Basin athletes push through state tourney
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 1 week AGO
Max Grindy, a junior from ACH, prepares to make a free throw during the first round of the state tournament. The Warriors move on to the semifinals after earning a victory Thursday.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
MOSES LAKE — The WIAA State Basketball Tournament is going on strong with local basin athletes continuing their fight toward a state title. See the results for Almira/Coulee Hartline, Royal and Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School below.
ACH
The Warriors girls team battled hard in the Round of 12 Wednesday night but would fall to Lummi Nation, ending their run in the state tournament.
ACHW: 8-12-14-11: 48
LMNT: 16-1-19-9: 56
The two-seed Warriors boys team brought heat onto the court against Columbia Adventist in the quarterfinals of state to win 80-54. ACH continues their march toward a state title in the semifinals where they face the number three seed Tulalip Heritage at 5:30 p.m.
COAD: 12-15-9-16: 54
ACHW: 22-12-12-24: 80
MLCA/CCS
In a tough battle against the third-seeded Tulalip Heritage, the fifth-seeded Lions boys fell 53-72 in the quarterfinals. The Lions get another chance to place on the podium if they can win in the semifinals against Columbia Adventist Friday at 10:30 a.m.
MLCA: 20-10-17-6: 53
THTG: 19-14-24-15: 72
Royal
The number three-seeded Knights boys commanded the court Thursday morning to earn a 63-37 victory over the number five seed, Annie Wright in the state quarterfinals. Royal moves on to the semifinals where they face a familiar rival in the number one-seeded Zillah Friday at 3:45 p.m.
ANWR: 10-9-6-12: 37
ROYL: 13-12-19-19: 63
The fifth-seed Royal girls team earned a convincing 51-42 victory over the sixth-seed Bellevue Christian in the quarterfinals. The Knights head into the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Friday to face the winner of the Seton Catholic/King’s game.
BVCH: 7-11-17-7: 42
ROYL: 7-13-15-16: 51
ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Sushik comes full circle ahead of first season at BBCC
MOSES LAKE — The next step in Liana Sushik’s athletic journey has led her to play for the Big Bend Community College Vikings volleyball team this fall after a successful career with the Soap Lake Eagles. Joining the Vikings is something she feels has deepened her love for the sport, she said. “I fell in love with the fact that there’s more than just high school volleyball; there’s another level,” said Sushik. “It’s like a whole new chapter and I’m so excited to see what I have next because there’s a lot that I’ve been through to get here.” Despite her success on the court, Sushik said she didn’t initially start out as an athlete.
Building a community at Desert City Fitness
EPHRATA — The city of Ephrata welcomed its newest athletic club earlier this summer with Desert City Fitness setting up along Basin Street. Since their grand opening June 6, the club has worked to become a strong contributor to the community in Ephrata. “We just opened our doors and whoever comes in, that’s how we do it,” said Bryan Boney, owner of Desert City Fitness. Boney, who owns the club alongside his wife Tracy Fillion, decided to open Desert City Fitness to keep himself active after retiring six years ago. Boney said he has invested all his money from retirement into purchasing the property, remodeling and getting the equipment necessary to open his fitness center.
Grid Kids expands opportunities this season
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Grid Kids football program is gearing up for the start of its 26th football season this fall. This year, alongside their tackle football program, the Grid Kids have expanded their flag football options. “It’s one of those things that you just don’t really know how well it’s going to go, but right now we’re looking pretty strong,” said Brian Gwinn, the Gird Kids administrator and communications contact. The tackle opportunities remain the same for third through sixth grade with third and fourth graders playing together and fifth and sixth graders separately from the younger players. The format for third and fourth grade will remain at a regular 11-man game, but for fifth and sixth grade there is consideration for moving down to an eight-on-eight format.