Cd'A soph Randles second at preseason nationals wrestling tourney

DES MOINES, Iowa — Alyssa Randles, a sophomore at Coeur d'Alene High, placed second at 122 pounds at the recent Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals wrestling tournament.

Randles, ranked 12th in the nation at her weight, defeated the third-ranked girl (Charlotte Kouyoumtjian of the (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club in California) in the semifinals before losing 4-3 in the finals to 13th-ranked Shelby Moore from Takedown Express Wrestling Club in Covington, Wash.

Randles wrestles for the Inland Northwest Wrestling Training Center based in Spokane. In February, she won a state title at 122 at the Idaho high school state girls wrestling championships in Pocatello.

Competition was held in 10 weight classes, from 106 to 180 pounds.

Boise State's Alston named Preseason Player of the Year, Broncos picked second in Mountain West

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Boise State redshirt senior guard Derrick Alston, Jr. was selected as the 2020-21 Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year and the Broncos were slated to finish second. The preseason awards and predicted order of finish, announced by the league Wednesday, were voted on by media members who cover the conference.

Boise State was picked to finish second behind San Diego State. Utah State was picked third, followed by UNLV, Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, Fresno State, Wyoming, Air Force and San Jose State.

Alston was Boise State's leader in scoring and assists last season, averaging 17.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The Houston native initially declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, but withdrew his name in July.

Alston was also chosen to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team for the second straight year. He was joined by Bryce Hamilton (jr., UNLV), Matt Mitchell (sr., F, SDSU), Neemias Queta (jr., C, Utah State) and Isaiah Stevens (so., G, Colorado State). UNLV also boasted the Preseason Newcomer of the Year (junior guard David Jenkins) and Preseason Freshman of the Year (guard Nick Blake).

EWU men picked to win Big Sky; Vandals picked last

The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team was the overwhelming favorite to defend the Big Sky Conference title they won a year ago, garnering nine of 11 first-place votes cast by the coaches and 24 of 28 by the media in the preseason polls announced by the league office. The league season is scheduled to begin Dec. 3.

Idaho was picked 11th (last) by the media and coaches.

The Eagles enter the 2020-21 season with four starters back from last year's squad which finished 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the Big Sky. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the season, including the conclusion of the Big Sky Conference Tournament and the entire NCAA Tournament.

COACHES POLL — 1, Eastern Washington. 2, Montana. 3, Weber State. 4, Portland State. 5, Northern Colorado. 6, Montana State. 7, Southern Utah. 8, Northern Arizona. 9, Sacramento State. 10, Idaho State. 11, Idaho.

MEDIA POLL — 1, Eastern Washington. 2, Montana. 3, Northern Colorado 4, Montana State. 5, Weber State. 6, Southern Utah. 7, Portland State. 8, Northern Arizona. 9, Sacramento State. 10, Idaho State. 11, Idaho.

Idaho women picked to win Big Sky by coaches, media

FARMINGTON, Utah – Idaho's women's basketball team was picked to finish first by the coaches and the media in the annual Big Sky preseason polls.

Last year's Vandals punched a ticket to the Big Sky Championship game to face Montana State, but were unable to play the game due to COVID-19. Idaho finished the season 22-9 and 15-5 in the Big Sky while finishing the season on a seven-game win streak.

The Vandals are led by a talented group of returners, including preseason All-Big Sky selections Gina Marxen and Beyonce Bea. Natalie Klinker joins the duo as the leading rebounder from a year ago and averaged 11 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over the final six games of the season.

The Vandals begin Big Sky Conference play on Dec. 3 against Sacramento State. Idaho's non-conference schedule is to be announced.

MEDIA POLL — 1, Idaho. 2, Idaho State. 3, Northern Arizona. 4, Montana State. 5, Northern Colorado. 6, Portland State. 7, Montana. 8, Southern Utah. 9, Eastern Washington. 10, Sacramento State. 11, Weber State.

COACHES POLL — 1, Idaho. 2, Idaho State. 3, Northern Arizona. 4, Montana State. 5, Northern Colorado. 6, Montana. 7, Portland State. 8, Southern Utah. 9, Sacramento State. 10, Eastern Washington. 11, Weber State.

Virtual FanFest helps Gonzaga women kick off 2020-21 season

SPOKANE — The Gonzaga women's basketball team kicked off the 2020-21 season unlike any other season with a virtual Numerica FanFest on Tuesday evening inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The event featured a 16-minute Blue and White scrimmage. For the scrimmage, the Zags split into two teams, Blue and White. The White team defeated the Blue team 27-24 in the first live scrimmage of the season.

"It was fun to see [the team] out there, and to see what the gym is going to look like and what the feel is going to be," Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. "I thought we had some great stretches offensively, and probably some great stretches defensively when our offense wasn't so good, but I was thinking more along the lines of we struggled a little bit offensively…I thought they did some good things, and it was fun to watch these guys compete with a different feeling, because we haven't had any live scrimmages like this."

Sophomore Kayleigh Truong finished with 10 points off 4-of-8 from the floor including 2-of-3 from long range for the White team. Senior LeeAnne Wirth had four points and a game-high six rebounds. Melody Kempton, a junior from Post Falls High, had four points and two rebounds in 15 minutes for the White.

Jenn Wirth led the Blue team, finishing with eight points to go along with four rebounds. Cierra Walker, fresh off a redshirt season during 2019-20 due to NCAA transfer rules, added five points off 2-of-3 from the floor.

Gonzaga officially opens the season Nov. 28 against Oklahoma in the first game of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Gonzaga men sign Gregg,

Perry to Letters of Intent

Gonzaga men’s basketball coach Mark Few announced the signing of Ben Gregg and Kaden Perry to National Letters of Intent.

Gregg, a 6-foot-10, 225 pound forward from Clackamas, Ore., is No. 29 in the ESPN Top 100 and will join the Zags in 2021-22. Following his junior season at Clackamas, he was named Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

“Ben is a super-skilled forward, that’s a coach’s kid,” Few said. “He’s been a guard his whole life, and now he’s grown to 6-10. He’s going to be a great face-up player for us at the forward spot.”

“This is truly a dream come true,” Gregg said. “I’ve looked up to the Gonzaga men’s basketball team since I was a little kid and to be able to put on the Bulldog uniform is going to be surreal.”

Perry, a 6-9, 225 pound forward from Battle Ground, Wash., averaged 23.7 points, 15.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game while drawing comparisons to former Zag Brandon Clark for his vertical style of play.

“Kaden is going to remind people a lot of Brandon Clark,” Few said. “He’s a little bigger than Brandon, but he runs the floor and plays above the rim much like Brandon did. We’re just scratching the surface right now with his ability.”

Mt. Spokane's Degenhart among Boise State hoops signees

BOISE — Boise State men’s basketball coach Leon Rice on Wednesday announced the signing of Tyson Degenhart (Mt. Spokane High) and RJ Keene (The Woodlands, Texas) to national letters of intent.

Degenhart, a 6-7 forward, led Mt. Spokane to its first appearance in the WIAA 3A state title game as a sophomore. He was named to the All-Greater Spokane League First Team and earned a spot on the 3A all-state team after averaging 19.3 points per game. He earned GSL MVP honors last year, when he averaged 24.5 points per game.

“Tyson is a very versatile, high-motor guy with a ton of skill and toughness," Rice said. "He has a very mature game that will translate to this level. He can score at all three levels and is an excellent rebounder.”

Degenhart enters his senior season as the state’s No. 4 recruit, according to Washington Prep Hoops.

Keene, a 6-7 guard, made 135 3-pointers last year, ranking 10th nationally according to MaxPreps.

Keene’s father, Richard, played at Illinois from 1992-96. He made 237 three-pointers and scored 1,145 points, leading the Illini to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT.