Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2017)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Littell earns ‘Play it Forward’ award The Daily Astorian Daily Astorian/File Photo Seaside senior Maddi Utti capped her regular season with another Cowapa League MVP award, as well as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Seaside had four on the all-league lists and Astoria had three players. Utti earns another MVP The Daily Astorian Cowapa League girls basketball co-champions Banks and Seaside shared top honors with the announce- ment of the all-league team, as voted on by the league’s coaches. While Banks had all five starters selected all-league, Seaside senior Maddi Utti was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, as well as the Defensive Player of the Year. She was joined on the first team by senior Sydney Villegas and junior Bryre Babbitt, while junior Jetta Ideue was selected honorable mention. Seaside’s Mike Hawes joined Brandon Begley of Banks as the co-Coaches of the Year. Astoria had three players named all-league, with senior Alexis Wallace (first team), senior Rylee DeMander (honorable mention) and sophomore Sam Hemsley (honorable mention). See the complete list in Scoreboard. Brad Mosher/For The Daily Astorian Daily Astorian/File Photo Seaside’s Sydney Villegas attempts to block a shot by Jetta Ideue. Villegas was named all-league first team, while Ideue earned honorable mention. Seaside’s Bryre Babbitt looks for an opening against the Banks defense. She was named all-league first team. Kansas moves to No. 1 in AP poll, Villanova 2nd By DAVE SKRETTA Associated Press LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kan- sas could have rested easy after clinch- ing a share of its 13th straight Big 12 title. Instead, the Jayhawks hit the road to beat Texas on Saturday, clinching the outright championship with two games left in the regular season. And when top-ranked Gonzaga and sec- SPORTS IN BRIEF ond-ranked Villanova dropped games last week, it meant the Jayhawks ascended to the top of The Associated Press poll. So much for taking it easy. The Jayhawks (26-3) moved up two places to the top spot, receiv- ing 58 first-place votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel . They spent five weeks at No. 1 last season, including the final three polls, but became the sixth No. 1 this season by moving to the top spot for the first time. “It feels pretty great,” Kansas freshman Josh Jackson said, “but like our coaches told us, we don’t feel like we’ve done anything we weren’t sup- posed to do.” Villanova (27-3) remained sec- ond and received two first-place votes, despite losing to Butler and beat- ing Creighton last week. The win over the Bluejays allowed the reign- ing national champions to clinch their fourth straight Big East regular-season championship. UCLA (26-3) moved up from fifth to third and earned three first-place nods after its win over Arizona on Sat- urday. It was only the second time in 69 games the Wildcats have lost at the McKale Center. Gonzaga (29-1) fell to No. 4 after losing its first game of the season, an upset by BYU at home on Saturday. UConn still No. 1 in AP women’s poll Associated Press Sportsman’s Banquet on tap this Saturday The North Coast Ducks Unlim- ited 40th annual Sportsman’s Ban- quet is Saturday at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds, 92937 Wal- luski Loop. The doors open at 5 p.m. The event includes a Green- wing raffle, firearms, Ducks Unlimited merchandise, hand- carved decoys, hunting gear and more. Tickets are $45 per per- son or $70 per couple. Greenwing tickets (age 17 and younger) are $35. Sponsorships are also avail- able at $325 for a single sponsor, or $350 for a couple. For information, contact Bill Antilla at 503-791-7429, George Baker at 503-325-7960, Adrian McSwain at 503-338-9893 or Flint Carlson at 503-861-2789. Tickets are not available at the door, but can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/2mwt02U. AP Photo/Fred Beckham Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma signals to his team during the first half of Connecticut’s 91-48 victory over Memphis in an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn., Saturday. NEW YORK — UConn remains the No. 1 team in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll while the rest of the top five were shuffled Monday. The Huskies improved their winning streak to 103 games, cruising to wins over Temple and Memphis. UConn closes out its regular season Monday at South Florida. Baylor, Notre Dame, Mary- land and South Carolina fol- low UConn. The Terrapins dropped two spots after losing to then-No. 12 Ohio State last week. The Buckeyes moved up to ninth. Mississippi State fell to sixth after losing in overtime to Kentucky and getting routed by Tennessee. Oregon State climbed four spots to move into a tie for sixth. Florida State and Stanford round out the first 10 teams in the poll. Kansas State re-entered the poll at No. 24 while Michigan dropped out. PORTLAND — The Ore- gon Sports Awards announced last week the “Play It Forward” award recipients for the fall award cycle, sponsored by Nike and Providence Health & Services. And the list includes one Astoria High School senior, Keldon Littell. Play It Forward award recip- ients will be invited to attend the 65th Oregon Sports Awards June 18, when one student-ath- lete will be selected to receive the $2,500 scholarship. The cere- mony will be held in the Stan- ford Theater Keldon Littell at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton. To be eligible for the Play It For- ward award, the student-athlete must: • Be an Oregon high school or college/university student who is a member of a varsity athletic team at their school; • Demonstrate a sustained vol- unteer commitment with an orga- nization or program that gets kids active through sport or physical activity; • Demonstrate initiative and drive, by going beyond expected school responsibilities; • Be in good academic standing with their school. Littell volunteers with Astoria Parks and Recreation, the Astoria Armory, and area youth sports. As a youth football coach, fourth-grade basketball coach and youth baseball coach, Littell “enjoys being able to watch kids grow both mentally and physically,” an oppor- tunity he finds incredibly humbling. Littell has signed a letter-of-in- tent to play football at Western Ore- gon University. Upon graduating college, Littell hopes to return to Astoria to pursue his passion for coaching in his hometown. In addition to Littell, the other Fall 2016 Play It Forward award athletes include: Gabrielle Barin, (Treasure Valley Community Col- lege volleyball and tennis); Jacinta Vandenberg (University of Oregon women’s basketball); and Riley Howard (Milwaukie High School baseball). All awardees for the 2016-17 school year — 12 in total, repre- senting two high school and two colleges each per season — will become eligible for the Play It For- ward Athlete of the Year award. SCOREBOARD PREP SCHEDULE THURSDAY Girls Basketball — Washington 2B State Tournament: TBA vs. Ilwaco (at Spokane), 3:45 p.m. FRIDAY Boys Basketball — 4A State Playoff: Cascade at Seaside, 7 p.m. SATURDAY Girls Basketball — 4A State Playoff: Seaside at Molalla, 7 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Cowapa All-League Player of the Year/Defensive Player of the Year: Maddi Utti, Seaside Coaches of the Year: Mike Hawes, Seaside; Brandon Begley, Banks First Team Maddi Utti, Sr., Seaside Bryre Babbitt, Jr., Seaside Petra Flemmer, Sr., Valley C. Karlie Gerlinger, Sr., Banks Sydney Gregg, Jr., Banks Anna Klein, Sr., Banks Kaylie Kopra, Sr., Scappoose Noelle Mannen, Jr., Valley C. Katie Sherer, Sr, Tillamook Aspen Slifka, So., Banks Sydney Villegas, Sr., Seaside Alexis Wallace, Sr., Astoria Honorable Mention Lea Brodala, Jr., Scappoose Rylee DeMander, Sr., Astoria Sam Hemsley, So., Astoria Jetta Ideue, Jr., Seaside Kate Nguyen, Sr., Valley C. Katie Ragsdale, Sr., Banks Madi Reeves, So., Tillamook Shaylan Smith, So., Scappoose Lexie Zuercher, Sr., Tillamook