The Journal's top 10 sports stories of this year

As 2019 comes to a close with our final issue of the year, The Journal is looking back at its top 10 sports stories of the year.

Feb. 14

All four LRS wrestlers advance to State--without playing a single match

Due to inclement weather that affected driving conditions throughout the state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association cancelled all regional wrestling tournaments in the state.

That included the Regional Tournament that four Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos grapplers were set to participate in on Feb. 9 in Liberty. Now, all four have advanced to the Mat Classic, which will be held at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma beginning on Feb. 15.

Rather than try and reschedule the regional tournaments, WIAA staff and event managers developed 32-person brackets rather than the usual 16-person brackets for each weight division in each of the five classifications. Like usual, each of the four "A" classifications will have their own tournaments, while the 2B and 1B schools will join as one classification for the Mat Classic.

Freshman Johnny Ryan, who advanced to regionals as the South's No. 2 seed in the 106-pound weight class, will receive a first-round bye to start the tournament due to the fact that there are only 19 wrestlers in his division.

At 113 pounds, eighth grader Brandon Davis will also receive a first-round bye after he was originally the South's No. 2 seed heading into regionals.

Sophomore Doug Morris was not able to secure a first-round bye in the tournament. Wrestling at 195 pounds, Morris will wrestle Toledo sophomore Hunter Smith in his opening-round match. Morris had advanced to regionals as the South's No. 3 seed.

The fourth LRS wrestler to advance to the Mat Classic is sophomore Thomas Schermerhorn, who like Morris also was not able to get a first-round bye. Wrestling in the 220-pound weight class, Schermerhorn was the South's No. 3 seed heading into regionals. He will wrestle senior Arthur Olinger from Kalama in his first-round match.

Feb. 21

Colfax ends Lady Broncos' postseason run

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos basketball season came to an end last weekend, after the Lady Broncos made a spirited run in the Northeast 2B Conference Tournament.

Following a 59-31 win against the Asotin Panthers on Feb. 12, the Lady Broncos won their next game against the Reardan Indians on Feb. 14 before falling to the Colfax Bulldogs the next night to end their bid for the State Tournament.

The Lady Broncos smothered the Indians defensively in their game last Thursday, winning 40-24. LRS led 23-13 at the half before pulling away even further in the second half. Reardan never scored more than 10 points in a single quarter against the Lady Broncos.

Freshman Dakota Killian scored 21 points, the second time in the tournament that she scored more than 20 points in a game. Sophomore Linnea Schafer added nine points for LRS and junior Eliza Galbreath chipped in five.

With the win, the Lady Broncos made the trek to West Valley High School for the second consecutive day on Feb. 15, to take on the Bulldogs. LRS swept the regular season series against Colfax, but the Lady Broncos had a tough time getting anything started offensively in this game. Colfax led 30-12 at halftime and 48-20 after three quarters, and LRS never scored more than eight points in a single quarter, falling 55-27.

With the loss, LRS ended the season with an even 12-12 record overall. According to data from the WIAA, the Lady Broncos played the 11th-toughest schedule amongst the 62 teams in the 2B classification. LRS also finished in the upper-half of 2B (No. 26) in regards to their RPI, the rating percentage index.

March 7

Spring sports season off to a rocky start

The 2019 Lind-Ritzville/Sprague spring sports season is off to an ominous beginning, to say the least.

Frequent snow and consistently cold weather in the month of February have wreaked havoc on the LRS spring sports schedule, as practices officially got underway last week. But three school cancellations last week due to even more snow have made it almost impossible for the roughly 85 spring sports athletes to step foot on the field, court, track and course.

LRS athletic director Greg Whitmore said that he's never experienced such a rough start to the spring sports season in his 27 years in Ritzville.

"I have the feeling that this is going to be the most challenging spring we've ever had," said Whitmore. "Not that we haven't had snow on the first day or snow in April, but I don't think we've ever seen these kind of long-term weather forecasts where it's not getting above freezing and there's no chance of it melting for awhile."

Whitmore added that he doesn't feel like he's going to have any other choice than to cancel some events.

Cancellations have already occurred for three of the five spring sports. The softball jamboree scheduled for March 7 in Colfax, the baseball jamboree on March 9 in Connell and the tennis jamboree in Ritzville on March 9 were all cancelled last week.

With the snow's persistence in not melting, the baseball field, softball field, track, tennis courts and golf course are still completely covered in a blanket of snow. There's currently no timetable for when any of the ordinary practice locations will be ready for use.

May 2

Cold, windy day can't dampen 14th Undeberg Invitational

Jimmie Snyder Field on the campus of Lind-Ritzville High School was decked out with color and readiness to host the 14th annual Undeberg Track and Field meet.

Grandparents, community members, visitors and track aficionados began passing the ticket booth at about 10 a.m.-just about the same time the heavy clouds spewed hail and a shot of light rain on the grandstand and facilities. But spirits were not dampened by moisture, although a strong wind lasting throughout the day affected into-the-wind performances in nearly every event.

Nevertheless, opening ceremonies saw hundreds of competitors establishing a connected ring around the oval for the national anthem-followed by what could best be described as a "group hug" in the center of the field where a commitment to friendliness and fair play was passed along among all athletes.

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos joined athletes from 33 other teams for the day's competition.

"Amazing" is one word to describe the Undeberg Invitational. Not only that hundreds of athletes come to compete in one of the most efficiently run meets, but also that it honors a man who gave 25 years to high school track and field, and also that the meet directors and officials are all community persons working on track facilities which were constructed by community members who thought that Ritzville should have a first-class quality track. Amazing.

June 13

Hannas, Young named Derby co-champs

When the dust finally settled in the Lind Lions Club Arena on Saturday night, two drivers emerged victorious and shared the title as the winner of the 32nd Annual Lind Combine Demolition Derby.

Caleb Hannas, riding S.M.A.S.H., and Kyle Young, driving Jaws, were the final two combine drivers standing following several rounds of carnage, with the main event taking almost 30 minutes to complete.

Following the elimination of Trevor Jantz-driving Pour Life Choices-in third place, Hannas and Young faced off head-to-head for two head-on impacts to see if a solo champion could be determined. When both S.M.A.S.H. and Jaws withstood a pair of devastating collisions, the derby's judges declared Hannas and Young co-champions. Hannas and Young emerged from their combines with enthusiastic fist pumps and shared a hug and a pat on the back for a hard-fought derby.

It was the seventh time this decade that a pair of drivers split the title. The only times that a solo winner could be declared was last year (Jim Oswald), 2012 (Tyler Startin) and 2010 (Oswald). It appears that both Hannas and Young claimed their first-ever title at the derby.

In all, more than a dozen combines participated in the 32nd edition of the Lind Combine Demolition Derby, with at least eight of the drivers hailing from Lind.

It was also the third year that the Lind Lions Club hosted a raffle drawing, where the winner would have an opportunity to drive a combine in the main event and compete for the cash prizes. The winner of the raffle was Mike Marty out of Duvall, WA, who passed the opportunity to compete in the derby onto his nephew, Arthur. Arthur would go on to finish in fifth place in the main event.

Sept. 5

Former NCAA athlete to bring 'Winning Mindset' to Lind-Ritzville

Paul Swanson Jr., a former Ritzville student and NCAA Division I athlete will be returning home to bring the "Winning Mindset" training program to Lind-Ritzville/Sprague athletes.

Greg Whitmore, the athletic director of the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague sports combine, wants to see LRS teams be more competitive at the state level.

"We aren't sending as many athletes or teams to state as we have in years past," Whitmore wrote in an email to The Journal in June. "Sometimes that is due to circumstances that we cannot control. However, there are some items we can control."

Whitmore said he thinks fitness and mental toughness are areas where LRS athletes could improve. Over the summer, Whitmore addressed fitness with a summer training program. Now, as the fall sports season approaches, he is trying to tackle mental toughness as well.

"I think our kids could benefit from improving the mental part of competition including mental toughness and focus," Whitmore said.

Winning Mindset is a mental training program founded by former college wrestlers Gene Zannetti and Jeff Zannetti. The Zannetti brothers are both former All-Ivy League wrestlers from the University of Pennsylvania. The program started as a wrestling-specific program.

Swanson played Division I football at Arkansas State University. Before that, he enlisted into the Washington Army National Guard at age 17 and remained a member of the United States Army until 2013. He then attended community college at Orange Coast College where he attained his associate degree and was an all-conference football player.

Swanson will be making eight visits to Ritzville as part of the training program.

Sept. 12

Ritzville's Lacey Miller to begin collegiate softball career

Lacey Miller fell in love with softball in third grade. She played throughout her schooling in the Lind-Ritzville Schools co-op. Now, she's ready to take it to the next level after earning a softball scholarship at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

Playing at the next level means a lot to Miller.

"That's huge to me." Miller said. "I think in my sophomore year I had an idea that I might be able to go to the next level. Then, my coaches were really encouraging me, and I just thought, 'Wow, how cool would that be?'"

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague softball head coach Todd O'Brien, who coached Miller for all four years of high school, said he knew early that Miller was a special player.

"When she came to us as a freshman, we knew she had some skills as a softball player," O'Brien said. "She came in wanting to be a catcher. Immediately I enjoyed her attitude and her willingness to work ... A lot of people don't want to play catcher because they get beat up. But she came in and she wanted to do it."

Miller's enthusiasm grew from there.

O'Brien says Miller is the first collegiate softball player to come out of LRHS in the six years he has coached here.

Miller was born and raised in Ritzville. Sports have been a part of her life since she can remember. At LRHS, she played softball, volleyball and basketball.

She was an all-conference player in softball in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She was also the conference MVP in her senior season.

Also during her senior year, Miller was an all-conference player in volleyball. While she enjoyed basketball as well, Miller said softball and volleyball were her favorites. She says her experiences with those two sports have affected her life beyond the field of play.

"Those two have my heart," Miller said. "They got me through high school."

Oct. 10

Basketball legend, former Ritzville coach passes away

According to the family, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Humphrey passed away early Wednesday morning, Oct. 2. Humphrey coached in several high schools in Eastern Washington, most notably Ritzville and Cheney.

Born April 4, 1940, Humphrey graduated from Reardan High School in 1958, being part of the Indians basketball lore as a member of the boys' basketball team that reached the state tournament in his senior season. Humphrey helped the team to the tournament - where they lost to Kalama and Onalaska - by being the state's third leading scorer, averaging 21.5 points per game.

Humphrey enrolled at Spokane Community College, playing basketball there for two years under coach Hank Coplen. He received his AA degree and then transferred to Eastern Washington State College in 1966, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in physical education in 1968.

While not playing basketball for the Savages, Humphrey did begin his coaching career during his student teaching at Shadle Park High School in 1967.

Humphrey landed his first head coaching stint in at Lacrosse High School, beginning a career that ended 34 years later with a record of 552-277, going 26-23 in state playoff games with 30 winning seasons, taking 24 teams to districts and 16 to state that included nine state trophies and two state runner-up finishes.

After a year in class A with Chewelah, Humphrey returned to the B ranks at Ritzville. He took the Broncos to state at the old Spokane Coliseum from 1975-1977, earning trophies each year - including a loss to Brewster in the 1976 title game.

In 1980, Humphrey was hired by then athletics director Jim Hatch as Cheney High School's boys' basketball head coach – where he would spend the next 22 years before retirement in 2002.

Nov. 7

Schafer places seventh at regionals, moves on to state

A week after Lind-Ritzville/Sprague's Linnea Schafer was named All-League at the District 7 championships, Schafer finished No. 7 at the regionals in Chewelah, easily qualifying for the state championships this Saturday in Pasco.

Schafer is the lone LRS athlete to qualify for state. The top 28 girls and the top 35 boys qualified. Schafer finished 21:07,71. She qualified by almost two minutes. The final qualifier finished with a time of 22:58.25.

"[Schafer] had a big [personal record] this week," LRS head coach Morgan Hunt said. "She and I are striving to break 21 minutes. She is so close! Huge growth from her, and a very well deserved spot this weekend at state. I am excited to see her compete at the state level."

Just missing the cutoff was LRS' Julia Klein, who finished with a time of 23:30.89, good for 32nd place.

"Julia just missed state by a few runners," Hunt said. "She battled hard for the final spot. I cannot express how proud I am of her and how hard she worked this season. I am really looking forward to working with her and seeing how much growth she can make between now and next year."

The LRS boys failed to qualify any runners for state, but Hunt was more concerned about the personal growth of her runners.

"Everyone showed improvement from the beginning of the season to the end of the season," Hunt said. "I am so proud of each and every one of my runners."

Nov. 21

LRS volleyball crowned academic state champs

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague volleyball team has won the WIAA Scholastic Awards Program state championship for 2B volleyball teams. The award is given to the team with the highest GPA in the state.

According to the WIAA website, the program is "to recognize and reward those teams or groups that maintain a high collective academic standard. It is open to Varsity or Sub-varsity (JV, Freshman, etc.) sports teams, activity squads such as Dance & Drill and Cheer squads, and fine arts groups such as bands, choirs, orchestras, dramatic troupes and forensics teams."

The LRS volleyball team had a combined GPA of 3.920, which was higher than the winners of the award at the 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A levels.

"Being academic state champs is a big deal," head coach Cari Galbreath said. " It's such a relief as a coach when players are responsible learners in the classroom. Very commendable."

LRS athletic director Greg Whitmore said academic success is a strong focus of LRS athletics.

"This is a great honor for our girls," Whitmore said. "We try to impress upon our kids that as scholar-athletes, the academics comes first. These girls are proof of that."

"I couldn't have been prouder when I was notified that our varsity volleyball team had won this award," Lind-Ritzville High School Principal Kevin Terris added. "It's a testament to the value we place on academics and our extra-curricular programs."