Richland Bombers and Kennewick’s Braves, Lions dominate all-state baseball teams
Richland High baseball coach Grant Richardson has been named the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year for the 2021-22 school year.
And his assistant, Charlie Moody, is State Assistant Coach of the Year.
The WSBCA also chose its all-state teams, and there are plenty of Mid-Columbia athletes on those teams.
It’s the first time in three years the organization voted on all-state teams.
In Class 4A, our region was represented by shortstop Brady Bean, Kamiakin; third baseman Chris Daniels, Richland; pitcher-3B Payton Graham, Kamiakin; pitcher Connor Mendez, Chiawana; pitcher Joey Pearson, Richland; pitcher Royce Vandine, Chiawana; and outfielder Joey Weissenfels, Richland.
The Class 3A team featured shortstop Danny Dickinson, Kennewick; pitcher-outfielder Carson Jones, Walla Walla; pitcher Leyton Lind, Kennewick; outfielder Max Martin, Southridge; and second baseman Chance Oldham, Kennewick.
The 2A team had two locals — Othello infielder Andre Garza, and 3B/1B Matthew Sauve of Grandview.
The 1A team had three area players on the list in Royal pitcher Derek Bergeson, College Place’s Jacob Courtney, and Kiona-Benton’s Ty Messner.
College football
Whitworth’s football team fell on the road last Saturday, losing to Carnegie-Mellon 35-17.
Defensively for the Pirates, defensive back Colten Chelin had 5 tackles, while defensive lineman JT Munoz (Chiawana) added 4 tackles, and DB Atticus Templeton (Kennewick) had 3 tackles.
Whitworth’s Alvaro Campos-Ontiveros (DeSales) punted 8 times for a 34.8 yards a kick average. He also kicked a 40-yard field goal, and two extra points.
▪ Eastern Washington University opened its season on Saturday with a 36-29 win over Tennessee State in Cheney.
Running back Tuna Altahir (Kamiakin) shared some of the rushing duties, carrying the ball 7 times for 20 yards. He also caught a pass for 14 yards.
Wyatt Musser (Kamiakin) started on the offensive line, while Cody Clements (Richland) is the team’s special teams center.
▪ Top-ranked Ferris State beat Central Washington 36-20 last Thursday.
That didn’t stop CWU defensive lineman Christian Penny (Chiawana) from wreaking havoc. Penny had 6 tackles (1 for loss) and a hurry for the Wildcats.
▪ Eastern Oregon University lost 48-14 to visiting Montana Western on Saturday.
Defensive back Josh Mendoza (Richland) was one of the Mountaineers top defensive players, though, earning 7 tackles (1 for loss) and a pass breakup.
Teammate Moses McAninch (Kennewick) added 7 tackles (1 for loss).
Prep cross country
The first state high school cross country poll is out, and the Kamiakin boys are back where they finished last season: No. 1 in the 4A boys poll.
Braves head coach Matt Rexus lost state champion Isaac Teeples and top-echelon runner Grayson Wilcott to graduation — Teeples is now at BYU, Wilcott at WSU — but there is still some talent in the cupboard.
Among the area’s top returning runners are Kamiakin’s Ezra Teeples, Jackson Johnson, Tanner Mills and Jackson Farris.
Other area teams in the poll are Royal (5th) and College Place (8th) in the 1A boys poll; while Hermiston’s boys received points in the 3A poll.
Walla Walla senior Brody Hartley is probably the best boys runner back from last year.
Other top boys runners are Tri-Cities Prep’s Ciaran St. Hilaire, Richland’s Jace Woodard, Hanford’s Troy Russo, Chiawana’s Ehzoc Chavez, and College Place’s Jio Herrera.
Here are the top area girls running this season: Hermiston’s Megan Joyce, Elizabeth Newman and Jaquelin Garcia Sandoval; Richland’s Tylar Wolff; Kennewick’s Morgan Thompson and Sofia Lieberman; Chiawana’s Carley Nelson; Kamiakin’s Deverie Gutierrez; Walla Walla’s Emmalyne Jimenez; and Hanford’s Mia Beightol.
Prep football
Here is the Week 2 area football schedule for Friday, Sept. 9 (all kickoffs are 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise):
MCC 3A/4A — Hanford at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium; Hermiston at Richland; Kamiakin at Moses Lake, Lions Field; Kennewick at Walla Walla, Borleske Stadium; Pasco at Southridge, Lampson Stadium.
2A CWAC — Grandview at Wapato (1A); Prosser at Zillah (1A); Royal (1A) at Othello.
1A SCAC East — College Place at River View (2B); Kiona-Benton at Columbia-Burbank (2B); Nooksack Valley at Connell, 1 p.m., Saturday; Wahluke at Warden (2B).
2B EWAC — Cle Elum-Roslyn at Dayton-Waitsburg; Granger at Mabton, 1 p.m., Saturday; Tri-Cities Prep at Asotin, 6 p.m., Thursday.
1B District 9 — DeSales at Pomeroy; Liberty Christian at Touchet, 3 p.m.; Sunnyside Christian at Yakama Tribal Nation, 4 p.m.
Golf
Columbia Point Golf Course in Richland is looking for some good stories played on its golf course.
Believe it or not, Sept. 24 marks the 25th anniversary of the Richland course, which replaced the old Sham-Na-Pum course, using plenty of dirt hauled in to make it very hilly.
Joe Creager and his staff want golfers to share their memories on a course that opened in 1997.
Email those stories to info@playcolumbiapoint.com, and the deadline is Sept. 19.
