Northwest Notes

Grove ties for 11th

at Northwest Open

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Avondale Golf Club assistant pro Russell Grove shot an even-par 72 on Wednesday and finished tied for 11th place at the Northwest Open golf tournament, shooting a 4-under 212 for the 54-hole tourney at Wine Valley Golf Club.

Grove, the former Coeur d'Alene and University of Idaho standout, who won the Lilac City Invitational last month outside Spokane, shot earlier rounds of 71 and 69.

Shane Prante from Tom's Golf Center in Olympia, Wash., won by six strokes at 14-under 202, with rounds of 68, 67 and 67. Corey Prugh of Manito Golf and Country Club in Spokane tied for second at 8-under 208, with rounds of 67, 73 and 68.

Brent Walsh of the Coeur d'Alene Golf Club finished tied for 24th at 1 under following rounds of 72, 75 and 68.

Post Falls plans pig roast

as football fundraiser

POST FALLS - The Post Falls High football team has planned a fundraiser pig roast and silent auction for Sept. 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the Post Falls High School commons.

Proceeds go to the Trojan football program.

Cost for the pasta feed/silent auction is $7 per person, or $28 per family. All football players eat free.

Individuals and businesses are asked to donate items for the silent auction - such as services, gift cards, food, money, baked goods or business products.

Those who have donations to be picked up are asked to call Johna Bennett at 660-4283.

SWX to air three

EWU football games

SWX will broadcast three Eastern Washington University football games this fall to its audience in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

The first game broadcast by SWX will be Sept. 7 when the Eagles host Western Oregon at 4 p.m. Pacific time at Roos Field in Cheney. The next broadcast will be EWU's Hall of Fame Game vs. Weber State on Oct. 5, also at 4 p.m.

The final broadcast will be EWU's homecoming game on Oct. 19 against Southern Utah at 5 p.m.

SWX is available over the air on channel 6.2, and on Time Warner Cable at 306.

The addition of the three broadcasts means nine of EWU's 12 games will be televised regionally this year. The season opener at Oregon State is on the Pac-12 Networks, the Sam Houston State game is on Comcast SportsNet Northwest and the Montana, Montana State, Cal Poly and Portland State games are all on Root Sports.

In addition, the Toledo game will be broadcast via computer and mobile devices on ESPN3. All Big Sky Conference games (except for those broadcast on Root Sports) will be webcast by the league at www.bigskyconf.com.

Shadow plans return, also hopes

to launch women's team in '14

SPOKANE - The Spokane Soccer Club Shadow are taking things back to the beginning, announcing that the youth club is launching a men's team to begin play in the regional Evergreen Premier League, a new statewide league that will make its debut in the spring of 2014, and is expecting to also launch a new women's team to also begin play in the National Women's Premier Soccer League.

The EPL Washington addition is the first of several announcements the club is set to make and marks the return to senior level competition for the first time since the original Spokane Shadow men's team, the originators of the youth club, ceased operations in 2005 following an unsuccessful resolution to turf issues at Joe Albi Stadium.

The Shadow played its first official season in 1996 as a member of what is now known as the USL Premier Development League, the nation's preeminent amateur soccer league that is the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team won division championships in the regular season or playoffs in its first five years while also finishing a regular league leader in attendance with numbers in excess of 1,000 each year.

Among the players developed or came through the Shadow over the course of its PDL existence included Major League Soccer veterans Craig Waibel and Brian Ching.

Other clubs recently announced for the debut of the league are: Bellingham United FC, Seattle Stars FC, South Sound FC, Wenatchee United, Westsound FC Men and FC Three Rivers (Tri-Cities).

The Spokane Shine women's team folded earlier this year.

Track and field coach Sloan

sets 2014 retirement from WSU

PULLMAN - Rick Sloan, the men's and women's track and field head coach and the dean of Cougar coaches, has announced he will retire from Washington State University at the end of the 2014 outdoor season.

"This will be my final year as a head coach at Washington State," Sloan said. "I'm not done coaching as I feel like I still have more coaching in me but I don't know what direction that will take me. At this point in time, with my wife Sandy's illness a couple of years ago, we need to move on with our life and spend some time together."

Sloan has been with the Cougar track and field program for 40 years, including the last 18 as head coach of both the men's and women's programs and one additional year as the head coach for the men's team. During his tenure as the Cougar track program's mentor, Sloan has seen Cougar men set 22 school records and Cougar women set 84 school records. He has directed 42 WSU athletes to NCAA Outdoor All-American status 76 times, and directed 33 athletes to NCAA Indoor All-American status 47 times.

"I speak for all Cougars when I thank Rick for four decades of dedicated service to Washington State," WSU athletic director Bill Moos said. "He has served the university well and will be missed by many. I wish him and Sandy nothing but the best."

When Sloan was named the head track and field coach at Washington State in June of 1994, he had already invested 21 years of service to the program and the university as an assistant coach. From 1973 until the summer of 1994, he had been an assistant coach, directing WSU athletes in field events, hurdles, sprints, and decathlon. He continues to coach the multi-events competitors and fulfill the duties of head coach. Sloan is well-known internationally in the multi-events circuits because of his 14 years as coach for four-time world decathlon champion, Olympic champion and former World record-holder Dan O'Brien and his mentoring of Olympic heptathlete Diana Pickler.

Entering his final year with the Cougars, Washington State will host the 2014 Pac-12 Track & Field Championships in May.