Sports Briefs

EWU spring football begins April 2

The Eastern Washington University football team, seeking its fourth-straight Big Sky Conference title and berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs, opens spring practices today, April 2, at Roos Field.

The Eagles will spread 14 practices over the course of 29 days, and hit the field to make yet another run at the NCAA Division I title EWU won in 2010.

For the most part, Eastern will practice Tuesdays and Thursdays, and have scrimmages on Saturdays. The annual Red-White Game takes place on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at Roos Field, but the Eagles will follow that with two more practices the following week.

Head coach Beau Baldwin, who enters his eighth season at the helm, expects to have upwards of 90 players participating this spring, including 48 returning letterwinners. A year ago, the Eagles had 46 letterwinners back, and they helped Eastern win its second-straight outright Big Sky Conference title and third-straight overall.

But two-time Walter Payton Award runner-up Vernon Adams Jr. has moved on to other pastures, and the progression of Jordan West and the competition he will face at that position will be one of the key storylines for the spring. West was 3-1 as a starter in place of Adams last season, but no other quarterback in the program has taken significant snaps behind center.

Eastern’s offense also will need to replace two offensive linemen – one of them consensus FCS All-American Jake Rodgers – as well its starter at running back.

Defensively, Jeff Schmedding takes over as defensive coordinator, and will need to replace two highly-productive linebackers, including three-time All-American and the Big Sky’s all-time leading tackler, Ronnie Hamlin. Eastern also lost a pair of starting defensive linemen and All-America safety Tevin McDonald.

Eastern advanced to the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs behind an offense that led the nation in scoring (44.1 points per game) and set school and Big Sky records for points (618), touchdowns (84) and total offensive plays (1,079). Eastern averaged 513.4 yards of offense per game to rank third in FCS, however, Eastern also allowed 31.4 points and 441.8 yards per game.

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Harvey, Jois selected to NABC All-District 6 squad

A pair of Eastern Washington University juniors – guard Tyler Harvey and forward Venky Jois – were selected March 27 to the  National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 6 first team, as selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC.

This is the first All-NABC honor for Jois, but Harvey is a repeat selection. A year ago as a second team pick, Harvey became EWU’s first selection since 2006 when Rodney Stuckey earned the honor. Stuckey is now in his eighth year in the NBA (Indiana Pacers), and earned NABC All-District first team honors in both 2006 and 2007 when he also was an honorable mention All-America selection for the Eagles.

Harvey is was one of 16 finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year, and is also one of 31 finalists for the Lou Henson Award given to the nation’s top mid-major player. As a result, he is recognized on the Lou Henson All-America team.

Harvey and Jois were also first team selections on the All-Big Sky Conference team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

A junior from Torrance, Calif., Harvey led NCAA Division I with a 23.1 scoring average, and closed the year with Big Sky and EWU single season records for season 3-pointers with 128. His 738 points were a school record and ranked fourth in league history.

Jois, a junior from Boronia, Australia, set the school’s single season blocked shots record with 69 and averaged 16.7 points and 7.7 rebounds on the season.

In addition, Harvey was selected as the MVP of the Big Sky Conference Tournament after averaging 23.0 points. Jois was also selected to the all-tournament team after averaging 12.3 points.

They helped the Eagles close the year 26-9 on the season after finishing 14-4 in the Big Sky Conference to share the regular season title with Montana. Eastern swept through three games in the Big Sky Conference Tournament to garner the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. The Eagles finished with program bests for victories overall (26), in the Big Sky (14), on the road (11) and in non-conference play (9) in 32 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I.

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Eagles meet three Big Sky standards at Texas Relays

The Eastern Washington University track and field team had three athletes meet Big Sky standards at the 88th annual Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, March 26-27, bringing the early season total to six qualifiers.

Olivia Midles and Jordan Arakawa set the tone for the Eagles on Thursday when they each hit marks in the hammer throw which qualified them for the Big Sky Championships. Both Midles and Arakawa are seniors out of Capital High School in Olympia, Wash., and have impressive championship resumes.

Midles had a toss of 186 feet, 7 inches to place fourth overall and Arakawa threw 195-8 to place 10th.

Emma Murillo threw the javelin a distance of 144-5 on Friday to punch her ticket to the conference championships. The senior is the Big Sky Conference champion in that event. Murillo also competed in the hammer throw on Thursday with a mark of 171-1.