NW Briefs | Olympia rower in pairs finals

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — Olympia rower Brodie Buckland and partner Sebastian Bea of San Francisco rowed to a second-place finish in their men's pairs semifinal on Tuesday to earn a berth in the finals of rowing's U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Lake Mercer.

Buckland joined Josh Inman of Hillsboro, Ore., as the two Northwest rowers to advance to today's first round of best-of-three finals.

In an incredibly close semifinal, Buckland and Bea were edged by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss by just 0.002 seconds. The Winklevoss brothers finished in 6:33.815.

Inman and Matt Schnobrich took first in the second semifinal, posting a 6:34.819.

Former University of Washington rowers Kyle Larson of Mount Vernon and David Worley of Oak Harbor did not advance.

In other finals today, former UW rower Anna (Mickelson) Cummins of Bellevue and Portia McGee of Seattle will match oars with a field of three. Cummins and McGee, who won bronze in the event at the Lucerne World Cup, will take on Caroline Lind and Elle Logan.

The winners of each event will be named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, pending United States Olympic Committee approval.

• Washington's Ashley Jones and Washington State's Irena Neffeova were named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I Pocock All-America First Team.

Baseball

Central Washington announced four players have signed letters of intent. Joining the Wildcats in 2009 will be right-handed pitchers Richie Carmichael (Decatur of Federal Way), Jordan Dallas, Ryan Graves (Puyallup High, Lower Columbia College) and Justin Reed.

Carmichael and Reed will be freshmen. Graves will have three years of eligibility remaining, and Dallas will have two years left.

Track and field

Seattle University cross country and track and field coach Trisha Steidl announced that 24 athletes (12 men, 12 women), have signed letters of intent or athletic aid agreements. Included among the newcomers are two sets of twin brothers: Chris and Dan Auld from Eugene and Tom and Jim Mezzera from San Francisco.

Soccer

The Seattle Sounders have received midfielder Nikolas Besagno, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 MLS Superdraft, on loan from Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, the team announced. The loan runs through Sept. 8. A native of Maple Valley, Besagno is in his fourth year as a pro after signing with Real Salt Lake when he was 16.

Track and Field

Brad Walker, a former UW Husky, was USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after setting the American record in the pole vault Sunday (19-9 ¾) in Eugene, Ore.

Swimming

For the second straight year, Seattle University senior Chris Coley made the ESPN The Magazine's At-Large Academic All-America Second Team.

Compiled from sports-information reports.