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Posted Nov. 14, 2002
Week 7: Some playoffs
get quick makeover
Week 6: Othello starts slow, gets hot
Week 5: Lopsided scores continue to roll along
Week 4: Special plays spark Burbank
Week 3: Kennewick football celebrates
Week 2: When is too much?
Week 1: Kennewick volleyball spikes up
Den Boer, 6 others sign letters
By René Ferrán
Herald staff writer
Seven Mid-Columbia athletes signed letters-of-intent Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period.
Most commitments were already known - such as Sunnyside Christian senior Lance Den Boer, the two-time Class B state player of the year who signed with Washington State - but two involving the Pasco girls basketball team were revealed Wednesday.
Pasco senior Michelle Elliott sent off her letter Wednesday night to play basketball next season at San Diego State, while Emily Halliday joined Big Nine Player of the Year Leilani Mitchell of Kennewick by signing with Idaho.
"Emily is a bulldog," said Idaho coach Mike Divilbiss in a release. "She's got a great mentality. That's really cool to see a kid with that type of mentality and a burning desire to be the best."
Elliott, a first-team All-Big Nine selection a year ago, also considered Idaho and Washington State before deciding upon the Aztecs, who went 10-18 last season and lost in the first round of the Mountain West tournament but have a new coach in Jim Tomey.
"They have a great coaching staff and some good Christian people who really hooked me," Elliott said. "Plus they have real nice new facilities."
WSU reached into the region for the second time in three years to sign an area prospect in Den Boer. Former Walla Walla standout Thomas Kelati is a sophomore point guard with the Cougars.
"We're excited about the addition of Lance to our basketball program," WSU coach Paul Graham said in a release. "He is an in-state player, and we definitely want to recruit in state first. At 6-foot-6, he has good size and is a phenomenal shooter."
Also signing Wednesday were Hanford's Holly Krzan with Alabama-Birmingham in softball and former Kamiakin baseball standout Jason Freeman - now at Columbia Basin College - with Washington State.
Kevin Joslyn, a teammate of Freeman's at CBC, signed with Oregon State.
* Six area runners will compete at Border Clash IV on Sunday in Beaverton,
Ore. Hermiston's Jenna Lloyd, Brian Horneck and Tommy Puzey will compete
for Oregon teams against Washington teams that will include Sunnyside's
Isley Gonzalez, Kamiakin's Kristi Jensen and Connell's Josh Fitts. Runners
qualified based on their finishes at their respective state meets. Washington
is 2-1 in the series. Former Kennewick baseball coach Dean Hoff, a longtime
football official in the Tri-City association, has been selected to work
the 2A state championship game as the umpire in the five-man crew. Lewis
& Clark's volleyball team had won five Greater Spokane League titles,
two district titles and two state titles since Buzzie Welch took over as
coach in 1990, but until Saturday, the Tigers hadn't won a regional title.
Their 15-8, 15-11 victory over Mead meant the GSL has won every title since
it and the Big Nine adopted regional play in 1995. The GSL has captured
23 of the 30 state berths. A pair of Puget Sound prep powers fell in district
play Saturday. Two-time defending 4A state volleyball champion Kentlake's
91-match win streak ended in the West Central District semifinals, 5-15,
15-9, 15-8 to eventual champion Puyallup. The Falcons came back to take
third and advance to state. Not so lucky was Bellarmine Prep's girls soccer
team, which was 17-0 and ranked sixth nationally before being stunned 2-1
by Federal Way, eliminating the Lions from the postseason.
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