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August 3, 2006
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August 3, 2006 |
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sports Join the splendiferous t-ballers for trophy night Hello, all you t-ballers! Moms! Dads! Grandpas! Grandmas! Aunts! Uncles! Friends! Brothers! Sisters! And hello to all you precious, priceless, persnickety t-ball children! The phenomenal and often hilarious Perry League t-ball season is coming to an end. Our final night is suddenly, surprisingly, serendipitously upon us: our final night, our potluck, weiner roast, trophy night. Our what? Our trophy night! Yes, this Friday night, Aug. 4, is the last night of the 2006 t-ball season. And as is our tradition, we’ll end the season with a shortened evening of play, of kids batting, fielding, running the bases, playing in the dirt, dashing around in the outfield, throwing the ball back to (or at) the coaches, or simply flopping and slopping about in one of our many Summer of 2006 mud puddles! This 45 minutes of play is followed by our annual weiner roast–potluck picnic — an idea we got from Chuck Buster some 14–15 years ago when he was a coach and his two brilliant boys, Damon and Asa, were Perry League heroes. After the picnic, we give each child a gleaming, golden trophy (a boy or girl standing crouched at home plate, bat in hand, ready to hit). And this year, as in the past seven years, our trophies have been paid for by the Yellow Springs Lions Club. Thank you, you dear, dear Lions Club people, thank you velly, velly much. Without these inspirational icons, our t-ball program would pale and our season would end without its glorious sunset. Now, if you’ve never been to a t-ball game, but have enjoyed it vicariously through some of our columns, which we have tried to fill with the rambunctious revels of our many splendiferously stupendous, and nearly always surprising t-ball children, then you might do yourself a favor and come on out this Friday night — to see the children for yourself, to break bread with us, and to witness the presentation of the trophies — an exquisitely extraordinary few minutes at the end of the evening (’round about 8 p.m.). What we do, after everyone has had a chance to get something to eat, is blow our whistles (of course) and ask the children, anywhere from 70 to 100 of them, to line up along the third base line. It is a fabulous sight, all these eager, animated, nearly delirious children, their faces aglow with anticipation, an anticipation so sharp as to be almost painful. Six to eight of us adults stand in front of this bustling, frothing line of exuberant children. Three or four of us will be holding cardboard boxes brimming over with trophies, each of us paired with another adult who’ll actually hand the trophies to the children. The line of children breaks — there is no such thing as a straight line in t-ball — snaking, curling and buckling around the three to four pairs of adults with the trophies, the children bursting with desire, nearly unable to contain themselves. They come at us, their faces shining beacons of pure joy, their hands lifted, the whole lot of them (and we adults, too) fairly trembling with delight. So, treat yourself. Come on out to Gaunt Park this Friday night, Aug. 4, around 6:30 p.m. Witness the miracle of the children. Stay and have a hot dog with us. Some potato salad. A cold drink. A slice of watermelon. And then participate in this fantastic event, the awarding of the Perry League trophies. It’s amazing. Wonderful. Bound to fill your heart to overflowing. Might you consider coming out? Just this once? We’d love to have you, we really would. Borchers wins Jr. Olympic title Yellow Springs High School senior Sam Borchers completed his 2006 Track & Field season this past weekend when he won the 1500-meter run at the USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships. Competing in 95 degree weather at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Borchers won the finals in 3:55.58, less than a second short of the National Meet record set in 1991. Borchers led from the start at a slowish pace with the entire field of 12 closely bunched, according to his coach Vince Peters. The runners spread in the third lap, with Vermont state high school champion Andrew Wheating hanging just off Borchers’ right shoulder as the two led the pack. But Borchers blazed through the last 300 meters in 41 seconds to take the title. John Minen from Medina, who was the Ohio high school Division I state runner-up in the mile, was third in 3:59.94. Borchers won the 1600-meter race at the Ohio high school state championships this year. But the national win was his first, and the third ever by a Miami Valley Track Club athlete. Kenn Daily from Beavercreek titled in 1981 in the 5,000-meter run, and recent Yellow Springs High School graduate Tina Peters won the 5,000-meter race walk in 2005. Peters finished in third place in the walk event at this year’s Junior Olympic meet. She suffered from cramping and finished in 27:11.28. Peters races one more time this season for the national team on Aug. 20 before heading to Goshen College in Indiana for her freshman cross country season. Seadogs end regular season in high spirits The Seadogs swam their last regular meet of the season at Peoples’ Aquatic Club in Dayton. Many of the Seadogs and their parents love going to this facility — it’s 125 years old with a history of big bands and swing dancing next to the pool and camping on the grounds. The pool itself looks 50 meters long, but the racers swim across it, only 18 or 20 meters or yards (depending on who you ask). Also, Peoples’ only has 35 swimmers compared to the 100 from Yellow Springs, so while the competition can be hot in individual events, there’s no question of who will win the meet. Imagine a soccer game with 30 players on one team and 10 on the other. The good spirits started early, especially among the 15- to 18-year-old boys. Some of the backstrokers swam as slowly as they could. Then, a few of those swimming the individual medley disqualified themselves by swimming the first leg entirely underwater. By the breaststroke, all the 15- to 18-year-old boys from both teams were in on the fun and, instead of turning around at the wall, they all climbed out and dove back in. At the 50 freestyle, the crowd knew they were in for something when Tim Powderly placed a full bottle of Gatorade or water at the end of each lane. The six racers swam to the end and, without standing on the bottom of the pool, opened, downed their drink, and swam back. Because the officials could find no mention of it in the rule books, no one was disqualified for not finishing the drink or for dripping Gatorade into the pool. What a great meet? We can’t wait to go back. Girls—Yellow Springs: 185, Peoples’: 132 The results for the July 20 meet at Peoples’ Aquatic Club were as follows: Girls— Charlotte Walkey, 1st, 25 butterfly, 25 breaststroke, 25 freestyle; Desiree Clark, 2nd, 25 butterfly; Mariah Roe, 2nd, 25 backstroke; Julian Roberts, 3rd, 25 backstroke, 25 breaststroke, 25 freestyle; Walkey, Clark, Roe, Julian Roberts, 1st, medley relay, 100 free relay. Rachele Orme, 1st, 25 butterfly, 25 breaststroke, 2nd, 25 freestyle; Mychael Robert, 1st, 25 backstroke, 2nd, 25 breaststroke, 3rd, 25 freestyle; Michaela Roe, 3rd, 25 backstroke; Rachel Meyer, 2nd, 50 freestyle, 3rd, 25 butterfly; Meyer, Orme, Robert, Roe, 1st, 100 medley relay, 100 free relay. Lindsley Mitchell, 1st, 50 breaststroke, 3rd, 50 freestyle; Katie Triplett, 1st, 50 backstroke, 50 freestyle, 2nd, 50 breaststroke; Mary Lewis, 1st, 100 individual medley, 2nd, 50 butterfly; Mercedes Mesa, 2nd, 50 freestyle; Triplett, Mesa, Mitchell, Robbie Weigand, 1st, 200 medley relay, 200 free relay. Chloe Ramsay, 1st, 50 breaststroke, 2nd, 100 freestyle; Maria Pettit, 1st, 50 freestyle, 3rd, 50 breaststroke; Rachel Biggs, 2nd, 50 backstroke, 3rd, 50 freestyle. Betsy Scarberry, 1st, 100 freestyle, 100 individual medley, 2nd, 50 butterfly; Miriam Barcus, 2nd, 50 backstroke, 3rd, 100 freestyle, 50 breaststroke; Olivia Dixon, 3rd, 50 breaststroke; Claire Triplett, 3rd, 50 backstroke; Scarberry, Barcus, Dixon, Triplett, 1st, 200 medley relay; Scarberry, Barcus, Pettit, Triplett, 1st, 200 free relay. Boys— 8 and under: Theron Orme, 1st, 25 backstroke, 25 freestyle; Hayden Orme, 1st, 25 butterfly, 2nd, 25 breaststroke, 3rd, 25 freestyle; Aman Ngqakayi, 1st, 25 breaststroke, 3rd, 25 backstroke; Nathan Gillman-Baggett, 2nd, 25 butterfly, 25 backstroke, 25 freestyle; T. Orme, H. Orme, Gillman-Baggett, 1st, 100 medley relay Matt Pettit, 1st, 50 freestyle, 25 butterfly, 100 individual medley; Eli Biggs, 2nd, 100 individual medley, 3rd, 25 butterfly; Fielding Lewis, 1st, 25 backstroke, 2nd, 25 freestyle, 3rd, 50 freestyle; Liam Weigand, 2nd, 25 breaststroke, 3rd, 25 backstroke, 25 freestyle; Pettit, Lewis, Biggs, Weigand, 1st, 100 medley relay, 100 free relay. Jesse Jewell, 1st, 50 butterfly, 100 individual medley; Taylor Ford, 1st, 50 backstroke, 2nd, 100 freestyle; Nkosi Ngqakayi, 1st 50 freestyle; Traven Halley, 2nd, 50 breaststroke, 3rd, 50 freestyle; Jewell, Ford, Ngqakayi, Halley, 1st, 200 free relay. Zeb Reichert, 2nd, 50 backstroke, 3rd, 50 breaststroke, 50 freestyle. Zane Reichert, 1st, 50 backstroke; Tim Powderly, 1st, 50 butterfly, 50 breaststroke; Danny Powderly 1st, 100 freestyle, 50 freestyle, 3rd, 50 backstroke; Jake Wishart, 2nd, 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 3rd, 50 breaststroke; Mike Pettit, 2nd, 50 backstroke; Malcolm Thomas, 2nd, 50 freestyle; T. Powderly, D. Powderly, Wishart, Reichert, 1st, 200 medley relay; 200 free relay. School cross country teams prepare for fall The Yellow Springs High School cross country program will hold a team meeting Monday, Aug. 7, at 6 p.m., at the high school football stadium for all high school and junior high boys and girls interested in the sport this fall. Athletes and parents are invited to attend. This year the school will field a men’s and a women’s team for both the junior high and high school. For more information, call coach Vince Peters at 767-7424. YSHS boys preseason soccer practice started Preseason practice for the Yellow Springs High School boys soccer team has begun. Practices are held Monday through Friday behind the high school from 4:30 until 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Jim Hardman at 767-2200. Soccer coaching clinic A soccer coaching clinic will be offered at Yellow Springs High School on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Participants will earn a USSF F-License. Online pre-registration is required. For more information, contact Jim Hardman at 767-2200.
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