Sports Briefs

EWU student-athletes raise funds for Special Olympics

Choosing the warmth of the television studio over the frigid waters of Liberty Lake, student athletes from Eastern Washington University football and volleyball teams got an early start raising money for Special Olympics Washington and the Polar Plunge. EWU students staffed the phones at KHQ Tuesday, Feb. 10. The athletes raised nearly $1,400 towards their $5,000 goal in just 90 minutes.

EWU athletes are participating in the fundraising dive into Liberty Lake, Sunday, Feb. 28. As of Feb. 17, the total raised was $1,370, according to the EWU Athletics team page on the Polar Plunge website.

This is the fourth year that EWU Athletics student-athletes and staff have participated in the Polar Plunge, each year surpassing the one before. They raised more than $600 in 2012, nearly $700 in 2013 and jumped to $3,100 in 2014.

Joel Vickery, assistant athletic director for compliance, coordinates Eastern’s efforts for the event. Last year, 24 players and staff such as EWU head football coach Beau Baldwin, took part. The Eagles have previously been recognized with an award as the event’s top fundraising school.

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Eagles announce signing of 21 new football players

Familiarity – and success and tradition – helped the Eastern Washington University football team in the 2015 recruiting season.

Featuring six offensive linemen, a home-grown defensive player and the brother of a two-time Eastern All-American, head football coach Beau Baldwin announced the signing of 21 high school players Feb. 4 to letters of intent to attend EWU and play for the Eagles.

Eastern, which has compiled a 34-9 record overall and 22-2 league mark in the last three years, lost 20 seniors to graduation from its 2014 team. But the next class features 13 players from the state of Washington, including a dozen All-State selections.

Highly-recruited hometown product Keenan Williams joins the Eagles as a defensive lineman out of Cheney High School, where several former EWU players helped coach him. His signing continues a long, long association that he and his family have had with Cheney and Eastern football dating back to his days as a youngster.

All-State linebacker Ketner Kupp out of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash., was among the signees. He will join his brother, Cooper Kupp, who has been an All-America wide receiver for the Eagles the past two seasons. Their great-uncle, Jeff Kupp, played for Eastern from 1982-84.

 “The bloodlines are there, but his family will be the first to admit that he and Cooper are different,” Baldwin said of the Kupp connection. “Ketner will come in with his own personality and be his own type of player.

“Keenan has great size and strength to go with his athletic ability,” Baldwin said of Williams. “It’s great to have a local player with that type of talent sign with us.”

And Dre’ Sonte Dorton, whose uncle played for the Eagles, signed as a cornerback out of Pasco powerhouse Chiawana High School. Other local products signed by the Eagles include safety/linebacker Roy Hyatt (Mt. Spokane HS) and defensive lineman Jim Townsend (Okanogan, Wash.) and offensive lineman Will Gram (Troy, Idaho).

The complete list of 2015 EWU signees can be found in the West Plains Scoreboard.

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Eastern Washington soccer unveils 2015 recruits

With a total of eight seniors graduating after a milestone filled year, the Eastern Washington women’s soccer program has inked an extremely promising 2015 recruiting class, totaling 14 student-athletes for its upcoming 2015 season, as announced by head coach Chad Bodnar. Feb. 4.

All of the new recruits for the upcoming year will join the Eagles directly out of high school. The class of 2015 is comprised of players hailing from six different states; six from the state of Washington, three from California, two from Arizona, and a single player coming from Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada.

Alexis Stephenson, Forward, Pasco, WA (Chiawana High School)

Maddy Boyd, Forward, Spokane, WA (Mt. Spokane High School)

Gabrielle Gines, Defender, Midfield, Littleton, CO (Dakota Ridge High School)

Megan Spataro, Defender, Olympia, WA (Olympia High School)

Brenna Blaser, Midfield, Boise, ID (Mountain View High School)

Victoria Lindstrom, Defender, Vancouver, WA (Battle Ground High School)

Devan Talley, Forward, Issaquah, WA (Issaquah High School)

Josie Self, Defender, Vaughn, WA (Peninsula High School)

Emily Bringgold, Defender, Folsom, CA (Vista Del Lago High School)

Jenny Chavez, Midfield, Newhall, CA (Hart High School)

Maia Inniss, Defender, Granada Hills, CA (Granada Hills Charter)

Allison Raniere, Forward, Midfield, Tucson, AZ (Sahuaro High School)

Alexis von Schottenstein, Forward, Gardnerville, NV (Douglas High School)

Kayla Goebel, Defender, Phoenix, AZ (Sandra Day O’Connor High School)

Katie Mahoney was the only distance runner to compete in two events this weekend, and she posted two personal records in the mile (4:56.07) and the 800 (2:17.60).

Newly minted Big Sky Athlete of the Week, Courtney Bray, had a personal best jump of 12 feet, 11 3/4 inches, third all-time at Eastern.

On the men’s side, freshmen Jeremy VanAssche and Tyree Fort each qualified for the prelims in the 60-meter dash. Fort ran a personal best of 6.96 seconds, while VanAssche clocked a 6.95.

Eastern competes at the WSU Invitational Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7.

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