Basin teams compete at Ellensburg Invitational

ELLENSBURG — The Ephrata Tigers, Othello Huskies, Royal Knights, Wahluke Warriors and Warden Cougars cross country teams all travelled to Irene Rhineheart Park in Ellensburg Saturday morning to compete in an Invitational Relay event. “The Ellensburg Relay provides a great opening race for the season,” said Tigers coach Lyndsy Roberts. “The coed relay feature helps build team chemistry and the distance of 1.5 miles gives athletes a chance to race fast over a manageable distance. The knee-deep water feature also brings an exciting and memorable moment.” The event featured an individual race as well as a team race where both boys and girls ran together. Ephrata and Othello were two of the top teams in the boys individual race one, with the Tigers taking second and the Huskies taking fourth. Ephrata and Royal also made the leaderboard in the girls relay with the Tigers taking ninth and the Knights taking 13th.

Mavericks defeat Hermiston at home

MOSES LAKE — On Saturday, the Mavs defeated Hermiston at home 3-1 to secure their first victory of the season. Head coach Krystal Trammell said her players came to play. “The girls were very excited,” Trammell said. “They like playing Hermiston; they are a really good team. They're fast-paced, and they were pretty hyped up to get out there and play again."

QUINCY CITY COUNCIL POSITION 5: Dormier and Shelton

QUINCY — Incumbent Dave Dormier is being challenged by Pete Shelton for Position 5 on the Quincy City Council. The Columbia Basin Herald gave identical questions to each candidate, with a word limit.

Darrell Lee Liechty

May 27, 1934 — Aug. 5, 2025

Darrell Lee Liechty, 91, of Moses Lake, Washington, passed away peacefully on August 5, 2025, in Moses Lake.

Third-stringer Jake Tonges' late TD catch gives the 49ers a 17-13 win over the Seahawks

SEATTLE (AP) — When Brock Purdy commanded the huddle ahead of the San Francisco 49ers’ final drive, he provided a clear message to third-string tight end Jake Tonges and the rest of the offense. “He’s confident, he’s poised, he’s like, ‘Let’s go win this thing,’” Tonges said. “We didn’t want to kick a field goal. We didn’t want to go to overtime. We wanted to win it right there.”

Mariners complete successful weekend series against Braves

ATLANTA (AP) — The Seattle Mariners brought home two wins in a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves.

Warriors lose heartbreaker in week one

MATTAWA – On Friday, the Wahluke Warriors lost 21-20 to Naches Valley at home. A nail-biter to the end, they fought back several times in the second half. Head Coach Anfernee Cortez was proud of what he saw from his players, despite the loss.

Huskies volleyball enters season with renewed confidence

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies volleyball team is aiming to rebound this season after finishing 2-15 last year and falling out of the district tournament in the first round. “I think it was a lot of young people, and it was kind of just something to adjust to,” said Huskies’ senior Abbie Douglas.

Western states launch vaccine alliance amid CDC shake-up

(The Center Square) – The states of California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii are launching the West Coast Health Alliance to provide immunization recommendations to their residents amid concerns of federal politicization of science.

Shell of new Quincy pool scheduled to arrive this month

QUINCY — While it’s not scheduled to open until next summer, the new Quincy Aquatic Center will really start taking shape this fall. Construction crews started excavating the site in July, and Quincy Parks and Recreation Director Russ Harrington said there’s been a lot of progress below ground level.

Warden starts season with 32-13 win

WARDEN – The Warden Cougars football team started their season off strong with a 32-13 victory over Medical Lake as they push to solidify themselves as a top contender in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference. “It was pretty good,” said Cougars running back Danny Martinez. “First half blocks were settling in kind of flaky, but by the second half they actually got good blocks they got a good hold and actually earned some yards.”

Mavs secure first win on the road

MOSES LAKE – On Thursday, the Mavericks opened their season on the road against Oak Harbor and brought home a 49-6 win. Head Coach Brett Jay said he was happy with what he saw from his team. “I thought our effort was great, and I thought our attitude is great, and we're excited for the win, and we're going to clean some things up moving forward,” he said.

A young Lions team rallies around their junior and senior leaders

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Christian Covenant School Lions volleyball team is preparing themselves for another deep run in the postseason this year after ending the previous season 12-6 record and making a deep run at districts. “Last season I thought was pretty good,” said Head Coach Dean Spurbeck. “We didn’t quite make it to state, (but) they continued to get better.”

Reigning state champs open in dominant fashion

ROYAL CITY – The reigning 1A state champion Royal Knights kicked off their season in dominant fashion. What included a 48-point first quarter, the Knights were victorious over Kiona-Benton 68-0. “We executed pretty well in most areas. Kids were excited to get out there and play, and it was a bit of a mismatch physically. There are some areas we're still looking to get some of the pieces right, we're still working on getting their reads right and things like that, so lots to work on. But it was a great start for us,” Head Coach Wiley Allred said.

Tigers’ cross country ready to compete at state level

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers Cross Country team is preparing for another year of competition after finding success last season but just missing out on the state tournament. “This year we’re looking to go for some redemption to earn a state spot,” said Tigers Head Coach Lyndsey Roberts. “We’ve got most of our runners returning and we’re really excited about the potential.” Last year, the boys team finished second in the Central Washington Athletic Conference and qualified for state, but missed out on the championship by a few points, said Roberts. The girls team was in the middle of the league, but had strong front-runners, including Abigail Chamberlain, Savannah Harper and Hannah Malone.

Jacks hope to build in year two of CWAC

QUINCY – After a promising first season in the Central Washington Athletic Conference, the Jacks girls soccer team is motivated. Head Coach Jesse Villalobos said he was thrilled with what his team accomplished last year. “We were pretty happy with how far we got last year. We were able to win a district game the first year in the CWAC. We’re pretty proud of that accomplishment,” he said.

Warriors girls soccer looks to overcome new challenges

MATTAWA – After going 9-11-1the Wahluke girls soccer team will be facing some new challenges this season. According to Head Coach Cele Lopez, the Warriors have a young roster. “We have a new team, a lot of freshmen, a lot of girls who want to play, but they have never really played before. That's really a challenge,” Lopez said. “‘How can you combine the experienced girls with their groups?’”

Mavs volleyball playing with a warriors mentality

MOSES LAKE — After going 12-6 last season and falling short in the District Five 4A Championship, the Mavericks volleyball team is ready to run the table. Each year, they pick a new mantra, this year's being ‘Warrior mentality.’ “I looked at the team that we had coming back and the personalities. I asked them, ‘Why did I pick this?’ and they nailed it. They are goal-oriented. They're athletes, they want to win, they want to succeed, they don't give up, they strive to be better, they're constantly asking questions,” Head Coach Krystal Trammell said. Trammell said a mutual feeling of excitement filled the gymnasium when practices began. The Mavs volleyball team is energized and ready to start the new season.

Warden volleyball works to repeat past success under new head coach

WARDEN – The Warden Cougars volleyball team is tracking another run at the state tourney this year with new head coach Katie Roylance leading the team. The coach wants to maintain a winning culture this season. “You have those returning players who know where that expectation is and I’m probably just going to bump that bar up just a little bit and just try and hold that expectation,” said Roylance.

Huskies look for success with a younger team

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies girls soccer team ended their last season with a record of 6-9-2, which qualified them for districts, but they were eliminated in the first round. This year the team has a younger roster, but hopes for a deeper postseason run. “Last year we were a young team and it kind of showed when we went into playoff play,” said Huskies head coach Victor Quiroz. “We had a good regular season, but we were knocked out in the first round of playoffs.” The Huskies graduated nine seniors from the team in the offseason, which were complemented by the seven freshmen who were on the team last year. This year’s team is returning fewer seniors, with a roster heavy in underclassmen.