3 Tri-Cities grads honored for outstanding Northwest Conference football season
Grad student Atticus Templeton (Kennewick) was named the recipient of the Torchleader Leadership Award at the Whitworth University football team awards banquet last month.
And senior Dylan Ashbeck (Walla Walla) was named the team’s Special Teams Player of the Year.
The Pirates had a great season, winning the Northwest Conference regular season title with a 7-0 record.
Whitworth won a first-round NCAA Division III playoff game, beating Chapman of California 42-28.
The Pirates’ season ended the next week in the second round, when they lost at Wartburg 42-20.
But a 10-1 overall record was impressive, with some Mid-Columbia athletes who had outstanding seasons.
Running back Luis Salgado (Kamiakin), a sophomore, was named first-team All-Northwest Conference.
He rushed for 717 yards to lead the Pirates’ ground game. His 37 catches for 280 yards receiving was fourth on the team, and his 13 touchdowns were the most on the squad.
Defensive lineman JT Munoz (Chiawana) was also a first-team All-NWC player. Munoz led the defense in tackles for loss with 12, and he had 6 quarterback sacks. He also had 40 tackles.
Templeton was named second-team All-NWC selection at defensive back. He was second on Whitworth’s defense in tackles with 53. He also led the team in pass breakups with 6.
Meanwhile, defensive tackle Alex Smith contributed with 13 tackles this season.
College basketball
Ta’Veus Randle (Belgrade, Mont.) leads the Columbia Basin College men’s basketball team in scoring at 21.5 points a game through games of Jan. 13.
Randle also averages 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Hawks, who are off to a 10-5 start (2-0 in East Region play).
Other highlights include Jayden Martinez (Chiawana) averaging 11.6 points; and Latrell Barker (Phoenix-Mountain Pointe) at 11.3 points and a team best 8.4 rebounds.
Javon Handcox (Walla Walla) has 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while Eric Woods (Little Rock-Southwest) dishes off 2.1 assists a game.
▪ Sophomore Keely Maves (Walla Walla CC) is averaging 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds this season while playing for the Spokane Community College women’s basketball team.
▪ Freshman Maggie Sharp (Stanfield) leads the Treasure Valley Community College women’s basketball team in three main categories. She leads the Chukars in rebounds (6.1), assists (3.3) and steals (2.4).
Sharp also is scoring 7.7 points a game.
▪ Former Pasco High standout Diego Gutierrez has landed at Wenatchee Valley Community College, where he is starring for the Knights’ men’s basketball team.
Gutierrez averages 12.5 points a game, as well as 4.5 rebounds. His 6.3 assists per contest ranks among the best in the entire NWAC. He also is the team leader in that category. His 1.1 steals per game also leads the team.
▪ Chiawana graduate Cooper DeWitt is now a senior in college, playing for the IndianaUniversity-Purdue University Indianapolis men’s basketball team.
It’s an NCAA Division I school playing in the Horizon Conference.
DeWitt — at 6-foot-6, 195 pounds — is a senior guard-forward who has started 11 times for the 5-14 Jaguars.
▪ Sophomore Paris Wilson (Sunnyside) is the leading scorer for the Yakima Valley Community College women’s basketball team with an average of 16.7 points a game. Her 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals are also team bests. Wilson also averages 8.1 rebounds a contest.
Meanwhile, teammate and sophomore Faith McCarty (Echo, Ore.) averages 11.9 points and 2.2 assists for the Yaks.
Boat racing
H1 Unlimited held its annual awards banquet on Jan. 6 in Arlington, and several people came away with awards.
That included Bill Cahill, who was named Sponsor of the Year as the owner of Beacon Plumbing.
Jeff Campbell was named Crew Chief of the Year for his work overseeing both crews on the Strong Racing boats; while Steve Compton, a technical inspector, was named Volunteer of the Year.
U-11 owners Scott and Shannon Raney were named Owners of the Year, as well as their team being named Most Improved of 2023.
Finally, Kelly Stocklin’s U-40 Bucket List Racing team was named Crew of the Year.
Prep wrestling
Led by Jacoby Rodriguez’s pin at 120 pounds in just 1 minute and 15 seconds, Hermiston’s boys wrestling team rolled over visiting Chiawana 46-14 on Thursday, Jan. 11, in a big Mid-Columbia Conference match.
The victory gives the Bulldogs the inside track to the MCC regular-season title.
Hermiston had four other pins in the victory: Joseph Gutierrez (215 pounds), Aidan Larson (126), Hayden Larson (150), and Jaysen Rodriguez (132).
Cross country
Walla Walla grad Cannon Angotti placed 19th at the Western Athletic Conference’s men’s cross country championships in November, covering the 8K course in Abilene, Texas, in 24 minutes, 41.4 seconds.
For his efforts, Angotti was named to the WAC all-conference team.
College volleyball
Josephine Thompson, a junior on the Whitworth University women’s volleyball team, finished second on the Pirates team in assists with 426.
Thompson, who previously played for Columbia Basin College, also was third on the squad with 158 digs. She also had 22 services aces. Whitworth had a 15-10 overall record this fall.
Jeff Morrow is the former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
