YAKIMA, Wash. — Former Ellensburg High standout Sarah McNamee, playing at Montana State Billings, shared GNAC newcomer of the year honors with Alaska Anchorage’s Kelsie Gourdin as part of the all-GNAC women’s basketball team that was announced Tuesday.

Central Washington sophomore Sophie Russell was named honorable mention.

Russell led the Wildcats in scoring with a 13.9 per-game average, and their third-leading rebounder (4.5 per game). She started all 26 games, and led the GNAC in minutes played (34.2).

In other honors, Seattle Pacific’s Daesha Henderson was named player of the year, Northwest Nazarene’s Heather Adams was freshman of the year, and Julie van Beek was coach of the year.

WOMEN’S ALL-GNAC TEAMS

Player of the Year: Daesha Henderson, Seattle Pacific.

Newcomer of the Year: (tie) Kelsie Gourdin, Alaska Anchorage and Sarah McNamee, Montana State Billings.

Freshman of the Year: Heather Adams, Northwest Nazarene

Coach of the Year: Julie van Beek, Seattle Pacific.

First Team

Lindsay Brady, Sr., Northwest Nazarene; Amanda Dunbar, Jr., Western Washington; Daesha Henderson, Sr., Seattle Pacific; Nicci Miller, Sr., Alaska Anchorage; Jessica Summers, Sr., Western Washington; Katie Torland, Sr., Western Oregon.

Second Team

Willow Cabe, Sr., Western Washington; Tamar Gruwell, Sr., Alaska Anchorage; Megan Hoisington, Sr., Seattle Pacific; Kayla Ryan, Jr., Montana State Billings; Dara Zack, Jr., Saint Martin’s.

Honorable Mention

Kelsie Gourdin, Jr., Alaska Anchorage; Kristin Hein, Sr., Northwest Nazarene; Hanna Johansson, So., Alaska Anchorage; Janee Olds, Sr., Northwest Nazarene; Sophie Russell, So., Central Washington.

YAKIMA, Wash. — TANA STICKNEY (East Valley), a senior at Eastern Oregon, was named to the Cascade Collegiate All-Conference team.
Stickney led the Mountaineers with 11.85 points and 6.23 rebounds per game, and reached double figures in scoring 17 times while scoring 20 or more twice, shooting 46 percent from the field. She also grabbed 10 or more rebounds on four separate occasions and, last year, was all-conference honorable mention.

MINHEE PARK (Highland), a senior at Boise State, shot a career-best 54-hole score of 223 to help the Broncos women’s golf team finish eighth in the Fresno State Lexus Classic.
Park’s total was 7 over par, and included rounds of 77, 74 and 72. She tied for 12th in the tournament’s individual competition.

KAYLA STANDISH (Ellensburg), a sophomore at Gonzaga, is the fifth-leading scorer (8.6 ppg) and top shot blocker (45 in 29 games) for the Bulldogs, who recently completed West Coast Conference play 14-0 and are 25-4 overall.
Playing in all 29 games, Standish averaged 16.3 minutes per game and 4.1 rebounds, the latter tying for third-highest on the squad.

CHRIS PYNCH (Riverside Christian), a sophomore point guard at the Community Colleges of Spokane, has been named to the NWAACC’s all-academic team. Pynch has compiled a 3.77 grade point average, and earlier was named to the all-Eastern Region second team.

JACK LOOFBURROW (Eisenhower), a sophomore at Whitworth, is averaging 8.3 points a game for the Pirates, who are 26-2 and ranked fourth heading into the NCAA Division III national tournament this week.

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Jon Clift, Noble’D Shelton and Sara Bergner of Central Washington were included on the GNAC’s academic all-conference team which was released Wednesday.

Clift, a senior from Spokane, has compiled a 3.20 grade point average in accounting. Shelton, a senior from Auburn, has a 3.29 GPA in business administration and Bergner, a senior from Bellingham, has a 3.25 GPA in business administration.

Also named to the women’s team was West Valley High graduate Katie Hawkins, a junior at Saint Martin’s. The English major has a 3.69 GPA.

YAKIMA, Wash. — CASSIE ROBBINS (Eisenhower), a senior at Washington State, was named Most Improved Player on the Cougars’ volleyball team. A middle blocker, Robbins led WSU in blocking with a 1.21 average, fourth-best in the Pac-10. She helped Washington State return to the NCAA Tournament after a seven-year absence and was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention and Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention.

RACHEL HOTCHKO (Davis), a senior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, swam NCAA provisional and school record times in the 100 butterfly during the Capital Athletic Conference championships earlier this month. Her winning time in the event was 56.63 seconds.

Hotchko also was second in the 100 free at 53.11 seconds, also an NCAA provisional time, was third in the 50 free at 24.75 and helped the Seahawks 200 free relay team to a third-place finish in 1:40.40 and the 400 free relay team to a fourth-place finish in 3:44.55.

She will compete in the NCAA Division III national championships March 17-20 in Minneapolis.

MATT PETERSON (Eisenhower), a sophomore at Whatcom Community College, scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Orcas to an 86-79 win over Bellevue. Peterson made 10 of 14 shots from the field and was 12 of 15 from the free throw line as the Orcas moved into second place in the NWAACC’s Northern Division.

BRETT BLANSHAN (Selah), a freshman at Washington State, placed second in the 200-meter dash at the University of Washington’s Husky Classic indoor track meet on Feb. 13. Blanshan clocked 22.09 in the 200. DANA WELLS (Riverside Christian), also a freshman at WSU, clocked 49.27 in the 400.

YAKIMA, Wash. — JESSICA HUNTINGTON (East Valley), a senior at Eastern Washington, leads the Big Sky Conference with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio and has helped the Eagles to a 7-2 start in conference play (14-8 overall).

Huntington has started 75 of the 108 games she’s played at Eastern, and this season is averaging 6.3 points, a team-high 4.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds a game.

ZACH FRIEDRICH (Selah), a senior tight end on the Greenville (Ill.) College football team, was named to the NCAA Division III All-American third team. Friedrich, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, is a three time All-Conference selection and also earned All-North Region honors this season.

Friedrich caught 42 passes for 697 yards and five touchdowns, as the Panthers went 7-2 and were the Upper Mid-West Athletic Conference Champions and hosted the Victory Bowl. He ended his collegiate career owning most of Greenville’s receiving records.

MATT PETERSON (Eisenhower), a sophomore at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, had a double double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the Orcas’ win over Skagit Valley. Peterson played his freshman season at Skagit before sitting out last season and resuming his career at Whatcom.

Peterson followed that performance with 18 points and 10 boards in a win over Olympic College that improved Whatcom to 5-3 in league play.

KINZI POTEET (Grandview), a freshman at Boise State, scored a then- career-high 10 points in the Broncos’ recent 73-67 home win over Wyoming. Poteet made 4 of 5 field goals and scored all of her points in the first half.

In a later game at Louisiana Tech, Poteet totaled 11 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in a 75-53 loss to the Lady Techsters.

CHRIS PYNCH (Riverside Christian), a sophomore at Spokane Community College, was named the school’s male scholar athlete of the month for December.

A starting point guard on the basketball team, Pynch has also compiled a 3.77 grade point average.

JORDAN STARR (Davis), a sophomore captain at Bellevue Community College, accounted for 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in recent wins over Everett and Edmonds.

Eisenhower trio make college football plans official ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — And to think there were so many questions, some uncomfortably pressing.

How would Seth Kline’s left knee hold up, especially under the strain of added pass coverage?

Can Ryan Watson handle a majority of the pass rush with Kline dropping into coverage more?

And who, exactly, is Joe Fuerst and what can he do?

From left, Eisenhower students Joe Fuerst, Ryan Watson and Seth Kline sign letters of intent for college on Wednesday, February 3, 2010. Fuerst is going to Central Washington University, Watson intends to go to Eastern Oregon and Kline is going to the Air Force Academy. (Sara Gettys/Yakima Herald-Republic)

Those heavy concerns drifted through the first days of Eisenhower’s football season last August, but on Wednesday afternoon in a crowded room filled with family and friends they were memories to smile and laugh about.

Kline, Watson and Fuerst — key contributors to the Cadets’ school-record 11 victories and trip to the state quarterfinals — sat side-by-side while signing letters of intent for colleges in three different states. Kline inked with Air Force, Watson with Eastern Oregon and Fuerst with Central Washington.

For Kline, this day was inevitable. The three-year standout linebacker built serious credentials and had an offer from Air Force before the season even started. The only two possible snags he addressed — the knee that was injured twice before held up just fine and he showed more versatility in pass coverage.

“They were happy with my progress,” Kline said of Air Force, where he commits five years of military service after college graduation. “They thought I was a little raw in pass coverage after my junior year, but I did a lot more of that last season. I’ll admit I missed blitzing all the time, but I enjoyed the complexity of the coverages.”

Watson excelled at defensive end, rising from CBBN Cascade honorable mention as a junior to unanimous first-team and co-MVP of the division. He may stay at that position at Eastern Oregon, an NAIA college, or move to outside linebacker.

“I could play either position,” said Watson, currently a double-digit scorer on the basketball team. “This spring and summer I want to get my speed up and get up to around 220 pounds. With basketball now I’m down to 205. I’m really looking forward to getting ready.”

Fuerst, who moved in from West Valley, had plenty of work to do on the recruiting trail and little time to do it. As a running back his junior numbers were modest at best.

But over 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns at the 4A level can make a good impression.

“It all fell into place for me. I was very lucky,” said Fuerst, who averaged nearly seven yards a carry. “I had this year to prove myself and we had a great season. The timing was perfect.”

It was a fitting departing moment for the trio, which made a haul with Cascade Division awards. Fuerst and Watson shared the overall MVP honor and Kline was named defensive MVP.

“At the start of the season it was kind of hard to tell how good we’d be,” Kline said. “But it seemed like game by game we just got better and better.”

YAKIMA, Wash. — JASMINE STOHR (La Salle) has been named the Frontier Conference’s player of the week twice this season, the most recent in mid-December after she earned MVP honors in leading Lewis-Clark State College to a 2-0 record at the Wells Fargo Tournament.

The junior averaged 19.5 points during the tournament for the host Warriors, who are 14-2 and ranked 11th in the NAIA Division I top 25.

Stohr is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game this season.

CLAIRE FAUCHER (Eisenhower), a senior at Portland State, became the Vikings’ and Big Sky Conference career assist leader in a recent games.

Faucher’s five assists in a game last month against Oregon State boosted her career total to 699, tops at PSU, and she also scored a team-high 22 points. In more recent game against Gonzaga, Faucher scored a career-high 30 points in a 64-57 loss.

Last Saturday in PSU’s Big Sky Conference opener, Faucher totaled 12 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steals in a 95-86 win over Sacramento State. Her first three assists in that game made her the Big Sky  career leader.

MARCUS RANCE (Davis) completed his redshirt junior season as a wide receiver at Stanford, and is scheduled to complete his bachelor’s degree this spring. He will begin work toward a Master’s degree, according to his father, Greg Rance.

KAYLA STANDISH (Ellensburg), a sophomore at Gonzaga, had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists in an 88-52 win over UC Santa Barbara.

Standish was 5 for 8 from the field, including 1 for 2 from 3-point range, had three offensive rebounds and also produced a steal in 20 minutes of reserve play.

BRANDEN JOHNSON (Eisenhower), a senior at Montana State, scored 10 of his 15 points in the first five minutes of the second half as the Bobcats beat UC Santa Barbara 76-64.

Johnson started by converting a four-point play, then added two 3-pointers to give MSU a double-digit lead.

TANA STICKNEY (East Valley), a senior at Eastern Oregon, had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Mountaineers won 63-51 at 14th-ranked Concordia in Portland.

CHELSEA VANDEBRAKE (Eisenhower) graduated Summa Cum Laude from Washington State last month after competing on the Cougars’ cross country and track and field teams. VanDeBrake compiled a 3.95 grade point average to complete a bachelor’s degree in English.

She plans to pursue a master’s degree in literacy education while using her last two years of indoor track eligibility, and hopes to teach English and coach track and cross country afterward.

JESSICA HUNTINGTON (East Valley), a senior at Eastern Washington, scored 10 points and added three assists in the Eagles’ 87-61 loss to Gonzaga.

DANIEL DAVIDSON (Eisenhower), a junior at Whitman College, scored 19 points in an 89-87 loss to nationally ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater in a recent game in Spokane.

Members of the 2005-06 Eisenhower girls basketball team that won a school-record 29 games and took fourth place in the Class 4A state tournament, the highest finish ever for the Cadets, continue to shine in their college endeavors.

While the basketball exploits of Portland’s Laiken Dollente and Claire Faucher of Portland State were documented in Monday’s edition of the Herald-Republic, here’s what the three other starters from that record-setting team have been up to:

ALLI KROUS, a senior at Maine, recently completed her final season with the Black Bears soccer team.

A part-time starter for Maine, the midfielder/forward was named to the America East Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll and was named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Rising Star.

After two seasons playing soccer at Walla Walla Community College, Krous also turned out for the Black Bears track and field team. She was third in the javelin at the America East Conference meet and fourth at the New England Championships meet, where she set a personal record with a throw of 135 feet, 7 inches (41.33 meters).

Krous was selected to the all-conference team.

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MARIANNE LOMBARDI was voted a captain for the University off Nevada basketball team.

The 6-foot-1 senior forward is averaging 4.4 points for the Wolfpack, which is 5-4 this season.

Her 82.3 percent free-throw shooting ranks third on the team, as do her 4.6 rebounds per game.

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CASSIE ROBBINS wrapped up a stellar volleyball career at Washington State, helping the Cougars qualify for the NCAA tournament this fall for the 10th time in program history.

A 6-foot-3 middle blocker, she earned honorable mention all-Pac-10 Conference recognition this season, averaging 1.24 blocks per set, which was fourth-best in the conference and 40th nationally.

Robbins’ career totals for solo blocks (49), block assists (299) and total blocks (348) all rank 10th in WSU all-time standings.

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TANA STICKNEY (East Valley) leads Eastern Oregon in scoring this season at 11.5 points per game. The 5-foot-11 senior forward scored a season-high 25 points in a 62-53 victory against Whitman late last month.

She also is second in rebounding for the Mountaineers, averaging six rebounds per contest.

SASHA VALDEZ (Selah), a sophomore for EOU, is averaging 1.2 points per game.

JORDAN STARR (Davis), a sophomore on the Bellevue Community College men’s basketball team, had 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the Bulldogs’ 80-64 win over South Puget Sound. The victory gave Bellevue the championship of the Pierce College Thanksgiving Tournament. Starr averaged 14 points during three games and was named to the all-tournament first team.

MATT PETERSON (Eisenhower), a sophomore on the Whatcom Community College men’s team, averaged 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in the Pierce College Thanksgiving Tournament as the Orcas finished fifth. Peterson, who sat out last season after transferring from Skagit Valley, was named to the all-tournament team.

CLAIRE FAUCHER (Eisenhower), a senior at Portland State, scored 23 points to help the Vikings rally for a 62-56 win over UC Santa Barbara. Faucher scored 10 points over the final 5:52 and finished with six steals, five rebounds and four assists. She was 9-for-19 from the field and made four 3-pointers.

RAISSA LICANO-SANCHEZ (Grandview), a sophomore on the Seattle University volleyball team, was named to the Division I Independent All-Academic team. Licano-Sanchez has compiled a 3.80 grade point average while majoring in humanities for teaching.

DANIEL DAVIDSON (Eisenhower), junior on the Whitman College men’s basketball team, led the Missionaries in scoring through six games with a 12.7 average. Davidson played the two previous seasons at Skagit Valley.

LAIKEN DOLLENTE (Eisenhower), a senior at the University of Portland, matched her season high of 23 points in a 76-65 win over Boise State. Dollente made 6 of 10 field goals and was 10-for-10 from the foul line as the Pilots improved to 5-3.

CHELSEA VANDEBRAKE (Eisenhower), a senior at Washington State and an English major with a 3.95 grade-point average, was named to the first team of the Pac-10 Conference women’s cross country all-academic squad for the third consecutive year.

KAYLA STANDISH (Ellensburg), a sophomore at Gonzaga, scored a career-high 25 points on 11-for-13 shooting in Wednesday’s win over North Dakota. Standish hit both of her 3-point shots, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots for the Zags, who are 5-1 with wins over USC and Washington.

TALIA VENERA (Ellensburg), a sophomore outside hitter at Wenatchee Valley, was named a second team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Venera led her team to third place in the NWAACC championship tournament. DARIA WINCKLER (Davis), a freshman with the Knights, joined Venera on the NWAACC’s East Region first team.

JESSICA HUNTINGTON (East Valley), a senior on the Eastern Washington women’s basketball team, scored a team-high 18 points as the Eagles defeated Portland 72-64 in their season-opener. Huntington was 4 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, was 7 of 9 from the foul line and added three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

KINZI POTEET (Grandview), a freshman at Boise State, had a game-high nine rebounds in BSU’s win over Utah Valley on Tuesday. Poteet ranks second in rebounds for the unbeaten Broncos (5-0) with a 5.4 average.

KIM JIMENEZ (Eisenhower), a sophomore at Columbia Basin College, set a school record for digs in a match with 47 in a NWAACC East volleyball contest against Blue Mountain. Jimenez will play in the NWAACC All-Star Sophomore event in Dec. 5 in Moses Lake.

ANTHONY JOHNSON (Yakima Valley CC), a senior on the Montana men’s basketball team, has been named the Big Sky Conference’s Player of the Week. Johnson averaged 22.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds as Montana beat North Dakota, Boise State and Loyola-Marymount for the title. Last season’s Big Sky Newcomer of the Year shot .528 from the field, .538 from 3-point range and .917 from the foul line during the three games, and will begin his next contest having made 20 free throws in a row. Later, Johnson scored 20 points to lead Montana to  68-55 win at Oregon — the Grizzlies’ first defeat of a Pac-10 school since 2005-06.

YAKIMA, Wash. — CLAIRE FAUCHER (Eisenhower), a senior on Portland State’s women’s basketball team, has been included among 30 nationwide candidates for the 2009-10 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Nominees are selected based excellence in character, academics, community activity and competition.

The only Big Sky Conference player from a women’s or men’s team selected, Faucher has been one of the nation’s top playmakers over the past two seasons.

She began this season needing only 83 assists to become PSU’s all-time leader and 86 to become the Big Sky career leader.

Faucher has also spent many hours volunteering for various organizations, serving as a Young Life leader and as counselor at Royal Family Kids Camp. She has spoken at youth school events and has donated time at a local retirement home.

SHAWNA SCHOOLEY (Davis), a freshman at Everett Community College, won the NWAACC women’s cross country title and led the Trojans to the team title. Schooley set a course record on the 5,000-meter course at Lewisville Park in Battle Ground, clocking 18:23 for a 17-second victory.

JANAE GODOY (West Valley), a senior on the Seattle Pacific defending national champion women’s soccer team, scored her first goal of the season on a penalty kick during the Falcons’ 6-0 defeat of Western Washington. The win gave SPU (9-2-1 conference, 16-3-1 overall) its sixth GNAC title in nine years and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Godoy was later selected to the all-conference second team and was also named to the all-academic squad. SPU fell to Chico State in its playoff opener Thursday, 4-3 in a shootout.

CHELSEA VANDEBRAKE (Eisenhower), a senior at Washington State, and SANDRA MARTINEZ (Davis), a freshman at Oregon State, finished 47th and 51st, respectively, at the Pac-10 cross country championships at Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 30. VanDeBrake covered the 6,000-meter course in 21 minutes, 30 seconds with Martinez at 21:35.

At the NCAA West regional meet in Springfield, Ore., last weekend, Martinez finished 52nd and VanDeBrake was 82nd.

YAKIMA, Wash. — GRAHAM VAUX (Davis), a sophomore at Eastern Washington University, placed seventh in the Inland Northwest Challenge to help the Eagles go 3-0 in dual-meet scoring. Vaux covered the 8,000-meter course in 25:06.

ROCHEL BURKE (Selah), a sophomore at the University of Puget Sound, has played in 10 matches with a goal and assist for the 12-1 Loggers, who spent two weeks this season ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III women’s soccer poll.

SHAWNA SCHOOLEY (Davis), a freshman on the Everett Community College cross country team, was named NWAACC Athlete of the Week for her performance in the Willamette Invitational. Schooley toured the 5K course in 18:05, a 43-second improvement on her personal best.

EVAN BERNDT (West Valley), a sophomore on the Highline Community College men’s basketball team, will redshirt this season after undergoing knee surgery last summer. Berndt will return to the Thunderbirds for the 2010-2011 season.

YAKIMA, Wash. — LIZ TIKRITI (West Valley), a freshman on the Montana State Billings women’s golf team, finished tied for fifth in the recently-held Rocky Mountain College Invitational, leading the Yellowjackets to third place in the tournament. Tikriti shot rounds of 80, 76 and 80 for a 54-hole total of 236.

CASSIE ROBBINS (Eisenhower), a senior on the Washington State volleyball team, has been among the top performers for the Cougars’ 14-1 team. Through Saturday she ranked third on the team in kills with 139, or 2.62 per set and was first with 1.38 blocks per set. Her 187 total points were second on the team, which has lost only at seventh-ranked Oregon.

BRANDON ARTZ (Grandview), a junior on the Idaho football team, was given the team’s Ironman Award for his play on special teams in the Vandals’ recent win over Colorado State. Artz, who transfered from Southern Oregon, is the holder for field goals and extra points for Idaho, which is  4-1 for the first time since 1994.

CHRISTINE COOK (Eisenhower), a freshman on the Seattle University women’s golf team, tied for 58th out of 80 golfers at the WSU Inland Cup. Cook shot rounds of 89, 82 and 79 at the par-72 Palouse Ridge Golf Course, and had the Redhawks’ low third-round score.

YAKIMA, Wash. — ALLYSON POWELL (Selah), a junior on the Gonzaga University volleyball team, was named to the Tulsa Invitational All-Tournament team earlier this month. A libero, Powell had 26 digs in the Bulldogs’ final tournament match, a 3-1 loss to Stephen F. Austin.

STEPHANIE HARVEY (Eisenhower), a senior on the University of Puget Sound volleyball team, leads the Loggers in assists with 157, ranks second with 59 digs and is tied for the team lead with nine aces through eight matches. In a recent win over Pacific, Harvey had 18 assists. The Loggers were 7-2 through Friday.

CHRIS REID (West Valley), a junior on the Whitman College men’s soccer team, scored his first goal for the Missionaries in a recent 2-1 win over Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo. Reid, a transfer from Walla Walla Community College, had six shots on goal.

CHELSEA VANDEBRAKE (Eisenhower), a senior at Washington State, placed second in the Clash of the Inland Northwest cross country meet on Sept. 5. VanDeBrake covered the 4,000-meter course in 16:10, the same time as winning teammate Lisa Egami.