Tri-City grad’s strong start at national rodeo finals + Yankees sign ex-Kennewick pitcher

Just looking at his name, you can tell he has to be tough.

And Steele Shumway seems to back it up in the rodeo arena.

The Tri-Cities Prep grad who played football and basketball for the Jaguars is competing this week in the National High School Rodeo Finals in Cheyenne, Wyo.

The Finals began Sunday night, and they’ll run through Saturday night, where cowboys and cowgirls get two go-rounds in their respective competitions.

Already, Shumway has teamed with Chelan’s Duke Nordby to win the first team roping go-round, Performance No. 4, on Tuesday morning.

The pair clocked in at 7.09 seconds.

Now, throw in Shumway’s third-place finish in the Steer Wrestling Performance No. 2, on Monday morning, and the cowboy is having a great week already.

Shumway wrestled his steer down in 6.5 seconds.

Stanfield’s Gator Goodrich — another great name — won his go-round, Performance No. 1 on Sunday night, in tie-down roping at 9.71 seconds.

And Walla Walla’s Hadley Hiner scored 143 points to place fourth in the girls cutting event on Tuesday morning.

Basketball

The basketball scholarship offers continue to roll in for Chiawana’s Malia Ruud, who will be a junior this coming school year.

The latest one comes from Boise State University.

The Broncos currently have one Tri-City athlete on their roster in Richland High grad Jayda Clark. The 5-4 Clark will be a junior this coming season.

Baseball

It’s interesting how one coach leaving a program for another creates job opportunities for others in a kind of domino effect.

Such is the case of Brian Green, who had been the head coach at WSU for the past few years. Green was hired away by Wichita State to run the Shockers program.

To replace Green at WSU, the Cougars hired Nathan Choate, who just led Loyola Marymount University to the West Coast Conference title this past spring.

Now LMU has hired former pro baseball player Donegal Fergus to run its program. And it looks like one of his assistants will be former Richland High grad Travis Buck.

According to Jeremy Booth, Buck moves from his assistant coaching job at Arizona State to LMU, where he will be the third base coach, help hitters and outfielders, and assist with recruiting.

▪ Former Kennewick High star Trent Sellers didn’t get drafted by a major-league team in the recent MLB draft.

But the New York Yankees signed the right-handed pitcher as an undrafted free agent last week.

Sellers spent his final season of college eligibility at Oregon State University this spring, and he was one of the Beavers’ starting pitchers.

Before that, he had been a standout pitcher at NAIA school Lewis-Clark State.

No word as to what the Yankees’ plans are.

Speaking of the Yankees, they drafted for Kamiakin star Trystan Vrieling in the 2022 MLB Draft. However Vrieling — a right-handed pitcher who starred collegiately at Gonzaga University — has yet to pitch a competitive inning.

The Yankees have him on the 60-day DL.

Poker

Another local had a high finish at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Sunnyside’s Geoffrey Bowlsby placed 11^th out of 2,824 competitors in WSOP event No. 68: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold ’Em.

For his efforts, Bowlsby took home $16,822.

Softball

Bailey Rose (Southridge) is transferring from Portland State University to Montana State University Billings to continue her softball career.

Rose was a redshirt sophomore this spring for the Vikings, and she’s a pitcher.

Volleyball

Grandview product Natalie Copeland has signed a letter of intent to play NWAC volleyball for Bellevue College.

Golf

Meadow Springs Country Club pro Jason Aichele was the area’s highest placer at last week’s Rosauer’s Open tournament at Indian Canyon in Spokane.

Aichele placed tied for 18^th at 9 under par — 72-64-68–204.

What made it better for him was his 13-year-old son, JJ Aichele, competed in the tournament. And although the youngster failed to make the cut, he played well, shooting rounds of 78 and 76.

Conner Robbins of North Shore Golf Club won the tournament, shooting rounds of 67, 61 and 66 for a 194 total, at 19 under par.

▪ Pasco’s Jillian Breedlove, who just graduated from high school and is heading to Austin Peay University to play women’s college golf in the fall, placed seventh at the Washington Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur recently.

Breedlove shot rounds of 77, 81 and 79 for a total of 24-over-par 237.

Bellevue’s Angela Zhang won the tournament, held at Wing Point Golf & Country Club on Bainbridge Island, shooting a 1-over-par total of 214.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.