Going into the NFL Combine, former Washington State offensive linemen Joe Dahl was projected by most NFL Draft analysts as a late round pick or an undrafted free agent.

However, a few days spent in Indianapolis has reportedly boosted Dahl’s draft stock. Dahl, a first-team All-Pac 12 performer and Washington State’s lone representative at the Draft Combine, excelled in the drills, running the 40-yard dash in 5.18 seconds, bench pressing the 225-pound bar 28 times and leaping 109 inches (9 feet, 1 inch) in the broad jump.

Where will Dahl be drafted? We’ll find out in late April when the NFL Draft unfolds over a three-day period.

Dahl graduated from University High School in Spokane, so he is a local product, adding to the lure. He initially signed with Montana out of high school, but transferred to WSU in January of 2012. After sitting out a year, he became a 3-year starter for the Cougars, first at left guard for a season and then at left tackle.

“He had a tremendous Combine,” Washington State AD Bill Moos said Monday on Cougar Calls. “When I read some of his numbers and how they ranked against other players at his position, they were very impressive. He moved up, if he hadn’t already. He is a great player.

“People in Spokane can be very proud of Joe. I know Cougars everywhere are. Not unlike last year, it’s fun watching how Cougars are going to do in the Draft. Year by year, we’re getting more of them because that’s the caliber of player we’re starting to get at Washington State in the Mike Leach Era.”

Even though Dahl started at left tackle the past two seasons for the Cougars, NFL scouts have pegged him for guard at the next level.

“At the Senior Bowl I played a lot of right guard,” Dahl told reporters at the NFL Combine. “Right now, I feel most comfortable at right guard. I think my versatility will help me at the next level.”

Dahl said he met with the Detroit Lions during his stay in Indianapolis.

“They just want to see your base football knowledge by drawing up some plays,” Dahl said. “They ask for your favorite run play in college and favorite pass protection. Normally, I’m inside zone guy for run plays and pass protection against a nickel front.”

HRISTOVA AND HAILEY EARN PAC-12 HONORS: Freshman Borislava Hristova and sophomore Caila Hailey of the Washington State women’s basketball received All-Pac-12 honors. Borislava was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and received an honorable mention on the All-Pac-12 team. Hailey received an honorable mention to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

Hristova, a native of Varna, Bulgaria, leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game, second-best in the conference by a freshman. Hristova holds the all-time record at Washington State for best career free throw percentage at .897. Entering the Pac-12 Tournament, she has recorded eight games with at least 20 points, breaking a freshman record that stood for over 26 years. Hristova sits atop the program’s all-time freshman list for field goals made (192) and ranks second in double-digit scoring games with 25.

Hailey recorded 36 steals and 77 total rebounds for the Cougars this season. Hailey, who appeared in all 29 games this season, is tied for third in offensive rebounds (31). She is averaging 2.7 rebounds per game, and has recorded 40 assists this season. Hailey had a career-high six steals against Arizona State on Jan. 10 and tied her career-high of 11 points against Utah last weekend. Hailey’s selection is her first conference award recognition of her young career.

TRACK AND FIELD FINISHES FOURTH: The Washington State women’s indoor track and field team had its best finish since 2004, grabbing fourth place at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships Saturday at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle.

Oregon, ranked number one nationally, won the women’s team title with 108 points, followed by Stanford with 73.75, No. 10 USC with 59, and WSU with 54.5.

“This was a great meet on the women's side, to finish fourth among some of the very best teams in the nation!” WSU Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Wayne Phipps said.

The Cougars tallied 16.5 points in the women’s high jump with Kiana Davis, a junior from Longview, Wash., winning with a personal-best height of 5-feet 10 1/2 inches (1.79m). Junior Liz Harper, the runner-up in the pentathlon Friday night when she soared to a PR high jump of 5-11 1/4 (1.81m), finished third Saturday with a leap of 5-10 1/2 feet (1.79m).

Davis also captured third place in the triple jump with a PR leap of 41-2 1/4 (12.55m), which is 10th-best in WSU all-time records. The Cougar women’s 4x400m relay team of Dominique Keel, Alissa Brooks-Johnson (third place in the pentathlon), Christiana Ekelem and Harper took third place with a season-best time of 3 minutes, 41.05 seconds.

“Kiana Davis and Liz Harper were absolute superstars for us this weekend,” Phipps said. “Dom Keel was also amazing, running great in the 200m and 400m and then leading our 4x4 relay. Dino Dodig battled illness in route to a school record in the heptathlon as well as a possible NCAA berth. Reid Muller also has a great weekend breaking two freshman records (DMR and 800). We will rest up, recover and then wait to see how many we get to the NCAA meet.”

The final competition for the indoor season is the NCAA DI Indoor Championships, March 11-12, in Birmingham, Ala.

SOCCER ANNOUNCES SPRING SCHEDULE: The Washington State women’s soccer team will play four matches during its 2016 spring season, including one in Pullman this March, WSU Head Coach Todd Shulenberger announced recently. Here is the complete schedule:

March 5 vs. Eastern Washington, 1 p.m. (Pullman)

March 26 at Portland, 11 a.m.

April 9 at Trinity Western, 3 p.m. (Surrey, B.C.)

April 16 at Seattle Sounders, 1 p.m. (Liberty High School in Renton, Wash.).

NOTES

-- The 8th-seeded WSU women’s basketball team faces No. 9 seed USC Thursday at the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament in Seattle. The Cougars finished the 2015-16 regular season with a 14-15 overall record, 5-13 in the Pac-12 and must win at least two games in the conference tourney to guarantee a .500 record and earn an opportunity at post-season play (NCAA Tournament as the Pac-12’s automatic qualifier or WNIT). However, if the Cougars beat the Trojans, top-seeded Oregon State awaits in the quarterfinals.

-- Moos on the struggling Cougars men’s basketball team (15-game losing streak): “The guys are playing hard and they are focused on what Ernie (Kent) and the coaches are asking of them. We have to have somebody step up and develop and get everybody on the same page as to the speed of the game. At the end of the day, we have to develop the players we’ve got and go out and get some more. I have complete confidence in Ernie Kent and his staff doing just that. He is as good of a recruiter and I’ve seen.” The Cougars face rival Washington Wednesday night in Seattle.