Locally: Former U-Hi standout Tate Orndorff places 8th at NCAA wrestling championships
Tate Orndorff took a gamble. Turns out, it wasn’t much of one. He persevered until the odds were in his favor.
But when the former two-time Washington state wrestling champion from University High School and new bride Brinley packed up their cars and a moving van for the 1,700-mile, mid-winter drive from Orem, Utah, to Columbus, Ohio, there must have been some trepidation.
A sophomore at Utah Valley University, Orndorff had been a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships who received first-team All-America honors when the 2020 event was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I loved the school, and the coaches and my teammates,” he said of Utah Valley University. “I just wanted to try to get better training partners; people who could push me a little bit.”
“Tate took a big chance on himself coming to Ohio State,” Buckeyes head coach Tom Ryan said. “He was in a good spot, a comfortable spot, at Utah Valley. He wanted to challenge himself and see if he could take his wrestling to another level.
“We already had a very good heavyweight who was a fan favorite in (senior) Gary Traub. What Gary did last year was amazing. Tate took a chance and he beat out Gary for the spot.”
But it didn’t start well, Orndorff acknowledged. He lost his first two matches.
“Social media was all over the coaches,” said Gary Petit, a member of the school’s sports information department.
But it didn’t faze Orndorff; not the losses or social media. “I don’t really look at that,” he said.
“Tate is mature, and in a lot of ways has a calming influence on the rest of the team,” Ryan said.
“I was just putting too much pressure on myself,” Orndorff said. “I wasn’t wrestling my best. I just had to relax, stick with it and be patient.”
He won his next three matches and four of the next five and earned a No. 8 seed in the heavyweight division into the Big Ten Championships. He lost the match for fifth place and took a 7-8 season record into the NCAA Championships, where he was seeded 21st in the 32-wrestler bracket.
After winning his first match, he lost in the second round, forcing him to wrestle four times in one day. He won the first three but lost his next two matches to place eighth, ending the tournament with a second straight All-America award, this one earned on the mat.
“He worked so hard throughout the season to not only keep that spot, but to grow and get better,” said Ryan. “His season culminating in All-America honors was very fitting for how hard he worked. We’re all very happy for Tate and proud that he’s a Buckeye.”
Bowling
Spencer Au bided his time during the Junior Bowlers Tour stop at Lilac Lanes on March 21 until it was time to make a move.
The 13-year-old came through the first four games of qualifying in third place, then moved into second during match-play qualifying going into the four-player finals.
Michael Bushyeager had been in first after a 945 four-game series in the first qualifying session and stayed there after going 3-1 in match play. But he stumbled in the first round of the playoffs and finished fourth.
Cameron Haight, who had climbed from seventh to fourth during match-play to make the playoffs, was the next eliminated, finishing third.
That set the stage for a championship match between Au and No. 3 qualifier Mac Reese. Au turned up the heat for a 247-180 victory to win his first JBT championship.
Au had high game of the day, a 257, and Bushyeager had high average, a 201. Macey Schultz had high average for the girls, a 173, and Maliya Asada had high game for the girls, a 196.
College scene
Daniel Roy of Spokane collected his third All-America award on Saturday, but the 2021 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, didn’t turn out how he would have liked.
The Stanford junior from Gonzaga Prep finished fifth in his specialty, the 200-yard breaststroke, after being seeded third based on his preliminary time. He clocked 1 minute, 51.82 seconds in the finals after going 1:51.76 in the prelims. Max McHugh, a Minnesota junior, won in a PR 1:49.02 with Roy’s longtime Cal rival Reece Whitley second in a PR 1:49.54.
Earlier in the meet, Roy had a false start in the 200 IM prelims that eliminated him in that event and tied for 26th in the 100 breast.
• Washington State’s Charlisse Leger-Walker, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, is one of 52 players named a regional finalist for the 2021 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America team that will be announced Saturday (April 3).
Leger-Walker set the WSU freshman scoring record at 18.8 ppg, scoring 20 or more points in 12 games, which also is a program freshman record. The Waikato, New Zealand, native is the first freshman in Pac-12 history to lead the league in points. She scored 452.
• Claire Dingus, a Saint Martin’s junior forward from University High School, who averaged a double-double for the Saints, was named honorable mention on the 2021 WBCA Division II All-America Team.
The first NCAA All-American in St. Martin’s women’s basketball history finished second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with 17.5 ppg and third with 10.2 rpg. She also averaged 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals to go with 55.9% field-goal accuracy.
Dingus had five double-doubles in the Saints’ pandemic-abbreviated 7-6 season, highlighted by a 25-point, 16-rebound performance on Jan. 29 in a 69-64 win over Northwest Nazarene and a 25-15 double-double in an 84-59 win over Northwest on Feb. 20. She had a season-high28 points, in which she made 13 of 16 shots, in an 85-69 loss to Northwest Nazarene.
Dingus started her career as GNAC Freshman of the Year in 2018-19, was second-team All-GNAC in 2019-20 and is a two-time GNAC All-Academic selection.
• Another honor for Shamrock Campbell. The Carroll College junior point guard from Ferris, who was the Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year, received honorable mention recognition on the NAIA Men’s All-America basketball team.
As the Fighting Saints went 20-8 and reached the quarterfinals of the national tournament, Campbell averaged 14.5 ppg and shot 51.9% from the field, 48.9% on 3-pointers and 92.1% from the free throw line. He added 83 assists to just 22 turnovers and had 30 steals while generally guarding the opponent’s top scoring threat.
• Trystan Bradley, a four-year senior on the Lewis-Clark State men’s basketball team from Lewiston, earned his second straight All-America honor when the NAIA named him a third-team All-American. Bradley, an honorable mention selection last season, led the Warriors in scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounding (6.3 rpg) and blocked shots (14).
• Justin Jeske, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard at Eastern Oregon from Liberty HS, was the Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball player of the week on March 22 after he averaged 17.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists as the Mounties opened conference play with a 2-0 start.
Jeske had a double-double (14 points, 16 rebounds) in the first game, 20 points in the second and shot 68.2% from the field during the week.
• Christine Denny, a Carroll College senior forward from Liberty HS, who was third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg), second in rebounding (6.5 rpg) and third in minutes played (28.8), was named honorable mention on the NAIA Women’s All-America basketball team after earning second-team honors last season.
The 5-foot-9 point guard helped anchor the Saints’ defense that limited opponents to 58 ppg with 29 steals (third on the team) and a team-leading 14 blocked shots.
• College of Idaho junior shortstop Haley Loffer from Lake City collected a couple of honors for her performance in the Yotes’ four-game sweep of Eastern Oregon on March 20-21.
Loffer was named the NAIA National Softball Player of the Week and the Cascade Collegiate Conference softball player of the week after reaching base in 11 of 12 plate appearances. She went 7-for-8 with three home runs, eight runs scored and five RBIs, adding three walks and two stolen bases.
She is the first player in program history to receive the national player award although three Coyotes have won national pitcher honors.
• Jaya Allen, a Dickinson (S.D.) State junior softball pitcher from Shadle Park, entered last week leading the North Star Athletic Association in ERA (2.28 in 272/3 innings over six games), opponents’ batting average (.206), strike outs (41; 10.37 per game) and hits allowed per game (5.57). She had a 2-1 record for the 11-5 Blue Hawks.
• Parker Bowden’s second school record and personal best mark in as any weeks on March 19 earned the Eastern Washington senior from Central Valley the Big Sky Conference men’s track athlete of the week award.
Bowden won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.89 seconds at the Whitworth Essential, a figure that ranks fifth among Division I athletes nationally and third in the West Region. A week earlier he ran 13.90 at Oregon State. Both also are records for those tracks.
• Freshmen Johan Correa and Alma Manzo of Community Colleges of Spokane swept the second Northwest Athletic Conference track and field athlete of the week awards.
Correa earned the men’s honor after turning in the fastest times of the year in the NWAC in the 800 (1:55.40) and 1,500 (4:01.42) in his first competition since 2019 and anchored a leg on the CCS’ 4x400 relay. Manzo timed 26.48 in the 200 and had a 36-foot, 6-inch (11.16m) triple jump, both season bests in the NWAC to earn the women’s award.
• The Idaho men are fifth and the women seventh in the Big Sky Conference coaches’ preseason outdoor track and field poll. The Eastern Washington men are predicted to finish eighth and the women ninth. Northern Arizona teams lead both polls.
• Three runners from the area who are at least sophomores with GPAs of 3.20 or better were named to the 2020-21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team in cross country.
Repeating from 2019 are Tyler Shea (Northwest Christian HS), junior, Northwest Nazarene, 3.93 GPA, and Rebecca Lehman (University HS), jr., 3.68. Earning his first award is Marcus Rice (Shadle Park/Community Colleges of Spokane), senior, Saint Martin’s, 3.57.
• Gabriel Hughes, a pitcher/first baseman for Gonzaga, was named the West Coast Conference baseball pitcher of the week after he matched a career-high seven-innings of work in a 2-0 shutout of Santa Clara on March 19.
Hughes allowed five hits and one walk while striking out 12 to get the Bulldogs started on their first series sweep of the season. He played first base in the next two games, going 1 for 4 with a double and a run in Sunday’s 5-2 series finale.
• Idaho senior midfielder Kaysie Bruce, who scored four goals in a pair of 5-0 Vandals victories over Portland State the week of March 15-21, including a hat trick in the second game, was named the Big Sky Conference women’s soccer offensive player of the week on March 22.
• Three Whitworth Pirates collected Northwest Conference player of the week honors for the week of March 16-22.
Sara Gayer, a senior shortstop, was the softball position player of the week after she went 9 for 13 with three home runs, eight RBIs and eight runs scored as the Pirates won three of four games at Puget Sound. She has had a hit in all but one game this year and leads the conference in batting average and on-base percentage.
The men’s track and field award went to grad student Nick McGill. He is the NWC leader in the javelin and ranks second in the nation after throwing 192 feet, 6 inches at the Whitworth Essential Invite. He also recorded a top-15 national mark in the long jump (21-11½).
Freshman Oliver Nordberg received the men’s golf award after he shot his best round of the season, a 2-under-par 70, as Whitworth defeated Whitman 288-310 in the Dual at the Pointe at Moses Pointe Golf Club.
• Laney Search, a George Fox senior from Sandpoint, was the Northwest Conference volleyball offensive player of the week after the setter dished out a career-high 57 assists on March 18 followed by 54 the next night as the Bruins split with Willamette. She also added a career-best 25 digs in the first match and had two aces and four blocks during the week.
• The Gonzaga men’s tennis team, with an 11-3 record and 10-0 mark in WCC play, broke into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings last week at No. 62 that ties the highest ranking in program history. GU was 62nd on Feb. 19, 2020. It’s the third time the Zags have cracked the ITA team rankings, all since 2019.
• Kyla Currie, a Lewis-Clark State freshman from Lake City HS, shot 83-80 for 19-over-par 163 to finish eighth in the Warrior Invitational at Lewiston Golf & Country Club on March 22-23 that counted as the second tournament of the Cascade Collegiate Conference season.
• Senior track and field athletes Marty Munyon and Jordyn Tucker were named the Washington State Academic Services Student-Athletes of the Month for March.
Munyon, a thrower from Central Valley who transferred from Community Colleges of Spokane, is slated to graduate with a degree in sports management with a 3.51 GPA. A peer counselor who acts as director of social media for intramurals on campus, also volunteers at the Sky Hawks children’s sports academy in Spokane and teaches life skills to kids ages 4 to 14.
Tucker, a sprinter with a 3.44 GPA in biology, is also working on minors in communication and psychology, and has earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors. She has been active in multiple student-related groups, including the Black Student Athlete Association and Young Women’s Christian Association. She started her on skin-care business, Sun-Flwr, during the pandemic.
Football
After their game scheduled for Sept. 7, 2020, was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic, Eastern Washington and Florida jointly announced they have rescheduled and the Eagles will travel to Gainesville, Florida, on Oct. 1, 2022. The original game was announced in 2016.
“Florida has been a great partner throughout this process,” said EWU director of athletics Lynn Hickey. “We are glad it worked out to reschedule … because our program was looking forward to the challenge of playing a SEC opponent.”
Golf
Nick McCaslin and Travis Huskisson from Kalispel Golf & Country Club tied for 18th at 7-under-par 137 (68-69) to lead the showing by area entries in the Pacific Northwest Pro-Assistants Championships last week at Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby, Oregon.
• Former University of Idaho standout Sophie Hausmann from Germany finished in a four-way tie for sixth at 11-under 277 (70-72-68-67) on the first Symetra Tour tournament of the year, the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, March 18-21 in Mesa. It’s the second top-10 finish of Hausmann’s career. She made the cut in six of 10 tournaments in 2020.
• Derek Bayley of Rathdrum shot 10-over-par 226 in the first round of the Mackenzie Qschool Prep at the Wigwam Resort Gold course last week in Litchfield Park, Arizona, and missed the cut by six strokes in the Outlaw Tour event.
Hockey
Chris Baird, who has been with the Spokane Chiefs since midway through the 2006-07 season, has been promoted by the Western Hockey League team to director of hockey operations.
The Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls High School graduate, who started as a part-time video coordinator, has served as assistant director of hockey operations since 2017, handling much of the player administration and video analysis for the team.
”Chris has proven time and time again to be a key member of our hockey staff,” said general manager Scott Carter. “This promotion reflects the value he brings to our organization and the expansion of responsibilities he oversees.”
Letters of intent
Furman football: Luke McLaughlin, LB, Coeur d’Alene HS, 5A All-State, All-North Idaho.
Soccer
Enzi Broussard, who faced Washington State during its historic run to the College Cup in 2019, will join the Cougars for the fall of 2021. The striker from Dallas, Texas, a freshman at West Virginia when WSU faced the Mountaineers in the third round, will transfer to WSU, Cougars coach Todd Shulenberger announced.
In two years at W. Va., Broussard had five goals and four assists and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team. Prior to signing as a four-star recruit, Broussard spent time playing with the U-17 U.S. Women’s National Team. She played her prep soccer at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, where she was twice named the league’s best offensive player.
Softball
The Stor A Way Storage Yeahoos of Spokane went unbeaten in six games and won the 13-team 65+ AAA division in the Senior Softball USA Spring World Championships last week in Las Vegas to qualify for the SSUSA Tournament of Champions in February 2022 in Lakeland, Florida.
The Yeahoos, who defeated Los Vatos Viejos from Phoenix 32-27 in a semifinal and again 28-16 in the championship game, placed five players on the all-tournament team (batting averages in parenthesis): Mike Allen (1.000), Jack Parker (.875), Tim Wheatley (.833), Jim Pierce (.810) and Dave Leake (.727).
Other team members: Ron Klawitter, Allen Arnold, Dan Griffith, Dan Smith, Jerry Coulter, Randy Willis, John Hollett and Ray Gaines. Klawitter and Parker led the team in runs scored (17 each) and Pierce and Leake led in RBIs (19 each).
A second area team, North Idaho Softball, placed second in the 65+ Platinum Division after losing the championship game 25-10 to Arizona Old School 65 and finished with a 4-2 record.
Four players made the all-tournament team (on-base percentage in parenthesis): Dennis Wolff (.722), Ron Geffre (.758), John Walkington (.727), Tim Coles (.800) and Ray Hofsta (.619).
Other players: Lee Libera, Marlin Harris, Wayne Becker, Doug Gray, Wade Edington, Greg Hart, Chris Hammonds and Jim Palombi.