May 14, 2009

sports

Bulldog Sports Roundup

Two wins, one loss
With a break in the rain last week, the Yellow Springs High School baseball team was able to get some games in. On Monday, May 4, the Bulldogs beat Jefferson 15–2, and the following day beat Xenia Christian 6–3 on the road. The ’Dogs then met their match against a tough Troy Christian team, who won 17–1, on Thursday, May 7.

The Bulldogs played the Broncos at Gaunt Park because the Jefferson field was too wet. An opportunity for some rusty pitchers to get some work in as the Bulldogs hitters kept their bats hot, Jamie Kitzmiller hit a single and a triple, along with Kevin Sikes-Gilbert with two singles. 

The game against the Xenia Christian was more competitive. The Bulldogs scored two in the first and one in the second inning on hits from Sikes-Gilbert, Joe Fugate and Lucas Donnell. Xenia Christian tied the score in the third at 3–3, and the Ambassadors’ pitcher didn’t give up any more runs until the sixth, when Tyler Fox got on base on a walk with Donnell delivering the go-ahead run batted in. The ’Dogs added two more in the seventh, with Sikes-Gilbert getting a single and scoring on a double by Kitzmiller, who then scored on a double from Matt Finn. Starting pitcher Donnell gave up only three hits, two walks and two earned runs, and was supported by some great defensive plays, including a tag out from second baseman Jeremy Paul on a runner trying to steal second.

McKinney wins home meet

Led by ace distance runner Lois Miller, the McKinney Middle School girls won the six-school competition at home on Saturday, May 9. The young Bullpups totaled 101 points, Xenia Christian was second with 82, followed by four Dayton City middle schools. The boys team tied Dayton’s Rosa Parks Middle School for fourth place.

In her metric-mile milestone race, Miller trailed the competition through three laps then, at the bell, she exploded into the lead to set a new McKinney record of 5:36.2.

Two other school records were also established by the foursome of Talia Boutis, Maryah Martin, Rachele Orme and Michaela Roe, who won the 4x100-meter relay in 56.9 seconds, breaking the old mark of 57.3. Then the 4x400 relay squad of Miller, Boutis, Angela Martin and Roethe beat the old mark of 4:48.2 with a new record of 4:40.9.

Other first place events in the Saturday afternoon contest went to Miller in the 800-meter run and Angela Allen in the discus.

For the boys team, Roland Newsome scored a victory in the long jump with a leap of 16'4".

Bulldogs log big home victory
Twelve high schools invaded Yellow Springs on Friday night, May 8, for the ninth annual Bulldog Track and Field Invitational, and all but the Bulldog boys went home disappointed. In a nip and tuck battle against Springfield Shawnee, the Bulldogs came out on top by a 3-point margin with 107 points, to Springfield’s 103. Defending champ Bethel was third with 91 points.

The Bulldogs held true to form, scoring well in the distance run and the jumping events and picking up enough points in the sprints to secure the win. Highest points performer was Jake GunderKline, who set a meet record in the race walk of 3:18.7. GunderKline also won the 3200-meter run, finished third in the 1600 and ran a leg of the winning 4x800 relay with Alexis Onfroy, Brock GunderKline and Anthony Pettiford. Chris Johnson added a victory in the long jump with a leap of 19'3".

Gaining second-place points were Onfroy in the 1600 and the 4x200 relay squad of Logan Norris-Sayer, Chris Johnson, Raphael Allen and Mario Cosey. Third-place finishes went to Brock GunderKline in the 3200, Antone Truss in the high jump, and the 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads.

Former Bulldog record holder and World University Games medalist Andrew Pierce presented the Andrew Pierce trophy for the winners of the boys and girls 400-meter dash to seniors Kylie Kopp of Bethel and Anthony Pettiford of Yellow Springs, who won the dash in 53.3 seconds.

Lady Bulldogs 4th at Springfield
The magnificent half dozen, a reflection on the small number of girls on this year’s track and field team, finished fourth of 10 schools at the Springfield Shawnee Invitational on Tuesday, May 12. Down to just five athletes at the Bulldog Invitational Friday night, May 8, the team finished sixth. Bethel won for the third year in a row, with Sidney Lehman finishing second.

Leading Yellow Springs at the home meet were Reini Brickson with a victory and personal best time of 4:00.5 in the Tina Peters’ RaceWalk and Ryder Comstock with a win in the triple jump in 28'8". Comstock also took second in the 400-meter dash in 64.6 seconds.

Melodie Wright and Brenda Jones added third-place finishes in the 200 and the 100, respectively. The ladies’ 4x100 relay squad of Jones, Comstock, Wright and Paige Evens was also third.

At Springfield Shawnee, the 4x100 and 4x200 relay squad of Jones, Comstock, Wright and Elizabeth Gonder finished second in both events to powerhouse Urbana. In the 4x400 relay, Comstock, Wright, Gonder and Brickson finished second in 4:24.4 — a time not seen by a Blue and White foursome in the past decade.

Street Fair 3 on 3 bball tournament

The Yellow Springs girls 3on3 program will host a 3on3 tournament on Street Fair day, Saturday, June 13, at the Bryan Community Center outdoor courts. There will be girls and boys divisions for grade, middle and high school. The cost is $15 per player which covers at least three games.

Players who register by Saturday, May 30, are guaranteed a t-shirt. Teams may register after May 30 or on site for any divisions not yet full. Shooting contests will also be held for all ages at $1 per try. 

Volunteers are needed for various roles, especially for court monitor (to score, manage games) and community service credit is available for students. For more information, including registration, go to www.streetfairshootout.com or contact Rich Miller at richmiller1@gmail.com.

Miami Valley Track Club to start practice this week

The Miami Valley Track Club will start preparations for its summer season with practices, starting this week, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Yellow Springs High School track. Practices begin at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Jennifer Peters at 767-7424.