These 2 Tri-Cities area basketball teams started season with a 10-game winning streak
Columbia-Burbank maintained its place atop the Class 2B boys rankings in the latest Scorebook Live Washington’s coaches polls that were released on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
The Coyotes are off to a 10-0 start and have been No. 1 since the season started.
Also in that poll is Tri-Cities Prep, which is also 10-0, and ranked No. 5.
Here are the other boys polls:
In 4A, Richland dropped to No. 4 after losing 63-60 at Davis last Friday. Mount Si is still at No. 1, while Kamiakin received votes.
Eastside Catholic is the No. 1 team in 3A boys, while North Kitsap gets the nod atop the 2A boys poll.
In the 2A poll, Grandview sits right behind North Kitsap at No. 2, while Prosser received votes.
Lynden Christian is ranked No. 1 in 1A boys, while Wahluke is ranked No. 8.
And in 1B boys, Cusick is No. 1 this week, and DeSales is No. 6.
In the girls polls, Warden is the new No. 1 in the 2B poll. The Cougars — who won the 2B state title two seasons ago, then placed third last season — are 11-3 so far this season.
Mabton is ranked eighth in the poll.
Camas is the top 4A girls team, while Kamiakin is ranked fifth and Chiawana is seventh.
Garfield is the No. 1 3A girls team, while Kennewick is No. 7.
In 2A girls, Ellensburg was voted No. 1 again, with CWAC rival Prosser is No. 3.
Defending state champion Nooksack Valley is still ranked at No. 1 in 1A girls, while Neah Bay is No. 1 in 1B girls.
Sunnyside Christian is ranked 10th in the 1B girls poll.
Here are the Mid-Columbia Conference’s top five boys basketball scorers (thanks to Parker Hodge) after Tuesday night’s games:
1, Peter Dress, Kamiakin, 24.4 points;
2, Grant Olsen, Hermiston, 19.8;
3, Jesse Tijerina, Southridge, 19.5;
4, Ken Higgins, Walla Walla, 17.6;
5, Landon Northrop, Richland, 16.0.
Meanwhile, here are the top five scoring leaders for the MCC (before Tuesday’s games):
1, Lynnea Moran, Hanford, 20.3 points;
2, Malia Ruud, Chiawana, 19.0;
3, Haylee Johnson, Kennewick, 18.89;
4, Nicole Wertenberger, Kamiakin, 18.80;
5, Izzy Simmons, Hermiston, 18.2.
Volleyball
Grace Morby, who played for Kennewick High and then Columbia Basin College, had 53 kills and 23 blocked shots this fall for the Ottawa University (Arizona) women’s volleyball team.
Morby is a junior for the Spirit, which finished the 2023 season with a 15-13 record.
▪ Makenna Mosher (Walla Walla) led the Bushnell volleyball team this past season with 96 blocks. Mosher also had 109 kills for the Beacons, who finished the season with a 16-12 record.
▪ Rose Vazquez (CBC) was a bright spot for the 2-27 women’s volleyball team this fall at Warner Pacific University.
Vazquez, a junior, had 124 digs and 13 aces for the Knights.
Soccer
Chiawana grad Summer Yates had two assists and 9 shots over 10 games in her first season with the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League.
The Pride was 10-1-11 during Yates’ first season with the Pride.
Yates is in the second year of a two-year contract with the Orlando squad.
▪ Senior Hannah Hagler (Richland) was named first-team All-Northwest Conference this fall as a goal keeper for Whitman’s women’s soccer team.
Hagler had a 10-4-4 record, six shutouts, and an 86 percent save percentage. The Blues had a record of 10-5-5.
▪ Sophomore Nathan Alvarado (Kennewick) was the leading scorer for the Walla Walla Community College men’s soccer team this past fall.
The Warriors had an 8-3-8 record.
Alvarado scored 8 goals and had 4 assists for a team-best 20 points for WWCC.
Wrestling
Area wrestlers earned seven titles at the Lioness Invitational girls tournament at Kennewick High on Dec. 1.
Kennewick sophomore Jaslene Gonzalez (140 pounds) and senior Vanessa Robles (130); Warden senior Jada Hernandez (115); Pasco sophomore Adyson Lewis (125); Hanford junior Makenzie Shupe (120); Othello senior Elia Velazquez (190); and Walla Walla sophomore Kylie Whitaker (135) were all winners in the opening tournament of the season.
▪ Warden senior Jada Hernandez (102 pounds), Othello freshman Grace Mendez (115) and Walla Walla sophomore Kylie Whitaker (130) were all perfect with four pins each en route to weight-class titles on Dec. 9 at the Warden Women’s Invite.
Five other Mid-Columbia athletes also took titles: Columbia-Burbank sophomore Genesis Berg (100), Kamiakin freshman Talan Jansky (140), Pasco freshman Berkley McCullough (135), Kennewick junior Delaney Rush (125), and Othello senior Elia Velazquez (190).Othello won the team title with 204 points, while Davis was second at 152, and Pasco third at 140.
Tennis
Lisa Hart, a former standout tennis player at Sunnyside High School, is the head coach for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Concordia University in Nebraska.
Hart had most recently been an assistant coach the past two seasons at the University of Nebraska, where she played tennis as a college athlete.
Before coming back to coach at Nebraska, Hart had been the head women’s tennis coach for 18 years at Washington State University. Her 246 team victories while coaching the Cougars are a school record for the women’s tennis program.
Before coaching at WSU, Hart was the women’s head coach for three seasons.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Herald.
