NW Briefs | Olson up by one at Sahalee

SAMMAMISH — Eddie Olson, a junior at UNLV, got hot in the morning Thursday and hung on in the afternoon to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Sahalee Players' Championship golf tournament at Sahalee Country Club.

Olson, out of Aptos, Calif., had a 3-under-par 69 in the morning Thursday and a 73 in the afternoon when difficult conditions made the 6,875-yard, par-72 layout play tougher than usual.

For the championship, Olson is at 4-under 212, just a stroke ahead of defending champion Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor and first-round leader Daniel Summerhays of Provo, Utah.

Those three players will tee off together at 10:50 a.m. today for the final 18 holes.

Stanley, who tops Golfweek magazine's amateur rankings, is trying to become the first two-time winner in the 14 years of the Sahalee Players' Championship. The sophomore-to-be at Clemson had a 73 and a 70 Thursday for a 3-under 213. Summerhays, a senior-to-be at Brigham Young, followed his first-round 69 with a par of 72s Thursday.

CREW

Seattle's Green Lake Crew dropped its second-round race by just 2 feet, and was eliminated by the London Rowing Club in the Thames Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta near London.

Green Lake's high school eight-oared crew of coxswain, Adam Boyd (junior, Roosevelt High), stroke Charlie Sweet (junior, Roosevelt), 7 Casey Ellis (junior, O'Dea), 6 Lucas Goodman (senior, Shorecrest), 5 Tommy Carroll (senior, Blanchet), 4 Matt Ricci (junior, Lakeside), 3 Niles Garratt (senior, Shorecrest), 2 Trevor Walchenbach (senior, Roosevelt), bow Ben Schmechel (junior, Lakeside) jumped to an early lead over a more experienced London crew, posting a time of 3 minutes, 40 seconds at the halfway mark of the 1-mile, 550-yard dual-format race. In the end, London prevailed by just 2 feet, clocking a 7:40 for the victory.

COLLEGES

Leah Stepovich, who averaged 8.9 points last season for Casper College in Wyoming, has joined the women's basketball program at Seattle University.

Stepovich led Casper with 58 three-pointers, a .343 three-point shooting percentage, and a .921 free-throw shooting percentage. She helped the team to a 26-9 record.

Stepovich was the 2005 Alaska Player of the Year while leading Monroe Catholic High School of Fairbanks to its second consecutive state championship.

"We are very excited to have Leah in our program at Seattle University," said coach Dan Kriley. "She is an exceptional long-range shooter and has a tremendous feel for the game. Leah will make an immediate impact."

• Brandi Gordon, the director of softball operations and camp coordinator at the University of Washington, has been hired as an assistant coach for the Seattle U. softball program. Gordon will work with the team's slap hitters and will coach the outfielders.

Gordon was a four-year letterwinner at the University of the Pacific, completing her career in 2005.

• Jerome Riley, who played for Washington State in 2001-02, has been honored as one of the 2007 Arena Football League All-Ironman Team wide receiver/linebackers.

Riley, in his fourth AFL season, has 78 receptions for 845 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Compiled from sports-information reports and other sources.