Gazette sports reporter bids farewell to Whitman County

COLFAX — This paper will be the last issue with my name and stories/photos in them.

I started working at the Whitman County Gazette as the sports reporter in May of 2023, just a week or so after graduating from Washington State University with a degree in multimedia journalism.

Unsure of what lay ahead during my final weeks as a senior, I saw an opportunity to apply for this current job, which I had always said was my “ideal job” while in school.

My dream quickly became reality when I began working for the paper. In my first week I traveled to Spokane to cover some district baseball, then traveled to Yakima for the Colfax state softball tournament last season.

After the end of the spring season last year, I was unsure how I could cover local sports if there were no high school activities.

I was shocked, however, extremely excited when I learned of all the activities the county has to offer.

During the summer, I traveled across the county, covering fishing, hunting, rodeo, and even sprint boat races.

Once summer ended, my “real work” began.

I covered football and volleyball for the first time this past fall.

My love for football made me excited as ever to cover the local teams, and my most recent love for volleyball brought me joy while covering the sport.

Having most recently finished playing club volleyball with Washington State University, I was able to produce quality pieces about the teams season, including covering the Oakesdale Nighthawks volleyball state championship.

After the volleyball and football seasons were over, there was no time to rest, as I began covering basketball and wrestling.

Once again, my love for basketball made the long and late nights worth it, especially when covering the Colfax Bulldogs boys basketball team as they captured their state title.

My most recent work was completing the seasons for baseball, softball, and track and field.

Whitman County is lucky to have a school earn an athletic state championship in all three sport seasons this year, including the Garfield-Palouse girls track state championship.

As I look back on my short but sweet year and a time with the Whitman County Gazette, I am extremely grateful for each and every coach, team, and school that I worked with. Stepping into a new role, and having to fill pretty big shoes were challenging, but I hope to have helped make a difference at the paper.

While I am on my way back to my hometown to pursue other sports reporting ventures in a big city, I am grateful for all the small area of Whitman County offered me this past year.

–– Jake Hull is an outgoing sports reporter for the Whitman County Gazette. He can be reached at jake.hull@comcast.net