WA coaches picked these Tri-Cities area athletes for senior all-state basketball games
The Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association has selected its all-stars for the WIBCA All-Star Games, set for Saturday, March 16, at Bellevue College.
Six players come from the Mid-Columbia Area: Caden Allred of Royal (1A boys team), Carter Green of DeSales (1B boys), Ryland Kitts of Waitsburg (1B boys), Blake McClure of Tri-Cities Prep (2B boys), Kory McClure of Prosser (2A boys), and Buddy Smeenk of Sunnyside Christian (1B boys).
Here’s the schedule for the 16th: Futures game, 11 a.m.; 1B vs. 2B game, 12:30 p.m.; 1A vs. 2A game, 2 p.m.; 3A vs. 4A game, 3:30 p.m.
▪ The Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association will hold its Senior All-State Games on Sunday, March 17, at King’s High School in Seattle.
Scheduled games: 1B vs. 2B game, 2 p.m.; 1A vs. 2A, 4 p.m.; 3A vs. 4A at 6 p.m.
Three area athletes set to play min this series, includes Kamiakin’s Nicole Wertenberger for the 4A team, Warden’s Aliza Leinweber for the 2B team; and Taylor Andringa of Sunnyside Christian for the 1B team.
▪ Kiona-Benton junior Spencer Hansen was named East Division Player of the Year by 1A South Central Athletic Conference boys basketball coaches last month.
Royal’s Greg Jenks, who led the Knights to the 1A state tournament, was named coach of the year.
Joining Hansen on the East’s first team, was Royal senior Caden Allred and freshman teammate Grant Wardenaar; Wahluke junior River Buck and senior teammate Andrew Yorgesen; and Connell senior Tyler Li.
College baseball
There might be a good reason to follow the University of Portland baseball team this spring.
The Pilots have three Tri-Citians on their roster: Brady Bean, Broden Palmer and Caiden Thomsen.
Bean and Thomsen are Kamiakin graduates, while Palmer comes from Southridge.
Palmer and Thomsen are true freshmen and pitchers, and have yet to pitch in a game as Portland is off to an 8-5 start.
Bean, however, is off to a .316 batting average (12 hits in 38 at bats), has a home run, 6 RBIs, and 8 walks.
The infielder comes to Portland as a sophomore, transferring from Saint Martin’s University this past offseason.
Wrestling
Southridge junior Lexi Gideon and Walla Walla sophomore Kylie Whitaker grabbed the major awards for the Mid-Columbia Conference all-conference girls wrestling team, which was voted on by MCC coaches.
Gideon was named Lower Weight Wrestler of the Year and was first team at 125 pounds. Whitaker was named Heavy Weight Wrestler of the Year and was first team at 135 pounds.
John Nicacio, who led Richland to an MCC regular season title, was named MCC Coach of the Year.
Nicacio had four Bombers named to the first team: junior Kyndra Casias at 145 pounds, junior Savannah Dufault at 115, junior Juliet Polomsky at 105, and sophomore Savannah Thorpe at 110.
Hanford and Hermiston each had three wrestlers named first team.
For Hanford, they were sophomore Genesis Cambron at 100 pounds, senior Dayna Enderlin at 155, and junior Makenzie Shupe at 120.
Hermiston had three seniors make the team: Elena Flores at 140 pounds, Lindsey Perkins at 235, and Hadley White at 190.
Kennewick had two first-teamers to complete the squad: junior Jaylee Lopez at 170 pounds, and senior Vanessa Robles at 130.
▪ Grandview senior Evan Benitez and Othello junior Mason Perez were named the boys wrestlers of the year by Central Washington Athletic Conference coaches recently.
Benitez was named Light Wrestler of the Year at 126 pounds; while Perez was named Heavy Wrestler of the Year at 285 pounds.
Othello’s Rudy Ochoa II was named CWAC Boys Wrestling Coach of the Year.
Joining Benitez and Perez on the CWAC first team were three other Othello wrestlers: senior Anthony Abundiz at 132 pounds, senior Isaac Campos at 113; and junior Anthony Solorio at 215.
Grandview senior Julian Sanchez also made the first team at 144 pounds.
▪ Toppenish, with its multiple individual state champions last month, dominated the boys wrestling all-conference team in the 1A South Central Athletic Conference.
Two local competitors — Kiona-Benton senior Keeven Gifford (157 pounds) and College Place senior Ethan Parker (165).
Gifford placed fifth at state and had a 45-8 record; Parker went 2-2 at state, and he was 36-6 on the season.
College Place’s Mike Holden was named SCAC Coach of the Year.
College basketball
Kamiakin grad Tyler Bilodeau has been Oregon State University’s second-leading scorer this season, averaging 14.4 points for the men’s basketball team (13-18 record).
Bilodeau is shooting an impressive 52 percent from the floor (165 for 313 shooting), and he’s the best rebounder for the Beavers, averaging 5.8 boards a game.
OSU is coached by Wayne Tinkle, who played for the Tri-City Chinook in the old Continental Basketball Association in the 1991-92 season.
▪ Richland High grad Kylee Fox finished the regular season for the Fresno State women’s basketball team as the Bulldogs’ No. 3 scorer with 7.9 points a game.
Her 44 steals was second best for Fresno State, which finished with a 14-17 regular season.
The true freshman has been a starter all season.
Signings
Central Washington University’s softball program will be adding three Tri-City athletes for next spring (2025). Southridge’s Melise Brown, Kamiakin’s Halle Dilger, and Chiawana’s Adriana Rodriguez have all signed letters of intent to play for the Wildcats beginning in the fall of 2024.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
