Amoruso, Duvall pace locals at Moses Lake Invite

Prep sports recaps

MOSES LAKE - Othello's Ashley Amoruso and Moses Lake's Elaina Duvall led their respective squads at Monday's Moses Lake Invite girls golf tournament.

Amoruso shot a 99 to finish in a tie for 18th place with Kamiakin's Kendrick Romine, while Duvall ended in a three-way tie for 21st with her round of 102.

The tournament was a best-ball format at the par-71 Moses Lake Golf Club. Pasco's Neddy Martinez shot a low round of 73 to win the individual title, leading the Bulldogs to the team crown with 158 total strokes.

Othello's Devyn Olsen finished at 109, with teammates Carolina Borba at 114 and Petra Delgado at 158. The Huskies' final team score of 203 - adjusted for the best-ball format - placed them 11th among the 16 teams in attendance.

Moses Lake teamed with Walla Walla in a foursome, with the Chiefs' duo of Duvall and Sam Byam (111) recording a 12th-place score of 211.

Team results: 1. Pasco 159. 2. Richland 169. 3. Mead 171. 4. West Valley 174. 5. Mount Spokane 178. 6. Eastmont 179. T-7. Hanford 191. T-7. Southridge 191. 9. Kamiakin 196. 10. Hermiston, Ore. 200. 11. Othello 203. 12. Moses Lake 211. 13. Wenatchee 218. 14. Eisenhower 221. 15. Walla Walla 223. 16. Kennewick 240.

Ephrata 334, Quincy 399

EPHRATA - The Tigers defeated the Jackrabbits on Monday at Lakeview Country Club behind the strong play of returning state participant Matt Pixlee.

Pixlee had nine pars and one birdie in his round of 78, leading all individuals at the 6,353-yard, par-71 course. Pixlee was especially strong on the back nine, where he collected par on seven holes.

Ephrata's entire six-man varsity lineup scored lower than Quincy's best finisher, Kyle Arnall. Ephrata's Cameron Allen finished at 84, followed by Steven Criss (85), Austin Key (87), Steven Lund (94) and Chase Millard (95).

Arnall shot a 96 to pace the Jackrabbits. Teammates Kevin Hille (100), Michael Evens (101), Marty Fields (102), Chase Henne (104) and Brian Evens (109) rounded out the field.

Lake Roosevelt was also in attendance at the meet, but didn't field a complete team.

Royal 4, Granger 2

ROYAL CITY - The Royal Knights boys soccer team opened its season with a pair of victories, including Saturday's 4-2 triumph over the visiting Granger Spartans.

The Knights took control of the South Central Athletic Conference match with two first-half goals. Jesus Rodriguez broke the ice at the 20-minute mark, and teammate Hilario Marmolejo made it 2-0 just 10 minutes later.

Granger's Jose Zuniga cut Royal's lead in half in the 51st minute, but Marmolejo answered with his second of the match four minutes later. Zuniga again sliced into the lead at the 71-minute mark before Royal's Salvador Vega got an insurance goal in the 78th minute.

"It was great to see the boys put together some attractive, attacking football in the first half," Royal coach Jens Jensen said via e-mail. "They took advantage of our large field and spent the entire first half pinning the Granger defense into their own half."

The Knights out-shot the Spartans 19-6.

Last Tuesday, the Knights opened their SCAC campaign at Naches Valley, earning a 4-2 win over the Rangers.

Vega put Royal in front at the 15-minute mark off an assist from Juan Ramirez, then scored unassisted at 24 minutes to give the Knights a 2-0 halftime cushion.

Vega finished his hat trick at the 61-minute mark with an assist from Juan Esquivel and seemingly put the game away. But the Rangers rallied for goals in the 66th minute from Chase Thompson and in the 77th minute from Dylan Swain.

In the final minute of regulation, Esquivel set up Ramirez for the game-clinching score.

"We had control of the match, but gave ourselves a bit of a scare by giving away the two goals due to our own mistakes," Jensen said. "It is early in the season, so some of that is to be expected."

The Knights had a 19-7 advantage in shots on goal.

Royal returns to the pitch this afternoon at 4 p.m., hosting the Connell Eagles. The SCAC is a nine-team league this year that includes 16 games. The schools are Royal, Naches, Granger, Connell, Wahluke, Warden, Goldendale, Highland and Kiona-Benton.

Ephrata Winter Classic

EPHRATA - Ephrata's boys won 13 of the 17 events last Thursday to defeat Connell and Quincy.

Cody Mann recorded a winning time of 11.24 seconds in the 100-meter dash, with Tiger teammate Trystan Mann winning the 200 in 23.44.

The Tigers were also sharp in the middle and long distances, as Jesse Throgmorton paced the 800-meter field in 2 minutes, 12.45 seconds, Steven Monda was victorious in the 1,600 (5:08.57) and Micah Nelson won the 3,200 (11:40.58).

Ephrata's Mark Novik won the 300 intermediate hurdles in 46.74, Ryan Fleenor took the shot put title (40 feet, 8 inches), and Jerome Prescod was first in the high jump (6-4).

Defending 2A state champion Wes Chamberlain took care of business in the pole vault, winning with a mark of 14 feet. Trystan Mann picked up his second win in the long jump (20-4), and Prescod got his second win in the triple jump (41-3).

The Tigers also swept the two relay races. In the 400-meter relay, Michael Castillo, Cody Mann, Trystan Mann and Travis Mather won in 45.39. In the 1,600 relay, Prescod, Cody Mann, Castillo and Novik won in 4:14.90.

Quincy's best performance was freshman Luke Grigg's victory in the 110 high hurdles (18.22). Brandon Kennedy was second in the pole vault (13-0), and Ben Horning was the runner-up in the 1,600 (5:17.21).

In girls competition, Quincy's Taylor Kunkel was a two-time winner in the long jump and triple jump. The sophomore won the long jump at 15-5 and the triple jump at 31-9.

Quincy sprinter Jazmine Perez won the 200 crown in 29.41, edging fellow frosh Lauren Yount of Ephrata by 0.22 seconds. Perez was second in the 100 (13.78), just 0.48 seconds behind Ephrata junior Lexi Lange.

Other Lady Jacks highlights included Dene Lybbert's first-place mark of 90-2 in the javelin, and Amanda Misasi's winning time of 57.73 in the 300 low hurdles.

Ephrata's girls dominated the longer distances. Carina Viveros won the 800 (2:52.10), with Brandi Eloff taking the 1,600 (5:58.17) and Danielle Friend taking the 3,200 (12:49.39).

Ephrata's Rocio Mendoza won the 100 hurdles in 18.17 and teammate Erin Boland cleared 10 feet to win the pole vault.