By John McCallum
Managing Editor 

Soccer success leads Cheney sports action

 

Last updated 3/18/2021 at 4:30pm



CHENEY – The Blackhawks soccer program collected its first win as a 3A member of the Greater Spokane League to highlight local sports action over the past week.

Cross country

The Blackhawks are still looking for their first win in their return to the 3A classification and a revamped GSL — but they’re getting closer.

The men lost twice in double-dual action Saturday, March 13, at Salnave Park: 15-49 to 3A powerhouse North Central and 28-29 to Mt. Spokane. The women lost to NC 15-40 and to the Wildcats 18-37.

Beckett Schoenleber had the highest finish for the Cheney men, crossing the line in 16 minutes, 51.64 seconds, followed by Finnegan Syrie in 11th and Adam Estock 13th, with Dylan Thornburg and Garrett Roettger 15th and 16th to complete the Blackhawks scoring. Marion Mager-Reeser was fastest for the Cheney women, eighth in 22:03.46, followed by Mayah Spakousky and Jaela Thornburg in 12th and 13th, with Tenaya Belsby 16th and Anna Richardson 17th to complete the scoring.


North Central dominated the meet, placing all five scoring runners in the top five spots for the men and four of the five scorers in the top five for the women, with their final scorer seventh overall.

Football

Cheney hung with unbeaten 4A Central Valley for as long as they could, but eventually fell to the Bears 20-0 on the road March 12. CV took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a Luke Abshire to Aaden touchdown pass, and didn’t score again until the fourth when Abshire hit Nic Sanders for a 24-yard TD strike, with Abshire’s two-yard TD run completing the margin.


Ben McGourin had 24 yards on 11 carries, with Gabe Gerber rushing for 12 yards on nine carries. Quarterback Josh Whiteley was 7 for 19 for 35 yards, with Ryan Rieckmann making five catches for 26 yards.

Cheney goes to 1-2 on the season while CV improves to 3-0.

Soccer

Cheney notched its first win of the season last Wednesday with a 1-0 shutout of visiting University. Lauryn Woller scored in the 32nd minute and the Blackhawks defense and goalkeeper Irelyn DeWeese made it stand, with DeWeese making 7 saves. Cheney outshot the Titans 9-7.

Monday the Blackhawks met up with one of the GSL leaders, Gonzaga Prep, losing 4-0 on the road to the Bullpups. G-Prep outshot Cheney 22-5, with DeWeese making two saves and Sydney Reagan four saves. Cheney goes to 1-4 overall.

Volleyball

The Blackhawks dropped a pair of matches last week, a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on the road at Ferris March 9, followed by a 3-0 setback March 11 at home to Mead.

After losing 25-19 in the first set, Cheney rebounded for two straight set wins over the Saxons, 25-14 and 25-19 last Tuesday. But Ferris rallied, winning the final two sets in white-knuckle fashion, 26-24 and 15-13.

Avery Stark led Cheney with 24 kills, 16 digs, seven aces and a block, with Kiley Power recording 30 assists and Navi Islam-Zwart 1 block.

The Blackhawks made a game of it Thursday against 6-1 Mead, pushing the Panthers but eventually falling 25-19, 25-23 and 25-18. Joy Assonken led Cheney with eight kills and an ace, with Power recording 13 assists, Sara Graham seven digs, Tomei Vega one block and Stark, Hope Schneider and Assonken each with an ace.

The Blackhawks are 2-5 in GSL play.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.

Author Bio

John McCallum, Retired editor

John McCallum is an award-winning journalist who retired from Cheney Free Press after more than 20 years. He received 10 Washington Newspaper Publisher Association awards for journalism and photography, including first place awards for Best Investigative, Best News and back-to-back awards in Best Breaking News categories.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/20/2024 12:54