Sports and Outdoors

OROVILLE – The team of Fred Bender and Claude Roberts took home top honors at this year’s May Festival Bass Tournament with fish weighing a combined 22.46 pounds.

The first anglers showed up that morning at about 4:15 a.m. and were soon joined by 12 more teams coming to register and wait for 6 a.m. to arrive.

“As we waited there was talk of tournaments past and just a little talk about how to catch the big ones on this day,” said Roberts, who also serves as tournament director.

“The day greeted us with cool, windy conditions which made fishing tough, but the weather did not hinder the effort the teams put into their fishing,” he adds.

The results of the tournament were as follows:

OROVILLE – Fifty-three teams took to the courts for this year’s May Festival 3 on 3 Tournament, but only nine would walk away as champions Saturday.

“Everything went real well and the weather was actually great for playing basketball,” said John Neal, co-chairman for the event which is sponsored by the Oroville Booster Club.

“We had 53 teams which was an increase from last year when we had 47… everything went smoothly and everyone was well behaved,” Neal said.

In the Men’s Open 18 teams vied for the championship in their division. Romine Fuel, made up of Jason Romine, Casey Watts, Tony Block and Geoff Miller, were victorious and took home the championship.

The Women’s Open was won by Chelocals, Jessica Graham, Megan Gale, Olivia Larson and Amber Lynch.

The Silent Street Spankers, Felipe Gayton, Jacob Longmire, Toshiya Ijichi and Jordon Bebee, won in the Boy’s High School division.

For the Girl’s High School division it was Tonasket, made up of Jayden Hawkins, Cierra Silverthorn, Rachel Hutchins and Dana Pryor.

TONASKET – It’s been a long spring for the Tonasket girl’s softball team.

The girls are currently two and 12 with two games to go before the season ends next week.

“We just want to get by this year,” said head coach Dave Shaw. “We want to make it through the season.”

OROVILLE – Oroville’s Lady Hornets are attracting loyal fans wherever they go as they play in their most successful season since the Hornets started playing fastpitch softball.

The girls are 10 and four for the season and nine and three in the NCW 2B League. Last week, Thursday, April 24, they put away the Waterville Shockers in a double header going just seven innings. They won the first game 18 to one in four innings and the second 18 to two in three innings.

Yellow and blue have taken over the tennis courts.

The Tonasket High School tennis team began their spring season last week with two away games and one home meet.

TONASKET – It was a good week for Tonasket track athletes.

The team headed to the Brewster Co-Ed Relays April 8. Every running event was a relay with two girls and two boys, and in the field events a girl and boy team, according to Tiger track coach Bob Thornton.

TONASKET – The Tonasket Little League Wrestling Tournament was held last Saturday and was a huge success say organizers. The tournament included competitors from Kindergarten to sixth grade with kids from Tonasket, Oroville, Omak, Okanogan, Methow Valley, Brewster and Pateros.

WENATCHEE – Oroville led the league in boys basketball this year, unfortunately they had to share the spotlight with Liberty Bell and Kittitas who proved to be too much for the Hornets in the post season – knocking them out of their bid for the NC2B’s sole place in the state tournament this year.

Two hard games spelled the end for the Tonasket girl’s basketball season.

They went to the district tournament in Chelan last week only to bounce out in the second round of play.

“We were knocked out earlier then we anticipated,” said head coach Greg Moser.

Tonasket lost two close games, first against Okanogan Feb. 12 and then against district champion Lake Roosevelt Feb. 13.

“I’m real satisfied overall,” Moser said. “It was a great year. It hurts in your heart to get knocked out so early, when you shouldn’t have been.”

TACOMA – The Tigers wrapped up their wrestling season with a trip to the Tacoma Dome last weekend, where they placed 22 of 48 1A teams.

“It went pretty good,” said head coach Dave Mitchell. “Not as good as we would’ve hoped, but still pretty good.”

Eight Tonasket wrestlers crossed the mountains Feb. 15 and 16. Nine originally qualified, but Andrew Grillo was ill and unable to attend.

“That was a real bummer,” Mitchell said. “Before we even got there we had a big disappointment. But he’s a sophomore, so he still has two more years he can go.”