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B SectionAugust 24, 2011 Send stories and scores to [email protected]

view

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sidelinesAl Camp

Woot!ThisT-shirtis mineOvercoming

obstacles a must

I am writing thisweek’s column withoutwearing my hard-earned StampedeWarrior T-shirt.

It’s hanging up athome next to mySuperman outfit, whichI could have used to getthrough the obstaclecourse Aug. 20 inOmak.

So, I sit in collaredshirt and air-conditioned officewriting about thetoughest event I’vedone since the obstaclecourse in basictraining.

This course wastough because I am adesk jockey, not anathlete or anythingresembling an in-shape, 60-plus person.

I got off to a greatstart last Saturday inthe inaugural event,jogging out of theStampede Arenadespite promisingmyself to walk the 3.2-mile course.

Somehow theChronicle Crusaderclan/team got enteredat noon with thecompetitive entries andnot with therecreationalists, whogot started at 10 a.m.under much coolertemperatures.

Our flight took off ata dead run. I joggedabout 50 yard — nomore than 100 — andfound myself windedand in last place.

I rotated betweenlots of walking and alittle jogging to keepmyself from being thelast person in the flight.

The first obstaclewas a set of walls thatkeep getting taller as Itell the tale. I had triedgoing over it whilephotographing the 10a.m. starters.

I’d undergone arotator cuff and jointoperation in March onmy left shoulder. Ipracticed on the walland the shoulderquivered due toweakness. I wasthinking I would haveto by-pass it.

As I approached inthe race, I noticedothers laying on theirstomachs pullingthemselves over. I didthe same and it turnedout to be the easiestbarrier I encountered.

I got through the LesSchwab tire barrierfairly easy.

The mostdiscomforting obstaclewas the Townsendranch hay bales, whereI slashed my left armand left knee.

See Sidelines B3

The Omak-OkanOgan COunTy ChrOniCle

Olivia Harnack/The Chronicle

Omak’s Stampede Warrior competitors splash through the mud and under barbwire during the inaugural event Saturday, Aug. 20.

By Al CampThe Chronicle

Omak — More than 300 weekendwarriors tested their metal in theinaugural Omak’s Stampede Warriorobstacle race Saturday, Aug. 20.

Warriors leaped over walls, across atire field, slung themselves over spiky haybales and slippery cars before racingdown the World-Famous Suicide Racehill, swimming the Okanogan River andwallowing through a mud pit and dashingthrough fire.

Omak’s John Durkee (22:17) andAmanda Randolph (25:21) were the fastestoverall, organizer Mandy Holz said.

Holz continued to work on resultsMonday, Aug. 22. She planned to postindividuals online at www.ncac-omak.com Monday night and clan/teamtimes by Tuesday night.

“A lot of learning goes into the firstyear,” Holz said. “We’ve beenoverwhelmed with positive feedback. Weare excited that we can easily double thenumbers next year.”

Omak radio personality Jim Skinner,57, said he felt great finishing the

challenging course.“I loved it,” he said. “I thought first of

all they did a great job organizing it. Withall the people they had at the stations, itwas very well put together.”

Skinner achieved his goal of finishing.“I struggled through a lot of the

obstacles,” he said. “A couple I had to goaround. When I finished I felt a real senseof accomplishment. Even though it tookme a long time, it really gave me a goodfeeling.”

Oroville’s Bruce Thornton, 59, is a tall,veteran road racer.

“It thought it was great and a lot offun,” he said. “The tunnel was hard to getin due to my long legs. There were placesI had to get way down.

“Mostly, I thought the organizers likeMandy and all the volunteers need to bethanked,” Thornton said. “It took a lot oforganization to put that on. It took a lotmore for this, than a race, I was realappreciative they did this.

“I enjoyed going down the Suicide Racehill and across the river. I was glad I got todo that.”

See Warrior B3

Shakanna Inman/The Chronicle

Roni Rubio, 17, of Omak, runs through thefinal flaming obstacle.

Al Camp/The Chronicle

Michelle VanderPool, who was on thewinning Flynn Clan from Wenatchee,runs across the car obstacle.

Hundreds take challengein inaugural 3.2-mile

Omak’s WarriorStampede obstacle

course race.


Ryan Holz, No. 100, follows his son, Elijah, 8, overthe Les Schwab tire obstacle. Both finished.

Shakanna Inman/The Chronicle

The noon flight of Omak’s StampedeWarrior race leaves the startline.

Ferry County, filled withbeautiful, rugged scenery,features a wide array ofactivities, including thisweekend’s Wings OverRepublic fly-in.

Nestled in the Kettle Rangebetween Lake Roosevelt andthe Canadian border, thecounty offers opportunities fornearly everyone, from historicsites and museums to non-motorized and motorizedrecreation, fossil hunting,fishing, musical events andshopping opportunities.

The Sherman Pass ScenicByway on state Highway 20between Republic and KettleFalls offers beautiful vistaswith little traffic.

For those pedaling their wayacross the county, viewsabound on the gentler routethrough Curlew and acrossBoulder Pass between stateHighway 21 and U.S. Highway395.

Republic is noted for theStonerose Interpretive Centerand Eocene Fossil Site.

It’s surrounded by nationalforest lands and within shortdriving distance of numerouslakes, campgrounds andCurlew Lake State Park.

The Ferry CountyFairgrounds feature a restoredantique carousel and a good,old-fashioned county fair eachyear during Labor Dayweekend.

For motorized recreationenthusiasts, there are roads setaside for off-road vehicles inthe Colville National Forest,and an off-road recreation parksouth of Republic near Eagle

Track Raceway. The racewayoffers dirt track car races onalternating weekends throughthe summer.

Hikers and bicyclists cancheck out the Golden TigerPathway and the Ferry CountyRail Trail, both on abandonedrailroad beds.

History buffs will enjoy theRepublic Historical Center, andHusky Car and Truck Museum,Ansorge Hotel and RanaldMcDonald gravesite, all in ornear Curlew.

Perry Wilderness Park, offClark Avenue behind RepublicCity Hall, offers day hikingtrails without venturing intothe forest.

� � �This week’s events include:Aug. 25-28 North Central

Washington District Fair, WatervilleAug. 26-27 Okanogan Valley Garlic

Festival; Tonasket; 509-486-4543Aug. 26-28 Washington State

Trappers Association Mountain ManRendezvous; Omak; www.omakchamber.com

Aug. 26-28 Big North CascadesOld Time Fiddlers Contest and GiantInsect Contest; Winthrop

Aug. 26-28 Wings Over RepublicFly-in; Merritt Field, Republic;www.wingsoverrepublic.com or 509-775-3911 or [email protected]

Aug. 27 Cutthroat Classic TrailRun; Washington Pass-Cutthroat;www.mvsta.com

Aug. 27 Hot August Nights, car andtractor show; Chesaw; 509-485-2174or www.chesawtavern.com

Aug. 27 Eagles Lodge Charity Golf

Tournament; Grand Coulee; 509-633-0162

Aug. 27 Ranch Rodeo, Tonasket

Rodeo GroundsAug. 27-28 Terry Troxell Memorial

Regatta hydroplane races; Pateros

Aug. 27-28Carol Downey Memorial Ride,Conconully

www.omakchronicle.com The Chronicle • Aug. 24, 2011 • Sports• B3

Open 7 Days A Week!Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day!

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Okanogan County Historical Museum

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This year’s race started andfinished in the Stampede Rodeoarena after runners traversedthe 3.2-mile course.

Only one Band-Aid wasgiven out, Holz said.

Many people, after seeingthe obstacles, opted to enterlate. That raised pre-raceestimates of about 200 to morethan 300, which the organizerswere prepared to handle.

“Maybe they came down tocheck it out, and said hey, I cando this,” Holz said.

Most competitors said theriver was the hardest obstacle,Holz said. The hay bales provedto be the most uncomfortable.

“The hay bales actually was acool thing,” Skinner said. “Myarms would not allow me to pullmyself over the last two. I hadto go around them. I gotthrough some of the hay bales.”

The hay bale’s narrow ledgesproved challenging, Thorntonsaid.

“Nothing was overlydifficult,” Thornton said. “Itwas a lot of fun, I thought.”

“Mark Milner and I did thecourse (Friday night),” Holzsaid. “I was not scratched onthe hay. I jumped to my feet oneach one.”

Holz said the 56 volunteersalong with city workers andStampede officials helpedproduced a successful race.

“We learned a lot aboutwhat to make things runsmoother,” she said. “Basically,we ran seven races that day.We sent runners off in smallerwaves to keep obstacles frombeing clogged up. Every heatwas a race in itself.”

All the flights made figuringthe finish line results difficult,she said.

Next year will include somechanges, including a few morewater stations and a quickerway to get results at the finishline.

“I ran through everysprinkler I could go through,”Skinner said.

There will be an emphasison clans, of which nine entered

this year. The Flynn clan fromWenatchee, composed ofwomen, took first amongst theclans with an average time of 37minutes, 39 seconds, Holz said.

“People seemed to enjoythat,” Holz said.

“I told some people about itand they want to do it, too,”Skinner said. “The neat thingwas, you are able to dosomething you thought youcould not do. You pushedthrough it. You showed yourselfyou can overcome theseobstacles.”

“I hope they have it again,”Thornton said. “We thoughtabout having a Thornton teamnext year. There’s already abunch already saying they willcome from Coeur d’Alene andSeattle.”

There might be a waterobstacle near the start of therace to help cool downcompetitors.

“We originally did not wantpeople to get their feet wet andhave to run three miles,” shesaid. “I figure next year yourfeet will have to get wet.”

“The whole process of theday flowed very well,” Holzsaid. “We’re thankful for thecommunity support. We’rethrilled it was as successful as itwas. We look forward to nextyear.”

ResultsOverall male: John Durkee,

Omak, 22:17.Overall female: Amanda

Randolph, Omak, 25:21.Age 18-and underMale: Sam Goble, Omak,

27:20.Female: Amanda Randolph,

Omak, 25:21.Age 19-35Male: John Durkee, Omak,

22:17.Female: Stacey Cleveland,

Penticton, B.C., 25:26.Age 36-49Male: Dave Cleveland,

Penticton, B.C., 23:18.Female: Dewie Edwards,

Republic, 31:34.Age 50-plusMale: Tim Caryl, Omak,

27:20.Female: Daren Dennison,

Heldsburg, Calif., 44:13.

I heard later that the faster– more in shape runners –nearly leaped over the haybales without soft fleshtouching the stacks, one ofwhich was four high.

Cars from Randy’s Towingproved to be slippery due tosloped rear windows coveredwith the dust of earlierrunners.

The Dewberry Wall provedto be more of a nuisance than atough obstacle. I know manysurely could have used somewater about that time.Organizers promise water willbe there next year.

The tunnel was tough on myknees, already sore from thehay.

The Suicide Race hill, likethe cars, proved difficult due tomy lack of depth perceptioncaused by my not wearingglasses and having an eyedefect at birth.

I slowly worked my waydown the steep hill to theOkanogan River, grabbed arope and pulled myself acrossto a point where I could walk.

The water made my cutssting, but the coolness wasmuch welcomed.

The dive into the mud pitwas anticlimactic, and actuallyfelt pretty good.

As someone told me afterthe race, I have 51 weeks toprepare for the next one.

��Three coaches at the Omak

Middle School resigned thismonth.

Dwayne “Dewey” Ivesannounced Aug. 1 he wasleaving as head middle schoolfootball coach.

“I have entered into a newbusiness venture and will notbe available to the program,”Ives said in his resignationletter.

“I am truly grateful for theopportunity to have been a partof the Omak football staff thepast seven years.”

Assistant Football CoachDean Agee also resigned.

“I no longer have enoughtime to fully invest myself inthe program,” Agee said in anAug. 14 email to AthleticDirector Joe LaGrou.

“Thank you for the

opportunity you have given me.I have learned much workingwith the boys.”

Rick McLaughlin resignedas wrestling coach.

“My family and I aremoving to the Tri-Cities area,”McLaughlin wrote to LaGrou.“Please carry through with thepurchase of warm-ups for theteam.”

The Omak School Boardwas expected to act on theresignations at its Aug. 23meeting.

��The state Fish and Wildlife

Commission increased cougarhunting opportunities withoutthe aid of dogs Aug. 19 in sixcounties including Okanoganand Ferry counties.

The commission, which setspolicy for the state Departmentof Fish and Wildlife, amendedcougar hunting regulations inthe counties where a pilotproject authorizing cougarhunting with the aid of dogswas not extended by theLegislature this year.

The other counties areChelan, Klickitat, Stevens andPend Oreille counties.

In addition, the commissionmodified the criteria fordetermining when cougars areremoved to address publicconcerns about pet andlivestock depredation andpersonal safety. The changeallows for cougar removalswhen complaints confirmed bystate WDFW staff in a givengame management unit exceedthe five-year average.

State game managersrecommended theamendments to cougar huntingregulations as an interimmeasure until the 2012-14hunting season package isdeveloped.

��The overall run of sockeye

to the Columbia River has beenrelatively high this year.

Most of the fish appear tobe headed for the OkanoganRiver, state Regional FishManager Jeff Korth said.

Of the 185,000 sockeyehaving passed over BonnevilleDam this year, only about14,000 are expected to enterLake Wenatchee, Korth said.

That is not near the goal of23,000 fish required to openthe lake to a recreational

sockeye salmon fishery season.The last three years there

has been a season. Korth saidsockeye counts between Rockisland and Rocky Reach damswere low this year.

“There’s good reason tobelieve returns will improve inthe years ahead,” he said.

��Amanda Grumbach, Curlew,

will be an outside hitter thisfall for the nationally rankedWhitworth Universityvolleyball team.

Grumbach, a 5-8 senior, is astarter for thePirates whowere ranked18th in therecentlyreleasedAmericanVolleyballCoachesAssociationDivision IIIpoll.

Shestarted on last season’s teamthat won a NorthwestConference title, advanced tothe second round of the NCAADivision III tournament andfinished the season ranked24th in the final AVCA poll.

Grumbach was votedsecond team all-conference.She was a two-year starter atWalla Walla CommunityCollege, where she set recordsfor kills per set and aces in amatch, before transferring toWhitworth.

Whitworth also was recentlypicked first in the 2011Northwest Conference pre-season coaches poll.

��Yuremi Lopez, Omak, starts

collegevolleyballAug. 31 asmiddle oroutside hitterfor theEdmondsCommunityCollegewomen’svolleyballteam.

Lopez islisted as a 5-10 freshman, aninch taller than when sheplayed for the Pioneers last fall.

Edmonds first-year coachDanielle Orong went on arecruiting spree last winter,adding 10 freshmen to a rosterthat includes two sophomores.

Lopez is majoring incommunications. She alsoplayed for the ConfluenceVolleyball Club.

��If you want to see a

professional baseball game inSeattle, mark Sept. 9 on thecalendar for Wenatchee ValleyNight.

The Mariners will host theRoyals at 7:10 p.m. in the first-ever such night.

Special ticket prices apply,including $11 view reservedseats that normally are $20and field level seats for $25that normally are $40.

Special group seating hasbeen reserved, with ticketsavailable online atMariners.com/Wenatchee.

If you order 25 tickets or

more (or require wheelchairseating), call Yoko McCann at206-346-4505.

The deadline to purchasetickets using the special is 5p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8.

��Header Ty Olson, Tonasket,

and heeler Dale Benevides,Naalehu, Hawaii, took firstplace Saturday night at the54th annual Canby, Ore.,Rodeo.

Olson and Benevidesrecorded a time of 6.9 seconds.They would not place in themoney for all performances ofthe rodeo.

��The One Armed Bandit

John Payne, who’s performedat several Omak Stampederodeos, will make his firstappearances at the ChelanCounty Fair on Sept. 10 and 11in Cashmere.

Payne, who has beenperforming since 1986, will befeatured before the rodeo bothdays.

��Ryan Gray, Cheney, won

enough money at the OmakStampede rodeo Aug. 11-14 andat Hermiston, Ore., the sameweekend to qualify for theNational Finals Rodeo.

Gray, who is returning froma lacerated liver suffered at lastyear’s NFR, cracked the Top 15in saddle bronc riding in theProfessional Rodeo CowboysAssociation by winning almost$7,000 by placing second atOmak and Hermiston.

In two months, he’s wonalmost $50,000 to qualify forthe NFR for the seventhstraight year.

��Corrections:

Michelle Demmitt shouldhave been listed as last year’s

Miss OmakStampede ina weekendPage 4 storyAug. 21.

Demmittshould havebeen creditedwith meetingand invitingCanadianroyalty to theStampede

rodeo last year. Many royaltyreturned this year.

“I was surprised they allcame down,” Lisa Demmittsaid. “It was a nice surprise. Ihope they keep this traditioncoming.”

One anonymous donor paidfor all the visiting royaltyhousing, food and otherincidentals during this year’sand last year’s rodeo.

Jeff and Lisa Demmitt saythey are not seeking sponsors,and that they do the legworkwhile the one sponsor pays thebills.

��A photo of Stampede

Warriors on the weekend page4 Aug. 21 should have said therunner in the background wasOmak officer Chris Busching.

Al Camp is the The Chronicle sportseditor. Email him at

[email protected].

Warrior From B1

Sidelines From B1

Bruce Thornton

Jim Skinner crawls through a mud pit just before finishingOmak’s Stampede Warrior obstacle race Aug. 20.

Roper Harnack/The Chronicle

Al Camp works under a cord across the mud pit near the end ofOmak’s Stampede Warrior obstacle race Aug. 20.

Grumbach

Demmitt

Lopez

Ferry County offers great scenery, plenty of diversions — all close to home

The Chronicle

The Morris Merry-go-round isa fairgrounds attraction.

An airplanezooms alongclose to theground duringthe 2010 WingsOver Republicfly-in. Thisyear’s event isthis weekend atMerritt Fieldnear CurlewLake.

The Chronicle

The Chronicle

BREWSTER – The highschool winter sports seasonkicks off with basketballjamborees Tuesday, Nov. 29, inBrewster, Okanogan andCoulee Dam.

At Brewster, the Bears facePateros, Oroville and Chelan atthe high school, 503 S. 7th St.

The Oroville High Schoolgirls basketball team will fill thevoid left by Pateros, which didnot have enough eligible girls.

“Pateros did not haveenough practices,” BrewsterAthletic Director and boyscoach Dwight Pflugrath said.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Girlsbegin at 6 p.m., boys at 7 p.m.

Games will be 10 minuteslong with 10-minute warmups.

Admission is $3 for adultsand $2 for students andseniors.

The girls games in order areOroville vs. Chelan, Brewstervs. Oroville and Brewster vs.Chelan.

The boys games are Paterosvs. Chelan, Brewster vs. Paterosand Brewster vs. Chelan.

The Chelan boys will beshort several players who arecompeting in the state footballtournament. They are comingoff a fifth-place state finish, anundefeated league record and astring of 17 wins last season.

��At Okanogan, the Bulldogs

along with Tonasket andLiberty Bell warm up at 5 p.m.and start play at 5:30 p.m. atthe high school, 244 S. Fifth St.

Each team is allowed a five-minute warm-up, with eachcontest lasting 10 minutes.

First up will be Liberty Bellgirls and boys against theTonasket girls and boys.

Liberty Bell teeams will takeon Okanogan teams followed byTonasket against Okanoganteams.

Okanogan’s teams arefavored to fight for leaguechampionships behind JoeTownsend and Kara Staggs,who were each voted Players ofthe Year last year.

Liberty Bell boys returnseveral skilled players andcould be a sleeper in the 2Branks.

Admission costs $5 foradults and $3 for students.

��At Coulee Dam, the Raiders

will be joined by boys and girlsteams from Mansfield,Bridgeport and Wilbur-Crestonfor games starting at 6 p.m. atthe high school, 500 Civic Way.

Admission costs $6 foradults and $4 for students.

The Raider boys and girlsreturn most of their players lastyear, where both teams placedin state.

The Raider girls return itsstarting line up less one, whomoved out of the area.

Bridgeport girls could givethe Raiders a good game.

The Raider boys areanchored by Ty Egbert, lastyear’s Most Valuable Player inthe North Central 2B Leagueand voted second-team all stateby the Associated Press.

“We are just excited to getgoing,” Lake Roosevelt coachBrad Wilson said. “We haveFreeman and Okanogan ourfirst two games. That’s a couplegood tests coming right out ofthe block.

“We also have the ChelanChristmas Tournament.”


SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. –Two Colville tribal membershave accomplished somethingno prisoner from AlcatrazPrison ever did.

Omak’s Shelli Martinez, 30,and Inchelium’s Jerry Signor,49, swam across the mile-and-a-half of water between theformer prison island to SanFrancisco.

“I felt so much like a fish inthe water,” Martinez told TheChronicle last week. “I wasamazed how good I felt.”

Martinez and Signorrepresented the Colville TribesDiabetes Prevention Programby joining a group of 12American Indians fromWashington, Alaska and SouthDakota taking on thechallenging swim in numbinglycold, shark-infested water.

The swim was designed topromote public awareness ofdiabetes and the need toexercise.

“I was like woohoo; it wascold, cold,” Signor said.

Martinez and Signor swamthroughout the summer toprepare for last month’schallenge.

Martinez put in countlesshours on the north end of OmakLake. Signor paced himself byswimming the Columbia Rivernext to the ferry at Inchelium.

“I thought it was no big dealuntil I decided to swim acrossthe Columbia River,” Signorsaid. “My family was there tosee me off, and rode the ferryacross the river to cheer myfinish.”

“It was only then that Iunderstood how important thiswill be for not only me, but formy family and friends,” he said.

“My grandmother wasdiagnosed with Type II diabetesat a fairly young age,” Martinezsaid. “Just because your familymembers have had it, doesn’tmean you have to have it.

“That’s the word we’re tryingto spread. It’s preventable.”

During the week prior to theevent, swimmers got used to thefrigid water and participated inan indigenous peoples sunrisegathering with a ceremonialcircle, a tour of the prison andwere presented background onthe spiritual and politicalsignificance of the prisonccupied by American Indianactivists for 19 months during1969-70.

The prison, nicknamed “TheRock,” is famous for housinghard-core, dangerous convictsfrom 1934-63. It previouslyserved as a military prison.

“We didn’t know it was builtto protect the San Franciscogold rush,” Signor said in a CBStelevision special.

Inspired by the gathering,Signor shared with the group afamily song he used to sing with

his father.“To actually sing that song

for him, was a touchingmoment for me because it camefrom his heart, from his peopleto my people,” Jeffred Not HelpHim said in the TV show.

“It really is my dad’s song,”Signor said. “My dad passedaway eight years ago or so.”

“It’s a privilege. It’s an honorto be blessed by an elder,”Martinez said of the sunriseceremony. “Especially whenyou are on a journey, when youare trying to overcomesomething so, so scary. It can betraumatic you know, getting

into the ocean.”The swimmers eschewed

wetsuits, tackling the swim inbasic swim suits.

“I didn’t realize I was such agood swimmer before I wentdown there, “ Martinez said.“The swim coaches helped meso much.”

Martinez plans a swimsimilar to San Francisco forInchelium next year.

She will be recruiting 8-10high-risk and diabeticswimmers from each Colvillereservation district.

“I encourage everybody toexercise,” she said.

By Sheila CorsonThe Chronicle

STANWOOD – The 2HottElite All Stars competitivecheer team earned first placeat the season-opening eventNov. 19 with 17 members.

Coach Gerien Gilman saidthe routine was packed withtumbling and stunts the teamhas never done before.

The team also wasawarded first place for itsteam banner. The main

artwork was hand sketched byteam member SamanthaZacherle.

2Hott accepts teammembers from all overOkanogan County. This year,the students range in age from11-17 years old and are fromOmak and Okanogan.

Routines, about 2.5minutes long, include stunts,dance, cheer, jumps and othertechniques. This year, eight to10 events are plannedbetween now and April.

The next event is theEastern Washington statequalifier Dec. 17 in Spokane.

The team is looking for

support to travel to thedifferent events throughoutWashington, Oregon andIdaho. It recently held anIndian taco feed at St.Joseph’s Catholic Church,Omak, and other fundraisersat Tribal Trails service station,Walmart and J.C. Penney.

The team will be in theOmak Twilight Christmasparade Dec. 3, serving hotcocoa and coffee on MainStreet.

Gilman said the team willperform for local events orgroups. Those interested cancontact her [email protected].

4 • Sports • The Chronicle • Nov. 27, 2011 www.omakchronicle.com

view

from

the

sidelinesAl Camp

How isWIAAsavingmoney?State tourneys

cost schools more

WashingtonInterscholastic ActivitiesAssociation, whose executiveboard sets rules for stateschool sports, could use apublic relations program.

Colleges, businesses, lawenforcement and politicians,all know the value of lettingpeople know what they aredoing. The word is“transparency.”

WIAA, borrowingconstantly on the messagethat it needs to save money,whittled the statetournament from 16 to eightteams last year.

The association may havesaved money, but the state’sschools ended up paying forthe difference and thensome.

Instead of 16 teamsgetting a state experiencewith one trip to one site andone motel reservation, WIAAmade teams travel twice -once to regional games fortwo days of play and then toa state venue for three days.

Schools ended up payingfor two trips and five daysinstead of the one trip andfour days.

I probably should not saythis, but if whittlingcontinues state will be onlythe Top 4 teams playing twodays for a state trophy at onevenue, just like soccer isnow.

I’d like to know why itwould not be cheaper to playstate basketball inWenatchee or the Tri-Citiesrather than in Tacoma,Yakima and Spokane?

Is it cheaper to have thewrestling tournament for allschools in Tacoma, whereparking went from bad toterrible with constructionlast year, than holding twotournaments?

Would it be cheaper tohold a small school statetournament in EasternWashington? Possible cost-saving sites includeWenatchee, Tri-Cities, BigBen Community College,Spokane Arena and CentralWashington University.

The larger schools couldhave a Western Washingtontournament at a smaller,cheaper site than the TacomaDome.

The association appearsto have figured that out withvolleyball. They stuffed morecourts into the YakimaSunDome for 1B, 2B and 1A.The 2A state tournament wasat Evergreen CommunityCollege while the 3A and 4Atournament was at SaintMartin’s University andTimberline High School inLacey.

The executive boardapproved Nov. 21 its drawcriteria for 2011-12 statebasketball tournaments.

Under the new rules, ateam will not be able to loseand win the state crown,Brewster Athletic Directorand boys basketball coachDwight Pflugrath said.

Under the same newrules, the regional sites willno longer be referred to asstate tournament games.

When you whittle atournament from 16 to eightteams, you have half thewiggle room to seed teams.

That shows up in theboard’s seeding criteria,where teams from the sameleague/district could end upfacing each other the firstday of state.

The association figuresthat for most classifications,the No. 1 and No. 2 teamsfrom each district are playingat the same regional site,although they are not playingeach other.

That does not hold truefor the North Central 2BLeague, where four teamsreach regional play.

If any of those teams winregionals and advance tostate, the draw could find adistrict’s No. 1 and No. 2teams playing each other inthe first round.

Al Camp is the sports editor for The Chronicle. Email him [email protected].

7$��

��

��

��

We offer the best prices on beer, gasoline and diesel, too!

OFF

Standard- $32w/Coupon- $25

Shakanna Inman

The 2Hott team forms a pyramid. The team includes, bottom, from left, Samantha Zacherle,Star Orman, Darien Carson, Zamantha Palomeres, Kaylee Miller, Amanda Randolph, JustinDegerman, Kamaile Loera, Christina Smith, Amber Kendall, Randi Sam, Siobhan Kells, top,from left, Kori Jackson, Alissa Struckman and LaCoda Miller.

2Hott takes firstTumbles, stunts

wow cheer judges

Alcatraz!Alcatraz!

Shelli Martinez

Above, Jerry Signor finishes the cold swim from Alcatraz Islandto San Francisco last month. At right, Signor is all smiles withAlcatraz Prison in background.

Hoop jamboreesopen winter sports

Two Colville tribal

members swim

from Alcatraz

Island to shore

““The swim coaches helped

me so much. I felt so much

like a fish in the water.”Shelli Martinez

”

Escapefrom


B SectionNovember 23, 2011 Send stories and scores to [email protected]

view

from

the

sidelinesAl Camp

VandalshonorCougarHooPalousa tabs

Pendergraft MVP

Curlew’s Tyrone Novikoffwraps up his career with one

more gameas a stalwaltonUniversityof theIdaho’soffensiveline.

TheVandals (2-9, 1-5)finish theirseason Dec.

3 at Nevada.Novikoff was one of 20

seniors that said goodbyeNov. 19 to the Kibbie Domein a senior weekend and finalhome game that ended withUtah State winning, 49-42,in double overtime.

The 6-7, 304 poundNovikoff redshirted in 2007and is one of two fifth-yeartackles the Vandals arelosing.

“This senior group, it’sbeen a lot of blood, sweatand tears here,” coach RobbAkey said. “It is a big deal.For a senior playing your lastgame at home, it’s a real bigdeal.”

Novikoff, 23, startedevery game this year and 13last year at left offensivetackle in the WesternAthletic Conference.

Last year, he wasnominated for the AmericanFootball CoachesAssociation’s Good WorksTeam for commitment tocommunity service.

In 2009, he played 12games on the line. He was amember of a University ofIdaho student group thatvolunteered to clean uphurricane damage in the gulfregion.

Novikoff played ninegames in 2008, starting fiveof them while dealing with ashoulder injury.

For Curlew, he was afour-year starter as anoffensive guard anddefensive tackle.

Novikoff also competed inbasketball, baseball andtrack for the Cougars.

A Justice Studies major,he is the son of CarrieNovikoff.

��David Pendergraft,

formerly of Brewster andnow ofSpokane,pulled downthe MostValuablePlayeraward Nov.15 inhelping leadthe SpokaneDirtyRealistspast the

Moscow SuperSonnets, 101-77, at HooPalousa atUniversity of Idaho.

See Sidelines B3

The Omak-OkanOgan COunTy ChrOniCle

Dean Hare

University of Idaho runningback Princeton McCartyleaps over offensive linemanTyron Novikoff, Curlew,during a loss to LouisianaTech on Oct. 8.

Novikoff

Pendergraft

Weightchangegreetsmatmen


Jockey Winfred Pakootas and Mo Whiskey dives into the Okanogan River in the horse’s last race, the World Famous Suicide Race.

Whiskey diesBy Al CampThe Chronicle

OMAK – Endurance racehorse Mo Whiskey, a contenderfor the World-Famous SuicideRace title the last three years,succumbed Nov. 16 to anintestinal disorder.

“I did all the training onhim,” Montana Pakootas said.“He was real easy to train. Itrained him for long races.Omak was just a little bit tooshort for him. He held up hisown in the short race anyway.”

Mo Whiskey, 13, finishedsecond overall in 2009 andthird overall the last two yearswith Winfred Pakootas,Montana’s brother, as jockey.

Mo Whiskey became ill lastweek, with a veterinarianputting him down onWednesday, Nov. 16.

“It was believed he twistedhis gut,” Montana Pakootassaid. “It was just something thathappens.

“I’ve been talking tohorsemen. They lose a lot ofhorses at this time of year. Theysaid horses that run a longways, it burns up their stomachfrom running so long. They saidit has something to do with theweather and drinking habits,and change of hay. But I don’tthink that, all my other horseswere fine with the hay.”

“I think we all feel bad,”Stampede President GeorgeDunckel said. “We’re alwayssorry when something like thathappens.

“All our horses are special.

Our horses are part of our lives.I’ve broke down and bawledwhen having to put down ahorse for that reason. They arepart of the family. Whensomething like that happens,it’s rough. It’s a hard situation.”

Pakootas said it would havecost too much to send the horse

to Portland, Ore., or Seattle.“The risk of him dying on the

way were pretty high,” Pakootassaid, who was at work when toldof the horse being ill. “When mybrother, Oliver, and son-in-law,Rocky Timentwa came up, myhorse, he was suffering. I askedthem to put him down.

Pakootas might sponsor abuckle or a saddle in MoWhiskey’s memory at next year.

“It’s too early to tell,” hesaid. “I might take a year off,but it’s pretty boring if I am notdoing something.

See Whiskey B4


BREWSTER – The mostsignificant change in thiswinter’s high school wrestlingseason centers on arearrangement of boys andgirls weight classes.

A rule change approved inApril by the NationalFederation of State HighSchool Associations created thefirst significant change inweights in 23 years.

“I like the new weights,”Brewster’s fifth-year coach KipApple said. “They neededsomething in between 171 and189. There were so manytournaments where only 1 or 2kids were at 103. They did notget to wrestle.

“I think it was a good move.I voted for that set of weightclasses.”

An upward shift in weightsstarting with the lightest at 103pounds moving to 106 poundsresulted in new weights for 10of 14 classes.

The 14 weight classes forboys, also adopted byWashington InterscholasticActivities Association, include106 (pounds), 113, 120, 126,132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170,182, 195, 220 and 285.

Although Okanogan sportsone of the smallest wrestlers inthe region in freshmanAnthony Payton, who weighsabout 80 pounds, the coachbelieves there is no need for alighter weight, like the old 98-pound class.

“He’s just a little bit of a guy,but boy he’s got a lot of talent,”OkanoganCoach AndyKnutson said.“There’salways goingto be a fewlittle guys andsome 350pound and400 poundguys.

Knutson,who isentering his 30th coaching and22nd at Okanogan, said themajority of wrestlers will fit thenew weight classes.

“How many kids wouldthere be in the state that wouldbe at 98 pounds?” Knutsonsaid. “I think (Payton) willactually compete very well.

“I look at what they (WIAA)did,” Knutson said. “They wentwith the federation rates. Weused to do our own little thing.We’ve been doing body fattesting for a while now. Thestate got good data, spread itout and came up with theseweights on the whole spectrumof kids. I think these are prettygood weights.”

Three middle weight classes– 145, 152 and 160 – wereretained. The largest weightclass, 285 pounds, remainsunchanged as well.

“I don’thave to makeweight now,”former Omakwrestler andstate champJordanVelasco saidas he assistedthe team.“But Iwouldn’t havehad to run somuch on Thanksgiving” withthe new weights.

Andrew Miller, who also isassisting at Omak, said, “I usedto have to cut 20 pounds tomake 152. I think these newweights are more evened out.”

Miller said having a fewextra pounds might have madea difference in the state finalswhere he finished second in2009.

“I might not have been soweak when it came down tomatch time,” he said.

New girls weights thiswinter are 100, 106, 112, 118,124, 130, 137, 145, 155, 170, 195and 275/265.

The 275 heavyweight girlswill need to slim down to thenew maximum of 265 by Jan. 1.

The 2012-13 winter seasonwill have the Top 2 weightschange to 190 and 235.

See Wrestle B2

Twisted intestine

kills race horse

Roger Harnack/The Chronicle

Mo Whiskey and Winfred Pakootas finish first in the 2009 Sunday performance of the World FamousSuicide Race in Omak.

More girls compete

on wrestling teams

Knutson

Velasco

B4 • Sports • The Chronicle • Nov. 23, 2011 www.omakchronicle.com

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“I think I will let things cooloff for a little while, concentrateon my kids rodeo. My son(Country Pakootas) likes to racehorses. So,I will continue racinghorses for him.”

The Chronicle was unable toreach Winfred Pakootas, whowas outside the area.

“He was starting to figure itout,” Montana Pakootas said ofthe Suicide Race. “We weregoing to try something differentnext year, train him just for theOmak race.”

Mo Whiskey won a heat inthe 2009 World FamousSuicide Race. The same year, healso won at Elgin, Ore., andVale, Ore.

“He won those races allunder 35 days,” MontanaPakootas, 37, said. “I considerthat a triple crown.”

Mo Whiskey’s otherendurance victories included

winning the 5-miler atWellpinit, at Owhi Lake, theNespelem Rodeo Grounds, the2-mile Sugar Bowl in Incheliumand twice the Jim MarchandMemorial race.

“He was a great horse,”Owners and JockeysAssociation president PetePalmer said. “He’s been a realasset to that family. I know it’sbeen a real loss to them. I knowhe will be greatly missed aroundthe races for sure.”

The horse with the gentledemeanor won his thirdstraight title this year at Vale togo with an earlierchampionship.

His last races were at Omak,where he finished third overall.Mo Whiskey was third Fridaynight, won Saturday night andwas second on Sunday.

The horse got his name fromInchelium’s Chuck McKinney,who with his wife, Susie, raisedPakootas. Mo Whiskey wasabout two when he was given to

Pakootas.“When I was younger, he

used to drink whiskey,”Pakootas said. “he would say‘mo whiskey’ when he ran out ofwhiskey. The horse was given tome from him, so I named himMo Whiskey.

“I keep hearing his name inall the country songs, Whiskey,”said Pakootas, who has a sonand two daughters. “He was likepart of our family. We wentthrough a lot of dogs, but itseemed like Whiskey wasalways here.”

The horse always seemedknow when the Suicide Racecame around.

“Race day, when I went outto catch him, he would run awayfrom me and snort around, likehe knew it was race time,”Pakootas said. “My girlfriend(Shannon Boyd) would have togo catch him. He would not letme catch him.”

Nephew Jim Marchandattempted to catch the horse

this summer, but could not.“Shannon knew he had a

cowboy hat on,” Pakootas said.“My horse will run when he seesa cowboy hat. Mo Whiskeyturned and bucked and ranaway.

“Shannon said his name. Heput his head down and walkedright to her.”

Montana trained the MoWhiskey while Boyd groomedhim.

“He knew when it was timeto work, knew when it wasdone, or knew how to interactwhether it was a kid or racetime,” Boyd said. “There was alot to that horse. He wassomething else, definitely.

“He ran on pure heart. Hewas one of our kids. Our oldestdaughter said he was probablymore spoiled then them.”

“He really liked her becausehe knew he was going to bebabied,” Pakootas said. “I thinkshe took it a lot harder than Idid.”

“The horse was like ourfamily member,” Boyd, 37, said.“The horse was really wellknown.

“Montana started ridinghim, but he’s had severalaccidents, mainly from racinghorses on the track. So, we hadbeen getting jockeys to racehim.”

Pakootas said Mo Whiskeywon numerous buckles andsaddles, most of which weregiven away.

A saddle won two years agoat Elgin – there was no race thisyear due to high water – wasgiven to Chuck McKinney.

“It was something toremember Mo Whiskey by,”Pakootas said. “I know it will betaken care of.”

One jockey Pakootas wishescould have ridden Mo Whiskeywas Les Moses, who died in2004.

“He used to want to ride myhorse off the hill,” Pakootassaid. “My horse did not know

how to race off the hill yet. Ikind of wish I had let him racemy horse off the hill because hewas always good at it.

“Now that they both are inheaven, Les will finally get torace him. I thought that waspretty cool.”

Pakootas said a back hoebroke down when they tried tobury the horse. The next dayOmak felt a sizeableearthquake.

“He got to feel the earthrumble one last time,” Pakootassaid. “He’s in a better place, he’sin heaven. When I go to heaven,I will be able to ride him again.”

World Suicide Race finishes

2009 – Second overall with WinfredPakootas as jockey. Raked up pointswith a first, second and two fourths..

2010 – Third overall with WinfredPakootas as jockey. Finished thirdtwice and fourth.

2011 – Third overall with WinfredPakootas as jockey. The horse had afirst, second and third place finish.

Whiskey From B1


Republic’s Kyle Kurtz shoots over Curlew’s Gunner Brown during a middle school grade basketballgame Nov. 18 in Republic. Republic won the game.

Fallsportswindsdown

The Chronicle

WENATCHEE — No. 7Chelan (8-3) beat No. 8 Royal,27-17 and No. 1 state-rankedCashmere (11-1) fell to No. 3Connell, 20-9, in the 1A statefootball quarterfinals Nov. 19 atthe Apple Bowl.

Chelan and Connell willmeet for the EasternWashington berth to the statechampionship at noonSaturday, Nov. 26, at LionsField, 513 W. Third Ave., MosesLake.

On the west side of the state,No. 2 state-ranked Montesanodismantled King’s, 35-13 andNo. 5 Cascade Christian fromPuyallup blew past Toledo, 48-15.

Montesano (12-0) is thelone undefeated remaining inthe playoffs.

In 2B state footballquarterfinals:

Colfax 42, White Swan 37Napavine 25, Tacoma Baptist 22Morton/White Pass 13, Adna 12Waitsburg-Prescott 42, Lind-

Ritzville/Sprague 7

No. 1 state-rankedWaitsburg-Prescott, whicheliminated Brewster last week,meets No. 3 Colfax at 3 p.m.Saturday, Nov. 26, at EdgarBrown Stadium, 1611 W.Sylvester St, Pasco.

In 1B state football firstround (8 team bracket):

Odessa-Harrington 76, King’s WayChristian School 36

Pomeroy 68, Wellpinit 24Almira/Coulee-Hartline 52,

Touchet 8Neah Bay 58, Lummi 40

Although Odessa-Harrington and No. 2Almira/Coulee-Hartline arefrom the southern division ofthe Northeast 1B League, theywill not meet in the state 1Bsemifinals.

Both teams play in semifinalgames on Saturday.

County ski hillscheer new snow

The Chronicle

LOUP LOUP — Recent snowstorms have operators at theLoup Loup Ski Bowl west ofOkanogan and Sitzmark SkiHill near Havillah figuringwhen they might open.

The Loup, which receivedmore than 6 inches of snow lastweek, sports 6 inches of packedsnow at hits base.

“Snow is too light fordownhill skiing, but it won’t belong before we can pack theNordic trails for the first time,”Loup hill manager Sharla Lynnsaid.

“First possible day for liftoperations is Friday, Dec. 2,nature willing,” she said. “Wewill only operate Friday toSunday up until Dec. 16 whenthe holiday period starts.”

The early opening couldhappen if ski hill openingselsewhere in the region are anyindication.

Mission Ridge nearWenatchee opened lastweekend in one of its earliest

openings in history.Schweitzer Mountain Resort

near Sandpoint, Idaho, alsoopened Saturday, marking itsearliest opening since the 1984-85 season.

Activities at Loup Loup andSitzmark were extensivelycovered Nov. 20 in TheChronicle’s Sunday edition.

The hill is open 9 a.m. to 4p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, throughSunday, Nov. 27.

Loup activities include theTeton Gravity Research Movieof the Year being shown 6:30p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at TwispRiver Pub, 201 N. Highway 20,Twisp, and 6:30 p.m. Friday,Dec. 16, at the OmakPerforming Arts Center, 20 S.Cedar St., Omak.

Sitzmark Ski Hill’s annualski club auction and dinner willbe Saturday, Dec. 3, at theTonasket Eagles Aerie No.3002, 213 S. Western Ave.,Tonasket.

A silent auction starts at 5p.m., dinner at 5:30 p.m. and alive auction will follow at 7 p.m.

The prime rib dinner costs$15 a person.

Both hills will be offeringspecials for fifth-grade classes.

Speedy sports storiesPioneer girls to host scrimmage, dinner

OMAK – The Omak High School girls basketball team will hostits third annual fundraiser intra-squad scrimmage and dinner 4-8p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, in the high school gym, 20 S. Cedar St.

The dinner will include a baked potato and all the fixings.“Area AAU youth teams will also scrimmage,” organizer and

high school girls coach Al Scheibner said.Games start at 4:15 p.m.The girls varsity scrimmages at 6:15 p.m. The boys varsity

scrimmages at 7:15 p.m.The cost for adults is $6 for scrimmages and dinner, $4 for

only scrimmages. The cost for students is $4 for scrimmages anddinner, $2 for only scrimmages.

There will be drawings and contests for prizes from localmerchants.

There will be a pizza party for the Omak elementary class withthe highest percentage of students attending the games.

Basketball camp slated for Omak

OMAK – The Omak High School basketball teams will host a“Lil’ Dribblers” basketball camp for grades 2-6 Dec. 3, 10 and 17.

The camp will be Dec. 3 in Stevens Gym, while the other twodates will be in the high school. Both are located in the schoolcomplex, 20 S. Cedar St.

The boys camp will be 8-10 a.m. The girls camp is 10 a.m. tonoon.

The cost is $24, which includes a T-shirt.Registration will be a half hour before each session, said

organizer high school girls coach Al Scheibner.

TIGERS JUMP ON COUGARS

The Chronicle

MOSES LAKE – The ValleyLanes boys high school bowlingteam won 27 points Nov. 27 inthe Central Washington TravelLeague at Lake Bowl.

Lake Bowl Lanes No. 1 won34 points and is in first place.

Omak, which was withoutleading average bowler SkylerBaker, is four points behind theMoses Lake team in the overallstandings, coach Dale Dunckelsaid.

Anthony Lewis rolled a 607three-game series to open

competition.Valley Lanes girls won 23

points and are in fourth place.In junior varsity, Valley

Lanes No. 1 earned 35 pointsand is in first place. ValleyLanes No. 2 won 15 points andValley Lanes No. 3 won 8points.

The next tournament isSunday, Dec. 11, at Omak’sValley Lanes.

High games, series: Anthony Lewis223, 213, 211, 1,031 (5 games); JustinVanderWeide 223, 214, 973; CodyThorp 202, 200, 946; Chris Desjardins248, 859; Jason Herrst 222, 828;

Bryson Miller 172, 780; JeremyCalentine 127, 557.

Girls: Hailey Hauso 232, 211, 204,980; Vanessa VanderWeide 214, 213,935; Rikki Rodriguez 190, 777;Whitney Nordlund 197, 751; KelseyOyler 160, 711.

Junior varsity: Chase Miranda 196,186, 826; Kinsey Traylor 180, 780;Drew Autry 169, 768; Tieler Sheheen189, 757; Jayden Johnson 166, 736;Eric Duff 160, 731; Brianna Duff 161,652; Josh Flemming 142, 603; ChetCraigen 134, 586; Bryson Goyne 120,519; Mathew Miller 135, 508; LacodaMiller 114, 492; Carlie Reddington 82,390; Jovan Mercado 80, 360.

Valley Lanes bowls at Moses Lake

Loup Loup could

open in December

Chelan football still

alive in state 1A


B SectionJune 15, 2011 Send stories and scores to [email protected]

VIEW FROM

THE SIDELINES

Al Camp

LucasstepsdownGirls all-statehoops is Saturday

For the first time in its33-yearhistory, thenon-profitMethowValley SportTrailsAssociationis searchingfor a newexecutivedirector toreplace JayLucas.

The association’s trailsystem includes more than120 miles of cross countryski trails in the wintermonths, and is recognized asone of the finest trail systemsin North America for Nordicskiing, mountain biking, trailrunning and hiking.

Lucas, who has beendirector for 30 years, wasunavailable for comment.

The association, whichgets 70 percent of its incomefrom seasonal ski passes,started with the opening ofthe North Cascades Highway(state Highway 20) in 1972,enhancing the potential for arange of tourism and relatedoutdoor activities in theMethow Valley.

Today the network oftrails generates about $4.5million directly, another $4.1million indirectly, andanother $2.7 millionannually through relatedindustry earnings in theMethow Valley, theassociation’s website said.

A full job description andcompensation ($45,000 to$60,000 plus benefits) canbe found on the association’swebsite at www.mvsta.com .

There is a July 15deadline.

◆◆◆◆◆Okanogan’s Caitlyn

Behymerand KaraStaggs,along withLakeRoosevelt’sDominiquePleasantsand JadaDesautel,willcompete inthe all-stategirlsbasketballgamesSaturday,June 18, atSpokane’sWest ValleyHighSchool,8301 E.BuckeyeAve.

Threegames areplannedfeaturingplayers fromWashington(in allclassi-ficationsexcept Class4A) andNorthernIdaho in anEast vs.Westformat.

Plea-sants andDesautelwill play inthe class Bgame at1:30 p.m.

Behymerand Staggs will play in theclass 1A game at 3:30 p.m.

See Sidelines B2

THE OMAK-OKANOGAN COUNTY CHRONICLE


Members of the Okanogan County Commandos celebrate their Washington Football League championship game victory over Wenatchee, 16-10, on June 18.

Defense locks up titleBy Al CampThe Chronicle

OKANOGAN – Call itdestiny. Call it smash mouthfootball.

Either way, the OkanoganCounty Commandos are theWashington Football Leaguechamps after beating theWenatchee Rams, 16-10, in thetitle game June 11.

The road to the minor leaguefootball crown for the Tri-Statearea started by finishing theregular season 8-2 and in firstplace under the league’s pointsystem.

The Commandos then beatthe defending champHermiston, Ore., Hurricanes inthe semifinals, 15-14, beforedowning the Wenatchee Rams,which reached thechampionship game for thethird straight year.

“Okanogan is a class act,”Wenatchee coach Mickey Whitesaid. “No regrets. They foughthard, played well and came outwith the championship.

“If we look back, there wouldbe a lot of would-have, could-

haves,’ White said. “Somethings are meant to be. If a teambeats you three times, they’veproven they are the betterteam.”

The Commandos defensescored two touchdowns andintercepted Wenatchee fourtimes, the last by RobbyBradshaw to seal the victorywith under a minute to go.

“The ball this year neverseemed to bounce our way butthe plays went our way,”Commandos coach MalcolmTownsend said. “Defense hasbeen our trademark for sevenyears. It paid off in thechampionship.”

Wenatchee led 7-6 athalftime after quarterbackRicky Esquivel completed ashort pass to Lance Ballew inthe back of the end zone. A 65-yard kickoff return by JohnRossi set up the score.

The Commandos scored on a90-yard interception return byC.J. Lockwood. The crowd heldits breath for a penalty flag,which turned out to be againstthe Rams for holding.

“He made a bunch of niftymoves,” coach Townsend said.

The extra-point kick was nogood due to a high snap.

See Football B4


A girl plugs her ears as the starter fires his gun for the Republic Fun run on June 11. A photo pageis on Page B3 and a parade story with results is on Page A9.

Michel sprintsto new record


REPUBLIC – Nik Michel seta record inthe fun runand the townset a recordforperseveranceJune 11 as aspring stormdumped aload of waterand lightningonProspectors’Days competitors.

Michel’s unofficiallyfinished the 2.3-mile run, whichalong with a Kiwanis breakfastkicked off the day’s activities, in12 minutes, 3 seconds. He wasmore than a minute ahead ofthe nearest competitor.

After being told of Michel’stime, Tonasket track coach BobThornton, who ran the race,said, “I was at about the milemark when he finished. He’s agood runner. He works hard.”

Michel, 19, said he knew

what the record was and wentfor it. The talented former Tigeris competing at Spokane FallsCommunity College.

This year’s races drew morethan 80 runners to the racestarted in 1980 and sponsoredby the Ferry County HealthFoundation.

Spokesman Barrett Stillingssaid as word gets around, heexpects the race to grow tomore than 100 runners.

“I love it,” Linda McDaniel,69, Molson, said of the runshe’s done for more than adozen years. “This is the neatesttown in the whole wide world.”

“It’s a beautiful course,”Aaron Zwanzig, Spokane, saidbefore taking off on the 10K.“But that (three-mile) hill is akiller.”

“The course waschallenging, as always,”Republic’s Dewie Edwards said.

At the Kinross Gold-sponsored miningcompetitions, Matt and TinaKarst, Cataldo, Idaho, wereback though it was an especiallypoignant visit.

Matt proposed to Tina 12years ago at the event.

See Republic B2

Hoops, logging ontap in Republic

CorrectionThe second place 3-on-3

basketball team at thePaschal Sherman IndianSchool Sunflower Festival onMay 27 was the Bananas,with Colton Sam, DreamerBest, Andy George andMason Morgan.

Lucas

Staggs

Behymer

Washington Football League championship

Commandos 16, Rams 10

Pleasants

DesautelMichel

Lockwood scorestwo touchdowns


C.J. Lockwood works a move against Wenatchee.

“Defense has been ourtrademark for seven

years. It paid off in thechampionship.

Coach Malcolm Townsend

”

B4 • Sports • The Chronicle • June 15, 2011 www.omakchronicle.com

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CUTTING UP TREES

Tim Weller

Members of the North Central ATV Club clear windfall at Rock Lakes on June 5.

“Thank goodness we pickedthem off three times in the firsthalf,” Townsend said, notingthe offense could muster but 53yards. “That game could havegotten out of hand early.”

“There is some hitting goingon out there,” official MartyPalmanteer said at halftime.“They definitely are playing as ifit was a title game.”

“It’s awesome to be back,”Carson Mills (7-31) said at halftime.

He learned on Wednesdaythat he was cleared to travelfrom his job in Alaska. A friendfound a way to get him toSpokane with a standby ticketon Friday.

Several players chipped in tohelp him pay for a return ticket.He was to be back to work bynoon on Tuesday.

The Commandos picked upthe pace on offense in thesecond half.

The team started its longestdrive at its four and ended witha 21-yard field goal that slippedjust inside an upright to put theCommandos in front 9-7 with2:40 to go in the third quarter.

After holding Wenatchee,the Rams punted only to chaseLockwood 77 yards to the endzone with 18 seconds left in thequarter.

Lockwood was almostcaught as he zipped from infront of the Commandossideline to the center of thefield. But Ryan Anderson, whoalmost blocked the punt, wasthere to level the would-be-tackling Ram.

“Keep it up, baby, keep itup,” coach Townsend said as hecongratulated Lockwood. “Dowhat you do, do what you do.”

“I wish I could watch that,”Brice Boesel said afterward. “Idon’t know how he got throughall that traffic.”

“I saw an open hole and hit itas hard as I could,” Lockwoodsaid, who knew he was about tobe tackled before spyingAnderson. “It was a nice hit,thank God.”

Wenatchee, perhaps gun shyafter the interceptions, stayedon the ground for its next drive,with lots of carries by Rossi.

A Wenatchee field goal tryfrom 27 yards out was short andright.

The Commandos startedchurning yards on the groundwith 9:29 to go to take time offthe clock.

Lockwood (8-47) followedby Anderson (4-36) and ShawnTownsend (3-18) pushed theball down the field. The surgeeventually injured the RamsGarrett Brown, who was helped

off the field by teammates witha leg injury.

But that did not mean theCommandos were not thinkingabout scoring. They opted to goon fourth-and-four at the Rams26 by passing – not running –to a wide-open ShawnTownsend. The ball was a tadoverthrown by Ian Ashley (9-20, no interceptions), who hadthe wind behind him.

“They only needed two playsto take the lead,” coachTownsend said of the pass.“With several minutes left, Iwas not confident we had thatgame sewed up.”

Wenatchee quickly got to theCommandos’ five, aided by a14-yard pass to Trevor Daviswith two minutes to go.

“But that’s a long five yards,”former Commando LarryGrooms said as he roamed thesidelines.

After two incomplete passesand a third pass being knockeddown by Anderson, the Ramskicked a 22-yard field goal totrail 16-10.

The Commandos got the ballon a short kickoff at its 45 with1:08 remaining.

On third-and-20 due topenalties, Lockwood lost thehandle on the ball and the Ramsrecovered at its 42.

“In hindsight, we probablyshould have kneeled down andpunted,” Townsend said.

The crowd, which nearlyfilled the seating area, startedchanting “Defense, Defense.”

A quick slant pass got theRams over mid-field.

Wenatchee then underthrew to a receiver on the leftside, where Bradshaw puthimself horizontal to theground while intercepting theball (second of the game) with29 seconds left in the game.

“I knew they were doing curlouts on the last drive,”Bradshaw said of going for theball. “I had over-the-topcoverage and I thought theywould pass.”

“Robby was sitting on it,”coach Townsend said.

“It’s been seven years we’ve

been at this,” Townsend said tothe team afterward. “I’m thehead coach but we know whodoes all the hard work, SterlingJones.

“If my knee did not hurt sobad, I’d be out there,”Townsend said, drawingchuckles from the players. “Iwish we had put them awayearlier. C.J., those were twogreat returns. You played thegame of your life tonight.”

“Thanks for letting me play,”Lockwood said.

Townsend urged Lockwoodand Riggle to consider playingcollege football.

Riggle said his dream was toplay for Eastern WashingtonUniversity.

“I’m glad you are on our sidefor once,” Jones told Riggle.“This has been a great group ofguys. They never give up. Wetend to bend a lot on defensethen squeeze down near thegoal.”

Other rushers for the gameincluded Craig Hall (2-4) andAshley (6-7). The Commandosgained 143 yards on 30 carries.

Receivers included SteveStockton (4-64), Kyle Look (4-27) and Shawn Townsend (1-7).

Stockton extended hissingle-season reception recordto 86 catches in the GreaterNorthwest Football Associationthat encompasses many leaguesin the region.

On defense, Jesse Riggle ledwith 11 tackles. ShawnTownsend, in his first gameback from battling cancer, hadnine tackles and aninterception.

“They were both all over thefield,” coach Townsend said.

Other tacklers includedAnderson (4), Brice Boesel (3),Justin Koepke (3) and TaylorHorner (3).

Bradshaw finished with twointerceptions.

“We’re excited abouthoisting the trophy. We got ourchampionship,” coachTownsend said while joiningthe team, wet from a dousing.

“That was a smash mouthfootball game.”


Okanogan County Commandos Robby Bradshaw, left, trips up Wenatchee’s Jacob Petersen.

Football From B1 “They fought hard, played

well and came out

with the championship.Rams coach Mickey White

”


OMAK – Clouds partedenough to stop the rain and getthe high school spring sportsseason started in the OkanoganValley this week.

After a soccer jamboree inTonasket on March 13, teamsgot serious and kept scoresMarch 15.

��OKANOGAN — The

Okanogan High School soccerteam subbed freely in winning9-1 over Liberty Bell onThursday, March 15.

“I thought that the wholeteam played well,” Okanogancoach Dean Klepec said. “Wemoved the ball around verywell. Every player contributedby assisting or scoring or havingsaves.”

Jason Perez, Justin Rivasand Jesus Morales each scoredtwo goals for Okanogan. FabianRodriguez, Nathan Carter andAnthony Payton each had agoal.

Arturo Ramos, JorgeMarquez, Zeferino Rivera, JesseVallaraldo, Ivan Giron, RandyHamilton, Ismael Vargas,Brendan Colbert and CorbinRanck each recorded an assist.

Okanogan’s Enrique Vargashad 3 saves.

Information on who scoredfor Liberty Bell was notavailable.

��BRIDGEPORT — The

Bridgeport High School soccerteam dominated Omak, 6-2,Thursday.

The Pioneers got off to aterrible start, falling behind 4-1at the half after losing startinggoalkeeper Alberto Corralesand midfielder GermanRamirez due toinjuries, Omakcoach Steph Avenasaid.

Omak defenderCody Thorp movedup and got thePioneers final goalwith a header off acorner kick byJulian Cervantes.

The Pioneerreserves, called ondue to the injuries,player betterdefensively thesecond half, Avenasaid.

Omak’s othergoal was by DiegoKreisler, who one-touched a low shotinto the left cornerin the 30th minute.

“Bridgeportcontinued todisplay powerfulfinishing and greatendurance as thegame wore on,”Avena said. “On thebright side, weplayed 22 kids today, includingthree goalkeepers. They all got ataste of fast-paced varsity ball.The boys never let their headsdrop and that was good to see.”

Scoring for Bridgeport wasnot reported.

��OMAK – The Omak High

School fastpitch team played allof its eligible 22 players March15 in dousing Bridgeport, 24-0,in five innings.

“Bridgeport is a young teamthat’s back after taking a yearoff,” Omak coach Rick Ducksaid. “So they are a little raw,but learning.”

Pitchers Shirlee Ramos andMackenzie Norwill combinedfor the no-hitter.

“It was a good opener forboth of us,” Duck said. “Allplayers for both teams got toplay. We hit the ball when wehad opportunity, but still havesome stuff to work on.”

4 • Sports • The Chronicle • March 18, 2012 www.omakchronicle.com

view

from

the

sidelinesAl Camp

NewbatsgivelessPower numbers

expected to drop

New baseball batsimplemented by all statehigh school teams this yearcould reduce long hits,injuries and pitching earned-run average while alsocutting deeply into sportbudgets.

WashingtonInterscholastic ActivitiesAssociation, which sets rules

for statesports,requiresbats bestampedwithBBCOR,whichstands for“bat-ballcoefficientof

restitution.”The new measurement

for how much “give” ortrampoline effect a batdisplays essentially replacesBESR (ball exit speed ratio),which measured the speed ofthe ball after it was hit.

“The new bats aredesigned to decrease theoverall power of the hit,”Lake Roosevelt coachBrandon Byers said.“Essentially, this means thatthere should be fewer homeruns and lined shots that aretoo ‘hot’ to handle.”

Also changed is thesound, with the “ping” ofpast aluminum bats replacednot by the “crack” of a woodbat as used by professionalbaseball, but with the soundakin to the “thud” of hittingan old hubcap.

“The BBCOR standardmake metal bats more likewood bats is myunderstanding, but I haven’tlooked into it a great deal,”Okanogan first-year coachEd Ashworth said. “I haveoverheard conversations thatthe new standard will helpour players become hittersagain. Some of the bats inrecent years turned a lighterkid into a home runpowerhouse.”

BBCOR bats should meanfewer multi-hour, high-scoring games, fewermiscues by fielders, lowerpitch counts and anincreased safety margin forpitchers, who work within 60feet of home plate afterdelivering a pitch.

“Being a smaller programthat depends uponunderclassmen to step into avarsity game, I think thismove it a very smart one as itconcerns the safety of ouryoung players (especiallythose pitching and in theinfield),” Byers said.

“We’re going to see a lotless runs and a lot moresmall ball,” Omak coachPeewee Howe said. “The newbats are more comparable toa wood bat now.”

The bats, which wereused last year by colleges,showed ERAs falling from5.83 in 2010 to 4.62 by lastseason’s midpoint, andbatting averages droppingfrom .301 to .279, acomprehensive NCAA studyshowed.

Shut-outs increased from277 to 44 and home runsdropped from 0.97 per gameto 0.47.

“As a baseball purist, Ilove the idea of going to a batthat is similar to wood,actually requiring kids to hitthe baseball off the sweetspot,” Brewster coach JerrodRiggan said. “It basicallyteaches them how to hit.

“It’s going to be hard for alot of teams to adjust,including us, but I welcomethe bat rules.”Al Camp is the sports editor for The

Chronicle. Email him [email protected].

BBCOR

The Chronicle

OLYMPIA – A selectivefishery for hatchery-rearedsteelhead reopened Friday,March 16, on the Methow,Wenatchee and Icicle rivers ona short-term basis.

Anglers also will be allowedto catch whitefish in theMethow and Wenatchee riversas long as those rivers are opento steelhead fishing, the stateDepartment of Fish andWildlife said.

Steelhead fisheries in allthree rivers are tentativelyscheduled to run throughMarch 31, but could end soonerif fishing impacts on wildsteelhead reach annual federallimits, regional state fishmanager Jeff Korth said.

“These limited openings aredesigned to support wild-steelhead recovery by reducingthe number of hatchery fish onthe spawning grounds,” Korthsaid. “Anglers can play animportant role in that effort byremoving hatchery fish notneeded to meet spawninggoals.”

Because the fisheries couldclose on short notice, Korthrecommends that anglers checkthe department’s FishingHotline at 360-902-2500 or

Fishing Rule website(http://wdfw.wa.gov/) forupdates.

The Similkameen andOkanogan rivers will remainopen for steelhead fishing,although sections of theOkanogan River around themouth of Omak and Tonasketcreeks closed to all fishingMarch 16 to protect wildsteelhead staging for spawning.

The daily limit on all rivers

open to fishing is two hatcherysteelhead, marked with aclipped adipose fin andmeasuring at least 20 inches inlength. Anglers must retain anylegal hatchery steelhead theycatch until they reach their dailylimit of two fish. At that point,they must stop fishing forsteelhead.

Any steelhead with an intactadipose fin must be releasedunharmed and must not be

removed from the water.Selective gear rules apply to

all areas where steelheadseasons are open. All anglersare required to follow selectivegear rules and restrictionsdescribed in the state’s Fishingin Washington pamphlet,available online athttp://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/.

Areas that will be open tofishing for hatchery steelhead

on March 16 include:• Methow River: From the mouth to

the confluence with the Chewuch Riverin Winthrop. Fishing from a floatingdevice is prohibited from the secondpowerline crossing to the first stateHighway 153 bridge. Night closure andselective gear rules apply.

• Okanogan River: From the mouthupstream to the U.S. Highway 97bridge in Oroville. Night closure andselective gear rules apply. All fishing isclosed from the first powerline crossingdownstream of the state Highway 155bridge in Omak (near Coulee DamFederal Credit Union) to the mouth ofOmak Creek and from the Tonasketbridge (Fourth Street) downstream tothe Tonasket Lagoon Park boat launch.

• Similkameen River: From themouth upstream to 400 feet belowEnloe Dam.

• Wenatchee River: From themouth to the Icicle River Road bridge,including the Icicle River from themouth to a point 500 feet downstreamof the Leavenworth National FishHatchery Barrier Dam. Night closureand selective gear rules apply.Motorized vessels are not allowed.

Areas that opened to fishing forwhitefish on March 16 include:

• Wenatchee River: From themouth to the U.S. Highway 2 bridge atLeavenworth.

• Methow River: From Gold Creekto the falls above Brush Creek.

A Columbia RiverSalmon/SteelheadEndorsement, required to fishfor the fish, generated morethan $1 million last year.

Hatchery steelhead season reopens on MethowFishing still open

on Okanogan River


An angler fishes for steelhead on the Okanogan River near Legion Park on March 15.

Sun shines on spring sports

Brad Skiff/Special to The Chronicle

Omak’s Luis Ortiz, in red, battles Bridgeport’s Cristian Garcia for the ball March 15 in Bridgeport. The Mustangs won, 6-2.

Wins: Bridgeport,

Okanogan soccer;

Omak softball

Zachary Van Brunt/The Chronicle

An Okanogan soccer player works in front of Tonasket’s goalkeeper during the Tonasket jamboree March 13.


Omak’s Kennedy Duck jumps over Bridgeport’s pitcher, No. 18.

Al Camp sportswriter portfolio

Documents

inaugural event

course wastough

mile course

left armand

thetoughest event ivedone

organizer mandy holz

mud pit

mostdiscomforting obstaclewas