Kamiakin boys, girls teams sit atop MCC basketball standings at Christmas break
Most area high school basketball teams shut down for a few days around Christmas, before ramping things back up for the remainder of the season.
Here’s a look where boys teams in the Mid-Columbia Conference stand right at Christmas:
Kamiakin 3-0 MCC, 4-1 overall
Richland 2-0, 4-2
Walla Walla 3-1, 4-4
Kennewick 2-2, 5-2
Chiawana 2-2, 4-4
Hanford 2-2, 2-4
Hermiston 1-3, 3-4
Pasco 0-2, 0-5
Southridge 0-3, 2-5
Boys notes: Thanks to Parker Hodge at his website, parkerhodge.com, the top five scorers so far in the MCC are Kamiakin junior Peter Dress with 23.8 points, Hanford senior Andrew Dearman (22.5), Hermiston junior Grant Olsen (21.7), Southridge junior Jesse Tijerina (19.0), and Kennewick senior Jonah Gebers (18.1). … One reason Walla Walla is 3-1 in MCC play: balanced scoring. The Blue Devils have four players averaging 9.8 points or better right now. … A couple juniors are closing in on the 1,000-career points mark. Richland’s Josh Woodard is at 749 points, while Hermiston’s Olsen is at 734. … Next MCC game is Jan. 3, when Richland visits Pasco.
Standings
Here is what the MCC girls standings look like, as of Dec. 21:
Kamiakin 3-0 MCC, 4-1 overall
Richland 2-0, 2-1
Kennewick 3-1, 4-3
Walla Walla 3-1, 4-3
Chiawana 2-2, 3-5
Hanford 1-3, 2-4
Hermiston 1-3, 2-6
Pasco 0-2, 0-5
Southridge 0-3, 1-6
Top five scorers in the MCC right now: Hanford junior Lynnea Moran at 17.8 points, Kennewick junior Haylee Johnson (17.5), Pasco senior Mireyah Lopez (17.2), Chiawana sophomore Malia Ruud (16.5), and Kamiakin senior Nikole Thomas (16.0). … Missing is Richland senior Kylee Fox, but only because the Bombers have only had three contests so far. … Kamiakin and Walla Walla are near the top of the MCC standings thanks to sharing the ball. The Braves have five players averaging 9.0 points or better, while the Blue Devils have five players averaging 7.8 points or more. … Fox has a career points total of 1,142. Kamiakin’s Thomas is closing in on 1,000. She is currently at 935. … Next MCC contest is Jan. 5, when Chiawana visits Pasco.
CBC sports
The Columbia Basin College men’s basketball team had a perfect non-conference run in November and December, going 10-0. Head coach Anthony Owens has a squad that is ranked No. 2 in the latest NWAC coaches poll, only trailing NWAC East foe North Idaho which is ranked No. 1 with a 12-0 record.
Amar Rivers (Auburn High School grad) leads the team in scoring at 13.4 points, and he has 4.7 rebounds.
Bobby Siebers (Snohomish Glacier Peak) averages 12.1 points a game, while Jayden Martinez (Chiawana) is this in scoring at 10.3 points a game. Martinez also averages 1.5 steals a contest.
Other highlights so far: Latrell Barker (Arizona) has 6.7 rebounds; Javon Handcox (Walla Walla) has 4.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals; Malakai Munoz (Portland Christian) 2.1 assists; and Lawson Vella (Portland-Cleveland) with 1.7 assists.
The Hawks are off until Jan. 4, when they open East Region play at North Idaho on Jan. 4.
▪ Amy Sokaitis has the CBC women’s basketball team off to a 7-2 start this season, as the Hawks take a break for the holidays.
CBC is led by Lexie Heath (Post Falls, Idaho), who averages 15.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals.
Kenzie Pedersen (Garfield-Palouse) is second in scoring at 11.7 points, and first in rebounding at 6.8 a game.
Other leading players: Ali May (Alaska) at 9.9 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 steals; Trinidie Nichols (Post Falls, Idaho) at 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals; and MaKenna Brandner (Tri-Cities Prep) at 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Lane is the top-ranked team in the latest NWAC women’s basketball coaches poll, while Walla Walla (9-0) is ranked fourth, while CBC is currently eighth.
▪ DiShondra Goree, who suddenly passed away this fall, was named 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association Two-Year College Co-Coach of the Year recently.
Goree’s team finished second in the NWAC tournament in November, a few weeks after she died.
Goree shared the honors with Thais Baziquetto-Allen of Florida Southwestern.
▪ The Columbia Basin College baseball team should have another outstanding squad when the season begins in the spring.
The Hawks are ranked 8th in the NWAC coaches preseason poll.
The Hawks already have two players committed to four-year schools for the 2023-24 season.
Infielder Harper Huang is a sophomore transfer from Green River Community College, so the Hawks will get him for just this season. Then Huang will transfer to Arkansas Tech, which is an NCAA Division II program.
Meanwhile, sophomore outfielder Brooks Rasmussen — who was an all-NWAC pick last season as a freshman — has committed to Metropolitan State in Denver.
Wrestling
Hanford’s Jake Hubby and Caden Wilson had great finishes at the prestigious Tri-State Invitational tournament in North Idaho last weekend.
Hubby placed second at 152 pounds to raise his record to 9-1, while Wilson took third at 160 and is now 10-1.
Kamiakin junior Juan Hoffman also placed third, beating Richland senior Saul Salinas (who placed fourth) in the third-place match at 120 pounds. Hoffman’s record after the tournament was 10-2, while Salinas was at 14-2.
Area wrestlers who placed fourth: Othello junior Isaac Campos at 113 (now 11-2), and Hermiston junior Ben Larson at 170.
Fifth-place finishers were Kamiakin senior Antonio Nicacio (now 11-3) at 145 pounds; Chiawana senior Judah Bishop at 182; and Hermiston senior Jaxson Gribskov at 195.
Local sixth-place finishers: Hermiston sophomore Carlos Cervantes at 113 pounds; Chiawana senior Isaiah Medina at 120; Chiawana sophomore Daeton Johnson at 126; Othello senior Terrill Freeman at 195; Othello senior Josue Solorio at 220; and Hermiston junior Siu Sepeni at 285.
Taking seventh place in their divisions were Hermiston junior Daniel Garza at 138 pounds; Richland senior Melvin Kreitzer at 220; and Chiawana junior Lane Hedrick at 285.
And two Othello wrestlers finished eighth: freshman Daniel Gonzalez at 113, and senior Forrest Roylance at 138.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
