Washington State golfer Austin Hurt wins Amateur title

PULLMAN — Austin Hurt of Bainbridge Island shot a course record Friday on the way to winning the 83rd Washington State Men's Amateur Championship.

Hurt, a senior-to-be at Washington State, was nine strokes behind the leader to start the day. But he rolled out a 7-under-par 65 at Palouse Ridge Golf Club to march to victory.

Hurt capped his 4-under 32 on the front side with an eagle at the par-5 No. 9.

He kept things rolling on the back nine, making three more birdies to bring his four-day championship total to 4-under par 284.

Kenmore's Derek Berg, who had the lead entering the final round, missed an eagle try on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Hurt. He finished tied for second with Drew Reinland of College Place at 3-under 285.

Hurt had a number of Cougars teammates competing in the event, including senior Kevin Tucker of Kennewick, who finished in eighth place (1-over 289), and junior Nick Ellis of East Wenatchee, who finished tied for 12th (4-over 292).

Notes

• Washington freshman Mel Lawrence advanced to the final of the women's steeplechase (9 minutes, 56.42 seconds) at the U.S. Track Championships in Eugene, while 2007 graduate Ryan Brown moved into the final in the men's 800 meters (1:47.81).

In other results, Washington State's Jeshua Anderson advanced from the men's 400 hurdles first round (50.22), and former Seattle Pacific standout Chris Randolph finished fourth in the decathlon (7,766 points).

• Jared Cowen, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman for the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League, was taken ninth overall in the NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators. The New York Islanders took Ontario Hockey League standout John Tavares with the No. 1 pick.

• By winning the recent US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships, the Crossfire Premier under-17 girls team has qualified to compete in the US Youth Soccer National Championships, July 21-16 in Lancaster, Mass.

• The 20th Spokane Hoopfest kicks off today with some 26,000 players in what is billed as the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the nation. NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be on hand to give a speech and sign copies of his latest book.

Compiled from sports-information reports

and other sources.