CALEB PEREZ
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Tigers Cross Country ready for their biggest season yet
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers Cross Country team is already hard at work to be in top shape for the 2026 season. With a strong group of returning runners alongside a solid group of new faces, the Tigers are eager to hit the ground running this year. “I’m feeling energized,” said Tigers Head Coach Lyndsy Roberts. “We’ve got a good group, one of the largest groups we’ve had in a long time.” The Tigers roster has over 50 athletes that have been participating in early season practices between the boys and girls, who Roberts said have all been mixing together well.
Lions set with smaller but strong squad
MOSES LAKE — Despite seeing a smaller roster this year, the Moses Lake Christian Academy Lions volleyball team is looking to build off their success from last season. With strong returners, the Lions are on track to stay competitive. “We lost some people, but we’ll be able to fill in, so that’ll be nice. Not quite at the numbers that we normally have, but we’ll make it work,” said Lions Head Coach Dean Spurbeck. The Lions concluded their 2025 season with a 10-8 record after battling through a tough Central Washington B League. MLCA entered into the postseason district tournament where they entered as the fourth seed and fell to the fifth seeded Pateros in the second round.
Huskies bring in senior experience for the coming season
OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies girls soccer team is preparing for another tough season in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. This year the Huskies are returning with an advantage as they bring back their full roster from last season. “We’re looking good; we’re trending in the right direction,” said Huskies Head Coach Victor Quiroz. “We’re bringing everybody back that we had last year on our varsity team, so we’re super excited. That makes it a lot easier going into the season.” Last season, the Huskies completed the regular season 6-9-1, which earned them a spot for the district tournament. Othello was eliminated in the first round of districts after a tight game against Prosser that ended in a shootout with a final score of 2-1.
New faces, same goals for the Eagles
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team might look a little different this season with a new head coach and varsity lineup, but the structure of what was built in previous years will remain the same. This season, the Eagles are gearing up to remain competitive in the Central Washington B League. “The amount of growth that we’ve had already in such a short period of time has been huge,” said Erin Fletcher, the Eagles’ new head coach. “A lot of it carries over from the summer and the work the kids put in during summer ball.” Last year, the Eagles concluded the regular season 12-5 and took second place in the District 5 tournament before heading out to state. Despite making a strong effort, the Eagles fell in the first round of the state tournament to Wahkiakum to end their season.
Cougars look to return stronger for 2026
WARDEN — The Warden Cougars Cross Country team is preparing to get back onto the trails this season. While the group is small as of the early season, Warden is gaining traction for their combined middle/high school team. “So far so good,” said Cougars Head Coach Karla Banks. “A lot of these kids conditioned over the summer so that was really wonderful.” Banks said the Cougars did very well with earning new personal records last season, and everyone remained consistent in each oncoming meet. This year they’re looking to repeat that with goals to take a few athletes to state.
Devils strive for ‘One team, one goal’
WILSON CREEK — The Wilson Creek Devils are ready for another season of volleyball as they return a little younger, but still experienced. This year, the Devils are striving to become more unified and play together as one. “I’m looking forward to watching this team come together and do something great,” said Devils Head Coach Shawn Shahan. “See them combine and work together and become one team. That’s our motto this year is ‘One team, one goal.’” Wilson Creek finished the season 6-14 last year and qualified for the district tournament after battling through the highly competitive Central Washington B League. The Devils made it into the first round of districts before ending their season against Easton.
Tigers fall in season opener to Omak
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers (0-1) began their volleyball season at home against the Omak Pioneers, falling 3-0 to their nonleague opponent. Despite opening the season on a loss, the Tigers are using this as a liftoff for improvement for the remainder of the season. “It was definitely more of a reflection of first game nerves. We’ve got a bunch of sophomores coming out there,” said McKaidan Boyd, the Tigers’ new Head Coach. “We scrimmaged hard the night before and we came out really well and today we just couldn’t apply that.” At the start of the first set, Ephrata fell behind as Omak gained a solid lead early on. Halfway through the set, the Tigers found traction to cut into their opponent’s lead but ultimately were unable to close the gap and fell 25-14.
Significant weather pattern change bringing cooler days
MOSES LAKE — The shift into fall weather has already begun to hit the Pacific Northwest this week as temperatures are set to cool significantly. These weather conditions are set to bring rain, wind and chances of temperatures of less than 36 degrees to many parts of Washington, according to a press release from the National Weather Service Spokane.
Basin Sports Schedule: Sept. 1-8, 2026
MOSES LAKE — The school year and fall competition have already started to kick off in the Columbia Basin. Check out where each of the local teams are heading for the first week of fall sports.
Vikings volleyball ready to begin their season
MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings volleyball team is having a successful preseason as they have worked and grown together through practice and some early season matches. With regular season fast approaching, the team is feeling excited to put their training to the test. “We’re feeling good,” said Lindsey Linthicum, the Vikings Head Coach. “We’ve had some little bumps in the road, we played Northwest University on (Aug. 26) and Whitworth University (Aug. 27) and they are both higher teams, but it was a great experience for the girls.” BBCC finished last season 5-21 with Linthicum in her first season as head coach and a full roster of freshmen. This year, despite having some injuries in preseason, the team is returning with experience.