1,000-point career club brings the Valley total to seven this season and three more are closing in fast.

Benner’s four-year tally is at 1,006 as she becomes just the second girl at Naches Valley to reach the milestone. Tammie Birge reached 1,281 in 1996.

White Swan’s Amber Jones (1,062) has five games in the next nine days and is approaching Andrea Blodgett’s school record of 1,152. That would make a program sweep of school records this season since Lawrence Fiander has been adding to his boys mark (1,405) every time out.

Closing in this week is the Granger tandem of Brandon Castro (954) and Andrew Reddout (947) and Riverside Christian’s Kendra Staymates (965).

CWAC mat at Ellensburg ||

Unbeaten Tyler Coates will compete on his home mats for the final time this weekend as one of three top-ranked wrestlers in the CWAC district tournament at Ellensburg.

Coates is the top seed at 170 pounds, owns a 22-0 season record and brings in a run of eight straight pins.

Othello’s Joey Gomez, a two-time state runner-up, and Toppenish’s Raul Pech are ranked 1-2 in the state at 220. Pech is 21-1 but that one loss was to Gomez in the SunDome final.

Quincy’s Gabe Martinez is No. 1 at 106 pounds. He edged Selah’s Kyle Anson, ranked fourth, 3-1 in their dual last week.

First-round matches start today at 4 p.m. with competition resuming Saturday at 1 p.m.

Brackets can be found at www.cwac2a.com.

Coming of age ||

With so much youth getting heavy minutes, it’s not surprising that the Davis and Sunnyside girls basketball teams have had their struggles at times this season.

But lately there have been significant signs of that youth growing up.

The Pirates (4-6, 6-11), who start three sophomores and two freshmen, are heading toward the CBBN 4A’s No. 5 district seed after beating Moses Lake on the road Tuesday.

They played the league’s top two teams last week — Chiawana and Walla Walla — and the combined losing margin of 23 points was a far cry from the 72-point gap in the league’s first half.

“We’ve been focusing on some specific things and it’s made a big difference,” Davis’ first-year coach Erin Smith said. “We’re fixing little things like boxing out better and cutting down on turnovers.”

Sunnyside (6-6, 9-9) is tied with West Valley for fourth in the CBBN 3A and is led by freshman Jordan Rodriguez. The Grizzlies won five of seven league games during one stretch — not bad for a program that was 1-19 last season.

Swimmers aiming for state ||

The Class 4A, 3A and 2A-1A district boys swimming and diving meets will start today at Central Washington University and conclude Saturday with state-qualifying finals in all events.

The 4A meet advances its top two finishers to state in Federal Way on Feb. 17-18 while the 3A meet advances just winners — both the same as last season.

The 2A-1A meet, however, picked up a berth and will qualify its top two for state.

• Scott Spruill can be reached at 577-7686 or sspruill@yakimaherald.com

• Dave Thomas contributed to this report.

YAKIMA, Wash. — Since the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has gone to strictly online registration for its hunter education classes, some local classes aren’t filling up nearly as fast as they used to. Classes that used to fill up within a day after the old routine — announcing them in the local newspaper with a phone number to call and schedule — are coming and going with room to spare.

Case in point: There’s a hunter ed class beginning Saturday in Selah taught by experienced pro Lance Cussons, and as of 3 p.m. Thursday there were still seven spots remaining. That just never happens, and typically a young prospective hunter hoping to get into one of these mandatory classes has to plan well in advance.

So if you’re looking for a class, here’s where you can sign up. From there, you click on the online registration link; that will take you to the calendar page, and if you want to join the class beginning Saturday, just click on that date and go from there. You’ll also find a Kittitas County class beginning Feb. 16 and another Yakima County class, taught by Dave Pittman, that will get under way on Feb. 20. (There are two other classes starting that same day, so don’t be confused; just click on the date and make your selection.)

Oh, and if you’re a hunter ed instructor wanting to let folks know you’ve got a class coming up, you can always still call your local newspaper to get the word out. We still do that sort of thing.

– Scott Sandsberry

There has been so much to admire and enjoy about the Davis Pirates, who are ranked No. 1 in this week’s Class 4A state poll by The Associated Press, that some of the positives go unmentioned if not unnoticed.
To be sure, there are the multiple talents and unselfishness of David Trimble, the poise and leadership of Cooper Kupp, the heady quickness and shooting range of Ray Navarro, the relentless rebounding of Devonte Luckett and the whatever-is-necessary inside play of LeVonte Allen.
But also — and Davis’ four other seniors and other varsity members qualify in this regard as well — it should be noted what the Pirates don’t do.
They don’t, for example, talk smack. They don’t whine to the officials, either verbally or via body language.
But they do, under Eli Juarez’s tutelage, play to their strengths.
“They are true students of the game,” Juarez said after Tuesday night’s win over Moses Lake on senior night. “They know the game and they know each other. They play off each other and know each other’s instincts.”
Last year, after the Pirates had qualified for their second straight state tournament berth, Juarez mentioned that some teams he’d coached during his distinguished career had contained great kids who weren’t so great in basketball terms and others had contained exceptionally talented kids who were more difficult to coach.
“When you have a group like this,” he smiled, “you have the best of both worlds.”
Juarez reiterated that sentiment Tuesday night, and like most everyone involved was surprised that the end — Davis’ last regular-season home game, at least, had come so quickly.
“You blink, and it’s senior night,” he said. “But yes, these kids have truly been a joy to coach.”
And to watch.

At Eisenhower, meanwhile, while the Cadets struggled through a one-win season the efforts of coach Colton Monti, his staff and players should not be dismissed.
Monti, assistants Humberto Perez and Drew Harris — all in their first seasons of varsity coaching — worked their tails off. And in spite of Ike’s on-court struggles they stayed positive and did not fall prey to finger-pointing or excuse-making.
Adversity, I’ve learned during almost four decades in this profession, reveals much more about one’s character than success. Having watched Monti, Perez and Harris play for several years — Perez and Harris at Davis and Ike, respectively, before they moved on to Central Washington, where Monti played for four seasons — I can attest to the competitive nature of each person. They hate losing.
Yet all have emerged from this experience older and wiser, not bitter and jaded.
Like that of the Davis Pirates, Ike’s on-court conduct has been a positive example for the community’s youth.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“Good manners never go out of style.”
— Dean Nicholson

VALLEY POWER RANKINGS No. 6.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON

DISTRICT/SUB-REGIONAL
CBBN 4A at Chiawana, Friday, 4 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.
CBBN 3A at Hanford, Friday, 4 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.
CWAC at Ellensburg, Friday, 4 p.m., Saturday, 1 p.m.
SCAC West at Granger, Saturday, 10 a.m.
SCAC East at Connell, Saturday, 10 a.m.
North Central 2B at Lake Roosevelt, Saturday, 10 a.m.
Girls at Connell, Saturday, 10 a.m.

REGIONALS, Feb. 10-11
4A at Moses Lake, 3 to state.
3A at University, 3 to state.
2A at West Valley-Spokane, 4 to state.
1A at Zillah, 4 to state.
2B at Kittitas, 5 to state.
Girls at Wahluke, 3 to state.

VALLEY RANKING

106 POUNDS
1, Kyle Anson, Selah, jr.
2, Fidel Medina, Grandview, so.
3, Victor Almaguer, Granger, fr.
4, Jose Cienfuegos, Granger, so.
5, Berkley Aguilar, East Valley, jr.

113 POUNDS
1, Joshua Salcedo, Granger, jr.
2, Wyatt Scribner, Ellensburg, so.
3, Jesse Barajas, Sunnyside, so.
4, Ricky Almaguer, Granger, so.
5, Carlos Hernandez, Toppenish, jr.

120 POUNDS
1, Juan Diaz, Zillah, sr.
2, Andres Tereza, Highland, jr.
3, Santos Guerrero, Sunnyside, jr.
4, Steven Martinez, Toppenish, so.
5, Carlos Galvez, Toppenish, jr.

126 POUNDS
1, Nathan Gonzalez, Sunnyside, sr.
2, David Castaneda, Grandview, so.
3, Adrian Guererro, Granger, jr.
4, Dillon Dompier, Ellensburg, jr.
5, Jessy Gonzales, Zillah, jr.

132 POUNDS
1, Aaron Arredondo, Toppenish, sr.
2, Logan Merkle, East Valley, so.
3, Cortez Hernandez, Zillah, jr.
4, Daniel Guillen, Sunnyside, jr.
5, Marco Gonzales, Eisenhower.

138 POUNDS
1, Isaac Guerrero, Sunnyside, sr.
2, Kody Ergeson, Selah, jr.
3, Blake Haberman, Ellensburg, sr.
4, Sergio Sanchez, Zillah, sr.
5, Joesiah Sanders, Grandview, so.

145 POUNDS
1, Preston Baich, West Valley, sr.
2, Kamal Qteishat, Ellensburg, sr.
3, Shane McMurray, Zillah, jr.
4, Michael Ramsey, Naches Valley, sr.
5, Abel Morales, Granger, jr.

152 POUNDS
1, Austin Wagner, Davis, sr.
2, Roger Andrade, Eisenhower, sr.
3, David Vidales, Sunnyside, sr.
4, Tanner Wallace, Kittitas, sr.
5, Fabian Ruiz, Mabton, sr.

160 POUNDS
1, Anton Yates, East Valley, jr.
2, Nolin Bare, Goldendale, sr.
3, Jorge Alcala, Davis, sr.
4, Edwin Gudino, Eisenhower, so.
5, Jim Myers, Zillah, jr.

170 POUNDS
1, Tyler Coates, Ellensburg, sr.
2, Humberto Acevedo, Eisenhower, sr.
3, Braydon Ross, Goldendale, sr.
4, Ricardo Rodriguez, Wapato, jr.
5, Max King, West Valley, sr.

182 POUNDS
1, Zach Goodpaster, Selah, jr.
2, Darion Taylor, West Valley, sr.
3, Perry Simpson, Ellensburg, sr.
4, Daniel Avalos, Sunnyside, so.
5, David Cantu, Granger

195 POUNDS
1, Kurt Wilkins, Goldendale, sr.
2, Miguel Guzman, Sunnyside, sr.
3, Abidan Duarte, Granger, jr.
4, Corbin Richardson, Ellensburg, jr.
5, Joey Rocha, Selah, sr.

220 POUNDS
1, Nate Sorensen, Kittitas, sr.
2, Raul Pech, Toppenish, jr.
3, Austin Carmen, Sunnyside, so.
4, Robert Koch, West Valley, jr.
5. Eli Curtsinger, Naches Valley, sr.

285 POUNDS
1, Josh Aho, Zillah, sr.
2, Martin Torres, Grandview, sr.
3, Justin Wilkins, West Valley, sr.
4, Pedro Recondo, Selah, jr.
5, Jerry Atkins, Zillah, jr.

GNAC MEN
    Conf    Seas
Western Washington     9-1    18-3
Western Oregon    7-4    14-6
Alaska Anchorage    9-2    15-4
Seattle Pacific          8-3     16-4
MSU Billings    7-4    12-7
Central Washington    4-7    10-9
Saint Martin’s    4-7    8-12
NW Nazarene    4-7    10-9
Simon Fraser    1-9    6-12
Alaska Fairbanks    1-10    4-17
Saturday’s scores: Alaska Anchorage 82, Central Washington 65; Northwest Nazarene 62, Alaska Fairbanks 53; Montana State Billings 82, Saint Martin’s 74; Seattle Pacific 61, Western Oregon 58; Western Washington 86, Simon Fraser 75.

GNAC WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Alaska Anchorage    10-1    19-3
Western Washington    7-3    13-5
Seattle Pacific    7-4    13-6
MSU Billings    7-4    15-7
Simon Fraser    6-4    11-7
NW Nazarene    6-5    12-7
Western Oregon    4-7    5-16
Central Washington    3-8    6-12
Saint Martin’s    2-9    7-14
Alaska Fairbanks    2-9    6-15
 Saturday’s scores: Alaska Anchorage 80, Central Washington 48; Northwest Nazarene 83, Alaska Fairbanks 56; MSU Billings 58, Saint Martin’s 52; Western Oregon 79, Seattle Pacific 74; Western Washington 70, Simon Fraser 61.
 
NWAACC EAST MEN
    Conf    Seas
Yakima Valley    5-1    12-6
Spokane    4-1    15-3
BigBend    5-2    15-3
Walla Walla    4-2    13-6
Columbia Basin    2-4    6-11
Treasure Valley    2-4    3-14
Blue Mountain    1-5    5-11
Wenatchee Valley    1-5    5-10
Saturday’s scores: Yakima Valley 85, Treasure Valley 81; Spokane 82, Columbia Basin 79; Walla Walla 75, Big Bend 69; Blue Mountain 62, Wenatchee Valley 61.

NWAACC EAST WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Yakima Valley    5-1    15-4
Columbia Basin    5-1    17-2    
Walla Walla    5-1    14-4
Blue Mountain    3-3    11-6
Big Bend    3-4    13-7
Wenatchee Valley    2-4    7-11
Treasure Valley    1-5    3-14
Spokane    0-5    5-12
Saturday’s scores: Yakima Valley 67, Treasure Valley 39; Columbia Basin 72, Spokane 54; Walla Walla 85, Big Bend 76; Blue Mountain 53, Wenatchee Valley 51.
   

On Wednesday night, Jan. 11, Simone Jordan came out of the Yakima Valley women’s locker room, made an abrupt right turn and walked quietly through the nearest exit of Sherar Gym.
Minutes earlier, the Yaks sophomore had missed the first of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. She could have sent YVCC’s game with Big Bend into overtime, but didn’t, resulting in a rare Yaks defeat at home, 65-63.
“I just felt so … bad,” Jordan said Friday night. “I felt I had let my teammates down. And the thing was, I was so confident when I went to the line.”
And why not? Jordan had made all six of her free throws to that point in the game.
This time, however, she felt much better after scoring 32 points in YVCC’s grinding 72-66 defeat of Blue Mountain. She added 13 points and five steals in Saturday’s 67-39 rout of Treasure Valley.
And with Jordan and Brittney Newcomb assuming the scoring leadership roles in the absence of Brandi Henton, who’s been lost for the season to knee surgery, YVCC is looking like a serious contender to successfully defend its NWAACC championship at 5-1 in the East Region and 15-1 overall.
Initially a Gonzaga recruit out of Portland’s Jefferson High School, Jordan played one year at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene before returning home. She was working for FedEx in Portland when Yakima Valley coach Cody Butler contacted her last summer, and Jordan’s play this season, barring injury, might well result in a chance to play at the NCAA Division I level.
Representatives from the University of San Francisco and San Jose State watched Friday night’s game.
But as good as Jordan has been, an added attraction has been her 2-year-old daughter, Saryah, who delightfully entertains by dancing during halftime and other breaks in YVCC home games.
“She just loves dancing,” Simone said, laughing Friday night. “She hears music and it’s like pressing a button, she just starts to dance.”

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“That little girl should be on dancing with the stars.”
— A Yakima Valley women’s basketball fan, while watching Yaks sophomore Simone Jordan’s 2-year-old daughter, Saryah, dance at halftime of a recent home game.

Sunnyside to remain with Eisenhower, Davis ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — The split is coming after all. The Columbia Basin Big Nine, in its present form and for much of its long history, is seeing its last days.

Richland School District superintendent Jim Busey told the Tri-City Herald on Wednesday that he and the superintendents from Pasco and Kennewick will meet today to form a new league with the seven Tri-Cities schools.

That new league, which will include Walla Walla and begin play in the fall, will have a 4-4 split of Class 4A and 3A schools.

News of the Tri-Cities defection caused a conference call on Thursday between the five CBBN remnants — Eisenhower, Davis, Wenatchee, Moses Lake and Eastmont. The big question was, what would Sunnyside do?

The answer came late Thursday night when Sunnyside’s school board voted 3-2 in favor of staying with the CBBN as a 3A member.

“The feeling was let’s stay with the Big Nine and not walk away from it,” said athletic director Bill Daley, who indicated there was countering support for staying with the four 3A schools in the Tri-Cities. “Ultimately the decision was, let’s play where we’re at (and not opt up to 4A) and stay where we’ve been.”

The news of the Tri-Cities’ departure from the CBBN, despite gestures last week of staying together, didn’t come as a shock in Yakima.

“I’m not surprised the Tri-Cities’ schools are heading that way — that was my first reaction,” said Davis athletic director Bob Stanley. “My second feeling is just relief. We’ve been in a holding pattern unable to do any planning for the fall. Now we can begin the process.”

Technically, Eisenhower, Davis and Sunnyside will continue to reside in the CBBN with the same by-laws and procedures that have been in place, according to Yakima School District athletic director Jack Irion. The Tri-Cities schools and Walla Walla will secede from the CBBN and form an entirely new league.

Eisenhower and Davis do, however, have important procedural business as 4A schools. As members of District 5, the Yakima schools will likely petition the WIAA to join Wenatchee, Eastmont and Moses Lake in District 6. That would ensure those five schools could generate a state berth because the WIAA distributes state allocations based on districts and not leagues.

“That’s the next step,” Stanley said. “It takes just over four schools to get a state berth, and joining districts involves a multi-level process.”

The Class 4A landscape in Eastern Washington could see three districts with one state berth each and any regional alliance uncertain.

The CBBN would have five schools (District 6), the new Tri-Cities league would have four (District 5) and Spokane would have five (District 8). Spokane’s mixed league is going from a 6-4 split to 5-5 with Rogers dropping from 4A to 3A.

As for being the lone 3A school in the CBBN, Daley believes there would be enough non-league scheduling room with Kamiakin, Kennewick, Southridge and Hanford to make seeding for district manageable.

Both Pasco and Eastmont, currently 3A, are moving up to 4A in the fall. West Valley decided last week against opting up to stay 3A and will join the CWAC.

Based on WIAA enrollment figures used to determine classifications for the next two years, the scaled-down CBBN will still feature three of the state’s six largest schools — Wenatchee (2,108 students in the top three grades), Eisenhower (1,872) and Davis (1,819).

CBBN

Davis (4A)

Eastmont (4A)

Eisenhower (4A)

Moses Lake (4A)

Sunnyside (3A)

Wenatchee (4A)

New league

Chiawana (4A)

Hanford (3A)

Kamiakin (3A)

Kennewick (3A)

Pasco (4A)

Richland (4A)

Southridge (3A)

Walla Walla (4A)

YAKIMA, Wash. — Tuesday’s noisy, emotional Davis-Eisenhower wrestling match was a tough stage for anyone much less a 100-pound freshman girl. But, as most who follow Valley wrestling know by now, Isabell Nunez is not your average freshman girl.

Holding a 4-2 lead in the final period of the 106 match, Nunez, who competes for Ike and attends La Salle, eventually suc-cumbed to Angel Cotto, 7-4. That she was giving away pounds to a boy was of no particular con-solation — it was simply the business of competition

“I look at each match as trying to get the best out myself,” she said. “I did my best, but afterward I thought of things I could’ve done better. I did pretty well, Angel was just better.”

Nunez has been in Ike’s varsity lineup for three CBBN matches and she placed fourth in the Granger Ironman tournament. Against girls, she has been nearly unbeatable.

In three westside all-girl tournaments in December, Nunez was 9-1 with seven pins, winning two titles and losing only to Jessica DeHart of Hood River, Ore. That effort has elevated her to second in the 100-pound state rankings.

“I was surprised, shocked actually,” she said of all the success. “As a freshman I didn’t really know what to expect. It was all new to me.”

High school girls wrestling was new to her, but certainly not wrestling.

Nunez was a three-time Yakima Middle School city champion and she competed for Yakima Team Takedown for four years — all mostly against boys. She was also a member of Washington’s Junior National Freestyle girls team last summer.

Davis has a quality 100-pound girl in Aimee Silva, who has been in the state rankings as well, but Nunez is the only girl in Ike’s program. Her father, Tony, is an assistant for the Cadets.

“We took her to those westside tournaments because that’s where the competition is and, with her experience, we knew she could handle it,” Tony said. “She loves to compete.”

It’s in her family.

Cousin Ruben Navejas was a two-time state champ at Kentwood and Nunez watched him cap a 42-0 season last year at Mat Classic.

“It was so exciting watching that last year, and I got a chance to see the girls tournament,” said Nunez, who is also a soccer standout at La Salle and for the Sun City Strikers. “I wasn’t sure what to expect for me this season, but things have changed a lot. There’s a target on my back now, but I’m excited to have a chance to go to state.”

Number crunching ||

Looking over the WIAA’s classification numbers, which were approved by the Executive Board on Monday, the first thing that jumps out is how huge Eisenhower and Davis have become.

Numbers are based on the average of three census periods in the fall for the top three grades and Eisenhower (1,872) and Davis (1,819) rank fourth and sixth in the state.

That’s up considerably from two years ago when Eisenhower ranked 14th (1,677) and Davis was 26th (1,522). Wenatchee grew similarly, bumping from 1,842 to 2,108, and is now the state’s second-largest high school.

Some other tidbits:

• With former No. 1 Marysville-Pilchuck opening a new school in its district, South Kitsap regained the top spot at 2,447. SK claims to be the largest three-year high school west of the Mississippi River.

• Eisenhower has become so big the entire SCAC West and its seven schools is barely bigger by 51 students.

• Rainier Beach, currently ranked No. 1 in 3A boys basketball, has a smaller enrollment (317) than Granger (325). RB is one of 18 schools opting up to 3A.

• Lake Washington was 4A in 2010, dropped to 3A for the current two-year cycle and will be 2A in the fall.

Here are enrollment numbers for schools in the YH-R circulation area:

Eisenhower (1,872), Davis (1,819), Sunnyside (1,246), West Valley (1,036), Selah (819), Grandview (720), Toppenish (710), Ellensburg (697), Wapato (686), Prosser (680), East Valley (595), Naches Valley (372), Granger (325), Zillah (309), Goldendale (285), Highland (261), Cle Elum (239), Mabton (207), White Swan (187), Kittitas (135), La Salle (132), Riverside Christian (106), Lyle-Wishram (83), Trout Lake-Glenwood (59), Yakama Tribal (56), Sunnyside Christian (49), Thorp (33), Klickitat (31), Bickleton (19) and Easton (15).

Trimble a McD’s nominee ||

Davis senior David Trimble was one of 30 Washington players nominated for the McDonald’s All-American basketball game on March 28 in Chicago.

Final selections will be announced Feb. 9 on ESPNU.

Trimble, who’s averaging 13.8 points for the second-ranked Pirates, is up to 1,268 career points and should pass Mel Stubblefield (1,275) for fourth on Davis’ all-time list tonight at Walla Walla.

If all goes well for Davis (12-2) against Walla Walla and Chiawana at home on Saturday, the Pirates could move up to No. 1 next week. Top-ranked Bellarmine Prep (12-2) fell to Olympia 56-53 on Wednesday.

Big day for T-wolves ||

Weather postponements and some geographic issues did no favors for Goldendale’s wrestling team in the last week.

The Timberwolves ended up contesting half their SCAC West dual-meet season in one day, taking on Cle Elum, Naches Valley and Highland all on Tuesday in Cowiche.

Goldendale was originally going to host Cle Elum and Highland on Jan. 19, which would’ve been senior night. But that got snowed out and moved to Tuesday at Highland and lumped together, for logistical reasons, with a Goldendale-Naches Valley dual originally set for Thursday.

“It was kind of crazy but we managed to get through three matches pretty quick,” said Goldendale coach Omar Flores. “It was a bummer for our kids because we lost a home match and senior night.”

• Scott Spruill’s prep blog is at sportsyakima.com He can be reached at 577-7686 or sspruill@yakimaherald.com

It won’t be easy, because few things have been this season for Central Washington’s defending GNAC regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats.
But coach Greg Sparling is hoping his team has finally gained some traction after a brutal start in defense of its crowns, and will both reach and have an impact on the conference tournament.
After a 7-3 preseason that included wins over then-nationally ranked BYU-Hawaii and Rollins College of Florida, Central absorbed a GNAC-opening 99-62 haymaker at Alaska Anchorage and followed with a 91-80 overtime loss at Alaska Fairbanks.
The latter defeat came after a long, buzzer-beating 3-pointer tied the score at the end of regulation for the Nanooks, and the Wildcats have been recovering ever since.
They have, however, won two of their last three with a respectable showing last week at conference-leading and 18th-ranked Western Washington in a 99-86 loss.
At 3-6 in the GNAC and 9-8 overall, Central has nine games in which to move up at least one spot to qualify for the conference’s postseason tournament.
Unlike the first two GNAC tourneys which featured eight teams, this year’s event will include six. It will also be played at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.
Entering Thursday night’s home game with Fairbanks, CWU is seventh with the Saints (4-5) and MSU Billings (5-4) looming ahead.
The Wildcats play both, on the road, next month. Remaining home games are Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Simon Fraser on Feb. 16 and Western on Feb. 18.
Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Central, with an average of 84.9 points a game and five players averaging double figures. But CWU has given up 80.9 points per outing, allowing opponents to shoot .465 from the field including .352 from 3-point range.
Sparling, meanwhile, remains optimistic.
“We’ve had some good practices this week,” he said recently, “and we seem to be developing a little bit of swagger. My hope is we’re turning the corner.”
Stay tuned.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“Never second guess yourself on a decision made with integrity, intelligence and hard work.”
— Dean Nicholson