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SPORTS

Youth prevails at YSHS alumni basketball tourney
The Yellow Springs girls and boys basketball teams had the weekend off, but that didn’t stop nearly 200 people from braving ice, snow and freezing temperatures to huddle in the Yellow Springs High School gym for the championship game of the annual YSHS alumni basketball tournament. Spectators expecting competitive and exciting play were not disappointed — both the semifinal and championship games were decided in the last minutes of action.
In the championship game, the Classes of ’95–’97 defeated the Classes of ’98–’99, 47–41. Jason Randolph, a 1997 alumnus, led the victors with 18 points and seven rebounds. “Last year was a lot of fun, and we did pretty well, but we knew it would be more fun if we won,” Randolph said.
For the winning side Gene Jackson added 10 points, and Mike Childs and Adrian Benning scored 6 points and grabbed six boards apiece. The winners used tough defense and good free-throw shooting to put the game away with under a minute to go.
Prentice Tomas led the Classes of ’98–’99 with 14 points and 12 boards.
YSHS boys varsity head coach Brad Newsome played on the ’83–’86 team that lost in the semifinals. “This is my sixth year running this tournament,” Newsome said. “It just seems to get better every year. It’s a lot of fun for everybody involved, and it’s a great chance for alumni to show that they still care about the program.”
Participants each donated $10, and spectators paid $2 apiece to watch the tourney. According to Newsome, the money raised will go to purchase T-shirts for varsity players and equipment for the entire basketball program. “It doesn’t bring in a ton of money, but it’s still a great fundraiser because it brings so many people together. This year we expect to raise $600 or $700,” Newsome said.
Jason Ryder, a 1997 alumnus and tourney participant, echoed the coach’s sentiments. “I am out to show my support for YS basketball, and it’s a great chance to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while,” Ryder said. “The best part is seeing who can still play.”
Boys junior varsity coach Perry Williams said that the tournaments’ benefits go even deeper. “There is a lot of fellowship among former players on the court. It is a good time for the older guys who can still play, but it also very important for our younger players to see what it means to be part of this program,” he said.
Although the championship game drew the largest crowd of the weekend, Saturday’s two semifinal match-ups provided the most excitement of the tournament. The first semifinal was decided when the Class of ’82 and Earlier forward Carl Schumacher’s last-second shot clanged off the rim. Schumacher claimed he was fouled. The ’95–’97 alumni won the game 60–58.
The second semifinal looked to be decided at the end of overtime with the ’98–’99 alumni trailing Newsome’s ’83–’86 group by 3 with seconds left to go. But with two seconds left on the clock, ’98-’99 guard Jerrod Martin sank a 22-footer with two defenders in his face to send the game into a second extra frame. The younger team dominated the second overtime period. Tomas sank 7 of 11 free-throws in the final minute of play to send his team to the finals with a 74–65 win.
At the end of the night, trophies were handed out to the champions, and an all-tournament team was selected. The all-tournament team will receive medals at halftime of the varsity’s home game against Ridgeville, Friday, Jan. 3.
All-tournament team selections were: Jason Randolph, Vaughn Crandall, Mike Childs, Carrie Cordell, Mike Taylor, Tony Finn, David Mahle, Brian Crosswhite, Billy Pearson, Carl Schumacher, Prentice Tomas, and Jerrod Martin.

Boys swim to victory
The Yellow Springs High School boys swim team won a tri-meet Saturday, Dec. 28, defeating Wayne and Stivers.
Swimming at the downtown Dayton YMCA, the Bulldogs earned 91 points. Stivers had 63 and Wayne had 52.
The YSHS girls team finished third with 39 points behind Wayne, which had 158, and Stivers, 71.
In the boys competition, the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay, both consisting of Spencer Jordan, Andy Chen, Jon Bullock and Michael Hosket, placed first in both events.
In individual events, Hosket won the 50 and 100 freestyle races and Jordan placed second in the 100 butterfly and first in the 100 backstroke. Bullock was third in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 backstroke, Chen was first in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 500 freestyle. Will McCuddy was second in both the 500 freestyle and the 200 freestyle, and Kyle McEvoy was third in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 200 freestyle.
In the girls competition, the 200 medley relay team of Amanda Bush, Elizabeth Dixon, Julia Swisher and Morgan Laurens placed second. The 200 freestyle relay (Laurens, Swisher, Dixon and Sarah Wolfe) placed fourth.
Scoring in individual events were Dixon, third in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 200 freestyle; Swisher, third in the 100 backstroke and sixth in the 200 freestyle; Bush, third in the 50 freestyle. Wolfe finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 50 freestyle; and Laurens was fourth in the 100 freestyle.
Coaches Seth Moore and Dave Wishart said they were generally pleased with the results.
“Both teams have been hit hard by the viruses going around the last few weeks. Several swimmers were missing on both teams,” Wishart said. “We’ve had some individuals having good practices and swimming well at meets, but we haven’t found a groove as a team yet in either our practices or our meets. We’re hopeful that as the holidays wind down we can be more focused, get healthy, stay healthy and swim faster.”

Youth basketball season tip off
The KTC (Kenton Trace Conference) Pee-Wee basketball season starts this Saturday, Jan. 4, with the KTC Preview at the Central State University gym.
The Yellow Springs fifth- and sixth-grade girls teams will play at 2 p.m. The fifth- and sixth-grade boys games will begin around 4 p.m.
The official season will begin on Sunday, Jan. 5, with games at the Yellow Springs High School gym. The fifth-grade girls will play Southeastern at 2 p.m., followed by the sixth-grade girls, fifth-grade boys and sixth-grade boys.
Each game takes approximately an hour to play. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children.
Families of players are reminded that volunteers are needed to run the concession stand, take tickets and to serve as official timekeepers and scorekeepers. Family members should contact the coaches to volunteer.

Schedule toughens for YSHS
After starting the season at 7–1, the Yellow Springs High School boys basketball team begins one of its toughest stretches of the season this week. Head coach Brad Newsome sees the games as a valuable benchmark for his team.
“We have built up some momentum over the last couple of games, and we will look to continue that success over the next three games,” Newsome said Friday evening, Dec. 27, at an alumni fundraiser. “Ridgeville is a talented team, and Cedarville is an arch rival. Those games are always tough. At the end of the week we face a tough Jefferson squad, so after these three games we should know more about what kind of team we are.”
The Bulldogs will host Ridgeville Christian Friday, Jan. 3, in a triple header, with the freshmen starting at 3 p.m., the JV taking the court at about 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 6 p.m. The games were moved up to allow fans to see Ohio State play Miami in the NCAA national football championship game. YSHS will play at Cedarville Saturday, Jan. 4, at 6 p.m., and host Jefferson Tuesday, Jan. 7, beginning with the freshmen at 5 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs also face a tough opponent in Troy Christian this weekend. Head coach Shirley Cummins says she expects a great effort from her players.
“In the second half of the season we are looking for everybody to step and play better basketball,” she said. “We have room to improve on offense and defense, and that starts against Troy Christian.”
The Lady Bulldogs host Troy Christian on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m.
Both the boys and girls swim teams will compete Saturday, Jan. 4 at the Wayne High School Invitational at Wright State University. Warm-ups will begin at 1:15 p.m., and the meet will start at 2:00 p.m. The meet should conclude by 5:00 p.m.