Barrios places 8th at NCAA outdoors meet
Jun. 10—EUGENE, Ore. — Valentina Barrios Bornacelli chose a good time to outdo herself.
The Washington State true freshman from Colombia raised her game significantly and placed eighth in the women's javelin Thursday at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.
She threw 177 feet, 3 inches, a personal record by 8 feet and a WSU freshman record. The winner at 191-1 was Ashton Riner of Brigham Young.
Barrios had placed only 11th in the NCAA West Prelim while punching her ticket to the national meet.
She became the Cougars' eighth All-American in the women's javelin and the first to finish top-8 since Courtney Kirkwood in 2011.
Barrios threw a PR 172-4 on her second throw, then unleashed the 177-3 on her third to place second in the first of two flights.
Cougars freshman Micaela De Mello clocked 13.15 seconds in the semifinals of the women's 100 hurdles, placing sixth in her heat and failing to advance. The final qualifier ran 12.95.
De Mello finished 17th overall and second among freshmen.
Pullman High School graduate Mayyi Mahama, a junior by eligibility at the University of Pennsylvania, placed 23rd in the women's hammer with a toss of 204-6, about 15 feet short of her best.
FOOTBALL
One of the most productive receivers in California is headed to Washington State.
Carlos Hernandez, who piled up more receiving yards than all but one player last year in the CIF Southern Section, pledged to WSU on Tuesday evening, announcing his decision over Twitter. The Monrovia, California, native is the fourth commit in the Cougars' class of 2023 and the first from outside the state.
A three-star prospect, according to 247Sports.com, Hernandez chose WSU over offers from Oregon State, Nevada, Fresno State, Utah State and UNLV.
The 6-foot, 170-pounder totaled 1,594 yards — second most in the CIF-SS, which includes nearly 600 schools — and 23 touchdowns on 71 receptions last season for the Monrovia High Wildcats, who finished 10-1.
Hernandez took an official visit to WSU this past weekend and committed to the program before leaving.
"My mentality was to soak it all in and to compare with other colleges, but it most definitely blew me away," he told Scorebook Live.
Hernandez plans to graduate from high school in December and enroll in college in January, per Scorebook Live.
GOLF
Sekulic fires 75 in PGA debut
Former Washington State golfer Max Sekulic made his debut on the PGA Tour on Thursday with a 5-over-par 75 in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto.
Sekulic made his professional debut this past week, missing the cut at the Royal Beach Victoria Open in Victoria, British Columbia, on PGA Tour Canada.
Starting on No. 9, he birided his first hole but then bogeyed Nos. 12-16 and No. 18 and he finished the back nine with a 42. On Sekulic's final eight holes, he had birdies on Nos. 1 and 5 with bogeys on Nos. 4 and 7.
Sekulic will tee off in the second round at 2:32 p.m. Pacific today on No. 1 with playing partners John Merrick and Jim Knous.
HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS
Pullman boys named WIAA team of month
RENTON, Wash. — The Pullman boys tennis team recently was named the Class 2A team of the month by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
The Greyhounds went undefeated in dual competition with a 13-0 overall mark and a 10-0 record in the Greater Spokane League. They also won the academic state title and fielded three medalists in finishing in second place in cumulative team scoring in the state tournament.
