Extra! Sports 10/6/11

Willson adds

two big wins

Colfax senior Morgan Willson added two big wins to her record during the week with a margin of over two minutes Saturday in the big Pasco Invitational over the Big Cross course through the sage brush north of town.

Willson led a field of 98 girls with an 18:20 clocking. Number two finisher was Alyssa Harmon of East Valley with a 20:31.

Tuesday in an NE run at Reardan, Willson booked at 18:06 for a win margin of over three minutes.

Jackson Elfers finished fourth for Colfax at 17:55 in the boys race at Reardan, and Brock Morgan finished 22nd at 22:19.

At Pasco, Elfers was 21st in the boys race with an 18:35 behind the 16:21 win posted by Seth Deal of Waitsburg/Prescott. Brock Morgan was 62nd at 20:05, among 89 runners.

Junior high finishers for Colfax at Pasco were Tim Cornelius, fourth at 13:02; Logan Gingerish, eighth at 13:53; Mitch Varney, 10th at 14:19, and Brady Wuestney, 22nd at 18:00. Lauren Claassen plast fourth in the girls race at 18:32.

At Reardan Tuesday in the NE meet, Cornelius was second at 9:07; Gingerich, 11th at 9:55; and Varney, 16th at 10:42. Claassen placed eighth in the girls race at 12:52.

TOR hosts DeSales

in tough league tilt

Friday night brings a tough test for insurgent Tekoa/Oakesdale/Rosalia as they host SE 2B powerhouse DeSales at Rosalia Friday night.

The Nighthawks enter Friday’s game well-rested after a bye week last week. They last played at Soap Lake, returning with a 40-0 shutout.

“I sure hope the extra week is helpful,” said Coach Kaleb Madison. “They’re a tough squad. But you’ve got to worry a little about losing momentum in a bye.”

TOR enters with a 0-1 record in league play, losing by a second-chance field goal at Asotin 14-15 on Sept. 16.

Outside of league play, the ‘hawks are 3-0, outscoring opponents by a combined total of 173-6.

Coach Madison has credited his defense with ferocious play early in the season.

DeSales also enters 0-1 in league play after falling to undefeated Waitsburg-Prescott 14-33 at home last weekend. The Cardinals are now 5-0 overall.

The Irish are 2-2 overall, with their other loss coming on the Colfax home opener Sept. 9.

Dayton blanked Tri-Cities Prep 30-0 last Friday in the only other SE Big B tilt. Asotin joined TOR in the bye round.

Dayton travels to Waitsburg-Prescott Friday, and Asotin plays on the Tri-Cities Prep gridiron.

Anglers get more

pikeminnow days

Anglers participating in the pikeminnow sport-reward fishery program will get 16 more days of fishing. Slated to end Sept. 30, the season will remain open until Sunday, Oct. 16.

The program pays registered anglers $4 to $8 per fish, nine inches or longer. The more fish an angler catches, the more each pikeminnow they hook is worth. Last year the top fisherman in the program earned more than $80,000 in just five-months of fishing.

Northern pikeminnows consume millions of young salmon and steelhead each year. Research shows reducing pikeminnow numbers helps to increase salmon and steelhead populations.

Since 1990, anglers paid through the program have removed nearly 4 million pikeminnow from the Columbia and Snake Rivers reducing predation on young salmon and steelhead by 40 percent.

The program is administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration.