Bulldog sports round-up
- Published: April 25, 2013
Co-ed tennis thrives in YS
With the largest roster in years, the YSHS co-ed tennis team is thriving, according to Coach Donna Silvert. With 22 athletes on the team, the Antioch College tennis courts have been buzzing with activity on spring afternoons.
In early season play, the team has yet to win a court or a match, but the players have been “big winners” in other ways, Silvert said. Not only does the team represent town-gown cooperation, it reflects the strong community tennis tradition in Yellow Springs and continues a valued tradition of co-ed play.
“It is a fun opportunity to represent our school with terrific sportsmanship while developing skill for a lifetime sport,” Silvert said of the team. “There is a win coming on for this squad if they all keep working with the commitment they are now showing.”
The team is young with no seniors, but there is a core of returning players led by captain Grant Reigelsperger and Nick Miller-Jacobson, who are both juniors. Sophomore Liam Creighton returns with some experience and skill from his freshman year. New sophomores Theron Orme and Fielding Lewis are showing a lot of promise and dedication, according to Silvert. As juniors, Reed Huston and Eric Lawhorn played their first varsity matches this year.
According to Silvert, several freshmen have shown dedication to learn the game this year. Gabriel Day has steadily developed his game and consistency holding down the third singles position. Meredith Rowe and Henry Potts-Rubin have become a go-to doubles pairing. Freshmen Alice Miller and Madeline Nielsen are developing skills as reserves. Exchange students Jisa Wilk and Lotte Mulder head up the next string that also includes Maddie Allen, Carolyn Handy, Micah Lindsey, Jane Sparks and Ivy Welsh.
Junior Mychael Roberts handles administrative duties for the team and plays reserves, along with Maeve Corkin-Laughlin. The team’s assistant coach is Nick Rittenhouse. And local tennis players Hans Jacobson, Bob Huston, Rosemary Bailey and Dan Duffy have helped the high school team improve during practices this year.
“Since many of our players have had little or no tennis experience, it has been great to get ongoing support from skilled community players who have worked with player skill development,” Silvert said.
Softball loses at Cedarville
This year the spring weather has wrecked havoc on the Yellow Springs softball team as it has limited the team to only two games halfway through their schedule. The rusty Bulldogs traveled to Cedarville and the rust showed early on as Cedarville scored 16 runs without any hits in the first inning to put the game out of reach early. Cedarville won 30–3. While pitcher Sierra Lawrence struggled with control, she showed promise, according to Coach Jimmy DeLong.
“The good news is Lawrence throws hard and she’ll find the strike zone with experience and when she does she’s hard to hit,” DeLong said.
The Lady Bulldog offense managed to plate three runs in the fourth inning as Maddie Gueth got on base to lead off the inning and then junior Rachele Orme drove a base hit to the gap in right center and sophomore Cali Dillon singled to contribute to the rally.
“Orme has perfect hitting mechanics with her swing and is a natural hitter — the ball just jumps off her bat,” DeLong said. Sophomore pitcher Jesi Worsham made her pitching debut for the Bulldogs a good one as she pitched one inning on the mound and did not allow any runs or hits and only walked one batter.
“It was nice to see Jesi succeed in her first outing on the mound,” DeLong said. “She took her first pitching lesson last week and appears to be a quick study.”
Brown and Miller distance aces
The YSHS girls track team finished in a three-way tie for sixth place at last Friday’s Waynesville Invitational. Running through rain, nasty wind gusts and periodic hail, the Lady Bulldogs scored 38 points tying both host Waynesville and Franklin
Leading the women’s team were distance aces Alex Brown and Lois Miller. Both earned a pair of second-place finishes with Miller getting a season-best time of 12:04.0 in the night’s longest race, the metric-two mile. Brown took second, worth eight more points, in the 1600-meter run, in 5:39.67. Brown added a fourth place in the 800-meter run (2:42.55) and combined with Miller, Charlotte Walkey and Christina Brewer to place third in the 4×800-meter relay. The foursome’s time was a season-best 11:14.0.
Freshman Charlotte Walkey added to the distance point output with a fourth-place finish in the 3200-meter run. She scored four points with a new personal record of 13:03. The Bulldogs also tallied points in the field events with Angela Allen placing third in the discus with a toss of 86 feet and 4 inches. Kennedy Harshaw completed the scoring for the team with a 27’6.5” fifth-place finish in the shot put. Emma Rohmor and the women’s 4×100-meter relay team of AnnDee Pettiford, Louresha Creaton, Rachelle Orme and Kennedy Harshaw also ran well but just missed scoring.
Novello, relay lead boys track
The Yellow Springs High School boys track team placed 10th out of 12 teams at the cold and windy Waynesville Invitational last Friday night. The Bulldogs were led by Connor Gravely-Novello, who turned in an awe-inspiring sixth-place finish in the 3200-meter run, and the sixth-place 800-meter relay team of Cameron Henderson, Bryce White, Eli Biggs and Roland Newsome.
Solid performances were also recorded by Dylan Boczar, David Butcher, Kaner Butler, Charlie Fenimore, Ed Johnson, Oluka Okia, Devon Perry and Aaron Sherwood.
5 school records at McKinney
Five school records were broken last week as the McKinney track team began its season.
On the newly-christened John Gudgel track, Kaliyah Fulton opened the competition with a win in the pole vault. She improved her own school record from last year by one foot with a vault of six feet. Later, Joe Plumer won the boys discus competition with a toss of 134´10˝ blowing away Max Crome’s old mark of 119´. Julian Roberts won the 200-meter hurdle race pushing down her own record from last year (32.95) to the new mark of 32.56 and Yasmine Davidson improved the girls shot put record to an astonishing 28´3˝.
Other first places finishers were Hayden Orme (110-meter hurdles in 19.25), Rashan Benners (100-meter dash with a time of 13.42), Cameron Haught (1600-meter run in 5:35.20), the boys 4×100-meter relay team of Plumer, Dietrich, Giardullo and Runyon (56.96), Elisabeth Smith (400-meter run in 1:18.87), Kenny McKinley (400-meter run in 1:09.80), the boys 4×200-meter squad of Plumer, Elam, Orme and Giardullo (1:48.70), Cameron Haught (800-meter run in 2:31.54), the 4×400-meter girls squad of Worsham, Roberts, Smith and Fulton (5:17.78); the boys 4×400-meter relay team of Boutis, Orme, Haught and McKinley (4:40.80); Danny Horton (a toss of 54´10˝ in the girls discus) and Jasmine Davidson (a throw of 28´3˝ in the girls shot put).
On Saturday the McKinney Track team then competed in the 20-team Waynesville meet. Overall, the boys team placed fifth and the girls’ team came in seventh. Julian Roberts took fourth in the 200-meter hurdles and improved again her own record to the new mark of 31.97. Plumer won the boys discus competition with a toss to 119´2˝ and he placed third in the high jump leaping over five feet. In a dramatic 400-meter race, Orme secured second place with a time of 57.24. In the girls discus competition Danny Horton placed fifth with a throw to 58´9˝ and Amani Wagner tossed the disc to 57´9˝ to come in seventh. Haught reached eighth place over 1600 meters with a time of 5:32.6. The girls 4×200-meter relay team with DeAunna Cheatom, Aliza Skinner, Maya Creighton and Revan James won their heat in 2:13.87.
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