CALEB PEREZ

Wahluke Warriors baseball season in review

MATTAWA – The Wahluke Warriors baseball team finished their 2025 season with an overall record of 4-15. “I was really proud of the guys,” said Warriors head coach Chet Bangs. “They filled different roles, stepped up, especially the freshmen, and the senior leadership was really strong.”

Ephrata Tigers' softball 2025 season recap

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers softball team finished their season with an overall record of 20-10, earning third in districts and making the state tournament. “At the beginning of the season, we as a team set our team goals for the year,” said Tigers head coach Heather Wood. “They have a top five that they always aim for and so theirs was district champs, league champs, make it to state, second day of state, and then developing a family.” The Tigers started the season only losing three seniors last year but struggled here and there with players stepping into positions they hadn’t played before, said Wood.

Ephrata Tigers Baseball season recap

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers baseball team ended their 2025 season with a 4-18 record after entering the district tournament as the number eight seed. “As the season went along, we had our bumps in the road with different teams we were playing and that’s going to happen,” Tigers head coach David Tempel said. “I was very pleased with how we competed in some of the games where on paper it looks a little bit like a tall task.” Coming into the season, the Tigers were made up mostly of young players with very little varsity experience. The goal for them this year was to just improve as much as possible and utilize the teachable moments that occur in every game as the season progressed.

Quincy Jacks 2025 soccer season recap

QUINCY – The Quincy Jacks boys soccer team ended their Spring 2025 season with an overall record of 13-9-1, earning third place in the district tournament and making it to state.

Congrats to ACH Baseball

COULEE CITY – Congratulations to the Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors on ending the 2025 spring season in third place at the state tournament. The Warriors had a solid foundation to build off coming into this season and were working toward making another state tournament appearance following their second place finish last season. ACH started the season with a 10-game win streak and would finish off the season with an overall record of 19-4 and a league record of 12-0 in the Northeast 1B, placing them as number one in the conference as they made their way into district play.

Soap Lake’s Xavier Ewing: third in state and boys player of the year

YAKIMA – Soap Lake Eagles tennis player Xavier Ewing took third in the 1B/2B state tournament after placing second in the district tournament. Ewing also earned the title of boys tennis player of the year following the state tournament.

ACH Warriors pull third in state tournament

SELAH – The Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors earned third in the 1B state tournament Saturday afternoon. The team entered the tournament as the number three seed. “We’ve played a lot of baseball together and we’re kind of senior heavy, so we knew it was coming to an end and there were feelings throughout the weekend,” said Warriors’ senior Carter Pitts.

Basin schools prepare for summer meals

COLUMBIA BASIN — Schools around the Columbia Basin will have food service programs available at no charge for children 18 years of age and younger over the course of the summer. Ephrata “We are going to be offering both congregate meals and non-congregate meals,” said Alain Black, Ephrata School District’s food services director. “One of our schools will have congregate meals where children have to eat on-site.” The on-site meals will be available at Grant Elementary with breakfast served from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will also be a grab-and-go meal option which will be distributed in a drive-thru line at Ephrata Middle School from noon to 1 p.m. Both sites will be open Monday-Thursday from June 16 to July 24. The program will be closed for distribution on June 19 in observance of Juneteenth, but grab-and-go boxes for that day will be available for pickup on June 18.

Moses Lake youth soccer program sees success

MOSES LAKE – The Basin Sounders Girls 2011 team had a lot of success this season, bringing the team up to the National Premiere League. The girls finished the spring season in second place for the NPL.

Royal girls doubles earn third at state

Anderson, Christensen finish their time with the Knights with strong season.

ROYAL CITY – The Royal Knights girls tennis doubles team Madi Christensen and Campbelle Anderson won third at the 1A state tournament last Saturday in Yakima.

Warden Boys golf earns fourth at state

WARDEN – The Warden Cougars boys golf team earned fourth place at the 2B state golf tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course in Spokane last week. “It was a cool experience getting to go up a day early and getting to go through the course with golf carts,” said Cougar’s golfer Jaden Hernandez. “It’s a lot playing on a course like that and having to take things serious.” The Cougars had three boys qualify for state, Hernandez, Everett Cox and JJ Madsen. The par for MeadowWood Golf Course is 72 and it spans 6,728 yards.

Othello Huskies qualify for baseball semifinals

CHEHALIS — The Othello Huskies began their push for a state championship, winning in both the opening round against R.A. Long 4-1 and in the quarterfinals against W.F. West 14-8. The Huskies entered the tournament as the number five seed. “I feel amazing, man, these guys have done a great job this year,” said Huskies head coach Sonny Garza. “Everything that I’ve kind of thrown at them, they’ve just soaked it in, and they’ve been able to go out and execute.” Othello’s first opponent in the state tournament was the number twelve seed R.A. Long. The game went scoreless in the first inning, with R.A. Long earning the first score of the game in the top of the second, which would be the team’s only score. Zayvier Olazcon singled down the left field line in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game 1-1. The Huskies would go on to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth after Jaxon Gomez singled, Kal-El Ozuna walked and Jordan Montemayor doubled, each scoring one run for the final score of 4-1.

Tigers hire new dance coach for 2025-26

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers have hired Melody Davis as the new head coach for the EHS Dance team for the 2025-26 school year. Davis is from Selah and has had an accomplished career both in the WIAA and professionally with the NBA. “Melody is an outstanding addition to the EHS athletic program,” said Bryan Johnson, EHS Athletic Director. “She brings not only an elite-level performance experience but also a deep understanding of coaching, choreography and mentorship. We’re incredibly fortunate to have her.” Davis said she had initially started her athletic career with gymnastics when she was growing up, but as she got older found dance an outlet where she was able to better express herself.

Mavs make a run at state softball

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks Softball team finished their run at the 4A state tournament in the first round of consolation Friday afternoon. The Mavs fell to Issaquah 1-12 in the initial bracket and 3-4 to Tahoma in consolation.

Knights finish strong season in consolation semifinals

Royal City squad finishes spring play with solid 21-5 record

RICHLAND – The Royal Knights softball team finished their run in the state tournament in the semifinals of the consolation bracket. They entered the tournament as the number two seed. “We were super excited, ready to come out here and just play our best,” said Knight’s senior Audrey Bergeson. “Gave everything we have and played together.”

Mavs finish state tournament run

RICHLAND – The Moses Lake Mavericks finished their run in the 4A state tournament Friday afternoon. They were the number 14 seed in the bracket.

Knights remain in running for third in state play

RICHLAND – The Royal City Knights continue their run in the 1A state tournament into day two. They were the second seed in the bracket.

Leavell: boys tennis Coach of the Year

Soap Lake coach counts his blessings on the court and in the community.

SOAP LAKE – Soap Lake Eagles’ Tennis coach Lee Leavell was named boys coach of the year by the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference after last week's district tournament. “I have been blessed with really good players to coach, not just boys, girls included,” Leavell said.

BBCC info sessions incoming

MOSES LAKE – Big Bend Community College’s last day for new students to sign up for new student enrollment sessions is June 10. For those still deciding on what they would like to study, Big Bend has recently expanded their programs with the addition of new bachelor's degrees.

Huskies soccer headed to state quarterfinals

Othello prepares for a rematch against Columbia River

OTHELLO – The Huskies soccer team (14-5-1) bested Franklin Pierce 5-0 in the opening round of the 2A state tournament on Tuesday to move on to the quarterfinals.

Four Mavs sign for women's college soccer

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake Mavericks Liliana Savala, Samantha Escamilla, Maite Betes and Beth Ribellia signed their letters of intent to play college soccer Tuesday evening on Lions Field. Liliana and Samantha Escamilla will be signing with Green River Community College while Maite and Beth will sign with Columbia Basin College. “I went to go see the campus and I loved the campus,” said Savala on Green River CC. “I absolutely love the environment; it felt basically like a second home to my actual home.”

Eagles’ Xavier Ewing to State

Ewing earns first in league and second in districts

SOAP LAKE – Soap Lake Eagles tennis player Xavier Ewing placed second in the district tournament and will be advancing to the 1B/2B state tournament Yakima this weekend. “I’ve had my ups and downs, but on the bright side I’m making it to state,” said Ewing.

Wenatchee Valley College announces cost-saving measures

WENATCHEE VALLEY – Wenatchee Valley College announced on Tuesday that the school will be implementing cost saving measures that will include the suspension of several programs and reducing course section offerings going into the 2025-26 year. “We want to make sure that we can be the college of choice in North Central Washington,” said Tod Treat, Vice President of Instruction at WVC. “For us to do that, everything we do has to be excellent and we have to have the resources to put into the things that we’re offering to ensure that they’re excellent.” These changes to the school have come about as Washington state is facing a budget shortfall of over $12 billion.

Mavs girls and boys finish second and third at districts

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks boys and girls tennis teams finished their season at the district tournament over the weekend. The boys team tied with Davis for third in the rankings while the girls team finished second overall. “We did have a lot of really good tennis played on Thursday,” said Coach Jay Dickinson. “The fact that our two singles boys, Cesar Portillo and Caleb Stanberry, came up one match short but played some of their best tennis of the year was really fun to watch.” The girls had brought Elise Miles, Madi McDonald, and Belize Orton for singles and Kiley Thomas and Kalei Bruce, Claire Thompson and Abbie O’Neil, and Selah Loomis and Kamaile Bruce to play for doubles.

Civil Air Patrol prepares to head to California

EPHRATA—The Civil Air Patrol’s Color Guard is preparing to head to California on Saturday for its regional competition. “What we’re going to be doing here is we’re going to be cleaning our rifles, practicing for a uniform build, and reading over the ledger we’re going to practice for the upcoming competition,” said CAP Second Lt. Austyn Miller.

Cougars off to state

Rain cancels Warden-River View game

WARDEN — The Warden Cougars baseball team’s game against River View on Saturday was canceled due to the heavy rainfall. Both teams are now headed to the state tournament this Saturday. The Cougars are 12-13 for the season, while Riverview is 18-8. “They’re excited,” said Cougars head coach Travis Visker. “We missed state by one game the past two seasons so there’s a lot of first-time players getting to go participate in state for the first time. I think the last time we made it our seniors were freshman at the time.” Saturday’s game was meant to determine tournament seeding for the two teams as they were both already guaranteed to make it into the state tournament. As the rain fell, officials and coaches determined it would be a hazard to continue play and opted to cancel the game. There will be no make-up game.

BASIN SPORTS SCHEDULE: May 20-24

COLUMBIA BASIN – Local teams finish up their district tournaments and head off to state championships. Here’s the lineup for this week:

GCHD calls on federal officials to protect Medicaid

MOSES LAKE – Earlier this month, the Grant County Health District announced the passing of a resolution to call on federal leaders to protect and maintain funding for Medicaid. The proposed federal budget calls for possible extensive cuts to the program, which provides health care coverage for millions nationwide and thousands within Grant County.

Champion Tigresses

All seven Ephrata High girls head to state golf competition this week

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers’ girls golf team secured the title of district champions after the tournament on Monday and will move on to the state championship. This is following the team earning the league title the week prior.

Huskies become district champs

Othello High earn a slot in state tournament

RICHLAND – The Huskies (13-4-2) became 2A District champions in the Central Washington Athletic conference after their 2-0 victory over Grandview at Rich Leenhouts Stadium.

Jacks take bronze in districts

RICHLAND – The Jacks (8-5-3) earned a win against Ellensburg Tuesday evening for third place in districts and moved onto the Crossover bracket.

Big Bend expanding BAS programs

MOSES LAKE – Big Bend Community College has added new Bachelor's in Applied Science programs in the last few years and updated existing programs to meet the needs of local businesses.

Knights qualify for districts

ROYAL CITY – The Royal City Knights tennis team had success at the South Central Athletic Conference Qualifying tournament with multiple players punching their tickets to play in the district tournament today. The top nine players in each category move on to the district tournament.

Tigers, Huskies headed to district finals

YAKIMA – The 2A District 5 tournament finished its second day of matches Friday where local teams have continued to move up in the tournament. The Ephrata Tigers have a boys and girls singles and doubles team each and the Huskies will send first girls doubles team Rylinn Jones and Launa Mollotte to play in the semifinals.

MLHS boys golf team, district champs

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks boys golf team became District champs following their first-place finish in the Big 9 District tournament at the Moses Lake Golf Club. “I feel like every single one of us did what they needed to do,” said the Mavs’ Drayson Nighswonger. “We were able to get the win which is great and had a lot of fun.”

EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE SPORTS: May 14-21, 2025

MOSES LAKE – College athletes push through the final weeks of the season as they go through regional and national tournaments.

Mavs’ Maddy Bond signs with EWU

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Maverick Maddy Bond committed to compete in track and field for Eastern Washington University Friday afternoon. “I really liked the coaching staff there when I went on my visit,” she said. “Everyone was really nice and friendly, and I like the environment. It’s something I wanted to be a part of.”

Mavs split doubleheader with Eastmont

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks softball team split their doubleheader against Eastmont Friday winning their first game 9-6 and losing the second 3-13. “We needed to split to win the league title and to get that out of the way was big,” said Mavs head coach Mike Hofheins.

BASIN TENNIS ROUNDUP: May 12, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN – Local high school tennis teams are finishing off their season and heading into District Tournaments. See how the local athletes fared in their final matches of the season.

MLHS boys golf earns first in the Big 9

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake Mavericks boys golf team secured first place in the Big 9 following their second-place finish at Highlander Golf Course Tuesday, putting the team at four first-place and three second-place finishes for the season.

Jacks best East Valley in double OT

Jacks move up in the District 5 2A Tournament

QUINCY – The Quincy Jacks earned a 1-0 victory over East Valley Tuesday evening in the second round of the District 5 2A Tournament moving them on to the next round.

BASIN SPORTS SCHEDULE: May 8-14, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN – The regular season is coming to a close for some and for others they are locked into the postseason. See where your local athletes will be playing this coming week.

Mavs win at home against Huskies

Both teams bracing themselves as district play gets rolling

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks softball team earned a 10-2 victory over the Othello Huskies Monday evening during the team’s senior night. “I think we came in with some good energy and we were ready to win,” said Mavs Pitcher Paige Richardson.

Lavish 31 opens in style

Local shop's opening is a 20-plus-year dream come true for owner

OTHELLO — Lavish 31 held a fashion show Friday evening to celebrate its opening and highlight the clothing lines the store carries. “Owning a boutique has been something that I wanted to do for over 20 years,” said owner Amy Dominguez. “I kind of put it off to the side and recently we started dreaming about it again and we made the decision of doing it.”

EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE SPORTS: May 7-14, 2025

MOSES LAKE – College athletes begin to end their season around Washington State and head toward regional and national tournaments.

Huskies best Quincy in first round of CWAC tournament

QUINCY – The Othello Huskies came out on top against the Quincy Jacks winning 4-2 in the first game of the Central Washington Athletic Conference Tournament for both teams. “I feel so excited,” said Huskies’ Jose Cabrera.

Cougars best Columbia to take second in EWAC

WARDEN – The Warden Cougars Softball team won both games of their doubleheader against Columbia to earn the second-place spot in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference softball tournament.

Cougars baseball moves into EWAC tournament

WARDEN – The Warden Cougars won both games of their doubleheader against Columbia High School, securing their place in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference’s 2B baseball tournament Thursday.

MLSD’s Sandhop named AD of the Year

Local athletics manager looks back on 25 years with the school district

MOSES LAKE – The Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association named Moses Lake High School’s Athletic Director Loren Sandhop as the 2024-25 Washington State Athletic Director of the Year. “It’s a great honor not only for me but for our community, it symbolizes a lot of people’s hard work,” said Sandhop.

BASIN SOCCER ROUNDUP: May 2, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN – The regular season for high school soccer has concluded, see how the local teams ended off going into the post season.