Red Devils Roundup: LCC adds talent to volleyball, soccer, women's hoops rosters

Letters of Intent – Grace Simpson of W.F. West, Kendall Humphrey of Adna among locals to ink with Lower Columbia College

By Rick McCorkle for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

NWAC Sports

A pair of six-foot women's basketball players, along with three soccer players from the Vancouver area, and a volleyball standout from Lewis County are among the letter of intent signees venturing to Lower Columbia College to begin play this fall.

Lillian Bickford of Eatonville and Grace Simpson from Chehalis will join the women's basketball team. Adna's Kendall Humphrey will suit-up for the volleyball team, and Vancouver's Dea Covarrubias, Avery Hoskins, and Kiersten Ostnes from Alaska will take to the pitch in women's soccer.

College Basketball

The 6-foot-4 Bickford is a three-time All-Evergreen 2A League selection, and helped the Cruisers to an appearance in the Round of 12 at the State Championships.

During the season, Bickford exploded for 26 points and pulled 10 rebounds for Eatonville in a 66-27 pounding of Steilacoom.

In 2022, Bickford and teammate Bailey Anderson applied for and were selected to play on a team which traveled to England. They played in a 3-on-3 tournament in Liverpool, and played a number of games in and around London. The trip cost each player about $6,000, which Bickford and Anderson raised partially through a free-throw shooting fundraiser.

Outside of basketball, Bickford qualified for the WIAA State Tennis Championships in doubles.

Simpson, a 6-foot power forward from W.F. West High, helped the Bearcats to a sixth place finish in the Class 2A State Championships while earning All-2A Evergreen League second-team kudos.

In a 79-29 win over league rival Black Hills, Simpson netted a career-high six three-pointers to finish with a personal-best 22 points. She became the sixth player in school history to net six or more three-pointers in a game.

At the end of her prep career, Simpson was ranked in the top-20 all-time with 57 three-pointers (13th place), 1,538 minutes played (15th), 85 games played (15th), and 36 blocked shots (20th).

College Volleyball

Humphrey is a 5-foot-8 outside hitter/middle blocker from Adna, who led the Pirates to three Class 2B State Tournament placings. As a senior, Humphrey was named to the All-Central 2B League first-team and helped Adna to a second place finish at the state tournament. Humphrey was the league MVP as a junior and sophomore, and Adna placed sixth and fifth at State in those seasons.

Humphrey plans to study ultrasound technology at LCC.

College Soccer

In women's soccer, Covarrubias played at Vancouver's Skyview High. As a senior, she helped the Storm reach the Class 4A state quarterfinals, and was named the 4A Greater St. Helens League Offensive Player of the Year.

Covarrubias' Skyview team during her senior year went undefeated until reaching the state tournament, where it fell to Issaquah 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Prior to the loss, the Storm outscored its opposition 57-8 and had an 11-0-3 record.

Covarrubias is also a standout in track, and had the fifth-fastest time in the state in the 200-meters (25.82 seconds) as a freshman.

Hoskins, who attended Prairie High in Vancouver, was a Greater St. Helens 3A League second-team selection who also served as team captain. Off the pitch, she is a member of National Honor Society, and served as the Associated Student Body Spirit Coordinator.

Hoskins plans to study Sports Management at LCC.

Ostnes is a graduate of Lathrop High in Fairbanks, Alaska, and participated on three Malemute soccer teams which qualified for the state tournament three times. A two-year varsity member, she was twice named a first-team all-conference standout, and was part of two conference champion squads.

In the off-season, she plays for the Eclipse Soccer Club.

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment in a series authored by Rick McCorkle to help LCC fans get to know the next crop of talent bound for Longview.

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About The Author: Rick McCorkle is a respected former sports reporter for The Daily News. He previously covered the Lower Columbia College beat, in addition to other local sports, across several decades and two different centuries. To read the most recent College Report, click here.