Unlimited hydroplane racing’s Super Bowl is this weekend. Who could be the big winner?

The final race of the 2024 H1 Unlimited hydroplane series is this coming weekend, and it’s a big one.

The American Power Boat Association’s Gold Cup — unlimited hydroplane racing’s Super Bowl — kicks off Friday in San Diego.

Six teams will be in attendance, including the Miss Madison team with its U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate and driver Andrew Tate.

Tate and his team have a somewhat comfortable lead in the national high points race, carrying 5,819 points into the event.

Corey Peabody and the U-9 Beacon Plumbing are almost 1,000 points back in second place, with 4,870 total.

Basically, Tate just needs to finish his heat races to clinch his second career national title, and also bringing the U-1 designation — signifying the defending national champion — back to Indiana for the 2025 season.

Also competing this weekend will be the U-40 Bucket List Racing and driver Dustin Echols — sitting in third with 3,857 points; the U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee and driver Jamie Nielsen, in fourth with 3,812 points; the U-1 Miss Beacon Electric and driver J. Michael Kelly, in fifth place with 3,795 points; and the U-27 Apollo Racing with driver Dave Villwock, with 2,088 points in sixth place.

There will be six preliminary heat races over Saturday and Sunday, with the Gold Cup final set to start at 4:05 p.m., Sunday, in Mission Bay.

College soccer

Columbia Basin College’s women’s soccer team is expected to have another strong season after winning the Northwest Athletic Conference title in December of last year.

The Hawks are third in the NWAC coaches’ pre-season poll, earning five first-place votes.

Peninsula, which got four first-place votes, was No. 1; while Spokane had one first-place vote and is ranked No. 2.

▪ The CBC men’s soccer team is expected to do well this fall, judging by the rest of the NWAC coaches.

The Hawks received one first-place vote and was predicted to finish second in the NWAC pre-season coaches poll that came out last month.

Peninsula is considered a runaway favorite, getting the remaining 13 coaches’ first-place votes.

Walla Walla Community College finished seventh in the poll.

▪ Felipe Haro is a freshman playing for the men’s soccer team at Wenatchee Valley Community College this fall.

Haro, who graduated from Othello High School in June, was named the NWAC men’s offensive soccer player of the week for the period Aug. 19-25. In a 6-0 Knights’ victory over Portland Community College, Haro scored a natural hat trick (which is three consecutive goals) in the victory.

▪ Walla Walla Community College sophomore Vivian Ochoa was named the NWAC women’s defensive soccer player of the week for Aug. 19-25.

Ochoa — a goalkeeper from Meridian, Idaho — had five saves in two Warriors’ victories at the NWAC friendlies in Tukwila.

Hockey

Isaac Johnson, a right winger who played for the Tri-City Americans in 2017-19, has signed a one-year deal with Jukurit Mikkeli in the Finland Liiga — according to the MacBeth Report.

Last season, Johnson spent 8 games with the Toronto Marlies and another 50 games with the Newfoundland Growlers — where he scored 31 goals and 37 assists.

College football

Eastern Washington University’s football team won its home opener, beating Monmouth 42-27 on Aug. 30.

Eagles’ starting running back Tuna Altahir (Kamiakin) led the ground game, rushing for 108 yards on 16 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.

Altahir is a redshirt junior.

Defensively for Eastern, redshirt sophomore linebacker Myles Mayovsky (Kennewick) had 3 tackles, while redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Isaiah Perez (Othello) added 2 tackles.

There are three other regional athletes on EWU’s roster: freshman tight end Gavin Allen (Southridge); redshirt freshman DB Avery Ellis (Royal), who transferred from Utah State; and redshirt junior tight end. Messiah Jones (Kamiakin).

College basketball

Two women’s basketball players from Columbia Basin College — Trinidie Nichols and Kenzie Pederson — have signed letters of intent to play this next season for University of Montana Western.

Both will be juniors.

The pair spent the past two seasons helping lead the Hawks to the NWAC Final Four in both 2023 and 2024.

Nichols was the East Region MVP this past season, while Pederson was named to the East Region’s second team.

Both players were also named to the East Region All-Defensive team.

▪ After he graduated from Kamiakin in June of 2023, Javier Sideregts decided to spend a year at a prep school in Indiana.

The 6-foot-3 guard played for Indiana Prep for the 2023-24 season, but now he begins his college career in earnest at Bismarck State College in North Dakota.

College volleyball

Columbia Basin College was No. 5 in the NWAC pre-season volleyball coaches poll that came out in mid-August.

Linn-Benton was the overwhelming favorite for No. 1, getting 17 of the 18 first-place votes.

The Hawks are off to an 8-2 start under head coach Taylor Stewart.

They are in Gresham, Ore., on Friday and Saturday for the Mt. Hood Crossover, before beginning NWAC East Region play at Blue Mountain on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.