UPDATED: Wed., May 23, 2018, 7:11 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Moscow Pullman Daily News
PULLMAN – Athletic programs at Washington State had no reason to sweat Wednesday when the NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate (APR) data from the 2016-17 school year.
All 15 school-sanctioned teams stayed well clear of NCAA penalties, posting multi-year scores better than 960. Eight sports registered scores better than 980 and women’s golf, as reported last week, kept a perfect score of 1,000 and earned the APR Public Recognition Award.
The APR is a team-based model that uses eligibility and retention of each student-athlete in order to track academic success. Athletic programs can incur penalties if they don’t maintain a four-year rolling average of at least 930.
“This is a tremendous achievement by our student-athletes, coaches and entire staff,” said WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun. “Our programs continue to strive for athletic and academic excellence, with this recent report a great reflection of their efforts.”
No WSU team fell even close to that threshold, with the women’s cross country team posting the lowest four-year score, at 962. The rest of WSU’s athletic programs recorded the following scores: men’s track (965), men’s basketball (967), football (969), women’s tennis (969), men’s cross country (973), baseball (977), women’s swimming and diving (984), women’s soccer (985), men’s golf (986), women’s basketball (986), women’s track (987), women’s rowing (988), women’s volleyball (989) and women’s golf (1,000).
Football’s score was the highest in program story and reflects the steady academic growth made under seventh-year coach Mike Leach. All six of Leach’s teams have either set or tied the highest APR scores in program history and the single-year APR for 2016-17 (978) also marked a program-best.
Wednesday’s data indicates steady improvement for a handful of WSU programs. Six of them increased scores from last year – most notably women’s tennis, which improved by 15 points, and men’s basketball, which saw a 14-point increase. Baseball (+5), men’s cross country (+5), football (+4) and women’s soccer (+3) also bumped their scores.
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Note: See story posted below with clickable links here:
https://www.cougcenter.com/2018/5/21/17336540/hilinskis-hope-continues-its-work-to-raise-awareness
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Hilinski’s Hope continues its work to raise awareness
Kym and Kelly Hilinski — Tyler’s mom and brother — are touring Washington this week.
By Jeff Nusser Coug Center.com
May 21, 2018, 9:27pm PDT
As you read this, Kym and Kelly Hilinski — Tyler’s mom and older brother — have arrived in Washington and are preparing to tour the state in order to visit people who have been supportive of the family and its foundation, Hilinski’s Hope, in the four months since the WSU quarterback took his life.
Their journey will take them from Spokane to Pullman to Tri-Cities to Yakima to Seattle and then finally to Mount Rainier, where Kym and Kelly will hike on the mountain on what would have been Tyler’s 22nd birthday — May 26.
“The Hilinski Family is extremely grateful for the love and support you have all shown for Tyler, our family and Hilinski’s Hope,” said a message on the foundation’s Facebook page. “It is Kym and Kelly’s intention to make stops along the way to visit and thank as many of you as possible.”
To that end, the trip isn’t explicitly for awareness purposes, but it certainly has the practical effect of keeping alive Tyler’s memory and the mission of Hilinski’s Hope “to educate, advocate, and remove the stigma associated with mental illness for student athletes.”
“What we’re trying to do is just trying to change the narrative (around mental illness),” Kym Hilinski said via phone interview. “We don’t want anyone to be afraid to talk about what happened. We’re not afraid to talk about it. It’s sad, of course. But if it helps people to talk about it, that’s what we want to do.”
Hilinski said that she and her family have been “so touched” by the way Cougars have responded to Tyler’s death.
One very public example is Drew Bledsoe’s Be Bottle fundraiser for the foundation. Y
There also are many other less-well-known contributions from countless small business owners across the state, such as SunWest Sportswear in Richland, where owner Debi Caldwell has made the popular Hilinski’s Hope bracelets available to customers.
“I didn’t do it for the publicity,” Caldwell told the Tri-City Herald. “I did it because it’s the right thing to do.”
If you want to get involved and you’re not near one of the retailers collecting donations, you also simply make a direct donation to the foundation via its website.
In the meantime, we’re all still waiting on WSU to announce its plans for addressing the mental health of athletes at WSU. In response to “In the wake of Tyler Hilinski’s death, WSU must do more,” university president Kirk Schulz tweeted:
However, it’s been nearly two months, and there hasn’t been any public movement on the issue. Here’s to hoping something will be forthcoming soon.
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Two Cougs leave football program
By BARRY BOLTON Cougfan.com
WITH SUMMER SCHOOL UNDERWAY it's the time of year where attrition takes place in college football and two Cougar scholarship players have left the Washington State football program. Both depart without having played in a game for Wazzu.
Linebacker Dymund Richardson (6-3, 210) and defensive back Grant Porter (6-0, 192) are no longer with the team, WSU SID Bill Stevens confirmed to Cougfan.com.
Richardson, a third-year sophomore, was at one of WSU’s deepest positions. He redshirted in 2017 after joining WSU this past summer out of junior college and in his time at WSU got looks at nickel, outside linebacker and RUSH.
Porter, also a third-year sophomore, was suspended back in December after being charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. He pled not guilty. Porter was also in the news last spring when he received the Lifesaving Award from the Pullman Police Department for intervening in an attempted suicide of a young man in Pullman. Porter was credited for saving the young man’s life by the Pullman Police Chief.
Richardson tweeted out a picture of himself on Wednesday in a Southern Utah uniform.
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WSU BASEBALL: Cougars Hit Four Homers To Take Opener From Utah
From WSU Sports Info on 5/24/2018
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State hit four home runs to post a 14-5 victory over Utah in the series-opener at Bailey-Brayton Field Thursday afternoon.
The Cougars (16-31-1, 8-19-1 Pac-12) recorded season highs in runs and home runs and four players recorded multiple-hit games. James Rudkin, Blake Clanton, Justin Harrer and JJ Hancock each homered and reliever Ryan Walker fired three scoreless innings to earn the win. Walker made his 86th career appearance, tied for second-most in WSU history, and recorded 13th career relief win, tied for the school record. Utah dropped to 14-39 overall and 6-22 in league play.
In the first inning, Dillon Plew and Blake Clanton each worked walks before Justin Harrer drove an 0-2 pitch the other way into right field to score Plew for a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Plew led off the inning with a walk and later scored on James Rudkin’s RBI-double into the right centerfield gap. Clanton followed by pulling a single through the right side to scored Rudkin for a 3-0 advantage.
In the fourth, Utah used a two-run homer to cut the lead to one and added another homer to lead off the fifth inning, tying the game at three. The Utes used four more hits in the inning to push two runs across for a 5-3 advantage.
In the bottom of the fifth, Andres Alvarez was hit by a pitch and Rudkin followed with a two-run shot to left centerfield to tie the game at five. One batter later, Harrer beat out an infield single to shortstop and Hancock hammered a 1-1 pitch over the right field fence for a 7-5 advantage.
In the seventh, the Cougars used the long ball as Clanton and Harrer went back-to-back for the second time this season. WSU picked up two more runs with a Danny Sinatro RBI-single and another run scored on a wild pitch for an 11-5 lead.
In the eighth, WSU added three more runs after a Hancock two-run double to centerfield and an RBI-groundout from pinch-hitter Derek Chapman.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Blake Clanton walked in the 1st inning, extending his on-base streak to 13 games
Ryan Walker made his 86th career appearance, tying Kellen Camus (2011-14) for 2nd-most in WSU history
Walker recorded his 13th career relief victory, tied for the WSU record
Clanton and Harrer hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning, the second time they have hit back-to-back homers this season (at UCLA, 3/17)
Clanton hit his 10th homer of the season, becoming the first Cougar to record double digit home runs and doubles since Taylor Ard had 12 homers and 16 doubles
WSU upped its season home run total 36, the most since 2010 (45)
COMING UP
The series continues Friday at 4 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
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BASEBALL
Cougs fade, then rally
WSU squanders early three-run advantage but explodes in fifth to pummel Utah 14-5
By COLTON CLARK Moscow Pullman Daily News
PULLMAN - At one point in the top of the fifth inning, Washington State fans at Bailey-Brayton Field Thursday afternoon seemed to let out a unified groan of discouragement.
Their anguish turned out to be short-lived.
The Cougars held a three-run fourth-inning lead over the University of Utah in the opener of their last series thanks to some crafty offensive maneuvering and early efficiency from righty Hayden Rosenkrantz. However, a once-satisfactory advantage quickly evaporated when the Utes belted out five hits in a near-30-minute fifth inning, taking a two-run edge and the air out of the stadium.
Perhaps it would be unwise to discredit the Cougs' resiliency. Either that, or maybe their offense just took a smidgen longer to adjust.
WSU's bats exploded in the bottom of the fifth - and blazed hotter in the seventh - en route to a season-high, four-homer day and a 14-5 drubbing of the Pac-12-bottom-feeder Utes.
"They've been down a lot and fought they don't give up, they battle," WSU coach Marty Lees said. "I'm excited about that. We can use that - winning this series, either today or tomorrow, or both days - we can use that as a jump-start in the summer and use it next year."
James Rudkin whipped a hanging fastball over the left-field fence, and JJ Hancock followed suit with a two-run shot to propel the Cougars (16-31-1, 8-19-1) to a 7-5 lead going into the sixth.
An inning later, it only got messier for Utah (14-39, 6-22). WSU's first at-bat in the seventh, the .355-hitting Blake Clanton, shot a first-pitch fastball to pay dirt for his 11th homer on the season. Immediately after, Justin Harrer did him one better - he crushed his 12th dinger of the year over the tree line and into the parking lot across the road.
Two wild pitches and four RBI later - including the eighth inning - WSU had its most runs of the season on the board, and nearly everyone was taking part.
"The pitches were up in the zone," Lees said. "When you have a lead, you tend to play a little bit more free."
The usual closer, right-hander Ryan Walker, picked up his fourth win in three innings of relief. He allowed two hits, struck out two and forced a 1-2-3 sixth.
WSU appeared to set the tone early on defense with a quick, inning-ending sequence in the first. A 3-6 double play was subsequently followed by an improbable lay-out catch in deep-right foul territory by Hancock, which garnered him an awestruck ovation from the 612 in attendance.
"JJ's been doing that for a while, his defense is as good as anybody in the whole country, especially when you put him in right field," Lees said.
The Utes labored to plate a man through three innings while the Cougs small-balled their way to a 3-0 lead. A 1-2-3 third inning from Rosenkrantz was followed by a walk of sophomore third basemen Dillon Plew, who drew three bases on balls on the day. A first-pitch RBI double from Rudkin plated Plew.
The initial sign of toil from Rosenkrantz's came when Utah's Erick Migueles caught a fastball in the fourth and sent it away over the right-field fence. Then, the Utes' Dominic Foscalina was nearly cracked in the jaw by an errant fastball to leadoff the fifth.
He appeared visibly angry at the pitch, and made sure Rosencrantz paid. The next ball he saw was slapped high, far and gone to left field.
An ensuing double ended Rosencrantz's outing. He finished his day with four hits on 65 pitches, three earned runs and three strikeouts.
The Cougars' starters registered 14 hits, and all but two in the initial lineup connected. WSU racked up a whopping 13 RBI, including four from Hancock and three from Rudkin, whose family traveled from Texas to watch his final series as a collegiate player.
Despite possessing DaShawn Keirsey Jr. the Pac-12's No. 3 hitter in batting average (.397), Utah largely relied on Migueles' offense. He reached base in all three at-bats, and led the Utes with two RBI.
WSU and Utah will square off again Friday at 4 p.m.
"Just have fun and make every at bat count, because you don't know when the last one's going to come," Rudkin said.
Utah 000 230 000- 5 9 0
Washington St. 102 040 43x-14 13 2
Thomas, S.K. Johnson (7), S. Johnson (7) and Kramer. Rosencrantz, Moyle (5), Walker (6), Block (9) and Teel.
W - Walker (4-3). L - Thomas (3-6).
Utah hits - Keirsey 2, Migueles 2 (HR), Dunn 1, Gulden 1, Tom 1 (2B), Foscalina HR, Richardson 1 (2B).
Washington St. hits - Clanton 3 (HR), Harrer 3 (HR), Clanton (2B, HR), Rudkin (2B, HR), Plew, Teel, Sinatro.
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WSU TRACK & FIELD Brock Eager and Sander Moldau Punch Tickets to NCAA Track & Field Championships
From WSU Sports Info on 5/24/2018
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Washington State's Brock Eager became the first Cougar to qualify and advance to the NCAA Championships during the first day of the NCAA West Region Preliminary Rounds at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus. Of the 48 competitors in each event, the top 12 advance to the NCAA Championships, June 6-9, at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Eager, a redshirt junior from Renton, Wash., threw the hammer a distance of 225-feet 2 inches (68.64m) which was the third-best on the day. Eager's PR hammer throw is 228-3 (69.57m) achieved at the Stanford Invitational last month. Thursday in Sacramento, Eager's other throws were distances of 210-7 (64.18m) and 220-8 (67.26m). This will be Eager's second trip to the NCAA Championships after placing 14th in 2017 with a throw of 217-1 (66.16m) to earn All-America Second Team honors.
Freshman Sander Moldau (Rakvere, Estonia) punched his ticket to compete in the men's pole vault at the NCAA Championships. Moldau, the 2018 Pac-12 champion, cleared his final height of 16-10 3/4 (5.15m) on his first try but missed on three attempts at 17-2 3/4 (5.25m). His efforts today were tied for ninth-best and the top 12 advance to the NCAA final in Eugene, June 5-9.
WSU will have two Cougars in the women's 400m hurdles quarterfinals Friday, May 25 at 7:15 p.m. Alissa Brooks-Johnson (redshirt senior, Doty, Wash.) advanced by finishing third in the third heat with a time of 59.49 seconds, when the top three finishers in each of the six heats and then the next six fastest times advance. Stephanie Cho (junior, Vancouver, B.C. Canada) ran a PR time of 58.90 which was the fifth-fastest of the non-automatic qualifying times and she will join Brooks-Johnson in the quarterfinals.
Chandler Teigen (junior, Anatone, Wash.) advanced to the men's 1500m quarterfinals (Sat., May 26 at 6:30 p.m.) by finishing third in the second heat (top five finishers in each of four heats automatically advanced). Teigen's time was 3 minutes 46.30 seconds, which was the ninth-fastest time in the first round of 48 runners.
Kaili Keefe (sophomore, Yakima, Wash.) advanced to the women's 1500m quarterfinals (Sat., May 26, 6:45 p.m.) after placing third in the third heat. Keefe's time of 4:23.21 was 15th-fastest in the prelims.
Senior Vallery Korir (Iten, Kenya) finished 15th in the women's 10,000m in a PR and school record time of 33:16.89, bettering her school record time of 33:52.28 set at the 2018 Stanford Invitational.
The NCAA West Preliminary Rounds continue Friday and Saturday, May 25-26, in Sacramento. In addition to the Cougars who qualified for the quarterfinals Thursday, Friday competition will see WSU athletes in the men's 110m and women's 100m hurdles, men's and women's 400m hurdles, men’s and women’s steeplechase and the women's pole vault.
OTHER COUGARS COMPETING MAY 24 AT NCAA WEST REGION PRELIMS
MEN
400m Hurdles - 38th. Christapherson Grant (52.75)
Hammer - 42nd. Amani Brown (57.98m/190-3); 43rd. Wyatt Meyring 184-11 (56.36m/184-11)
WOMEN
Javelin - 15th. Atina Kamasi (48.76m/160-0); 35th. Madelyn Sirmon (42.39m/139-1)
NOTEWORTHY:
·Stephanie Cho's 400m hurdles time of 58.90 is eighth-best in WSU all-time records
·Sander Moldau is the lone Pac-12 pole vaulter to advance from the West Region to the NCAA Championships…Brock Eager is one of three Pac-12 hammer throwers moving on
·Alissa Brooks-Johnson has already qualified for the NCAA heptathlon
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WSU SOLSTICE WIND QUINTET WAS 'LIVE' IN PORTLAND ON 5/24/2018
Washington State University's Solstice Wind Quintet, the resident WSU faculty wind quintet of WSU in Pullman, performed live during the broadcast of All Classical radio's "Thursdays @ Three" on 5/24/2018. All Classical is a Portland-based FM radio station also heard on the Internet. You can hear the Soltice performance via the All Classical Archives: https://player.allclassical.org/archives
Go to the AllClassicalPortland Facebook page to see photos of Solstice performing in All Classical's Roger O. Doyle performance studio.
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