These players named to the MCC All-Conference WA football team

Let’s empty the notebook now that the state football championships are over:

So it’s no surprise that Kamiakin and Kennewick – the two best Mid-Columbia conference football teams this season with a combined 24-3 record – dominated the conference football team, according to the vote. league coaches.

Kamiakin – who advanced to the 4A State semi-finals before being knocked out by future champion Graham-Kapowsin – won three of the top five awards, as senior quarterback Henry Mercado was named MCC Offensive Player of the Year, Senior All-Rounder Payton Graham was named MCC All-Round Player of the Year and Scott Biglin was named MCC’s Coach of the Year.

Kennewick – who lost 17-13 in the 3A State Championship to Bellevue last weekend – bragged about MCC’s senior defensive player of the year Bronson Childs and MCC lineman from the year for seniors Ayden Knapik.

It was the second season in a row that Knapik was named the MCC’s lineman of the year – although he shared the honor last spring with Kamiakin’s Aaron Tano.

There were also seven seniors who were named first team MCCs on both sides of the ball: Kamiakin’s Graham as defensive back and wide receiver (he was also second team to kicker); Kennewick’s Knapik as offensive and defensive lineman; Myles Mayovsky of Kennewick as running back and linebacker; Elijah Rodriguez of Richland as a running back and defensive lineman; Luis Salgado of Kamiakin as running back and linebacker; Austin Stoddard of Kennewick as wide receiver and defensive back; and Tano from Kamiakin as an offensive and defensive lineman.

But wait, there is more.

Mercado de Kamiakin was named first team quarterback and he was joined in the first team by teammates Aidan Canada, a senior wide receiver; Andon Castilla, a senior offensive lineman; Jaxin McCallum, a senior offensive lineman; and Gabe Tahir, a junior defensive back.

Kennewick’s other premier teams include Childs at linebacker and junior Ashton Tripp on the offensive line.

Along with Rodriguez’s two-way first-team honors, other Richland Bombers named to the first team are junior linebacker Isaya Galvez and senior defensive back Luke Ritchie.

Chiawana had two first-team caps with senior kicker Michael Kot and junior wide receiver Kade Smith.

Southridge also had two first-team caps: junior wide receiver Lucien Cone and senior punter Lance Spaniel.

Senior Pasco Jamie Townsend II completed the first team as a kick returner.

College basketball

The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team defeated Portland State 71-68 on November 21.

Kennewick High grad graduate MeiLani McBee made two 3-point field goal attempts in the last minute and 25 seconds to give Rainbow Wahine the victory.

Her last trey came with 16 seconds left, and it gave Hawaii the lead in earnest at 69-68.

McBee finished with 8 points.

Sailor Liefke, a Sunnyside Christian graduate who played two seasons at Walla Walla Community College, led the Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team to a 90-84 victory over the Oregon Institute of Technology last Saturday .

Liefke scored a high 38 points on 13 of 22 shots from the floor, 9 of 10 from the free throw line, and she added 6 interceptions.

Her teammate Maddy Juul (Hermiston) added 12 points to the 5-6 Mountaineers.

College volleyball

The Eastern Oregon University volleyball team went 0-2 in pools at the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, last week.

The Mountaineers advanced to the main event after beating South Carolina’s Columbia International 3-0 in the tournament’s first round on November 20.

EOU senior Breanna Shaffer, a Kennewick High graduate, ended her final season with 319 kills (second most on the team) and 322 digs (fourth on the team).

Her numbers were good enough that she was named to the North West Region First Team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for the second year in a row.

Eastern finished the season with a 26-9 record.

women’s football

Parker Lee, a Kamiakin graduate, has returned for a second season with FC Malaga City Femenino, a professional women’s soccer team in Spain.

Lee was named the team’s captain this season. Chiawana graduate and goalkeeper Cydni Cottrell has made the decision to leave FC Malaga City after last season. She returned to La Grande, where she was an assistant coach at Eastern Oregon University.

Zone dedications

▪ Mikailyn O’Dell, a student at Walla Walla High School, has signed a letter of intent to play women’s football at Walla Walla Community College.

▪ Senior Othello Maya Valdez recently signed on to play softball for Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake.

▪ Emmy Williams, who plays at Walla Walla Community College, signed a letter of intent to play both women’s football and track and field for Eastern Oregon University.

▪ Southridge senior Adria Parker will play volleyball next fall for Columbia Basin College after signing a letter of intent.

▪ Richland High senior Joey Pearson will play baseball for Lower Columbia Community College in Longview starting in the spring of 2023.

▪ Kamiakin’s eldest Grayson Wilcott, one of the state’s top runners, recently signed a letter of intent to compete in both cross country and track and field for Washington State University .

▪ Wilcott placed third last month at the 4A State Cross Country Championships in Pasco – with only teammate Isaac Teeples and Olympia’s Ethan Coleman finishing ahead of him.

▪ Peyton Rickard of Kamiakin, a senior, signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Yakima Valley Community College.