May 17, 2007

sports

YSHS softball player Kristen Foster skipped across home plate, certain to score, before the Ram’s catcher tried to tag her out. The Bulldogs lost the game 25 to 15 against Miami Valley Thursday, May 10. See more pictures from the game.

Bulldog sports roundup

Chen advances to districts
YSHS first singles player Olivia Chen advanced to District play in third place last week when she won four rounds of the Division II sectional tennis tournament in Troy. She then faced the number three finisher from the Division II Cincinnati section at Princeton High School starting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16, followed by the semifinals and finals matches at noon on Thursday, May 17. The results were not available in time for this issue of the News.

In the early rounds of sectional play on Wednesday, May 9, Chen gave up a total of four games to win three quick matches before beating the fourth seed from Tippecanoe 7–5,6–3. Chen finally ceded the semi finals match to the number one seed Philip Dresden from Tippecanoe, in which she lost 6–0,6–0. Beaten but not defeated, Chen went on to beat the other semi finalist, second-seed Jason Hanely from Kenton Ridge, 7–6(8–6), 6–4. to leave the section in the number three spot.

As for the rest of the Bulldogs, singles players Alex Turner and Eduardo Gallifa won first round in sectionals last Wednesday. The luck of the draw would have Gallifa next face first seed Dresden for a loss. Turner won his next match but fell in the round of 16 in a tough three setter, 7–6,6–1,6–3.

The doubles teams of Erin Silvert-Noftle/ Kyle Buchwalder, and Zeke Hardman/ Raphael Allen both lost to tough teams in the first round.

Track teams 2nd, 3rd in meet
The Yellow Springs High School boys came in second and the girls came in third at the Metro Buckeye Conference track meet on Friday, May 11 at Troy Christian. At the seventh annual Bulldog Invitational on Friday, May 4, the boys 4 x 800 relay win lead the boys team to third place out of 10 schools, while the girls finished sixth.

At the MBC meet, both the girls and the boys 4 x 800 relay teams and the two-mile runs led the way with first-place finishes in all four events. The boys relay runners Andy Peters, Alexis Onfroy-Curley, Sam Borchers and Jacob GunderKline and the girls relay runners Maiya Thornton-Hodge, Kristen Foster, Leslie Holland and Brenda Jones took credit for the wins, while Evan Firestone and Anna Carlson won the 3200 meters. Borchers also took first in both the 800 and the mile runs.

Second-place finishes for the boys went to Peters in the 300 hurdles, Brock GunderKline in the 3200-meter run and to the 1600 relay team of Anthony Pettiford, Borchers, Andy Peters and Onfroy-Curley. Second place for the girls went to the 400 relay team (same as 800) and the 3200 relay team of Jones, Carlson, Sarah Acomb and Melodie Wright.

In third place it was Pettiford in the 400, Onfroy-Curley in the 800 and Peters in the pole vault event. Wright took third in the discus for the girls. Among the other scorers for the girls team was Meg Franklin, who took sixth place in the shot put and made it so that every Lady Bulldog who competed scored in the league meet.

Two weeks ago on May 4, the Bethel Bees won both the men’s and women’s titles of the Bulldog Invitational. For YSHS, Borchers set the bar by first winning the mile in 4:35.5, then taking the 800-meter run in 1:55.2 and finally anchoring the record setting 3200-meter relay race with Firestone, Peters and freshman Onfroy-Curley. Their winning time was 8:16.7.

Jacob GunderKline finished second in the 800-meter race walk while Brock GunderKline took third in the 3200-meter run. Peters finished third in the 300-meter hurdles, and Ron Cobb added a fourth in the 200-meter dash, as did Onfroy-Curley in the 800-meter run. Raphael Allen grabbed fifth in 31’6”.

The Yellow Springs girls team finished sixth at the Bulldog Invite. Relays were the squad’s strength as the foursome of Thornton-Hodge, Foster, Jones and Holland totaled eight points by finishing fourth in both the 4 x 100 and the 4 x 200. Acomb added six more points with a third-place finish in the 800-meter walk. In the field, Ashanta Robinson had her best soar ever in the high jump when she cleared 4’8” to tie for second place.

Baseball grabs late season wins
Last Tuesday, May 8, the Bulldog baseball team hosted Ridgeville Christian and came away with a 10–0 victory. Ethan Brown tossed the shutout. Yellow Springs broke open the game in the third inning when Jonathon Haller led off with a double. Ethan Brown, Todd Sheets, Andrew Ferguson and Kilan Brown all added hits, then a couple of walks were issued and Haller ended the scoring with a single to put the ’Dogs ahead by 7. In the fifth Zach Reichart had a pinch-hit double, then Ben Armstrong was hit by a pitch. The game ended in a run-rule in the sixth when Jeremy Paul got a single, stole second and scored on a hit by Joe Fugate. Ethan Brown tossed a 3-hitter and did not walk a batter.

On Thursday, May 10, the team traveled to Xenia Nazarene for a makeup game. Yellow Springs was down 2–0 in the third when the bats came alive. Cory Daniel started things with a single and the inning was capped off by doubles from Ben Armstrong and Haller to put the Bulldogs up 5–2. The game was tied at 7 and went into extra innings, when the ’Dogs squandered a scoring chance and Nazarene plated a run for a 9–8 win.

Saturday, May 12, the Bulldogs traveled to Troy Christian for the final league game of the season. The league champs started the game a little sloppy and Yellow Springs turned two errors and hits by Daniel, Ferguson, and Haller into a 3–0 lead by the third inning. The Eagles tied it and went ahead to break the game open in the fifth for a final score of 15–5 in six innings.

Monday, May 14, 10 alumni turned out for a match-up. The alums went ahead early, but the current squad rallied to make an exciting game. For the alums, Aaron Willis and Dusty Rudegeair had two hits. Sheets and Ferguson had a couple of hits each for the youngsters.

Softball ends tough week
The Lady Bulldog softball team ended its season with a tough four losses last week. On Tuesday, May 8, Yellow Springs lost 13–3 to Ridgeville Christian at home, then travelled to play the Miami Valley Rams the following day for a 25–15 loss. On Thursday, May 10, the Rams came here to win 24–14. On Saturday, May 12, the Lady Bulldogs finished the season against Troy Christian, losing 25–15 in six innings.

Against Ridgeville Bailey Linse, Ashanta Robinson and Lauren Miles scored the Lady Bulldogs’ runs on base hits in the second and fifth innings. Aiysha Walker got the hit that drove in both Linse and Robinson. Lauren Miles had three strikeouts in the losing effort.

Wednesday’s game against Miami Valley was a slug fest. The Lady Rams built a 6–1 lead through two innings, but the Lady Bulldogs stormed back in the third to score 14 runs on hits by Linse, Walker, Danielle Fulton, Jessica Kellar and a double by Miles.

Yellow Springs played another five-inning game against the Rams the next day, scoring 8 runs in the first inning. But a big third inning for the Rams gave the team an unstoppable lead. Miles suffered the lost while bringing her total strikeouts to 37 for the year.

Against Troy, Robinson had two singles and scored twice, Miles had two hits, one a double, driving in 2 runs and scoring on a Walker single. Walker had three hits and scored 3 runs. Caitlan Moran scored twice on three walks.

Miami Valley track club

The Miami Valley Track Club opens its season this week with practices on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m. at Yellow Springs High School. Due to end of season high school competitions, the practice on Wednesday, May 23, will be moved to Tuesday, May 22. The first competition is June 3, and workouts will continue for 11 weeks through the end of July.

The Miami Valley TC, based in Yellow Springs, is a not-for-profit youth-oriented USTAF program that has provided young athletes the opportunity to participate in the National Junior Olympic track and field programs since 1982. Participation is open to anyone over the age of 8, and athletes can start practices once participation in their school program is completed. For most junior high athletes, this is May 14. For high school athletes, it is after their last district, regional or state competition.

A one-year track club membership costs $40. Athletes are also responsible for supplying their own training shoes, solid black shorts, competition spikes and race entry fees, which average less than $12 per week. Some equipment is available through the club for those needing assistance, according to the club’s organizer, Vince Peters, who also coaches cross country for Yellow Springs schools.

For more information, contact Jennifer Peters at 767–7424, or visit the club’s Web site, http://www.miamivalleytrackclub.org.

YS Soccer plans camps

Registration continues for the Yellow Springs soccer camps to be held the week of June 18–22 for kids in Yellow Springs and surrounding areas. Half-day camps are offered for ages 6–9, 10–13 and 14–18.

The camps focus on teaching key techniques and the technical components of soccer. These British soccer camps aim to coach skills within a framework of character development based on respect, responsibility, integrity, leadership and sportsmanship. Camps are lead by talented coaches from Britain who have a genuine interest in providing each player a memorable and positive experience while improving soccer skills.

A free coach’s clinic will also be offered to assist recreational and team soccer coaches. The date and time will be announced closer to the start of the camp.

The cost of the week long camp is $96. Soccer camp participants will be given a free camp shirt and ball. Those interested in participating can sign up on-line at www.challengersports.com or by picking up additional brochures at a number of Yellow Springs locations, including the Yellow Springs Library and the Bryan Center. 

The local contact for this camp is Lauren Miller, who may be reached at 767-2072. Additional information may be obtained from Matt Hoy of British Soccer Challenger Sports at 888-290-9200.

Spring sports awards ceremony for YSHS

The Yellow Springs High School spring sports awards ceremony will be held on Friday, June 1, beginning at 7 p.m. in the high school gym. The athletes of the spring sports track, tennis, baseball and softball will be honored.

Sea Dogs to start swimming season

The Yellow Springs Aquatic Club, aka the Sea Dogs, will begin pre-season practices on Monday, May 21, at the Antioch College pool from 6 until 7 p.m. Practices will be held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, at the same time and place, through Friday, June 8. Children of all ages are invited to particiate, but it is recommended that they be comfortable in deep water and be able to swim 25 yards continuously.

The emphasis in these early practices will be on developing skills in the four competitive strokes. Practices will be staffed by Sea Dogs coaches and Wittenberg University swimmers.

Outdoor practices will begin at the Gaunt Park pool on Monday, June 11. Children ages 11 and over will practice from 8 to 9 a.m., and children ages 10 and under will practice from 9 to 10 a.m.

Major league youth baseball sign-up May 19

A sign-up session will be held for major league youth baseball on Saturday, May 19, at Gaunt Park Field from 3 to 6 p.m. Players must be signed up in order to play this year. Boys and girls 11–14 can play. The fee for the season is $30 and scholarships are available. Call Bob Morrison at 767-1703 for details.