Athletics Weekend Recap
In this week’s edition of the CWU Athletics Weekend Recap, women’s basketball traveled to Calif. for the NCAA West Regional, men’s rugby took down #8 Army, and a pair of Wildcats competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships for track & field. Read the full recap below.
Women’s Basketball
After earning the sixth seed in the NCAA West Regional, the Wildcats headed to Carson, Calif. for a showdown with Cal State San Marcos on Friday. Unfortunately, CSUSM pulled away late as the Wildcats fell 74-86, ending their 2022-23 campaign. Bowman logged one last double-double (25 points, 16 rebounds) while Valeria Huerta added 23 points. Their season ended with a 21-9 record and the team will look ahead to next year with a solid young core and big incoming talent.
Men’s Rugby
The #2 ranked Wildcats faced another top-10 opponent last week as #8 Army, the reigning national champs, came to Ellensburg. The Crimson and Black used a complete team effort to down Army 36-14. Mitchell Hirose, Isaiah Saldana, Calvin Liulamaga, Jonah Auvaa, Drew Farrington, and Rhy Jones scored a try for the Wildcats. Jac Tregoning also hit three conversions. The Wildcats will be back on the road for their final scheduled away match against #7 Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah on Mar. 18.
Track & Field
E’lexis Hollis and Lauryn Chandler of the track & field team traveled to the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Virg. for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships this weekend. Hollis finished 14th in the 60-meter prelims, running a time of 7.51 seconds. Her time was only 0.02 seconds off of qualifying for the final heat. Chandler finished 13th in the 60-meter hurdles prelims at 8.74 seconds. Now that the indoor season has concluded, the Wildcats will return to their outdoor schedule with the Doris Heritage Track Festival next Saturday, Mar. 18.
Softball
The Wildcat softball team traveled to Cal Poly Humboldt for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday. In Game 1, the ‘Cats fell 2-10. Harlee Carpenter had a team-high two hits and Isabel Womack got the loss on the mound. In Game 2, Humboldt continued their momentum from Game 1 and CWU loss 0-3. Laney Kaysner mustered three of the teams four hits and Ashlee Laver got the loss.
In Game 3, the team fell 1-2 as four different Wildcats registered a hit. In Game 4, the Wildcats got the 8-3 win, backed by a solid pitching performance by Womack who pitched a complete game. The Wildcats (9-10) will open GNAC play with a four-game series against Western Washington at home next Saturday and Sunday.
Baseball
The Wildcats opened a four-game series with Western Oregon on Sunday, dropping Games 1 & 2. Despite a solid starting performance from Daniel Charron in Game 1, the team lost 3-6. Alex Brady came in for relief but ended up with the loss. In Game 2, Brayde Hirai threw seven innings but the Wildcats couldn’t garner enough offense and fell 2-5.
Games 3 & 4 wrapped up on Monday. To find the recap of those games, go to wildcatsports.com.