September 23, 2004

SPORTS

Zach Reichert putting at the YSHS golf team’s match against Troy Christian last week.

Building year for golf team

By Lauren Heaton

Though the six-player YSHS golf team has not yet won a match this season, the squad is focused on using this year as a building year, coach Seth Bothwell said last week.

The team has just one returning player from last year, sophomore Alex Visbal, four of the players had never played golf before the season began and no one is older than a sophomore.

It’s at the beginning stages of playing golf when the most obvious improvement occurs, said Bothwell, who sees his golfers making strides every time they go out.

“It’s been about having a good time and learning the etiquette, protocol and the basics of the game,” Bothwell said. “We haven’t focused on scores at all.”

In fact, they have barely kept score all season, choosing instead to allow each golfer to play at his or her own pace and compete against his or her last best score. Everyone has shot par on at least one hole this season, which is an accomplishment for first-time golfers, Bothwell said.

“It’s small things like that, that’s an accomplishment, it’s a measure of improvement,” he said.

Craig Tobey, for instance, who started golfing in August, had trouble hitting the ball more than just a few feet. Others had trouble hitting the ball at all. Now Tobey and the other Bulldogs have become consistent enough to finish the nine-hole courses the team plays on, far exceeding Bothwell’s expectations.

Visbal is the No. 1 player and the leader of the squad. He plays the first flight in every match, and the others play with different golfers and learn from each other.

Last Thursday the Bulldogs played a home match against Troy Christian at Locust Hills in Springfield. Visbal played the course with Aaron Zaremsky, who kept up with him on most holes.

Zach Reichert, playing third, took several straight shots off the tee, while Jill Bothwell, the first girl on the YSHS golf team and the coach’s daughter, berated herself for missing long putts from the edge of the green.

Tobey put several balls in the trees, as did Bothwell and others. But they finished the course end and had a good time.

“No matter how much better other teams are, they are always ready to go out and play the matches,” Seth Bothwell said.

SPORTS round up

Compiled by Lauren Heaton

Boys soccer 2–0 in MBC
The YSHS boys soccer team beat Metro Buckeye Conference foe Xenia Christian, 4–2, last Saturday to remain in first place in the MBC with a record of 2–0. The Bulldogs are now 5–1 overall.

Nic Huneck opened the scoring for Yellow Springs on a corner kick just seven minutes into the match. Scott Keyes added to the Bulldogs’ lead on a combination play with Duncan Silvert-Noftle, who dropped a back-pass (the “bangoo”) to the spot-kick line for Keyes to tap in.

With the ’Dogs up 3–0 at the half, the Ambassadors battled back and scored 2 goals with 15 minutes left in the match. But after Xenia Christian was called for a tripping, Silvert-Noftle sent a low, line-drive penalty kick blazing past the Ambassadors’ wall and into the far-post netting.

YSHS is ranked first in the Miami Valley for Division III schools by the Miami Valley Scholastic Soccer Coaches weekly poll, and is currently ranked fourth for Division III schools in the state by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches weekly poll.

Girls soccer tops Xenia Christian
Emily Foubert and Erin Silvert-Noftle accounted for all 4 of the YSHS girls soccer team’s goals during the Lady Bulldogs’ 4–2 win over Xenia Christian last Saturday afternoon. The Lady Bulldogs are now 3–1–2.

Foubert started the scoring with a goal just over a minute into the game on an assist by Silvert-Noftle.

Yellow Springs didn’t score again until the second half, when Foubert scored less than a minute into the half on another assist from Silvert-Noftle. Then it was Silver-Noftle’s turn to score three minutes in and again shortly after. Foubert had assists on both goals. Xenia Christian scored one goal in the first half and another in the second.

Harriers place second
Penns Valley High School of Pennsylvania won the 14th Annual Friendship Invitational at John Bryan State Park last Saturday. The Bulldogs finished 2nd in the field composed of 171 runners from 22 different high schools.

“The pack is the key,” coach Vince Peters said. “When they keep together they can draw off of each others’ strength and finish strong.”

The five Bulldog scorers placed in the top 35. Sophomores Sam Borchers placed sixth in 17:31, and Andy Sontag placed 34th in 18:59. Andy Peters snuck into the top pack, finishing 10th, David Warren was 11th and Carey Dixon placed 13th.

In the middle school boys race, Eamon Papania had his best meet in a couple of weeks, finishing 129th in 19:39.

Girls XC team improving
Sometimes small improvements are hard to see. But the YSHS girls cross country team made two this past weekend when six runners started and finished and Danielle Doubt and Tina Peters posted season bests at the Friendship Invitational.

Doubt dropped her lifetime best from 28:24 to 27:30, and Peters had her fastest time since her freshman year, running 21:41 to place 11th in the field of 107 runners. The girls team placed ninth overall.

Rosa Dixon placed 79th in 27:06. Tina Chen placed 91st, and Lara Donnelly narrowly missed establishing a new personal record with her 102nd place finish in 31:45. Rebecca Guest was 106th in 32:20.

Football team shutout
It was another tough game for the YSHS football team last Friday at Waynesfield-Goshen, where the Bulldogs lost 55–0. The ’Dogs are now 0–4.

Scott Keyes punted well and had a 30-yard average. Jerrico Stubblefield led the defense with 15 tackles, and Josh Foster, had 10. Miguel Visbal had 8 tackles, Aaron Willis had 7, and Kilan Brown and Jake Fulton each took down 6. Cody Johnson had an interception.

The Bulldogs still had trouble getting the offense together. Foster rushed 11 times for 34 yards. Johnson rushed 6 times for 9 yards and had 1 catch for 8 yards. Quarterback Jake Fulton was just 2–18 for 18 yards and threw 4 interceptions.

Volleyball falls to taller foes
The YSHS volleyball team suffered two losses this week. The Lady Bulldogs are now 6–3.

Last Thursday the Lady Bulldogs fell to Xenia Christian 2–1. YSHS started slowly in game one and lost 13–25. The Lady ’Dogs continued to have trouble in game two and lost 12–25. Yellow Springs fought hard to pull out a close game three, 26–24, but it was to no avail.

On Monday the Lady Bulldogs were bested 3–0 by a Troy Christian with a great height advantage. Scores for the games were 25–13, 25–8 and 25–12. A lot of wonderful volleys during the matches and excellent work by Evin Wimberly kept the ’Dogs on the scoreboard.

Boys basketball teams starting open gyms

The McKinney Middle and Yellow Springs High School basketball program is now holding open gyms and weight training sessions through the start of the 2004 season. An open gym will be held on Sundays at 3 p.m. in the YSHS gym. Weight lifting will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Morgan building, followed by open gyms at 7:30 p.m. at YSHS.

The sessions are open to all, and students not participating in fall sports are encouraged to participate.

YSHS football team to honor 1973 Bulldogs

The 2004 Yellow Springs High School football team will honor the YSHS 1973 football team during a ceremony before the homecoming game on Oct. 15 at 7:15 p.m.

The ’73 Bulldogs went 10–0. All former players and coaches of the ’73 squad are encouraged to attend the game. For more information, call Jerome Crosswhite, 767-7232, or John Gudgel, 767-7224.

FC Springs teams win 2

The FC Springs Soccer Club is sponsoring two teams this fall, one for children under 9 and one for those under 14.

Both teams opened their fall seasons two weeks ago and each came away with a victory. The U-14 team traveled to New Carlisle to play the Arrows, and Zeke Hardman and Ryder Comstock, assisted by Brock GunderKline and Ryan Phillips, delivered 3 goals, for a 3–1 score.

In U-9 play, the Springs hosted the DC Lightning and prevailed 6–4, thanks to goals by Hunter Younger and Hudson Mahle.

Kids soccer on Saturdays

Copper Cup Soccer, recreational soccer for children ages 4 to 6, will be played on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on the Morgan fields behind the Yellow Springs High School.