CALEB PEREZ

Soap Lake Soap Boix Derby set for Suds-N-Sun

SOAP LAKE — The annual Soap Box Derby is being held at 9 a.m. on July 4 as part of the Suds-N-Sun festival. The theme for the derby, along with the rest of the festival, will be based on the United States’ 250th year of independence. “Just need kids to come out, race a few times and have a great time,” said Soap Lake Police Chief Patrick Canady, who is coordinating the event. “It doesn’t cost them anything, just some parent supervision and a little help with the race.”

Tigers host youth wrestling camp

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers announced Wednesday that they will be hosting a youth wrestling camp this summer running from June 29-July 1 from 8:30 a.m. to noon each day at the Ephrata High School PAC Gym. The camp will be open to all incoming second through ninth grade students. “I’ll be in the camp and kind of be the head clinician,” said Tigers Boys Wrestling Head Coach Joe Knox. “We’ll have some of the high school boys in there helping out and just kind of working on basic skills and giving kids an opportunity to get a little wrestling in this summer.”

Tigers claim two wins over Tri-Cities

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (5-1) earned a pair of victories over the Tri-Cities Badgers 17U team Tuesday evening. Despite a slow start, Tigers Head Coach David Tempel said he was proud of how the team rallied to overcome their opponent. “Anytime you can come away with a couple of wins, it’s always a good night,” said Coach Tempel. “Tri-Cities Prep is always a pretty good ball club, and we were happy to execute when we did.” The Tigers fell behind in the first game as the Badgers scored two in the first inning, one in the second and two in the third. Over the course of these three innings, the Tigers were held scoreless.

WSU’s Nick Lewis named ABCA gold glove award finalist

PULLMAN — Washington State University Cougars’ lefthander Nick Lewis was named one of three finalists for a 2026 ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove, the American Baseball Coaches Association announced Monday. Lewis, along with Ruger Riojas from Texas and Eric Segura from Oregon State are the three pitchers up for the national award, according to a release from WSU Athletic Communications. The award is presented annually to the top defensive players from each division of collegiate and high school baseball. The 2026 NCAA Division I Gold Glove finalists were voted on and selected by the ABCA NCAA Div. I All-America and Coach of the Year Committee. In a release from ABCA, the Gold Glove winners in all divisions were announced Wednesday by Rawlings Sporting Goods. Results of this were unavailable at the time of publication.

BAM hosts Pro-AM Bass tourney at potholes

MOSES LAKE — The Bass Anglers Magazine is returning to the Potholes Reservoir this weekend for the BAM Trail Professional-Amateur Bass Fishing tournament hosted by Mardon Resort. “We try to put on a real solid event,” said Mark Lassagne, BAM CEO and Tournament Director. “Give them really something cool to fish for besides money.” Amateur anglers who signed up by the end of Monday will be paired with a different professional each day of the tournament. The duo will then work together on the pro’s boat to be the top anglers each day.

Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career

WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”

Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.

Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.

Johnson set to lead young Eagles team for 2026/27

SOAP LAKE — Joe Johnson has been hired as the Soap Lake Eagles new Boys Basketball head coach for the upcoming 2026/27 school year. The new hire said he is excited for the opportunity to start with a young team and help them grow throughout the season. “I’m excited. It’s an opportunity that I’ve been looking forward to,” said Johnson. “I’ve enjoyed basketball throughout my life, I’ve played a lot and it’s my favorite of the things to coach.”

SR 17 closed from fire

UPDATE: As of 6:15 p.m., SR 17 has reopened, but North Lake Road Northeast is still closed due to fire crews fighting the fire. Drivers are still asked to avoid the area and find alternate routes. MOSES LAKE — State Route 17 between Neppel and McConihe Rd has been closed due to a fire in the area and heavy smoke, according to a statement from Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities are asking that people avoid the area and find alternative routes. Officers are on scene working to get the fire under control. More information on the fire will be posted as it comes along.

College athletes prepare for 2026 NCAA Track & Field championships

MOSES LAKE — The college track and field season is coming to an end this week as athletes from around the state are heading to the NCAA Outdoor championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

GALLERY: Basin spring sports highlights

MOSES LAKE — With spring sports now behind us in the Basin, there’s no shortage of highlight moments executed by local high school athletes. See below some of the photos taken by the Columbia Basin Herald that did not make print until now.

Warden’s 2026 graduates gather together one last time

WARDEN — The class of 2026 celebrated their high school graduation Friday evening as friends and family gathered to celebrate everyone’s academic achievements. The ceremony was both a moment of excitement and sadness as the diverse group of graduates got to spend one last moment together. “I noticed we weren’t exactly the loudest, closest or most group of students,” said class valedictorian Ashley Cruz-Contreras. “We all had our own circles, clicks, routines and lives, but despite all the differences, we are here together tonight, united one last time on the state to close the chapter we started together.” Cruz-Contreras said following graduation, all of the class of 2026 will be heading off to their futures and wherever that takes them. As the class prepares to go on their new journeys, she wanted to thank those who helped guide each of her peers to this point.

Fire breaks out in rural Mattawa prompting potential evacuation

Upcoming summer bass tournaments for summer 2026

MOSES LAKE — With the fishing season well underway, there are many opportunities around the area to participate in fishing tournaments this summer. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Inland Empire Bass Club shared a few opportunities for anglers to come together this season.

Local athletes battle it out in the Columbia Basin Series All-Star game

RICHLAND — In the Columbia Basin Series All-Star Baseball game Wednesday evening, Team Tri-Cities earned a 20-1 victory over Team Yakima. This game brought together the top senior players from different classifications around the Columbia Basin to compete in one final game before the All-State game. “It feels great,” said Moses Lake player Noah Hernandez who made the Yakima squad. “I’m sharing the field with a bunch of ballers and guys who love to play baseball, so it’s an honor to be on the same field as these guys.” This year, the All-Star team consisted of four local players: Aiden Gonzalez, RJay Garza and Quade Gonzalez from Othello and Hernandez from Moses Lake.

WDFW sets summer salmon and steelhead season rules

MOSES LAKE — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced updates on rules for summer salmon and steelhead season fishing downstream of Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco.

ACH Warriors reflect on another successful season

COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors concluded the 2026 baseball season with a 15-8 overall record and went 8-1 in league. Despite a postseason run that ended earlier than expected, there was still a lot that the Warriors were proud of this year. “Overall, it was a good season,” said Head Coach Hunter Lee. “It was challenging at times but also had a lot of good moments as well.” The Warriors went into the regular season with a tough schedule ahead of them as they prepared to face 12 non-conference opponents who were all from higher-classification schools.

UW claims 22nd IRA national championship in rowing

Golf River, California — The University of Washington Huskies men’s varsity eight rowing team won the IRA National Championship Sunday afternoon with a comeback victory that took a full team effort. According to a release from UW athletics, this is the 22nd National Championship in program history and the 10th under Huskies Head Coach Michael Callahan. “That’s as good as it gets,” said Callahan. “I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a faster boat or a more cohesive crew. When you’re a coach, you want to see your guys put it all together in the biggest moments and that’s what they did.” As reported by Regatta Timing, a site that tracked the IRA Championship, during the final events, the UW Richards team took first with a time of 5:44.335 to beat Harvard by 0.683 and the UW Tasker team took first with a time of 5:37.493 to beat California by 1.059. The UW Martin team took second with a time of 5:43.612 and the UW Bosnes team took fourth with a time of 6:32.250.

Quincy Jackrabbits see athletes commit to college

QUINCY — The Quincy Jackrabbits had five athletes commit to colleges Monday afternoon as they prepare to head on to the next step in their athletic careers. Stay tuned to see who signed and what college they will be sharing their skills in tomorrow’s sports section.

Basin Athletes place in the state tournament

MOSES LAKE — Athletes from around the Columbia Basin competed in the track and field state championships in Yakima and Tacoma over the weekend. Below is a list of each of the local competitors from over the weekend.

Basin athletes compete at state track

MOSES LAKE — Athletes from schools all around the Columbia Basin competed in the state championships over the weekend with Ephrata, Moses Lake High School, Othello and Quincy competing in Tacoma and Almira/Coulee-Hartline, Lind-Ritzville, Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School, Royal, Soap Lake and Wahluke competing in Yakima. Full coverage of how each track team did at the state championships will be posted at a later date.

Barnes-Keller looks to continue his successful career in Wenatchee

QUINCY — After a successful senior season, Quincy Jackrabbits pitcher Ashton Barnes-Keller earned Second Team All-Conference honors and is planning to continue his pitching career with the Wenatchee Valley Knights. As the senior heads on to the next step in his career, he looks back on his long-time passion that has opened doors for his future. “I began at age four,” said Barnes-Keller. “After playing (baseball) a lot, it was always so fun. I knew it was going to be my favorite.”

More Basin athletes head to the state meets

MOSES LAKE — Track and field athletes from all around the Basin are competing in state track meets this weekend. Here are more athletes who qualified for the championships during their district meets last weekend.

Othello tennis finishes out season in state

SEATTLE — The Othello Huskies sent three girls to the 2A State Tennis tournament at Nordstrom Tennis Center over the weekend with senior Olivia Harris competing in singles and seniors Shaylee Freeman and Faith Risenmay competing in doubles. All three Huskies had successful seasons and were happy with the opportunity to compete at state. “I think we’ve all worked very hard for four years, so it was fun to be able to all go together because we’re all best friends, and to be able to play at state,” said Risenmay. “We all did really well.”

Warriors end season in second day of state

YAKIMA — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors finished their softball season during the second day of state with a loss against DeSales in the consolation bracket semifinals. Warriors Head Coach Faye Butler said that the girls battled well throughout the tournament. “As a whole, I think the girls did really great and put everything out there,” said Butler. The Warriors started off their state bid Friday with a first-round bye as the third seed putting them into the quarterfinals against the Colton Wildcats. ACH started off strong by scoring three runs in the first inning, but as the game went on, Colton gained momentum and scored three runs in the third inning and five runs in the fourth inning.

Huskies, Jacks and Tigers athletes qualify for state track championships

QUINCY — The Ephrata Tigers, Othello Huskies and Quincy Jackrabbits competed in the 2A District 5 Track meet last week to determine which athletes will be heading to the state tournament in Tacoma. After the events were finished, all three teams saw athletes qualify for the championships.

Warden boys take fifth in state golf tournament

LIBERTY LAKE — The Warden Cougars boys’ golf team competed in the 2B state championships, where they finished fifth overall as a team. Cougars Head Coach Tim Carlberg said this was a solid conclusion for the young team’s season. “I thought overall it was a great season for us. It didn’t end the way the guys wanted it to, but that’s sports. Sometimes you come up short,” said Carlberg. “I think placing fifth overall as a team is an awesome accomplishment and we can set our goals a little higher next year.”

Soap Lake senior Xavier Ewing takes second in state tournament

YAKIMA — The 1B/2B State Tennis tournament came to a close Saturday as Soap Lake Eagles senior Xavier Ewing made the championships and took second place. Ewing said he was very happy with what he accomplished in his senior season and what it meant for the program. “I want to leave behind that I’m the first to make it to the finals for Soap Lake history for a fat minute,” said Ewing. “It’s been a long time since someone has made it to the finals for a state championship in any sport.”

Cougars conclude season in state tourney

YAKIMA — The Warden Cougars’ softball season came to a close Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2B State Tournament after falling in a tight matchup against Rainier 13-10. Even with a loss the Cougars were proud of the successes they made this season. “It went well,” said Head Coach Randy Wright. “We’re a young team; we hung right in there in both games, but in the end the mistakes kind of cost us. We played well, but they had some big innings against us.”

Eagles’ Ewing and Knights’ Orth compete at state tennis

YAKIMA — The 1A and 1B State Tennis tournaments began Friday morning and Xavier Ewing from the Soap Lake Eagles and Cael Orth from the Royal Knights each began their bid as they looked to battle through the bracket. Full stories on both players will be published at a later date.

ACH falls into consolation bracket in state softball tournament

YAKIMA — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors fell 5-8 in the quarterfinal bracket to the Colton Wildcats during the 1B State tournament. With this loss, the Warriors continue their state bid in the consolation bracket as they battle for a chance at third place. “We came out strong as we needed to, got three runs in that first inning, and we shut them down,” said Warriors head coach Faye Butler. “Then I think the nerves and all the excitement got to us, did a couple overthrows and they had a good rally on us.” The Warriors started off strong with the three runs in the bottom of the first inning to gain a substantial lead over their opponent. ACH maintained this lead until the third inning as Colton tied up the score with three runs of their own.

ACH falls into consolation bracket in state softball tournament

YAKIMA — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors fell 5-8 in the quarterfinal bracket to the Colton Wildcats during the 1B State tournament. With this loss, the Warriors continue their state bid in the consolation bracket as they battle for a chance at third place. “We came out strong as we needed to, got three runs in that first inning, and we shut them down,” said Warriors head coach Faye Butler. “Then I think the nerves and all the excitement got to us, did a couple overthrows and they had a good rally on us.” The Warriors started off strong with the three runs in the bottom of the first inning to gain a substantial lead over their opponent. ACH maintained this lead until the third inning as Colton tied up the score with three runs of their own.

GALLERY: Spring sports highlights

MOSES LAKE — Though the spring sports season is not over yet, there have been many highlight moments from this season across the Basin. See below some of the highlight moments captured by the Columbia Basin Herald this season.

Lions and Eagles compete in NCW Championships

CASHMERE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions and Soap Lake Eagles competed in the 1B District 5 North Central Washington Track and Field Championships Tuesday afternoon. By the end of the competition both teams competed strong and will be sending athletes to the state competition next weekend.

WA COLLEGE SPORTS SCHEDULE: May 21-29, 2026

MOSES LAKE — The final competitions for college athletes are underway as athletes move closer to the end of their seasons. Check out where the remaining teams will be heading this week.

Lions’ Johnny Ferguson signs with EOU

MOSES LAKE — Johnny Ferguson, a student at Covenant Christian School and a football and basketball star with the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Christian Covenant School Lions, signed his letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon. While attending EOU, he will also focus on a degree in business administration. “I’m just really excited,” said Johnny. “It took a while to make the decision and I’m happy with the decision I made.” His decision to play for EOU came from the success that their basketball program has shown over the years. This season the EOU Mountaineers finished 22-9 and secured a Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular Season Co-Championship.

UW upsets Ohio State in first Big Ten Tournament win

OMAHA, Nebraska — The 11th-seeded University of Washington Huskies (24-31) kept their postseason alive as they earned an 8-6 victory over the sixth seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (30-24) Tuesday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Both the Huskies and the Buckeyes traded two-run blows throughout the game, according to a release from UW Athletics, but ultimately UW found themselves able to gain the advantage in the bottom of the ninth. Neither team scored in the first two innings, but UW got on the board first in the top of the third with two runs on two bases-loaded walks. This put the Huskies at 17-9 when scoring before their opponent.

Two Tigers make baseball all conference

EPHRATA — The 2026 Central Washington Athletic Conference Baseball All-Conference team was announced Monday and two Ephrata Tigers made the listing. Mitchell Johnson, a sophomore, earned second-team honors, and Cooper Vasquez, a sophomore, made the honorable mention list. “Any time you get players recognized by the other coaches in your league, that speaks really highly of them, not only as players, but as members of your program and what you’re trying to build,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “Really proud of those two guys and the efforts that they’ve done in the offseason and throughout this season.” Vasquez had just come off an injury sustained during the football season and worked hard to get ready to return for the start of the baseball season. The sophomore returned to have a stellar season on the pitching staff, and Tempel said he was proud of how Vasquez handled his business on the plate every day.

Knights send Cael Orth to state tournament

ROYAL CITY — After a tough battle through the 1A District 5 tournament, Cael Orth from the Royal Knights qualified for the state tournament. The Knights competed hard throughout the season and as a team made a deep push into the district tournament. “I think districts went well,” said Knights Head Coach Rodrigo Fajardo. “Just making it to day two and day three, it’s already hard as it is and the ultimate goal is to try to punch a ticket to state.” By the final rounds, Royal had sent 13 of their 16 varsity tennis players to the third day of the district tournament. Unfortunately, by the end of that third day, many of the Knights had fallen short and were eliminated from the competition.

Eagles’ Xavier Ewing on to state after team takes district title

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles will be sending senior Xavier Ewing to the state tournament this weekend. Ewing earned first in district singles, and through the efforts of each player, the Eagles boys team claimed the District 5 title for the first time in program history. “I’m happy it happened; it couldn’t have happened with a better group of kids,” said Eagles Head Coach Lee Leavell. “Kind of shocked it happened, I just didn’t think that was even a possibility, honestly. Kind of funny how it all turned out, but happy it happened.”

ACH softball enters state as third seed

COULEE CITY — After a hard-fought battle through the 1B District 6 tournament, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors finished out as third in districts and punched their ticket into the state tournament. Entering as the third seed, the Warriors look to continue their success into the coming weekend. “It’s pretty great, we’re feeling pretty good,” said Warriors Head Coach Faye Butler. “We had conversations at the beginning of the season like, ‘What’s your goal for this year,’ and they’re like, ‘We want to get to state,’ and I said, ‘What do you want to do at state,’ and we came to the conclusion that we want to be in the top four teams. It gives us a lot of confidence that we can totally do this, so super exciting, we’re super thrilled.”

BASIN SPORTS SCHEDULE: May 19-23, 2026

COLUMBIA BASIN — The brackets for state play are set, and the remaining Basin teams prepare to compete in the final weeks of the season. See where each local team will be playing this week.

MLHS Pals graduates class of 2026

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake High School hosted the 2026 graduation ceremony for the Pals Club Friday inside the high school theater. The ceremony saw 14 graduates take the stage to receive their diplomas and be honored for their academic achievements. “I feel great and I’m happy,” said Jocelyn Dominguez-Gomez, one of the graduates from the Class of 2026. Following graduation, Dominguez-Gomez said she is looking forward to going to work and to the summit where she will meet more people and will get assistance in finding a job.

Cougars send four golfers to state

WARDEN — The Warden Cougars completed their run at the 2B District 5 golf tournament Wednesday at Colockum Ridge with four of their athletes qualifying for the state tournament. For the boys Jaden Hernandez, Everett Cox and JJ Madsen, and for the girls, Amaya Erickson, will all head out to Liberty Lake Golf Course to compete in the state tournament. “I was really proud of all the kids,” said Cougars Boys Coach Tim Carlberg. “Overall, we’re extremely happy to get all four of them through.”

Huskies send three girls to state tournament

YAKIMA — After a tough battle through the 2A District 5 tournament, the Othello Huskies girls tennis team became district champs. Along with the title, the Huskies will be sending Shaylee Freeman and Faith Risenmay for girls doubles and Olivia Harris for girls singles to the state tournament. “It just feels so surreal,” said Huskies Girls Coach Priscilla Tovar. “From the beginning of the season, I knew I had a strong team and I knew any of them could make it to state.” On the doubles side, Othello sent three teams to the district tournament, which included Shaylee Freeman and Faith Risenmay, Alexa Peterson and Hazel Roylance and Amber Freeman and Addie Roylance.

Huskies claim third in districts with home win

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies (20-4) overcame East Valley Tuesday afternoon to earn a 4-1 victory and claim third in the 2A District 5. The Huskies continue their postseason bid with one more game before state. “I felt like it went well,” said Huskies senior RJay Garza. “We had a couple of tough moments there during the game, but we stayed in it, stayed together and we fought through it all and came out on top.”

Eagles’ Ewing and Ortega on to districts

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles competed in their 1B league tournament over the weekend to decide which players would qualify for the district tournament. At the end of the competition, the Eagles are sending seniors Xavier Ewing and Francisco Ortega on to the district tournament. “I was pretty happy with everybody,” said Eagles Head Coach Lee Leavell. “It seemed like everybody really played hard and some advanced and some it just didn’t work out for (them).” Ewing had a strong showing at leagues as he earned a win over Liberty Bell’s Gavin Blank, who he had lost to in the state tournament last season but fell to Manson’s Ben Rasmusson in the finals. Overall, Ewing took second in the league tournament.

Huskies softball concludes season in district tournament

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies (9-12) finished their 2026 season Saturday afternoon in the 2A District 5 tournament after falling in the second round to Ellensburg 1-18. Huskies Head Coach Dominique Martinez said this was a great season of growth for the young team. “A good takeaway would be them knowing what the other teams bring to the plate,” said Martinez. “They got to see it happen because we did those different situations and we talked to them about what to do and then them seeing it, I thought they did really good executing it.”

Fire burns around 2,200 acres along SR 24

MATTAWA — A nearly 2,200-acre fire briefly closed state Route 24 Sunday evening. Grant County Fire District 8 Chief Matt Hyndman said firefighters were informed of the fire at about 8:16 p.m. with local fire departments working together to get the flames under control.