NW Briefs | Recruit commits to WSU for ‘09

Posted by bechtom

June 25, 2008

Paul Wulff isn’t wasting any time lining up commitments for the 2009 season.

The Washington State football coach, who was hired in December, received a verbal commitment from Geoff Meinken of Lynnwood last week.

Meinken, 17, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound tailback and defensive end for the Royals, is projected at defensive end or tackle for the Cougars.

Lynnwood coach Dorian Manza considers Meinken, who will be a senior this fall, one of the finest raw talents he has coached. Although Meinken only began playing football as a freshman, he has run 40 yards in 4.62 seconds, bench presses more than 300 pounds and rushed for nearly 700 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

“He’s got so much potential,” Manza said. “I’ve never seen a physical specimen like him.”

Meinken, an honors student, also drew interest from Oregon and Portland State, but WSU was his only scholarship offer.

Meinken said Monday a recent visit to Pullman persuaded him to commit now.

“I thought it was a great opportunity,” he said. “I really liked what I saw.”

College coaches cannot comment on recruits until they have signed letters of intent in February 2009.

Triathlon

Greg Billington of Spokane, the 2007 USAT Junior National Champion, is among the 20 athletes chosen to represent the U.S. in the 2008 ITU Triathlon World Championships this week in Vancouver, B.C. Billington will compete in the junior division, which takes to the course Thursday. He’s back for a third consecutive year; his 12th place finish in Hamburg last year led all U.S. juniors.

By Seattle Times staff

Sports