June 4, 2009

sports

Bulldog Sports Roundup

Brock GunderKline won third place in the 800 at the regional meet in Troy on Friday, May 29. He was the lone Bulldog to advance to state. Brenda Jones handed the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay to Melodie Wright, in which the team finished eighth at regionals.

GunderKline goes to state in 800
“That’s the fastest I’ve ever run that one,” Brock GunderKline said, still out of breath from hitting third place and a personal record in the 800-meter run at the Div. III regional track meet on Friday, May 29. “Vince just told me to stay steady with the pack and use my kick at the end. It worked!”

The advice of Yellow Springs High School track coach Vince Peters worked so well that GunderKline qualified to compete at the state competition next weekend at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus as Yellow Springs’ lone track and field representative. Preliminaries for the Div. III meet take place on Friday, June 5, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The finals will be held the following day, beginning again at 9:30 a.m.

GunderKline went into the race with the 13th best time of 2:04.92 out of a field of 16 runners. So with nothing to lose, he kept near enough to the competition from New Breman and Cincinnati Hills in the first lap, and pulled ahead with a kick in the last stretch, à la Sam Borchers, the 2007 YSHS state champion in the mile and the 800. He improved his qualifying time by over six seconds to finish third in 1:58.95, one second behind New Breman and Cincinnati.

Though many other YSHS athletes competed at Regionals, none achieved the top-four finish needed to qualify for state. Sophomore Mario Cosey finished seventh in the 100-meter dash in 11.42 seconds. Jacob GunderKline improved his previous time in the two-mile by 14 seconds to finish seventh in 9:53.71, sprinting the last 50 yards to beat the New Madison runner by two-100ths of a second.

The 4x200 relay team of senior, junior, sophomore, freshman—Raphael Allen, Chris Johnson, Cosey and Logan Norris-Sayres—finished sixth in the preliminaries, but could not improve its time in the finals to make it into the top four. The team finished in 1:33.06.

The 4x400 relay team of Allen, Brock GunderKline, Josh Meadows and Anthony Pettiford finished seventh in 3:31.04, improving their spot by one from the preliminary race.

The 4x800 relay team tied for ninth place with New Knoxville in 8:30.28, with Pettiford, Alexis Onfroy-Curley, Brock GunderKline and Jacob GunderKline.

The 4x100 relay team didn’t qualify in the top eight spots of the preliminaries for a chance in the final regional race.

Girls medal but don’t advance
For the YSHS girls team at the Division III regional track meet on Friday, the 4x200 relay finished seventh in 1:48.66, with Ryder Comstock, Elizabeth Gonder, Brenda Jones and Melodie Wright. The same girls came in eighth in the 4x400 in 4:23.03. The 4x100 relay team didn’t qualify in the top eight spots for a chance in the final regional race.

3on3 basketball registration 

Registration is still open for the Street Fair Shootout 3on3 basketball tournament during the Yellow Springs Street Fair on Saturday, June 13, at the Bryan Community Center outdoor courts. There are girls and boys divisions for grade school (up to 6th grade), middle school (7-8th) and high school (9-12th) players. The $15 cost per player includes at least three games. Teams may register after May 31 or on site for any divisions not yet full.

Tournament plans include shooting contests for all ages (including adults), Greene sport athletic trainers, food vendors, entertainment and more. For more information, including registration, go to www.streetfairshootout.com or contact Rich Miller at richmiller1@gmail.com.

T-ball begins

Perry League, Yellow Springs’ T-ball program, opens its 2009 season Friday night, June 5, 6:30 p.m. at Gaunt Park. The village’s non-competitive beginners baseball program is open to girls and boys ages 2–9. Two- and three-year-olds are welcome if accompanied on the diamond by an adult. There are no fees, no sign-ups, no registrations, nor any requirement to play every week. The program will take place on 10 consecutive Friday nights, June 5 through August 7. For more information call Jimmy Chesire, 767-7300, or Chris Murphy, 767-7408.